Chapter 7 Village Rumors
"I started learning literature at the age of three and martial arts at the age of five. Even if I didn't learn later, I should have learned enough to teach your brother. If your brother wants to take the imperial examination, I can't guarantee anything else, but at least he can pass the examination as a student. If he wants to learn martial arts, it's a bit late to start, but it will strengthen his body and he will have no problem knocking down three or five strong men."
Ye Mingzhu's eyes became brighter and brighter as Jiang Hongyu spoke. What was there to wait for? Of course she agreed immediately.
"You saved me and hired a doctor for me. They say you should repay a life-saving favor with your own life. I promise to take good care of your mother and won't let her be bullied by her relatives."
"However, I'm still young, so I'm afraid I won't get married so soon."
Even if she was getting married with her younger brother, Ye Mingzhu still hoped to get to know Jiang Hongyu better first. Besides, she had not yet avenged her aunt who pushed the original owner into the water.
"We can get engaged first," Jiang Hongyu said indifferently. "When I came here just now, I heard some discussions in the village. If we don't get married, I'm afraid you'll be criticized when you go out in the future."
Ye Mingzhu is not afraid of trouble, but she will not take the initiative to cause trouble. After all, the marriage has been agreed upon, so it doesn't matter whether the engagement is sooner or later.
Seeing Ye Mingzhu agreed, Jiang Hongyu took out a cloth bag from his sleeve, took out a jade bracelet from it and handed it to her, "This is a jade bracelet passed down from the ancestors of the Jiang family. My mother asked me to give it to you."
Ye Mingzhu had also come into contact with some jade artifacts in modern times. The jade bracelet passed down from the Jiang family's ancestors was of average quality, with too many flocs inside and not transparent enough.
But the meaning of an heirloom is more important than its value. Ye Mingzhu wrapped it up in a cloth bag again and said, "I'll put it away for now and wear it again when I have the chance."
Jiang Hongyu had been observing Ye Mingzhu the entire time, and when he saw that she didn't look disgusted, he said, "The Jiang family's ancestors were ordinary people, but this jade bracelet is only given to the daughter-in-law that the Jiang family recognizes."
I didn’t expect that this ordinary jade bracelet has such a history. I can’t wear it casually. It would be hard to explain if it gets knocked or lost.
Ye Mingzhu looked around and found that there was no place to hide the bracelet in the room. She pretended to put it under the pillow, but actually put it in the space.
Just as it was put away, the half-closed door was pushed open from the outside, and Uncle Ye and Mrs. Fang walked in.
When Third Uncle Ye saw Jiang Hongyu, his already bad expression darkened even more: "How dare you come here?"
Jiang Hongyu stood up and called out, "Third Uncle."
Uncle Ye jumped up and down as if he had been scalded, and even reached out to hit him. Jiang Hongyu stood still and did not hide at all: "I have already discussed the marriage with Mingzhu. I will find a matchmaker to propose marriage in the next two days."
"Are you really going to marry Mingzhu?" Uncle Ye's hand stopped on Jiang Hongyu's head. Seeing him nod solemnly, he let go of his hand.
Jiang Hongyu saw that Uncle Ye and his wife had something to say, so he got up and went to the kitchen to see if Ye Mingzhu's medicine was ready.
Uncle Ye just lowered his head and sighed, while Fang frowned and talked about the rumors in the village.
It was not a big deal that Ye Mingzhu was rescued from the sea by Jiang Hongyu. The bad thing was that Lin stopped Uncle Ye at that time. From the beach to the village, many people saw Ye Mingzhu being carried home by Jiang Hongyu.
Even the news that Ye Mingzhu had a cold spread.
People in the village are saying all kinds of things now. Things like Ye Mingzhu has lost her innocence and will never be able to have children in the future are considered nice. Even the more unpleasant ones like Fang Shi can't learn from them.
Ye Mingzhu just listened to Fang quietly, with even a hint of a smile on her lips.
At the end, Fang couldn't continue speaking and looked at Uncle Ye.
"Uncle San, it was indeed Jiang Hongyu who pulled me out of the sea and brought me home. It's nothing, but Aunt Jiang said I had a cold. Wasn't it only the few people in the house who knew about it at the time?"
It is obvious who spread the news.
Uncle Ye clenched his fists. "Sister-in-law, how could you do this? Mingzhu is his niece. I, I'll go talk to my brother."
"Don't go."
"Need not."
Two female voices sounded at the same time.
Ye Mingzhu and Fang exchanged a glance, and Ye Mingzhu spoke first, "Third Uncle, you don't have to argue with my uncle on my behalf. My aunt won't admit it."
"But the villagers' words are too harsh, which affects your reputation." Uncle Ye also knew Lin's temper and could not think of any other solution.
"Once Jiang Hongyu and I are married, the village will have other things going on and the villagers won't discuss our affairs anymore."
Of course Ye Mingzhu would not let Lin go, but she didn't want Uncle Ye to know.
Hearing this, Uncle Ye sighed again: "Mingzhu, although Jiang Hongyu is good-looking, his family only has a widowed mother who was exiled and can't even leave the county. What will you do in the future if you marry such a man?"
"Uncle San, how many times have you been to the county town?" Ye Mingzhu suddenly spoke.
"Once, your grandfather and I dug out a big pearl from the pearl oysters we collected. We couldn't bear to sell it in town, so we took it to the county to sell it." Uncle Ye's face was full of nostalgia.
At that time, Grandpa Ye bought him a bowl of seafood noodles. He still remembers the taste when he thinks about it now.
"Uncle San, I've never been to the county town in my life, so it doesn't matter whether he's an exile or not. The most important thing is that he allowed me to marry with my younger brother, so that Yun'an and I don't have to be separated."
Ye Mingzhu could feel Uncle Ye's concern for her, and she was willing to explain to Uncle Ye.
"I heard that the Jiang family kid is literate, and many girls in the village are attracted to him." Fang suddenly interrupted, "It's really hard to find a better kid around here."
Fang's subtext is that if the other party was not exiled, he might not necessarily be interested in Ye Mingzhu.
Although the words were unpleasant, Uncle Ye took them to heart. The most important thing was that Ye Mingzhu had identified Jiang Hongyu, and he was just his uncle, so it was not appropriate for him to interfere too much.
Thinking of this, Uncle Ye, in a low mood, showed Mingzhu the two cloth bags he was holding. "This is a small jar of coarse salt, two spoonfuls of lard, five eggs, and a few pounds of whole grains. We don't have much at home, so this is all I can give you. I'll give you more after I sell the pearls in a few days."
Ye Mingzhu glanced at Fang first, and Uncle Ye continued, "Your aunt asked you to take these coarse salt and lard."
Ye Mingzhu knew that the family had nothing, so she didn't hesitate to thank Fang. "Thank you, Third Aunt and Third Uncle. Consider these things as loans. I'll go collect pearl oysters in a couple of days and sell them to pay you back."
Fang's expression improved after hearing these words. She felt that Ye Mingzhu had become much more sensible after falling into the water.
Uncle Ye waved his hand and said no, and Ye Mingzhu decided to pay it back when she had the money.
At this time, Ye Yun'an brought in medicine for Ye Mingzhu to take. Fang went out to help Yun'an prepare the meal before leaving.
After dinner, Ye Mingzhu and Ye Yun'an went back to their rooms to sleep.
Ye Yun'an's emotions fluctuated greatly that day and he fell asleep quickly. Ye Mingzhu kept her eyes open and waited until everything was quiet. After making sure that Ye Yun'an was asleep, she quietly walked out of the house.
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