Remarrying Chun Yuan

Chapter 416 Men's Clothing

Xu Xianglan was stunned when she heard Liu Yuechu's words. "I... I still have this opportunity?"

Liu Yuechu remained expressionless and remarkably calm. "Don't think this is a simple matter; in fact, it's very stressful."

"A total of two thousand carving masters attended this carving competition. Yesterday's preliminary rounds eliminated eight hundred, leaving one thousand two thousand."

“Your position was vacant yesterday, but I can use my connections to get you directly into today’s competition. However, the prerequisite is that you are capable enough to be among the top 100.”

"Even if the last hundred people don't have the honor of being in the palace, they still have to work for the emperor. Once you become one of the emperor's people, not only your grandmother, but even your father can't do anything to you."

"Only if you are personally capable will more people protect you, instead of just me."

Liu Yuechu made her point very clearly: "Besides, there are many women in the capital who are just as wronged as you, or even more wronged than you. I can't possibly take care of them all."

"Besides, as you know, the Emperor needs your father to do things now, and I shouldn't have stood up to him. Even if she is the Duchess, she shouldn't interfere in your family affairs. I've already interfered too much."

Liu Yuechu picked up her teacup to moisten her throat. The reason she made such a decision was because she saw Huang Wanwan's anger and felt great sympathy for Xu Xianglan.

She didn't want Huang Wanwan to let her emotions get the better of her and cause too much trouble.

"If you feel unsure, I can give you some money so you can leave the Duke's mansion quietly. As for where you want to go, I won't even ask."

"This is only because the person who saved you is my sister-in-law; otherwise, I would never have allowed you to enter the Duke's mansion."

"..." Huang Wanwan pursed her lips and looked at her. She understood the meaning behind Liu Yuechu's words and realized that she was deliberately ignoring Li Chengyue and did not want him to get involved in this mess.

She did empathize with Xu Xianglan, but she also understood that everything depended on herself. "You should make a decision quickly. The Duke has said that the Xu family can only be detained until noon. After noon, they will naturally have to leave."

Xu Xianglan took a few deep breaths, knowing she didn't have much time to think it over.

"I choose the first one!"

She finally mustered her courage and said, "I am grateful to the Duchess and Madam for helping me, and I understand even more that I have to rely on myself in everything."

"If I truly lack the ability to enter the top 100, I will shave my head and become a nun, and I will absolutely not involve the Duke's mansion in the slightest!"

She finally mustered up the courage to do something she really wanted to do.

Liu Yuechu smiled slightly and exchanged a glance with Huang Wanwan. "Then you will take her to the Imperial Household Department? If I go, it will naturally attract too much attention."

"Find a boy's clothes for her to change into. Let her dress as a boy for now, so that no one will notice and target her."

Xu Xianglan has a good figure and slightly tanned skin, so she wouldn't look too out of place dressed as a man.

Huang Wanwan thought this method was excellent. "I'm good at this, I can help you!" When she was little, she often dressed up as a boy to go out and play, otherwise she wouldn't have been able to beat people up so effectively.

The moment the topic of women dressing as men came up, the maids became very interested.

Xia Zhi even specially called Liu Tao over and asked him to fetch a set of clothes.

Everyone busied themselves and got Xu Xianglan dressed. They even dusted off some gray on her face, making her a handsome young man, though she still looked a bit too young compared to the rough-looking sculptors.

“I told you you’re a distant relative, and no one would easily harm you.” Huang Wanwan was still willing to help her.

Liu Yuechu had someone bring her two strings of copper coins and a handful of loose silver. "You need to spend some time among men. Don't be stingy when things happen. If you encounter any trouble, you can always settle it by spending money on food and drinks."

"This competition won't last too long, so please be patient."

Seeing her current attire and the silver handed to her by the maids, Xu Xianglan couldn't help but shed tears. "Thank you, Madam, this humble woman thanks you so much..."

"What do you mean, 'commoner'? From now on, you'll call yourself Xu Lang." Huang Wanwan scolded. "Alright, stop dawdling. I'll take you to the Sculpture Competition right now."

She looked at Liu Yuechu, "Is there anything else you want to tell me?"

Liu Yuechu looked at Xu Xianglan and said, "Since there can be one me in this world, there can be thousands upon thousands of me. No one is irreplaceable, as long as you have the courage."

Xu Xianglan carefully wrote it down, and then kowtowed to Liu Yuechu.

Huang Wanwan pulled and tugged at her, dragging her away. All the way, she kept reminding her not to be so fussy and affected, otherwise people would immediately see through her being a young woman.

After watching them leave, Liu Yuechu stood quietly in the courtyard, lost in thought.

Granny Fang looked at her and asked, "What's wrong? Have you been feeling sad this morning?"

"I just feel that being a woman is too difficult," Liu Yuechu muttered, then looked at Gu Yu.

Why did she have to fall for Wei Tianxuan? After being rejected, she became completely infatuated. Why is it always women who fall in love?

"Alright, let's eat. After noon, call Xu Shan in. I'll talk to him. Send the rest of the Xu family members away. I won't see any of them."

Liu Yuechu understood why Yuan Cuo suddenly gave her a cold shoulder; she didn't want too many people to bother her, otherwise she would be annoyed every day.

"And what about that rich man from the neighboring county? He dug a hole in the door and tried to curry favor with me. What's his business? Go and investigate him. Maybe he's some kind of mole."

There are too many people eyeing the Duke's mansion now, and she won't let go of any clue; she must eliminate them completely.

The guards in the manor received the order and immediately went to investigate.

Liu Yuechu leisurely waited until noon to have lunch, while Xu Shan was brought from outside into the mansion.

He had been kneeling all morning, and his legs were already numb, his knees were bruised, and his calves were swollen like radishes.

Upon hearing that the guards had summoned him, he couldn't even stand up. Two men carried him directly into the mansion, where he prostrated himself on the ground to pay his respects to Liu Yuechu.

"I am Xu Shan, and I pay my respects to the Duchess of the State." He managed to utter the words with all his might.

He knew he had overestimated himself, and now he had no arrogance whatsoever.

"The Duke has always doted on me, as you know. So, he's bound to be angry that I rushed to his mansion so early in the morning."

"Besides, your daughter is missing, why don't you report it to the authorities instead of coming to me?"

Liu Yuechu sat upright with a serious expression, showing no patience whatsoever. "I don't care what happened in your household or what difficulties you have, but you'd better not use the Duke's mansion's name to make a fuss all the time."

"I will let this matter go and not dwell on it, considering your past generosity in helping me complete the carving."

"But it's best to avoid a next time."