She asked, âDid you hand over the jade bracelet to Madame Lu?ân/o/vel/b//in dot c//om
âHow did you know?â
âIf you didnât hand it in, such a valuable item would cause a great commotion in the Lu Residence if it was lost.â
Feeling embarrassed, he said, âWife, I was really poor at the time, and I had thought about keeping the jade bracelet for myself. But my greed wasnât that strong, and I figured the owner must be worried about the bracelet. So, I handed it over to Madame Lu.â
âWhy didnât you give it to the housekeeper?â
âIf I had given it to the housekeeper, he might have fired me and kept the bracelet for himself. In that case, I might as well have hidden it, letting the Lu Residence be in a mess. I would have found a way to take the bracelet out, like digging a hole in the thatched house. Even if they searched me when I left the Lu Residence, I would still have a chance to retrieve it later. Considering Madame Lu was such a virtuous person, I knew that if I handed over the bracelet, it would eventually be returned to its rightful owner.â
âIt was Madame Luâs own bracelet.â
âWife, youâre really smart. Indeed, it was.â He nodded, âAs I handed over the bracelet to Madame Lu when she passed by, she looked at me approvingly a few times. She complimented me for being young, handsome, upright, and dependable. She praised me a lot. She even gave me twenty taels of reward money. And that day, she had the housekeeper arrange a separate guest room for me in the Mansion. I was really surprised at the time and thought Madame Lu was such a good person. Suddenly having a high-end guest room, I felt as if sleeping on a saintâs bed.â
âFinding a bracelet, getting praised for your character, and being called handsome and dependableâ¦â She pondered, âXiao Yuchuan, youâre quite lucky with women! When a woman praises you as handsome and reliable, and arranges a separate room for you, sheâs either choosing a son-in-law or a husband. But, there doesnât seem to be a young lady in the Lu Residence who matches your age⦠Madame Lu is a widowâ¦â Almost sure, âXiao Yuchuan, Madame Lu has taken a fancy to you.â
His voice became softer, âThat night, Madame Lu personally brought me two small dishes and a pot of wine to my roomâ¦â
She raised her eyebrows, âAnd then?â Originally, she thought that third brother might have had something with Madame Lu. It was just mentioned that he was⦠a virgin.
âMadame Lu praised me again and asked me how I felt about her. Of course, I said that she was virtuous, kind, and had a good heart because thatâs how everyone else described her. She asked me if I thought she was pretty, and I said yes. She asked if I liked herâ¦ââ
âYou said you liked her.â
He shook his head, âDamn wife, aside from you, could I just randomly say that I like someone?â
She rolled her eyes, âYou didnât even know me at that time.â
âEven if I didnât know you, I still couldnât just say it.â He said seriously, âWhen Madame Lu tried to sit on my lap, I was so scared that I stood up and told her that I had always respected her like a mother. Her facial expression became tense, and she finally left.â
âThat was a good move, hurting her ego to the extreme. You treated her as your mom.â
âShe was already thirty-eight years old four years ago. No matter how well she maintained herself, she was an old granny. I was only eighteen years old at that time.â He snorted, âThere was no way I could let her, an old cow, graze on fresh grass like me.â
She chuckled, âBut sheâs a wealthy old cow and still good-looking. Xiao Yuchuan, if you had followed her, there would be no heir to the Lu Residence, and the wealth would have fallen into your hands.â