When Gu Liyue walked into the courtyard, she found that Mrs. Miao had brought Liu Qinting with her today.
She looked at Mrs. Miao coldly. "You've taken over my family's house, grabbed my parents' silver, and made Yuniang and me slaves for ten years. What else do you want?"
Mrs. Miao let out a soft laugh. "Twenty taels of silver."
Gu Liyue was so angry that she laughed. "Twenty taels? How shameless you are! By the way, my cousin is already eighteen and still hasn't passed the imperial examination to become a scholar. I think you'd better stop spending money on his studies. Saving that silver would be better than anything."
Mrs. Miao was furious. Pointing at Gu Liyue, she shouted, "You little bitch! How dare you curse my son? I'm telling you, if you don't come up with twenty taels of silver today, I won't leave!"
Gu Liyue was extremely annoyed but held back her anger. "When I left the Liu family, I only took four taels of silver in total, and I had to rent a house. Mrs. Miao, do you think silver just falls from the sky? Yuniang and I have only been out for a little over two months. Even if the embroidery we sell fetches a higher price than yours, it's impossible for us to earn twenty taels!"
Mrs. Miao sneered. "Don't think I don't know. You're going to be a concubine in a wealthy family. Twenty taels of betrothal silver is just a drop in the bucket for your high - ranking official. I'm not even asking for much!"
Before Gu Liyue could say a word, Yuniang was already so angry that she rushed over and started fighting with Mrs. Miao.
Caught off guard, Mrs. Miao was knocked to the ground by Yuniang. But she wasn't the type to take a beating lying down and immediately tried to get up and fight back.
Afraid that Yuniang would get hurt, Gu Liyue quickly pulled the two of them apart and shielded Yuniang behind her.
Mrs. Miao jumped up. "Good for you, Yuniang. Have you gotten so bold? How dare you lay hands on me! You just wait. I'll sell you far away so that you'll have nowhere to turn for help for the rest of your life!"
"Enough!" Gu Liyue shouted. "Miao Miaomiao, Yuniang is my aunt, not a servant to be sold at will. You have no right to decide her fate! This is my home, not a place for you to throw a tantrum. Get out of here, or I'll call the police!"
Mrs. Miao looked at her smugly. "Call the police? Which official will you call? Who will arrest me? Your uncle?"
Gu Liyue bit her lower lip tightly. In Yangxin Town, she really had no way to deal with Mrs. Miao. She took a deep breath and explained, "I won't be anyone's concubine, and I'm not getting married. Even if you wait here all day, I won't be able to come up with twenty taels of silver."
Mrs. Miao was stunned for a moment. But looking at Gu Liyue's expression, it didn't seem like she was lying. She was unhappy and threatened, "If you don't have twenty taels, I'll find a wealthy merchant myself and marry you off as a concubine. You have no parents, and I raised you. Naturally, I'll decide your marriage!"
Yuniang couldn't hold back and was about to rush out again. Gu Liyue held her tightly to prevent her from fighting again.
Mrs. Miao became even more smug. "What, didn't expect this? Since ancient times, marriage has been decided by the elders. Liyue has no elders, and I'm her aunt - in - law. Naturally, I'll decide her marriage..."
Before she could finish her sentence, Shopkeeper Feng and Uncle Zhao walked out of the house.
Mrs. Miao stammered. It took her a while to ask, "Brother Zhao, why are you... here?"
Uncle Zhao said unhappily, "Come to think of it, I've also heard that Miss Gu has worked like a horse in your family for so many years. I'd say she's earned you three times the twenty - tael silver, right?"
Before Mrs. Miao could say anything, Liu Qinting said defiantly, "She ate and lived in our house. What's wrong with doing some work?"
Uncle Zhao said, "You've got it backwards. Just now I heard clearly that you took over Miss Gu's house. Shouldn't it be you who ate and lived in her house?"
Liu Qinting stared at him with wide eyes and was about to say something when Mrs. Miao pulled her.
Mrs. Miao forced a smile. "Brother Zhao, after all... we're family. These days, our family has been having a hard time. Her father only earns a little money each month, and he loves to drink. I... If Liyue has some spare money, she could help us a bit..."
But Gu Liyue wasn't polite. She stood up and drove them away. "I'm too lazy to look into the past. But since we've cut off all ties, please don't pester me anymore. I didn't want to argue before, but it doesn't mean I'm afraid to. You and I both know what happened back then. If we really want to look into it, both the Feng family and yours will be in trouble. You may not care, but what about Feng Lanqing and Liu Zhenghui?"
Those who break the law will never be allowed to enter the officialdom. If found out, not only will they be disqualified, but local officials will also be punished.
Mrs. Miao cared about her son, and Liu Qinting cared about Feng Lanqing. Neither of them dared to say another word and just glared at Gu Liyue.
Gu Liyue added, "Also, if you dare to interfere in my marriage, I'll die before I let Liu Zhenghui get away with it. There are only Yuniang and me in this world, but it's different for you!"
Mrs. Miao was so angry that her teeth were itching. She gave Gu Liyue a fierce look and said to Liu Qinting, "Let's go home!"
But when they were leaving, Liu Qinting still looked back reluctantly and sneered, "Gu Liyue, don't think that just because you've hooked up with a noble person, everything will be fine. Even if you manage to climb up, you'll only be a concubine. Brother Feng is different. He's a scholar with great talent. He'll surely pass the imperial examination in the future. Then, I'll be the wife of an official."
Gu Liyue didn't want to interfere. Hearing this, she just said indifferently, "Well, then I wish you all the best in achieving your wish soon."
When she was in the Liu family, she rarely went out and had never seen much of the world. But now she knew that Feng Lanqing was by no means a good man. Even if Liu Qinting married him smoothly, she probably wouldn't have a good life in the future. Mrs. Feng was kind - looking but cold - hearted. If Liu Qinting married into their family, she would only suffer.
But Gu Liyue didn't plan to say these things. Even if she did, Liu Qinting would think she was just jealous. Why should she look for trouble?
After driving away Mrs. Miao and Liu Qinting, Gu Liyue pondered for a moment. Today, with Shopkeeper Feng and Uncle Zhao around, Mrs. Miao didn't dare to cause trouble. But in the future, she might not be so lucky.
Gu Liyue saw Shopkeeper Feng off and said, "Shopkeeper Feng, I'll clean up the house this afternoon. Can I go to the county commercial firm to find you tomorrow?"
Shopkeeper Feng had also seen her situation and understood that she wanted to leave soon. He nodded repeatedly. "That's great, that's great. The master and mistress will go to the capital the day after tomorrow. You can go with them, so you don't have to make other arrangements."
Cangyun County was five or six hundred miles away from the capital. It would be inconvenient for Gu Liyue and Yuniang, two women, to travel alone. It would be much more convenient to go with the master's family.
That afternoon, Gu Liyue gave all the chickens and ducks at home to the villagers. Aunt Wang ran very fast and carried two chickens and a duck back. Some kind - hearted villagers wanted to give Gu Liyue money in return, but she refused.
There was only Xiao Hei. She held it and thought for a long time. Several families wanted it, but she was reluctant to give it away.
Yuniang gestured. How about giving it to Tie Dan?
Gu Liyue's eyes lit up. She immediately took Xiao Hei to look for Cao Tie Dan.