Zeng Ruixiang was surprised to see Lin Kangping suddenly kneeling in front of him, and he quickly wanted to help him up, but Lin Kangping insisted on not getting up. Zeng Ruixiang asked: "Child, how can this be? Why are you showing such great respect?"

  "Uncle Zeng, please listen to me. I didn't plan on saying this today, I wanted to wait until Miss Ziying was a bit older in two years. But just now, I heard you say that you want to arrange a marriage for her, and I got anxious. I've liked Miss Ziying for many years, so I agreed to help our young master manage the business in the capital for five years. After five years, the young master will set me free, and I've already done more than two years. I was thinking of accumulating some silver and then asking someone to be a matchmaker, but now that you've mentioned it today, I couldn't care less about other things. If I wait any longer, Miss Ziying will belong to someone else. Please help me, uncle."

  "But you're a slave, how can I let my daughter marry a slave? Don't mention this again, if it weren't for your usual good behavior, I would have driven you out immediately. From now on, you don't need to come looking for my daughter anymore." Zeng Rui Xiang was somewhat annoyed.

  "Uncle, don't be in a hurry, I've already removed my slave status two years ago. Don't believe me? Next time I come, I'll bring my household registration for you to see. Otherwise, how could I have spoken up? Even if I liked Miss Ziying again, I couldn't harm her. These two years, I used my monthly allowance to buy tea leaves and embroidery from here to sell to Westerners in Guangzhou. Now I have over a hundred taels of silver in my hands, although it's not much, but I believe that after working for another three years, I will definitely be able to buy some land, build a house, and give her the life she wants. For Miss Ziying, I've been working hard to make money, really. Please trust me, I'll treat her well."

  Zeng Ruixiang listened to the next few words, stood up and asked urgently: "Could it be that my daughter promised you something? Or did you secretly decide on a lifelong commitment without telling us?"

  "Where did Uncle go? Zi Qing is not that kind of girl, besides, she's just a little girl. I'm afraid she hasn't even matured yet, this is just my one-sided wish. I've been watching over her for many years now. Speaking of which, she's actually my benefactor. Originally, I thought our young master liked her, and I could only silently watch over her from the side. Caring about her was enough. But our young master couldn't give Zi Qing a good status, and Uncle's family didn't want to let Zi Qing climb up that wealthy ladder either. I just wanted to find someone who would treat Zi Qing well, I'm afraid if I don't speak out today, there won't be another chance for me to say it again, so I've mustered the courage to open my heart to Uncle and beg of him to take into account my deep feelings for Zi Qing, and grant me this wish."

  Zeng Ruixiang listened for a moment and asked: "Have you studied? Are there any relatives at home? Is there any correspondence?"

  Originally, Lin Kangping's old home was in a small village outside the capital. He had been weak and sickly since childhood, and his family worried that they couldn't afford to raise him, and didn't want to waste money on him. At the age of five, he was sold to the Wen family and followed Wen San around. As the third child in the household, initially, his mother would still come visit him every month and take away the monthly allowance. A few years later, he followed Young Master Wen to Anzhou and lost contact with his family. He had someone ask about them and was told that their lives were a bit easier now. After he left his position as a servant, he went back to see them once, but when they heard he was no longer serving as the young master's attendant, they thought there was nothing to gain from him and were very cold towards him. In anger, he left immediately.

  "What are your plans after getting married?"

  "I want to buy a piece of wasteland nearby, build a big house like yours, plant some fruit trees and buy some paddy fields. Then every year I'll make a trip to Guangzhou to deliver goods, earn some silver and buy a few shops to rent out. I know Zi Qing wants to live a simple and leisurely life."

  He paused for a moment before continuing, "As for my parents, they've been apart all these years and have gotten used to it. I'll bring Zi Qing back to visit them."

  "Nonsense, who doesn't want their own parents? Even if your parents had to sell you back then, it was because they were forced by circumstances. How can you harbor resentment towards them? If you don't acknowledge your parents from now on, how can I trust that you'll be good to Qing'er? How can I feel at ease letting Qing'er marry someone who doesn't even want their own flesh and blood parents? Since it's like this, then leave! I'm saying the same thing again: in the future, don't come to my house looking for my daughter again."

  "Uncle, please don't be angry. My family's situation is a bit special. I didn't want to say these things, after all, they raised me for several years. Since you suspect something, I have no choice but to explain clearly. Actually, I am not their biological child. My real parents passed away early on. My mother died in childbirth, and my father was heartbroken and fell ill, passing away within half a year. Before he died, he entrusted me to his older brother, asking them to raise me. Due to my weak constitution, I often fell ill, and my stepmother eventually sold me. It wasn't until after I escaped from slavery and returned to the village that I learned all this. My stepmother knew I had escaped and was afraid I would return home and demand a share of their property, so she told me the truth. Now I don't blame them anymore. Poor families can't afford to raise someone else's sick child, let alone one who is not their own. They have to think about their own children. After I arrived at the Wen household, I accompanied Young Master in learning martial arts, and my health gradually improved. Oh, and I also studied with Young Master for several years, so I can read and write normally."

  Lin Kangping's account was very detailed, and it had to be said that Zeng Ruixiang was somewhat moved. Although the child's own conditions were not good, fortunately, he was simple-minded, after all, he had been a personal attendant of a wealthy family's young master, so he had seen some scenes, and he also had some silver in his hands, supporting his family was not a problem. Moreover, adoptive parents are not the same as biological parents, and it was that kind of situation, even if they really didn't return to their hometown to settle down, others couldn't find any fault with them.

  "Have you really thought it through, and plan on settling down here in the future?" asked Zeng Rui Xiang.

  "This is absolutely no problem, my grandparents also don't want me to return to my hometown, unless I can make a triumphant return in the future. For those of us who have been slaves, after being freed, our household registration can be transferred to the territory of our former master's house, and my household registration was transferred to Anzhou Prefecture."

  "Alright, you go first. I can't make a decision right now, this is such a big matter, we still need to discuss it further. We'll give you an answer after some time."

  At this time, Zi Qing shouted from outside the door that it was time to eat. Looking at the two of them walking out very seriously, Zi Qing looked suspiciously at Lin Kangping, but Lin Kangping just shook his head. During this meal, Lin Kangping ate very awkwardly. After finishing eating, Zeng Ruixiang drove him away. Zi Qing didn't have a chance to give him the silver note, so she had to chase after him to see him off.

  "Qing'er is back, let's talk about it later." Shenshi shouted from behind.

  "Mom, I'll be fine in a bit. I forgot to tell you something," said Zi Qing before running off quickly.

  Lin Kangping was startled when he saw the large sum of silver notes and hastily asked where they came from. Zi Qing told him the origin of the money, but to her surprise, Lin Kangping said seriously: "From now on, don't worry about making a living, just leave it to me. Do you understand? I don't want anything unexpected to happen to you, so rest assured, I will definitely let you live the life you want. This amount of money is too large, I can't accept it." Lin Kangping pushed it away.

  "Why not? I'm not giving it to you for free, it's our joint funds. With this silver, we can start a ceramics business. Westerners also like Chinese ceramics, especially the blue and white porcelain from Jingdezhen. Who knows, the profit might not be small either. Just think of me as your employer, you know I'm a woman and it's inconvenient for me to go out. If we make money, you'll get a share of the commission. This silver note is just sitting here idle, if you can bring me more silver, you can also earn more silver yourself. What's wrong with such a good deal?"

  "What if I were to lose something valuable? What would I use to compensate you? This isn't a small amount, why do you trust me so much?"

  "Doing business definitely has its gains and losses, it's normal. I didn't ask you to make money for sure, at worst I'll just do something else next time to earn it back. As for why I believed in you, I don't know either, it's just a feeling that you wouldn't cheat me." Zi Qing said about why she trusted him, herself also unsure why, it was just an intuition.

  Lin Kangping still left without taking the silver ticket. Zi Qing was so angry that she muttered to herself as she walked, "He's really stubborn and inflexible, not knowing how to adapt at all."

  At this time, he saw Zi Shou coming over and saying that he wanted to go open the door. It turned out that Zi Lu had returned after seeing the list, the county test was already over, and he wanted to prepare for the prefectural test. He came back to rest for two days first.

  As soon as Zi Qing entered the door, Shen Shi was about to scold her, but seeing Zi Lu and Zi Shou following behind her, she swallowed her words and asked about Zi Lu's preparations for the exam in two days.

  "Mom, do I still need to accompany you for the exam this time?" asked Zi Qing.

  "Take a look at Zi Qing," said Shen, "I've already spoken to your grandmother, and she'll be coming over for the next two days. She'll be staying with you at home, so make sure to take good care of her. This time, I'll personally accompany Lu Er to his exams."

  At night, everyone went to bed. Zeng Rui-xiang had just told his wife about Lin Kang-ping's marriage proposal. Shen Shi's first reaction was also that she couldn't marry a servant. Zeng Rui-xiang analyzed Lin Kang-ping's strengths and weaknesses: the advantages were that he was diligent, willing to make progress, and had a sense of responsibility; his parents had passed away, so there was no need to worry about messy things after marriage; he could earn money, although his family background was not good, but with time, it would get better. The disadvantages were that he used to be a servant, equivalent to an orphan, and there were no relatives at home who could help him.

  "There's no rush, after all. Qing'er is only 13 years old, and there's plenty of time to spare. Fu'er and Lu'er haven't even been betrothed yet. Speaking of which, it's high time for Fu'er to be engaged - we'll finalize the arrangements once he's finished with the imperial exams this year, and they can get married when he returns from the capital next year." said Shen Shi.

  Zeng Ruixiang continued to talk about the Wen family's affairs, "At that time, the Wen family will speak up, and our family will be in a dilemma. If we agree, it's impossible, we can't wrong our child, and Qing'er won't agree either. If we don't agree, we'll offend the Wen family, and then what about our business? It's not just that simple, I'm afraid. Why don't we take the initiative first and spread the news of Qing'er's engagement? The Wen family will be too embarrassed to speak up then. Besides, from what Zhou Zhanggui said, it seems that the Wen family doesn't want Zi Qing to marry into our family."

  Shen's family was startled and sat up straight.