Transmigrated as an Unwanted Ugly Girl

Chapter 495: Chapter 259: The Helpless Li Changyu

The last time Zhang Huai went to Qinghui, he hadn’t planned on telling Li Changyu about his engagement. But on second thought, he decided to tell him. It wasn’t something that could be hidden anyway, and keeping it a secret would only make him seem small-minded.

He had expected Li Changyu to be stunned upon hearing that he was getting engaged to Juhua. Instead, Li Changyu simply gazed at him somberly, a dejected look on his face. He didn’t even ask when the engagement would be. After a long moment, he finally forced a smile and said, ”I’m getting engaged, too.”

It was Zhang Huai’s turn to be shocked. He looked at Li Changyu in confusion, his gaze full of questions. ’He knew Changyu likes Juhua, so why is he suddenly getting engaged to someone else?’

Li Changyu avoided his gaze and looked away. ”She’s my brother’s mentor’s niece,” he said softly. ”Her family runs a tea business in Huzhou.”

Huai Zi recalled Changyu’s expression at that moment; he had clearly been miserable. He looked over at Juhua, feeling a surge of happiness at the thought of marrying the woman he truly wanted. ’Changyu is marrying a young lady from the city, something he ought to be happy about. But if she isn’t the one he wants, how could he possibly be happy?’

Seeing his sister and Huai Zi whispering together, Qingmu smiled as he thought of Liu Yunlan. When he overheard Zhang Huai mention that Li Changyu was also getting engaged, he chimed in with a grin, ”When he gets back, I’ll have a few words for him.”

Zhang Yang said, ”Brother Changfeng is a scholar now, and Brother Changyu is doing business in Qinghui. Do you think their family will move into the city?”

Li Changfeng became a scholar by passing the provincial examinations. While the villagers were pleased, their reaction wasn’t as strong as when he had become a Scholar the previous year. They considered this latest achievement to be expected; after all, he was bound to become the Champion Scholar one day.

Qingmu shook his head. ”They won’t. The village chief is very attached to this place. Besides, their family is tax-exempt now, so life here is quite comfortable.”

Juhua didn’t want to get involved in the Li Family’s affairs. She went and sat down next to Qingmu, asking, ”Brother, is the rabbit done yet?” The rabbit on the bamboo skewer was already glistening with fat.

Qingmu’s face was flushed from the heat, his smile as warm as the glowing red charcoal. ”Almost. Get ready to eat. Huai Zi, have you washed the grinder? Hurry up, we’re waiting for you.”

The four of them were holed up in Huai Zi’s kitchen, enjoying their own private feast. They had completely forgotten about the crowd of relatives outside, and even about the day’s main event: Juhua and Zhang Huai’s engagement. While the adults bustled about, they focused only on eating roasted rabbit and drinking carrot juice. Or perhaps, this was simply their own way of celebrating.

After they finished eating and drinking, Juhua was officially Huai Zi’s fiancée.

**********

On the tenth day of the twelfth lunar month, the sky was overcast. Li Changyu had also returned to Qingnan Village. He gazed in the direction of Little Qing Mountain. Though courtyard walls and countless village homes and trees stood in the way, preventing him from seeing the Zheng or Zhang family compounds, it was as if he could picture the happy, smiling faces of Huai Zi and Juhua.

His heart aching for his young grandson, Li Mingrui pulled him into a room to sit. He handed him a small foot warmer, telling him to rest his feet on it, and brought over some melon seeds. The two of them, grandfather and grandson, chatted while cracking open seeds. It was mostly Li Mingrui who spoke, sharing old adages and even some amusing anecdotes about himself and Changyu’s grandmother.

Li Gengtian didn’t dare go in and disturb them; he felt a certain guilt toward his younger son. It all started with Li Changfeng’s wedding.

Li Changfeng became a scholar and then got married—he was truly riding a wave of success. Li Gengtian, for his part, felt a sense of pride he had never known. He took his wife and his father to Qinghui to arrange his eldest son’s wedding.

After the wedding, the newlyweds lived with the Yue Family. Li Changfeng devoted himself entirely to studying the classics, preparing to travel to the capital for the Imperial Examination the following year.

Li Changyu’s business was doing well, and he had purchased a small, two-courtyard residence in Qinghui. Thus, when Li Gengtian’s family came to the city this time, they didn’t need to stay with his sister. Instead, Li Gengdi’s family stayed there.

One day after his wedding, Li Changfeng was at a Qinghui restaurant hosting Mr. Gao, the brother-in-law of his mentor, Ding Xuezheng. Mr. Gao’s family was primarily in the tea business, so he was quite interested in the restaurant’s chrysanthemum tea.

Li Changyu gave Mr. Gao a detailed introduction to the chrysanthemum tea blend created by Chen Yu. He explained that it was best suited for summer, as it had cooling properties, and mentioned that there were abundant wild chrysanthemums back in his hometown at the foot of Little Qing Mountain.

As he spoke of Xiatang Market, Qingnan Village, Little Qing Mountain, the Little Qing River, Qingshan sausages, and Qingshan pickles, his eyes shone. His youthful face radiated a confident and charismatic charm. This unexpectedly caused Mr. Gao to recognize the young man’s talent, sparking in him the idea of forging a marriage alliance with the Li Family.

’Indeed, this Li Changyu would be a worthy match for his daughter. His older brother, Li Changfeng, is already a scholar and might very well become an Advanced Scholar next year. The young man himself is educated and, judging by his conversation, possesses considerable insight. To have built up a business like this in Qinghui County in just one year—he is bound for a prosperous future.’