Reincarnation and Rebirth

"What? Su Youfu actually dares to come?" Master Gou gets angry just hearing Su Youfu's name. If it weren't for their bad idea, his son wouldn't have suffered like this, and even his sister was blamed by her brother-in-law.

"Sir, should I go and drive them away?"

"No need, you go and give him a warning." A ruthless glint appeared in Master Gou's shrewd eyes.

The butler immediately understood that the master had not given up on marrying Su Wan'er from the Su family.

Outside the door, Su Youfu, who was waiting anxiously, felt alarmed when he saw the butler come out with a dark face. He braced himself and stepped forward, bowing and scraping, "Butler, is the master willing to see me?"

"Hmph? Meet you? You're not worthy! Su Youfu, are you even qualified to be the head of your Su family? That position isn't something only you coveted. The reason the master chose you was because your family has a good daughter. And what have you done? You caused trouble for the young master and got punished for nothing."

Su Youfu was shocked. "Sir, the young master was punished. Who was so bold as to dare to hit Young Master Gou?"

"Hmph, if it weren't for your terrible ideas, the young master wouldn't have run into trouble. Su Xiucai, if you don't handle this matter well, our master said that there are plenty of women who want to marry into the Gou family, and it's not necessarily a daughter from your Su family."

"No, no, no," Su Youfu hurriedly flattered, "Please, steward, put in a good word for us." As he spoke, he stuffed a tael of silver into the purse, feeling a sharp pang of heartache. This was the private stash that the eldest son's family had painstakingly saved up.

Steward Gou weighed the matter in his hands and said with a forced smile, "Scholar Su, you should go back now. Our mistress will be bringing people to propose marriage soon. I hope there won't be any more trouble this time."

If it weren't for the young master's insistence on marrying the eldest daughter of the Su family last time, and me being a servant who couldn't make the decision, it should have been settled last time. This time, with the madam personally taking charge, there certainly can't be any mishaps.

"Don't worry, don't worry, this time there will definitely be no mistakes."

"Hmph, Scholar Su had better keep his word."

After saying that, he turned and went into the mansion without looking back, and then the gate slammed shut.

Su Youfu's eyes flashed with resentment and anger. "Hmph, just wait and see. Once I become an official, let's see if you dare to treat me like this."

When he returned to his cousin Chen's banquet with a belly full of anger, the bride was almost at the door, and the courtyard was full of people who had come to offer their congratulations.

Chen's cousin is considered successful in their family. A few years ago, he took over from his father and runs the town's largest restaurant, Xiangweiju.

The bride this time is said to be a girl from Meizhou Prefecture, whose family is quite wealthy, making them a good match. That's why the county magistrate's wife graced him with her presence to offer her congratulations.

"Husband, what's wrong?"

"You've done a good job. Alright, let's talk about this when we get home. Are the magistrate's wife and son here?"

"Tsk tsk, not only the magistrate's wife and son, but the magistrate himself came, along with another high-ranking official, I think, surnamed Lin."

Lin? Su Youfu thought carefully, but he couldn't think of any important people with the surname Lin in Sunset City and Meizhou Prefecture.

However, since the magistrate treats him with such courtesy, he must be no nobody. If I were to curry favor with him...

With that thought in mind, he began to search the crowd with his eyes.

“My cousin is with them in the main hall.”

"Then I'll go and pay my respects." Su Youfu didn't miss any opportunity to climb the social ladder.

Upon arriving at the main hall, he saw the county magistrate seated at the head of the table, along with a man of similar age, presumably surnamed Lin.

"This junior, Su Youfu, greets Your Excellency, the County Magistrate."

The magistrate of Sunset City was surnamed Jin, and as his name suggests, he was a notorious corrupt official.

"Scholar Su, you've come at the right time. Quickly greet Magistrate Lin. Magistrate Lin is from Qingshan Town."

"Greetings, Magistrate Lin." As he bowed his head, Su Youfu curled his lip, thinking he was some important figure, but he was just a magistrate.

Lin Jiheng glanced at Su Youfu, nodded, and then continued chatting with the county magistrate.

Su Youfu had been furious at the Gou family's house that morning, and now he was being ignored, which made him so angry that he almost ground his back teeth to powder.

Just then, cheers erupted from outside, "The bride is here! The bride is here!"

Magistrate Jin and Magistrate Lin, who were sitting in high positions, had to stand up and give up their seats, since the newlyweds were about to perform the wedding ceremony, and these were the seats reserved for the elders.

Chen's cousin hurriedly stood up and bowed to Magistrate Lin and Magistrate Jin, saying, "It is an honor to have both of you grace us with your presence on my son's wedding day. If you would do me the honor, would you please sit with my wife and me in the main seats to witness our wedding?"

Just as Magistrate Lin was about to retreat, Magistrate Jin said, "Lord Lin, the bride is also your distant niece. You are rightfully seated here."

Uncle Chen hurriedly nodded and bowed, "That's right, that's right. Lord Lin, please sit down. Lord Jin, you are the magistrate of our county, so of course you should sit down too."

Su Youfu then understood why Magistrate Jin treated a mere county magistrate differently; it turned out that he was related to the Lin family in the prefectural city, which was the bride's family.

It is said that the bride's family is extremely wealthy. This time, the dowry included a five-courtyard house in the prefectural city, an estate outside the city, and even a three-courtyard house and two hundred acres of fertile land in Sunset City, as well as two shops as part of the dowry. It was truly a grand gesture.

In fact, Su Youfu was overthinking it. Although Lin Jiheng was related to the Lin family in Fucheng, they rarely visited each other. Moreover, given the Lin family's status, there were many higher-ranking officials who wanted to curry favor with them, so why would they remember Lin Jiheng?

It's nothing more than remembering to visit each other during holidays.

As soon as the ceremony ended, everyone sat down and toasted each other.

Su Youfu wanted to curry favor with Magistrate Lin, but fearing Magistrate Jin's displeasure, he decided to take the plunge and accompany the two men in their flattery and drinking. As a scholar and a relative of the man's side, he was naturally arranged by his cousin, Chen, to sit at the main table with the important figures.

Meanwhile, Su Ping, on the other hand, ate his meal without tasting it, his eyes constantly drifting towards the new house.

The outer room of the bridal chamber was occupied by the bride's female relatives who had accompanied her to the wedding. Lin Chenwei was also seated there for a meal. She considered herself to be on a different level from these people, so she sat there with a cold expression, and naturally, no one dared to approach her or speak to her.

When Su Ping, who happened to be passing by, saw this icy beauty, he was so amazed that he almost went up to ask her name, if it weren't for the impropriety.

After subtly inquiring with his maternal uncle, who was also today's groom, he learned that she was the daughter of Magistrate Lin. Feeling somewhat inferior, he could only sit in the outer courtyard, drinking his wine in solitude, unable to taste anything.

After the banquet, Su Youfu was so drunk that he could barely walk, and Su Ping was also somewhat intoxicated. Seeing this, Chen had no choice but to rent a carriage and finally returned to Suhe Village before dusk.