CH 5.2

Ruan Longling was stunned on the spot. “Wh- What?” She looked at the man in front of her and asked suspiciously, “You don’t think of playing any tricks, ok? If you can’t pay such an amount of money when the time comes, what should you do? What should I do?”

Li Zhulin raised his head high and said calmly, “If I break the contract, not only will I still be able to pay the rental fee of one hundred taels a night, but this jade ring will also belong to Surnamed Ruan’s family. How is that?”

Ruan Longling couldn’t believe it until she held the black and white paper in her hand. She even pinched herself secretly. ‘Ow, it really hurts! This is actually true!’ She saw countless silver notes floating everywhere as she thought about the amount of money she would get.

Ruan Longling was sure that this man signed such a document because of his temper! He was only identified as a spendthrift, brainless dude! Now that the written evidence had been established, it was no longer possible to stop the man from staying in Tianxia.

After everything was settled, Ruan Longling kept the written documents and smiled slightly. She was ready to show the way, but suddenly, Ah Xing rushed to Ruan Longling’s side. “Congratulations, Miss!” she said with a look of excitement on her face.

Ruan Longling frowned. “How decent is it to be reckless? What if you offend a distinguished guest?” Now that the man had checked in, he was a distinguished guest of Tianxia. Even if she despised him, she didn’t want to disrespect him. So she bowed her body, lowered her head, and apologised. “My lord, please don’t blame my maid for disturbing you.”

Li Zhulin didn’t care and said softly, “It may be urgent, so it’s okay.”

With the permission of the guest, Ah Xing smiled and said, “Congratulations, Miss! Mr. Liu has won! He has won! He has won first place!”

Ruan Longling couldn’t believe her ears, and her face became a blooming flower in an instant. She was on cloud nine.

Li Zhulin saw the change in her demeanour. The arrogant female boss in front of him suddenly turned into a shy girl waiting to be married who was excited about her sweetheart’s success and fame. ‘It’s a pity that Liu Chengji will never marry her, and she will end up with nothing.’  Li Zhulin had no position to puncture her sweet dreams. With her ignorant smirk, she must have had no intention of leading him any longer. “Tianxia is famous all over the world. I just happened to wander around in it first, as for the check-in, I will talk about it later.” Li Zhulin said coldly, lifted his feet, and left.

Until Li Zhulin’s figure disappeared in the moon gate with the round arch of hanging flowers, Ruan Longling still couldn’t get away from the good news she suddenly learned. ‘Studying hard for more than ten years, he has finally won…’

“This maidservant also heard that this year, the young emperor is still young, and the chief minister is the one who is in charge of the court. The chief minister has thought about the hard work of all the students and has specially granted them a month of leave! So it is estimated that in a few days, Mr. Liu will arrive in Yangzhou to visit his relatives! All the things for marriage have been prepared early, and after Mr. Liu comes back, he will choose a good and auspicious day to get married! Congratulations, miss!” Ah Xing said happily.

Ruan Longling just felt her heart beating nonstop. Yes, she and Chengji were finally going to get married! He would ride a tall horse wearing a red brocade dress and carry her into Liu’s house.

“Come on, let’s go and tell Mother the good news! Then order someone to go to Feng’s house to inform the second sister!”

…………………..

The air was filled with a strong smell of traditional Chinese medicine. After reconciling with Ruan’s father, Ruan’s mother raised her five children alone, so she became sick from overwork.

After hearing the good news that Liu Chengji had won first place, Ruan’s mother felt so refreshed that she half sat up on a soft pillow. Although Ruan’s mother’s sallow complexion was full of sickness, the beauty and demeanour of her youth could still be seen.

She held Ruan Longling’s hand tightly, smiling lovingly and gratifiedly, saying, “Chengji child is steady and appropriate, and I can rest assured that he will take care of you from now on. It’s just that you are too stubborn and want to be strong. After entering someone else’s house, what should be changed still needs to be changed.”

Ruan Longling nodded shyly, her eyes and brows full of joy, and said obediently, “Mother, don’t worry, I know.” After she passed the door, she must be filial to her mother-in-law, and she had worked hard to mend the relationship with Liu Sheshi.

The daughter’s shy gesture made Ruan’s mother’s thoughts race. She couldn’t help but think of her youth. When she married Ruan Shunheng with such joy, and later…, it became unbearable to say. “I was a lady from an aristocratic family, and I married your father, who was not an upper-class member. After more than 20 years of stumbling, in the end, he tore his face when he left, and we became a laughingstock in Yangzhou. Later, when our family was in trouble, Li Yungao married into Feng’s mansion, but even if she didn’t mention it, I can also see that she and your second brother-in-law are not so harmonious…” Mother Ruan patted her daughter’s hand with emotion. “But you are different from your second sister. The two of you grew up together. Childhood sweetheart, he also cares about you very much. I watched him grow up, and there will be no trouble. Although the Liu family is a poor family, their scholar family is better than our Ruan family merchants. But in terms of financial resources, connections, and abilities, our Ruan family is enough to make Liu’s family look far behind, and you can be regarded as an equal marriage… So you and that child, Chengji, will definitely not follow in the footsteps of me and your father. You will be a happy, loving couple.”

Ruan Longling was deeply moved, got up and jumped into Ruan’s mother’s arms, and responded softly, “Well, mother, I will live a good life with Chengji from now on.”