You've already caught the embroidered ball, and you still say it's not my husband?

"Jinglian is so pitiful, I must treat her well..."

Lu Qingqing sobbed for a while before gradually stopping, wiping away her tears with a handkerchief.

Suddenly, she seemed to remember something, and quickly pulled Lu Xuan aside to ask him a question in private.

"Little Xuanzi, tell me honestly, did you and this Miss Shen sleep together last night?"

"No!" Lu Xuan said firmly and righteously.

"Really not?"

"I swear to God, it's absolutely true!"

"Oh, I see..." Hearing this answer, Lu Qingqing couldn't help but feel a little disappointed, but at the same time, she breathed a slight sigh of relief.

"Sister, what's wrong?" Lu Xuan asked, puzzled.

Lu Qingqing looked at Lu Xuan and said seriously, "If it were before, if you liked this Miss Shen, I would be happy for you and agree wholeheartedly. Even if you were to marry her today, I would help you with the arrangements. But now... your situation is a bit special."

She paused, her expression shifting from serious to stern. "You're a married man now. The engagement letter clearly states that you're a son-in-law of the Su family, and sons-in-law don't have much say in family matters; everything is decided by Miss Su. If you get involved with other women without Miss Su's permission, according to common custom, that would be..."

"What will happen?" Lu Xuan asked.

"He'll be drowned in a pig cage!"

Lu Xuan: "..."

Glug~

Lu Xuan's throat bobbed.

Putting people in pig cages and then sinking them in water—that's terrifying!

Fortunately, he was an upright person and did not do anything excessive. He also informed Su Qingwan of the situation in advance, thus eliminating the risk of being criticized or even drowned in a pig cage.

"What a bad habit!" Lu Xuan muttered to himself.

"Sister, I've already spoken to Miss Su, and she didn't blame me. She even... she still asked me to take her in..." Lu Xuan quietly pointed to Shen Jinglian.

what?

Lu Qingqing was stunned, finding it unbelievable!

Imagine if Li Du redeemed a beautiful woman and brought her home, what would Lu Qingqing do?

She would definitely be furious, her anger level would be +9999, and she would probably kick Li Du out of the house, let alone agree to take the woman in!

Surprisingly, Su Qingwan wasn't angry or blamed Lu Xuan. Instead, she kindly suggested that Lu Xuan take in Shen Jinglian...

Lu Qingqing felt that she couldn't compare to his magnanimity and demeanor even if she had ten thousand of them.

Moreover, things may not be that bad.

She was an experienced woman, and she knew very well what it meant for a woman to agree to her husband taking in other women.

"Sister Qingwan is helping Little Xuanzi... take a concubine!"

The Great Yan Dynasty practiced a system of one husband, one wife, and multiple concubines.

A man may have only one legal wife, but may take multiple concubines at the same time.

For example, the magistrate of Qingyang County, who is over fifty years old, took an eighteen-year-old concubine last year. In total, he has one wife and six concubines.

In ancient dynasties, this kind of thing was perfectly normal...

Su Qingwan knew that Shen Jinglian liked Lu Xuan, and asked Lu Xuan to take her in. Wasn't that just the wife helping her husband take a concubine?

Woo woo woo.

Lu Qingqing was so moved that she burst into tears!

"Qingwan is such a good girl, Xiao Xuanzi. You must treat Qingwan well from now on, okay? She's been so good to you... Waaah, if it were me, I really couldn't do it."

Lu Xuan: "?"

"Miss Su is indeed a very gentle and kind girl."

"It's good that you know, it's good that you know!"

Lu Qingqing was overjoyed and burst into tears, wiping away her tears with a handkerchief.

Previously, she had been experiencing mixed feelings of joy and sorrow.

The good news is that Lu Xuan was able to marry such a beautiful and virtuous woman as Su Qingwan, but the bad news is that with Lu Xuan marrying into the family, the Lu family line will be in jeopardy.

Although she suggested that Lu Xuan have "many children" after marriage, and that one of them must be a boy who takes Lu Xuan's surname, it's obvious that the Su family would find it difficult to agree to such conditions...

But things are much better now!

Another woman has fallen in love with Lu Xuan, and his wife doesn't object and is even willing to help him along. As a result, it will be easier for the Lu family line to continue!

"Hehe, many children, many blessings, that's great! Having more babies is better than anything else, hehe..."

Lu Qingqing kept giggling, her mind racing with all sorts of thoughts, she was extremely excited.

Lu Xuan couldn't help but roll his eyes.

I bet my older sister has thought of some weird things again.

Speechless!

"Haha, Little Xuanzi, I'm going to the market to buy some groceries. I'll cook you a delicious meal today!"

Lu Qingqing laughed loudly as she went out, and returned a short while later, carrying several bags of ingredients.

She went into the kitchen, put on an apron, and cooked eight elaborate dishes herself to warmly welcome her future "sister-in-law".

Bao Bulu's mouth watered as he watched, but unfortunately, donkeys weren't allowed on the table, so he had to wait to eat the leftovers.

"Little sister Jinglian, sit down quickly and try your older sister's cooking."

Lu Qingqing invited Shen Jinglian to sit down, serving her various dishes and showering her with concern.

This made Shen Jinglian feel flattered.

"Sister Lu, I'm so sorry to have troubled you and made you spend so much money..."

"Oh, sister, why are you being so polite? We're all family, so we shouldn't stand on ceremony. Little Xuanzi is a bit slow-witted and not very good at taking care of people, so please don't blame him for not being a good host."

Lu Xuan's lips twitched slightly.

Who is the less intelligent one?

Never mind, silence is golden, I'll just keep my head down and eat.

……

"By the way, Xiao Xuanzi, there's something I need to tell you."

Lu Qingqing suddenly remembered something; when she came to visit earlier, she said she had good news to tell Lu Xuan.

"What is it, sis?"

Lu Qingqing put down her chopsticks, a look of longing for the future rising in her eyes, "It's about opening a noodle shop."

Several months ago, she had the idea of ​​opening a noodle shop to earn money to supplement her family's income (initially, she mainly wanted to save money for her younger brother's wedding). Although Lu Xuan seemed to have plenty of money now and had given her fifty taels of silver a few days ago as start-up capital for the noodle shop, the future was still long and there would be many places where she would need money. She also wanted to find something to do.

The noodle shop will still stay open!

"Yesterday, I used the money you gave me to rent a shop on East Street. It's in a prime location in the central area. The original annual rent was twenty taels, but I managed to haggle it down to fifteen taels. However, I have to rent it for at least two years."

"Two years it is. There are so many merchants and pedestrians in that area, and my skills are pretty good. I'm sure I can make money by opening a shop, haha."

Lu Qingqing spoke with great enthusiasm, then asked Lu Xuan and Jinglian, "Little Xuanzi, Jinglian, do you think this shop I rented is great? The noodle shop will definitely be a huge success, right?"

Shen Jinglian pondered for a moment, then said somewhat uncertainly, "I guess... right?"

Lu Xuan's eyelid twitched, but it was his right eyelid.

"Sis, I have a feeling something's fishy going on?"

First of all, if this is truly a prime location, why would it be being transferred? It must be because the business couldn't continue operating, so it's being transferred for rent, right? The minimum lease term is two years.

Secondly, there are plenty of wealthy and powerful people in the county. If it were a really good shop, how could it have been given to Lu Qingqing?

Furthermore, although Lu Qingqing had worked as a kitchen helper in a restaurant for many years and had good cooking skills, opening a shop and cooking are two different things. There are many twists and turns in opening a shop, and she may take some detours and fall into some pitfalls when she opens a shop for the first time.

"What nonsense are you talking about, you jinx!" Lu Qingqing glared at Lu Xuan and said irritably, "That shop has all the necessary permits, the rent is transparent, the location is good, and it's not a rip-off!"

"My sister has had the shop cleaned up these past two days. Everything is ready, and we're just waiting for the auspicious day to open tomorrow."

"Little Xuanzi, just you wait and see. My noodle shop business will definitely be booming, and I'll make lots and lots of money. From now on, you don't need to ride your broken donkey around anymore. Just stay at home peacefully with Jinglian... I can support you by opening the noodle shop, hahaha."

Lu Xuan: "..."

What else could he say?

Of course, it doesn't matter. If I really make a mistake and lose tens of taels of silver, I'll just consider it as my older sister gaining experience in opening a shop and buying myself some peace and quiet.

"Sis, whatever makes you happy."