Qian Ziyu's initial pity turned into a growing itch as she hugged him, her gaze unconsciously drifting down the tattered collar.
You can also see snow-white valleys and ravines.
Once they arrived at the inn, he couldn't resist making unwanted physical advances towards her.
Du E'li pursed her lips, tears streaming down her face, and stood up. In front of him, she began to undress, piece by piece, saying, "Young master, I have no way to repay your life-saving grace, so I can only offer myself to you."
Her voice was choked with sobs, filled with despair.
When Qian Ziyu came to her senses, she cursed herself in her heart, thinking she was nothing but a beast!
Immediately, he stopped Du E'li's hand and personally helped her put on her clothes one by one. "Don't do this. I saved you not because I wanted your body. You've been frightened today, so rest well. I'll come to see you again tomorrow."
Du E'li's fingers trembled as she gripped her clothes tightly, saying nothing and only weeping silently.
Qian Ziyu felt a surge of pity in her heart, and reluctantly left the inn.
Du E'li, who was inside the room, immediately burst into laughter. "Truly worthy of being the most famous playboy in Shuzhou, you idiot!"
In the following days, Qian Ziyu was completely infatuated with Du E'li.
He even went home and told his parents, "I want to marry E'li! There will be no other woman like her!"
Chief Qian was furious. Without saying a word, he picked up the family rules and gave the child a beating.
Seeing this, Qian's mother felt heartbroken and shed tears. She came up with a compromise: "Ziyu, it's absolutely impossible for you to marry a wife, but you can take her as a concubine. If she treats you sincerely, she won't look down on your status."
How could she not feel disgusted by this inexplicable stranger?
Qian Ziyu was in so much pain that she immediately nodded, "I'll listen to Mother."
Despite his injuries, he went to see Du E'li and repeated his mother's words verbatim.
Du E'li gritted her teeth in anger, but could only pretend to be overjoyed. "Yu Lang, titles and honors are all meaningless. I only want to stay by your side and never be separated from you!"
Qian Ziyu expressed her gratitude again, "Me too! Don't worry, once you're married, you're my wife, and everything will be done as if you were my wife."
A pink sedan chair carried Du E'li into the Qian family's house.
Life in the Qian family was naturally not easy; the servants constantly referred to her as "Aunt Du."
The Qian clan chief and his mother refused to see her, yet they still enforced all the rules, leaving her mentally and physically exhausted.
Qian Ziyu was even more useless; no one in the Qian family took his words seriously.
She then devised a plan to get Qian Ziyu to bring her to Qingshui County.
Thinking back on the happy and absurd days the two of them had spent together, Qian Ziyu was filled with regret.
I shouldn't have come to this remote corner of Qingshui County.
One of the guards returned quickly. "Young master, I have learned something."
Qian Ziyu said impatiently, "Hurry up and tell me, are you waiting for me to ask you?"
"I asked a few people, and when they heard that Du E'li was the most famous beauty in Dujia Village, they all said that she had an older brother named Du Pengzhi, who recently passed the imperial examination and became a scholar, and she also had a mother in Dujia Village."
Qian Ziyu felt as if a bolt of lightning had struck from the sky, leaving his mind blank.
"Impossible! You, you go to Dujia Village yourself! Take E'li's portrait with you!" He pointed at the head guard, veins bulging on his forehead.
The head guard accepted the order and left, riding swiftly to Dujia Village.
As soon as you mention Du E'li's name, almost everyone in Dujia Village knows her, after all, she is the sister of the only scholar in the village.
He stopped his horse in front of the Du family's house and knocked on the door, but no one answered.
What can a mere scholar do?
Without any hesitation, he broke down the door and entered.
The entire Du family home was empty and extremely quiet.
"Is anyone there?" the head guard shouted.
There was still no sound.
He went forward and pushed open the door, only to find an old woman lying on the bed, her eyes wide open and her mouth moving.
But no sound came from it.
The head guard was startled. "Are you a human or a ghost?!"
Granny Du tried to move her mouth, and saliva dripped down the corners of her mouth.
She caught a cold, couldn't get out of bed, was hungry and thirsty, and had no money. When she woke up, her son and daughter were no longer at home.
The head guard was disgusted, but fearing the old woman might die in front of him, he fetched water from the water vat and brought it to her lips.
"Glug glug." Granny Du drank very quickly.
She probably still had a fever and felt weak all over, but the cold water made her feel much better.
"Thank you, you are truly my savior."
With a touch of sadness, Granny Du said that at this moment, this stranger was better than her own children whom she had cherished and raised.
The head guard sighed and took out the portrait.
When Granny Du saw that it was Du E'li, she was extremely excited. "You've seen her before? Where is she?"
The head guard asked, "What's your relationship with her?"
"She's my daughter! E'li! Mother misses you so much!" Granny Du cried out in anguish.
The head of the guards got up and prepared to leave.
But Granny Du grabbed him, "Tell me where my daughter is! I'm dying, doesn't she care about her own mother?!"
The head guard shoved her hand away. "Du E'li claimed to be an orphan with no parents, which tricked my young master into taking her as a concubine. Now she's disappeared."
After saying that, the head guard left, not caring about the lives of unrelated people.
Granny Du watched his retreating figure, coughing violently.
She has such a tragic life!
How could my daughter be so eager to become someone else's concubine?
At this moment, she remembered how meticulously Ye Panjiu had taken care of her.
It was that old woman who was wrong!
Who will take care of her...?
The head guard returned to the inn and reported all of this to Qian Ziyu.
Qian Ziyu tore the letter to shreds, and then tore Du E'li's portrait to shreds as well.
"You bitch! How much have you lied to me! And what of it is true? If I find her, I'll teach her a lesson!"
When trust collapsed, he looked back on everything and it all seemed completely different.
Qian Ziyu stayed at the inn for ten days, during which he repeatedly cursed Du E'li.
The guards searched the entire Qingshui County for ten days, but still couldn't find Du E'li.
She vanished into thin air.
Finally, Qian Ziyu returned to the Qian residence, filled with rage.
He was met with another beating from his family, after which he was confined to his quarters.
Ye Panjiu knew all this from Chu Guan.
"Little sister, why do I suddenly feel like not all rich people are smart? This man is so stupid!" Mrs. Sun said with a sigh as she worked.
It was truly eye-opening to see how stupid they were.
Ye Panjiu remained noncommittal, saying, "She was born into a good family."
Jiujiu Lu has been open in Qingshui County for two months now.
The Ye family has a very warm and friendly service attitude, and the taste has remained consistent. They use high-quality ingredients and never cut corners, which has earned them a very good reputation in Qingshui County.
No matter who tried to persuade her, Ye Panjiu didn't increase the quantity of braised food or raise the price. She only sold two buckets a day, and went home once they were sold out.
After closing the shop, Mrs. Sun smiled brightly and grabbed Ye Panjiu's arm.
"Little sister, your second brother and I have something to give you."
After receiving 150 taels of silver, she and Ye Erniu kept thinking about what to buy for Ye Panjiu.
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