When blocked from entering again, Li Youcai quickly explained, "I am your employer's husband. Please inform her."
"How come I don't know our employer has a husband? Could you be a swindler? Wait at the door." The woman appraised him from head to toe, disbelieving that their esteemed employer, who they saw as an immortal, would have such a husband. But just in case it was true, she decided she still had to inform her.
Hearing the announcement, Wu Caiwei immediately thought of Li Youcai. Weren't those two doing fine in the village? Why had they come to the city? Wu Caiwei considered it, and decided to go out and meet him to see what other mischief he was up to.
Disregarding the shocked gaze of the woman beside him, Wu Caiwei slowly walked out.
He hadn't expected it to be the employer's husband. He repeatedly replayed the encounter in his mind, wondering if his attitude had been too harsh and how he could make amends.
As soon as he saw Wu Caiwei emerge, Li Youcai hurried forward. "Yuanyue, you've become more beautiful with your attire; I almost didn't recognize you." Li Youcai's exclamation was sincere. He hadn't expected a woman as ordinary-looking as Sun Yuanyue to be so beautiful when dressed up. Her every movement exuded a unique charm, making her very pleasant to look at, though he couldn't quite describe it.
"Speak quickly if you have something to say. My time is precious." Seeing Li Youcai's fawning smile, Wu Caiwei raised an eyebrow. She wondered if this man was trying to rekindle their relationship. She mused to herself that if that were the case, his audacity must be thicker than the city walls.
"It's been a while since we last met, so I came to see you. Ever since our separation, I've regretted it. It's better to be with one's original spouse, especially since we have Zhutao as our daughter. We can adopt if we don't have a son..." Li Youcai continued to ramble on, but Wu Caiwei quickly interrupted him.
"I hear the implication in your words that you want to come back. Li Youcai, you make me look down on you more and more. You were the one with ulterior motives, and you're the one who wants to come back now. Do I look like a fool to you?" Wu Caiwei was genuinely amused by his thick skin.
"Yuanyue, I know I wronged you. As the saying goes, a day as husband and wife builds a hundred days of grace. We have so many years of shared history..."
Wu Caiwei interrupted him again. "If you're here today to talk about these things, I don't want to hear it. Even if every man in the world died, I wouldn't take you back. Let this be a one-time thing. Get out now. If you show up again, I'll give your bones a good loosening, and see if you can still come."
Li Youcai looked at her stern face, hesitating. But thinking of the money she was making, he remained persistent.
Seeing his expression, Wu Caiwei understood everything. She lured him into a small alley, beat him severely, and warned him never to appear before her again before returning to the shop.
When Li Youcai limped home, his mother was stunned to see him in such a state. "How did you get so badly injured? Which scoundrel beat you up like this? I'll get justice for you."
"It's nothing, I just fell while walking," Li Youcai said nonchalantly.
"How can you be so careless when walking? You're like a child." His mother grumbled as she took out the household medicinal wine to apply to his injuries.
Subconsciously, he didn't want anyone, not even his parents, to know that Wu Caiwei had beaten him.
Liu Yu poured some wine and made a couple of small dishes, inviting Li Youcai over for a meal under the guise of thanking him for his recent care.
While eating, Liu Yu reminisced about their time together.
As he listened, Li Youcai felt a pang of guilt. Liu Yu originally had a complete family, and he had turned her into a widow for his own selfish reasons. Now, if he were to pursue Wu Caiwei again, how would Liu Yu, a widow, survive? However, giving up on Wu Caiwei meant giving up a vast amount of money, and he was unwilling to do so.
To escape his own thoughts, he drank continuously, trying to numb himself. Unbeknownst to him, he drank too much.
The next day, Li Youcai woke up with a splitting headache. He opened his blurry eyes, looking at the unfamiliar surroundings, and wondered where he was. He shifted his head slightly to the right, and a cold sweat broke out, instantly dispelling his sleepiness.
"You... how are you in my bed?" Li Youcai stammered.
"You're asking me, Brother Youcai. You drank so much at my place yesterday, and when you were drunk, you mistook me for your wife. I resisted, but you dragged me to bed. How could I, a weak woman, be a match for you?" As she spoke, Liu Yu began to cry.
"Don't cry. I'll take responsibility for you, but you need to give me some time." Li Youcai's head throbbed. He had just gone to see Wu Caiwei yesterday, and today such a thing had happened. If Wu Caiwei found out, there would be no possibility of them reconciling.
"As a widow, people are already gossiping about me behind my back. Now that I've genuinely been intimate with you, there's no clearing my name even if I jumped into the Yellow River. I might as well die." Liu Yu pressed him, wanting a definite answer. Otherwise, wouldn't her scheme be in vain?
"One month. I'll resolve all the problems in one month." Li Youcai thought about it and gave this timeframe. He wasn't completely repulsed by Liu Yu; after all, she had been his dream girl for years. However, his priority now was to appease Sun Yuanyue. If they couldn't reconcile in the end, then Liu Yu would be his last resort.
"Then you must be quick, or I won't be able to show my face." Having received a definite answer, Liu Yu was satisfied but couldn't help but urge him, fearing a change in circumstances.
In the past, Li Youcai often met up with his merchant friends for drinks and sometimes stayed overnight at their homes. Therefore, his parents didn't react much to him not coming home at night. If they had known he was involved with Liu Yu next door, his mother would never have allowed such a thing to happen.
Wu Caiwei, bored, went out to stroll through the streets, looking for opportunities to start new businesses and open more shops.
As she walked through the bustling market, she saw a woman tightly clinging to a man, refusing to let go. From his back, Wu Caiwei could sense the man's impatience. However, the woman seemed oblivious, chattering incessantly around him. The man tried several times to pull his hand away but couldn't.
Initially, Wu Caiwei thought that ancient customs were quite liberal, allowing men and women to be so physically affectionate in public. But it was someone else's business and had nothing to do with her. However, when the man turned around, she couldn't stand idly by.
She quickly strode forward, pushing the woman away with force. "Can't you see he doesn't want to bother with you? Yet you cling to him shamelessly. A woman should have some self-respect."
"What business is it of yours? I'm talking to my cousin. What kind of crazy woman is meddling in other people's affairs?" Jin Baozhu looked at Wu Caiwei in bewilderment.
Li Yuheng looked at the woman who had shielded him, and for some reason, he felt an urge to cry. It was as if he had known her for a long time. He felt that he had been unwilling to marry all these years, waiting for her. Although this thought was absurd, to have such feelings upon their first meeting was shameful, yet he was unwilling to let go.
"Cousin, you're not going to help me and chase this crazy woman away?" Jin Baozhu's coquettish voice pulled him back to reality.
"She's not wrong!" Li Yuheng's words infuriated Jin Baozhu to the point of tears.