Chapter 10: Declaration: My Husband is Er Gouzi

After realizing she was beautiful, Xia Yulin's mood improved immensely; the matter of nearly being sentenced to death was tossed to the back of her mind.

Holding the money given by the shop owner and leaning on her crutch, she first went to the medical clinic to have the female doctor apply medicine to her buttocks, then went to a roadside stall to eat her fill. After buying a few more things, she finally walked up to the "taxi" with the intention of taking a rickshaw back to the Xia Estate.

She really didn't want to go back to the Xia Estate, but now was not the time to leave.

If she was going to leave, she had to wait until she had saved enough money.

As far as she knew, Xia Luokui's mother had left her quite a few good things before she died. Combined with the monthly allowance provided by the estate and such, it should be enough for her to live a somewhat comfortable life on her own. She had to get her hands on that property first.

That being said, the bag of money the shop owner gave her looked very bulging, but it was actually filled with copper coins. Because the denomination was so low, she had spent it all until only a few coins remained. She didn't have enough to pay the fare, and since the rickshaw driver refused to give a discount, she had no choice but to haggle with him.

Because she was so deeply engrossed in the negotiation, she didn't notice a certain tall, rich, and handsome man walking toward her, nor did she spare him a single glance.

"The weather is truly wonderful today—" The handsome man deliberately walked very slowly, making small talk to try and attract her attention, but he failed.

Helpless, he could only pretend to be casual as he brushed past her, then paused and said in feigned surprise, "Xia Luokui, why are you here?"

Xia Yulin pretended not to hear him and continued haggling with the driver.

Feeling he had lost face, the handsome man grabbed her hand: "Xia Luokui, this Marquis is speaking to you."

Xia Yulin looked up and pulled her hand away: "Who are you? What are you doing? Seeing that I'm pretty, are you trying to seduce me?"

She refused to admit she knew this man!

Fine, even if she did know him, she would try her best to pretend she didn't. She would humiliate him as much as possible and refuse to be vague about it!

The Marquis sneered, "You possess a mere two points of beauty, yet you dare to think yourself a peerless beauty?"

Xia Yulin immediately waved her hand: "Then please have some taste and don't accost a stranger with only two points of beauty in the middle of the street."

"A stranger?" The corner of the Marquis's mouth twitched slightly. "In the blink of an eye, you're pretending not to know your fiancé? Have you already forgotten how you threw yourself into my arms in public just now?"

Earlier, while he was eating at Prefect Ma's house, he had been unable to enjoy the food. His mind was elsewhere, constantly thinking about Xia Luokui, whose personality had suddenly changed. He kept wondering what had happened to her and wished he could go see her immediately.

As a result, after he finally finished the meal and went straight to the street to find her, even going so far as to greet her proactively, she actually pretended not to know him?

"Fiancé?" Xia Luokui was shocked, her eyes widening even larger than copper bells. "My fiancé is clearly Er Gouzi, the pig farmer from the Zhang family! No matter how much you look like Er Gouzi, you can't impersonate him like this!"

The Marquis's face contorted slightly: "..."

Was he currently suffering the greatest humiliation of his life?

He was an indisputable, famous beauty, and she was a little woman who should only be worshiping him, yet she dared to... speak of him like that?

Seeing how terrible his expression was, Xia Yulin felt quite satisfied: "No matter how hard you try, you can't compare to Er Gouzi. So, give up on that idea! Never see me again!"

The handsome man's face contorted even more severely. Should he argue with her in public?

Xia Yulin ignored his distorted face, wiggled her body to climb onto the rickshaw, sat sideways, and said to the driver, "Just to the intersection is fine, hurry up."

The driver was stingy, saying seven copper coins would only get her to the intersection; since she was in a hurry to shake off this "monkey lord," she accepted it.

However, before the vehicle even started moving, several female passersby rushed over and blocked her path, looking at her with gritted teeth.

One of them said indignantly, "Eleventh Miss, you have been engaged to Marquis Pei since childhood, and this outstanding gentleman is Marquis Pei! Just now at the yamen, Marquis Pei helped you greatly. How can you repay kindness with enmity and mock the Marquis like this? If you do not immediately bow and apologize to the Marquis, we will never let you off!"

In all of Luoyun Town, there wasn't a single woman who didn't want to marry the Marquis, nor was there one who wasn't jealous of the Xia Eleventh Miss.

Seeing the Xia Eleventh Miss openly bullying the Marquis, they could no longer endure it.

"Is that so?" Xia Yulin's buttocks were aching, and she didn't want to make a scene with them. "Fine, although I don't believe in this man, I believe in you! I swear, if I fail to recognize the Marquis next time, punish me by making me break up with him completely and never see each other again for the rest of our lives!"

The Marquis: "..."

The women: "..."

"It's a deal then, never see me again!" Xia Luokui waved at them and urged the driver, "Turn the corner, hurry!"

She would absolutely never marry a scumbag like this monkey lord!

But before canceling the engagement, she had to make him suffer first, to vent Xia Luokui's anger!

As soon as the wheels began to turn, she turned her head and shouted, "Marquis, don't you dare follow me, otherwise people will think you love me very much!"

The Marquis immediately pulled back the foot he had half-stepped forward, his hands clenching tightly. This woman... why has she become even more annoying?

And yet, he found himself even more interested in this version of her.

Xia Yulin turned her head and forgot him, thinking instead about what she would encounter once she got home.

Before long, they reached the Xiangyun Street intersection. The driver refused to go a single step further, so she had to get off, leaning on her crutch as she walked with uneven steps toward the Xia Estate at the end of the street.

The magnificent, grand, and elegant gates of the Xia family finally appeared before her eyes.

But—

The Xia family gates were tightly closed, hung with white funeral banners and adorned with white wreaths. Beside the door were two conspicuous spirit tablets and incense burners; one tablet was inscribed with "Xia Shi Lai Xiang," and the other was inscribed with "Xia Shi Luokui."

She slammed her crutch heavily onto the ground.

Wanting to curse her to death? Not a chance!