These words felt like knives to Er Ya's mother, stabbing her heart. She forced back her anger and suppressed the excruciating pain. "Fine! Since you say so, then when Er Ya gets pregnant, will you dare to do a blood test to prove paternity after the child is born?"
“If this child is yours, don’t blame us for being ruthless! Anyway, we are just farmers with no money, no power, and no face, but you guys are different!” Er Ya’s mother paused deliberately at this point.
She continued, mimicking the tone of Zhao Erleng's wife, "I've heard that although you've taken three concubines, your parents haven't arranged a proper wife for you yet. People of your status care most about matching social status! If we make a scene in your family, you'll see which family's daughter of equal social standing will marry you!"
Gan Kai was still just a child, and he was completely terrified by the four adults in no time.
He was covered in sweat, his face was as white as a sheet, his whole body was trembling, and his lips were chattering. "No...no! I...I was wrong! I was wrong! It was...it was me! It was Er Ya who had a relationship with me! Please don't come to my house and cause trouble!"
Gan Kai's words relieved the four people present, but they still looked at Gan Kai with serious expressions.
"Fine, since you admit it, we won't make things difficult for you! Tell us what to do next? Our Er Ya is still a virgin, and you've ruined her like this?" Er Ya's father glared angrily with his small eyes.
Seeing the ferocious expression on Er Ya's father's face, Gan Kai shuddered a few more times and stammered, "Then...then...I...I can marry her, right?"
Hearing this, everyone breathed a sigh of relief, but Zhao Erleng's wife, the most rational of them all, quickly added, "Words are no proof. What if you agree today and then run away tomorrow? Where will we find you then? Without evidence, no matter how much we plead, it won't do us any good!"
Gan Kai was secretly surprised; he never expected that the seemingly ordinary woman in front of him would be so meticulous.
In the end, they had no choice but to sign the agreement and agree on the date for marrying Er Ya. However, Er Ya would only be a concubine, and according to Gan Kai, the dowry and ceremony would not be high.
Although it sounds a bit tragic, it was the best solution. After everything was settled, Er Ya's parents stopped making things difficult for Gan Kai.
After watching Jiang Yaojie and Nianci finish breakfast, Jiang Ling was preparing to clean up the dishes and leave when someone downstairs called her back.
Looking up, I saw it was Eunuch Yin, who walked down with a smile on his face and squinted eyes.
"Eunuch Yin!" Jiang Ling greeted him with a bow.
"Wonderful, wonderful! Your place is truly wonderful, my lady. I don't want to leave. Unfortunately, I have to leave because of the imperial decree!" Eunuch Yin said, giving Jiang Ling a thumbs up.
Seeing Eunuch Yin's expression, Jiang Ling breathed a sigh of relief. Fortunately, the "scandal" from last night hadn't reached Eunuch Yin's ears.
"Are you leaving so soon?" Jiang Ling asked politely.
Eunuch Yin nodded. "Yes, we're leaving soon! We'll definitely come back next time we have time!" Eunuch Yin said as he walked to the counter to get the silver.
"How much silver?" Eunuch Yin asked.
Jiang Yaojie glanced at her, and Jiang Ling gently shook her head. Jiang Yaojie understood and said, "Eunuch Yin, my mother said that you are an honored guest and a distinguished esteemed guest. Your presence in our small Lu Family Village is an honor to our humble abode. How could we dare to accept your money?"
Jiang Yaojie was a shrewd man. After a few flattering remarks, Eunuch Yin's face was almost contorted with laughter. He repeatedly praised, "Oh my, I never expected that this little Lu Family Village would be such a place with outstanding people and resources. You have such a sweet tongue!"
"But let's keep things separate. If you don't charge us, we won't come back next time! We can't be seen as taking advantage of others, can we?"
Jiang Ling had anticipated that Eunuch Yin would say that, so she quickly went over to him and said, "Eunuch, you're too kind. I'll give you a discount. Your top-class room costs three taels of silver a night, but we'll only charge you two taels. I'll prepare some gifts at home. Yaojie, go and get them for your mother. Ask your mother-in-law where they are!"
After hearing this, Jiang Yaojie ran off and disappeared from Jiang Ling's sight.
Eunuch Yin smiled with narrowed eyes, took out two taels of silver and placed them in front of Jiang Ling. "My lady, you are very clever. It's a pity that His Majesty is too busy with official duties to leave. Otherwise, I would have brought His Majesty here so that he could also experience such a comfortable place!"
Jiang Ling smiled and said, "Eunuch Yin, you flatter us too much. We are just a small village."
While they were chatting, Jiang Yaojie came running back, panting, with the gifts Jiang Ling had prepared in his hands: pastries that Eunuch Yin liked and ingredients for plum and mint soup that Jiang Ling had prepared.
"Eunuch Yin, please keep these pastries and enjoy them on your way back. These are the ingredients for plum and mint soup. This whole package contains three bowls of water. Boil the water in this bowl, then simmer for half an hour, then let it steep for another half hour. After cooling, add ice cubes!" Jiang Ling gestured to indicate the size of the bowl.
Eunuch Yin squinted, nodded, and gave Jiang Ling a thumbs up. He then turned to the little eunuch behind him and said, "Have you remembered the method that Madam An mentioned?"
The young eunuch nodded nervously and accepted the gift prepared by Jiang Ling.
Before leaving, Eunuch Yin continued to praise Jiang Ling, saying that he would definitely come back to visit again next time.
Jiang Ling waved goodbye to Eunuch Yin and was about to go back to rest when something happened in her back garden.
Lightning's father, who had been traveling by boat, came running over, panting. Jiang Ling frowned when she saw him and asked, "What's wrong?"
Lightning Dad pointed to his backyard and said, "No...no good, they're fighting!"
Jiang Ling was speechless. Couldn't these rich people just shut up for a bit? Feeling utterly exhausted, Jiang Ling and Lightning Dad ran to their backyard.
It turns out that this group of young ladies and wives discovered the beautiful scenery here in the morning, so they came here in groups of three or five to enjoy it.
Upon seeing the small boat, they suggested taking a boat trip on the lake. However, only Lightning's father was on the boat, and since there was only one single-canopied boat, a dispute arose over who should get on first.
Although these young ladies and wives appeared to be on good terms, they were all secretly rivals. At this moment, their tempers flared up, and some even started fighting.
Lightning's father had never seen anything like this before, so he quickly threw down his oar and went to find Jiang Ling.
Before Jiang Ling and Lightning's father even reached the back garden, they heard a commotion inside. Upon closer inspection, they found that the once elegant ladies were now no different from shrewish commoners.
"Stop! Everyone stop!" Jiang Ling shouted.
The previously noisy atmosphere immediately quieted down. Jiang Ling rolled her eyes and said to the people around her, "This is my backyard. If you want to experience it, you have to follow my rules! Otherwise, all of you get out!"
Many people who recognized Jiang Ling immediately stopped making noise, while a small group of people who were less discreet stared at Jiang Ling with hostile eyes.
One of the girls, dressed in white, suddenly put her hands on her hips, pointed at Jiang Ling, and asked, "Who are you?"
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