"Young master, Yuelai Restaurant has indeed stopped the promotional activities," reported the attendant of Li Fuyou.
A touch of surprise flashed in Li Fuyou’s eyes. He had only mentioned that to test Wang Xiangxiang; he didn’t expect that girl to resolve the matter so quickly.
As far as he knew, Chu Lian was not in the area at that time, which meant that Chu Lian must have left someone to take orders from her. It seemed she was indeed Chu Lian’s darling.
"Heh," a cryptic smile appeared on his face, amusing himself with the thought of having found an interesting toy. The panic-stricken expression of that girl was quite entertaining.
Wang Xiangxiang, upon hearing the news, also breathed a sigh of relief. No rumors of her losing her virtue had spread through the county; she could finally feel safe for a while. Everything else would have to wait until Chu Lian returned.
She focused on the Cloth Shop’s business, and thanks to the new product launch they had organized, the sales of pajamas were exceptionally hot, with a nice flow of silver filling Wang Xiangxiang’s pockets.
Several days later, a marriage proposal procession marched through half of the county, eventually stopping at the gates of the Wang Family. This attracted quite a crowd of onlookers, all curious about which young master was proposing this time. Since the visit from the eldest young master of the Chu Family, no one else had dared to propose.
Wang Xiangxiang was dining in the front hall when she heard the house servant report, "Miss, there’s another marriage proposal procession at the door."
At the servant’s words, Wang Xiangxiang was so excited she could hardly contain herself. He had returned; he had come to propose.
Before the house servant had finished speaking, she put down her tableware and ran towards the courtyard gate; she was as happy as a child. He must have wanted to surprise her by leading the proposal procession himself.
After reaching the gate and opening the door, she saw the long line of the proposers, but looking left and right, she couldn’t see Chu Lian anywhere. Could it be that he hadn’t come?
Without seeing Chu Lian, Wang Xiangxiang felt disappointed. At that moment, the matchmaker spoke up, "Is this the Wang Family’s young lady?"
"Congratulations to Miss Wang, I’m here on behalf of Lin County’s Han Family, to propose marriage for their young master, Han Yongsheng."
"..." Hearing these words, Wang Xiangxiang was deeply upset. The marriage proposal procession wasn’t led by Chu Lian; he hadn’t come back at all.
She had never imagined that the procession would be from the Han Family of Lin County; she had already rejected them so outright – why hadn’t they given up?
"Go back and tell your young master that I refuse. Tell him not to come proposing again," Wang Xiangxiang said before closing the big gate.
Back in her room, she couldn’t bring herself to eat anymore. When exactly would Chu Lian return? It had been nearly half a month; each day felt like a year to her. She had read Chu Lian’s letter so many times she’d lost count.
Inside her room, Wang Xiangxiang was unaware that, due to her recent rejection, she had once again become the focus of local gossip.
"Another proposal at the Wang Family, and the Miss has refused again."
"Which young master was so unlucky to be rejected this time?"
"It’s the young master from Yongan Fish Pond this time."
"What? Yongan Fish Pond is quite influential, isn’t it?"
"Yeah, I don’t know what kind of man Miss Wang is looking for; she already refused the richest man in the county, and now another one."
The crowd chatted back and forth; news of Miss Wang rejecting Young Master Han spread like wildfire across the county.