Chapter 71

It was a brief trial, and ended in a sloppy manner. She couldn't just spend her wedding night in such a muddle. She didn't even get to eat such a beautiful woman like Zhou Jingchen. Wouldn't it be a waste to go hungry for a day on her wedding night? But it was so painful that even a strong woman like Ye Jia couldn't continue. She glared at the naked beauty standing by the door with shame and humiliation, and said angrily: "Aren't you cold? Why are you still standing there!"

Zhou Jingchen was of course cold, but it was no big deal for Jia Niang to endure the wound like this: "I'll go outside to find some medicine."

Ye Jia became even angrier: "Can I use your medicine?"

Zhou Jingchen: “…”

This question really made Zhou Jingchen ask himself. Will it work? Definitely not!

That was the kind of medicated medicine the garrisoned soldiers used to apply to external wounds. Ye Jia's wound was so delicate, how could he possibly give it to her? Seeing her face pale with pain and her eyes swollen from crying, Zhou Jingchen couldn't rest easy. But Ye Jia didn't want to talk about it anymore. Angrily, she tossed everything off the kang, threw on her clothes, and lay down with her back to him. He had no choice but to return.

Zhou Jingchen lifted the quilt and lay down beside Ye Jia, looking at the pale, rosy shoulders in front of him. He put his arm around her, leaned forward, pecked her shoulder gently, and patted her: "Go to sleep, go to sleep."

Ye Jia closed her eyes: "..." She was so embarrassed that she wanted to cut off her brains.

…

After a lively night, the next day when the sky was bright, there was still no movement in the east room.

Yu, Ye Wumei, and Rui Jie'er all went to bed late on purpose, just to show their sympathy for the young couple's hard work at night. As a result, they woke up at 9:00 PM and had breakfast, but there was still no sound in the house. Rui Jie'er hadn't seen Ye Jia all morning, so she lay at the door of the new house and tried to peek through the crack. Yu pulled her over and slapped her butt: "Don't peek through the crack!"

Rui Jie'er was frightened by Yu's serious face, and she pursed her lips and admitted her mistake honestly.

As snow began to fall outside, the door to the east room creaked open from the inside. It wasn't Zhou Jingchen who opened the door, but Ye Jia, dressed warmly. She had a large scarf wrapped around her neck, and when she looked up, her eyes were still slightly swollen.

Yu: "...Why, why are your eyes still swollen from sleeping?"

Ye Jia, who almost pulled his hips by taking such big steps, said: "..."

"Are you okay? Are you feeling unwell?" Seeing that she was silent and walking awkwardly, Yu Shi knew, as someone who had experienced it, that she was probably not feeling well. Yu Shi quickly told her to wash up and go back to her room. "I made some soup for you. I made it early this morning. You should be able to drink it by noon. If you're not feeling well, don't walk around outside anymore. I'll ask Di Niang to bring you some food inside later."

"...No," Ye Jia was a little embarrassed to raise her head to face people. In fact, she woke up very early in the morning. She was really hungry now, so she got up to find something to eat. After all, she didn't eat much yesterday. "I'm a little hungry."

Seeing her cheeks twitching as she walked, Yu said quickly, "The stove in the back kitchen is still warm. Di Niang, go get your sister something to eat."

Ye Wumei wondered what had happened to her sister, who had been so cheerful yesterday and now looked so unhappy. But she didn't ask any further questions and hurried to the kitchen to fetch food. Yu had specifically instructed Ye Wumei to prepare this food that morning, adding some blood-tonifying herbs. Ye Wumei didn't understand, but since Yu had said to add them, she did as she was told. After simmering all morning, the food was already soft, glutinous, and sweet.

She went to make a big bowl of red date, red bean and lotus seed porridge, and just as she brought it back to Ye Jia's room, she saw a pile of things in a basket in the corner.

Normally, Ye Jia washes her own clothes. But sometimes, she is so busy that she doesn't even have time to wash the clothes. Then, Ye Wumei or Ye Simei would help wash her clothes. Accustomed to this kind of washing, Ye Wumei didn't think much of it and walked over to take the basket of clothes out. However, just as she put her hand on the edge of the basket, Ye Jia stopped her: "No, no, leave the clothes there. Don't wash them. I'll do it myself."

"Sister, you don't seem to be feeling well today, let me wash it for you." Ye Wumei, a little girl who knew nothing, was about to take the clothes away. However, she came to her senses as soon as she saw Zhou Jingchen's clothes inside and quickly put the clothes down.

It was fine to wash clothes for her sister, but it was not proper to wash clothes for her brother-in-law. She quickly retracted her hand and said, "Sister, you eat first. When you're done, call me outside and I'll come and take it away for you."

After saying that, he turned around and walked out. Just as he reached the main room, a man walked in from outside the yard, carrying a gust of ice and snow.

It was Zhou Jingchen, who had gone somewhere early in the morning. Old Gao was standing there, almost leaning against the doorframe. Yu heard the noise and came out to take a look, only to see Zhou Jingchen, his umbrella folded. She had no idea when he'd left, but now he was wearing brand new clothes. His cheeks were still cold from the cold, and his eyelids were drooping.

Yu was about to say something when she saw him turn his head away. There was a bright red scratch on his cheek and the side of his neck.

"Yun An, where did you go so early in the morning? Why are you back at this hour?"

"I went out for something." Zhou Jingchen looked at his mother and replied vaguely without saying anything. He casually put the umbrella behind the door, lowered his eyelids, pushed open the door to the east room and walked in.

Yu's sharp eyes spotted red marks all around his neck, and a small tooth mark on his Adam's apple. Embarrassed, Yu glanced back, then looked away. She thought to herself that last night's affair must have been successful, and the noises suggested it was. But...why were both the young couple acting strangely? They looked like they couldn't possibly have been fighting last night, could they?

Unable to guess, she frowned and watched Zhou Jingchen return to the house. At this time, Ye Jia was sitting on the kang drinking porridge.

The porridge was sweet, the red beans had been soaked in advance and cooked until crunchy. Adding red dates and lilies gave it a light sweetness. She took a few swigs, then knelt awkwardly beside the small table, legs together. She looked up, still holding the red bean porridge, as a dark shadow loomed over her. Zhou Jingchen seemed to have locked the door, then walked over to the window and locked it with a click.

Then he folded the mattress behind her, lifted the hem of his clothes and sat down beside her. Ye Jia was still holding a spoon in his hand, trembling slightly. Feeling the warmth approaching, he turned his head to look at him, his nerves tense: "...Why did you lock the door and windows? Um, have you had breakfast?"

"No." With the doors and windows closed, the room was so dark that no one could see anyone clearly.

Ye Jia: “…”

...If you haven't eaten yet, go eat something. Why are you suddenly doing this?

Zhou Jingchen hadn't slept very deeply the previous night and had left home early in the morning. Although it was already the sixth day of the Lunar New Year, not all the shops on the street were open. The pharmacy was also closed, so he went to find someone to get his medicine. He waited patiently for Ye Jia to finish her meal, then suddenly reached out and put his arm around her waist, pulling her into his lap and sitting down. One hand grasped Ye Jia's belt.

The sudden movement frightened Ye Jia so much that he quickly grabbed his belt: "Hey, hey, hey, what are you doing in broad daylight!"

"I got some medicine. You can't just leave your injury like this. I'll apply some medicine on you." She really doesn't treat herself as an outsider after getting married. The person who used to restrain herself from touching Ye Jia now hugs and embraces him without any fear.

"Wait, wait, don't panic."

Before last night, Ye Jia had been looking forward to that kind of thing, but after last night, she wasn't looking forward to it anymore. Perhaps it was because the painful lesson was too profound, and she felt a bit traumatized now. She pressed down on Zhou Jingchen's hand tightly, and couldn't help but blush. "Where did you get the ointment? Will it work? And if you give me the ointment, I can apply it myself. I don't need you!!!"

"How can you fix it?" The wound was hidden underneath, and there might be more wounds inside. "Don't mess around with it so carelessly!"

After Ye Jia's outburst last night, Zhou Jingchen was now very worried about her. This girl was foolish and bold, and she was still obsessed with face. She pretended to know everything, but in fact she was a paper tiger. He had repeatedly told her to be patient and not to be too shy and cause trouble. But this girl couldn't bear it and insisted on forcing herself. Now that she had suffered and knew fear, she was still holding on: "Be good, let go of your hands, I'll do it for you."

In the final analysis, she was a dwarf in terms of actions, and Ye Jia was ashamed to dig up her dark history and let people chew on it over and over again.

Zhou Jingchen had indulged her for a long time, but this was not something he would tolerate. Seeing that she was still stubborn, he took Ye Jia's hands in one hand and pressed them above her head. With his other hand, as if he had eyes, he found the belt and gently pulled it open, then reached out and ripped off her clothes. Afraid that Ye Jia would do something dishonest again, he held Ye Jia down with one leg to prevent her from getting up.

He took out the ointment from his pocket, lowered his head and bit the red cloth on it, then gently tilted his head to pull out the plug.

The cork popped out, and Ye Jia saw Zhou Jingchen's eyes, unusually bright, in the dim light from the window paper. The way he squinted at her, biting his lips, was truly alluring, but then she thought of her own foolish actions, and a sharp pain tore the beautiful scene into shreds.

"I found it specifically and asked, it works." Zhou Jingchen didn't say that he got the ointment from Aunt Cheng in Lihua Lane, and it was incredibly effective. When Ye Jia was not allowed to move, his nimble hands were completely blocked. No matter how hard he tried to block it, he couldn't stop it.

Zhou Jingchen placed the bottle on the small table beside the bed, still holding the red cork in his mouth. He hooked a little ointment with his index finger and reached down.

Ye Jia curled her toes in shame. The vague touch made her scalp tingle. She didn't know what the ointment was made of, it was icy cold. The man touched her in the dark, and she was driven to tears. Zhou Jingchen didn't just apply some ointment on the outside, he also explored deeper. Hearing Ye Jia's breathing become disordered and the sobbing in her throat right next to his ear, he felt uncomfortable too: "Be good, don't provoke me!"

Betray, betray! Betray your uncle! Who is betting on whom?

Ye Jia felt embarrassed and uncomfortable, unable to suppress the strange noises she made. Yet, she dared not move, feeling as if someone had pinned her down. Zhou Jingchen wasn't a human being, he was a demon! He just kept putting on a gentlemanly, pure face, applying the medicine to her slowly and clearly, even applying it twice!

After finishing, he withdrew quickly, let go of my hand and walked down.

Ye Jia was so angry that she didn't even bother to put on her clothes. She raised her leg and kicked Zhou Jingchen in the back. Zhou Jingchen didn't move after being kicked. He sat on the kang without moving, pulled out a handkerchief from his bosom, and slowly wiped his fingers.

"Be good, wipe it off in four or five days and it should be healed." Ye Jia's kick didn't hurt at all. Zhou Jingchen easily grabbed one of her ankles and wiped her leg with the panties he had stripped off. Then he threw her clothes into the bamboo basket. Without even glancing at Ye Jia, he turned around, pulled open the freshly folded mattress, and covered her with it.

Diandian was out and not in the room. He turned around, holding the bamboo basket in the corner, and walked out in a dignified manner.

Not to mention Ye Jia feeling utterly fooled, believing she was a pure, innocent little white rabbit, only to find she was a wolf in sheep's clothing. It felt as if the dominance of the two of them had inexplicably flipped. Over there, Zhou Jingchen squatted by the well, slowly scrubbing clothes. Ye Wumei came over with a bucket and was amazed to see her third brother-in-law, who had the face of a man who looked like he shouldn't be doing anything, squatting by the well, washing clothes.

She hadn't dared to look any further, but curiosity forced her to peek in. She noticed that her seemingly invulnerable brother-in-law was clutching what appeared to be her sister's underwear. It felt like a thunderbolt struck her head. Without a word, she grabbed the bucket and ran.

Zhou Jingchen raised his eyes, somewhat puzzled: "..."

The sixth day of the New Year passed by in a daze, and Ye Jia did not come out of the house before dark.

The pitiful thing wasn't that she was being pretentious or embarrassed. It was that she was poor and had few clothes. Ye Jia had never felt she had too few clothes before, but after throwing away a lot of her tattered clothes last time, she had two sets of clothes that were brand new from the inside out. But last night, one set got torn and another got dirty. Then, after wearing the new set for less than half a day, it got dirty again and had to be washed by Zhou Jingchen.

She, who had never lacked clothes, suddenly ran out of underwear. She'd been sitting on the kang all day. Ye Jia didn't have the nerve to put on her trousers. While she changed her clothes frequently, she didn't wash her winter trousers, which were filled with cotton. How could she wear them after not washing them in over ten days?

Zhou Jingchen still had some humanity. After washing her clothes, he put them on the kang to dry.

It wasn't until the evening that they had clean clothes to change into. Ye Jia borrowed some needle and thread from Yu Shi and sat on the kang, facing the light, sewing her torn dress. Zhou Jingchen watched her take a piece of thread, point it at the light, and poke it for a long time without getting it through, which made him laugh. In the end, he took it, threaded the needle, and sewed her pants.

You know what, the stitching is quite tight.

"...Don't think that I will forgive you if you sew a pair of pants for me, Zhou Yunan. I'm telling you, I won't believe in your mask anymore!" Ye Jia was furious. From last night to today, her face was about to be torn into pieces.

Zhou Jingchen was afraid that she would have a shadow in her heart, and it turned out that what he feared really came true: "Jia Niang..."

"Don't talk."

Ye Jia finally understood a few things. First, she should make a few more sets of underwear. Three sets wouldn't be enough. Even if she washed frequently, there wouldn't be enough to change. She couldn't be lazy. Second, panties were too hard to dry. She was thinking of making briefs. She should make a few more. She shouldn't be lazy.

Zhou Jingchen smiled tolerantly and took out the ointment from his arms: "This ointment must be applied twice a day, once in the morning and once in the evening."

Ye Jia: “…”

Not to mention that in the past few days, Zhou Jingchen had taken advantage of Ye Jia's time to eat her up, just to quench his thirst. Yu Shi had noticed that the dark circles under Zhou Jingchen's eyelids were getting darker day by day, and his cheeks and neck were always bruised. Finally, she couldn't help herself, and one day, while Ye Jia was in the kitchen checking on her freshly dried kaoliang wine, she pulled Zhou Jingchen aside to question him.

Zhou Jingchen had originally been reluctant to speak. There was no point in constantly sharing such intimate matters with his mother. But seeing that their relationship hadn't been as sweet as honey these past few days, and instead seemed a bit awkward, Yu was getting anxious.

Zhou Jingchen was getting a little annoyed by the constant questions. But thinking about his mother's suffering, he could understand her worries. He sighed and told her about the blunder that had happened with Ye Jia the first day. Yu Shi suddenly understood what had happened. No wonder her daughter-in-law had been staying indoors for the past few days. Even when she did come out, she seemed to be walking unsteadily, which made her feel distressed.

"Jia Niang is delicate, and this is her first time, so she needs a man to take good care of her." Yu Shi was also delicate, and she had suffered in her youth. Later, her husband was willing to humble himself and try to please her, and she slowly experienced the taste of it: "No, I won't understand without someone to teach me."

After Yu Shi asked, she understood the situation and never asked again. She also told the rest of the Zhou family not to mention this matter in front of Ye Jia. Their daughter-in-law had to be respectful and they should be careful.

Having said that, Yu found a day with good weather and went out to the street without anyone else.

After four or five days, Ye Jia's injury finally healed considerably, at least walking didn't hurt anymore. Normally, as long as she didn't dwell on it, it didn't hurt much. However, the medicine Zhou Jingchen had hidden was nowhere to be found, and even after searching through every cabinet in the house while Zhou Jingchen was away, Ye Jia couldn't find it. Not to mention the fact that Ye Jia spent the entire day rummaging through cabinets at home to prevent Zhou Jingchen from applying the medicine, Zhou Jingchen had been resting at home until the tenth day of the first lunar month and hadn't been available.

It was originally supposed to be the fifteenth day of the first lunar month, but people suddenly came from Luntai, and it was impossible for him to stay at home peacefully.

The Shen family had been harassing Dongxiang Town for nearly half a year, yet they still hadn't been able to free the Shenhai. Furthermore, the Shen family's unauthorized mining of the Zengqing Mine had incurred public outrage. The existence of the Zengqing Mine in Dongxiang Town was surprisingly tight. If only some unscrupulous merchant hadn't mistakenly mined the ore and reported it to Luntai, where the matter would have been exposed without anyone in Luntai knowing about it.

The superiors were furious, not only at the secrecy surrounding the mineral deposits but also at their perceived control over the Beiting Protectorate. They had thought they had everything under their belt, but in reality, they had only seen a glimpse of the whole situation, a superficial understanding. They felt threatened and provoked.

As soon as this matter was exposed, the Grand Protector, who had learned that there was a Zengqing mine in Dongxiang Town, sent his personal soldiers to take over the mine.

As Zhou Jingchen had suspected, the person who arrived was Yang Chenglie, a close confidant of the Grand Protector. Upon his arrival, Yang Chenglie ordered Shen Hai to be escorted back to Luntai, where he brutally expelled the interfering Shen family members. He then publicly listed Shen Hai's numerous crimes, one by one, nailing him to the sword. He also swiftly purged the old members of Dongxiang Town, executing those deemed corrupt.

On the day of execution, a new group of people will be replaced.

Barely after the New Year, the garrison welcomed a new wave of personnel. All the dirty deeds that had been hidden in the shadows were exposed. Daily, the garrison was flooded with complaints from families and families of those who had been bullied in subordinate villages. Yang Chenglie executed these people with justification, and while the methods were brutal, they were enough to deter them. It even led to the discovery of a major case: the Kashgar County magistrate was colluding with the Turkic people to the north to traffic local girls into prostitution.

The Kashgar County Magistrate was a shadowy figure in this area. Since being assigned here twenty years ago, he had rarely appeared in public.

Firstly, to facilitate discussions at the garrison, he politely ceded jurisdiction to the garrison captain. He treated the garrison's officers and soldiers with respect. He never took responsibility for any problems, nor did he interfere with the garrison's tax collection and conscription. Such a somewhat incompetent and weak figure had secretly collaborated with a Turkic human trafficking ring, abducting and trafficking local girls and children into slavery and prostitution deep in the grasslands for twenty years.

Combined with the statistics of missing persons collected by the stationed officers and soldiers, the number of people trafficked reached 3,700. This did not include those who were forgotten and inexplicably disappeared in this part of the northwest.

The revelation of this major case shook the entire Kashgar County. The public was enraged, and even Ye Jia was unusually angry.

Officials are leading the human trafficking movement—how shocking is this? When Ye Jia first encountered the human trafficking ring, she hadn't imagined such an outrageous thing could happen. Now, she was extremely grateful to have encountered them. If the traffickers had escaped this time, how many more years would the Kashgar County Magistrate's mastermind of human trafficking have to remain hidden, and how many more girls would have been killed?

Because of this matter, the garrisons of Luosang Town and Luoyun Town both dispatched troops, and Luntai directly sent troops to surround the county magistrate's mansion.

Ye Jia wasn't sure what Zhou Jingchen had done, but he was undoubtedly responsible for exposing the Kashgar County human trafficker case. Sure enough, within three days, Luntai issued a reward for his meritorious service. Zhou Jingchen rose from Sima to Xiaowei, and was awarded a thousand taels of gold and a hundred acres of fertile land. Not to mention silk, cattle, sheep, and livestock, he was also awarded the house in Shenhai.

In addition, there were twenty beautiful women with soft bodies.

When the rewards were delivered to the Zhou family's courtyard, Ye Jia hadn't said anything yet, but Yu's face darkened when she saw the twenty soft-bodied beauties. But the people who were rewarded couldn't be driven out, so they had to stay at the Zhou family.

It was not until Zhou Jingchen came back after dark that Yu couldn't help but call him into the house and yelled at him.

"You brought back all these freeloaders, and you still think your family isn't annoying enough?" Yu was truly furious. It was so hard for her son and daughter-in-law to get anything done. Those unsuccessful tasks could have been accomplished with just a little push, so why all of a sudden send back all these beauties? Who was he trying to piss off? Yu didn't even have the nerve to publicly scold Zhou Jingchen for eating and living off Ye Jia's food. How could anyone be so shameless?

Ye Simei and Ye Wumei also stayed in the main hall, watching these people. Twenty beauties huddled together in the main hall, not daring to say a word.

Not to mention how many people were stunned by Zhou Jingchen's appearance when he emerged from the darkness. Just to say that Zhou Jingchen was wronged in this matter! These twenty beauties were poor girls rescued from human traffickers, not some kind of reward based on merit.

I can't find my family and I can't find my hometown. Although I am beautiful, it is difficult to arrange marriage if I have lived in certain places. There is no place to send me.

Finally, someone with ulterior motives took a detour and returned it to Zhou Jingchen's hands: "Mother, these are actually girls abducted by human traffickers. When they were abducted, they were very young and had no memory of their origins and families. Now there is no one to take care of them, so they were sent here. If you can find a place to put them, you and Jia Niang should just take care of it. Why are you so angry?"

"Really?" Yu saw that several of the girls were extremely beautiful. Although they were not as beautiful as Jia Niang, they were still rare.

"Yeah." Zhou Jingchen's attitude was indifferent, but with a hint of pride, "I'm not a lustful person."

Yu turned around and regretted her fuss. Indeed, if her son was a horny person, with a charming woman like Jia Niang living in the same house with him, why would she have resorted to such underhanded tricks to coax him and his wife into consummating their marriage? This guy's heart is made of stone! It was also her fault for being so afraid that something unexpected would ruin the relationship they had worked so hard to cultivate, and her concern had led to confusion.

"Then, how are you going to settle the girls?"

Zhou Jingchen's idea was to send them out if possible, and if not, to arrange for them to work: "Jia Niang needs to expand her business next year and needs manpower, right? Mother, keep an eye on them and see how many of them are capable of working. If there are any who are honest and nimble, then arrange them to do work for Jia Niang. In winter, the water is cold, and there are some difficult chores around the house, so just ask them to do them."

Yu was choked by Zhou Jingchen's self-righteous words for a long time. She didn't expect her son to be so heartless. To say that he had no sympathy for women was flattering him. It was incredible that this boy could be so smart in matters of the heart!

Regardless of whether there were ghosts or not, Zhou Jingchen's cold and ruthless words made Yu feel at ease.

She thought about it and decided that it would be bad to scold her son for something he hadn't asked clearly. "Wait a minute, stop."

Zhou Jingchen had just returned from outside, still wearing thick armor. Hearing this, he stopped and waited for Yu. Yu turned and rummaged through the cabinets, then pulled out three or four books as thick as thumb joints. She tilted her head and handed them to him, "Take them home and read."

"Books?" Paper is expensive these days, and books are even more expensive. Yu took out three books and gave them to him. Zhou Jingchen was stunned for a moment. However, he put the books into his arms without even looking at the pages. He nodded to Yu and said, "Mom, I'm going out now."

"Yes." Yu took two steps after him and reminded him: "Look through it more often when you have nothing to do."

Zhou Jingchen responded and turned to leave.

When he got outside, he saw a crowd of people in the main hall, which was indeed dizzying. He frowned. He couldn't accommodate all these people at the Zhou family. There was no place for them to stay. It just so happened that the Shen Mansion was now vacant, so Zhou Jingchen went to call Ajiu and Old Man Sun. The two of them were still awake, one driving a mule cart and the other a bullock cart, and they took all twenty girls to the Shen Mansion.

The people had been taken away, and the room suddenly became bright. Zhou Jingchen returned to the room. Ye Jia, who had rarely been away from the kang, was squatting beside the large box, looking at the huge pile of silver. He fumbled with it, took notes, and the abacus beads clattered.

Zhou Jingchen couldn't help laughing when he saw this. He took out the things in his arms, put them on the table, and took off the thick armor.

Ye Jia calculated and, adding the money her family had earned recently, she had a total of four thousand taels. She wasn't sure what this amount of money was like in ancient times, but she figured that as long as she didn't gamble, whore, or get seriously ill, this amount of money should be enough to live on for thirty years. Feeling very happy, Ye Jia caught a glimpse of the book Zhou Jingchen had placed on the table from the corner of her eye and was stunned for a moment: "What book is this?"

Zhou Jingchen took a look and replied casually, "Important books."

"Oh." Ancient books didn't have cover illustrations, just a few traditional Chinese characters. Ye Jia glanced at the characters and thought they looked familiar, but he didn't look closely. He then ordered the cloth. He didn't know the price of the silk, but it should be quite valuable.

Zhou Jingchen changed his clothes and came over: "Save these to make clothes for you and mother."

As he spoke, he picked up one of the books and flipped through it, then his body suddenly stiffened. Ye Jia noticed something unusual and turned to look at him, and he snapped the book shut.

Ye Jia: "Hmm?"

"Nothing." Zhou Jingchen put the book away, "You continue to calculate."