Exile with Storage Space: Family Fortunes in the Barren Lands-Chapter 494 - 468: Proposal (1)

Lou Dalang hurriedly returned to the County Magistrate Mansion and went straight to the county magistrate’s study.

The county magistrate immediately asked him, "How was it? Does that Li Xing’an resemble Prince Luling?"

Lou Dalang struck his left palm with his right hand, shaking his head with a look of lingering fear, "Luckily, I came to Uncle Li here first. If I had gone directly to the village and offended the Li Family, I would have been in big trouble in the future."

County Magistrate Li smiled and said, "It’s not too late even now."

Lou Dalang, after learning about the Li family’s identity, like the county magistrate, did not disclose the matter to his wife.

Spreading such words too much will no longer keep it a secret.

When the family of Prince Luling just arrived, they must have been in a sorry state, which is why they didn’t reveal their identity.

If anyone rashly revealed the secret, it would undoubtedly offend their family, tearing away their dignity and embarrassing them.

He only told his wife that County Magistrate Li had a very good relationship with this relative from the Li Family, and for the sake of County Magistrate Li’s reputation, they shouldn’t be too overbearing toward the Li Family.

Lady Lou agreed on the surface, but in her heart, she was still unconvinced and looked down upon them.

It was still early before the official wedding day, and it was also late in the day, so Lou Dalang and his wife did not continue their journey, but stayed overnight at the county magistrate’s mansion. The next morning, they set out for the village with their servants and luggage.

The one leading the way was still Qin Hu.

Besides leading the way, Qin Hu also brought a letter from the county magistrate to Li Lixing.

The letter said that Li Lixing must return to the county town to take the gifts to the Li Family for the celebration.

Just like Prefect Lou’s thoughts, given the Li family’s current status, County Magistrate Li was not suitable to go in person, fearing that the villagers would speculate about the Li family’s identity, making it hard for the Li family to explain.

He would still have his son attend the banquet on his behalf.

He was worried that something might happen to the Li family, which is why he hurriedly sent Li Lixing to check on the situation. Li Lixing brought only some ordinary meeting gifts, such as dried goods from the south and north, which were not sufficient as wedding celebration gifts.

.

The weather over the past few days, though extremely cold, had only frosts in the morning and some light winds at night, while the daytime remained quite warm.

The sun shone brightly and the sky was clear.

With the good weather, the road leading to the village was smooth, and late in the morning, Lou Dalang and his group arrived in front of the Li Family’s house.

Qin Hu, who had gotten off his horse first, pointed at the house and said to Lou Dalang in the carriage, "Mr. Lou, this is the Li Mansion. I’ll go knock on the door first, please wait a moment."

Qin Hu strode forward and knocked on the large door of the house, "Uncle Gui, Uncle Gui, open the door quickly, someone from the Lou family has arrived."

Lou Dalang and Lady Lou got off the carriage together, and upon seeing a grand bamboo courtyard, Lou Dalang thought to himself, truly worthy of the Lu Ling Royal Mansion, even when banished, they wouldn’t be content with destitution.

On one side of the bamboo courtyard, there was a school, and at this hour of study time, the sound of reading aloud came from the school.

Lady Lou, however, softly pulled at her lips and whispered to Lou Dalang, "Apart from the large land and many houses, it’s still the residence of country folk."

Lou Dalang frowned and grunted softly, "Did you forget what I reminded you yesterday? We represent Father and Mother here. If we are disrespectful, it is like Father and Mother being disrespectful. Whatever needs to be said, wait until we return to Zhen An Prefecture."

Lady Lou was not one to forget her manners; she knew how to handle appearances. She was a steward’s wife, after all; she just couldn’t help but express her thoughts.

The door of the house opened from the inside, revealing a kind old man of about sixty, smiling warmly, "Qin Hu, you’re back?"

"Uncle Gui, someone from the Lou family has come." Qin Hu gestured to Lou Dalang and Lady Lou behind him, "It’s the elder brother and sister-in-law of Lou the Fifth. They represent the parents of Lou the Fifth and have brought the household servants for Wulang and Miss Li to command."

Uncle Gui was puzzled, there were also servants to command?

So many servants?

Wasn’t Lou Wulang saying he was the son of a stingy grocery shop owner?

Can a grocery shop afford eight servants?

Uncle Gui kept wondering, but he still respectfully cupped his hands and greeted the couple, "I am a servant of Eldest Young Madam of the Li Family. Mr. Lou and Lady Lou, you’ve had a long journey, please come in, come in."

He smiled and welcomed the couple inside.

Qin Hu accompanied them as the guide.

Lou Dalang returned the greeting with a smile, "Thank you, old gentleman."

He thought to himself, this is the dowry servant of Mr. Li’s wife, which means she is the dowry servant of the Heir’s wife. When the Li family returns to the Capital in the future, he might not even get to meet this old man.

The chief servant of the Heir’s wife in the Capital held a status equivalent to that of a seventh-rank official.

Lou Dalang further instructed his assistant beside him, "Bring the items in, park the carriage, and come inside together to meet Mr. and Mrs. Li."

When Lou Dalang and his wife came, besides bringing four small servants from Lou Chengye and two maids for the Second Princess, their own assistant and Lady Lou’s maid also came along.

The presence of these eight servants indeed startled Uncle Gui.

Uncle Gui couldn’t fathom how the household of a stingy grocery shop owner could afford eight servants.

Could it be that they owned ten grocery shops, the master shopkeeper?

For example, the Zhao family in the county town, their shops are spread across various state mansions, with dozens of shops, and their servants outnumber even those of the county magistrate’s family.

Thinking of this, Uncle Gui felt happy for Miss Li. It seems that Miss Li found a son-in-law from a well-off family.

Why, how did he misjudge back then, thinking that the second young master and miss had brought back a beggar?

The servants of the Lou family went to move the luggage and park the carriage, while Uncle Gui led Lou Dalang and his wife towards the north courtyard main house.

As they walked, Uncle Gui introduced the situation of the house.

The south courtyard is the residence of Li Xingmao and Chai Eying, the east courtyard is a row of rooms for several young ladies, and the west courtyard is a row for several young men.

The courtyard is large, but the layout inside is simple. Upon entering the mansion gate, bypassing a bamboo screen wall, there is a small garden planted with some year-round begonias and plum blossoms, as well as some bamboo.

Beyond this small garden and another bamboo screen wall lies the north courtyard main house.

There is a small clearing here, and on the clearing, a few children are playing with spinning tops.

Among them, the older child is the son of the county magistrate Li, Li Lixing.

Li Lixing saw Lou Dalang and said excitedly, "Brother Lou!" He also nodded towards Sister-in-law Lou, "Sister-in-law Lou."

Guoguo and Li Jing did not recognize the guests and just stood aside, staring blankly.

The children of Sister-in-law Lou’s family are not much older than Li Jing and Guoguo, and seeing the children, her face showed a slight smile. She smiled gently at Guoguo and Li Jing.

The two children also smiled gently back at her.

She thought to herself that the relationship between the County Magistrate Li and the Li family seemed to be quite good, as Li Lixing was playing with the Li family’s children.

"I’ve met your father. Your father asked me to tell you to behave yourself here." Lou Dalang stepped forward and patted Li Lixing on the shoulder with a smile.

"I’m behaving myself." Li Lixing chuckled.

Uncle Gui stepped up to the porch, called into the main house, "Madam, the family of Lou the Fifth from Zhen An Prefecture is here, it’s Brother Lou and Sister-in-law Lou."

Princess Consort Luling and Prince Luling, who were conversing in the bedroom, had already heard the voices outside. The two exchanged a glance and walked together into the main house.

Prince Luling said from the doorway, "Uncle Gui, please invite the guests in to sit."

"Alright." Uncle Gui lifted the wind-blocking cotton curtain and welcomed Lou Dalang and his wife inside.

Li Lixing and Qin Hu also followed them in.

The doorway was covered with a curtain, but because the roof had a bright tile, sunlight shone through it into the room, which made the room appear warm instead of dark.

Upon entering the room, Lou Dalang saw, at the upper end, a short, plump middle-aged man and a dignified and beautiful tall middle-aged woman standing.

Both were dressed in casual clothes with simple attire, but within their shallow smiles lay the faint majesty that members of the Imperial Family should have.

Li Lixing immediately said, "Brother Lou, this is Uncle Li and Aunt Li; they are the parents of Second Sister Li."

Realizing the two in front of him were Prince Luling and his wife, Lou Dalang subconsciously lowered his head, bowed deeply, and performed a ceremonial greeting, "Junior Lou Chengwen from Zhen An Prefecture’s Lou family, along with my wife, pay respects to Mr. and Mrs. Li."

Sister-in-law Lou was bewildered, wondering if such a formal greeting was necessary for a pair of middle-aged rural couples.

She did not perform a ceremonial greeting but merely curtsied lightly to Prince Luling and his wife, counting it as a greeting, "Hello, Mr. and Mrs. Li."

"Alright, alright, please have a seat." Prince Luling nodded with a smile.

Princess Consort Luling then told Uncle Gui, "Bring in the third young lady to serve tea."

The Second Princess is a maiden awaiting marriage and should not meet the groom’s family before the wedding.

The Great Princess was busy rushing to finish the wedding dresses for both the Second Princess and herself, working day and night, thus had no free time.

Only Li Yuzhu, who did not need to make wedding dresses, was free. After Mu Yuanxiu’s room was renovated, her days were mostly spent either chatting with Chai Eying to relieve boredom, playing with children, or occasionally going to the village to see patients, but most of the time she was idle at home.

"Understood, madam." Uncle Gui replied and left.

Lou Dalang turned towards the outside and said, "Bring in the items."

A servant responded and entered with several other servants and maids.

Each held something in their hands.

There were fabrics, brocade boxes.

Lou Dalang presented a red paper-wrapped gift envelope with both hands, "Mr. and Mrs. Li, my father is busy with official duties and cannot come in person, so he instructed me as the junior to preside over the matters of my fifth brother’s marriage. This is the birth chart of my fifth brother, and also the betrothal gifts."

Prince Luling smiled and said, "Your family places great importance on etiquette."

Princess Consort Luling took the gift envelope and then invited them to sit down.

Lou Dalang and his wife took their seats as guests.

By custom, the list of betrothal gifts should be opened face to face.