Chapter 121 Demanding

"Understand..."

Xie San Niang reached out her hand towards Shen Yuanzhu in a daze, but what she was calling out was the name of Shen Yuanzhu's mother.

Upon hearing this, Shen Yuanzhu's smile faded slightly.

"Zhiyi, Zhiyi, is that you?"

Xie San Niang was in tears, her hands trembling uncontrollably: "Zhiyi, I'm so sorry to you and Shibai, I'm so sorry to both of you."

The marriage agreement between the Xie and Chen families was made after Xie San Niang approached Shen Yuan Zhu's father, and the two families agreed to become in-laws after much discussion.

When Shen Shibai and his wife were still alive, they were close friends with Xie Sanniang despite their age difference. Although Ji Zhiyi and Xie Sanniang were quite different in age, they could also be considered close confidantes.

It wasn't unexpected that Xie San Niang thought of her old friend on her deathbed.

Seeing Xie San Niang looking at Shen Yuan Zhu, the crowd made way for her.

Seeing this, Shen Yuanzhu was about to step forward, but Xie Qi stopped her.

Xie Qi had some complicated feelings just now, but now that he saw Xie San Niang calling out the name of Shen Yuanzhu's mother, even if he was stupid, he could see what she was up to.

It was nothing more than pretending to be confused, luring Chen Yuanzhu to agree on behalf of her mother, and exchanging dyeing manuals.

Just as Xie Qi was about to speak, Shen Yuanzhu tapped his palm, causing Xie Qi to immediately become obedient.

Shen Yuanzhu stepped forward and sat down next to Xie Sanniang, letting her hold her tightly.

Xie San Niang's eyes were vacant, and her tone was filled with remorse: "Zhiyi, you entrusted me to take good care of Yuanzhu back then, and I broke my promise..."

"I promised you that I would make Xu Chuan treat her well, but in the end, it was my Xie family's child who did something to betray her."

"When we get down there, I will apologize to you..."

Upon hearing this, Jiang Wansu's face turned pale, and Xie Xuchuan's eyes became even more misty.

He gripped the hem of his clothes tightly, feigning calmness.

"Do you still remember when you were young, I personally taught you how to embroider? It's just a pity that you didn't finish the butterfly and hibiscus painting before you passed away..."

"And the nine-immersion method you taught me, I can only dye one shade of pale yellow now..."

Xie Sanniang, holding Chen Yuanzhu's hand, wept uncontrollably: "I've wronged you..."

"Grandmother, please don't say that."

Shen Yuanzhu sobbed, "If Mother knew that I married Xie Qi, she would only thank you and would never blame you."

"Xie Qisheng is handsome and of outstanding character. He is also a skilled merchant. More importantly, he is sincere, loyal, and keeps his promises. He is the perfect husband."

"Yuanzhu will never regret marrying him..."

"..."

As soon as Shen Yuanzhu said that, half of the people in the room changed color.

Xie Xuchuan's face turned pale, Jiang Wansu looked embarrassed, and Xie Jingyuan touched his nose, feeling so awkward for others that he wanted to turn around and leave the room.

Hua Nanzhi lowered her eyes, revealing neither joy nor anger, while Xie Sanniang felt a lump in her throat, making her extremely uncomfortable.

Only Xie Qi, with his eyes lowered, couldn't hide his shyness and joy.

Hua Nanzhi was silent for a moment, then quickly said, "Yuanzhu, don't be too sad. The doctor said that the old lady's illness is only being kept going by her willpower. She just still has some unfulfilled wishes. If her wishes are fulfilled, she may be able to recover."

She waited for Shen Yuanzhu to ask the old lady about her wishes, but instead heard Shen Yuanzhu say, "Grandmother, are you in a hurry to hold your great-grandchild?"

"Don't worry, brother and sister-in-law are very loving. In another six months you will definitely be able to hold your great-grandchild. Once you have a great-grandchild, you will have something new to look forward to, and your health will naturally improve."

"..."

This performance made Xie Jingyuan see through some of the truth.

He frowned slightly, disapproving of his mother's actions.

He didn't know what to say, so he took two steps back, stood in the corner, and had no intention of participating.

Xie Boyu was immersed in grief over her mother's terminal illness, while Xie Xuchuan's mind was filled with Shen Yuanzhu's words of gratitude for marrying Xie Qi.

Jiang Wansu, however, discerned something different.

After thinking for a moment, she said, "Grandmother has worked hard for the Xie family's weaving workshop for half her life. I suppose what she can't let go of is the Xie family's business."

Hua Nanzhi glanced at her approvingly, her voice filled with sorrow: "My mother's only wish in her life was to see the Xie family become imperial merchants. Now, the Xie family's weaving and embroidery skills are renowned throughout the land, except for dyeing..."

"What time is it? Why are you still worrying about such trivial matters?"

Before Hua Nanzhi could finish speaking, Xie Boyu interrupted her: "Even on her deathbed, Mother still made her work hard for the family business. If word gets out, how will outsiders view the three of us brothers?"

“You can be a royal merchant anytime, but Mother…”

Xie Boyu felt a pang of pain in his heart: "The days when Mother can stay with us are numbered."

Xie Qi raised his eyes, glanced at Xie Boyu, and then turned his head to the side.

Sometimes, it's not entirely unreasonable to blame Xie San Niang for scheming at every turn...

"cough……"

Suddenly, Xie San Niang coughed violently a few times, which sent a jolt through everyone's hearts.

His face was flushed and his eyes were filled with remorse, which didn't seem fake; he looked much more pained than before.

If it weren't for the fact that only Shen Yuanzhu was summoned to her side, which aroused suspicion, Hua Nanzhi would have liked to kick all these useless and troublesome fellows out.

Reasoning with her and appealing to her emotions had no effect. Hua Nanzhi glanced at Xie Sanniang and nodded imperceptibly.

She walked to Xie San Niang's side, took out a red velvet bundle from under the bed, and handed it to Shen Yuanzhu.

"Yuanzhu, this is what my mother instructed me to give you a few days ago."

"This is the second half of the Xie family's farming and weaving picture. Your grandmother often said that if your parents saw this, they would be happy that the Shen family's business would reach new heights."

"As for our Xie family, although things haven't been good these past few years, you know the old lady's wish is simply to use the Shen family's dyeing manual in conjunction with the Xie family's brocade, so that the Xie family can get one step closer to becoming a royal merchant."

"Your filial piety won't disappoint your grandmother, will it?"

Seeing that Shen Yuanzhu remained silent, Hua Nanzhi continued, "If you don't want to give out the dyeing recipe, that's fine too. If you have any fragments of your father's or mother's recipes, or even just one or two recipes that have been lost to the world, that will also work."

"Just consider it as... just consider it as fulfilling her wish in her final moments, giving her something to look forward to."

The two families agreed to exchange tokens of love after the marriage. Now that the Xie family elders have been reduced to using old and broken items, they are so humble. If she doesn't understand this, she will be too cold-blooded and heartless, and will not remember their old friendship.

If Shen Yuanzhu were a weak-willed person, she would have been so bullied that she couldn't lift her head, hastily agreeing and presenting the dyeing recipe.

Unfortunately, she wasn't.

Shen Yuanzhu just kept crying and sobbing, as if she had suddenly gone deaf.

Seeing this, Xie San Niang suppressed her anger.

She released Shen Yuanzhu's hand, murmuring, "When your mother was alive, she often talked about wanting to see the Xie family's brocade dyed using the Shen family's dyeing formula. She couldn't see it when she was alive, and now I can't see it either..."

Xie San Niang spoke pitifully, and Xie Xu Chuan couldn't bear it. He turned to look at Shen Yuan Zhu for a long time, his thin lips opening and closing but unable to utter a word.

Jiang Wansu looked at it, then suddenly lowered her eyes and said, "Yuanzhu, since you are so satisfied with marrying Xie Qi, why don't you take out the Shen family's dyeing records?"

“This is an agreement between your grandmother and your mother from many years ago. It would be really bad to break the agreement of our ancestors, it would not be good... so that your mother would not be able to rest in peace in the afterlife.”