“Sister, you two… you didn’t consummate the marriage last night at all, did you?” Ye Hanzhu said, unable to hide the schadenfreude in her tone.
Ye Yao turned around, a flicker of cold light in her eyes. Following her all the way here just to mock her? She really doesn’t know when to quit!
Seeing Ye Yao remain silent, Ye Hanzhu felt even more certain. She feigned a sigh, putting on a look of concern: “Sister, you can fool Mother-in-law with that token for today, but what about later? The second brother doesn’t even want to share a bed with you. What if one day he suddenly disappears and leaves you all alone? Then you won’t even have a place to cry…”
Her tone was as if she had already foreseen Ye Yao’s miserable future as a grass widow. Ye Yao was almost amused by her stupidity. Ye Hanzhu acted as if she were afraid everyone didn’t know she was reborn, relying on her meager bit of foresight to be smug and self-important.
Ye Yao was in no mood to play along. She asked coldly, “How do you know he will suddenly disappear?”
Her gaze was as sharp as a blade, stabbing at Ye Hanzhu and making her choke on her words. After a moment, Ye Hanzhu lifted her chin and said arrogantly, “Hmph, I have my own ways. I also know that my husband will achieve great things in the future!”
Yes, indeed, from a poor scholar to a high-ranking official, a Prime Minister, and after the Crown Prince ascended the throne, he would even be credited with the “merit of supporting the dragon.” It was quite a feat. Ye Yao admitted that Xie Moyan had talent in his studies. But if not for her working herself to the bone in her previous life to earn money, pull strings, and pay a fortune for doctors, would he have even had the chance to reach such a high rank? Without her money, he wouldn’t have even survived his own frail health.
Moreover, if she remembered correctly, before she had married into the family in her previous life, Mrs. Wang and Xie Moyan had been entirely dependent on Xie Hanshuo to survive. All the money he earned from farming and hunting had been diverted by Mrs. Wang to her eldest son. Only after Xie Hanshuo left and the family truly couldn’t put food on the table did Mrs. Wang reluctantly allow her, a woman, to go out and do business. Otherwise, Xie Moyan’s illness would likely not have seen him through that very first winter.
She had earned money to support the family while trying every way possible to prolong Xie Moyan’s life, which in turn bought him his future status and the family’s so-called respect. Yet, in Ye Hanzhu’s eyes, all of that was ignored; she only saw the glory that came later…
“Great achievements…” Ye Yao feigned confusion, as if she didn’t understand what Ye Hanzhu was talking about. This look of ignorance only made Ye Hanzhu even more complacent.
“Naturally!” Ye Hanzhu, believing she had successfully fooled Ye Yao, rolled her eyes, her mind calculating rapidly. “If you trust me and are willing to help me, once my husband achieves success, I will definitely not treat you unfairly. Wealth and glory—I’ll make sure you have your share.”
“I remember that your cooking has always been excellent; you inherited your mother’s skills, and you’re smart. If you are willing to help me manage my business, I will remember your kindness. Even if the second brother really does disappear in the future, I will protect you for the rest of your life!”
What a massive promise. The sound of her abacus beads was almost audible. In her previous life, who in the surrounding ten miles didn’t know about the food shop she had opened? There were plenty of people who envied her recipes. It wasn’t surprising that Ye Hanzhu had been wanting to imitate her. But for Ye Hanzhu to expect her to work like a beast of burden while still wanting to swallow the profits for herself—that was just too shameless!
Ye Yao wanted to see just how low she would go. “If you want to do business, why must you drag me into it?”
Hearing this, Ye Hanzhu didn’t hide her eye-roll, her tone full of disdain: “My husband is a xiucai (scholar), and I am going to be an official’s wife in the future; how can I go out and expose myself to the public? But you’re different. The second brother is just an illiterate country bumpkin; what kind of dignity is there to keep?”
Ye Hanzhu’s tone was matter-of-fact: “Besides, I won’t treat you badly. When I become an official’s wife in the future, you can help me manage the business and run errands under me; it’ll be a way out for you.”
Faced with such arrogance, Ye Yao could no longer hold back.
“Ye Hanzhu,” her tone was colder than it had ever been, “what right do you have to look down on me? To look down on my husband?”
“You had better go find out right now that all the household expenses are currently covered by my husband’s earnings. You want to sit back and enjoy the fruits of others’ labor without doing anything—how is that any different from a beggar on the street?”
Ye Hanzhu’s complexion changed instantly, and her voice rose sharply: “Ye Yao, how dare you call me a beggar?!”
Ye Yao didn’t answer. Seeing Xie Moyan walking toward them, she calmly continued: “And so what if I did? Don’t forget, your mother was pregnant when she forced her way into our Ye family home. I am the daughter of the original legal wife. You want me to play the submissive role in front of you? Do you even deserve it?”
Seeing her own background exposed, Ye Hanzhu turned pale as paper, trembling with rage. She was the future First-Rank Noble Lady; she had already shown grace by giving Ye Yao a chance to curry favor, and yet this bitch dared to refuse!
“Sister, you will regret this someday.”
Ye Hanzhu hadn’t forgotten what her life had been like after marrying Xie Hanshuo in her previous life. That bastard man had run away as soon as he pleased, abandoning his home and wife without a shred of responsibility. How could he be anything good? Ye Yao deserved to be a lonely widow for the rest of her life!
Thinking this, Ye Hanzhu felt a bit more comfortable, though she couldn’t help but add: “Forget it, why am I bothering with you? I was just reminding you out of kindness as your sister. That second Xie son is a scoundrel. When he abandons you and leaves you as a widow, don’t come crying to me.”
No sooner had the words left her mouth than a furious voice came from behind her:
“What nonsense are you spouting! How could my younger brother be such a person!”
Xie Moyan had heard most of their conversation. His expression was grim, startling Ye Hanzhu and causing her face to lose its color. Ye Yao watched coldly as Ye Hanzhu scrambled to grab Xie Moyan’s arm, looking flustered and unable to defend herself.
Although Xie Moyan looked down on his younger brother from the bottom of his heart and often treated him with contempt, the whole family relied on Xie Hanshuo to survive, so he always had to keep up the appearance of a loving elder brother. Moreover, Ye Hanzhu’s words were truly too stupid. A new sister-in-law openly cursing her husband’s brother? If word got out, what would people think? Xie Moyan cared most about his reputation.
His dark eyes locked onto Ye Hanzhu, as if he had become a different person. Ye Hanzhu was terrified: “Husband, I was just speaking carelessly… I was just angry for a moment, please, don’t be angry…” As she spoke, tears fell like rain. Ye Hanzhu was a master of playing the victim. Seeing this, Xie Moyan’s heart softened; he couldn’t bring himself to scold her further and pulled her into his arms.
He even turned to apologize to Ye Yao on her behalf: “Sister-in-law, Zhuer was just confused for a moment. When we get back, I will certainly have a talk with her. Regarding this matter… please don’t mention it to my second brother. We are all one family, no need to make him suspicious.”
Is he afraid she’ll go to Xie Hanshuo and complain?