inspire-indiana Chapter 16 Centrifugation
Chapter 16 Centrifugation
The Ye family was very surprised when they saw Xie Bohuai.
After receiving the marriage certificate and tokens, Ye Wanning comforted her grandmother and then waited with her sisters in the front yard for her second brother to return.
"Lord Xie has helped us a great deal, so I invited him to my home as a guest." Ye Mingyue grinned and leaned closer to his younger sister. "Did your older brother give you the house deed?"
"Ah."
Ye Mingde meant that the Zhou family's house deed should be given to Ye Wanning as compensation.
But Ye Wanning refused. Zhou Yu was spending the Ye family's money, not her own private savings. She had her older brother take it and sell it, which would then be used to buy grain.
After answering her second brother, she saw Xie Bohuai looking at her. Remembering that her younger sisters were afraid of Xie Bohuai, she told her second brother to treat Xie Bohuai well before taking her sisters back first.
"My sisters are shy, and with such a big thing happening at home today, they must be feeling terrible. Come, Brother Xie, I've long admired your way of doing things. I've got a few bottles of fine wine saved up, let's drink until we drop!" Ye Mingyue is a good friend, and he's willing to associate with anyone, regardless of their background or social standing, as long as he likes them.
She invited Ye Mingde to accompany her, and the three of them drank in the main room, while Lin went to find Ye Wanning and a few others.
When the sisters-in-law were having dinner, they tacitly avoided mentioning Zhou Yu. Seeing that everyone was reserved, Ye Wanning went to the garden by herself after the meal.
Unexpectedly, I ran into Xie Bohuai.
The moonlight was dim, and Xie Bohuai's tall figure was easily recognized by Ye Wanning.
Even with a distance of two zhang (approximately 6.6 meters), Ye Wanning took another big step back.
"Is Miss Ye afraid of me?" Xie Bohuai's voice was cold and aloof, just like his personality, making him sound unapproachable.
"No," Ye Wanning said, emphasizing the difference between men and women. "Why would Lord Xie be in the garden? Where are my brothers?"
"They're drunk." Xie Bohuai noticed that Ye Wanning kept her head down and seemed genuinely afraid of him.
It's not her fault; any young lady would be terrified if she witnessed murder.
Ye Wanning was somewhat surprised. Her eldest brother couldn't hold his liquor, but her second brother was a heavy drinker. How could he have lost to Xie Bohuai?
She looked up and met Xie Bohuai's dark eyes. A sense of oppression washed over her, reminding her that it would be better to say goodbye as soon as possible.
Perhaps Xie Bohuai sensed that she wanted to leave, so he asked again, "Is Miss Ye sad?"
What is the problem?
Ye Wanning thought for a moment before realizing that Xie Bohuai had asked about Zhou Yu. To say she wasn't sad would seem insincere. But she couldn't quite put her finger on it; today she felt more exhilarated.
"We have to keep looking forward to life. It doesn't matter whether it's difficult or not." Ye Wanning gave an ambiguous answer, but to Xie Bohuai, it sounded like sadness.
"The young lady is quite open-minded."
Ye Wanning wondered if she had misheard, but Xie Bohuai's tone trailed off with a hint of amusement. What did that mean? Was he laughing at her for being naive?
"Since my brothers are drunk, I'll have someone else escort Lord Xie out." Ye Wanning didn't want to linger with Xie Bohuai any longer; they were from two different worlds, with no connection before and no future.
In the darkness, a hint of disappointment flashed in Xie Bohuai's eyes. "What are your plans for the future?"
“My grandmother and brother and sister-in-law are at home; they will make decisions for me.” Ye Wanning had never noticed so many problems with Xie Bohuai before, but now her heart was pounding. What was wrong with Xie Bohuai? Why did he keep asking these questions?
The surroundings became quiet.
Ye Wanning stared at Xie Bohuai's shoes, not daring to look at his expression. After what seemed like an eternity, she saw Xie Bohuai turn around, and only then did she secretly breathe a sigh of relief.
“Miss, Commander Xie is too terrifying.” Yunzhi took a deep breath. “If I were to encounter him, my legs would go weak.”
Ye Wanning agreed, "He holds a high position, and too many people want to curry favor with him. If he doesn't keep a certain distance, it's hard to get things done. He may be a bit intimidating, but he has no hostility towards the Ye family. As Grandmother said, we should neither offend nor flatter him."
Yunzhi nodded and went back with her mistress. "Today we canceled the engagement with the Zhou family, and we've put our minds at ease. The young lady is beautiful and talented; she'll surely find a better match."
Ye Wanning smiled but didn't speak. Whether she got married or not was no longer important to her. As long as she had a husband who could treat her with respect, that would be enough. She had no expectations for romantic love anymore.
Although the engagement was called off, Zhou Yu is a hypocritical and vengeful person. As long as he is alive, Ye Wanning will not be able to live in peace.
Today is just the beginning; she wants Zhou Yu to experience the taste of family ruin and death as well.
Back in the house, Ye Wanning took out twenty taels of silver notes. "Zhou Yu is in dire need of money right now. Madam Zhou is ignorant. Have Fusheng find a loan shark and get close to Madam Zhou while Zhou Yu is away."
With Zhou Yu around, many things can't be accomplished. But Madam Zhou is foolish and stupid, so it's best to start with her.
Yunzhi wished the Zhou family could be even worse off. After serving her master to bed, she took the silver notes and left.
At this moment, Zhou Yu was sitting in front of the bed, looking at his mother who had a pale face, and sighing continuously.
Zhou's mother kept waking up and falling asleep, her mind filled with images of Xie Bohuai trying to kill her, which terrified her so much that she wet her pants.
Xu Zhuling brought in water and said, "Cousin, go and rest first. You're still injured. I can take care of things here."
"Yu'er, you must avenge your mother!" Zhou's mother suddenly grabbed Zhou Yu's sleeve. "The Ye family has gone too far. We absolutely cannot let Ye Wanning get away with this!"
“Mother, please calm down. If you hadn’t insisted on causing trouble at the Ye family, why would they have broken off the engagement?” Zhou Yu was full of resentment. “Look at us now, we have no home, no reputation. Are you only happy if you drive me to my death?”
"You...you're blaming me?" Zhou's mother stared wide-eyed in disbelief.
Zhou Yu remained silent, tacitly agreeing.
How can I not resent it?
He had it all planned out.
After Ye Wanning marries into the family, they trick her into handing over her dowry and then adopt Feng Ge'er as their son.
After years of putting on a smiling face for the Ye family, and finally getting ahead, it turns out that the old mother is a clueless person.
"Phew." Zhou Yu took a deep breath. He couldn't just give up like this. Without even glancing at Xu Zhuling, he turned and left the house.
Watching Zhou Yu's retreating figure, Xu Zhuling wrung out her handkerchief and squatted down, blaming herself softly, "My cousin must be blaming me too, Aunt. Do you think he'll abandon me?"
“He wouldn’t dare?” Zhou’s mother held Xu Zhuling’s hand and assured her, “As long as I’m alive, you’re a member of the Zhou family. It’s good that Ye Wanning is gone. Once things are settled, I’ll arrange for you to marry Yu’er. I’m his mother, and he can’t disobey me.”
Hearing that she could marry Zhou Yu, Xu Zhuling was overjoyed. As for her current predicament, she believed that Zhou Yu could solve it.
Xu Zhuling tenderly wiped Zhou's mother's face. Zhou's mother enjoyed Xu Zhuling's service and found Xu Zhuling increasingly pleasing to the eye. Then she thought of Ye Wanning and gritted her teeth in hatred. "That poisonous woman Ye Wanning, just you wait and see. One day I will ruin her reputation!"
After a day of commotion, Zhou's mother was exhausted and was even arguing with the Ye family in her sleep.
However, before she could see Ye Wanning suffer misfortune, Ye Wanning made another sum of money.
After announcing the engagement, Ye Wanning kept a low profile and didn't go out, but secretly had someone buy a lot of grain. Half a month later, the price of grain had doubled.
By mid-May, the grain yield had tripled. Ye Wanning kept enough for her own consumption and sold the rest. She earned a thousand taels of silver for herself, and the Ye family's accounts showed an additional three thousand taels of silver.