Chapter 26: A Visit to Master Liu

The way she acted, it was as if Old Madam Lin were some kind of world-class nuisance.

“You unfilial girl!” Old Madam Lin clutched her chest, accusing.

“Hey, that’s not right either. You can only scold someone who’s part of your family. Am I part of your family? Do you want to go explain this to Magistrate Ma?” Lin Qinghuan didn’t give any leeway and left Old Madam Lin speechless.

The people on the ox cart also fell silent. Lin Qinghuan really meant what she said. For a family severance, she had actually gone and invited the county magistrate. There had never been someone like her in Taohua Village.

The ox cart driver came to collect the fare, five wen per person.

No one dared to engage Lin Qinghuan for the rest of the journey. First, they had nothing to talk about, and second, they couldn’t outtalk her anyway.

Lin Qinghuan was happy to be left alone. She half-enjoyed the scenery and half-hurried along until they reached Pingyang County.

It was much livelier here. Street vendors were everywhere, and as you passed, you could hear their hawking shouts. Rows and rows of shops with open doors offered everything you could imagine.

The ox cart stopped in a corner. Everyone got off and headed into the town to buy their own things, agreeing to gather here again at the designated time.

Old Madam Lin glared fiercely at Lin Qinghuan, but eventually disappeared into the crowd, heading toward Master Liu’s residence.

Since Master Liu had already given the betrothal gifts, but Lin Qinghuan couldn’t marry him now, Old Madam Lin had to go in person to resolve the issue.

Master Liu wouldn’t do anything to Lin Qinghuan for Ma Weiping’s sake, but he might not be so lenient with them. Crushing them would be as easy as crushing an ant. Better to come and apologize early.

“Greetings, young sir. I’ve come to see Master Liu,” Old Madam Lin said to the doorman.

The doorman lazily glanced at her, then extended his palm.

“What?” Old Madam Lin was baffled, not understanding what he meant.

“A door fee. You think I’d let you in without a door fee?”

Things were different here from the countryside. Though Old Madam Lin cursed the doorman in her heart, she still took out fifty wen in copper coins.

“Please do me a favor, young sir.”

The doorman weighed the coins in his hand, then curled his lip in disdain. “Just as I thought, from the countryside. So petty. Alright, go on in. Someone will lead you to Master Liu.”

Old Madam Lin had to force a smile and slowly walked inside the residence.

The deeper she went, the more astonished she became. Truly, a rich man’s courtyard was huge, with so many rooms they couldn’t even be filled.

Becoming relatives with someone like this would bring nothing but benefits.

That wretch Lin Qinghuan, a fool who had fortune but no luck to enjoy it. She refused to marry a wealthy man like Master Liu and stubbornly married a poor scholar instead.

Originally, she had come to discuss whether the marriage could be called off, but now Old Madam Lin’s vanity was overflowing.

She had to establish a connection with Master Liu, so that in the future, whether it was getting things done or getting money, it would be much more convenient.

“Aiyo, Master Liu, this old woman has come to apologize to you.”

Master Liu looked at Old Madam Lin with disgust, turned his back, and let out a cold snort, clearly contemptuous.

“I know you fancied that wretched girl of my family, but I never expected her to be so determined. To get out of the marriage, she cut ties with me and even involved the authorities. Now I have no relation with her, so this marriage naturally…”

Master Liu was still furious just thinking about it. He, Liu Manquan, was someone everyone in the county flattered with sweet words, and he had offered a betrothal gift of ten taels of silver.

In the end, not only did he not get the bride, but he also lost two teeth and his relationship with Magistrate Ma had become so strained.

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