Allure of a Country Maiden
Chapter 303 - 301

Chapter 303: 301

Mrs. Lan: I knew it, there’s no such thing as a pie falling from the sky!

Shen Chengguang: No wonder he can’t get married! But being a fool doesn’t really matter, as long as he can live a life of leisure with servants at his beck and call, and enjoy all the wealth in the world! Whether he’s foolish or not, he might be easier to manipulate. We could make him do whatever we want, how convenient would that be!

"We need to keep this a secret from your grandparents, otherwise Yuzhu won’t be able to get married! But when the groom is to fetch the bride, it’s impossible to hide it. What if Yuzhu refuses to marry him then?" Mrs. Lan was racking her brains to come up with a solution.

Mr. Tan’s younger brother, because he’s mentally impaired, wandered into the mountains and accidentally encountered a poisonous creature which bit his left leg. He didn’t know to call for help, and by the time the servant discovered him, the poison had spread too far. In order to save his life, they had to amputate his leg. Now, he only has one leg. Also, since he became disabled, he developed a violent temper and often hits people," Shen Bao’er freely disclosed all she knew about him in front of her parents because she knew no matter what, they wouldn’t care and would certainly find a way to better conceal this truth.

She also has her own ulterior motives for informing them of this. Should this get out and Mrs. Shen seeks revenge, she could absolve herself of any responsibilities.

Although Mrs. Shen would not dare to return to the Imperial Capital, it’s best to be safe. Nowadays, when Bao’er makes decisions, she always leaves herself a way out.

Shen Chengguang: "..."

He’s a fool, and a one-legged fool at that ! Not to mention a violent, one-legged fool !!!

Mrs. Lan coughed, "Only having one leg is fine too - after all, if he’s a fool, there’s no need to worry about him roaming around causing trouble. It’s actually less stressful, isn’t it? He can’t run around too much on one leg, can he? Just dodge when he tries to hit, right?"

Shen Chengguang: "..."

The fool is bad enough, but he’s also legless and violent - will his parents break his legs if they find out he is marrying Yuzhu off to a man like this?

But —

50,000 taels! Even with running the grocery store, they could never save up 50,000 taels in their lifetime!

Once Jingwen becomes an official, the people in Tan Mansion probably wouldn’t allow the fool to bully Yuzhu...

Shen Bao’er watched Shen Chengguang, waiting for him to say something.

"Ahem, does Mr. Tan have any other brothers, or maybe a son could work too! Your sister-in-law is rather good-looking..."

"Father, are you really naive or just pretending to be? If Mr. Tan’s brother was normal, would Mr. Tan have had eyes for my half-sister? It’s not like the Imperial Capital is short on beautiful women! Am I not prettier than her? And yet I’m reduced to only being his mistress!" Shen Bao’er said sarcastically.

"Bao’er, don’t talk about yourself that way, it breaks your mother’s heart..." Mrs. Lan regretted not stopping Bao’er back then! Never in her wildest dreams did she think that Li Yunhua would get married so young.

Shen Bao’er snorted, " Save your pity for now, where was it back then! If you hadn’t thrown Xi’er out of the carriage on our way into the Imperial Capital, I wouldn’t be in this situation now!"

Shen Chengguang thought about how once Jingwen becomes an officer, he would lead a life of unimaginable wealth. He sighed and said, "Your mother’s right. His being a fool and having only one leg is probably for the best, he’ll be easier to take care of and less likely to cause trouble."

"In that case, you should hurry back and stop my half-sister’s marriage! Otherwise, it will be too late!" Shen Yuzhu knew it would come to this and urged them on.

"Right, right, we must plot this together, without a plan, your grandparents will never agree." Mrs. Lan nodded in agreement.

And so, the three of them sat down together and started to plot how they would hoodwink everyone and sell off Shen Yuzhu!

After reaching an agreement, Shen Chengguang and Mrs. Lan hurriedly made their way back to Shengping County.

The main family was once again up to no good, and the second branch was making secret plans of their own. The Shen family in Shengping County was about to witness more chaos, but Xiao’er’s family remained oblivious.

――

The day Zhewei moved out of his family home and into his new house, hosting a grand feast for guests, had arrived.

Xiao’er prepared three sets of clothes and a piece of jewelry for Mrs. Liu, each to be worn at different times of the day.

The reason being, she plans to host a new product release at their family jewelry shop, and today, she wants Mrs. Liu to wear their in-house products - a perfect chance to stir up some interest in her upcoming event!

This era is not yet familiar with product launches. She dresses Mrs. Liu in a way that is tastefully elegant but not overly extravagant, so as not to outshine the hostess.

The carefully planned dress code aims to attract the attention of other ladies and misses while subtly delivering invitations for the product launch.

This banquet is entirely orchestrated by Liu Jingshu.

Mrs. Lai handed over the stewardship to Liu Jingshu, thus freeing herself to focus on her three precious grandsons.

Lai Zhewei entrusted all his accumulated businesses and shops to Liu Jingshu for management.

Although it was Liu Jingshu’s first time organizing a banquet, she didn’t panic. Whenever she encountered something unfamiliar, she would ask Mrs. Lai or Xiao’er for suggestions.

Xiao’er, remembering that Liu Jingshu’s bakery was also opening on the same day, suggested adopting a buffet style for the banquet. Besides Chinese dishes, they could also prepare some Western pastries. This is a good opportunity to showcase the new products from the Time Allure Bakery, which would kickstart the shop’s grand opening.

When Liu Jingshu was looking over the properties handed to her by Lai Zhewei, she found a shop with an excellent location and a soon-to-expire lease. She decided to take back the shop and start her own business.

As she was unfamiliar with this, she went to Xiao’er for advice.

When Liu Jingshu was previously learning household management at Xiao’er’s place, Xiao’er recognized her talent for baking.

Often, the dishes she made following Xiao’er’s instructions came out even tastier than Xiao’er’s own creations.

Therefore, Xiao’er recommended her to open a bakery.

Apart from her role as a housekeeper and taking care of the children, she devoted almost all her time to baking.

From developing new products to training the bakers and cake makers, the preparation took more than half a year to complete.

Today, in addition to their housewarming celebration, it is also the grand opening of the Time Allure Bakery. Xiao’er’s suggestion perfectly serves the dual purposes!

Xiao’er and her family arrived at Lai Zhewei’s new house early in the morning to warm the pots for them.

Mrs. Liu and Xiao’er arrived early to see if Liu Jingshu needed any help.

But Liu Jingshu’s preparations were flawless. Having attended several banquets since her marriage into the Lai Mansion, even though she had never cooked pork, she had seen a pig run! Moreover, Xiao’er had helped a lot a few days ago.

The family from the Lai Mansion’s main house and Xiao’er’s family arrived at almost the same time, meeting at the front gate.

Upon seeing Mrs. Liu and Xiao’er’s attire and accessories, Madam Lai was stunned.

"Mrs. Shen, where did you buy this set of jewelry? It’s so beautiful!"

Xiao’er thought: She really is straightforward! She starts with her question before even exchanging greetings.

Upon hearing these words, Madam Lai darkened her face. Is this what she learnt from being at the Zhu family? She glared at her, and then apologized to Mrs. Liu, explaining that she is too straightforward and naive.

Mrs. Liu laughed and said, "It’s alright. We’re all related in some way; there’s no need for excessive formality."