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

The next day, unable to contain his curiosity, Prefect Xu summoned his second son, Xu Ruofeng, to his study and asked him for rare ancient books so he could have a good look at them.

After obtaining Gu Ying's consent, Xu Ruofeng carried the rare ancient book over on a tray, with a red cloth placed on top of the tray.

"Father, be careful. This is a rare ancient book, over three hundred years old. It's a treasure given to us by Miss Su. My wife cherishes it. If it gets damaged, we can't afford to pay for it."

When Prefect Xu saw his son holding the object so carefully, he was also alarmed.

"Son, I see your hands are trembling a little as you hold the tray. Don't drop it. Put it on the table quickly. I'll just look at the cover."

Prefect Xu said one thing, but he couldn't resist his curiosity. After his son put the tray on the table, he reached out and turned to the first page.

Good heavens! The book contains the long-lost Chu seal script. If those old scholars in the imperial court saw this, they would surely go crazy.

"Son, should we build a secret room to hide this ancient book? It's such a valuable thing, I'm afraid it will attract thieves."

This item is extremely rare even for the old, prestigious families in the capital.

It's so precious, so rare. Having such a treasure at home makes me feel uneasy and I probably won't be able to sleep well at night anymore.

"Dad, my wife has to make her own decisions about her things. I'll ask Yingzi first and then discuss it with you."

Prefect Xu said earnestly to his second son, "Son, you should treat Yingzi better in the future. Her dowry is so generous. After you pass the imperial examination, it will be no problem to use her money to get an official position."

Xu Ruofeng almost exploded at her words. "Dad, it's shameful to spend a woman's money! I can earn my own money. I've become a student of Miss Su to learn painting. Although my paintings don't sell for as much as Miss Su's, they still fetch about 10 taels of silver each. Once I've painted more and sold them, I'll have enough to use to get a government position after I pass the imperial examination."

The son's words made Prefect Xu blush with shame.

When he first entered officialdom, he relied on his wife's family to help him spend money to secure a position.

Prefect Xu came from a poor family. After passing the imperial examination, he was recruited by the General of the Cavalry to marry into the family. He later obtained his official position by relying on the General of the Cavalry's help to pay for his official duties.

Prefect Xu felt that his second son was not so opinionated before he started working for Miss Su.

It seems that Ruofeng has learned a lot from Miss Su, becoming more confident and with a stronger sense of self-esteem, which is a good thing.

As the father and son were talking, Xu Ruohuan arrived.

"Father, Second Brother, and Mother's courtyard has already seen three groups of guests. It's as lively as a market. They all want to see the gorgeous wedding dress that Second Sister-in-law wore on her wedding day, and they say they want to have a similar one made."

"Mother originally didn't want Second Sister-in-law to take it out, but one group of guests said they had traveled all night by carriage to get to Pengcheng, so Mother asked Second Sister-in-law for her opinion. Second Sister-in-law then took out her wedding dress for them to see, hehe, but they were only allowed to look, not touch."

Those people used to mock my sister-in-law for having no background, but now they're acting like they've never seen the world.

Xu Ruoxian felt quite pleased, thinking that Su Dongjia was really clever and had come up with such a beautiful wedding dress design. She wanted to have an identical one made for her own wedding.

Prefect Xu asked curiously, "Ruoqian, why didn't you go to work at the inn today?"

Xu Ruoxian slapped her forehead. "Oh dear, the arrival of several groups of guests made me forget all my important business. I even forgot to go help at the inn. Miss Su entrusted me with managing the Pengcheng branch because she trusts me. I can't let her down. Father, Second Brother, I'm off now."

Seeing his sister leave in a hurry, Xu Ruofeng finally had a chance to speak, so he questioned, "Father, I heard that when I wrote the letter saying I wanted to marry Yingzi, you disagreed? Father, you can't give my wife a hard time in the future."

Prefect Xu: "My son, let me explain. I was afraid that our family was not good enough for Miss Gu, which is why I objected. After all, Miss Gu is Miss Su's cousin."

Prefect Xu assured him confidently, "Son, don't worry, I definitely won't give your daughter-in-law a hard time. It's more likely that she'll give me a hard time."

"My dear son, you must never tell Miss Su about how I rejected this marriage proposal before."

The servant stood at the door of the study and reported, "Prefect Xu, Master Shi has arrived."

Prefect Xu had sent away three old friends who came to see rare ancient books early in the morning, but he didn't expect that more people would come so soon.

This scholar was a classmate of Prefect Xu. He failed the imperial examination several times and then went to teach at the academy.

The Shi family is quite wealthy. Previously, Master Shi had been avoiding Prefect Xu because he was afraid that Prefect Xu would ask him for money. Unexpectedly, he came over on his own initiative this time.

Master Shi still brought gifts when he visited, including four boxes of Mengji's signature pastries. This was quite a generous gift, considering that Mengji's signature chicken cakes are now very expensive.

"Brother Xu, it's been a long time, I miss you dearly."

He kept saying he missed Prefect Xu, but his eyes were fixed on the books on the tray on the table.

Prefect Xu thought to himself: You're dreaming! I bet you're after rare and ancient books.

"Brother Xu, are you short of money lately? I can lend you some."

Prefect Xu quickly waved his hand: "No need, I'm not short of money these days."

Since his daughter established a relationship with the Su family, Magistrate Xu has been rolling in money.

He knew that Master Shi had previously avoided him, but now he was offering to lend him money. It was like a weasel offering New Year's greetings to a chicken—he had ulterior motives and was clearly after the money.

Prefect Xu thought that Gu Ying was a very good daughter-in-law, who had brought great honor to the Xu family.

Master Shi stared intently at the tray on the table, his eyes wide, and leaned closer to ask, "Is this the legendary Essential Techniques for the Common People of Great Chu?"

Prefect Xu quickly reminded him, "Brother Shi, please stay away. Don't spit your saliva on such a precious thing."

Master Shi took a few steps back, and to avoid spitting on the book, he even covered his mouth with his sleeve.

"Alright, I'll move away a bit. Brother Xu, could you open the ancient book and let me take a look? I promise I won't touch it."

……

Prefect Xu received more than thirty guests in one day, keeping him extremely busy.

Madam Xu was the same; the courtyard was even more lively than during the New Year.

After seeing all the guests off that evening, the couple sat together, overwhelmed with emotion.

Prefect Xu had received so many people today that his voice was hoarse. He sighed and said, "It's true what they say: when you're poor, no one cares even in the bustling city; when you're rich, distant relatives come even in the deep mountains. When we were poor, we wouldn't see a single guest for half a year. But now, my second son's wife's dowry has attracted everyone here."

Madam Xu exclaimed, "That Miss Su is really good to Ruofeng's wife, giving her such an eye-catching dowry."

The First Madam, returning from a banquet at the residence of Vice Minister Luo in the capital, recounted an amusing anecdote.

"When Lady Changning went to visit relatives in Jiangnan, she passed through Qinghe County on her way back. She happened to witness the wedding of an ordinary merchant's daughter. It is said that the wedding dress was even more gorgeous and beautiful than that worn by the young ladies of noble families in the capital. I never imagined that a daughter's wedding in a remote county town would be so grand."

Madam Luo kept fiddling with her green sandalwood prayer beads, her brows furrowed so deeply they could trap a fly.

She was very annoyed. Why did everyone in the manor keep mentioning the name Qinghe County?

Mentioning Qinghe County reminded the old lady of her own son who farmed in the countryside, which annoyed her to no end.

The First Madam had no idea what the Old Madam was thinking; she simply wanted to tell everyone the hottest topic at today's banquet.

"Did you know? The Lady of the Marquis of Changning said that when the merchant from Qinghe County got married, he actually gave her a rare ancient book as part of her dowry. Moreover, it was a rare book from the Great Chu Dynasty three hundred years ago. Many noble families in our capital cannot afford such a rare item when they get married. I heard that all the scholars in the county went crazy and surrounded the dowry."

The First Madam spoke with great enthusiasm: "I heard that the rare book was a gift from the bride's cousin, a girl surnamed Su. A woman's wedding is the most glorious moment of her life. Ah, if only I had such a generous cousin back then, I could have been the most dazzling bride."

When Madam Luo heard the surname Su, her heart skipped a beat, because her biological son, who lived far away in Qinghe County, also had the surname Su.

However, they definitely have no connection, since her son is just a lowly peasant and it's impossible for him to be related to that young girl who can produce such a rare book.

Luo Minggeng regretted not going to Qinghe County, as he missed many important events.

"Grandmother, if you hadn't stopped me when I said I wanted to go to Qinghe County for the second time, I would definitely have seen a rare ancient book from the Great Chu Dynasty three hundred years ago, and I could have bragged about it to my classmates in the capital for a long time."

"No one is allowed to go. Nobody is allowed to go."

Madam Luo suddenly exerted force with her hand that was holding the prayer beads, and the green sandalwood beads clattered to the ground.

She had previously heard Granny Fan say that Luo Kang and his son Luo Minggeng looked remarkably like the Su family in Qinghe County. What if she happened to run into the Su family in Qinghe County?

If the Su family were to take back their carefully raised son and grandson, and then send those uncouth people who had been farming for decades back to the Luo family, it would be a huge loss for the Su family.

Although that man was her biological son, he was an ignorant peasant, and his children would certainly be peasants too, incomparable to Mingfang and Minggeng.