Chapter 24 – Running into Zeng Sibai Again

Two days later, at noon.

After lunch, Gu Leyou helped clean up the dishes.

Mother and daughter were in the kitchen washing up.

Lin-shi praised the hunter.

“Leyou, don’t listen to your father’s nonsense. I think that hunter is actually a pretty good man. You won’t suffer if you marry him. And that child of his is so pitiful, falling ill at such a young age. After you marry him, live a good life together. I believe you’ll be happy.”

Gu Leyou didn’t expect that ever since her mother met the hunter last time, her attitude had done a complete 180. She was now actually praising her future husband right to her face.

Trying to lighten the mood, Gu Leyou teased her a little.

“Mother, weren’t you and Father both very against me marrying Brother Lu before? How come after meeting him just once, your opinion changed so drastically?”

“We were against it before, but things are different now. That young man is decent-looking and seems to be a proper gentleman,” Lin-shi replied while scrubbing the dishes.

Looks like all parents have similar standards for evaluating future sons-in-law.

If this were modern times, her parents would probably say the same thing.

That afternoon, she still had to go out for a bit.

But she needed to ask for her parents’ permission first.

“Mother, Father already went to the fields. Can I go out for a bit this afternoon to buy some books for my little brother?”

“You’re going out again? What if your grandmother sees you? She’ll definitely have something to say. And if your father finds out, he won’t be happy either,” Lin-shi said, a little worried.

“Don’t worry, Mother. Grandma won’t find out. She’s probably eager for time to pass quickly so she can marry me off and get the money,” Gu Leyou replied.

Lin-shi didn’t quite understand.

“How do you know that?”

“Oh Mother, isn’t it obvious? Otherwise why would that old nanny keep coming to our house every other day? She’s afraid I’ll stir up trouble and ruin things, which would stop her from getting her money,” Gu Leyou explained.

Lin-shi had a moment of realization.

“Well, go early and come back early. A young girl like you heading to town alone—be careful.”

“I will, Mother.”

After helping put the bowls away in the cupboard, Gu Leyou changed clothes and left the house.

Their house was far from the village entrance, so she needed to leave early or she wouldn’t make it back before dark.

From her house to the village entrance, she passed quite a few people and greeted them warmly along the way.

At the village entrance, a few older women were sitting around chatting idly.

As soon as they saw her approaching, their eyes zeroed in on her.

“Look, there goes the second daughter of the Gu family again. Where’s she going now?”

“Didn’t the old lady in their house forbid her from going out?”

“She’s such a troublesome girl. If your parents told you not to go out, would you really just stay home obediently?”

“I’m telling you, if my daughter disobeyed me and snuck out, I’d break her legs so she’d never step foot outside again!”

…

Gu Leyou heard all their gossip. These aunties would gather under the big tree at the village entrance every afternoon to talk about people behind their backs.

She was used to it by now.

But out of politeness, she still greeted them.

Getting them to change their opinion of her, though, was probably impossible.

In their eyes, she would always be that “disgraceful” girl.

As she reached the village entrance, she ran into Brother Zhang from the neighboring village.

He was riding a donkey cart and seemed to be headed somewhere. When he saw her, he greeted her first.

“Hey Leyou, long time no see. Where are you off to?” he asked.

“I’m going to the market to buy some books for my little brother. Brother Zhang, where are you going? Mind giving me a ride?”

“Perfect timing! I’m headed to town too. The market’s bustling these days. I need to buy a few things for my wife and pick up some fish bait—I’m going fishing by the river tomorrow morning,” he said.

“Great!”

So she hitched a ride with Brother Zhang to town.

Brother Zhang was simple, honest, a bit chubby, and doted on his wife.

His wife was kind and capable too. They had married young and already had a three- or four-year-old child.

Since they were from the neighboring village, they had to pass by Gu Leyou’s village on the way to town. So whenever she wanted to go to town, she had to rely on luck to run into him for a ride.

About half an hour later, they arrived in town.

“Thanks, Brother Zhang. I’ll go buy my things now,” she said as she hopped off the cart.

She headed for the bookstore.

But the bookstore was a bit far—it wasn’t a place many people visited except scholars.

When she reached the store and saw the signboard and how few people were inside, she knew she was in the right place.

She walked in and was dazzled by the shelves of books, unsure of what to choose.

The shopkeeper came over and asked, “Miss, what kind of books are you looking for?”

“Shopkeeper, could you recommend a few books that scholars like to read?” she asked.

“Certainly, miss. Please wait a moment. I’ll go get some for you.”

Although there were many books, most were in traditional Chinese script, and Gu Leyou couldn’t recognize all the characters.

So she needed help picking books; otherwise, she might not be able to buy the right ones.

The shopkeeper brought over several books.

“These are the most popular ones with scholars. Especially this one—many people buy it. You might want to choose this,” he recommended.

Gu Leyou picked it up and took a look.

She then took out some money from her pouch and handed it to him.

“Shopkeeper, please wrap all these up for me. I’ll take them all.”

Even though she couldn’t understand all the words, she was confident her brother could.

The shopkeeper accepted the money readily.

“Of course, miss. I’ll wrap them up right away.”

Soon, he had the books neatly wrapped up.

Gu Leyou thanked him, took her books, and turned to leave.

But just then, an unwelcome visitor entered the store.

Upon seeing her, he looked surprised.

“Oh, isn’t this my ex-fiancée—the one who broke off the engagement? I heard you’re marrying that hunter. Should be happening soon, right? What are you doing out here instead of hiding at home? Haven’t you embarrassed yourself enough already?”

Gu Leyou shot him a glare and walked right past him without a word.

Zeng Sibai strutted into the bookstore arrogantly and said to the shopkeeper, “Hey, shopkeeper, where are the books I asked for? Bring them here.”

The shopkeeper frowned at the sight of him. He’d been in many times and every time refused to buy anything at the last minute.

So the shopkeeper clearly had no fondness for him.