Chapter 35
"Ayu, I need your help with something." Chen Ziyi paused, his tone becoming urgent: "Xiaoyu wants to break off our engagement for some reason. How can marriage be treated so lightly? Xiaoyu has really been too willful this time. Can you help me?" Chen Ziyi grabbed Xiaoyu's hand tightly, his face full of regret.
Xiao Yu frowned. The tone of his voice felt both familiar and repulsive to her. She stared at him.
She knew that Chen Yu wanted to break off the engagement, and she had already stated her position. Seeing Chen Ziyi's somewhat unreasonable attitude, she withdrew her hand, turned her back, and stood silently for a moment before deciding to make things clear: "It's not that I'm unwilling to help you, but it's not appropriate for an outsider like me to get involved in matters of the heart. Why don't you try communicating with her?"
However, Chen Ziyi was completely deaf to advice. He immediately concluded that Xiao Yu didn't want to help him, and raised his voice to question her repeatedly: "You won't even help me? Have you forgotten that I'm the one who always helps you when you're in trouble? Even the house you're living in now was built for you by someone I found. Without my help, would you be where you are today?"
Xiao Yu's face immediately darkened. She couldn't interfere with what happened between him and the original owner of the body. She was grateful that he helped her find someone to build a house, but that didn't mean she could act without any bottom line or principles.
Xiao Yu said in a deep voice, "I will remember your help and will do my best to help you if you need it in the future. However, there are some things that I can't help with just because I want to. I will not get involved in the matter between you and Chen Yu. Marriage is about mutual consent. Even if I force her to marry you, can you guarantee that you won't become a resentful couple in the future? Instead of wasting time, you should think about where the problem lies and how to solve the problem between you."
"How do you know it won't work if you don't help me?" Chen Ziyi was emotionally agitated and grabbed Xiao Yu's sleeve, trying to lead her towards the Xiao family's house.
Xiao Yu struggled, but his sleeve was firmly gripped in his hand, and a surge of anger rose in his heart: "Let go!"
At this point, Chen Ziyi wouldn't listen to a word. He dragged Xiao Yu all the way to the Xiao family home. Standing outside the courtyard gate, Chen Ziyi pointed at the gate and said, "Go knock on the door."
Xiao Yu glanced at him and warned, "I hope you stay rational later, or don't blame me for being impolite."
Chen Ziyi rubbed his hands repeatedly, pacing back and forth, his emotions somewhat unstable. He muttered to himself, "You knocked on the door. Xiaoyu must have misunderstood something about me. I won't do anything rash; I just want to get to the bottom of it."
Xiao Yu frowned: "It would be best if it were like you said." She walked to the courtyard gate and knocked.
Before long, the courtyard gate opened, and the little maid peeked out. Seeing Xiao Yu, her face lit up with surprise, and her eyes crinkled as she asked without any hesitation, "Young Master, what brings you here? Is there any more rabbit to eat today?"
Xiao Yu smiled; a rabbit had successfully won her over: "If you want to eat rabbit, I'll catch another one and bring it to you next time. Is your sister Xiaoyu home?"
Xiao Yu turned her head to look at Chen Ziyi behind her and continued, "Let her come out for a moment."
The little girl finally realized there was still someone there. She pouted and muttered softly, "Why is he here?"
Xiaoyu has already broken off her engagement with him, and she still comes here every few days. Why did she come with the young master today? Young Master Ayu is really something, why did he bring him along? Luckily, I think the young master has changed for the better, and he even brought them a plump rabbit.
The little girl stood angrily blocking the door and refused to let anyone know.
Xiao Yu sighed helplessly, knowing that the little girl was worried about Chen Yu, and comforted her, "Don't worry, go and call for help first. I'm here, aren't I? I won't let him do anything to Xiao Yu."
"It's precisely because of you that I'm worried." The little girl snorted, turned around, went back inside, and slammed the door shut.
Xiao Yu: "..."
Xiao Yu shook her head. No wonder the original owner often bullied her. What maid would dare to treat her master like that?
Seeing the little girl return, Chen Ziyi hurriedly stepped forward: "Did she go to report?"
"Hmm," Xiao Yu replied calmly.
A short while later, the courtyard gate creaked open again, and the little girl came out, carrying a wooden stick in her hand. Xiao Yu recognized it at a glance; it was the same stick her stepmother had used to beat her. Then Chen Yu also came out, looking somewhat haggard.
She looked very different from how Xiao Yu usually saw her; she was quiet and lacked energy.
As soon as Chen Ziyi saw Chen Yu come out, he quickly stepped forward to grab Chen Yu's wrist. Xiao Yu frowned and stepped in front of Chen Yu, saying in a deep voice, "Watch your words and actions."
If a fight really broke out, Xiao Yu wasn't afraid of him, but considering that Chen Ziyi had indeed helped her a lot during this time, regardless of his purpose, she wasn't an ungrateful person.
When Chen Ziyi saw Xiao Yu blocking his way, he became agitated and impatient. He reached out to push Xiao Yu, but she dodged to the side.
He roared at Chen Yu indignantly, "Your whole family is ungrateful! If it weren't for me taking care of your family these past few years, do you think you could have stayed peacefully in the village?" He pointed at Xiao Yu, "You've changed as soon as she came back. I think she's corrupted you."
Xiao Yu frowned and looked up at Chen Ziyi. She hadn't been involved in anything between them from beginning to end, but now they were blaming her for it.
Xiao Yu's face darkened, and he turned slightly to reveal Chen Yu behind him, saying unhappily, "You should resolve your own issues and not involve me."
Holding the little girl's hand, they stood aside. They hadn't gone far; they could see but couldn't hear their conversation.
Seeing the two walk away, Chen Yu pinched his fingers and looked into the distance: "Originally, I didn't want to say anything for the sake of our families' reputation, but you kept forcing me. Today, let's make things clear. Don't think I don't know about your affair with Li Mei."
Chen Ziyi was stunned, his expression flustered. He wanted to go forward and pull Chen Yu, but when he met Xiao Yu's cold gaze not far away, and feeling guilty, he didn't dare to go forward. He awkwardly lowered his hand and tried his best to cover it up: "Don't talk nonsense. Li Mei and I are completely innocent. Who is gossiping in front of you? I'm going to confront him."
He was certain that his father was the village head and he was the only scholar in the village, so even if someone in the village saw it, they wouldn't dare to confront him directly.
He's not afraid as long as no one testifies against him.
Chen Yu never expected that such a gentle person would have such a side. She felt desolate. Even though they had grown up together as childhood sweethearts, she didn't understand him at all.
He immediately said, "Nobody told me."
Chen Ziyi immediately breathed a sigh of relief, changed his expression, and said with a reproach but not without tolerance: "Xiaoyu, you can't slander my innocence just based on your own guesses. I'll let it go this time, but you can't do this next time. How can you treat marriage so lightly? You really acted too willfully this time. If it were someone else, your reputation would have been ruined long ago."
Chen Yu was getting annoyed by his words and really didn't know where he got the nerve to say such things. Looking at him, a hint of disappointment flashed in her eyes: "No one told me. I saw it with my own eyes. I don't want others to know. Stop bothering me in the future, and..." She glanced at Xiao Yu: "Don't bother my family either."
After saying that, he turned around and went into the courtyard without looking back.
Seeing Chen Yu leave, the little girl glared at Chen Ziyi, shook the wooden root in her hand with a warning in her eyes, snorted coldly, and turned to Xiao Yu, saying, "Young Master, let's go home." Her chest was puffed out high, like a rooster that had won a fight.
Xiao Yu glanced at Chen Ziyi, who was still standing there in a daze, shook her head, and followed the little girl into the Xiao family home.
The little girl closed the courtyard gate.
"Young master, what brings you here today?" The little maid asked warily, her attitude completely different from before.
Xiao Yu chuckled and couldn't help but tease, "You little girl are really quite pragmatic. How come you changed your tune the moment you heard it wasn't a delivery of rabbits? You're definitely going to have a word with my mother about this later."
"Ah!" The little girl didn't expect Xiao Yu to say that. Her delicate face flushed red. She secretly pondered for a moment, realizing that she was too young to keep her mouth shut: "Are you really going to complain? Madam won't listen to you."
"Hmm?" Xiao Yu raised an eyebrow, his interest piqued.
"In short, young master should behave himself for a while." As she said this, a hint of sadness appeared in the little girl's eyes. The atmosphere at home had been somber these past few days, and because Chen Ziyi had come and made a scene several times, she didn't dare to speak loudly.
She looked at Xiao Yu with pity: "The old lady is already annoyed with Chen Ziyi, and you've brought him along. You're going to get what's coming to you later."
Having said that, he ignored Xiao Yu and strode towards the front hall, carrying the wooden stick.
Passing through a hanging flower gate, one arrives at the main hall. Jiang Wanrou and Chen Yu are both sitting in the hall. The little maid quickly steps forward, curtses, and pours a cup of tea for each of the three after Xiao Yu sits down. She then stands respectfully behind Jiang Wanrou.
Jiang Wanrou glanced at her two children before picking up her teacup, taking a sip, and then putting it down. She sighed softly, "You saw what happened today. That kid is no pushover. I misjudged him before. From now on, you should all stay away from him. Of course, our Xiao family is not to be trifled with either. If he dares to cause trouble again, we won't let it go so easily."
Chen Yu responded softly, "I understand, Aunt."
After all, he was the child she had raised, so Jiang Wanrou couldn't bear to scold him too much. She said a few words and then gently brushed it off, turning her gaze to Xiao Yu: "There are rumors outside that you've been busy harvesting rice lately. Making money isn't as easy as you think. Be careful when you're out there. How's your wife doing lately?" As long as her identity hasn't been exposed.
"Yes, I know what's going on. She's doing well," Xiao Yu replied, seeing that the atmosphere had eased somewhat. "Today we're moving into our new house, and Luo Ning asked me to invite Mother over for a meal."
"Is there rabbit meat to eat?" The little girl's eyes lit up immediately at the mention of food, and she blurted it out without thinking. Jiang Wanrou glared at her and scolded, "When are you going to get rid of that greedy habit?"
The atmosphere immediately became lively.
The little girl stuck out her tongue, dared not say another word, and tilted her head, gazing longingly at Xiao Yu.
“We have rabbit meat,” Xiao Yu said.
“Alright, we’ll go. We’ve just moved into a new house and there’s a lot to do. Let this little girl go back with you to help out,” Jiang Wanrou said.
The little girl pouted. Now she wasn't afraid of the young master at all, as if he had returned to the way he was a long time ago, and was even easier to talk to than before.
Xiao Yu got up to say goodbye, and the little girl trotted after him.
After leaving the Xiao family, Xiao Yu went to the village entrance to buy vegetables and meat before returning home.
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