You are infertile; I wish you a house full of children and grandchildren.
"Daughter-in-law, go in peace. Although we sold you, you're going to a good family." Mother Yu pushed Ye Qingzhou, urging her towards Sima Mo's side.
"Ugh! Ugh! Ugh!" Ye Qingzhou couldn't speak, shaking her head desperately as she backed away.
"Mom, what are you doing? Do you know how much effort I put into getting Ye Qingzhou out?" Yu Xi stood in front of her mother, her eyes full of dissatisfaction.
"You brat, do you know how much money you owe?" After saying that, Yu's mother didn't forget to bow and scrape to the man riding a tall horse next to her, putting on a fawning smile.
Sima Mo, still holding his broadsword, merely glanced at Madam Yu with a slight lift of his eyelids. His two henchmen nodded to Madam Yu, then went back to whispering amongst themselves.
Yu Xi also saw the three burly men and knew she was no match for them. She whispered to her mother, "Didn't I give you all the thousands of taels of silver notes?"
Yu's mother ignored him, gripped the knot, and half-pulled, half-dragged Ye Qingzhou, pushing him in front of Sima Mo.
Upon seeing the beauty, Sima Mo dismounted, took the knotted rope handed to him by Yu's mother, and pulled her into his arms, thus drawing Ye Qingzhou into his embrace.
"Big brother! She's my woman, and she's carrying my son. Please don't..." Yu Xi leaned forward.
Sima Mo brandished his sword, making a gesture as if to chop someone down, and Yu Xi immediately shut her mouth.
Yu's mother came over, and with a barrage of curses, dragged Yu Xi away, urging him to hurry up and leave in the carriage.
Seeing that no one was stopping him, Sima Mo smiled, sniffed the beauty's black hair, and smelled a few wisps of fragrance. Looking at the four eyes staring at him like torches beside him, he said, "You two, get lost."
"Hehehe, boss is quite the ladies' man." The two men chuckled and went to the roadside to look at the row of willow trees, the bird nests in the trees, and the deep ditch behind the willow trees.
Who said a wife is not as good as a concubine, a concubine is not as good as a stolen one, and a stolen one is not as good as one you can't have? This beauty, finally stolen! Ye Qingzhou before him was like a cup of fine wine; Sima Mo hadn't even tasted it, yet the aroma filled his throat. The wine didn't intoxicate, but he was already drunk. Even the knot in his hand fell. The beauty had appeared in his dreams yesterday, and was now in his arms; Sima Mo felt a surge of joy.
Sima Mo was so engrossed in admiring the beautiful woman that he even tilted the knife in his hand to one side.
Ye Qingzhou felt uncomfortable under Sima Mo's gaze, but what made her even more uncomfortable was Sima Mo's hand on her back. That hand trembled slightly, yet it suddenly pressed against her back.
Ye Qingzhou moved her feet forward slightly. Sima Mo's hand immediately followed, landing stickily on her back.
How annoying! Ye Qingzhou gritted her teeth, steeled her resolve, and turned halfway around.
Sima Mo was taken aback, his mind still hazy from the fragrance, half of it filled with suspicion. However, upon seeing the peach-like face of the beautiful woman and the obedient expression on her face, he stopped being wary.
Ye Qingzhou kept his eyes on the ground, and tried to raise his hands, which were tied behind his back, so that the thick hemp ropes would brush against Sima Mo's raised broadsword.
Sima Mo held the knife in his right hand, touched Ye Qingzhou's hair with his left hand, and then his left hand landed on Ye Qingzhou's face.
Thank God! Ye Qingzhou only rubbed against it twice before the coils of hemp rope loosened. With a struggle, Ye Qingzhou unraveled the rope, and it began to fall.
Sima Mo's fingertips touched the beauty's cheek; it was smooth, delicate, and soft to the core.
The rope has come loose.
Sima Mo was taken aback. He held the knife in his hand, but did not swing it at the beauty.
In that split second, Ye Qingzhou took off running. He didn't even have time to pull the cloth out of his mouth.
Beside the willow tree, the two lackeys who had rolled not far away had been secretly watching, and then they took off chasing after Ye Qingzhou.
"Run? None of the ones I've set my sights on have ever escaped." Sima Mo blew on the knife in his hand and instructed his two henchmen, "Go easy on her, don't crush her to death."
The two lackeys, having received their orders, ran off with great speed and energy.
The wind blows through the willow trees.
From behind the willow tree, another person spoke up: "Fire the arrows! Be careful not to hurt Master Ye."
At the command, several arrows were fired simultaneously.
"Oh no! It's the government's arrows! We're surrounded! Brother! Let's run!" The henchman immediately ran back.
Sima Mo wanted to chase after them, but his followers blocked him on either side. The three of them didn't even dare to walk on the main road and jumped into the deep ditch behind the willow tree.
"Quick! Seize them!" the constables shouted.
Run! Run! Ye Qingzhou didn't dare to look back. She could only hear the commotion behind her. She dared not be careless. Even though she was exhausted and her heart was pounding, she didn't dare to stop for a moment.
However, even though her legs were so weak from running, someone still caught up with her.
The man hugged her from behind, forcing her to stop.
A pair of strong yet gentle hands turned Ye Qingzhou around and removed the cloth stuffed in her mouth.
Ye Qingzhou saw that familiar face. Jiang Jinghong's face was covered in black grime, as if he had been swimming in a deep ditch by the roadside for a long time. In short, he looked extremely tired, and even his eyes were red.
Out of the corner of his eye, Ye Qingzhou caught sight of the constables arresting the three men, and only then did he breathe a sigh of relief, a slight smile appearing on his face.
A tear rolled down Jiang Jinghong's cheek, and when she spoke, her voice was hoarse and weary: "It's all my fault for not protecting you properly, for making you suffer. It's all my fault. My fault..."
Seeing him, Ye Qingzhou knew he wasn't doing well either. She reached out and wiped away Jiang Jinghong's tears, then gently stroked his injured arm. The blood on the white bandages had turned dark black: "Does it hurt?"
"Your hands...how could your hands..." Jiang Jinghong felt as if there were thorns in her throat, thorns made of iron, and she couldn't swallow a breath.
Those once fair and delicate hands are now covered with countless wounds, ring after ring, on both hands and wrists. There are dense red spots and transparent blisters of varying lengths, caused by the pressure.
In the past, when the two were intimate, Jiang Jinghong would often lick her face and her arms. When joking, Jiang Jinghong even put Ye Qingzhou's arm in his mouth, insisting that it tasted just like the best pastries in the capital.
At this moment, Jiang Jinghong held those hands in his hands again, trembling, and gently pressed them to his forehead. He closed his eyes and was still whispering "I'm sorry"...
A loud shout interrupted their intimate moment: "Jiang Jinghong, stay away from my wife! Wife, Madam, Qingzhou, please save me! Tell them I'm innocent!"
Ye Qingzhou looked behind her and saw several constables holding down Yu Xi and her son. She wiped away her tears and let go of Jiang Jinghong's hand.
Jiang Jinghong stood close to Ye Qingzhou, coldly watching Yu Xi approach, her back teeth clenched inwardly.
Yu Xi struggled desperately, but the constables wouldn't let go. Seeing no escape, he gritted his teeth and knelt before Ye Qingzhou: "Save me! Save me! Madam!"
*Slap! Slap!* Ye Qingzhou slapped Yu Xi twice.
“You…” Yu Xi’s anxious and panicked expression vanished as she stared at Ye Qingzhou in disbelief.
Yu's mother shouted from the side, "Are you crazy? Hitting your own man!"
Ye Qingzhou pointed at the mother and son: "You swindled Jinghong out of several thousand taels of silver. Sima Mo is demanding repayment, and instead of paying, you two try to use me as a scapegoat. I'll settle my score with you! So what if I beat him? I'll beat you up too!"
Yu's mother stopped in her tracks, her eyes filled with resentment, but she did not go forward.
“No, you’re the most soft-hearted person, you won’t not help me,” Yu Xi said, kneeling and crawling forward. “Do you remember, a year ago, you said you would give me many children, and we would have a house full of children and grandchildren. There’s my child in your belly. Save me, save me.”
Ye Qingzhou smiled slightly, her fair and delicate face curving into a beautiful arc: "A house full of children and grandchildren? You are infertile, how can you have a house full of children and grandchildren?"
"Impossible!" Yu Xi's expression changed drastically: "You're lying to me! You're deliberately trying to anger me."
“I was pregnant with your child, but the baby was lost in less than two months. The doctor said that because of your congenital weakness, it would be difficult for you to have children, and it was lucky that you gave birth to a daughter. At the time, I was afraid that you would lose face, so I asked someone to keep it a secret from you.”
Ye Qingzhou paused, then continued, "That day, I heard you say that although I lost my child, you were not sad, but happy, because your beloved Yan'er was also carrying your child. A few months ago, as soon as Liu Yan'er's child appeared, I knew it wasn't yours. It's true that heaven has eyes and retribution is swift."
"No! No!" Yu Xi shook his head repeatedly, saying he didn't believe it, but his mind was racing with memories of the past. Suddenly, a flash of white light appeared in his mind, and he remembered that the doctor had insisted on taking his pulse but hadn't prescribed any medicine. Anger, disbelief, shock, and pain flashed through Yu Xi's eyes one by one.
As soon as Ye Qingzhou finished speaking, Jiang Jinghong took her away. Jiang Yuan and Nan Gua had already driven the carriage over, and Chonghua peeked out, lifting the small curtain at the front of the carriage.
After Ye Qingzhou's carriage drove away, Jiang Jinghong came to find Li, the yamen runner.
As soon as Li the constable saw him, he nodded knowingly and pulled his companion, saying, "Come on, let's go find something over there."
The yamen runners left.
Jiang Jinghong, holding a thick, long horsewhip, walked up behind Yu Xi.
Yu Xi, shackled and head bowed, was about to ask what the newcomer wanted when his mouth was gagged with a wad of cloth. He mumbled incessantly, kicking wildly, but Jiang Jinghong pressed him against a willow tree, binding him tightly with his face against the tree.
Then, the sound of the whip ripped through the air, tore open his clothes, and slashed his back. Soon, long, red welts covered Yu Xi's back. The pain was unbearable; he felt like he was about to die, barely breathing. He vaguely heard a constable say, "You still haven't found your purse? It's worthless, forget about it."
Li, the constable, said, "I haven't seen it yet. I can't lose it; my wife sewed it for me herself. Even if I have to search for another hour, I will find it."
The other person replied, "Okay, let's look for it."
"Find another hour?" Yu Xi kept sobbing, tears streaming down her face.
Jiang Jinghong took a breath and gripped the whip tighter: "Only an hour? You got off easy. Don't worry, I won't kill you. There are still some things I need you to see with your own eyes."
Continue read on readnovelmtl.com