Chapter 139

The change of power in Beiting happened in one day.

This place is plagued by constant wars, with casualties a constant stream. The dangers are endless, and the situation is constantly changing. The Zhou family's sudden rise to power was a result of those one or two military exploits. Zhou Jingchen became the most powerful officer in Kashgar in just one winter. Ye Di exhaled a breath of warm air, grabbed a shovel, and cleared the snow from the doorway. After clearing a path, she headed to the kitchen to light a fire and cook.

Things were difficult to say about the Zhou family. My sister suggested my brother-in-law would rise to a higher position in the future. Ye Di had no desire to marry and only wanted to stay with Ye Jia, the Zhou family. She didn't know when it started, but she never called Ye Jia "Third Sister" again. She always called her "Sister." This subtle change went unnoticed by others, but Ye Jia knew it all. She knew exactly who "Third Sister" represented and who "Sister" was.

After half a year of enjoying delicious food and drink, Ye Di became like the re-colored pottery, gradually becoming more gorgeous and eye-catching.

Although she didn't want to marry, her reputation for intelligence and competence spread. Many people in town knew her and had witnessed her abilities, leading to a constant stream of marriage proposals. Even though Ye Jia tried to fend them off, many women still approached Ye Di, praising their sons with endless exaggerations.

Ye Jia also tried to ask Ye Di what she thought, and after learning that Ye Di just wanted to do her own thing, he decided to make an example of her.

Ye Di never imagined that one day her words would be so effective. When she said she didn't want to get married, her sister would actually help her out. No matter how difficult the family was, her sister was always able to fend them off. In her sister's eyes, even if she was going to be a marriage mate in a few months, she was still just a child. It was hard to describe the feeling, but Ye Di knew she liked the feeling of being valued. She also understood that her sister could be so tough because she had a lot of money, assets at home, and she was capable. She didn't ask herself to be as capable as Ye Jia in the future, but she would try her best not to be so useless.

Feeling relieved, Ye Di secretly vowed to herself that she would live a decent life no matter what! If she couldn't live a decent life in the future, she would be sorry for her sister's teachings. So when Chef Yang said he was willing to take her in as his apprentice, her heart blossomed.

She looked at Ye Jia. Although she had the courage to venture out, she knew nothing about the outside world. She didn't know why Liu Yuan wanted to challenge the great chef and pushed her out, but she still valued Ye Jia's opinion on this matter. If her sister said it was okay, she would go. Her sister asked around and was told that she could go. At the beginning of this spring, she boarded a car to the Yang family in Luntai.

The days of apprenticeship were not as hard as Ye Di had imagined. Although she had been prepared for some hardship before leaving home, she hadn't expected the Yang family to be so kind. Her master had truly accepted her as a disciple, to pass on his legacy.

With both sons in the military and high-ranking officials, the family's craft could only be taught by apprentices. Ye Di felt incredibly lucky to have the support of the Yang family by becoming their apprentice. The master treated her like his own daughter, teaching and caring for her with great care. Suddenly, Ye Di felt as if her luck had suddenly changed once she left the Ye family, and she felt she was becoming more fortunate.

Her apprenticeship at the Yang family had its ups and downs. Her master was a very kind person and taught her a lot. But after arriving in Luntai, while life wasn't as comfortable as at the Zhou family and she felt quite lonely, the two Yang brothers were kind to her. Ye Di wasn't ungrateful; she would return the favor and maintain a good relationship. Naturally, there were those in the Yang family who looked down on her background, but they didn't dare say anything unpleasant to her face. Ye Di knew that one shouldn't be ungrateful, and that playing dumb was necessary to keep such a good life, so she didn't take it to heart.

But what she didn't expect was that although she thought she would always be alone, she didn't expect Liu Yuan to be transferred to Luntai.

This guy was truly greedy. Even after being transferred to Luntai, he still missed the food she cooked. Ye Di now had a monthly salary, not as much as her sister at the Zhou family, but she wasn't short of money. However, Ye Di had a dream: to open a restaurant as large as Yu Man Lou, and she didn't underestimate any way to make money. So when Liu Yuan brought up the old matter, she resumed her job of making food for Liu Yuan and getting paid for it.

The rules in Luntai were much stricter than those in Dongxiang Town, and women were not as free to come and go as they were in Dongxiang Town. Even though she was only delivering food to Liu Yuan, she still couldn't avoid being teased. Once, Ye Di overheard someone calling her "Liu's young wife" and nearly spilled her food.

If Liu Yuan hadn't come over and chased those people away, Ye Di would have found a crack in the ground to crawl into right there.

"Don't worry about it," Liu Yuan looked at the pouting little girl, her face as red as a monkey's butt, with a glint of light and a smile in her eyes. "They just have nothing to do and are just talking nonsense. Fifth sister, don't pay any attention to them."

As she spoke, Liu Yuan's pair of watery peach blossom eyes seemed like sticky moonlight, entwined with her.

"Who is your fifth sister?" Ye Di was embarrassed and angry. She didn't dare to look him in the eye and stepped on him hard. "Take the things away."

After saying this, he left angrily.

Liu Yuan stared at her back as she walked away, his lips curled up as he let out a loud cry, muttering to himself, "What an ungrateful person! How could she treat her lifesaver like that?" Ye Di's face turned even redder with rage. "Who asked him to save her life?! How shameless!"

It wasn't long after they delivered food to Liu Yuan that he vanished inexplicably. Ye Di wasn't as alert as Ye Jia, and didn't know what they were doing. But she knew that for soldiers, fighting and doing things were commonplace. She'd often been missing her brother-in-law at the Zhou family, even after they'd had their wedding and were happily married. He rarely found time to spend with her sister. But her sister didn't need company, Ye Di shrugged.

When too many people live in good times, they inevitably end up stepping in dog shit. Ye Di was mastering her craft, and her older sister was planning to open a shop in Luntai. The fourth sister had also found a job and moved in with her older sister. Just when the three sisters were about to have a good life, who would have thought that Ye Wangshan and Ye Su would move to Luntai?

Ye Di knew that Big Brother Ye Jia was in Luntai. Once, by chance, Ye Qingshan was a guest at the Yang family, and Ye Di ran into him in the garden. At the time, Ye Di didn't recognize him. After all, Big Brother had been away in the army for years, and Ye Di was still a child when he left. Girls change a lot when they grow up. If she hadn't resembled Ye Su, Ye Qingshan probably wouldn't have recognized her.

As soon as they recognized each other, Ye Qingshan wanted to take Ye Di to live in his own mansion.

Honestly, her brother was definitely closer than the Yang family, and he felt more comfortable living there. But Ye Di hadn't expected her parents to find her. They'd beaten her and scolded her, but they'd stopped talking after just a few days of being an official. They were even arranging an engagement for her!

Ye Di was almost angry to death. She didn't dare to argue with her parents and moved to Yang's house quietly.

The newly ascendant Ye family was naturally no match for a powerful official like the Yang family. Ye Di thought that with her master's words, her parents would be more cautious and obedient. Who knew that these two, whether ignorant and fearless or truly blinded by money, would accept the betrothal gift and finalize the marriage, regardless of her objections and the Yang family's advice.

Ye Di was almost mad with anger, especially after hearing about the so-called affairs of her husband's family from outside. The Yan family was a complete scam!

Although women in Luntai didn't have a free life, thanks to Liu Yuan, she'd been hearing all sorts of dirty stories about the Yan family's youngest son. He was a homosexual, and a deeply misogynistic one. If she really married him, he might think she was stealing his man. Ye Di was so angry she burst into tears, blaming all this on her parents, who had assumed they'd be more cautious after hearing all this.

Who knew that even if she presented the truth to her parents, they would still pretend to be blind. Ye Sushi at least knew how to conceal the truth, saying that she didn't understand. When outsiders spread rumors, Ye Wangshan simply locked her up at home and forced her to marry him even if she didn't want to.

Because Ye Wangshan accepted a betrothal gift of more than three hundred taels, he had never seen so much money in his life and would never return it even if he died.

Ye Di felt like the sky was falling!

For money, her own parents would even sell her life!

Even though she'd known about the Ye couple's behavior, she didn't believe it until Ye Su turned her head away. Her life was worthless in her mother's eyes, let alone the hundreds of taels of silver in betrothal money. Ye Di was locked in her room, crying and making a scene. But no matter how much she raged, no one paid any attention. Could her father abandon his so-called integrity for a few hundred taels of silver?

With no escape, Ye Di could only seek help from her master. But the master could save her temporarily, not permanently, and could not cancel her marriage on behalf of her biological parents. The Yang family, however, did their utmost to bring the matter to the attention of the Ye family, and Ye Di's marriage was finally confirmed.

There was no point crying, she had to repay her parents for their kindness in giving her life and raising her. Even if this matter was brought to the attention of the emperor, it was still the parents' orders and the matchmaker's words.

Ye Di couldn't think of any solution, so she could only think of one - escape.

She had lived in this world for fifteen years, and her blood relatives were unreliable. The only person she could think of to protect her was Ye Jia. She begged her brother from the Yang family to send a letter to Dongxiang Town for her.

As expected, her sister was her last hope. Not long after she sent the letter, she received a reply. Ye Di was also decisive, knowing the Yang family couldn't protect her forever. On a winter day when heavy snow blocked the city, no one could have imagined she would run away at this time of year. She left home so quietly, hiding in the Yang family's convoy and escaping back to Dongxiang.

After returning to her sister, her chaotic days suddenly returned to peace.

The Zhou family is getting better and better, and their lives are getting better and better.

Fourth Sister took over her duties, making Xishi Shop even better. Although Ye Di felt a little bitter, she wasn't jealous. Ye Jia was her older sister, and Fourth Sister's older sister. Besides, when it came to cooking, Fourth Sister was actually better than her. It was just that Fourth Sister was a quiet, submissive person. No matter how talented someone is, without ambition, they wouldn't dare venture out.

Although the relationship between the elder sister and the fourth sister has improved a lot, she still loves her the most among the two sisters. She is still willing to teach her, and as long as she is willing, she can still learn from her elder sister. Ye Di knows this, and the bitterness in her heart is relieved.

Life in Dongxiang Town was the most comfortable. In the past, I'd be sad because of the cold weather and lack of food. But my sister always found a way to make winter comfortable. Spending more time with Ye Jia, Ye Di felt her ambition to start a new career stirring. This trip to Luntai wasn't entirely without success. She learned some excellent cooking skills and saved several hundred taels of silver.

Of course, most of them came from Liu Yuan. Ye Di was thinking about waiting until spring came, then consulting her sister and carefully choosing a shop to try her hand at. She had experience running shops before, so she had a good idea of ​​how to run a food stall. She was honing her skills day by day, preparing to establish herself on her own once the shop opened, ideally with a bang.

However, things did not go as she wished, so she mentioned her plan to her sister Aunt Yu, but Aunt Yu poured cold water on her plan.

Ye Di had little education, and was even less aware of the imperial rule prohibiting women from owning property. Even if she owned a shop, as long as she wasn't married, all her hard-earned wealth would be confiscated by her parents and brothers. This would require establishing a female household, but in that dynasty, unless both her parents and her husband's family were extinct, establishing a female household was impossible. When Ye Di learned about this, she nearly vomited blood, crying into her blanket at night.

But she had to build this business no matter what. She couldn't be treated like a pig by her parents like before.

Ye Di thought about it and came up with two solutions.

Either register the property under her sister's name, or find a man to marry. Liu Yuan's face flashed through her mind, but she quickly rejected it. That man looked down on country girls and only approached her for her cooking skills. There was no way he would agree to marry her. Ye Di decided to register the property under her sister and brother-in-law's name. She was confident that her sister would not take advantage of her.

However, before she could finish her work, news of Ye Di's escape to Dongxiang Town leaked out. Her good mother was truly determined to push her to her death. Even in the snowy weather and with the war still raging outside, she had bravely rushed to Dongxiang Town, crying, making a scene, and even threatening to commit suicide, in order to force her to return.

Ye Di couldn't escape no matter how hard she tried. Taking advantage of her sister's weakness and absence, her mother tied her up and put her in the car.

Returning to Luntai came faster than she expected. Ye Di had imagined countless times that she would freeze to death on the way, thus avoiding the need to marry. Instead, she didn't freeze to death; instead, she was locked inside. Fearing she might escape, the door was never opened. Ye Di huddled in the room, dazed, unsure who would rescue her. She waited and waited, and one day, the door suddenly opened.

Ye Su held a bowl of chicken soup and kept praising the Yan family in her ear. Even though the Yan family's youngest son's reputation had long been tarnished and everyone in Luntai knew it, she still insisted on covering Ye Di's ears and praising the Yan family's youngest son.

"Diniang, don't blame me for being cruel. All women these days are like that." Ye Su didn't dare look her daughter in the eye. She lowered her head and looked at the ground, crying, "All men are the same in the end. Only a wealthy family is good. If you marry into the Yan family, it won't matter if your husband is not good. You will have the support of your in-laws. You can live a life of luxury. Who in the village would dare to dream of that? You are just lucky..."

Ye Di didn't want to listen to her, so she drank the chicken soup silently, lay down, covered herself with the quilt, and let her go.

Ye Su wiped her tears and continued to ramble on, but Ye Di didn't want to listen. Ye Su was also a little embarrassed, and finally sighed, "Don't blame me," and Ye Di fell into a deep sleep.

It wasn't until the following winter that Liu Yuan learned of Ye Di's misfortune. He had been busy with many secret matters and was busy traveling to the Anxi Protectorate. He couldn't sleep when he learned that the Ye family wanted to marry Ye Di to the Yan family. He ignored the principle that a gentleman should not ruin a marriage and secretly inquired about the Yan family. He dug up every detail of the Yan family's youngest son's affairs and revealed them all to Ye Di.

He had thought that once these scandalous, unbearable things were exposed, the marriage would be over. But after he returned from such a long mission, the marriage was still going ahead. Even though he had told the Yang family to look after their daughter, the money-grubbing old couple from the Ye family still sent their daughter to hell.

Liu Yuan was so angry that his blood boiled. When Ye Jia's letter was delivered to Zhou Jingchen, he volunteered to help Ye Jia settle the matter.

With his sister's request, Liu Yuan felt that his involvement in this matter was justified. So, he exposed the hidden secrets of the Yan family's youngest son to the public. Furthermore, to prevent the Yan family from forcing the Ye family, he dug up all the family's dirty laundry, uncovering all the family's past misdeeds and confiscating their assets under the guise of the government.

But there is a saying that goes, "It is difficult to guard against a villain while it is good to be a gentleman."

He dealt with the Yan family with swift action, but the Yan family, aware of their own rebellion, had completely turned on the Ye family, their son and son-in-law's promising future. Taking advantage of the Ye family's humble background and easy to fool, the Yan family coaxed and deceived the ignorant Ye couple. Using some underhanded tactics, they persuaded the Ye couple to agree to use underhanded means to prove their daughter's innocence.

As long as her innocence is ruined, Ye Di has to marry even if she doesn't want to.

When Liu Yuan realized that Ye Di had been drugged and sent to the bed of the youngest son of the Yan family, he didn't care about his identity and broke into the banquet.

Liu Yuan's head was buzzing with rage, especially after he kicked open the door. Seeing the girl he'd been dreaming of stripped naked and held in another man's arms, he nearly slit the man's throat. Liu Yuan practically snatched the girl from the man's arms. He was thankful that the bastard was a homosexual, having stayed away from his girl even after such a long time.

Liu Yuan knocked out a man outside and threw him in. He walked out of the backyard carrying the twisted little girl.

He didn't know what kind of poison those bastard parents had fed the little girl. He had only been holding her, but before he even reached the back door, Liu Yuan was tortured by the little girl, unable to move. You have to remember, this was the girl who had kept him awake in his erotic dreams, and now she was naked in his arms. Her fully grown, slender figure was naked before him, and she kept kissing him.

When people are pushed to their limits by certain desires, their strength is immense. Ye Di is no ordinary girl; she can handle heavy work and has immense strength.

When Liu Yuan was forcibly dragged to the ground by the girl and pressed to the ground until he was completely naked, he carried the girl to a deserted place and let her do whatever she wanted to him. This was his last moment of clarity.

Liu Yuan didn't know how long the endless dream lasted. When he regained his senses, it was already nightfall.

The girl was truly fierce, like a little wolf. Liu Yuan had always admired women with a delicate, scholarly air, but Ye Di possessed none of the qualities he had previously considered desirable in a wife. She wasn't at all elegant, even possessing a fierce, flamboyant beauty. Her figure wasn't petite, but rather voluptuous and flexible. Her temperament, needless to say, was ambitious, devoid of any womanly refinement. Even in their sexual pursuits, they were fierce and fierce, completely devoid of womanly modesty. Yet Liu Yuan simply loved this girl; he dreamed of her.

I don't know how much of that drug that old bastard from the Ye family fed the little girl. After it was over, Liu Yuan's skin was stained to the point of being unsightly. His Adam's apple was bitten with a deep tooth mark, and his back was bleeding. But he just loved it, licking his lips and savoring it endlessly.

The little girl was fast asleep in his arms, and her body was a little miserable. Liu Yuan touched his nose and felt a little embarrassed. He hadn't stopped since he started to have sex.

He took off his clothes and carefully wrapped the little girl up. Taking advantage of the night, Liu Yuan avoided the crowd and sent her back to the Ye family. Liu Yuan thought that this was not a good thing he had done. Once he had dealt with the Yan family, he would immediately propose marriage to the Ye family.

As a result, just as he finished his work with the Yan family, a disturbance arose at the Anxi Protectorate. He didn't have the time to propose marriage, so he could only ask Zhou Jingchen to pass a message to the Ye family. They would get married when he returned after sorting out the chaos.

Zhou Jingchen saw that his face was not right, but some things had to be admitted. Liu Yuan stubbornly let Zhou Jingchen punch him a few times.

"Get lost," Zhou Jingchen didn't expect that Liu Yuan, this bastard, would actually be so shameless as to ask for a young girl. Dayedi is so old, yet he still has the nerve to sit there and wait for her to do something shameless! Although he was angry, he also knew that Liu Yuan would definitely not treat her badly if he said he would marry her. He drove her out with a cold face, "You'd better not have such dirty things around you. If I find out, don't blame me for being rude."

Liu Yuan chuckled and said, "Of course, you can trust the Liu family's tradition."

Zhou Jingchen had promised to deliver the message, and naturally he did. Besides that, Zhou Jingchen also severely intimidated the old couple of the Ye family. Although Zhou Jingchen didn't spend much time with his cousin Ye Di, he knew that Ye Jia loved her very much. It was unreasonable for the old couple of the Zhou family to treat someone so badly. Zhou Jingchen naturally knew that some people were simply ignorant and that persuasion was useless. He directly linked the matter to the official reputation of the three brothers Ye Qingshan and Ye Qinghe, and the Ye family quickly became obedient.

But no one could have anticipated Ye Di's behavior. Late one night, Ye Di disappeared quietly in Luntai.

After Ye Di left, no one knew where she went except Ye Jia who received the letter.

In truth, the medicine Ye Di had taken was indeed a bit too strong. She slept for two whole days before waking up. Even though she was oblivious, seeing the state of her body and the pain somewhere that was about to tear, she knew she had lost her innocence. However, she had no recollection of how, or by whom. After realizing this, Ye Di locked herself in her room for several days and decided to leave.

Unlike Ye Yuan, she wouldn't feel her life was ruined just because she'd lost her innocence. As her sister had said, a girl's innocence wasn't determined by dirty tricks. Even if something like this happened, there was no need to feel ashamed. The only people who felt shame were those with malicious intent.

However, Ye's parents would definitely not tolerate such a thing. If she didn't want to marry that bastard from the Yan family, she could only escape by herself.

Ye Di knew Bei Ting couldn't hide from her parents no matter where she went, so she decided to find a place where no one knew her and start anew. She still had some money left and had learned a cooking skill. As long as she was willing to endure the hardships, she would surely reap the rewards!

With this belief, Ye Di followed a caravan south.

Along the way, Ye Di met many different people and saw many different sights. She realized how small Beiting was, and how vast the world outside was. She followed the caravan, tasting many different delicacies and learning how to cook them. True to her sister's words, she possessed a natural talent for cooking. She dared to think and act. Drawing on this knowledge, she integrated it into the creation of many new dishes.

Ye Di was full of confidence, thinking that with this ability, she would be able to realize her dream sooner or later.

But sometimes dreams are beautiful, but reality isn't. After separating from the caravan, Ye Di found herself on her own. Who could have imagined that a seemingly kind couple turned out to be con men and robbers? When they heard she was a widow, her family both deceased, and her husband's, they showed no sympathy or pity, but instead took advantage of the situation to commit evil. They stole her belongings, knocked her unconscious, and threw her into the water.

Ye Di survived a near-death experience and made her way to Huizhou by earning money by sewing clothes. However, she thought that seeking help from the local authorities would save her, but instead she landed herself in deep trouble.

The local government was completely different from Guo Huai, and also from the soldiers stationed there. They colluded with businessmen and exploited the common people.

She'd originally intended to be self-reliant, but it was ultimately a bit reckless. Ye Di had hoped to grit her teeth and carry on alone, but when she realized she'd escaped half of Dayan only to end up with the same fate as before, she suddenly felt hopeless. Tossing and turning, swallowing countless tears, she finally gave in and sent a letter to her sister. With so many people in her family, only her sister could save her.

Ye Di hadn't held out much hope when she sent the letter. The journey was so long, and she wasn't sure how long her luck would last. She was prepared for a fight to the bitter end, but fate had her back. Her sister received her letter and traveled a thousand miles to rescue her.

No one could possibly understand the magnitude of the impact this incident had on Ye Di. The moment Ye Di saw Ye Jia, exhausted and humiliated, rush over, she felt that even if her bones were broken, it wouldn't matter. As long as her sister was still around, she could still stand up. Ye Di had never been weak, and Ye Jia gave her the confidence to stand up. After a few days of depression, she finally pulled herself together. Just like her sister said, if you suffer a loss, you should get it back.

During her time at that beastly house, although she had been taken advantage of a little by that old beast, she hadn't suffered any serious loss. The main problem was that the thief couple had stolen half of the little money she had worked so hard to save. When Ye Di thought about how much she had cooked for Liu Yuan to save that little money, her heart bled.

"Talk to Liu Yuan." Ye Jia took a break from her busy schedule to teach her, "Ask him to get the silver you lost back for you."

Ye Di thought her sister's words were a bit strange, but her sister never said anything extra. Thinking this way, Ye Di really listened to Ye Jia's words and pestered Liu Yuan, asking him to make money for her.

Liu Yuan stared at the little girl who was not shy at all when she saw him with his gloomy eyes, and had a bad feeling in his heart.

Could it be that this little girl...didn't take that matter to heart?!