Chapter 20

Complaining to the authorities about the eldest sister-in-law wasn't practical. It wasn't impossible; it was theoretically possible. But Ye Jia now knew that Libei Town was effectively controlled by the garrison. The authorities wouldn't get any benefits, and yet they still had to deal with these matters. Even if they presented their case, no one would likely respond. Besides, the hassle of navigating the county government would be prohibitive, and the Ye family wouldn't be willing to let Fourth Sister Ye file a lawsuit.

Ye Jia made it clear that Fourth Sister Ye was probably also aware of her father's temper. How could a daughter who married out be as important as a grandson? She covered her face and lay on the bed crying.

"You can file a lawsuit, but it's highly unlikely to achieve the results you desire. In this matter, my eldest brother is more effective than the government." Ye Jia didn't know what Ye Qingshan's personality was like, but anyone who could stand up for his brother should be better than Ye Wangshan. Ye Su had already seen a doctor, and the priority now was Ye Simei's marriage. "Yuanniang, what do you think of that young man from Yujia Village?"

Ye Jia, a modern person, didn't have the idea that she had to be with someone just because she'd lost her virginity. But her thoughts were her own, and the person involved in this matter was Ye Simei. If Ye Simei deeply hated that man, no matter what Ye Wangshan did, she would do her best to mediate and prevent her from having any further contact with him. If Ye Simei had her own thoughts, her feelings would prevail.

When she mentioned that young man, Ye Simei's sobs stopped. Her face was still hidden under her body, but the tips of her ears were red and dripping with blood between her hair.

Seeing this, what else did Ye Jia not understand?

She sighed, unable to say anything harsh, and only reminded her, "It's been two days since your accident. If anyone had any sense, they would have brought a matchmaker to his house long ago, but he's been missing for the past two days. I just went to Yujia Village and looked for him, but the houses were all empty. Whatever he's thinking, I'm afraid it won't be what you want... Yuanniang, you should wait and see."

Her face turned pale at these words. Fourth Sister Ye whimpered, her crying unbearably.

When I came out of the house, the main hall was already filled with a scene of harmony between the father-in-law and son-in-law.

Zhou Jingchen could easily coax anyone he wanted. Seeing Ye Wangshan, seemingly wishing he were his own son, was truly remarkable. Originally, he'd come to see Ye Su. Now that the doctor had examined her and prescribed the medicine, and the final decision wouldn't be made for another few days, Ye Jia wanted to leave.

Normally, a new son-in-law should be offered food, but the Ye family was in chaos and no one was there to entertain him.

Ye Wangshan didn't allow them to leave. What kind of people had become of his Ye family if he didn't offer them a meal when his new son-in-law came?

Ye Wangshan was a man who cared little for his reputation. The Ye family had been in such a mess today, and the whole village was watching. He had to save some face, so he quickly called his second wife over and told her to use the money to buy some meat from the butcher in town.

"No need to bother." Ye Jia looked at his second sister-in-law's embarrassed look and was about to speak.

Fourth sister Ye came out wiping her tears, "Dad, Third sister bought it."

When they came, they not only bought two pounds of meat but also bought chickens and ducks, and a bag of snacks. The things were just handed over to Ye Simei. Ye Simei took the things to the room where Ye Su was lying. Just when they were talking about this, Ye Simei heard the noise and took the things out.

Upon hearing this, Ye Wangshan immediately glanced at his new son-in-law's face. Normally, it was polite for a new son-in-law to bring gifts. But they couldn't fail to prepare something for him. It was not proper to simply use the gifts given by their daughter and son-in-law to entertain him. However, the new son-in-law had a faint smile on his face, and he didn't look down on the Ye family's behavior.

"It's time for the butcher to close his stall at this hour," Zhou Jingchen said sensibly. "We're all family, so there's no need to worry about those empty formalities."

Ye Wangshan felt comfortable listening to this and nodded repeatedly with a smile. He turned around and asked Ye Simei to carry the things and go cook.

Ye Wangshan had originally thought that his third daughter had married off so hastily and that she must not have found a good family, and he always felt guilty. The rumors in the village and outside the village were so unpleasant that Ye Wangshan felt like he was hearing people talking about it everywhere he went, and he couldn't hold his head up for a long time.

He had been reluctant to see his third daughter since she got married, wanting to escape. Now, upon meeting her son-in-law, he felt a little better. He felt lucky, thinking he had done nothing wrong. Hadn't his third daughter just lucked out and found a good family? The Zhou family was poor, but their son-in-law was a truly good person.

Thinking of this, a smile appeared on his face again.

The two of them were talking in the main hall, and when they spoke to Ye Wangshan's heart, his voice was so loud that it couldn't be suppressed. Ye Jia was speechless watching from the side. Zhou Jingchen had quietly figured out almost everything about the Ye family's ancestors for several generations.

A short while later, Ye Qingjiang returned from outside, looking cheerful. Sending Ye Zhang back wasn't easy; she'd been cursing the entire way. Ye Qingjiang, a tongue-tied man, didn't know how to respond even after being lashed out at her. Initially, Ye Qingjiang had tried to save face for him, but in the end, he couldn't help but spill the beans on everything he'd done.

The ride was truly spectacular, with most of the Zhangjiaqiao village crowding out to watch. Ye Zhang had been a bully for half her life, but she'd never been criticized like this before. The Zhang family had some complaints, but upon hearing that Ye Zhang had angered the mother to the point of vomiting blood, they immediately shut up.

Once the serious crime of filial impiety was brought down upon her, Ye Zhang finally became obedient.

Ye Jia hadn't wanted to get involved in the Ye family's affairs in the first place. She had already done her utmost by paying for someone's medical treatment. She was actually getting a little impatient at the moment, thinking they could just have lunch at the Ye family's house and then go back.

Ye Wangshan didn't want Zhou Jingchen to leave just like that, and hinted that he wanted him to stay for a while.

With everyone chatting about this and that, the yard became lively again.

Ye Jia was wondering what was going on when he heard a neighbor outside calling out, "Uncle Wangshan." The family ran outside and saw a tall, curly-haired boy, about eighteen or nineteen, standing outside the yard, pushing a wheelbarrow. Before Ye Wangshan could figure out what was going on, the nosy neighbor started talking: "This is Ah Jiu from Yujia Village, here to propose marriage to your fourth daughter."

When these words were shouted, the Ye family members almost popped their eyes out.

The wheelbarrow was piled high with wild game, including pheasants, wild boars, wild rabbits, and a large pile of animal skins. Although there was no real gold or silver, these things were still of considerable value.

The curly-haired boy had deep eye sockets, a large, sturdy frame, and a pair of deep, emerald green eyes. His clothes weren't the best, likely due to lack of care. They were tattered and sloppily stitched together from animal fur. Ye Jia didn't know if it was an illusion or something, but she felt his eyes looked like a wolf's. She had heard about this man when she went to Yujia Village to inquire about him. He was a half-blood orphan from the north, with no relatives. She hadn't expected him to look like this. No wonder Fourth Sister Ye had described him that way when she mentioned him earlier.

The young man looked quite fierce when he was frowning, but when he glanced at Ye Simei in the crowd with his sharp eyes, he bared his teeth and smiled: "I'm here to propose marriage to you."

His voice was hoarse, but he spoke in a pure Dayan accent.

Mixed-blood people are all beautiful, so this boy is no less so. Fourth Sister Ye blushed, her head lowered, and she remained silent. Ye Jia immediately opened the door and let the boy drive the car in.

When the young man caught sight of Ye Jia, he smiled at her, baring his large white teeth and calling her "Third Sister." It was a brilliant smile, not to mention it.

Ye Jia raised her eyebrows and was about to walk over when Zhou Jingchen grabbed her wrist and pulled her. Ye Jia looked up at him. The man's elegant brows were slightly furrowed, and his eyes were fixed on the young man with a sharp gaze. Ye Jia blinked, and when she looked at him again, her brows had smoothed back down.

Their eyes met, Zhou Jingchen curled his eyes, leaned over and whispered in her ear, "What's wrong?"

"No." Ye Jia's ears felt a little itchy. "What were you looking at just now?"

Zhou Jingchen's eyes flickered slightly, but his expression remained unchanged: "It's my first time seeing green eyes, so I'm a little surprised."

Ye Jia looked at him suspiciously.

After a long while, he couldn't figure out what was going on, so he turned around and looked outside the yard. Ye Wangshan was stunned for a long time before he came to his senses and led the man into the house. However, when he looked at Ajiu, his face did not have the admiration he had when he looked at his third son-in-law.

He frowned and didn't speak for a long time.

In reality, Ye Wangshan, a self-proclaimed scholar, had always admired the refined and refined Han Chinese. He had in mind that all his daughters' marriages must be with Han Chinese. This poor boy named Ajiu looked like a wild, green-eyed bastard, a man who had grown up in the mountains. He glanced at the pile of furs piled on the cart, thinking, "He's here to propose marriage, but he doesn't have the money to hire a matchmaker. How uneducated!"

Ajiu was already dissatisfied with his foreign ancestry, and he became even more dissatisfied when he heard him speak.

Ye Wangshan peppered him with questions, inquiring about his family situation. He learned that the boy's parents were both orphaned, leaving him without relatives or friends. His family owned no land, and he himself had no proper job. He had only a master who taught him hunting, but after he reached adulthood, no one cared for him. Ye Wangshan's face was etched in dismay. But no matter how resentful he felt, Ye Simei was already his, and there was no choice. There was no other way around it.

"The wedding has to go on, but we can't leave everything unprepared. You don't have an adult at home to take care of it, so you have to listen to me." Ye Wangshan pondered for a moment and made the final decision: "Well, go back and clean up your house. Find a matchmaker and we'll discuss the marriage."

The boy had no complaints and simply nodded.

Before leaving, he took off a string of wolf teeth from his hand and handed it to Ye Simei.

"Keep it." The young man was indeed very wild and reckless. "I'll come and marry you when I'm done."

Ye Simei's face turned as red as a boiled shrimp, and it took her a long time to finally say "hmm".

It's no wonder that after this young man's act, Ye Jia's pent-up anger had dissipated considerably. He didn't need to get involved in the rest of the matter. With the young man making such a grand gesture, the marriage was definitely on the cards. Ye Wangshan discussed this with Ye Qingjiang for a long time and decided to have Ye Jia and Zhou Jingchen return in a few days. They would wait for Boss Ye's letter to arrive, and after dealing with the eldest sister-in-law, they could discuss Fourth Sister Ye's marriage.

They were busy all day, and it was dark when Ye Jia and Zhou Jingchen returned to Zhou's house.

Along the way, Ye Jia recalled the look Zhou Jingchen gave Ajiu, and couldn't help but grab him and ask again.

Zhou Jingchen hadn't expected Ye Jia to be so perceptive. He'd only glanced a fraction longer, and she'd caught him. After a moment's reflection, he still said the same thing: he was surprised by Ah Jiu's blue eyes, but there wasn't anything strange about them. Ye Jia was skeptical, but the man was so cunning that it was impossible to tell from the surface. Unable to get any information, Ye Jia gave up.

When I got home, Yu had been waiting for a long time.

Ye Jia recounted the general situation, and Yu was shocked. She hadn't expected the eldest sister-in-law of the Ye family to be so unruly. The daughters-in-law of wealthy families were subject to strict rules and etiquette, but Yu had never seen a daughter-in-law so arrogant.

But then Ye Jia thought it was normal. His daughter-in-law wasn't a good-tempered person either. But fortunately, she was a bit of a shrew, but she had a good heart.

Her eyes wandered back and forth, watching Ye Jia and her son go out to fetch water to wash their faces and hands. After washing up, Ye Jia went into the house to get a cloth to wipe her face. After searching the house, she didn't see the cloth she usually used. She was immediately puzzled.

Just as she was about to ask, Yu suddenly said something surprising. "Jia Niang, since the weather is nice today, I took apart and washed all the bedding in the room, thinking we could use some thinner covers... It's been almost three months since you and Yun An got married. Now that Yun An's legs are back, how can we keep living in separate rooms? While I'm changing the bedding, I'm going to move all your things over. From now on, I'll take Rui Jie'er to sleep in the west room, and you and Yun An will live in the east room."

Zhou Jingchen was washing up. When their eyes met, he almost swallowed his mouthwash.