Allure of a Country Maiden
Chapter 310 - 308

Chapter 310: 308

The new product release of Pohli Jewelry caused a storm in the jewelry industry of the Imperial Capital. It influenced several other jewelry stores to follow suit, and this trend even swept across Minze Country and eventually was replicated by businesses in neighboring nations.

Some clothing stores also adopted this practice, taking inspiration from the success of the jewelry shops, albeit imitating rather ineptly.

Yun’er, with her love and talent for embroidery and clothing design, had consulted with Xiao’er and her family and decided to open a clothing store to sell clothes designed by Yun’er.

This clothing business would be part of Yun’er’s dowry in the future.

And so, not long after, the Yunnai’er Fashion Show gave the fashion industry of that era a masterclass in standardized fashion shows.

Yunnai’er’s designs instantly reached a high-end status in the industry.

Xiao’er’s family was thriving in the Imperial City, their lives prospering daily.

Meanwhile, the Shen family in Shengping County was also bustling with excitement.

Upon returning to the village, Shen Chengguang and Mrs. Lan went straight to Master Shen to discuss something:

"Father, Mother, Yuzhu cannot marry the landlord’s son. He’s beneath our Yuzhu! Bao’er has secured a good match for Jingshu in the Imperial Capital. It’s none other than the brother of Mr. Tan, the wine steward at the Imperial College. Mr. Tan and his brother have not yet divided their family property, so if Yuzhu marries him, she will become a noble lady!"

Upon hearing this, Mrs. Zhuang’s eyes lit up. Yuzhu really was blessed! She was finally going to fulfill her long-standing wish of marrying into a noble family and becoming a noble lady. Mrs. Zhuang asked eagerly, "How much betrothal gift did Mr. Tan’s family offer?"

"Hush! Yuzhu and the landlord’s son are already engaged and the wedding ceremony is scheduled for next month. The betrothal gift has been accepted too. Marriage is not child’s play, we can’t just call it off. Moreover, Mr. Tan’s brother is probably not young and has not yet wed. Perhaps he has some hidden illness." Master Shen shook his head, Yuzhu’s temperament was not suited for a noble family. It was better for her to marry the landlord’s son and not have to worry about food or clothing.

He was no fool. How could such a wonderful opportunity come to their family? Perhaps there was something about this arrangement his son had not yet revealed.

"Father, Mr. Tan’s brother had to mourn his father’s death for three years, and then, half a year later, mourn his mother’s death for another three years. This delayed his most favorable age for getting married. The daughters of wealthy and noble families in the Imperial Capital naturally would look down upon him for being older. As the years went by, he reached his twenties. Mr. Tan was also anxious to find a young and beautiful bride for his brother. If it weren’t for our father’s face, this arrangement wouldn’t have anything to do with Yuzhu!"

"But this proposal is too late..." At over twenty, he was indeed not old. Older men tend to be more doting and understanding towards their wives and children. Yuzhu had a somewhat wilful personality and needed a husband who would accommodate her.

"It’s not too late, she’s not married yet! Father, Mr. Tan promised that once Wen’er passes the examination and becomes a scholar, he will give Wen’er an official position. And this requires 50,000 taels. If Yuzhu marries into their family, our two families will be related. It would be only right for Mr. Tan to further Wen’er’s career, and he wouldn’t have to feel bad about asking for money."

When Master Shen heard this, the fragile facade he had held up cracked.

50,000 taels, where was he to find 50,000 taels for his grandson’s official position?

"Father, the teacher in the Imperial Capital said that Wen’er might be limited to the scholar’s degree, because he did not receive elementary education at a good academy. That’d mean all the years he spent reading would have been in vain!" Mrs. Lan aimed directly at Master Shen’s soft spot.

Master Shen was taken aback. Did potential really diminish in the absence of a good foundation? If that were the case, wouldn’t his hope of glory through his descendants vanish? But 50,000 taels really was a huge sum. He needed to think:

"What kind of person is Mr. Tan’s brother?"

When Master Shen had said this, Shen Chengguang and Mrs. Lan knew they had succeeded. They began to embellish the virtues of Mr. Tan’s brother.

Mater Shen obviously put the glory of descendants first. They knew their father would agree.

"We’ll marry Mr. Tan’s brother instead of the landlord’s son!" Mrs. Zhuang decided.

The next day, Shen Chengzong’s family blew up in an uproar when they found out about this!

Mrs. Li sat down on the ground recklessly, "Oh heavens! Why doesn’t a lightning bolt strike down those ungrateful people? I spoke so much for her, I even wore out my lips to find this good match for her. Now they just dishonor their pledge at short notice, the servants of the landlord’s home will come with their big swords and chop me down!"

"You heartless one, what’s so good about a landlord’s son? Yuzhu is destined to be a noble lady! You did it on purpose introducing a landlord’s son to her, trying to ruin her life."

"Pah! What noble lady! I might as well be the second sister-in-law of Marquis Shengping! So what? Just because they haven’t divided the family property yet doesn’t mean they won’t in the future. We only know about Mr. Tan’s brother from what you and your wife have told us, we have no way to verify the truth! What if Mr. Tan’s brother turns out to be a fool? At least we’ve seen the landlord’s son. Yuzhu and our parents were satisfied at the time! What is this flip-flopping now? Ask around the village and see who thinks marrying the landlord’s son is a misfortune!" Mrs. Li was enraged at Shen Chengguang. There was only a month left till the wedding and he wanted to ruin it.

She would never allow this!

A wild card out of nowhere, was there no catch to it? The main family was always selfish, they did not do anything without personal gain! But they were so far from the Imperial Capital, it was impossible for them to verify it.

"Our family has already received thirty mu of paddy fields, a store, and fifty taels of silver from them! They’ve already sent out the wedding invitations to relatives and friends. Now they say they won’t marry, where should they put their face? As commoners, we’ll offend a major landlord, if they wished to crush us, wouldn’t they be able to do it as easily as crushing an ant?"

"Just return those betrothal gifts, it’s just a landlord, when Yuzhu marries into a noble family, I’m sure they won’t dare to make a fuss!"

Mrs. Zhuang really was ambitious!

"Younger brother, I advise you to call off this engagement as soon as possible. Is the landlord’s son really as good as you say? I just can’t believe it! As for the real truth, I’ll send someone to investigate."

The second branch knew about the main family, didn’t the main family know about the second branch? They were both of the same ilk!

"I don’t know what you’re talking about. Don’t go around falsely accusing people! I haven’t even said there’s anything wrong with Mr. Tan’s son! If he really wanted to marry someone young and beautiful, I’m sure there are plenty of virtuous women from impoverished families in the Imperial Capital!" Shen Chengzong’s eyes flashed with a hint of panic.

"Chengguang, what do you mean by that? Is there something wrong with the landlord’s son?" Master Shen wasn’t calm anymore after hearing that.