The peasant girl has a private space, and her husband is handsome.

Xu Ruofeng was unwilling to leave Qinghe County, so he did not return to Pengcheng with his sister and the others.

He's very busy now.

He completely abandoned his wanderlust and started working while learning painting skills.

The old master painter is still staying at the Golden Jade Hall Inn. He's busy copying the paintings of the master painter and the paintings of Su Dongjia.

After learning to sketch, Xu Ruofeng secretly drew a small portrait of Gu Ying and tucked it into his book box.

The weather in Qinghe County is nice today. After two days of strong winds, the wind has finally stopped. Outside Gu's Restaurant, there are golden fallen leaves everywhere, a beautiful color unique to late autumn.

After the lunch rush had passed, the second son's wife saw Fang Yingxue while wiping tables in the restaurant lobby.

She noticed that Fang Yingxue was acting coy and shy, as if she was on a blind date.

Sitting next to Fang Yingxue was Madam Sun and a woman who looked like a matchmaker, while opposite her sat a slender man who looked like a scholar.

The second son's wife kept a close watch on the Fang family mother and daughter, who were full of bad intentions, to prevent them from doing anything bad that would affect the restaurant's business.

It was afternoon, not the peak dining time, so Gu Ying, Qin Shi, and Gu Shi were all sitting in the main hall, chatting and preparing vegetables.

Sun glanced in Gu Ying's direction and saw that Gu Ying was sitting with Gu Shi, so she guessed that Gu Ying was Qianqian's cousin who couldn't get married.

She's already in her late twenties or almost thirty and still can't get married. Aren't she ashamed? She even dares to sit in the main hall!

Madam Sun mocked, "Oh, this girl must be Qian'er's cousin. She's already an old maid and still can't get married. In a few more years she'll be thirty, and then no one will want her anymore. Unlike my Yingxue, who found a scholar."

Gu Ying was easily embarrassed, and her eyes immediately filled with tears when she was called an old maid.

That's the prevailing custom in Daqi. Girls who are over eighteen and still unmarried are gossiped about every day. Gu Ying is almost thirty, which is considered old maid in Daqi.

Gu Ying, Qin Shi, and Gu Shi are all honest and simple people who don't argue. When they encounter people like Fang Shi and her daughter, it's better to have someone like the second son's wife who can help them out.

The second son's wife knew that Gu Ying had saved Qian Yatou's life, so Qian Yatou was very close to Gu Ying.

If Qian Yatou saw her desperately protecting Gu Ying, she would definitely be very moved.

The second son's wife threw the greasy rag directly at Sun's face.

"I'll wipe your mouth clean."

When Mrs. Sun smelled the rag, her stomach churned, and she felt like she was about to vomit.

The second son's wife put her hands on her hips and said, "Oh, you can't even handle this? You still dare to provoke me."

If it weren't for the fear of the restaurant smelling of excrement, the second son's wife would have loved to throw feces all over Sun Shi. She was so shameless; she only deserved to eat excrement.

How dare you bully Qian Guying! Miss Guying is Qian's cousin whom she values ​​very much.

The second son's wife grew angrier and angrier, and immediately rolled up her sleeves, ready to rush up and hit someone.

"You surnamed Sun, I'll tear your mouth apart."

Before the second son's wife could even meet Sun, Xu, the scholar, beat her to it.

Standing before Madam Sun, Xu, the scholar, blushed deeply. "You...you shameless woman, how dare you speak ill of unmarried women like this!"

Sun thought the young man in front of her was quite good-looking, but he looked unfamiliar. Who was he? What did this strange man have to do with her humiliating Gu Ying?

Xu, the scholar, looked at Gu Ying with anticipation and said, "Sister Yingzi, will you look down on me because my family is poor?"

Gu Ying didn't know why he asked that, but she never looked down on any poor people.

After all, her family used to be the poorest, with a mountain of debt, and her family was almost driven crazy. It was thanks to her cousin's money to start a business that they became wealthy today.

"I...I don't mind."

"Then, then I'll marry you." Xu Ruofeng always spoke in a refined and scholarly manner, but this time he shouted it out particularly loudly, and his eyes shone especially brightly.

It's obvious that this kid has liked Gu Ying for a long time.

Everyone in the lobby was shocked.

The second son's wife realized that Yingzi had actually been taken in by the prefect's son, who was eight years younger than her. The Gu family was about to prosper; indeed, following Qianya brought good fortune.

This is truly a joyous occasion. Let Er Ya visit Qian Ya more often; she'll surely benefit from this great fortune. Perhaps Er Ya will even marry a scholar.

Madam Qin had always been worried that her daughter wouldn't be able to find a husband, but she ended up arranging a marriage for her with a scholar who had passed the imperial examinations.

This was more of a shock than a joy. Although Xu Ruofeng seemed to be a very good young man, he was, after all, the son of the prefect, and a full eight years younger than Yingzi.

The age difference is too great, and the social status difference is also too great. Will Prefect Xu agree to the marriage between the two children?

Gu Ying herself was also completely bewildered. After realizing what had happened, she lowered her head shyly.

Xu Ruofeng is good-looking, and he is usually very gentle when he talks to her, so Gu Ying has a good impression of Xu Ruofeng.

The second son's wife put her hands on her hips and proudly boasted to Sun Shi and Fang Yingxue, "Let me introduce you. This Xu Ruofeng is not only a scholar who passed the imperial examination, but also the biological son of Prefect Xu. His love for Miss Yingzi is as clear as day and night."

"Unlike you and your mother, who are so arrogant just because you found a lowly scholar, you shameful dogs."

Sun's arrogance remained undiminished. "Even if Gu Ying finds a scholar, what about Su Qianqian? No one will want someone who has been rejected by her fiancé."

The second son's wife pointed towards the old banyan tree outside and said, "Look, a group of scholars are circling around my Qianqian. There are both scholars who passed the county-level exam and those who passed the provincial-level exam. My Qianqian doesn't know which one to choose."

A job posting was displayed on the old banyan tree, and there was indeed a group of scholars talking to Su Qianqian, but they were all asking about working part-time at Gu's Restaurant.

As for whether any of the scholars were successful candidates in the imperial examinations, the second son's wife had no idea. She just made it up on the spot for the Fang family mother and daughter. They couldn't afford to lose face, no matter what.

However, from the perspective of the Fang family mother and daughter, all they could see were the scholars under the banyan tree surrounding Su Qianqian with fervent eyes, vying to speak to her, but they couldn't hear what the scholars were saying.

"She really knows how to attract attention!" Fang Yingxue was so jealous that her eyes turned as red as a rabbit's.

Normally, a woman would face great difficulties after being jilted, but this damned Su Qianqian is still so popular even after being jilted.

Even if she can't compare to Su Qianqian, she can't be worse than that old spinster Gu Ying.

Fang Yingxue complained, "Why should Gu Ying, an old spinster who can't get married, be favored by the prefect's son? Besides, the prefect's son is a scholar who passed the imperial examination, and he has a high chance of becoming an official's wife in the future. What makes Gu Ying so special!"

The second son's wife smiled smugly and said to Fang Yingxue, "Why? Of course, it's because she has a capable cousin. Who told you not to have a cousin as capable as Qianqian?"

Everyone who works at Gu's Company knows that Xu Ruofeng was recruited by Qianqian to work at Gu's Company, and Xu Ruofeng greatly admires his boss, Qianqian.

Xu Ruofeng, who was usually honest, got very angry when Fang Yingxue called him an old hag. He stepped forward and slapped Fang Yingxue hard. The slap was very loud.

He remembered what Su Dongjia had told him: a man shouldn't be too cowardly, otherwise even if he became an official, he wouldn't dare to stand up for the people.

Miss Su is very capable; you can't go wrong by listening to her.

When Sun saw her own daughter being beaten, she was furious and rushed over to scratch Xu Juren's face, but was stopped by the restaurant staff.

The men, naturally biased towards their own, grabbed both of Sun's arms.

The second son's wife seized the opportunity and slapped Sun twice.

They beat Sun's mouth until it bled.

The shop assistants took the opportunity to push Mrs. Sun out of Gu's shop.

Fang Yingxue, looking disgusted, abandoned the thin scholar introduced by the matchmaker, ran out and grabbed Sun's hand, pleading, "Mother, I don't want to marry a scholar, I want to marry a licentiate."

She stomped her foot angrily, only to stomp on dog poop, ruining her newly bought lotus-colored embroidered shoes. Dog poop even splattered on Sun's clothes, causing her to vomit.

The second son's wife chased him to the gate and mocked, "Sun Xiaohong, let me tell you, coming to Gu's to cause trouble is like shooting yourself in the foot; it's just asking for humiliation."

"Even ten members of the Fang family wouldn't be a match for Qian'er now. If you Fang family members want to live peacefully, you'd better get the hell out of here and don't come back to cause trouble."

Sun ran into the alleyway next to her, vomiting loudly.

She deliberately chose Gu's Restaurant as the location for her daughter's blind date today, intending to disgust Su Qianqian's cousin, but unexpectedly, she reaped what she sowed.

Fang Yingxue was selfish by nature; she didn't care at all when she saw Sun Shi vomiting so badly.

She took off her shoes, which were covered in dog poop, and threw them far away. She sat down on the ground and started sobbing.

She used to be the most beautiful woman in Lotus Village, and Su Qianqian wasn't even worthy of carrying her shoes. But now Su Qianqian has become more and more beautiful, surpassing her and becoming someone she can only look up to.

Even Su Qianqian's cousin, who can't get married, has surpassed her now. It's infuriating.

That brat should have been sold to a brothel by human traffickers back then; that would have been more satisfying.

When will my elder brother finally pass the imperial examination and become an official? When will he be able to trample Su Qianqian under his feet? She can't wait any longer.

When I get back, I'll go to the Su family's old house and incite Old Madam Su to deal with Su Qianqian through her. I hope Old Madam Su won't disappoint her.

Grandma Su used to enjoy abusing the third wife, which was Fang Yingxue's favorite sight when she was a child.

Now that Grandma Su's leg is almost healed, she should be able to come to the county town.