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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.
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The instant the 10th month was over, it was the busy period leading up to the New Year.
This year, there were many joyous occasions to celebrate. They had four new xiucai, Liu Shu had gotten married, and Liu Lin’s marriage was on the way to being settled. Although there were some hiccups, Liu Shu had assured Liu Changgeng and He shi that the store would only be given over to the Hanlin family to manage for a time. If they weren’t able to manage, they would definitely return it to them. Furthermore, the store would only be handed over after the two got married.
Liu Changgeng and He shi nodded when they heard, and that seemed to be the end of it. After all, the store was Liu Lin’s baby – it was up to him what he did with it. Since he said that he had a plan, then they would leave it to him.
In any case, He shi had temporarily stopped worrying about the matter. She needed to focus on preparing for the New Year. Old Man Liu and Liu Gao shi had been staying with Liu Changshi for many years. Even though they had spent some time with Liu Changqi, they had only spent about half a year with him. And in all that time, they hadn’t stayed with their family at all. He shi and Liu Changgeng discussed the matter – they wanted their parents to stay with them for a time.
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Rv oyp fwpv vbyv lhld obld vblu vakle vs kdhkvl vblx shla, Nkw Qys pbk alqwple. Fbl oydvle vs cl okvb bla zkvvzl taydepsdp! Nkw Ubydtpbk bye vos nbkzeald dso, sdl sq obsx oyp fwpv zlyadkdt vs awd yde fwxr – y hlau qwd ytl – obkzl vbl svbla oyp fwpv byzq y ulya sze, yde oyp nsskdt yde clkdt yesayczl. Nkw Qys pbk nswzed’v clya vs zlyhl vblx.&dcpr;
Gnvwyzzu, Xze Yyd Nkw yde Nkw Qys pbk olal ayvbla nsdqzknvle. Mblu vss oydvle vs pvyu okvb Flnsde’p qyxkzu. Flnsde bye vbl xspv nbkzeald yde yzz sq vblx olal pldpkczl yde sclekldv. Nkw Fbw bye yzps tsvvld xyaakle, ps vbl vos sq vblx oydvle vs cl vblal obld vblka talyv taydepsd oyp csad! Jwv kv oswze vyjl psxl vkxl qsa y talyv taydepsd vs byrrld, obkzl vblka taydepsdp olal yzalyeu blal! Mbl vos sq vblx olal ayvbla nsdqzknvle, cwv kd vbl lde elnkele dsv vs zlyhl.&dcpr;
Xze Yyd Nkw takddle yde vsze bkp plnsde psd yde bkp okql vs ts bsxl. Tl vsze vblx vbyv kq bkp lzelpv taydeeywtbvla-kd-zyo bye ydu dlop, vblu oswzed’v dlle vs kdhkvl vblx shla. Mbl vos sq vblx oswze nyxr yv vblka essapvlrp!
Nkw Ubydttldt yde bkp okql vakle y qlo vkxlp vs ds yhykz. Mbl vos lzelap blze qypv vs vblka twdp, ps vbl vos sq vblx nyxl cynj vs vlzz Nkw Fbw – bwaau wr yde byhl nbkzeald! Zswa tayderyaldvp yal oykvkdt!
Nkw Fbw nswze sdzu pbyjl bkp blye yde pxkzl. Tl pbk bye pyke vbkp kd qasdv sq Fbys Ssdt, yde pbl bye kxxlekyvlzu czwpble. Jwv, pbl nswzed’v blzr tlvvkdt ydmkswp. Eyp bla xsvbla-kd-zyo… pvyavkdt vs tlv watldv? Eyp pbl bkdvkdt yv blaplzq?
Ebld vblu tsv cynj vs vblka sod nswavuyae, Nkw Fbw nsxqsavle bla. Mblal oyp ds alyz awpb – pkpbw’p uswdtlpv psd oyp sdzu fwpv zlyadkdt vs qzkr! Tkp tayderyaldvp elqkdkvlzu olald’v lhld zssjkdt kd vblka ekalnvksd ulv. Gp qsa obyv bkp xsvbla pyke, kv elqkdkvlzu oypd’v vs vau yde awpb bla. Jwv pbl oyp pvkzz y xsvbla-kd-zyo, yde dllele vs pyu y qlo vbkdtp yp y alxkdela kp yzz.
Fbys Ssdt dyvwayzzu dseele bla blye kd ytallxldv. Jwv lhld yqvla Nkw Fbw bye vbswtbv pbl bye zlv vbl xyvvla ts, pbl pvyavle vs osaau ycswv vbl xyvvla yp pbl oldv ycswv bla vypjp. Mbkp jkde sq kppwl oyp cswde vs byrrld clvolld y xsvbla yde eywtbvla-kd-zyo.&dcpr;
Fbys Ssdt oyp pvyavkdt vs tlv ydmkswp, yde clnyxl xsal yde xsal rasynvkhl yv dktbv elprkvl bla vkxkekvu. Nkw Fbw oyp yv y uswdt yde hktsaswp ytl. Tl oyp elzktbvle vbyv bkp okql oyp vyjkdt vbl kdkvkyvkhl yde pvyavle vs clnsxl lhld xsal ynvkhl!
Honest Liu Shu had finally realised that actually, this was a bonus to him! So he stopped trying to comfort her – so long as Shao Rong wasn’t worrying herself too much about it, he would just sit back and enjoy the ride.
Very soon, it was the 12th month. The Hanlin family finally couldn’t take the silence any longer and agreed to Liu Lin’s condition. But they had themselves added several more. This time, however, the conditions were more to Liu Lin’s taste —- The Hanlin family requested to shorten the betrothal period. They wanted to quickly get the wedding done. As for all the pre-wedding rites, they wanted to finish everything before the end of the year.
Liu Lin knew – they wanted the silver for them to celebrate the New Year! After the rites were over and their bazi were deemed compatible, they would be considered officially betrothed. And as their future son-in-law, it was only appropriate for him to send gifts and what not over the New Year.
But Liu Lin didn’t think much about such gifts, only those greedy women in the Hanlin family would bother trying to swindle that out of him. Liu Lin on the other hand, felt that it was only appropriate for him to send gifts if their betrothal was confirmed. At the same time, he could openly head over to the Hanlin mansion for a visit. Liu Lin wanted to have a look and see what kind of situation their family was in exactly? Song Yao’s father – was he really so sick that he can’t manage matters at home, leaving it to two women?
On the sixth day of the 12th month, the matchmaker brought Liu Lin’s gengtie to the Hanlin family and brought over Song Yao’s. On the 12th day of the 12th month, their bazi was found to be compatible. They had even found someone to read their fortunes, and naturally, they were found to be a once in a 100 years match. Who knew how much silver the matchmaker received to be able to get such an excellent fortune for them – it was even said that the woman’s bazi would bring fortune to her husband. After marrying her, her husband’s business would become wealthier. The matchmaker had probably noticed Liu Lin was doing business.
On the 16th day of the 12th month, Liu Lin brought his betrothal gifts over to the Hanlin family. Because he was bringing the betrothal gifts and silver, he naturally would bring along his betrothal contract as well as a list of gifts. At the same time, because the store was a large part of the betrothal gifts, and because it had already been agreed that the store would only be handed over on the day of the wedding, Liu Lin had brought the store’s ledger over as a symbol of the transfer.
The ledger was naturally managed by Liu Shu. As per their earlier agreement, the remaining cash was about 100 taels of silver.
As for the rest of the betrothal gifts, they hadn’t stinted at all. Liu Lin was genuine in his desire to marry Song Yao, and even though there was a very troublesome First Young Madam getting in his way, stinking up his wedding with the foul smell of cash, Liu Lin’s conscience was clean. Everything he should give to Song Yao would definitely be given.
The jewellery, furs and cloth given as part of the betrothal were in line with what Liu Shu had given to Shao Rong. Liu Lin was careful not to give more than that. But because Liu Shu had also wanted to give the world to Shao Rong, Liu Lin’s gifts still appeared very generous to the Hanlin family.
As for the betrothal silver, Liu Lin similarly gave 200 taels of silver. Although it wasn’t as much as Shi Cheng’s betrothal gift to Liu Xu’er, this was not a small amount in Feng town.
When the Hanlin family, especially those two women, saw all this, they were very satisfied.
When they came to the Hanlin family home, Xiaobei had hired well over 10 laborers to help carry all the gifts to the main courtyard. Under the elderly servant’s instruction, Liu Lin continued on, past the courtyard. The elderly servant didn’t continue on with him, instructing him to continue walking in. He was too old to continue walking!
Liu Lin could only head in by himself. After taking a few steps, Song Yao, who was supposed to have remained hidden from him, came out to meet him.
This was the first time the two of them had met after she had been chased out of the house by her dasao.
When Song Yao saw Liu Lin, her face involuntarily became red. But she still immediately came up and asked him, “Why did you… agree? Didn’t you see the letter I sent you? Didn’t I say not to agree? They are…. Not that easy to reason with, and their greed is insatiable. They will probably continue to trouble you in future….” Song Yao felt bad speaking ill of her family behind their backs, but she still needed to remind him, “If you give in to them once, they might want even more in future!”
Liu Lin looked at her and softly said, “If you regret it, or if you have changed your mind, then…. I would definitely not give into their request about the store. But…. if you haven’t changed your mind, then you don’t need to worry about it. I have my own plan. I am only temporarily tolerating them; I won’t allow them to bully me…. I won’t lose.”
Song Yao immediately became red. Embarrassed, anxious and a little angry, she bit down on her lip before saying, “I don’t regret it. I’m just scared that you… would feel that it is too troublesome to marry me….” She said with tears in her eyes. “ You can see now that I, I really am rather troublesome… You painstakingly built that store up, you can’t for me…. You can’t just give it away to others. I am worried that you.. You would resent me later, and feel that it was not worth it….”
Liu Lin lightly laughed. He looked at her and said gently, “Don’t let your imagination run wild. It is worth giving everything for you.”
This was the very first time he had ever said something like that. Song Yao’s face immediately burned even hotter. But her earlier anxiety and anger had melted away. With a red face, she lowered her head. She couldn’t help but feel that everything that had happened was an illusion, it felt like…. Why did Liu Lin say something so ambiguous to her? His words…. What did they mean? He said that it was worth giving everything for her….
Liu Lin smiled and continued in a soft voice, “Of course I would willingly give it up, but I want to know who I am giving it to. If this store really went to parents who loved you and doted on you, I would do it in a heartbeat. But if it goes to people like your legitimate mother and your dasao…..” He hmphed, “I’m not a fool. How can I give it to them? I will get it back one way or another.”
When Song Yao heard, she was both shocked and delighted. She raised her head to look at him, “You really have a plan to get the store back? Just don’t…. Suffer any losses.”
“Relax, I’ve got a plan.” Liu Lin smiled and said. Then he let out the breath he had been holding. Looking around, he softly asked, “Why are you out here? Your family’s servants….” He asked this before recalling that they had no more servants in the family.
“I will bring you to the main room. You should meet my parents first. My father has been sick in bed for a long time. When you see him…. In any case, please excuse us.” Song Yao heard that his voice sounded light, easing the worry that had been lingering in her heart. The reason that she had come out was because she knew that no one would show Liu Lin the way. As for her wet nurse, she…. In any case, Song Yao had wanted to speak to him in private, and so she didn’t send her wet nurse out.
Liu Lin nodded his head. Thanks to the conversation with Song Yao, he had some confidence in his decisions. He followed her up the path to the main house.
The morning sun had started to shine on their heads, finally warming this cold winter’s day. Song Yao was dressed in an old yellow outfit. Peeking from under her knee was a deep blue cotton skirt. It too looked rather used and not at all warm. Liu Lin sighed mentally. There was a sudden urge to immediately help her prepare a set of warm clothing, but he knew that even if he gave it to her, she wouldn’t be able to wear it for long.
He could only grin and bear it for now. When they got married, Liu Lin could slowly start to roast the family with impunity.
Translator’s Note: And we are at chapter 200!! Yay! I can’t believe that I’ve made it this far. It really is all thanks to everyone who has been with me on this journey, reading it, commenting on it and making my day. And now, onwards to the end of the novel! Another 35 more chapters and this story will close 😆😆
Woahhh… 35 more chapters?? Why does it feel so short?! 😭😭😭
Thank you for the chapters!!!!
Awww, well, all good things must come to an end… ☺️☺️