I traveled back to ancient times, but I was able to lie down and relax.

Liu Nanjia was somewhat surprised. She wanted to go inside and talk, and even asked her brother to come along. What was so important?

However, judging from Aunt Zhao's expression, it must be something important, so he nodded and said, "Okay, come with me."

She led her into the main room and sat her down. Then she went to the study and called out Liu Yanxi and Song Chen. Si Rou, the little one, kept running around with her older sister.

After everyone was seated, Liu Nanjia asked, "Aunt Zhao, what do you want to talk to us about?"

“It’s a matter concerning your uncle’s family, but it involves you in some ways. I’ve been thinking about it, and although you’re all still quite young, you should know about this.”

Liu Nanjia and Liu Yanxi were puzzled. What had happened at the Liu family's old house? Was it something that Aunt Wang didn't know, but Aunt Zhao did?

And what does it have to do with age?

The brother and sister exchanged a glance but didn't interrupt, waiting for Aunt Zhao to continue.

Aunt Zhao seemed to sense their confusion, paused for a moment, and then said, "Wang's two children aren't old enough yet, so they don't know much about this kind of thing. Sigh, let me be frank. My two sons are 19 and 17, and they should be getting married soon. We've talked to many matchmakers, but none of them have worked out. Most of them look down on our family because we're poor."

"However, over time, I've had quite a few dealings with matchmakers. There's one I'm fairly familiar with, and I sometimes chat with her a bit more. That's how I learned something from her. The eldest son of the Liu family's main branch, your cousin, is also getting engaged recently. They've taken a liking to the daughter of a scholar in Canghe Village, but the bride price is high—twenty taels of silver—otherwise they won't agree. When I found out, I thought of what happened to your family a while ago. That Fang woman tried to abduct the young girl Sirou, right? It's probably related to that bride price."

"So that's how it is!" Liu Nanjia slammed her hand on the table in anger. "I knew she wouldn't do something like that! She actually wanted to sell Sirou to find a wife for her son."

She felt something was wrong at the time; there was no reason for Fang to choose that time to attack Sirou.

She had asked Aunt Wang for help inquiring, but hadn't found out anything. She thought it was just that Fang had suddenly gone mad and wanted to take revenge on them, but today she learned the real reason.

Discussing marriage at this time is a very private matter. If no agreement is reached, it is not discussed with outsiders, for fear of ruining their reputation if the marriage fails. No wonder Aunt Wang didn't find out anything.

If Aunt Zhao hadn't been acquainted with the matchmaker and hadn't had dealings with their family over the land rental, they might never have attained the truth.

Liu Yanxi glanced at his sister's reddened hands and comforted her, "Don't take it so hard. That matter is in the past. We know they all have bad intentions. We'll just be more careful in the future."

Liu Sirou touched Liu Nanjia's hand, "Sister, don't use so much force, it's all red, does it hurt?"

Aunt Zhao was also startled by Liu Nanjia. This Miss Liu had quite a temper, but she still had something to say, and if she continued, Miss Liu would probably get even angrier.

But he couldn't stay silent, so after Liu Nanjia calmed down a bit, he continued, "Miss Liu, calm down. I haven't finished speaking yet, so please don't get agitated."

"Anything else?" Liu Nanjia frowned, signaling Aunt Zhao to continue.

"That scholar's daughter actually had more than just a dowry request. She, she, oh dear, her family only agreed because they thought your cousin was also the son of a scholar."

What kind of scholar's son? Liu Song is a rough and uncultured man. He may know a few words, but he's far from being a scholar.

At first, Liu Nanjia didn't realize what was happening, but when she saw her older brother, she understood. Their father was the real scholar, and the people from the eldest branch of the family had actually made Liu Anhe impersonate her brother to arrange a marriage!

His temper flared up instantly, and he wanted to slam his fist on the table again, but Song Chen grabbed his arm in a flash, preventing him from doing so.

"Stop filming, doesn't your hand hurt?"

Liu Nanjia calmed down after being stopped, realizing that it had indeed hurt quite a bit, but she was still a little unconvinced and glanced at Song Chen.

Liu Yanxi's face also turned red, half from anger and half from embarrassment. He was only 13 years old.

Moreover, how could the eldest son's family utter such a clumsy lie? Wouldn't it have been obvious if people came to the village and inquired?

As he was pondering this, Liu Nanjia had already voiced his question for him.

Aunt Zhao replied, "The matchmaker who arranged the marriage for them wasn't the one I knew. The one they found is always a black-hearted person. It seems she didn't do it on purpose at first, but she praised Liu Anhe to the skies and mentioned the Liu family. The girl's father was also a scholar, so they probably heard that there was a scholar in our village. When they heard that the surname was Liu, they assumed that the girl was the scholar's son. The matchmaker didn't make sure and just said yes. Later they found out that it was a mistake. But she didn't want to give up this business. The more dowry, the more she could get, so she colluded with the eldest branch of the Liu family to deceive them."

“Our village is separated from Canghe Village by a river, and we don’t have much contact with each other. They really managed to fool us. I guess they thought that if the girl broke off the engagement after the marriage was settled, it would ruin her reputation, and she would have no choice but to accept it. If they could wait until the wedding to find out, then she would have even less chance of escaping.”

"It's disgusting. How could we have such relatives?" Liu Nanjia was furious, but this time she held back from slamming her fist on the table.

"Thank you, Aunt Zhao, for telling us about this. If we let them do it, it will definitely affect Yan Xi's reputation."

These words were spoken by Song Chen. The two siblings from the Liu family were so embarrassed and angry that they didn't bother to reply.

"There's no need to thank me. It's the eldest branch of the Liu family that did such a thing. Your family members are all good. Not only did they let us rent the land, but they also gave my two children pastries today. I just couldn't stand it anymore, so I came to tell you."

"Of course we should thank you. If it weren't for you, we wouldn't have known about this. By the time we found out, Yan Xi's reputation would probably be ruined. We'll handle the rest ourselves."

Song Chen took some bread that they had made themselves, extra of which they had made yesterday for their own family, and handed it to Aunt Zhao.

"As you know, this is the business we're in. These are all leftovers from yesterday; they'll spoil if left any longer. Please take them home for your child."

Aunt Zhao couldn't refuse, so she had no choice but to take it and leave.

When Song Chen returned after dropping off the people, Liu Nanjia was still upset, but she had to resolve the matter. She said, "What are we going to do about this? Those people from the eldest branch of the family have really lowered my standards once again. They not only cheated that girl, but also my brother. How could they do something so shameless?"

Song Chen was quite curious about the two strange words that came up in her sentence, but he wisely suppressed his curiosity and did not ask. Instead, he replied, "This matter does need to be resolved. They can take their chances and not be exposed, but once it is exposed, Yan Xi's reputation will definitely be affected. If people say that Yan Xi knew about it and deliberately cooperated, then it will be terrible."