Chapter 67 We are a legally married couple

Zheng Junni stood by the window, watching her husband's car slowly drive away. Only after the gate closed did she pick up the phone and dial Ah Feng's number.

Ah Feng wasn't home, so she could only leave a pager message for the other party.

About ten minutes later, Ah Feng called back.

Zheng Junni asked coldly, "Where are you?"

Ah Feng was at her boyfriend Ah Fa's house at the time. She didn't dare to tell the truth: "I just went out to buy breakfast and I'm home now."

Zheng Junni didn't ask any further questions, only instructing, "Contact a private investigator..."

Ah Feng, thinking they should continue following Ye Baoling, couldn't help but ask, "Should we continue following her?"

"No, aren't the negatives with you? Develop another set later and give it to a private investigator so he can sell the photos to Feng Yufang."

Ah Feng thought for a while before remembering that Feng Yufang was Ye Kaishen's wife. She asked in confusion, "Huh? Why?"

Zheng Junni: "Don't ask. We'll give the private investigator 5,000 yuan once it's done. As for how much Feng Yufang is willing to give him, we don't care; that's his business. But one thing: Feng Yufang can't know that we instructed the private investigator to give her the photos. Understand?"

Ah Feng was a little confused: "Then how should the private investigator talk to Feng Yufang?"

Zheng Junni was slightly impatient: "Do I need to teach you this? You can make up any excuse... The private investigator can say that he was originally taking the photos for the paparazzi, but the paparazzi paid him too little, so he wanted to sell them to someone in the Ye family. The private investigator only had her number, so he sold it to her. Any excuse will do. Private investigators are more quick-witted than you. Let them come up with their own excuses."

Ah Feng quickly agreed, "I don't have Feng Yufang's phone number."

"Make a note of this." Zheng Junni gave Feng Yufang's phone number and pager number to Afeng. "I'll have Ajin bring you the money later."

Just before hanging up, Ah Feng stammered, "Madam, there's one more thing..."

"What's up?"

"My boyfriend, Afa, isn't used to working at the hair salon. He's clumsy and can't learn how to cut and wash hair well. Could you please find him another job?"

Zheng Junni was even more annoyed: "Ah Feng, it's not that your aunt is criticizing you, but what do you want with a man like that? You should find an excuse to break up with him right away, and I'll introduce you to a better one in the future."

Ah Fa was listening nearby. Seeing his expression change, Ah Feng quickly said, "Madam, let's leave it at that for now. I'll go and contact a private investigator."

He hung up the phone in a hurry after saying that.

Ah Fa had medium-length hair, and at first glance, he looked like a delinquent.

He glanced at his girlfriend and scoffed, "This is your rich cousin?! She makes you do all the dirty work, she can't stand to see you doing well! She wants you to be a spinster for life so she can do all the dirty work for her!"

Ah Feng whispered, "She hasn't spent any time with you, so she has some misunderstandings about you."

She picked up the hair tie from her wrist, tied her hair up, and prepared to go home.

Ah Fa, however, had his own little scheme: "Hey, why should this money go to a private investigator? Can't we earn it ourselves?"

Ah Feng turned to look at him: "How will we earn it ourselves?"

Afa: "We'll call and sell the photos ourselves. We'll still accept the 5,000 yuan your relative gave us. We'll make a profit from selling the photos. We can print a few more sets and sell to a few more people. Maybe with the money from selling the photos, we can buy a car. Then you can go wherever you want, and we can go for a drive every day."

Ah Feng was slightly worried: "If my cousin finds out, it will be a big problem."

"Why let her know? So what if she finds out many people have photos? Just hand them over to a private investigator. Does she even dare confront the private investigator? She's got money to burn." Ah Fa pulled out a cigarette, lit it, and said, "If you can't be flexible, you'll be poor your whole life!"

Making a phone call could earn a lot of money, and Ah Feng was clearly tempted.

*

Ye Baoling hasn't been to the company for the past two days; she's been busy outside.

When she returned home today, her colleagues in the office congratulated her during the morning meeting.

Some people exclaimed, "If I had known we could conquer the most difficult American market, I would have gone to team up with the young lady even if it meant facing a knife attack!"

"I've always thought the young lady could win him over, I'm just too honest to raise my hand."

"You're all just being wise after the event!" Manager Huang laughed at them, then changed the subject, "If I weren't in charge of the Hong Kong and Taiwan market, I would have been in a group with Miss long ago."

Everyone else was amused.

Manager Dai flattered, "It seems we'll have to relinquish our top spot in the Southeast Asian market this year!"

Manager Huang: "No need to look. Judging from the current trend, it's too late this year, and we'll have to give up next year too."

Everyone egged Ye Baoling on to treat them to a meal.

Ye Baoling: "Your big boss said that we will use the actual sales revenue as the standard. Once we really sit in the top position, we can go wherever we want to go."

"Then I'll look at the location first."

After the meeting, Qu Zhengming came to Ye Baoling's office to find her.

Although Ye Baoling was still on secondment in the marketing department, Qu Zhengming knew in advance that she was about to be promoted to vice president of the company.

"President Qu! Please have a seat!"

Qu Zhengming sat down with a smile: "I haven't congratulated you on securing such a large order yet."

Ye Baoling also smiled: "Next, we will need to work together to package and design the jasmine iced tea exported to the United States. We will also open a branch office in the United States to coordinate. There is a lot to do."

Qu Zhengming smiled and said, "I suggest that it would be best to sit down with President Cai and talk about future plans, and then everyone can divide the work."

Cai Yongming is now the acting general manager in charge of herbal tea, so Qu Zhengming can't bypass him to make decisions directly.

Ye Baoling expressed her understanding: "Yes, and President Lin should also sit down and chat as well."

Qu Zhengming: "Do you have time next Monday?"

"I have."

"Then I'll take the lead in organizing a meeting."

They chatted for a while about the plans for the US branch, and Qu Zhengming suddenly said, "If possible, I would like to go to the US to be a pioneer and explore the market."

Ye Baoling exclaimed in surprise, "That won't do! How can Ye Qingtang be without you?"

Qu Zhengming said with a wry smile, "Ye Qingtang has been around for over a hundred years with or without me. How could he not be able to do without me?"

"Sister Qu, is there something troubling you?" Ye Baoling noticed that she seemed to have something on her mind that she wasn't saying.

Qu Zhengming sighed softly: "I only recently realized that once a company's character is established, it is deeply ingrained and very difficult to change."

Ye Baoling immediately realized that Qu Zhengming must have recently encountered setbacks at work. She asked, "Do you and Cai Yongming have differing opinions?"

Qu Zhengming nodded slightly: "He probably feels that my presence is a greater threat to him. It's hard to say for sure. It just so happens that a branch office is opening in the United States, and with this opportunity, I want to go out and try my luck. At least if I were to build the branch office in the United States from scratch, its atmosphere would be different from here."

Ye Baoling shook her head: "But we still have to be under the command of headquarters. Even generals in the field have to obey orders from their superiors. President Qu, don't leave. Stay at headquarters. With you here, I will have more confidence if I want to make reforms in the future."

Qu Zhengming was slightly surprised: "How do you plan to reform it?"

Then he added worriedly, "President Cai is just a small hurdle; the real hurdle is..."

She pointed upwards without saying anything.

Ye Baoling spoke for her, saying, "It's my grandfather."

Qu Zhengming laughed, "Then what can we do? Can your reforms affect your grandfather?"

Ye Baoling laughed too, "How do you know you can't do it if you don't try? Anyway, you shouldn't leave. If I'm really not capable enough and I fall, I'll arrange for you to go to America first."

Qu Zhengming was inexplicably moved: "Thank you for your appreciation, I'm very touched."

“If Cai Yongming is a minor obstacle, then you are my anchor. Don’t move now, let’s not panic.”

Qu Zhengming agreed: "Okay."

They chatted in the office for over an hour, and even went out for lunch together.

In the afternoon, Ye Baoling held a meeting with her team. A large part of the workload would be transferred to other departments, but they still had a lot to do.

Due to their lack of experience in trading with the United States, they need to recruit people with relevant experience to participate.

After Ye Baoling's promotion, Yang Baozhu will take over the position of team leader, with Azhen assisting her.

Gao Lizhen was not originally part of the marketing department, so her position was rather awkward.

Ye Baoling asked her if she wanted to come up with her, but Gao Lizhen shook her head vigorously, indicating that she was not capable enough.

"I'll stay in the marketing department and continue working with them on the European and American markets."

Ye Baoling did not force her and respected her choice.

*

When Ye Baoling returned home in the evening and came out of the basement, she heard the loud music playing on the second floor.

Pingjie helped her carry her bag and muttered under her breath, "The young master must be crazy. He's been listening to music all afternoon, and we're all about to be driven crazy by the noise."

The old man wasn't here today, and Mr. and Mrs. Ye Kais were out too, so no one dared to say anything to him.

After going up to the second floor, Ye Baoling went back to her room, grabbed a magazine, and headed towards Ye Baoshun's room.

A security door was installed in the hallway outside Ye Baoshun's bedroom, and someone watches over it every day.

The maid opened the door for her, and Ye Baoling went inside.

There are three rooms and one living room inside the security door.

In addition to the bedroom, there is a gym and a study that was temporarily converted into a room.

Every morning, a teacher comes to give Ye Baoshun a lesson, and every few days a psychologist will be arranged to come and counsel him.

Ye Qizu has gone to great lengths for this precious grandson.

The living room was filled with a huge pile of cassette tapes and disks, and the family was provided with the best food and drink every day. Apart from being isolated from the outside world, it was simply a paradise of enjoyment.

At that moment, Ye Baoshun was playing darts. Ye Baoling walked over and turned the music volume down to the lowest setting.

Then she tossed him the magazine she was holding.

Ye Baoshun picked up the magazine, glanced at the cover, which read that Lü Dexiang and his son had been taken away by the ICAC.

The subtitle also reads: "Facing at least 5 years in prison."

Ye Baoshun wasn't entirely stupid; he asked, "Did Grandpa have someone do this?"

What do you think?

Ye Baoshun threw the magazine on the glass table. "Five years in prison... it's no different for me to be here than in jail."

Ye Baoling said to him, "Do you think you're being too stubborn and strong, and that no one can do anything about you? You've heard the story of King Goujian of Yue enduring hardship and biding his time, right? Even a king had to keep a low profile. If you continue to be so stubborn, Grandpa will only think that locking you up here is the right thing to do. If you want to get out and don't want to be locked up here anymore, then you have to learn to humble yourself first. You don't need to show what you're thinking. Be tactful, coax Grandpa, put his mind at ease, and he will naturally let you out."

Ye Baoshun lowered his head and remained silent.

"Still thinking about Lü Tianyou?" Ye Baoling chuckled. "Once he's in prison, he won't see any women, but there will be plenty of women for him to choose from."

He has plenty of men to choose from.

These words enraged Ye Baoshun. "You just want to mock me, don't you?"

"Otherwise what? Do you think I'm here to care about you?"

"..."

Annoyed, Ye Baoshun threw a dart at the target.

After a while, he retorted, "Do you even have any ability left? Have you found out? Was it Zheng Junni who exposed me?"

Ye Baoling countered, "What do you want to do?"

"I didn't intend to do anything."

"You want to get revenge on her so you can go in and reunite with Lü Tianyou? Don't be silly! It's not worth it." Ye Baoling stared at him, trying to brainwash him. "Scaring her is fine, but actually using a knife isn't worth it. Your life is more precious than hers. Understand?"

It's not worth it to actually go under the knife!

These words reverberated through Ye Baoshun's mind.

He threw another dart, and Ye Baoling picked up the magazine on the table and left.

*

Two days later, Ah Feng and the others developed the photos and began their operation.

That morning, Feng Yufang received a call from a stranger who said he had the photos she wanted.

Feng Yufang thought her husband had been caught cheating on her!

She didn't dare tell anyone and rushed to the designated tea restaurant with the money.

The result was that the photo handed to them by the strange man wearing a baseball cap showed Ye Baoling and Ye Huaizhang kissing!

"This is……"

She was about to pick up the photo to take a closer look when the person took it away again.

The man said, "30,000 yuan, all of which are photos of your Ye family's eldest daughter, including photos with men and women."

Feng Yufang's eyes widened!

So these siblings are quite the ladies' man?!

Feng Yufang asked, "Why did you sell the photos to me?"

"Do you want it or not? If not, I'll sell it to Ye Baoling. She'll definitely be willing to pay more money to buy it."

This is a golden opportunity for her man to use against Ye Baoling.

Feng Yufang gritted her teeth and said, "I'll buy it."

She counted out HK$30,000 from her bag and bought the stack of photos.

After buying the photos, she quickly checked them over.

If these photos were given to her husband, Ye Kaishen, he would be overjoyed.

When she got home, she called Ye Kaishen and said she had something important to discuss with him, asking him to come home after get off work.

Ye Kaishen came back before the end of his workday, and she quickly showed him the photos.

"It's something you can't even imagine."

Upon seeing this, Ye Kaishen angrily slammed his hand on the sofa. "Damn it! That scoundrel! He sold me the photos at noon too!"

"Huh?" Feng Yufang cursed, "Why didn't you tell me sooner? I wasted 30,000 yuan."

Ye Kaishen spent 50,000!

He was too embarrassed to tell his wife that he had spent more money, so he just said, "I gave 20,000. Oh well, these photos are worth 100,000!"

Feng Yufang asked, "What do you plan to do? Or should we also tell the media and make those members of the eldest branch of the family lose face completely?"

Ye Kaishen waved his hand: "These photos are of dubious origin. If the old man finds out that we released them to the media, we won't be able to clear our names no matter what."

"Then what should we do?"

"My goal is simple: I want to get that damned sister Ye Baoling out of Ye Qingtang, preferably locked up in a room like Ye Baoshun, so she won't have to come out and embarrass herself!"

Feng Yufang thought for a moment and said, "Don't step in directly. Let's go find Dad and have him talk to the old man. Let the two brothers talk first."

Ye Kaishen fell into deep thought: "This matter involves Ye Huaizhang. Let me think about it first. There's no rush. I'll make a decision later."

Meanwhile, Ah Fa, who easily "earned" 80,000 yuan, was overjoyed but didn't want to give up this hard-won opportunity to make money.

He turned his gaze to Ye Baoling and Ye Huaizhang.

Ah Feng hesitated for a moment, then said, "We can make another profit from Ye Baoling, but let's forget about Ye Huaizhang. It's best not to provoke someone like him; I'm afraid you'll get into trouble."

Ah Fa rarely listens to advice, so he decides to call Ye Baoling and try to extort another sum of money from her.

Before he could even make the call, he heard someone knocking on the door.

Who is it?

"The water pipe upstairs burst. Come and see if there's a leak here."

Ah Fa went to open the door, only to find four menacing-looking thugs standing there.

Chen Weiqiang has been following Ah Feng and Ah Fa for many days.

He smoked a cigarette and slightly raised his chin: "My cousin wants to see you."

Who is your cousin?

"You'll know when you see it."

Ah Fa tried to close the door to hide, but before he could close it, someone pinned him against the wall.

The next instant, a cigarette butt burned his neck: "Trying to run? Don't you know who you've messed with! You dare mess with my cousin, Wei Zai Qiang's cousin?!"

Ah Feng was so frightened that she hid in the corner, covered her ears, and dared not move.

*

In the evening, Ye Kaishen went to his father's room and told him about the photos.

Ye Qizong was also a shrewd old man.

He and his brother Ye Qizu are essentially enhanced versions of Ye Kaimin and Ye Kaisi.

Putting on his reading glasses and looking at the photo again and again, Ye Qizong couldn't contain himself any longer. The time had come for him to give his older brother a good slap in the face!

Ye Kaishen: "Dad, let's think about it carefully, what's the best way to start?"

Ye Qizong glanced at him: "Are you still scared after what happened last time? This wasn't our doing. Why are you being so cautious? You're afraid of ghosts at the bow and thieves at the stern! Your excessive caution makes you seem less like one of us."

At this moment, you should rush over and throw the photo in Ye Qizu's face!

Those are true brothers.

As they were talking, Ye Qizong went out.

Ye Kaishen and his wife quickly followed.

He rushed towards Xihe Building, but the elevator was locked and he couldn't get in, so the old man had to take the stairs.

After finally climbing to the third floor, I saw Uncle Xing coming out of Ye Qizu's study.

"Ah Xing, where's the old man?"

Uncle Xing: "The old man is chatting with the eldest son in the study. The two of them can finally have a good talk."

"Go and call the old man out. I have something to say to him."

Uncle Xing hesitated slightly: "Is it urgent?"

"It's urgent!" Ye Qizong didn't go into the study. The main hall on the third floor was spacious enough. He would definitely invite the third branch of the family over later, and they might have to be disciplined.

Uncle Xing went into the study to invite Ye Qizu, but after waiting for a long time, the old man still didn't come out.

Ye Qizong cursed under his breath, "Don't try to act all high and mighty! You'll be embarrassed and upset later!"

Fifteen minutes later, Ye Qizu finally came out slowly. He glanced at his third brother and said to him, "Why didn't you come into the study to talk if you had something to say?"

"Isn't there someone else in the study?"

"What's wrong? You're acting suspiciously before it's even dark."

Ye Qizong was also annoyed by his second brother's words: "Second brother, I have something to tell you, you should be prepared. Ah Xing, go and get the blood pressure medication first."

Uncle Xing: "..."

Ye Qizu looked Ye Qizong up and down, feeling a little uneasy. "What is it? Speak quickly."

“Someone gave Yu Fang a stack of photos today. That person also asked her for 50,000 yuan. She originally thought it was Ye Kaishen being photographed having an affair, but it wasn’t!” Ye Qizong handed the photos to his second brother. “Luckily, Yu Fang bought the photos back. Otherwise, if those entertainment gossip outlets published them, our Ye family’s reputation wouldn’t be able to withstand being on magazine covers every few days.”

Ye Qizu assumed someone else had Ye Baoshun's photo. He took it and examined it closely, but at first he couldn't make it out. "Who is this?" he asked.

Ye Qizong: "Didn't you see?! Bao Ling is bisexual, flirting with women on one hand, and then turning around and kissing Ye Huaizhang and going to a hotel with him!! How could our eldest son's granddaughter do such a shameless thing!"

It really was his granddaughter.

His granddaughter, whom he is most proud of during this period!

Ye Qizu's hand trembled, and the photo in his hand slipped and fell to the ground.

Uncle Xing quickly helped him up: "Master! Hurry! Go get the medicine!"

Ye Qizong helped Ye Qizu sit down on the sofa: "Second brother, don't be angry. Lock him up and give him a beating first. Also, the people from the third branch of the family must be called over. They're so shameless and rude; they need an explanation!"

Hearing the noise, Ye Baoshun opened the door and came out. He ran out and picked up the photo, his surprise no less than that of Ye Qizu.

No wonder she could understand him.

It turns out she was even more unconventional than him!

After taking the medicine, Ye Qizu recovered.

Before long, members of the Ye family arrived one after another. They passed around the photos, shocked and speechless.

The Ye sisters, Ye Leqiong and Ye Leyan, gaped in shock.

It turns out that the most honest Ye Baoling did something they dared not do.

Ye Kaimin almost coughed up blood. His daughter, who had just made him proud, was now slapping him in the face like this?!

A few minutes later, Ye Baoling was summoned, accompanied by Chen Yulan.

At this moment, the third-floor lobby was crowded with people.

The people from the third branch of the family should arrive soon.

Ye Kaimin rushed over to hit Ye Baoling, but Chen Yulan stopped him.

"Who is she? Who is this woman?!" Ye Kaimin angrily pointed at Chen Yulan.

Ye Baoling said calmly, "She's the little girl next door to my maternal grandmother. I've told you about her before."

She picked up a photo of herself fixing Chen Yulan's hair and said, "What kind of smear are you trying to give me with such an ordinary photo?"

"It's almost on your loved ones' faces."

Ye Baoling turned to Chen Yulan and asked, "Did I kiss your cheek?"

Chen Yulan looked completely bewildered: "Huh? Why are you kissing my cheek?"

Zheng Junni came out pretending to be a nice person and advised Ye Kaimin: "Don't be so fierce, speak properly."

Ye Baoxin stood behind the Ye Leqiong sisters, watching the show in silence.

Ye Kaimin rubbed his face: "Then what about you and Ye Huaizhang? You actually kissed, didn't you? You have nothing to say about that now!"

Ye Kaishen coldly looked at Ye Baoling and handed her the photo of Ye Huaizhang kissing her: "Do you know how to write the word 'shame'?"

These words struck a nerve with Ye Kaimin, who wanted to attack Ye Baoling again, but he couldn't get past Chen Yulan, so he could only curse, "Shameless!"

"Am I as shameless as you?! You cheated on your wife with your own secretary!" Ye Baoling looked at Ye Kaimin and pointed at Zheng Junni. "You forced my mother to divorce you while you were heavily pregnant. Is this what you call decency and shame?! So you deserve your retribution for giving birth to a mentally challenged child!"

These words stirred up a hornet's nest, and Zheng Junni burst into tears, feeling wronged.

"How could you say such a thing?! How could you say such a thing? Baolong is innocent!"

Ye Baoling scoffed: "All of Ye Baolong's innocence and misery were not told by me, but brought to him by you! What are you pretending to be pitiful for?!"

That's infuriating!

Unable to hit Ye Baoling, Ye Kaimin angrily threw a punch at Chen Yulan.

Chen Yulan dodged to the side, grabbed his fist with her backhand, and flung him backward, slamming Ye Kaimin to the floor.

Ye Kaimin screamed in pain.

Ye Kaishen roared, "What are you all standing there for? Arrest this woman right now!"

Liang Meiyun and Ye Kais quickly stepped in to act as peacemakers, saying, "Don't fight, don't fight, let's talk this out."

Chen Yulan released Ye Kaimin.

Just then, footsteps came from downstairs. It turned out that Ye Huaizhang had arrived, followed by several thugs.

Ye Kaimin, who had just been about to punch and kick Ye Baoling, lost some of his momentum when facing the person he truly deserved to hit.

"Why are you the only one here?!" Ye Qizu finally spoke up when he couldn't see Old Madam Guan and Ye Jinsong.

Ye Huaizhang and Ye Baoling exchanged a glance. Before he could say anything, Ye Leyan had already started shipping them as a couple.

She whispered to her sister, "They are in love."

Ye Leqiong lowered her voice: "More interesting than Romeo and Juliet."

Ye Huaizhang explained, "My grandmother and my parents went to my great-uncle's house for a wedding banquet and haven't returned yet."

Ye Qizu pointed at the photo on the table: "Speak! What do you have to explain?"

Ye Huaizhang glanced at the photo, a slight smile playing on his lips. "Baoling and I are a legally married couple. Kissing isn't illegal, is it?"

"!!!!"

The crowd was stunned, shocked, and even momentarily unable to understand the Chinese words.

Ye Baoxin looked at her mother in surprise.

At this moment, Zheng Junni walked towards Ye Huaizhang. She tilted her head in disbelief and asked, "Are you two a legally married couple?"

“We are married, we have a marriage certificate, so of course we are a legal couple.”

How is that possible?!

Absolutely not!

"You are siblings of the same clan! You are all descendants of Ye Qingtang, and you all share the surname Ye!" Ye Qizong shouted.

How can we let this kid turn the tables and slap him in the face?

You cannot be a legally married couple, nor can you ever be.

Ye Leqiong and Ye Leyan, who have already become a couple: They can be together!

-----------------------

Author's Note: Ye Baoling: Please look forward to the next chapter, "The Grand Conferment of Prime Ministers to the Six Kingdoms" [winking emoji]

Ye Huaizhang: I'm just an audience member [Let me see]