The door was slightly opened by Mrs. Qian, and Mrs. Xu squeezed in. "Is the girl with the surname Yu here?" Mrs. Xu asked.
Yu?
As he glanced at Yu Yan, Li Fu's tightened brows finally relaxed.
Since my daughter has already decided to get married, it's not good to cause any major disturbances.
Li Qinghe was surprised. Turning to Yu Yan, who looked cautious, she asked in a low tone, "What's going on?"
Yu Yan smiled slightly and went out into the yard.
"Auntie, let's speak at my house. It's another person's house, so we shouldn't bother them."
The third aunt also emerged from the house. Although she was a little confused by what was going on, she invited Mrs. Xu to her house to discuss the situation alongside Yu Yan.
"Why? Are you scared that the thing about you confessing to a man will be leaked to the public? I'm not afraid, so I'll just say..."
Instead of looking at the third aunt, Mrs. Xu looked at Li Fu and Mrs. Qian. She pointed at Yu Yan and said, "This shameless girl gave our family's Changjie an embroidered purse with a mandarin duck on it. They are not even related, and yet she gave him that. Do all the girls from the county possess such virtue?"
The third Aunt's face instantly turned pale. Yu Yan, who stood next to her, tried to comfort her in a low voice.
This is really bad.
There is still a month until New Year's Eve. There were already some people preparing for the coming New Year's goods in the village, and the zing of the New Year celebrations was getting stronger. During this time, Mrs. Xu showed up to create trouble in the house. Although she wanted to settle the account with Yu Yan, she did not put the Li family in her sights either.
When Li Fu first heard her looking for Yu Yan, his eyebrows were slightly relaxed, but when he heard Mrs. Xu speaking without regard for anyone, his expression changed. He said, "Can you go outside to make noise. This has nothing to do with our family......"
"Didn't your daughter also do the same?" She raised her hand and pointed at Li Qinghe, sneering, "I dare you to say you didn't have any other intentions when you saved my son?"
Acting like a crazy dog! Coming to bite people at their door.
Not only was Li Qinghe not angry, but she also sneered before folding her arms and said, "Yes, I had other intentions."
When Mrs. Xu heard this, she almost leaped forward as if she had caught something, "Look, she admitted it." Then she turned to Li Fu and emphasized, " Isn't that what I just said now."
Li Fu's expression worsened. He glared at Li Qinghe and motioned for her to enter the house. Usually, the girl suffers losses in such situations.
Li Qinghe responded calmly, "I just wanted your family to give me a gift as a thank you." She raised her hand and pointed to the west direction, "Have you seen my wasteland? It was bought with ten taels of silver that you gave me. If I didn’t save your son, your son would have died and I would not have the land. We all would have suffered losses in the case, didn’t we?"
"Speaking of saving your son…" Li Qinghe remembered something and casually continued, "I remember Wanwan and I saved him again later. Your Xu family hasn't expressed your gratitude yet. When will you send us a thank you gift, auntie?"
As soon as she heard this, Zhao Wanwan rushed out of the house, "Auntie, are you here to give the gift?" She turned to Li Qinghe and said, "Sister, I have also contributed, so I deserve half of it as well."
Mrs. Xu was speechless, as she didn't expect them to be so rude.
If I drag this issue any further, I might be forced to offer them a gift in return.
Thus, she turned her attention back to Yu Yan once again as she watched her nervously assist the Third Aunt to go to their home. They walked out of the yard in the same direction where Mrs. Xu was standing.
As Yu Yan passed by Mrs. Xu, she yanked her back, "Before you leave, promise me you will not bother my son anymore!"
Yu Yan, who was assisting Third Aunt, couldn't break free from her hold. She candidly said, "Let your son tell me these things by himself."
The third Aunt patted Yu Yan's hand and looked at Mrs. Xu, "Everyone says you need two hands to clap. My daughter can't tie the purse to your son alone, can she? We were taken advantage of by your son, and now you blame us. I have never seen such a shameless person."
Yu Yan's words stunned Li Qinghe at first.
Then, is it not just her one-sided love, but Xu Changjie responded to her as well?
Mrs. Xu laughed furiously, "My son is soft-hearted, so he was embarrassed to refuse you."
It was at this time when Xu Changjie appeared outside the fence. He still had a pink scar on his face from when he was injured. It appeared that he had used good medicine since his injury healed much better than Li Qinghe expected.
All the people standing in the courtyard turned to look at the extra person who suddenly appeared. It was clear he was panting after running all the way here.
In a calm tone, Yu Yan asked him, "According to your mother, what she said was exactly what you intended. It's hard for you to refuse me, is that so?"
"It's not like this." Xu Changjie opened the courtyard door and stepped inside.
Grabbing his mother's hand, he asked, "What are you doing before Chinese New Year at someone else's house? Don't drag others into this. If you have something to say, talk to me."
"You think I'm troubling them?" Mrs. Xu pointed a finger at the tip of his nose, "I wouldn't have come here to provoke people if not for you. You're too embarrassed to refuse her, so I'll do the work for you."
Xu Changjie dragged Mrs. Xu to the yard door and smiled apologetically towards Li Fu and Mrs. Qian. Then, he whispered to his mother,"I'll talk to you later."
After he spoke, he looked at the third aunt and apologized, "Auntie, I'm sorry." He then turned and whispered to Yu Yan, "I'll look for you later."
Although her son was dragging her out of the yard, Mrs. Xu was still reluctant to follow. She said, "We cannot leave without an apology. You can be involved in a messy situation. Just because you are a man does not mean that you will not lose anything. It's still important to have a good reputation. It will tarnish your reputation if you entangle with others. How can you allow this to happen...."
Li Qinghe was more curious as to who this 'other' was.
Seeing the mother and son going away, Zhao Wanwan looked at Li Qinghe several times. Seeing that Li Qinghe was not bothered by it, she couldn't resist shouting, "Auntie, don't forget."
She didn't mention what not to forget.
However, everyone in the room knew that Zhao Wanwan wanted to know about the thank you gift.
Actually, the Xu family should have come back to their family to express their thanks. Even a few words would have sufficed if they had visited them. But suddenly, Mrs. Xu was surprised when Li Qinghe mentioned this matter on her own after so long. She probably forgot herself.
Yu Yan turned to look back as the mother and son walked away. With a calm expression on her face, she said, "Second uncle and aunt, I'm sorry for today." She then looked at Li Qinghe again, "I'm sorry you were scolded for following me."
The third Aunt apologized as well, before pulling Yu Yan irritably and saying, "Let's go back home so you can explain the matter to me."
"What a crazy woman." Mrs. Qian sighed, "Luckily, Qinghe didn't marry into the Xu family. If she had a mother-in-law like her..."
"What is this nonsense you are saying? When did Qinghe want to marry into the Xu family? How come I, her father, don't know?" Li Fu was displeased.
After seeing Mrs. Qian was still looking in the direction where the mother and son disappeared, he scolded, "Isn't it cold out there? Get in!"
Li Qinghe also sighed. Even though she had never spoken of marrying into the Xu family in her life, it seemed that many people had believed that she loved Xu Changjie.
She went back inside the house to continue her embroidery. After a few minutes, Zhao Wanwan ran into her room, holding the soles in both hands and asking, "Sister, are you optimistic that Xu's family will give the gift?"
Li Qinghe shook her head. "I don't know." According to Mrs. Xu's temperament, she would never give them the gift.
As a result of Mrs. Xu's visit on that day, Yu Yan didn't visit the Li house for quite a while. Seven or eight days later, she returned to her daily routine bringing needles and threads to Li Qinghe's house. Yu Yan sighed and said, "I still don't understand how to light this brazier.The same goes for when it comes to making dry food. I never knew I was so stupid."
As Li Qinghe laughed, she said, "You haven't done this since you were a child, and you are definitely not going to suddenly learn it." She then asked curiously, "You aren't planning on returning to your home? You don't want to go back after the beginning of your spring*?"
Yu Yan laughed and said, "I won't go back. I plan to embroider to support myself. My life here is great. In any case, I have no family members. My godfather and godmother saved my life, so in the future, I will provide them with pensions."
*Beginning of spring means the beginning of a new romance.