Remarrying Chun Yuan

Liu Yuechu sat calmly inside the carriage, watching him with a leisurely expression.

She wore a light blue and dark blue Shu brocade long dress with a rabbit fur cloak over it. Two strands of red agate dangling from her ears made her skin appear even whiter than mutton fat jade. A red jade hairpin adorned her hair, simple and elegant. She was not overly adorned, like an ice flower in the early spring snow, captivating the eye yet making one hesitant to touch her.

Yuan Cuo's heart skipped a beat, and he took a few deep breaths.

He took three steps forward and stopped five meters away.

Liu Yuechu spoke in a warm and friendly manner, as if chatting casually. “Knowing that Young Master Yuan is exceptionally talented and has been seeking paintings, I took the liberty of going in and selecting four pieces myself. I ask that Young Master Yuan reluctantly part with them.”

Bai Shao carried a gift tray covered with a red cloth. She gently lifted it, revealing gleaming silver coins.

Yuan Cuo lowered his eyes. One hundred taels?

Looking at the page standing at the door, he exchanged a few glances with the servant and knew what had just happened.

"It is my honor to receive Lady Liu's favor," he said, and agreed.

Liu Yuechu thought she would have to use a lot of persuasion, but she didn't expect him to agree so readily.

"Young Master Yuan is a free spirit and kind-hearted person, which I greatly admire. However, one should not forget to heal oneself when healing others. The other day, I happened to obtain a wild Ganoderma lucidum from the northern cold region, which I left for Young Master Yuan to nourish his body."

The person who brought his belongings back in his previous life said that Yuan Cuo died of illness five years after leaving the capital, and that he had worked himself to the bone and that his health had never been very good.

Yuan Cuo looked at the wild Ganoderma lucidum with a complicated expression.

How could you conclude he's in poor health after just one meeting? Even if he's emotionally stable, he can't stand being questioned about his health by a woman...

Yuan Cuo pursed his thin lips; no matter how eloquent he was, he couldn't refute this matter.

Seeing that he had nothing to say, Liu Yuechu instructed the maids to get into the carriage.

The coachman cracked his whip, and the carriage turned out of the narrow alley.

The pageboy, Hou Lai, was overjoyed as he carried the silver. "We're rich! We're rich! Lady Liu is so generous! If I had known, you should have painted a few more fans!"

Yuan Cuo felt the wild lingzhi was too hot to handle. "Which paintings did she take?"

Hou Lai reported everything.

Yuan Cuo understood immediately; the brushstrokes on those fans resembled those of Liu Zhong. "Has something happened to the Liu family recently?" No one visits the temple without a reason; the fact that they've come to him seeking a substitute clearly indicates something serious.

Hou Lai, being a gossip, immediately recounted the story of Liu Yue's selection of a paper kite for marriage, "...The heir of the Marquis of Zhenning even chased after him to the Liu family's door to see the genuine article, refusing to believe that the one in his hand was fake. As you know, the original works of the Sage of Painting would never be used to make paper kites as a mere formality, but your painting is acceptable."

Even if you offer a high price of one hundred taels, it's not enough to cover a fraction of the value of the painting master's original work; the young master's fan painting is worth at most five taels.

"Master, why didn't you mention the border map just now?" Hou Lai just remembered.

Yuan Cuo shook his head. "No matter how urgent the situation, we shouldn't take advantage of others... Sigh, actually I'm quite good at making paper kites too." He was somewhat regretful.

……

Liu Yuechu was naturally unaware that Yuan Cuo was skilled at making paper kites.

She spent the whole day making four paper kites with white peony and Sichuan peppercorns. Afterwards, she sent people to find four men who had "found" the kites and they all ran to the gate of the Liu residence to propose marriage, making quite a scene.

The joyous occasion of choosing a spouse was suddenly turned into something absurd by this disruption.

Wei Gongming could tell from the fact that the glue on those kites hadn't dried and they hadn't been aged, how could he not know that they were deliberately impersonating him and causing trouble?!

So they started arguing and fighting, and eventually came to blows.

The Kyoto Prefecture officials took them all away.

When Liu Yuechu saw the kites sent back by the Jingxian government, she took out the ones her father had made and compared them with several counterfeit ones. Apart from the fact that their pasting skills were a bit lacking, she really couldn't tell the difference between the real and fake paintings.

I never expected that Yuan Cuo would hide his talent and possess such painting skills.

But upon closer reflection, she realized that he could depict the entire territory of the Great Qi Dynasty so exquisitely and vividly that flowers, plants, birds, and beasts were nothing in comparison.

"Give the people at the yamen some Junshan Silver Sprout tea to try, and let's just let this matter rest and not pursue it further." She only wanted to resolve this matter as soon as possible and had no intention of getting entangled in it.

Bai Shao went to run errands.

Sichuan peppercorns put away the kite.

"Actually, the young master Hou is outstanding in appearance and exceptional in both literature and martial arts. Did you really not take a liking to him, Master?" Huajiao wondered. Logically speaking, Wei Gongming's appearance and talent should be exactly what Liu Yuechu wanted.

Liu Yuechu said casually, "Our merchant residence is not worthy of the mansions of dukes and marquises."

Huajiao scoffed, "You're talking nonsense. If you weren't unwilling, even the prince's residence would be begging you to become his principal wife." The ladies in the palace had considered this before.

Liu Yuechu shook her head decisively, "If I marry a prince, the Liu family will be on the verge of being wiped out." Money and power are like bear's paw and fish—you can't have both. Let alone a prince, I can't even marry into the mansion of a high-ranking official.

Her kite-themed marriage selection wasn't just targeting her aunt's family...

"That young master Yuan is quite handsome, but it's a pity his background is so poor." Huajiao was observant and had also carefully sized up Yuan Cuo.

Liu Yuechu recalled him standing awkwardly in the narrow alley.

Dressed in simple, light-colored clothes, she was resolute and strong, without a trace of inferiority. Her long, narrow, sharp eyes seemed to see through everything, requiring no further words from her.

He was good-looking, with a natural and serene demeanor. The moment their eyes met, she said what she wanted to say almost without thinking.

Was it because his deeds in his past life were so great that she had no doubt about his character?

Suddenly, word came from outside that Wang Fu and his stewards had arrived, as had the two uncles from the Liu family.

Liu Yuechu calmed her mind and closed the account book she had just reviewed. The trading company hadn't made large purchases of rice, grain, cotton, or hemp in the past three days, ignoring her words.

Should we resist her decision by doing nothing?

They even invited two uncles?

Ah, why not put out the ancestral tablets of the Liu family as well? Wouldn't that make it even more lively?

……

Liu Yuechu listened slowly and deliberately as the managers erupted in fury.

"Absurd, utterly absurd! Someone who sells antiques and calligraphy is going to sell coarse grains and rice? Wouldn't outsiders laugh their heads off if they saw that!"

"I wonder where the master has gone. If he doesn't come back soon, the Liu family will be in chaos!"

"Since ancient times, women have been in charge of the inner quarters and have not left the house. The Liu family should be no exception."

"Forgive my impertinence, but Yue Niang, you will be married sooner or later. You are like water spilled from a cup; how can you take the Liu family's assets with you when you marry? Why don't you hand over the family business to the eldest young master now and focus on choosing a husband?"

……

The stewards were initially irritable, but the two uncles didn't say anything.

However, Liu Yuechu was not intimidated by the managers' harsh words and ridicule. Instead, she seemed to be watching a show, and they finally couldn't sit still any longer.

“Moon Lady, I think Manager Wang is right. You’ll get married sooner or later… I heard you rejected the young man who found the kite? The Liu family can’t go back on their word; that’s an ancestral rule.” Uncle Liu Shang said sarcastically.

Fourth Uncle Liu Chen chimed in, "The heir of the Marquis of Zhenning is not wronging you. You even used a few fake kites to send people to the yamen jail? That's ridiculous! Since your father is not here, we uncles will naturally stand up for you. Your third uncle and I will go to the Marquis of Zhenning's residence later, and your marriage will be settled then."