“It was your three sons who volunteered to be my godsons. They even took most of my life savings, so they have to take care of sending me to work.” Tong Mo raised his chin slightly; he wasn’t going to do a losing deal.
“I remember that silver was your uncle’s private savings,” Ye Yunniang reminded Tong Mo.
“What’s mine is mine too,” Tong Mo said, making Ye Yunniang laugh.
"If your uncle knew you said that, he would be so angry that he would hit you."
"With his frail body, he thinks he can hit me? No way."
Tong Mo stopped abruptly at this point.
He glanced at Ye Yunniang and, finding nothing amiss, breathed a sigh of relief.
"Ang Lee wants to study medicine?"
"Yes, he wants to become an apprentice of Physician Gu," Ye Yunniang replied.
"As expected of my son, he has ambition." Tong Mo said proudly, "If you're going to learn, you should learn from the best."
Ye Yunniang rolled her eyes at him speechlessly.
"If you like sons, go have one yourself. Miss Zhong is a nice person."
Tong Mo's smile faded, and he looked at Ye Yunniang with an unusually serious expression.
"It's okay if you don't like me, but don't keep pushing me onto another woman."
“I didn’t. I’m not, I,” Ye Yunniang paused, “I’m sorry, I shouldn’t have said that. What kind of life you want is your own business.”
Ye Yunniang's sincere apology left Tong Mo somewhat at a loss for words.
I didn't mean to blame you.
"I know."
“Zhong Zhaoli, if I come looking for you again, tell her to come find me.” Tong Mo glanced at Ye Yunniang’s belly.
Ye Yunniang suddenly asked curiously, "How did you two meet?"
Tong Mo looked uneasy, and his eyes darted away.
"You met like that?"
"So, what is it?"
"Oh, you know. We met at one of those boring parties."
If Tong Mo's expression were normal, Ye Yunniang would believe him. But his evasive manner clearly suggested something was amiss.
Tell me about it, let me hear about the fun.
"You've really been corrupted by Jiang Mingzhe," Tong Mo teased Ye Yunniang.
"Are you going to tell me or not?" Ye Yunniang touched her belly, her face saying, "I'm pregnant, you can't bully me."
"Tell me about it," Tong Mo told Ye Yunniang, recounting his acquaintance with Zhong Zhaoli.
Tong Mo remembers that the two first met when he was 15 years old.
At that time, his relationship with Bao Shao was very strained.
Bao Shao wanted Tong Mo to join the army so that he could take over his position in the future.
Tong Mo refused; he loved freedom and wanted to live a life without constraints.
Bao Shao believed that since he was Tong Mo's father, Tong Mo had to do whatever he was told.
Tong Mo retorted, "I even changed my surname, so who do you think you are to me?"
Bao Shaoqi ordered his men to seize Tong Mo, give him 30 heavy blows, and lock him in solitary confinement.
Kim Hye-ran couldn't bear it, so she secretly brought over medicine for her injuries and deliberately left the solitary confinement cell door open.
Tong Mo took the opportunity to leave.
Not wanting Tong Tiemei to know about his argument with Bao Shao, Tong Mo didn't go to the Jingwang Mansion, but instead went to Tong Tiemei's very remote little manor to recuperate.
Being injured was boring, so Tong Mo often went for walks in the mountains behind the manor.
An open-air hot spring was unexpectedly discovered.
Tong Mo liked it very much. He would go to the hot springs and eat wild game that he hunted himself whenever he had free time.
That day, Tong Mo was soaking in the hot spring and munching on a chicken leg, enjoying himself immensely, when he heard the sound of horses' hooves and a girl's shouts behind him.
Tong Mo turned around, and a girl flew over his head and crashed into the hot spring.
Tong Moteng jumped out of the hot spring and grabbed his clothes to wrap himself up tightly.
"I'm the one who's suffering, why are you, a grown man, wearing all that?" This was Zhong Zhaoli's first sentence to Tong Mo.
Zhong Zhaoli lay by the hot spring, showing no sign of the tension or fear she had felt after being thrown into it by the horse. She observed Tong Mo with great interest.
"You have fair and delicate skin. Which family are you from?"
"Hahaha...sorry...hahaha...I couldn't help it!" Ye Yunniang clutched her stomach, unable to stop laughing, her stomach hurting.
Tong Mo knew Ye Yunniang would react this way, which is why he didn't want to say anything.
Ye Yunniang managed to stop herself from laughing.
"And then what?"
"Later, my mother found out that I had been beaten. She had a discussion with my father and then took me home. When I got home, I met Zhong Zhaoli, who was known as the most talented young lady in the whole capital."
Tong Mo still remembers how absurd he felt when he met Zhong Zhaoli.
The day after Zhou Yunluo and Tong Mo arrived, Cai Damei slowly opened her eyes.
"Mother!" Ye Yunniang cried.
"Don't cry," Cai Damei said with some difficulty.
"Okay, I won't cry." Ye Yunniang wiped away her tears.
The more I wiped away the tears, the more they flowed.
"Mother, I can't control myself."
"Cry, just once."
"Mmm, Mother~" Ye Yunniang lay down next to Cai Damei and cried loudly.
She's been so worried for the past six months.
Cai Damei struggled to raise her hand and placed it on Ye Yunniang's head.
"Go ahead and cry."
Tong Tiemei quickly learned that Cai Damei had woken up and brought her generous gifts to visit her.
"I'm sorry, it's my fault for not teaching Bao Min well, and I've made you suffer."
"It's all in the past," Cai Damei said casually.
Tong Tiemei saw through her attitude and said no more about Bao Min.
Tong Tiemei left the Jiang family home and got into the carriage.
Bao Min waited anxiously in the car.
"She's awake and recovering well."
"That's good. It's good that you're awake." Bao Min took a deep breath to calm himself down.
"Xiao Min, are you really not going to go take a look? You have Shu Shu, maybe she can help."
"I've wronged my sister, I can't hurt her anymore."
"You had your reasons; you didn't do it on purpose."
"It wasn't intentional. That's why I can't say anything." Everything Bao Min did wasn't intentional, but it's true that these things hurt Cai Damei, and it's also true that his initial motives weren't pure.
What are you planning to do?
"We'll separate from the family and stay in Jiangcheng from now on. I'll take care of them, mother and daughter."
Everything Bao Shao and Jin Huilan did made Bao Min completely lose faith in his brother and sister-in-law; he no longer wanted anything to do with them.
Looking at Bao Min as dusk settled in, Tong Tiemei didn't know how to comfort him, and in her heart, she blamed all of this on Bao Shao and Jin Huilan.
She's dreaming of using her younger brother and son to climb the social ladder.
When Cai Damei woke up, the dark cloud hanging over the Jiang family was gone.
What's even more gratifying is that, after careful consideration, Gu Cundong decided to take Li An as his disciple.
Ye Yunniang prepared the apprenticeship ceremony gifts.
Jiang Mingzhe took Li An to the Gu family to become their apprentice.
Jiang Mingzhe returned alone and told Li An about his future study arrangements.
Li An studied a lot every day, and traveling back and forth took up a lot of time. Li An stayed at the Gu family's house.
I get one day off every ten days of the month before going home.
After hearing this, Ye Yunniang personally packed Li An's luggage and delivered it to the Gu family.
“When children grow up, you have to learn to let them fly,” Cai Damei advised Ye Yunniang.
Ye Yunniang understood the reasoning, but she couldn't bear to part with it.
“Sister-in-law, I’ll stay with you.” Cai Shuyi hugged Ye Yunniang’s arm.
"Thank you, Shushu." Ye Yunniang hugged Cai Shuyi.
With the book in hand, Ye Yunniang felt much better and even smiled, a rare occurrence for her.
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