Chapter 832: Aunt Zhang feels indignant for Qingyue
Xiao Yishan saw his strange expression but didn’t ask what he understood.
When Ding Er saw Xiao Qinghe carrying a pot of medicinal mud toothpaste to the yard, he stepped out, took a pot, paid twelve cents, and left.
Li Rong’er, curious, approached and asked in confusion, “Fourth young Master, what is this …”
Xiao Qinghe explained, “It’s toothpaste made from a medicinal paste … developed by my wife, Qingyue, for cleaning teeth. One tablespoon costs two cents, five tablespoons fill a pot, which is eight cents for the medicine money, plus four cents for the pot itself. In total, twelve cents.”
“Oh,” Li Rong’er nodded, thinking to herself that Su Qingyue really was capable and knew how to make money.
In one morning, she had seen quite a few people come to buy the medicine.
It seemed that even if the Xiao Family owned no fields, they would not have a hard life just by selling medicinal mud toothpaste.
Several villagers walked up to the entrance of the Xiao Family’s courtyard, including men and women, old and young.
Qinghe, seeing so many people, asked in confusion, “Are you here to …”
Aunt Liu among them said, “Nothing much, just came to see the new wife of the Xiao Family. Heard that Dashan brought a wife home …” and looking at Li Rong’er in the yard, “It’s her, isn’t it?”
Blushing, Li Rong’er said, “I … I’m just a maid of the Xiao Family …”
“Come off it, what maid or not,” another person chimed in. “We ran into Ding Er on the road just now; he said you’ve been living under the same roof as Xiao Yi, even had a ‘fight’ last night in the same room so fiercely that you injured Dashan’s chest …”
“Exactly, sleeping together and still calling yourself a maid …”
Everyone chattered, leaving Li Rong’er quite embarrassed. She naturally understood that the villagers meant she and Brother Xiao were ‘fighting’ as a euphemism for being intimate. She wanted to clarify that it was a misunderstanding, but thought it might be better to let them think so. If Xiao Yishan had any sense of responsibility, he’d take responsibility, given that her reputation was ruined by him.
The hunter Li Yibao’s wife, Mrs. Li Wang, also came. She glanced at Li Rong’er’s bashful demeanor, “The new wife of the Xiao Family is shy, isn’t she. Whenever there’s a newlywed in our village, we all like to stop by and join in the excitement. The new wife shouldn’t mind.”
Feeling very awkward, Li Rong’er stammered, “I … I don’t have … anything with Brother Xiao …” The more she stuttered, the more it encouraged misunderstanding.
“Look at that, calling Dashan ‘Brother Xiao’ and still saying there’s nothing …” Mrs. Li Wang and the crowd who came to gawk all laughed.
Only Aunt Zhang had a gloomy expression, “I say this Li Rong’er is nothing but shameless!”
Everyone stopped laughing upon hearing this.
Li Rong’er’s tears fell at once, “Auntie, you …”
“Humph!” Aunt Zhang said with a stern face, “Think about it, everyone. Li Rong’er is pretty and has served as a head maid in the Fang Mansion. With such a lovely face, who wouldn’t she marry? She had to choose Dashan. It’s because she saw Dashan had some money.”
“That’s not …” Li Rong’er tried to defend herself.
But Aunt Zhang wasn’t listening, “What’s not? Going after money is one thing, but Dashan is a married man, and you follow him back home. Besides a shameless woman, who else would do such a thing?”
Li Rong’er covered her face, crying, and turned to run inside.
But she saw Xiao Yishan, holding his injured chest, propping himself against the doorframe, his face pale with astonishment, “Brother Xiao, what are you doing up?”
“Listen up, everyone!” Aunt Zhang shouted, “Do servants call their masters ‘Brother’? This is what a mistress calls her man!”