At this moment.
The shopkeeper stroked his gray beard.
His face looked rather grim as he retorted, "Master Wei, I respect you for making a good name for yourself in Chaozhou and gaining some status, which is why I address you as Master Wei. But your suspicious nature is a bit too much. I've lived half my life, and most of the pawnshops in Chaozhou are mine. Do you think I'd team up with these young people to deceive you?"
"I didn't mean that, Master Lin. I was just raising some doubts," Wei Qian apologized reluctantly though he was dissatisfied.
The old man then picked up where Mu Er had left off. "At that time, this scholar really didn't have much money. The money he had was reserved for his trip to the capital to take the imperial examinations. So when he gave me all his money, he said it was a deposit and promised to earn enough within three years to buy the freshwater pearl bracelet from me. Mu Er was so sincere, and I took pity on his eagerness to repay a debt of gratitude, so I agreed."
By now, everything had come to light.
It turned out that over the years, Mu Er had been running around day after day. At first, he only wrote couplets and letters, and later he even chopped firewood and sold oil. Although he took on more and more jobs, his life became increasingly difficult.
All this was just for the freshwater pearl bracelet pawned in the shop.
"Moreover, if I remember correctly, the woman who took a fancy to the freshwater pearl bracelet is none other than Mistress Li Xuan, the lady you're marrying today, Master Wei."
That day.
Li Xuan went back to the pawnshop with the money.
But she was told that the bracelet had been reserved by someone else in advance.
Li Xuan thought it must be Wen Xiaoxiao who had pawned the bracelet and then changed her mind, so she redeemed it.
Once Li Xuan set her eyes on something, no one could take it away from her, even if it already had an owner.
Wei Qian's face turned rather ugly.
Could it be that Li Xuan was only willing to marry him for the freshwater pearl bracelet?
Was he not even worth a bracelet?
Just then, a sharp voice came.
"So what if it was me?"
As the voice faded, a woman in red slowly walked out from behind the auction platform.
Wen Xiaoxiao then said, "I didn't know the bracelet had been reserved by Young Master Mu. After that, Li Xuan came to me and said she wanted to buy the freshwater pearl bracelet from me. But by then, the bracelet was no longer in my possession, so I politely declined. After several attempts, her attitude towards me changed drastically."
Li Xuan was from the Li family.
Although the Li family in Chaozhou was not a prominent clan, they still had a certain status in the Jianghu.
Li Xuan had been doted on by her father and brothers since childhood. She had never failed to get what she wanted.
But Wen Xiaoxiao was so ungrateful that she refused Li Xuan's requests several times.
Li Xuan had never suffered such humiliation. Over the years, she had secretly and openly given Wen Xiaoxiao a hard time.
But Wen Xiaoxiao had a gentle temper. After several such incidents, when she saw Li Xuan, she still greeted her calmly as before. Her calm attitude completely enraged Li Xuan.
Since Wen Xiaoxiao didn't care about money and ignored Li Xuan's provocations, and behaved as if nothing had happened when she saw Li Xuan.
Li Xuan wanted to see if Wen Xiaoxiao really didn't care about anything.
"Xuanxuan, why are you here?"
Wei Qian quickly offered his seat to Li Xuan.
But Li Xuan didn't even glance at Wei Qian.
She walked straight up to Wen Xiaoxiao. Seeing Wen Xiaoxiao's current plight and that there was a devoted scholar like Mu Er who was willing to give up his chance to seek fame in the capital for her, Li Xuan found Wen Xiaoxiao's face even more annoying.
"Li Xuan, am I right?"
Wen Xiaoxiao didn't dodge Li Xuan's gaze.
Although she was gentle, she showed no sign of timidity when facing Li Xuan.
"Yes, so what?"
This casual remark was like a fatal blow to Wei Qian.
He looked up at Li Xuan in disbelief and forced a smile. "Xuanxuan, what are you talking about?"
Li Xuan glanced at Wei Qian.
Then she looked at Mu Er below the stage and sneered. "Wei Qian, sometimes you're really not as good as this poor scholar. You're both scholars, but as soon as you made a name for yourself, you forgot about your first wife."
After saying this, Li Xuan looked at Wen Xiaoxiao again. "Don't get me wrong. I'm not standing up for you. Your taste is really questionable. Only you would treasure a man like Wei Qian. In my eyes, he's worthless."
Wen Xiaoxiao looked at Li Xuan.
She didn't understand why Li Xuan had such a strange personality.
Did Li Xuan really not care about her own reputation just to take revenge on her?
Was a girl's innocence really of no importance to Li Xuan?
"Don't look at me like that. Lord Lou, this auction has already started, right?"
Li Xuan looked at Lou Yang.
Lou Yang nodded.
Then Li Xuan turned around and found a seat for herself.
During this time, she had no intention of paying any attention to Wei Qian.
"Then let's start."
The auction started with great fanfare again.
Zhao Shuning looked at Li Xuan, who was so overbearing on the stage. She couldn't stand Li Xuan's arrogance.
Li Xuan had impure motives.
She would do anything for her own self - interest.
She was not like Kong Shishuang, who, although impulsive, always put morality first.
Although Li Xuan's words were reasonable, she had destroyed Wen Xiaoxiao's family for her own selfish desires, all for a bracelet. In this regard, she was not very likable.
However, Zhao Shuning was a bit surprised.
Lou Yang's identity was not ordinary.
But why was his attitude towards the sudden appearance of Li Xuan not one of resistance?
It seemed that there was even a hint of fear?
Just who was Li Xuan?
Although she had doubts, Zhao Shuning knew the principle of not alarming the enemy, so she didn't act impulsively for the time being.
Mu Er then said, "My lord, I wonder if this freshwater pearl bracelet of mine is worth twenty spirit stones?"
Lou Yang ordered someone to bring up the bracelet.
He examined it in his hand.
"The quality is good. It's worth it."
"In that case, can I buy Miss Wen?"
Lou Yang was not a heartless man.
After this incident, he naturally felt a bit of pity for this scholar, so he nodded and said, "If no one in the audience bids higher than you, then Wen Xiaoxiao will be yours."
After saying that, Lou Yang looked at the audience below.
Everyone fell silent.
After hearing Mu Er's story, as neighbors, these common people were deeply touched.
Of course, they wouldn't compete with Mu Er in the bidding.
Why not do a good deed and help others achieve their happy ending?