When they arrived at the dyehouse, it was an hour later than originally scheduled.
Shen Yiyi had known that Fu Yi was coming today and had sent someone to keep watch since the morning. As a result, she didn’t see a trace of them until mid-afternoon. If Ye Xunshu hadn’t been there, she almost would have greeted Fu Yi with a punch.
She and Fu Yi were childhood friends, but they were strictly just friends. No matter how much the original owner flirted with others, she never harbored any ulterior motives toward this playmate she grew up with.
This was because Shen Yiyi acted too much like an Alpha.
In reality, Shen Yiyi was a female Beta, but she did things her own way and had a short fuse. She didn’t hold back when fighting and could even hold her own against an Alpha for a few rounds.
The first reaction of anyone who spent time with her was to assume she was an Alpha.
Ye Xunshu followed Fu Yi the entire time. Shen Yiyi usually enjoyed teasing beautiful women, let alone this time when the beauty was Fu Yi’s wife.
In her own mind, she and Fu Yi shared a brotherhood.
Therefore, in her eyes, Ye Xunshu was her sister-in-law.
A sister-in-law who looked very easy to bully.
Shen Yiyi chuckled, “Fu Yi, I thought you were someone who chose romance over friendship. Now that you have a wife, you’ve thrown this good brother of yours to the back of your mind.”
Fu Yi had previously fished for information from A-Ji and had a general understanding of Shen Yiyi. She laughed, slapped the other’s shoulder hard, and pulled her aside, warning her in advance: “Keep yourself in check today, someone is watching.”
Shen Yiyi was a bit dazed from the slap at first, but hearing the second half of the sentence, she immediately revealed a sinister smile and stole a glance toward Ye Xunshu. “You actually have moments of fear?”
“Scared of your wife?” Shen Yiyi’s face was the picture of mockery. “I never thought the great Miss Fu Yi would be tamed by an Omega. Tsk tsk, this doesn’t seem like you.”
” ” Fu Yi’s face darkened. “Cut the nonsense. I came here for serious business, not just to satisfy my parents.”
Shen Yiyi looked suspicious: “What serious business could you possibly have? Don’t tell me you’ve taken a liking to some other Omega and want me to help you handle it?”
Left to the side for a long while, Ye Xunshu didn’t make a fuss; she just stood obediently waiting for them. This dyehouse was a novelty to her. She shifted her gaze from time to time, and looking at the new things around her, she wasn’t bored.
At least, that was what Fu Yi and Shen Yiyi thought.
No matter how fresh the surrounding things were, what Ye Xunshu kept in her heart was still the person in front of her.
The fact that Fu Yi and Shen Yiyi were whispering meant there were things she wasn’t allowed to know.
Yet the more it was so, the more earnestly she wanted to find out.
Ye Xunshu’s gaze was indifferent, but the look in her eyes carried an imperceptible sharpness, as if she wanted to see right through the two of them.
“So tragic, Sister-in-law is too pitiful. Only married a few days and you’re already looking for a new—ah!” Shen Yiyi shouted: “Do you have a conscience? Why hit so hard!”
Ye Xunshu looked over at the two of them, her expression puzzled.
She only saw Fu Yi give Shen Yiyi a smack on the head.
Fu Yi was at her wit’s end, finding that this Shen Yiyi was even harder to deal with than A-Ji. Since her business probably couldn’t be explained in a short time, she turned and walked toward Ye Xunshu, saying, “Yiyi and I have things to discuss. Why don’t you,”
“Is it something Xunshu cannot hear?” Ye Xunshu seemed prepared. Before Fu Yi could finish, she fluttered her eyelashes, acting disappointed.
Fu Yi hesitated, thinking that she actually could listen, but it wasn’t as if she hadn’t visited the dyehouse before. She could take this chance to broaden her horizons.
Otherwise, if her wife was a woman who hadn’t seen the world, she would feel she couldn’t save face when taking her out in the future.
Since there was an opportunity, she had to let her have more exposure.
As for the matter she was discussing, she would find out in a few days anyway.
Ye Xunshu naturally didn’t know Fu Yi was thinking this. She simply nodded. “Then Xunshu will look around. Just call for me when Sister is finished.”
“That’s right, the dyehouse isn’t busy lately. I’ll find someone to show you around.” Shen Yiyi waved her hand. “Come here, A-Xin,”
“No need.” Without warning, Ye Xunshu stepped forward and walked past the two of them, not even giving them a look. “I can manage by myself.”
” ” Shen Yiyi was left in a somewhat awkward position. Once Ye Xunshu had gone, she asked Fu Yi: “Is Sister-in-law angry?”
Fu Yi shook her head: ” ”
She didn’t know.
“Well, Sister-in-law wears everything on her face, and you can’t see that?” Shen Yiyi seized the opportunity to heavily “repay” Fu Yi for the blow earlier: “She is clearly jealous that we were whispering and specifically excluding her.”
Fu Yi looked at her and pointed at herself: “Jea—”
“So stupid!” Shen Yiyi pulled Fu Yi toward the interior of the dyehouse, saying as they walked: “For a regular at the brothels, you sure can’t read the little thoughts of an Omega.”
Shen Yiyi looked back at her with a mocking grin: “Look at you, an Alpha, yet I wouldn’t be surprised if you end up completely under the thumb of that little Omega wife in the future.”
Fu Yi: ” ”
The Fu family had been in the cloth business since the generation of Fu Yi’s grandfather. Back then, the dyehouse was still a collaborative effort with others. Later, as the Fu family’s business grew, the owners of the dyehouse left Yangzhou and retired, so the Fu family bought it out.
Since the business was so large, everyone wanted to come in to earn silver. But Fu Shen and Lin Wan had a rule for hiring: the dyehouse only recruited those who had children or parents at home to support.
Ye Xunshu had heard of this rule long ago. At the time, she thought that while many places in Yangzhou no longer needed elderly people, the Fu family took them in. As business people, they should know that this would inevitably increase the chances of mistakes being made.
Seeing it today, it was indeed the case.
The workers in the dyehouse were used to seeing one another. Having not seen Fu Yi, they were curious why a beautiful young girl had suddenly appeared and cast their gazes toward her.
Ye Xunshu kept to herself, her indifferent eyes merely glancing over the various colored dye vats.
“Miss, this is not a place you should be.”
Hearing the voice, Ye Xunshu stopped and looked toward a person in the distance who was stirring dye with a bamboo pole.
That person said, “Did you take a wrong turn? The ground here is dirty; don’t let it ruin your clothes.”
Ye Xunshu naturally understood the meaning. She looked down and remembered she was wearing Fu Yi’s clothes.
Fu Yi had found her smallest outfit for Ye Xunshu, but no matter how small an Alpha’s clothes were, they were still a bit ill-fitting on an Omega.
Dye was inevitably splashed on the dyehouse floor. Ye Xunshu had been preoccupied and hadn’t noticed, so the hem of her skirt was already stained.
She reached out to lift her skirt and gave the person a faint smile: “Thank you for the warning.”
There were too many people in the dyehouse, and Ye Xunshu disliked the feeling of being stared at, so she lifted her skirt and went to a quiet spot.
There were many drying racks nearby, draped with layers of dyed cloth that needed to be air-dried, swaying gently in the breeze.
There shouldn’t be anyone here.
Ye Xunshu finally breathed a sigh of relief.
Having stayed at home for so many years, she had long forgotten how to interact with people.
No one had told her how to open her heart to others.
She had read in a book about an Omega princess of the former dynasty who fell in love at first sight with an Alpha general. However, the general was stationed at the border for years, and the princess could only see her once a year during the New Year. The general’s heart was on the battlefield, yet even so, the princess expressed her feelings to her.
The general gave no response. When the New Year ended, she put on her armor once more and left the capital.
When the princess chased after her, she could only see the military flags of the former dynasty fluttering in the wind from afar.
Waiting for three years, the princess reached the age of marriage. A neighboring country proposed an alliance through marriage, and the Emperor, weary from the toll of constant warfare, agreed to the request. The princess was powerless to resist, yet she swore that in her heart, there was only the General.
Knowing her wish could never be fulfilled in this life, she planned to take her own life as the carriage entered the border.
But just a second before the blade could strike, the sound of clashing weapons and the violence of slaughter erupted outside the carriage.
Faced with this sudden turn of events, the princess sat inside the carriage, anxious and restless.
When the sounds of battle ceased, she smelled the thick scent of blood in the air.
Recovering from the shock, the princess painfully moved her stiff limbs, intending to escape, when suddenly a blood-stained hand grabbed the curtain.
The princess collapsed back into the carriage, tears welling in her eyes.
She recognized them.
Those hands, she recognized them at a single glance.
It was her.
The curtain was pulled back, and the dagger fell from the princess’s hand to the floor.
That person she had thought of day and night.
That person she had waited seven years for.
She appeared exactly when she was needed most.
The princess was already covered in tears. Through her violent trembling, she only saw the General wipe her hands against her own clothes several times, trying to remove the bloodstains that could no longer be wiped clean.
“I am sorry for making you wait so long.”
“Come home with me.”
Ye Xunshu let out a long sigh.
Every time she thought of this story, she felt fortunate to have been born in a time of peace.
The princess dared to pursue the one she loved, yet in the end, she was still no match for the political marriage.
What about her?
She only wanted to find someone she truly liked to spend her life with.
That person only needed to be good to her and keep her in their heart.
But that was too difficult.
Ye Xunshu thought that for Fu Yi, this was truly too difficult.
Upon learning she was to be married to Fu Yi, Ye Xunshu had locked herself in her room until her eyes were swollen from crying.
Later, she came to terms with it.
She did not expect Fu Yi to love her, nor did she expect to be the only one in Fu Yi’s heart.
The Fu family’s actions were no different from the “political marriages” of the former dynasty.
In essence, it was a forced marriage.
Ye Xunshu did not notice that she had gripped her clothes so tightly they were now incredibly wrinkled.
They said the eldest Miss Fu liked obedient Omegas, so she would be an obedient little rabbit.
No matter what, she could not end up being neglected.
Fu Yi’s eyes had to see her.
It was just a pity that the Fu Yi she had seen these past few days was quite different from the rumors.
She was a bit stupider than the rumors suggested.
Thinking of how Fu Yi had begged for her help that day because she was afraid of sticking the suppressor patch on crookedly, Ye Xunshu let out a sudden giggle.
That look was truly silly.
How could there be an Alpha willing to wear a suppressor patch just to make an Omega happy?
“You seem so happy, what are you laughing at?”
Hearing the voice, Ye Xunshu turned around. A pale yellow cloth hung before her, and the voice came from right behind it.
Ye Xunshu stopped smiling and stared fixedly ahead.
After a long while, the wind caught a corner of the fabric.
They saw each other’s faces.
Fu Yi was smiling as she reached out her hand.
That voice fell from the sky, soft and gentle, like a warm breeze brushing past her ear.
“Xunshu, let’s go home.”