diskusbooks Chapter 246 Do you like me?
Chapter 246 Do you like me?
Li Xianda was delighted at the thought of the booming business ahead.
"Look at you, how could I not do this for you? I'll go and find out their foot lengths first," Zhou Hanzhang said.
"Hey, do you think I'd let you do this? As imperial merchants, it would be absurd for me not to know the length of their feet."
"I've prepared everything. Remember to bring it with you when you visit the Empress Dowager, okay? I'll have someone deliver it to your home first."
"...Okay, then you go ahead with your work, I'll be going now."
Aren't you taking these shoes back with you?
"I'll wear your new shoes because they're comfortable. You can take these old ones back to the manor for me later."
Zhou Hanzhang, having received new shoes, walked with a swagger. She was preoccupied with Zhou Tong's experimental results and gossiping about Jiang Yichen's marriage proposal, and unconsciously found herself at the entrance of Youjian Bookstore.
The Jiang family members had just come out of Youjian Bookstore, and none of them looked too happy.
It seems Zhou Tong rejected him?
"Brother Hanzhang".
Jiang Mingyun saw her, went up to greet her, and then winked at her.
Zhou Hanzhang understood immediately. After greeting Madam Jiang, he said, "The Dean said that we have a competition with other academies soon and wants Mingyun and me to participate, so I picked up Mingyun to go back and discuss it."
Madam Jiang was still angry after being rejected, so she didn't have time to think about these things. "Then you can go."
Zhou Hanzhang quickly pulled Jiang Mingyun away.
Where is your brother?
"My brother was kept behind by Sister Zhou, who said she had something to say."
After the two had walked away, Jiang Mingyun patted his chest and said, "Luckily, Brother Hanzhang, you arrived in time. Otherwise, I was afraid that my brother would take his anger out on me when he came out later."
Zhou Hanzhang's gossip-loving nature was burning brightly: "Rejected?"
“That’s right, I knew Sister Zhou would never be interested in my brother.”
"Come on, let me treat you to tea, we can talk about it later."
Zhou Hanzhang was very generous. He took Jiang Mingyun directly to the best teahouse in the capital, served her a pot of fine tea and a lot of snacks, and pushed them all in front of her, saying, "Let's eat and talk."
Jiang Mingyun first took a sip of tea to calm her nerves before telling Zhou Hanzhang what had happened.
After Zhou Hanzhang left in the morning, the Jiang family went to Zuixianlou. When it was lunchtime, Madam Jiang was worried that Zhou Tong was hungry, so she specially sent someone to ask Zhou Tong if she wanted to come and have lunch together.
Who knew Zhou Tong was still asleep at that time.
They ate until the afternoon, thinking that Zhou Tong should have woken up by then, and then went to Youjian Bookstore in a large group.
Zhou Tong did wake up. At that time, she was eating the food that Xiao Ba had packed back. When she learned that the Jiang family had come again, she could only quickly finish her meal, wash up briefly, and then come out to entertain them.
At first, she was puzzled. She didn't seem to have any special relationship with the Jiang family, right? Why was almost the entire family here except for Minister Jiang?
To everyone's surprise, Madam Jiang didn't mention marriage at all. She just chatted casually, asking Zhou Tong her age, where she lived, how many people were in her family, and what she did for a living. Only then did she ask if she was married.
Zhou Tong then realized what was happening, looked up at Jiang Yichen standing to the side, and, keeping it hidden from others, slightly moved her lips, "What do you mean by that?"
Jiang Yichen didn't say anything, he just smiled and looked at her.
Zhou Tong wasn't used to beating around the bush. She was pressed for time and wanted to finish her research after dinner, so she went straight to Madam Jiang and asked, "Madam Jiang, what brings you here today?"
"It's a bit impolite to say this," Madam Jiang said with a smile.
Upon hearing this, Zhou Tong became wary and thought to herself: "Don't be so rude."
But there's nothing we can do; what's coming will come.
"Here's the thing, my son came back yesterday and told me that he's in love with Boss Zhou and wants to ask you for your hand in marriage. So I shamelessly came over to ask for your opinion."
Zhou Tong groaned inwardly, but maintained a calm and composed demeanor. "Just now, Madam asked about my background. I know that my status is lowly and I am not worthy of your esteemed son. I would never dare to presume upon such a high position."
Madam Jiang didn't react for a while until Jiang Mingyun tugged at her sleeve, and she realized that Zhou Tong had rejected her.
She was initially a little angry, and her smile faded. "But what's wrong with my son?"
“How could Young Master Jiang be bad? He is good in every way. It’s just that I’m not good enough for him. He should find a lady from a prestigious family, not a commoner like me.”
Zhou Tong belittled herself relentlessly, almost calling herself a piece of trash, and finally kindly advised her to give herself away.
Although Zhou Tong portrayed herself as utterly worthless, Madam Jiang knew these were just excuses; Zhou Tong simply didn't want to marry Jiang Yichen.
Although Madam Jiang was angry, there was nothing she could do; she couldn't very well take the person away by tying them up.
Just as she was about to leave with her people, Jiang Yichen said to her, "Mother, please take Mingyun back first. Don't tell Father about today's matter yet. I still have something to say to Boss Zhou."
Left with no other choice, Madam Jiang could only leave with Jiang Mingyun.
Zhou Tong originally wanted Jiang Yichen to leave with her, but if things weren't made clear today, he might come back to bother her again in the future, so she acquiesced to him staying.
Seeing Jiang Yichen's dark expression, Zhou Tong worried that things might get ugly later, so she instructed Xiao Ba, "I have something to discuss with Young Master Jiang. Could you see Madam Jiang and Miss Jiang off for me?"
He then led Jiang Yichen to the backyard.
As soon as they entered the backyard, Jiang Yichen grabbed Zhou Tong's hand. "What do you mean?"
Zhou Tong gently brushed his hand away and said calmly, "I just told your mother that I'm not good enough for you. To me, you are the moon in the sky and I am the dust on the ground. We are not meant to be together, and we are not suitable for each other."
"We've never even spent time together, so how can you say we're not compatible?" Jiang Yichen knew perfectly well that this was just an excuse.
"We don't even need to get to know each other. Just look at our social status and family background—are we a good match?"
“If that’s what you’re worried about, I’ve already made arrangements. These aren’t problems. I know you’re an orphan. I’ve already asked Dean Mo Xuan. If you’re willing, he will take you in as his goddaughter. Then you can marry me as Dean Mo Xuan’s goddaughter, and no one will say anything.”
Zhou Tong laughed immediately, "Look, you know yourself that my current status is not good enough for you."
But I'm not afraid to tell you the truth, I'm very satisfied with my current status. Although I've never been married, have no family, I have freedom. I can go wherever I want and do whatever I want.
Let me ask you this: if I agreed to marry you, would you let me continue living the life I have now? I'm afraid not.
Furthermore, ask yourself: a man like you, handsome, talented, and with a good background, would be an ideal husband that women would find hard to find even if they went to another country, let alone the Great Zhou.
But the most important question is, do you like me? Are you marrying me because you like me, or is it because you feel guilty after we slept together?