After being jilted, the entire neighboring village was filled with deep regret.

Chapter 288 Madam Zhu finally meets Zhu Kangcheng
Just then, Madam Zhu was out on the street. When she saw Su Chuan, she assumed they were continuing their harassment. Her face darkened, and she ordered someone to call Su Chuan over and reprimand him. "I thought your family were smart, but I overestimated you! Remind Madam Ke to know when to stop, lest things get ugly and things fall apart!"

Upon hearing Madam Zhu's threat, Su Chuan's expression darkened, and his indifferent demeanor turned cold. "Thank you for the reminder, Madam Zhu. From now on, we will never have anything to do with the Zhu family again."

Madam Zhu frowned. "If that's the case, what are you doing here now?"

Su Chuan curled his lips into a mocking smile and pointed to the oxcart not far from the shop. "The greedy Ke you mentioned is leaving Zhaohua County with her child today. She asked me to come and tell you, so that Madam can rest assured."

Upon hearing this, Madam Zhu's expression immediately relaxed considerably. Knowing that she had misunderstood Su Chuan, she felt somewhat embarrassed but was too ashamed to apologize. So she turned her gaze to the carriage where Ke Yunyun was.

Just then, Zhu Kangcheng curiously lifted the carriage curtain and poked his head out, excitedly waving and shouting at Su Zhan, letting out a series of pleasant laughs.

Madam Zhu stared blankly at that small face, got up excitedly and took two steps, but then forced herself to hold back. Her fist under her sleeve gradually clenched, and it took her a while to relax.

She took a deep breath, turned around and said calmly to Su Chuan, "I already know, let them go."

Su Chuan left the shop without saying a word.

Madam Zhu watched them disappear at the end of the street corner, and finally couldn't hold back her tears.

The old woman comforted her, "Madam, after the eldest young master and his wife get married, you will have a healthy grandson. Don't be reluctant to part with him."

Madam Zhu nodded and said nothing more.

After arriving in the prefectural city, Su Chuan and his group immediately contacted the largest trading company in the area. After inquiring about the caravans heading to the capital, he hired several carriages from the trading company to transfer the goods onto the carriages.

This way we can walk faster.

As the caravan set off, a horse-drawn carriage passed them by, heading towards Zhaohua County.

Cen Li was Cen Mingzhu's cousin. Among the Cen family, Cen Yingfan was the most successful. Almost all the other family members relied on Cen Yingfan to live a good life. Therefore, when Cen Yingfan asked him to come to Zhaohua County to inquire about Zhu Yixuan and Shen Yi's background, he immediately agreed.

This journey, with its constant stops and starts, almost wore out my old bones.

Cen Li, who was holding his breath, immediately found the best inn to stay at upon arriving in Zhaohua County. Only after washing up properly could he concentrate on his business.

Just then, the child brought in some food.

He quickly pulled his son aside and asked, "Do you know the Zhu family of Zhaohua County? Or have you ever heard of Zhu Yixuan?"

The boy looked surprised and respectfully replied, "Are you looking for our young master, sir? He is serving in the military and is not at home. If you have important business, you can go to the mansion to find the master."

"Pfft!" Cen Li spat out all the wine in his mouth and stood up in shock. "You're saying this inn belongs to the Zhu family?"

"Yes! It's not just the inn; most of the shops on this street belong to the Zhu family. Didn't you know?" The boy looked bewildered.

Cen Li's expression was priceless. He pulled the boy aside and continued to press, "Is the Zhu family very powerful in Zhaohua County?"

"Of course! In the past, the three major families in Zhaohua County were Cui, Zhu and Bai. Now the Cui family is gone, and Bai Feng, the only legitimate son of the Bai family, is also dead and will probably decline soon. Only our Zhu family remains standing. Don't you think the Zhu family is powerful?"

Cen Li was very excited. "Amazing, definitely amazing! Can you tell me about Zhu Yixuan's situation?" Cen Li took out one tael of silver.

The waiter's eyes lit up when he saw the silver, and he lowered his voice and said, "Sir, since you are from out of town, I can talk to you about this."

Our young master is the most handsome man in Zhaohua County. Not only is he of excellent birth and good looks, but his abilities are also first-rate, and his talent is unparalleled! The Zhu family is thriving under his leadership, getting better day by day. If it weren't for the war, the Zhu family would have been even better in the last two years. Tsk tsk tsk, what a pity.”

Cen Li was increasingly delighted as he listened, and continued to inquire, "Since he's so capable, does he have a large number of wives and concubines in his household?"

"No, not at all." The boy shook his head without hesitation. "Everyone in the city knows that our young master is virtuous and upright. In addition to the eldest young mistress, he only has two concubines in the mansion. The concubines are all daughters, and there are no illegitimate sons."

"He's already married?" Cen Li frowned unhappily.

The waiter chuckled, "Sir, look at what you're saying. Our young master isn't some young man who's just turned twenty. How could he not be married? But the eldest young mistress isn't a very good person. She was originally the eldest daughter of the Cui family. She's spoiled, jealous, and disrespectful to her parents-in-law. All the concubines in the mansion are bullied by her and dare not utter a sound."

Unfortunately, she only gave birth to one sickly son before passing away, and that child later died of illness, leaving our young master without any heir. Tsk tsk tsk.

Xiao Er kept shaking his head, but Cen Li was very happy, "Great! It's good not to have a son!"

The waiter was completely bewildered. "Sir, do you have a grudge against our young master?"

"No, no, that's not true! That's not what I meant. So what about now? What is the Zhu family's attitude towards your eldest young mistress?" Cen Li looked at Xiao Er anxiously.

The waiter sighed, “Cui has already been divorced by the Zhu family. It seems to be because of the issue of offspring. Cui cannot have children and refuses to adopt a child from the Zhu family’s relatives. Instead, she insists on raising a child from the Cui family’s side. Our master and mistress naturally cannot agree to this. Cui has made a lot of trouble over this matter, and when the mistress was pushed to the limit, she was divorced.”

"What a coincidence?" Cen Li wasn't stupid; he immediately became suspicious.

The waiter exclaimed, “What a coincidence! The feud between Madam Cui and our master and mistress has been going on for a long time. When the Cui family had their troubles before, our mistress imprisoned her once, and she even secretly used her dowry to subsidize her family. What husband’s family could tolerate that? It seems that this big fuss is also because of Madam Cui.”

I don't know the specifics, but our lady is kind and righteous. She didn't withhold any of Cui's dowry because the Cui family had declined. She was afraid that Cui wouldn't even be able to keep her dowry after returning to her parents' home, so she gave her some additional compensation.

Now that Madam Cui has a place to stay, the Cui family can't control her anymore. Don't you think our lady is absolutely perfect?

Cen Li nodded slightly, then asked, "What about Shen Yi? Do you know who Shen Yi is?"

The waiter racked his brains for a long time, then shook his head in frustration. "Sir, there doesn't seem to be such a person in the county. I don't know. Why don't you go out and ask around?"

Cen Li felt more confident.

After the meal, he actually went out for a walk for me. Almost every local I asked spoke of him in the same way as the innkeeper, and even the county yamen runners praised Zhu Yixuan highly.

After staying for two days, Cen Li thought about it and then went to Moshi Town to inquire about Shen Yi's situation.

As luck would have it, he bumped into Su Chunlin, who was on his way to the market.

Seeing that Cen Li looked unfamiliar and had the wrong accent, Su Chunlin instinctively became more wary. "Why are you asking about Shen Yi?"