Chapter 191: With Reason

Disclaimer: 

1. This is an unofficial translation and no permission has been obtained from the author/ official publisher. It may be taken down if the author/official publisher requests. 

2. This is a fan work and the interpretation represents only the translator’s personal views without any input from the author. 

3. No permission has been granted to use, publish, upload and/or copy this translation to any other site except for Second Life Translations.

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Liu Xu’er went out to look for Shi Cheng. If they were to meet at home, Xiuxiu would definitely want to be with her, and Shi Cheng wouldn’t be able to speak freely. 

When she got to Shi Cheng’s home, a servant girl invited her to the main room. Shi Cheng had heard her arrive and met her at the door. Seeing her, he said, “I haven’t managed to find everything out, but I’ve already gotten some answers.”

Liu Xu’er quickly asked, “What answers?”

Shi Cheng smiled and said, “What’s the hurry? Let’s sit and talk.”

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Nkw Dw’la pktble yde pyke, “Ms vbkp lmvldv!”

“Xq nswapl! Xvblaokpl vblu oswzed’v cl wdyczl vs pwrrsav vblka plahydvp yde byhl vs plde vblx yoyu. Mblu’hl lhld psze plahydvp vbyv olal csad vs vblka qyxkzu! Swxswa byp kv,” Fbk Ubldt pyke, “Mbl xydytla blyae vbl osxldqszj vyzjkdt ycswv vblx clbkde vblka cynjp. Mblu pyke vbyv vbl Tydzkd qyxkzu’p Wkapv Zswdt Yyeyx jllrp pbswvkdt ycswv oydvkdt y ekhsanl. Jwv vblpl osaep nyd’v alyzzu cl vawpvle. Gqvla yzz, vblpl rlsrzl ldfsu tsppkr yde xktbv cl vokpvkdt vbl vawvb.”

Nkw Dw’la iwknjzu pyke, “Mbkp kp vbyv Wkapv Zswdt Yyeyx! Fbl ynvwyzzu oydvle vs nbypl Ykpp Fsdt swv vbl qyxkzu tyvlp…. Ebyv psav sq clbyhksa kp vbyv! Ls xyvvla obyv, pbl bye ds aktbv vs nbypl yoyu bla sod mkystwgk, aktbv?”

Fbk Ubldt pxkzle, “Mblal’p ydsvbla xyvvla usw xktbv dsv jdso! Ps usw jdso oblal vbl Wkapv Zswdt Yyeyx kp qasx?”

“Eblal?”

Shi Cheng smiled coolly, “Songjiang prefecture. Her father is in the Jiangnan’s weaving industry. He’s longtime friends with the officials in charge of textiles.”

Liu Xu’er’s mind suddenly flashed. She looked at him and murmured, “Could it be… but surely not, there’s an age gap of a few years right?”

Shi Cheng nodded, “I cannot find out anything to do with the womenfolk, but from the clues, it seems that the First Young Madam might be dissatisfied with Miss Song possibly because of this….”

Liu Xu’er, in a voice filled with detestation, said, “How can this be? That First Young Madam is quite disgusting… What is she even thinking!”

Shi Cheng laughed. Although there were still parts that were unclear, Liu Xu’er had always hated bullies and tended to sympathize with the weak. As such, her first instinct was to cast the First Young Madam as a villain.

But Liu Xu’er was extremely sensitive and clear headed. No matter who she was personally leaning toward, she would not blindly side with them. Sure enough, immediately after that sentence, she asked Shi Cheng, “What do you think about the situation? My erge… Do you think he’s just doing this to help Song Yao, or do you think he has some feelings for Song Yao? If it’s purely to help her, I definitely won’t agree to him sacrificing his lifetime of happiness. What if he meets with someone else he really likes in future?”

Shi Cheng thought for a moment before saying with a smile, “You should understand your brother better than me.”

Liu Xu’er tilted her head and looked at him, “What are you trying to say?”

Shi Cheng smiled, “Your two elder brothers are not the impulsive sorts. Your dage is very unflustered – in everything, he would carefully consider all the angles before acting. As for your erge… How should I say this? After all these years of doing business, I can see that at the beginning, your erge was just slightly more streetsmart. But after all these years of doing business, he’s developing the ways of a wily old fox…..”

Liu Xu’er laughed, but still nodded in agreement. The way her erge handled business was indeed very different from her dage. 

Shi Cheng smiled and said, “Think about it, your erge, this wily old fox – surely he would have thought everything through clearly? Especially regarding this? To be even more blunt, if your erge just wanted to help Song Yao, there were plenty of other ways! But he insisted on choosing the most convoluted, complicated option available… Of course, if your family were to agree, it wouldn’t be so difficult. It’s just that since your mother has vehemently objected to the match, and Song Yao’s status is higher than ours, the situation has become harder.” After explaining, he smiled and continued, “Why would your erge choose such a difficult solution? It must be that he is willing to do it! He must have really liked her from some time ago, and took the chance while she’s down and out…”

Liu Xu’er giggled. Shi Cheng’s thoughts were similar to her own. But she was still not willing for Shi Cheng to speak badly of her erge. She shoved him and scolded, “Less nonsense! The way you make it sound, it’s as though my erge plotted against Song Yao….”

Shi Cheng was pushed a distance away. He quickly went back to his seat and laughed. 

Liu Xu’er then said, “If this is so, then there is still a chance for my erge and Song Yao. But we still need to clarify if Song Yao likes my erge, or if this is just my erge’s wishful thinking….”

She hadn’t finished when Shi Cheng interrupted, “Oh! You really are beginning to sound like a nag!”

Liu Xu’er was stunned, “How so?”

Shi Cheng had blurted that out without thinking and had been expecting another shove. Who would’ve expected that she would be so good tempered. He smiled and said, “Even though our relationship was smooth sailing, and the feelings between us good, was it easy for others around us to see? And that was in a time with fast, effective information transfer, as well as lots of exposure to different types of romantic relationships. About matters of the heart – outsiders really will never know what’s happening. Right now, you’re being too obsessive. You’re scared your brother will suffer, so you not only want to know what your brother is thinking, you even want to know her thoughts…. But even if you do know, you would never be certain about what’s going on with their relationship! Because they themselves might not be clear! Your erge for instance – he might not have thought it through all that clearly. I might have said what I did earlier, but you know that’s a joke.”

Liu Xu’er paused for a moment, and felt that what Shi Cheng said made sense. 

“This matter should really be handled by your erge. Even if Song Yao doesn’t have feelings for him now, who knows what will happen in the future? In this era, your expectation that both parties like each other, love each other – isn’t that a bit difficult?”

Liu Xu’er bit on her lip and nodded her head, “I know that you’ve got a point…. But right now, my mother wants my opinion!”

“What’s so difficult about that? Give your opinion! Say that you stand with your erge. Make sure to be firm about that!” Shi Cheng patted her shoulders in encouragement,

Liu Xu’er smiled, “Alright… I get what you mean. I was indeed expecting too much.”

Seeing that she had gotten the message, Shi Cheng smiled and nodded his head. Then he said, “As to another issue – I can help you arrange a meeting to meet Song Yao.”

Liu Xu’er was amazed, “How can you arrange that? Do you know the Song family?”

Shi Cheng smiled and shook his head, “I don’t, but there’s a very good opportunity! I’ve recently been considering hosting a big activity for my jewellery store. I want to invite all the big customers together and organize a banquet…. Because most of the customers would be females, I hope that you can help represent me at the banquet. The rest will be arranged by me. You just need to help me entertain the customers. For example, take them to view the flowers or organise a poetry recital. Of course, I will take out suitable pieces of jewellery to showcase and leave the rest to you. If you want to make things more lively, you could organise a poetry competition or some such, and the winner gets a prize of one of our pieces. Of course, you might say that those attending won’t care for such things, but it’s just intended to make the occasion lively…. These young misses tend to be very shallow.”

Liu Xu’er laughed when she heard and nodded her head, “Sure. This does seem like a good idea. You can showcase your new jewellery pieces and those who are interested would definitely buy and spread the word.”

“That was the original intention.” Shi Cheng laughed, “But we need to make it a very elegant affair.”

Liu Xu’er nodded and said, “It’s a good idea, but no matter what, Song Yao must attend, so that we can at least get a measure of her character….” She paused to think for a moment, “But it’s not good for me to represent you right? After all, we’re not yet married. It’s not customary.”

Shi Cheng exclaimed, “Oh never mind their customs! These big households are all rather superficial. Even if they interact with us businesspeople, and even if they need our support, whenever they gather together, don’t they all voice disdain for us? Furthermore, I’m a merchant who was born in a village! Relax, they would never say anything nasty to you directly, and might even give words of support to you! As for what they say behind our backs… They can say what they want, it’s no skin off our nose!”

Liu Xu’er was still hesitant.

Shi Cheng then said, “Or, I can invite my mother back over here? She can be the main person, while you assist her? This way, no one can say anything.”

Liu Xu’er quickly nodded when she heard. “Oh, that would work! After all, I am in the end, not yet married to you. It’s not appropriate for me to represent you like that. If your mother were to do that instead, while I were to run around helping to greet guests – that would be fine.”

Shi Cheng nodded, “Ok! Then that’s settled. I will plan it quickly!”

“Don’t forget to invite Song Yao!”

“Don’t worry.”

Now that the two of them had spoken, Liu Xu’er could finally put her worries to rest. She went home to await Shi Cheng’s arrangements. 

Shi Cheng had already been told of her mother’s fierce objection, going so far as to bring Xiuxiu over for a visit. If the situation was not handled well, it could cause a lot of internal strife in the family. He was definitely unwilling to see that happen, so he made sure to plan everything quickly. 

As for Shi Cheng’s mother, when she heard that he was planning a banquet, and that it concerned their family business, she was only too happy to come down and help. Especially when she knew that her future daughter-in-law would be doing most of the legwork, greeting the guests. She happily agreed, and came over before the banquet to help with the preparations. 

But when Shi Cheng’s mother came back, she brought a guest over. 

Xing Rongrong. 

Shi Cheng’s mother hadn’t planned to bring her, but when Xing Rongrong heard that they would be planning a banquet, as a person who liked to act cultured, she begged her parents to allow her to come down to play.

Because the two families were long standing friends, and because there was no reason to refuse, her parents agreed.