Chapter 18 Thank you for the compliment
The newlyweds, who were not familiar with each other, soon arrived at Shangjing Garden.
Several of Yao's cousins, their wives, and cousins were all present, and upon seeing Yu Zhiyi, they all showed expressions of amazement.
Clearly, Yao's radical reforms were very effective.
Yao Jinang nudged Du Ziheng's elbow and smiled ambiguously: "You're quite the lucky guy, your sister-in-law is both beautiful and capable, you're truly blessed!"
The Yao family all knew that Yu Zhiyi had indirectly saved Old Madam Yao.
As the saying goes, "An elder in the family is a treasure." Madam Yao held a superior position in the Yao family and was kind-hearted. She treated all her children, whether they were illegitimate sons or grandchildren, with the illegitimate children as equally as possible. Therefore, the younger generation respected and loved her very much.
Yu Zhiyi saved her, which is a great kindness to the entire Yao family.
Du Ziheng already knew what happened on the day of the bride's return visit from Madam Yao. Although he thought it was just a coincidence, he didn't want to embarrass anyone in public.
Suddenly, a male voice rang out: "Oh, Young Master Du and his wife seem to have a good relationship! They're inseparable."
A young man dressed in a red robe with gold trim entered the venue at some point. He casually looked Yu Zhiyi up and down, a hint of amazement flashing in his eyes at first, but then, as if he had thought of something, the amazement vanished in an instant, turning into disgust.
Du Ziheng frowned: "It was my maternal grandmother who invited us, that's why we came together."
These words seemed to be an attempt to distance himself from his relationship with Yu Zhiyi.
Yu Zhiyi was neither surprised nor concerned, but the Yao family members all frowned.
Du Ziheng, oblivious to the reactions of those around him, asked again, "Brother Yifei, did you come by yourself?"
Ji Yifei is the son of Ji Congxin, the richest man in China.
Ji Congxin only had this one son, whom he cherished dearly. Moreover, he had a deep affection for his wife, Pang. They had been married for nearly twenty years, and he had no concubines or even maids by his side. He was never seen in brothels or other entertainment venues.
Because of his loving parents and distinguished family background, Ji Yifei developed an outgoing personality from a young age.
"If I don't come by myself, am I supposed to be like Brother Youlin, accompanied by beauties?"
Youlin is Du Ziheng's courtesy name.
These words sounded like a simple statement about Du Ziheng bringing his beautiful wife to a chrysanthemum appreciation banquet, but the underlying sarcasm was quite strong.
Du Ziheng's face stiffened, but he didn't know how to defend himself.
He did indeed come out with another woman, even though in the eyes of the world, Yu Zhiyi was his lawfully wedded wife and should have been with him all the time.
Only they knew that he and Bingyue were in love, and that such behavior was tantamount to betrayal.
Yao Jinang couldn't stand it anymore: "Brother Ji, if you envy Youlin and your wife's harmonious relationship, then ask your mother to find you a wife of your own. Stop spouting sour grapes here."
They were all in the same circle, and Du Ziheng was his cousin, so he naturally knew about the complicated relationship between the two men and a woman.
He doesn't understand, and he doesn't want to understand.
Anyway, his cousin was already married, and his wife was his grandmother's benefactor. He absolutely wouldn't allow Du Ziheng to continue his reckless behavior.
Ji Yifei scoffed: "I envy him?" His eyes darted around, and he admitted to the other party: "I do envy him. After all, it's not like I didn't invite beauties, but the beauties have someone else in their hearts and refuse to travel with me."
His gaze fixed on Yu Zhiyi's face, his eyes cold: "It's a pity that the beauty's sweetheart is a scumbag who abandoned her for a vixen."
Yu Zhiyi: "...Thank you for the compliment."
Ji Yifei: "?"
Yu Zhiyi smiled slightly: "The original meaning of 'fox spirit' refers to a beautiful and intelligent person. In ancient times, it was a totem and a symbol of good fortune. However, later, people added all sorts of stigmas to beautiful things, such as 'femme fatale' and 'disaster to the country and the people,' and the fox spirit changed from auspicious to evil."
Yao Jinang quickly laughed and said, "My cousin's wife is right. In the earliest days, wasn't the fox a symbol of good fortune? I've traveled all over the country and been to many places. I've also seen many places where foxes are worshipped as gods."
The rest of the Yao family echoed his sentiments.
Du Ziheng didn't say anything.
Ji Yifei was taken aback for a moment, then sneered: "You certainly have a silver tongue, no wonder you can twist the truth and make things up. No wonder someone as naive as her can't outwit you."
This means they've abandoned subtle sarcasm and switched to open mockery and revealing their true intentions.
He looked at Yu Zhiyi with disdain: "Miss Yu, it wasn't enough that you stole your own sister's family and affection when you were in the Yu family. Now you want to come to the Prime Minister's residence to steal other women's lovers. Have you no shame?"
"Don't give me that ridiculous talk about arranged marriages and how you had no choice in the matter. With your cunning and scheming ways, if you really didn't want to curry favor with the powerful and wealthy Prime Minister's family, you would have had plenty of ways to make Minister Yu and Madam Yu change their minds. But you still ended up marrying into the Prime Minister's family!"
"This proves that you are a vain woman!"
"You knew perfectly well that Bingyue was Brother Youlin's sweetheart, yet you still plotted to drive her away, which shows that you are selfish and jealous! A woman like you is not even worthy of carrying Bingyue's shoes!"
Du Ziheng frowned: "That's enough."
Ji Yifei's eyes widened: "You're taking her side? Have you really changed your mind?"
Du Ziheng pinched the bridge of his nose, about to say something, when Yu Zhiyi interrupted him with a smile: "Of course he hasn't changed his mind. His heart and eyes are full of Miss You. You can all rest assured about that."
Du Ziheng: "..."
It's clearly the truth, but it sounds so awkward coming from her.
Yu Zhiyi looked at Ji Yifei with a smile: "In your opinion, stealing other people's things is shameless, and people of low status climbing up to people of high status is just being vain?"
Ji Yifei chuckled: "Otherwise what?"
Yu Zhiyi seemed to be thinking about something, and after a moment she nodded, "So, everyone here is more shameless than you."
Ji Yifei's smile froze, and he became furious: "You dare to insult me?"
Yu Zhiyi looked completely innocent: "I was just evaluating you based on your logic. Since you agree with this logic, you should be able to accept this evaluation. Why are you angry?"
"When did I..."
“When you were three years old, you went to your maternal grandparents’ house and saw that your cousin had a rocking horse. You liked it very much and wanted to take it away. Your cousin was unhappy, so you sat on the ground, rolled around, and cried. In the end, your uncle had no choice but to give you the rocking horse.”
"It's the same cousin. When you were six, you saw that he had a very uniquely crafted wooden sword, so you ordered your servant to snatch it away. Little did you know, it was a birthday gift from your uncle. Your uncle spent a month making it, and your cousin treasured it very much."
"When you were ten years old, your cousin was already aware of your thieving nature. He would no longer show off his favorite things, but instead put a cabinet in his room specifically to store his treasures. But even so, he still couldn't escape your clutches. You actually chased him into his room and stole his things."
Ji Yifei's face flushed red and then darkened, finally choking out, "You sent someone to investigate me?"
Yu Zhiyi found it amusing: "I didn't know you before today. You're a complete stranger. Why would I need to investigate you?"
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