The woman raised her head, now not daring to look at Yan Heng. After hesitating for a moment, she weakly said, "I want money."
Zhou Yunruo curled her lips. What a beautiful thought.
Yan Heng spoke before anyone else could, "That's fine too. It saves trouble in the house later. Give her a hundred taels of silver and let her go!"
Zhou Yunruo tilted her head and looked at him, saying, "She's not your person. What you say doesn't count."
Without waiting for him to speak, she turned to the woman again, "Only prostitutes trade their bodies for money. Don't be foolish, miss."
Seeing that she still wanted to refuse, Zhou Yunruo didn't even glance at Yan Heng and directly turned her face away, ordering the servants to drag the woman up and push her into the carriage.
Yan Heng's face darkened. At this point, there was no other way. If he tried to stop her again, given her shrewdness, she would definitely become suspicious, and it would be hard to explain if it reached the Zhou family.
His gaze turned coldly toward Yan Erlang, the meaning clear without words. Yan Erlang's heart skipped a beat at that moment, and thinking of his wife at home, his face instantly turned pale.
The carriage stopped in front of the Yan residence. Second Mistress Yan, who had received Qiudie's message, was already waiting outside the gate.
Now, seeing the woman delicately stepping down from the carriage, she could no longer hold back. Her short legs moved extremely fast, and she rushed over like the wind.
Zhou Yunruo quickly stepped back, making room just in time.
Only the sound of two loud "slaps!" was heard.
Second Mistress Yan fiercely slapped the woman's pretty face twice.
Second Mistress Yan shouted angrily, "Shameless slut! My Erlang has always been honest. It must be you who deliberately seduced him."
More and more people gathered to watch the commotion. An old woman who often wandered around the alleys in this area selling fragrant melon seeds spat out two mouthfuls of husks.
Opening her skilled hawking voice, she said, "Well done! Shameless hussy. There are plenty of unmarried men, yet you have to seduce a married gentleman."
"Wretched thing! Second Mistress Yan, don't hold back. Killing her would be a good deed, saving her from harming other families."
Yan Heng glared over, and the old woman unconsciously shrank her neck back.
His face was dark and unpleasant. Gritting his teeth, he shouted at the servants, "Are you all dead! Hurry up and drag her away. What kind of spectacle is this? Have all the lessons on women's virtues been read in vain?"
Second Mistress Yan faced his gloomy expression, her heart skipping a beat. In the Yan family, she feared Yan Heng the most. This man was sinister; compared to her own husband, he always had an intimidating presence.
Whenever he wore a cold expression and examined people with those narrow eyes, it felt like being watched by a venomous snake in the wild, making one shiver uncontrollably.
Born of the same parents, whether in looks or intelligence, her own husband fell far short.
It was as if all the good fortune of the entire Yan family had been monopolized by him alone.
The commotion outside naturally alarmed Mother Yan in the inner courtyard.
Old Madam Yan came to her daughter-in-law's side and advised her kindly, "Those romantic affairs men have outside are mostly forgotten in a blink. Besides, no family's pot bottom is completely clean."
"Don't worry! As long as I, your mother, am here, a woman of unknown origins won't surpass you."
Glancing at the crowd, she sighed and said, "Ah~~ Clever wives usually handle such matters behind closed doors. Even if you don't care about your own face, you should at least consider the children's dignity."
Outsiders wouldn't know, but they would surely think this mother-in-law was understanding and tolerant.
Every word spoken was full of reason, all seemingly for the daughter-in-law's own good. Yet, not a single mention was made of the son's faults. Upon closer reflection, each sentence subtly implied the daughter-in-law's lack of understanding.
Zhou Yunruo's eyes darkened. In her past life, she had been deceived by this hypocritical facade.
Back then, her family had opposed the marriage, and she had argued fiercely with her mother over it.
In a fit of anger, her mother had slapped her. At that moment, she had uttered words that wounded her mother deeply for a long time.
She had said, "Yan Heng's mother treats me better than you do."
Ever since, whenever her mother recalled this, she would sigh and say, "Silly child, you came from my womb. Who else could love you more than I do? How could she ever compare?"
When she first entered the family, her mother-in-law often lamented how she had toiled like an ox or a horse for the Yan family all her life, endured great hardships raising her children, faced disdain from relatives, and suffered beatings from her husband whenever he drank.
Hearing this, Zhou Yunruo had only felt pity for her mother-in-law. And so, she became the family's savior, willingly using her dowry to support the household expenses.
She thought that if they lived well, Yan Heng would remember her kindness.
But how could she have anticipated the insatiability of human greed?
When it came time for Yan Heng's younger sister to marry, her mother-in-law had shamelessly demanded money for the wedding, claiming that as the eldest sister-in-law, she was like a mother and should bear the entire dowry.
Zhou Yunruo was no fool. She firmly refused on the spot, coldly retorting, "Whoever gave birth to her should take responsibility. I'll only care for my own children."
She didn't know how her mother-in-law had cried and complained afterward, but that very night, her father-in-law stormed into her room, smashing everything in sight.
In Pingzhou, Yan Heng's father was notorious for being a troublemaker.
His ancestors had once enjoyed glory, but over generations, under the hands of this prodigal son, the family had completely declined.
Whenever he drank, he would curse one family and beat another, as if he wished the entire city of Pingzhou would bow to his will.
Yet, he himself was incompetent, often ending up bruised and battered. But no amount of beatings could deter him. Over time, people grew accustomed to seeing him brawling in the streets.
It wasn't until Yan Heng reached thirteen or fourteen years old that he took the family's ancestral military saber and, with bloodshot eyes, chased the thug who had injured his father all the way to their doorstep.
No one could persuade him otherwise—he was determined to see blood. In the end, the thug's seventy-year-old father had to kneel and apologize personally before the matter was settled.
From then on, riding on his son's fearsome reputation, no one dared to intervene whenever he drank and caused trouble.
Looking back now, she realized she had been utterly blind. How could she have failed to see that a crooked tree bears crooked fruit? What good could come from such a father?
Though her mother was angry at her disobedience, seeing her return with a swollen belly filled her with pity. She sent someone to fetch Yan Heng from the Pingzhou military camp outside the city and gave him a stern reprimand.
After this incident, while Mother Yan appeared unchanged on the surface, she secretly complained to everyone about Zhou Yunruo's faults. Outsiders began to say that Zhou Yunruo looked down on her in-laws, relying on her own family's influence.
When Zhou Yunruo finally noticed the rumors, she confronted her mother-in-law. But the older woman cried even more pitifully than she did, and when Yan Heng appeared, she silently wiped her tears, making Zhou Yunruo seem like the villain who bullied her in-laws.
Now, seeing Mother Yan play the good person again, Zhou Yunruo felt nothing but disdain.
Mother Yan ordered the main gate closed, instantly cutting off the onlookers outside. The woman was led into the courtyard by servants, and the group followed.
As they reached the inner gate, Zhou Yunruo found herself walking side by side with Yan Heng. Out of the corner of her eye, she saw him pursing his lips tightly, his gaze fixed straight ahead.
And ahead of him was none other than his beloved—the woman with a slender waist like a willow, swaying gracefully as she walked.
Zhou Yunruo couldn't help but let out a disdainful snort through her nose. Yan Heng immediately lowered his gaze, slanting a glance at her.
In the main hall, a woman bowed her head in tears, her delicate face swollen and red from being struck. Yan Heng looked at her, his brow tightly furrowed.
Noticing Zhou Yunruo's eyes upon him, he unconsciously darkened his gaze and averted it, his expression growing even more somber.