Chapter 293: Guests at the Front Hall Banquet

 Chapter 292: Acting Suspiciously

 Chapter 291: Teaching Shu Yu a Lesson

Chapter 290: The Three Young Masters Arrive at the Ding Residence Li Shi was quite angry, but fortunately, Liang Shi didn't mention the fact that she was helping the old lady make doll clothes. Otherwise, Li Shi would have exploded on the spot and rushed to the county town to blame the old lady for favoring the third branch and disregarding their family. Lu Sanzhu and Liang Shi shamelessly claimed that they didn't have time to prepare dinner and ended up having dinner at Lu Dasong's place. Lu Dasong didn't say anything. After all, it was Lu Sanzhu who helped Lan Hua in trouble today. In the county town, the Lu family had no idea about the actions of Lu Sanzhu and his wife. After finishing dinner, they discussed the preparations for the gift and ceremony for Da Hu to prepare for apprenticeship. Although it was a joyous occasion for Lu Sanzhu to find work, the most important thing for them was the result of Da Hu meeting Master Wen today. Upon learning that Master Wen was very satisfied, Lu Erbai was ecstatic. He patted Da Hu on the shoulder and said, "Listen to the teacher's words, study hard, get along well with your classmates, and ask questions if you don't understand, understand?" "Yes, I understand." Da Hu nodded heavily. The rest of the Lu family also had faces filled with contentment. Ruan Shi turned her head and quietly wiped away her tears. She had never imagined that her son would one day sit in a school and learn to read with teacher Wen. She had never thought that their family would have such peaceful and calm days. Da Ya sat beside her and quietly held Ruan Shi's hand. The two of them glanced at each other and suddenly smiled. Facing Da Hu, who was about to start school, everyone in the Lu family couldn't help but feel a bit worried. After all, it was their first time experiencing such a thing, and each person couldn't help but give a few reminders. Even San Ya, with a very sad expression, said to Da Hu, "I won't be able to accompany you to play in the future, brother. You have to learn to take care of yourself, concentrate on studying, and don't miss me too much... and Zhaocai, you know?" Da Hu tugged at her little braid. "You take care of yourself too." Everyone in the house, except for Shu Yu, didn't say much. When everyone had given their instructions, she turned to Lu Erbai and said, "Father, we made an appointment with teacher Wen for the day after tomorrow. Since you are going to Doctor Xu tomorrow to have the plaster removed, why don't you take Da Hu to the Shuxian Academy to perform the ceremony of apprenticeship?" Lu Erbai immediately nodded, "Okay." His leg had almost healed, and the splint on his lower leg could be removed. Although he couldn't walk vigorously yet, he was slowly recovering. This was another great joy for the Lu family. Therefore, the next day, Lu Sanzhu and his wife came over, and the old lady assigned Lu Sanzhu to drive the cart, accompanied by Da Ya, to go with Lu Dasong to Doctor Xu to remove the plaster. At this time, Shu Yu was alone, holding the jade pendant, and appeared at the gate of the Ding residence. Shu Yu had been here once before, and she still had the token given to her by Ding Yuehua, so she was quickly invited in. Just as Shu Yu entered, the three young masters who had clashed with him in the Peach Blossom Forest yesterday arrived at the gate of the Ding residence as well. All three of them had grim expressions and looked a bit haggard. They had planned to change their clothes before coming to visit the young master of the Ding family, seeking his help to teach the Lu family a lesson. However, when they were preparing to take a bath, they discovered that the jade token needed to enter the black market was missing. How could this be? Without this item, not only would their purpose for this trip be in vain, but they would also face punishment upon their return.

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 Chapter 289: Innocent Lan Hua

 Chapter 288: Asking Ding Yuehua

Chapter 287: The Great Use of the Jade Pendant Lu Sanzhu was a bit angry. Did he look like the kind of person who would steal things? At most, he was just good at seizing opportunities. He pointed at the jade pendant and said, "When they were mocking and insulting me by the lotus pond, they got too agitated and somehow dropped it into the water. As soon as I saw it, I held my breath and went underwater to pick it up." Shu Yu examined the jade pendant, which had the carving of the word "Shi" on it. She didn't know what it meant. Lu Sanzhu, however, spoke mysteriously, "Do you know what this jade pendant is for?" "Are you planning to pick it up and sell it?" "Well, I did think about it, but this jade pendant has a greater purpose." Lu Sanzhu lowered his voice even further. "Actually, before they intercepted Lan Hua, I had already seen those three young masters." At that time, Lu Sanzhu had nothing to do after leaving teacher Wen and the others in the pavilion, so he found a hidden place to take a nap. Just as he was about to fall asleep, the three young masters arrived. Lu Sanzhu had chosen a sneaky spot where he could see and hear them without being easily noticed unless they bent down and got closer to him. So the three young masters thought no one was around and sat down to rest their feet while chatting. The information conveyed in just a few sentences was huge, and Lu Sanzhu was stunned listening to it, almost unable to control himself from exposing his presence. Fortunately, after resting for a while, they left, and Lu Sanzhu emerged from his hiding place. He had heard a major secret and had lost all sleepiness. He immediately wanted to come and find Shu Yu. But on his way, he coincidentally ran into those three young masters who stopped a girl. At first, Lu Sanzhu didn't recognize Lan Hua since her appearance was different from usual. He wasn't the kind of person who liked to meddle in other people's business, and those three young masters were not to be trifled with. How could he dare to be so presumptuous? Who would have thought that the girl's voice calling for help would sound so familiar? Lu Sanzhu turned his head for another look and was shocked to discover that the girl was none other than his own niece. Even if Lu Sanzhu lacked conscience and didn't like his eldest brother and sister-in-law, he couldn't just stand by and watch his own niece being bullied like that. And that's how he ended up being pushed into the water. Shu Yu understood. No wonder Lu Sanzhu had just told her after coming ashore that these three were from out of town and didn't want to escalate the matter. It turned out he had overheard their conversation earlier. "So, what did you hear them say? Does it have something to do with this jade pendant?" Lu Sanzhu nodded eagerly. "From what I heard, they came here this time to buy something. But not from the market or the shops, they're going to... the black market. It was the first time I knew that our Jiangyuan County even had a black market. Can you believe it? Even someone like me, who frequents the market, didn't know, but those three people from outside the county were so well-informed." The black market? Shu Yu looked at the jade pendant in her hand and suddenly understood the meaning behind the carved word "Shi" (market). Sure enough, Lu Sanzhu pointed at the jade pendant and said, "This thing is the token to enter the black market." Shu Yu's hand tightened. The black market. There were such places even in modern times, and she had been to them. Inside, various illicit items were traded, including firearms, antiques, gold, silver, and all sorts of things you could imagine and things you couldn't. She wondered how this black market here was different from the modern one. Special thanks to these patrons for their support!!!