Chapter 262: Traveling back from the modern times to the 17th year of the Republic of China . As soon as
he entered the house, Yao Rong took out a small stack of loose coins from his pocket and stuffed a few of them into Wang Ma's pocket: "Start talking. I only have one request, you can't lie."
Holding the real money in her hand, Wang Ma's smile became even brighter: "Don't worry, Ma'am."
After organizing her thoughts a little, Wang Ma's started talking from the time when Yao Rong and Ye Heqi escaped, and soon came to the day when Old Madam Ye fainted and had a stroke.
"In fact, I don't know what happened in the hall that day. I just heard vaguely that the old man fainted the old lady."
"At first I thought someone was talking nonsense, but when the old lady woke up and found that she was paralyzed, she was very angry with the old man."
Even in her own home, Wang Ma couldn't help looking around, fearing that there were ears on the other side of the wall.
"The old man brought Madam Wen and Master Yaozu to kneel at the door of the old lady for a whole day and night. Not to mention eating, they didn't even dare to drink saliva..."
"Master Yaozu couldn't bear this suffering and fainted."
"The old lady used to love Master Yaozu so much, but when she heard that Master Yaozu fainted that day, she didn't react at all."
Wang Ma stopped talking and looked at Yao Rong and the money in her hand eagerly.
Yao Rong stuffed a few more banknotes into Wang's mother's pocket: "When did old lady Ye agree to see Ye Fuguang?"
Wang's mother recalled: "It seems to have been seven or eight days."
Yao Rong gave her a reference target: "How long did it take from the day Zhang Nianzhao went to see the old lady to the day the old lady agreed to see Ye Fuguang?"
Wang's mother looked at Yao Rong in shock: "...The day after the old lady agreed to see the old master, the old master brought Mr. Zhang to visit the old lady."
The doubt in her heart was answered, and Yao Rong nodded to Wang's mother: "You continue."
Wang's mother stared at the remaining stack of money and swallowed: "These days I have been helping the old lady wash and wipe her body."
"Madam, give me all this money, and I will tell you everything I overheard."
Yao Rong put the money directly on the table.
When Wang's mother reached out to take it, Yao Rong blocked her hand with his arm: "Put the money there first, and take it after you finish talking."
"Okay, okay." Wang's mother smiled happily, and felt that Yao Rong was more generous.
In order to please her big client, Wang's mother told everything she had overheard.
Yao Rong, Ye Heqi and Zhou Qihuai looked at each other.
Through the words of Mrs. Ye, the truth of the matter was already very clear. The person who made Mrs. Ye faint was Ye Fuguang.
At first, Mrs. Ye was unwilling to forgive Ye Fuguang and unwilling to cooperate with Ye Fuguang.
So Ye Fuguang did not respond in the early stage.
Later, Ye Fuguang did not know what method he used to convince Mrs. Ye and let Mrs. Ye cooperate with him to perform a play in front of Zhang Nianzhao.
Only then did Zhang Nianzhao's article come into being.
After finding out what they wanted to know, Yao Rong and the other two got up and left Wang Ma's house.
"Where are we going next?" Zhou Qihuai asked.
Yao Rong looked up at the sky and said, "I plan to find another person to ask."
"Who?"
"The concierge."
She had lived in the Ye Mansion for so many years, and she had some understanding of the personalities of the servants in the Ye Mansion. The people she selected were those who could be persuaded to speak with money.
So soon, the concierge also spoke.
The information he could provide was not as detailed as Wang Ma's, but what he said also indirectly confirmed what Wang Ma said.
After leaving the concierge, it was already getting dark.
Yao Rong and the other two took a rickshaw back to their residence.
Zhou Qihuai originally wanted to discuss it with Yao Rong, but she caught a glimpse of the fatigue on Yao Rong and Ye Heqi's faces and immediately changed her mind.
"Sister Yao, Heqi, go wash up and have a good sleep."
"We'll talk about it tomorrow."
Yao Rong smiled and nodded.
Anyway, everything that needs to be clarified has been clarified, and there is no need to rush. It was not
until the next morning, when the three of them were sitting together for breakfast, that Zhou Qihuai asked: "Sister Yao, what do you think we should do to expose Ye Fuguang and let everyone see Ye Fuguang's true face?"
If you want everyone to see Ye Fuguang's true face, you need witnesses.
But are Wang Ma and the doorman willing to stand up and testify for them?
With Wang Ma and the doorman's greedy character, if they give enough money, maybe the two of them are really willing to do so.
But what is the difference between what they do and bribing witnesses?
If Ye Fuguang said that Wang Ma and the doorman were bribed by them and were making false confessions, how would they respond?
With Ye Fuguang's shameless character, he might really do so.
If things get to that point, it will really be a mess and there will be no way to sort it out...
Listening to Zhou Qihuai's analysis, Yao Rong nodded from time to time to show her approval: "You are right, we can't let the servants of the Ye Mansion come out to serve as witnesses for us."
Ye Heqi dipped the fried dough sticks in soy milk, took a big bite, and his voice was a little unclear: "Mom, don't keep me in suspense. You must have thought of a way, right?"
Zhou Qihuai couldn't wait to say: "Yes, Sister Yao, if we don't let the servants of the Ye Mansion serve as witnesses, then who should we find to be a witness?"
Yao Rong didn't keep them in suspense anymore, and said directly: "Find someone whose words carry enough weight, who has a good relationship with Ye Fuguang, and who is involved in this matter." Zhou
Qihuai was stunned, and the first reaction in her mind was:
Is there such a person?
"Do you know Zhang Nianzhao?" Yao Rong suddenly asked Zhou Qihuai.
Zhou Qihuai suddenly realized that the person Yao Rong was talking about was Zhang Nianzhao.
Zhang Nianzhao was a teacher in the Department of Literature of Peking University and one of the investors of the "Qiming Daily". He was very famous in the cultural circle of Peking.
And it was well known that Zhang Nianzhao was a good friend of Ye Fuguang.
When Ye Fuguang published an article to accuse Yao Rong, Zhang Nianzhao also wrote an article to support Ye Fuguang.
If such a famous person suddenly turned against Yao Rong and stood by him to attack Ye Fuguang, his testimony would indeed be more credible than the testimony of Wang Ma and the doorman.
"I know him."
Although she didn't like Zhang Nianzhao, Zhou Qihuai didn't have a bad impression of him.
- Of course, that was only before Zhang Nianzhao published that article.
After reading the article published by Zhang Nianzhao, Zhou Qihuai was furious and directly concluded that Zhang Nianzhao and Ye Fuguang were birds of a feather.
"What's your impression of him?" Yao Rong asked.
Zhou Qihuai thought for a moment: "This person is very nerdy and a bit pedantic."
Yao Rong smiled: "It doesn't sound like a good thing to say."
Zhou Qihuai also laughed, and changed the subject: "But - this person is very generous."
"Although the Qiming Daily is now a famous newspaper in Peiping, a few years ago, the sales of the Qiming Daily were so poor that it was almost unable to continue."
"In the end, Zhang Nianzhao lent all the money he had to the editor-in-chief of the Qiming Daily, and the newspaper was successfully run and has come to where it is today."
"Because of this, Zhang Nianzhao has a good reputation in the cultural circle of Peiping."
Yao Rong nodded: "I've heard about this too."
"Sister Yao, are you trying to convince him?" Zhou Qihuai already understood what Yao Rong meant.
Yao Rong: "Zhang Nianzhao was obviously deceived by Ye Fuguang and Madam Ye. Do you think he would help us if he knew the truth?"
Zhou Qihuai could not guarantee it, but said: "We can give it a try."
Ye Heqi finished eating fried dough sticks and drinking soy milk, raised her hand and said: "I think we can give it a try."
She did not know Zhang Nianzhao.
But she learned Zhang Nianzhao's modern poetry in junior high school, and she also heard about Zhang Nianzhao from her teacher -
as a teacher at Peking University, an investor in the Qiming Daily, and he also wrote many famous novels and essays...
It was such a literati who had nothing to do with poverty, but was cheated of all his savings by a liar...
If Zhang Nianzhao was willing to testify for her mother, she would definitely teach her a few anti-fraud guidelines.
If you don't want to...
Humph, being cheated out of all your savings is what you deserve!
***
Editorial Department of "Qiming Daily".
As the year draws to a close, most universities are on holiday. Teacher Zhang Nianzhao doesn't need to go to university to teach every day, so he goes to the newspaper office every day.
On this day, Zhang Nianzhao was sorting out other people's submissions on the divorce issue, just like the previous few days, when he saw the deputy editor-in-chief walk quickly to him.
"Wen Tao, guess who came to see you?"
Zhang Nianzhao looked up blankly: "Who came? Could it be Brother Zhiming who came?"
"It's Miss Zhou from Women's Newspaper. She wants to ask you out for a talk."
Zhang Nianzhao was stunned at first, then he lowered his head to look at his clothes, and asked nervously: "What did Miss Zhou come to see me for?"
"How should I know? Go out quickly and don't keep Miss Zhou waiting for too long." The deputy editor-in-chief took over Zhang Nianzhao's work directly.
Zhang Nianzhao walked awkwardly in front of Zhou Qihuai.
Before he could speak, Zhou Qihuai said first: "Sister Yao and Heqi have returned to Beiping. They want to see you and tell you something."
Zhang Nianzhao's eyes widened slightly: "Okay, where are they?"
Although he had known Ye Fuguang for many years, Zhang Nianzhao had never seen Yao Rong or Ye Heqi.
When Zhang Nianzhao saw Yao Rong, he found that she was completely different from the old-fashioned woman described by Ye Fuguang.
Perhaps even if Ye Fuguang came here in person, he might not recognize Yao Rong at first sight.
Yao Rong and Zhang Nianzhao had no friendship, so he got straight to the point: "Mr. Zhang, I'm sorry to bother you. I came to you because I have something to tell you and something to ask for."
"I hope you can give me half an hour to listen to me slowly."
As Yao Rong continued to tell the story, Zhang Nianzhao's mood changed from disbelief at first, to shock later, and then to disbelief in the end.
"...I will find a way to verify this matter." After a long silence, Zhang Nianzhao said hoarsely.
Yao Rong nodded and said gently, "If Mr. Zhang confirms this, you can come to see me at Women's Newspaper anytime."
Zhang Nianzhao was distraught and left the cafe, hailing a rickshaw on the roadside.
The cold wind blew in Zhang Nianzhao's face, causing pain in his cheeks.
The pain made his mind a little clearer.
He sat in the rickshaw, thinking about what Ye Fuguang and Old Madam Ye had told him, and what Yao Rong and Zhou Qihuai had told him. He felt his mind was in a mess and he didn't know who to believe.
After thinking for a while, Zhang Nianzhao decided to go to the Ye Mansion again and visit Old Madam Ye again.
So Zhang Nianzhao said to the rickshaw driver, "Master, I'm not going to the editorial office of Qiming Daily. Let's go to Xifeng Lane."
When they arrived at Xifeng Lane, Zhang Nianzhao bought some fruits at the end of the lane and walked into the alley with the fruits.
***
Ye Fuguang has not had an easy time these days.
On the one hand, he has to bear the anger from Old Madam Ye;
on the other hand, he has to find a way to calm the scolding in the newspaper .
In order to appease Old Madam Ye, Ye Fuguang knelt and persuaded, but he still couldn't make Old Madam Ye calm down.
Later, Ye Fuguang gritted his teeth and told Old Madam Ye that from now on he would not return to Shanghai, but would stay in Peking to take care of Old Madam Ye until her death, so that Old Madam Ye could enjoy the happiness of being in his arms.
Old Madam Ye then reluctantly calmed down a little and agreed to cooperate with Ye Fuguang to play a play to fool Zhang Nianzhao.
However, while Old Madam Ye finally calmed down, Wen Cui was furious.
Wen Cui had been suffering a lot during this period, and the only thing she could do to comfort herself was to wait until the New Year to leave this hellhole.
But now Ye Fuguang said that he would stay here forever and would not leave! ?
Doesn't that mean she also has to stay in this hellhole?
When she thought of this, Wen Cui felt like she was suffocating.
What made Wen Cui even more suffocated was that because Old Madam Ye could no longer bear provocation, she did not dare to lose her temper in front of Old Madam Ye.
Even after having a stroke, Old Madam Ye still
had a bad temper. In fact, because of her illness, her temper became worse. Yes, although she agreed to Ye Fuguang's request and was willing to see Ye Fuguang again, Old Madam Ye had already developed a grudge against this grandson.
As long as she saw her inconvenient hands, Old Madam Ye could no longer look at Ye Fuguang with gentle and loving eyes as before.
She trapped Ye Fuguang in Beiping, with the intention of family reunion, but also a bit of revenge.
Aren't you all unwilling to accompany an old woman like me?
Well, then don't think about leaving me behind and going to Shanghai to have fun. You
can work in any newspaper anyway. Just
like what Yao Rong said, do you have to go to Shanghai? What difference does it make if you stay in Beijing?
...
Without Yao Rong and Ye Heqi to act as buffers, the conflicts in this family became more and more intense.
It was under such circumstances that Zhang Nianzhao knocked on the door of the Ye Mansion.
When the doorman came to report, Ye Fuguang frowned and said impatiently, "Why is he here again?"
The doorman said, "Mr. Zhang said he came to visit the old lady. I saw he was holding some fruit."
People were already at the door, and Ye Fuguang couldn't refuse Zhang Nianzhao. But thinking of the old lady Ye who was in a bad mood again, Ye Fuguang felt upset.
This upset couldn't be shaken off, so when Ye Fuguang saw Zhang Nianzhao, his face showed a little.
"Brother Zhiming, are you worried?" Zhang Nianzhao tried to force a smile.
His acting was really bad. Fortunately, Ye Fuguang was also thinking about something at the moment and didn't pay any attention to him at all: "There have been too many things going on recently. I haven't had a good sleep for a long time, so I am a little distracted. I hope Brother Wentao will forgive me."
"Brother Zhiming, don't worry, the matter will be resolved soon." Zhang Nianzhao's eyes fell on Ye Fuguang and deliberately said, "I saw many people in the newspaper supporting you."
Ye Fuguang finally showed a sincere smile on his face: "I also want to thank Brother Wentao for lending a hand."
Zhang Nianzhao smiled.
Ye Fuguang looked at the fruits in Zhang Nianzhao's hand again: "You said you, come if you want, why bring fruits?"
"Aren't you thinking about visiting the old lady?" Zhang Nianzhao said directly, "Brother Zhiming, can you let me go to see the old lady."
Of course, Ye Fuguang was unwilling, and hurriedly said that Old Madam Ye was resting and it was inconvenient to be disturbed.
Zhang Nianzhao refused to give up: "It's like this, many readers are writing letters to express their concern for the old lady's health. I want to visit the old lady, and if possible, I will write another article after returning."
Ye Fuguang naturally thought that Zhang Nianzhao's article was also written to support him.
So after a moment of hesitation, Ye Fuguang nodded and agreed: "Well, you wait here first, I'll go see if the old lady has woken up."
He had to comfort Madam Ye again and let her act well, but he must not reveal any flaws at this time.
"Okay, Brother Zhiming, you go. Can I go to the courtyard to relax?" Zhang Nianzhao took the opportunity to make a request.
"No problem, I'll go to the courtyard to find you later."
After arriving at the courtyard, Zhang Nianzhao seemed to chat with the gardener who was trimming the flowers and plants, and asked about some situations in the mansion.
Because he had been asking indirect questions, the gardener didn't think much about it and answered the questions honestly.
Zhang Nianzhao's heart sank: the gardener's words could match Yao Rong's words.
"Brother Wentao, all right, the old lady is awake, I'll take you there." Just then, Ye Fuguang came back. After
meeting Old Madam Ye, Zhang Nianzhao talked to Old Madam Ye while quietly looking at Old Madam Ye and Ye Fuguang.
He had never thought about it in this way before, so even if he noticed that the atmosphere between Old Madam Ye and Ye Fuguang was not right, he didn't doubt it.
But this time, Zhang Nianzhao could clearly feel many inconsistencies.
The corners of his lips were slightly bitter, and he decided to take another drastic measure: "Brother Zhiming, I rarely come here, and I have helped you so much, do you have to keep me for a meal?"
"..." Ye Fuguang said awkwardly, "Yes, yes, of course I have to."
"It just so happens that I haven't seen Yaozu for a long time. Then let sister-in-law and Yaozu come together to accompany the old lady for dinner."
Ye Fuguang: "..."
Ye Fuguang gritted his teeth and said: "Okay, I'll ask the kitchen to arrange it and make a few more dishes you like."
When everyone sat together, the sense of disharmony became even stronger.
It was as if...
a family whose relationship had already broken down tried to play a loving family in front of Zhang Nianzhao, an outsider.
But because everyone's acting skills were very poor, the play seemed to be full of flaws.
No one could eat this meal.
Including Zhang Nianzhao.
In the end, he almost escaped from the Ye Mansion and got on a rickshaw. He
originally planned to go home directly, but when the words came to his mouth, Zhang Nianzhao said to the driver: "Go to the editorial department of "Women's Newspaper."
***
The lights were just coming on, and the editorial department of "Women's Newspaper" was still busy.
Zhou Qihuai was still checking the newspaper to be issued tomorrow. After confirming that the layout was correct, she handed the newspaper to her colleague: "Let the printing factory start printing."
"Okay, how many copies will be printed this time? The 21,000 copies we printed today are all sold out."
Zhou Qihuai couldn't stop smiling: "All sold out? Then how about this, just print 24,000 copies."
After dealing with work matters, Zhou Qihuai walked out of the yard to get some fresh air, but with the corner of her eye, she saw a figure sneaking around the door of the newspaper office.
She frowned and shouted, "Who is sneaking around outside?"
Three minutes later, Zhou Qihuai looked at Zhang Nianzhao who was sitting opposite her, handed him a cup of hot tea, and was quite speechless: "Everyone is at the door, why are you still standing there like an idiot?"
"Alas." Zhang Nianzhao held the hot tea, sighed, and looked lonely.
Zhou Qihuai immediately came to the side, with a look of eating melons on his face: "How did you verify it?"
"Alas." Zhang Nianzhao sighed again.
Zhou Qihuai: "..."
"You cheer for the other party because you really regard the other party as a friend. Little do you know that the other party has never regarded you as a real friend."
"It's not worth it to be sad for such a person."
Yao Rong's voice rang in the courtyard.
Then, Yao Rong and Ye Heqi came in with food.
The two of them were not here just now, because they went out to buy delicious food for everyone.
Zhang Nianzhao: "..."
Zhang Nianzhao stood up awkwardly, trying to adjust the expression on his face to make himself look less decadent and sad.
It wasn't that he was comforted by Yao Rong's words.
It was that Zhang Nianzhao suddenly realized that he had no right to show such a hurt and betrayed attitude in front of Yao Rong and Ye Heqi.
The ones who were really hurt and betrayed were Yao Rong and Ye Heqi.
They were the victims.
Ye Heqi walked up to Zhang Nianzhao, put his hands on his hips and asked, "Now you know who is right and who is wrong, right?"
Zhang Nianzhao nodded and said to Yao Rong and Ye Heqi, "I'm really sorry. I didn't investigate the situation clearly before publishing such an article... Because of my mistake, it has caused a serious impact on your reputation. I solemnly apologize to you here..."
Yao Rong, who was distributing food, turned around and said lightly, "I don't accept your apology."
Zhang Nianzhao smiled bitterly, and then heard Yao Rong say, "But you still have a chance to make up for your mistakes."
"I understand." Zhang Nianzhao took a deep breath, "I will start writing a clarification article as soon as I get home tonight."
After leaving this sentence, Zhang Nianzhao nodded to everyone, stood up and walked back into the darkness.
Yao Rong looked at Zhang Nianzhao's receding back, and his mind moved.
She said to Zhou Qihuai, "Miss Zhou, I want to revise the ending of "Fire Phoenix."
The ending of the previous novel stopped at the publication of the divorce notice.
But this time, Yao Rong wanted to write a little further and add a better ending.
***
Many readers ran to the newsstand early in the morning to buy the latest issue of "Women's Newspaper". They couldn't wait to start reading it before they walked a few steps.
The first thing that caught their eyes was a clarification article!
It was a clarification article from Zhang Nianzhao!
"What's going on!"
Many readers who have been paying attention to this matter were stunned.
"Didn't Zhang Nianzhao publish an article attacking Yao Rong a few days ago? Why is he speaking for Yao Rong now?"
"Yeah, I remember Zhang Nianzhao is Ye Fuguang's good friend."
"This, this, this... Zhang Nianzhao said that he was deceived by Ye Fuguang before, and that Madam Ye actually fainted and had a stroke because of Ye Fuguang!?"
"So Zhang Nianzhao was used as a gun by Ye Fuguang?"
"It's not just Zhang Nianzhao..." someone murmured to himself, "In the past few days, as many people have stood up to speak for Ye Fuguang, as many people have been used as guns by Ye Fuguang." Some people were so
angry that they crumpled the newspaper in their hands into a ball: "Okay, okay, I was so sincere in speaking for Ye Fuguang before, but he turned out to be such a hypocrite!"
"He betrayed his wife, lied to his best friend, made his grandmother sick, and even wanted to blame his 14-year-old daughter! Is there anything Ye Fuguang can't do? Damn it, I'm ashamed that there is a person like Ye Fuguang in the literary world!"
A stone stirred up a thousand waves.
This clarification article was not only published in "Women's News", but also in "Qiming Daily".
No matter those who originally did not support Ye Fuguang, or those who originally supported Ye Fuguang, or those who originally did not support Ye Fuguang but changed their camp after being deceived.
All readers who saw this article were extremely angry.
We came here to eat melons, but you, a bastard, made a fool of us, right!
Good, good, you are amazing!
At the same time, in the Ye Mansion, Ye Fuguang also saw this article.
When he saw the contents of the article, Ye Fuguang was so exhausted that he fainted.
Before he fell to the ground, he only had one thought in his mind: his intuition was right. If he handed this war of insults to Zhang Nianzhao, he would be ruined...