Tang Mingrui generously gave Mo Hanyue a piece of Shu brocade directly.
Old Lady Mo was a very perceptive person. Through these two gifts, she and He Zhiran both caught some clues.
Tang Mingrui was interested in Mo Hanyue!
Of course, with such a precious thing, the Mo family would never accept it.
Although Tang Mingrui's Shu brocade was not given, his actions could be seen clearly by the observant.
Not only Old Lady Mo saw it, He Zhiran and several sisters-in-law also saw it clearly.
Tang Mingrui purely wanted to give Mo Hanyue a gift, so he used this method.
Second sister-in-law had a hard time keeping things to herself. After dinner, she took the women of the family together and started gossiping in front of her mother-in-law.
"Mother, have you noticed that Young Master Tang is very nice to Hanyue?"
Although Old Lady Mo had been exiled to the northwest, that kind of deep-rooted ideology could not be completely transformed all at once.
In her opinion, no matter how excellent Tang Mingrui was, he was still a businessman, while Meng Huaining was different. Even if he did not become an official, he still came from a scholarly family.
Comparing the two, she still valued the literati more.
Old Lady Mo did not look down on Tang Mingrui, she just preferred her daughter to marry a literatus if she had a choice.
Of course, she didn't want to be the kind of mother who made all the decisions for her children. If Mo Hanyue didn't like Meng Huaining and liked Tang Mingrui instead, she would also choose to approve their relationship.
Old Lady Mo had originally wanted to discuss it with He Zhiran, but she didn't expect her second daughter-in-law to speak up first.
She first glanced at Mo Hanyue, whose face was flushed red, and gently said, "Hanyue, didn't you say your rabbit might give birth to babies tonight?"
After going through some things, Mo Hanyue was no longer as childish as before.
She knew that as a young lady, it was inappropriate for her to join in the discussion of such matters.
However, she also didn't want to marry someone she didn't like.
Before leaving, she whispered in Old Lady Mo's ear, "Mother, your daughter has no romantic feelings for Young Master Tang."
Since she took the initiative to say it, it saved Old Lady Mo the trouble of asking.
Old Lady Mo now thoroughly understood her daughter's mindset.
After Mo Hanyue left, Old Lady Mo solemnly said to her daughters-in-law, "I know Hanyue's situation well. From now on, be polite to Young Master Tang when he comes, and don't have any other ideas."
This could also be considered giving everyone an explanation. Whether it was Mo Hanyue's refusal or her own unwillingness as a mother, she had made her attitude clear.
There were many women in the family, and they were all Mo Hanyue's sisters-in-law. It was inevitable that they would worry about the only young miss in the family.
Letting them know her attitude early on would prevent the daughters-in-law from being overzealous and causing any misunderstandings.
He Zhiran was the most perceptive. After hearing her mother-in-law's words, she immediately understood her meaning.
"Mother, don't worry. From now on, we will keep our mouths shut about this."
The other sisters-in-law also nodded in agreement after seeing the ninth sister-in-law say this, indicating that they would do the same.
Only the silly second sister-in-law still felt that after Mo Hanyue rejected Tang Mingrui, she might not be able to find someone from such a good family in the future.
After all, the Mo family's circumstances were not what they used to be. Although their lives were still quite affluent, how many people would not mind that they were exiled criminals of the court?
"Mother, I think Young Master Tang is a good man, why don't you consider it?"
Old Lady Mo usually treated the nine daughters-in-law equally.
The only exception was this stubborn second daughter-in-law who didn't understand what everyone else could see clearly.
Thinking that she spoke without thinking, the old lady was somewhat angry.
She frowned and scolded, "If you don't understand, go back and ask the other daughters-in-law later."
The eldest sister-in-law quickly pulled the second sister-in-law's sleeve and said, "Second sister-in-law, eldest sister will explain it to you later."
The second sister-in-law nodded blankly, "Okay."
Now, the women of the family all understood the mother-in-law's attitude, and tacitly stopped mentioning Tang Mingrui.
The next morning, as usual, Tang Mingrui came with a carriage to pick up goods.
Coincidentally, Meng Huaining also came on the pretext of catching up with Mo Jiuye, and the two arrived at the Mo family one after the other.
Tang Mingrui was a businessman, so naturally he would pay his respects when seeing an official.
Meng Huaining did not know Tang Mingrui's feelings. He knew that this person had business dealings with the Mo family and was on good terms with them.
Therefore, he did not put on any official airs in front of Tang Mingrui, and treated him as casually as he did the Mo family.
He and Tang Mingrui were led into the yard by Mo Jiuye. By chance, Mo Hanyue was wearing a face veil and holding a hoe. She came out from inside with Yu Er and Lan Er, planning to go take care of her medicinal fields.
After all, Tang Mingrui was a businessman, so he acted much more generously than Meng Huaining.
He took the initiative to greet her, "Miss Mo, are you going to work in the fields?"
When Mo Hanyue saw the righteous Meng Huaining, she was thrilled in her heart.
She was just about to greet him when she saw Tang Mingrui had already strode towards her.
Having heard her second sister-in-law's words yesterday, she more or less knew Tang Mingrui's feelings.
Although she didn't dislike Tang Mingrui, she didn't have any romantic feelings for him either.
Especially in front of the man she liked, Mo Hanyue was somewhat at a loss for a moment.
After all, she was a young lady from a prominent family, and etiquette was not taught to her in vain.
She quickly sorted out her thoughts and bowed slightly to the two men standing side by side.
"Good morning, Master Meng, Young Master Tang."
When Meng Huaining saw the girl he had been thinking about, he was overjoyed.
He was just about to return the greeting when he saw Tang Mingrui had already taken out an exquisite little purse from his arms.
Tang Mingrui stepped forward again and presented the little purse to Mo Hanyue.
"Miss Mo, these are ginseng seeds I happened to come across while doing business. I know you like growing medicinal herbs, so I brought them for you to plant and see."
In fact, He Zhiran could provide as many ginseng seeds as needed, and they were high-quality varieties produced in her space.
The main reason she didn't give them to Mo Hanyue for planting was that ginseng had a long growth cycle, and there would be little to see in the short term.
Tang Mingrui didn't know about this. He only knew that Mo Hanyue liked to grow medicinal herbs, so he wanted to give her the best.
Seeing Tang Mingrui give Mo Hanyue a gift as soon as he arrived, Meng Huaining suddenly felt a little unhappy.
Just as he was thinking about how to step forward and strike up a conversation, Mo Hanyue spoke.
"Thank you, Young Master Tang. Ginseng seeds are too precious, Hanyue cannot accept them."
Cannot accept!
Yes, she could not accept his things.
Seeing Mo Hanyue reject the gift, Meng Huaining instantly felt relieved.
Tang Mingrui was not discouraged and continued to hold out the purse.
"This is not worth much money. I just happened to come across it and bought it. Miss Mo, please accept it!"
Mo Hanyue took a step back.
"Thank you for your kindness, Young Master Tang, but I've just started learning to grow medicinal herbs. I shouldn't ruin something so good."
