Divorced by her husband's family and rejected by her own! She defiantly turned her life around

Lu Yunzhou thought that there were still 3 months until the provincial examination. His elder brother was right. He should hurry back and marry Liu Shi and get closer to her. As long as he took the initiative, she would definitely agree. Otherwise, if he fell ill during the provincial examination, he would be doomed.

As for Miss Zhou, she's devoted to him. He can explain things clearly and appease her. If she makes a fuss about it, he won't tolerate it. When Liu comes back, he'll have money and won't be able to be manipulated by her. If he can't appease her, they'll break up. Anyway, he won't suffer any loss.

Women love to hear nice things. If she likes you, you are her everything.

Lu Yunzhou made up his mind to spend two days exploring the prefectural city before heading home to begin the process of bringing Liu Shi back home.

The next morning, after the three of them had breakfast, Lu Yunping asked, "Little brother, what's your decision? What are your plans now?"

"Brother, Doctor Yang, since my illness can't be cured anyway, it's okay to go back a couple of days later. It's not easy for us to come to the prefectural city, so let's just enjoy our time here and go back the day after tomorrow."

"Dr. Yang, if I ever have an attack again, please knock me unconscious immediately with acupuncture. Remember that."

"I can get away with this by following you now, but what will you do when we go back to the village? You can't expect me to stay at your house, can you?"

"Dr. Yang, I'll have to trouble you until I bring Liu back. Of course, you'll be well paid."

"That won't do. I can't just sit around watching you without doing anything, can I?"

"You're making money anyway, so what difference does it make how you make it? People who go out to work get 20 coins a day, and I'm giving them 30 coins a day. Isn't that a lot?"

"It's not a small amount, but it's causing too much delay."

"Don't worry too much. With money, there's nothing you can't do. Come on, let's go for a stroll in the city and see what's fun there."

The three of them went out onto the street, looking around as they went. They spotted a cosmetics shop, and Lu Yunzhou stepped inside. Lu Yunping, seeing him go in, quickly followed. Once inside, they saw it was a women's cosmetics shop. "Little brother, what are you doing here?" he asked.

"Of course, I'll buy women's products."

"You don't need to buy what your sister-in-law uses. I'll buy it for her if she needs it. You're the younger brother-in-law, it's not appropriate for you to buy this kind of thing for your sister-in-law."

"Who said I was going to buy it for her? She's your wife, not mine. Of course I'd buy it for my woman. If you want to give it as a gift, then buy it for yourself."

Lu Yunping was a little embarrassed. He had been overthinking things. His younger brother had always looked down on Cuicui. He just didn't understand how Cuicui was any worse than Zhou Shi. Cuicui served him comfortably every day and was always obedient and gentle. Unlike Zhou Shi, who always had a sour face and lay in bed like a dead fish, she had no sense of romance at all.

She's never made him feel comfortable since she married him. This woman just needs to be taught a lesson. She's married to me, but she still can't let go of her lover.

"Shopkeeper, buy the best rouge and face powder."

"Alright, young master, this is a brand new product. It's perfect for women. Using our rouge will make you look good when you go out."

The young master is clearly a scholar; he has dressed his wife beautifully, making her a pleasing sight to behold. It's said that women adorn themselves for their lovers; what man wouldn't want his wife to be beautiful?

"How much silver?"

"13 taels."

"Thirteen taels!" Lu Yunping exclaimed in surprise. "Why don't you just rob me?"

"This is a fair price. Buy it or not, it's up to you. I'm not forcing you. You're poor, so why blame things for being expensive?"

As they were arguing, a maid came over and asked, "Manager, has our young lady received what she ordered?"

"Oh, it's Miss Qing'er! We've arrived! We've been waiting for you!"

The shopkeeper took out an identical box of rouge and placed it on the counter. "This just arrived yesterday. If you hadn't pre-ordered, it would have been sold out long ago."

Miss Qing'er picked up the rouge and placed 13 taels of silver on the counter. The shopkeeper put the silver away and said, "Miss Qing'er, please take care. Please give my regards to your young lady. I will let you know as soon as I find anything good."

"You see, it's the exact same thing. Did I charge you more? My shop is an old establishment, and I have many repeat customers. I treat everyone fairly, young and old."

If you think it's too expensive, there's a cheaper option here for only 800 coins. You get what you pay for, so don't compare the two.

"Young master, you are a man of exceptional talent; your wife must be a great beauty as well. Of course, you should use the best. If you use something inferior, people will laugh at you. A woman is also a reflection of your reputation."

"Shopkeeper, you have excellent eloquence. I'll take this one."

"Young man, you're being too wasteful. Couldn't you have bought something cheaper? You can't eat that stuff, and you just wash it off after you put it on your face."

"Brother, you don't understand. If you also want to buy one, then buy one too. I'll pay for it. It won't be a waste for you to come with me."

"Then I'll buy your sister-in-law an 800-coin gift. She's pregnant with your nephew and it's been tough for her. I'll buy her a gift to make her happy."

"Dr. Yang, do you want to buy some for your aunt?"

"Your aunt is too old for this. We'll look at something else later." Lu Yunzhou paid the money, and the three of them left the shop. "Little brother, don't tell your mother how much this cost when you get back, or she'll nag you endlessly."

Mother won't scold you; she'll only say that I, as your older brother, haven't supervised you properly and let you squander money.

"Okay, brother, why are you being so fussy?"

Lu Yunzhou held the rouge box. Such an expensive gift, and from someone she liked. She must be very touched and happy.

The three of them strolled around until they came across a jewelry shop. "Let's go in and take a look."

Lu Yunzhou immediately took a liking to a silver hairpin; its design was quite unique. "Hey, how much is this silver hairpin?"

He held the silver hairpin in his hand and examined it carefully, imagining how Liu Siyue would look wearing it. He couldn't help but smile. She would definitely be happy to see this hairpin, after all, it was the first piece of jewelry he had ever given her.

"Young master, this is the new model, and there's only one left. It costs 5 taels of silver."

"Okay, wrap it in a box."

"Young master, we have all kinds of boxes here. Please take a look and see which one you would like. Each box has a different price."

"Don't you provide boxes with jewelry sold here?"

Jewelry worth 50 taels or more will be provided with a free box.

Lu Yunzhou picked out a mahogany box with a lotus flower carved on it, "This is it."

"200 coins."

Lu Yunping kept clicking his tongue in amazement. Good heavens, things in this prefectural city are so expensive. I can't afford it. I can't afford it. "Little brother, if you're going to buy a hairpin, just buy a hairpin. Buying this box is unnecessary. Why waste 200 coins? You might as well buy a gift for Mother and make her happy."

Your affairs will be handled much more smoothly then, won't they?

"Big brother is right, we should buy something for Mom. What do you think we should get?"

"Older people like bracelets, so let's buy one. Make it as thick as possible, because Mom likes to show off, and it would be embarrassing if it were too thin."

"Big brother really understands Mom; he suggested we get a bigger house through the redevelopment."

Doctor Yang also chose a silver hairpin, which cost only 1.5 taels of silver. After paying, Lu Yunzhou asked the shop assistant what fun places there were in the prefectural city. "Shop assistant, I'd like to ask, what fun places are there in the prefectural city?"

"These past few days have been the Tianyuan Temple Fair, and people from all around have come to the temple. It's very lively. Moreover, Tianyuan Temple is always bustling with worshippers. Master Zhikong's fortune telling and face reading are very accurate. Every year at the temple fair, the master gives a sermon, and many people go there specifically to see Master Zhikong."

Master Zhikong is a highly accomplished monk; I heard he's over 100 years old, and his eyebrows are all white, though I've never actually met him.