My Naive Ginseng Spirit Wife and My Cultured, Scheming, Delicate Husband

chapter 50

Fang Li is indeed an upright man, and he has met all kinds of people from all over.

Even though Ye Pingrong dresses like an ordinary commoner, no ordinary commoner has such a tall and sturdy build. Especially the cold sternness between his brows made Fang Li's first reaction that this man meant trouble.

When the wine shop first opened, there were local ruffians coming to make trouble. Fang Li was afraid that this man was also here to cause trouble.

But he could not say it outright. He could only keep silent for a moment, and was about to step forward and ask the people Steward Song brought over to question him carefully.

But just at this moment, Madame Dong came out from the back hall to help her husband, and happened to overhear what Ye Pingrong said.

Madame Dong stepped forward, smiled at him and asked: "Who is your master?"

Actually, if Ye Pingrong wanted to go in and see his little sister, he only needed to say he was the eldest brother-in-law of their employer. But in Big Ye Lang's mind, Ye Jiao and Qi Yun cannot stay as husband and wife for long. Naturally, he did not want to get involved with the Qi family, so he answered calmly: "My employer's... the proprietress, whose surname is Meng. My employer is worried, so he sent me here to take a look."

When Madame Dong heard this, she knew the man was indeed from the Meng family's medicine shop, and she winked at Fang Li.

Fang Li got the message and smilingly led Ye Pingrong inside.

And after Madame Dong made some arrangements for Fang Li, she went back to the back hall.

But no sooner had she sat down beside Ye Jiao than she saw two people walk in.

Ye Jiao held a teacup and looked up, and recognized that the woman in front was Madame Zhang she had met before she prayed at the temple. Following behind her was a woman dressed in water-green, with a light veil covering her face, looking delicate and graceful as a willow.

This Madame Zhang had a conflict with Madame Liu at the temple before. Even though Ye Jiao herself did not know that she had helped Madame Liu humiliate her, little ginseng could tell that her relationship with her mother-in-law was not good.

Therefore, after Madame Zhang came in, Ye Jiao just acted as if she did not see her, neither getting up nor saying anything.

Madame Dong also did not get up to greet her. Seeing Ye Jiao looking at her, she smiled and said: "I don't have to greet everyone. They are not important figures among these people, and their family business is not that big. I'll go over to say hello later."

Ye Jiao didn't pay attention to how big Madame Zhang's family business was. She just looked at the veiled woman and asked: "Why is she covering her face?"

Madame Dong glanced at her, covered her mouth with a handkerchief and said: "That is her daughter-in-law, Madame Qian. She has always been proud of her beauty, and even when she goes out she covers her face with fine gauze for fear that others will see it."

Ye Jiao blinked, couldn't help but curious: "How beautiful is she?"

Madame Dong didn't look at Madame Qian, instead she sized up Ye Jiao and Madame Meng and said: "She is not as good as Jiaoniang and Huiniang."

Ye Jiao was born beautiful and bright, while Madame Meng is graceful and delicate. Madame Dong's words were not flattery.

But this made little ginseng even more confused: "If that's the case, why is she covering it up?"

Madame Dong thought for a while and said: "Maybe she's afraid of attracting other people's attention?"

"I'm afraid her intention is just the opposite." Madame Meng said softly, "As the saying goes, great hidden in the city. Often the more ordinary you are, the less attention you attract. Everyone else is relaxed and free, only she covers her face with a veil. It looks like she's hiding herself, but it actually attracts attention. I'm afraid she's just afraid that others won't see how peerless her beauty is."

When Ye Jiao heard this, she tilted her head slightly and said: "But Chunlan said she is not as good as you and me."

Madame Meng covered her mouth and smiled, said nothing more, and instead talked about flowers and plants with Ye Jiao.

On the other side, Madame Zhang was secretly grinding her teeth.

Her daughter-in-law Madame Qian is very ambitious, but her family background is mediocre, and she couldn't marry into a high-status family, so she reluctantly married Madame Zhang's son.

But after marriage, Madame Qian still makes trouble. She either weeps quietly during the day or plays the piano at midnight, putting on all the gestures of those peerless beauties in storybooks. She wears only white or plain clothes, which is really annoying to look at.

Madame Zhang's family is in business. It is not a big business but it is a decent living. They originally married Madame Qian because she looked smarter than other women, and she could read and write, thinking she could help the family business.

Who would have thought that Madame Qian would rather cry at dead branches during the day than take care of anything in the family, and she always dresses in such depressing clothes. Business families taboo these things.

If you were a young lady from a big family or a wealthy family, you could do whatever you want. Since you are doted on by your family and have everything you need, no one will control you anyway.

But after all, Madame Zhang's husband's family is a small household. The money they earn from small business is earned through hard work. Where did she get this arrogant bad temper of eating nothing but the air?

Madame Zhang was angry and asked her, but Madame Qian had the cheek to argue, saying that she did not want to be tainted by the stench of copper, lest she stain her pure original nature.

This made Madame Zhang confused. If it weren't for this stench of copper, where would your nice clothes and good paper and pens come from? Did they blow in from the wind? I must have married a Bodhisattva to come home.

But Madame Zhang's son likes her. Usually he can't stand anyone saying anything bad about her, and lets Madame Qian have her way in everything. He has often quarreled with Madame Zhang, his own mother, for his wife. Madame Zhang dotes on her son after all, so she can only accept it when she sees this.

But Madame Qian is not really a proud talented woman. Everything she does is just to put on an act, so that she can avoid doing housework and be lazy.

She can eat ready-made food, so Madame Qian is not willing to use her brain to help the family.

But she is really proud of her beauty, and has always felt that no one can compare to her. Before coming to the Qi family's medicine shop this time, Madame Qian put on beautiful hairpins and nice clothes, and came with the intention of outshining everyone else.

If Madame Zhang knew what her daughter-in-law was thinking, she would probably throw her back home.

But after arriving, Madame Qian saw Ye Jiao and Madame Meng at a glance.

In terms of appearance, they are more beautiful. In terms of jewelry, they are more exquisite. She is inferior to them in everything.

The effect she originally planned of taking off the veil to get praise from people around her is gone. Madame Qian actually quietly wiped her tears, which made Madame Zhang so angry that her temples throbbed.

But everyone around was watching the fun, and Madame Zhang had no choice. She pulled Madame Qian out of the main hall and went to the corridor next to the garden, and scolded in a low voice: "I let you cry and mope at home, don't come out here to embarrass me!"

Madame Qian felt wronged, but she couldn't say what she was wronged about. After being reprimanded like this, she felt even worse.

Madame Zhang was so angry that she wanted to hit her, but her son just dotes on her like this.

Now Madame Zhang's eldest son is in front talking to other merchants. If he knows he has**** her, he will probably quarrel with her again, just letting others watch the fun. Madame Zhang can only hold her breath and comfort her: "Wipe your tears. I know you want to come out to save face, but there's no need to torment yourself like this. If Dalang sees it, he will feel distressed."

Madame Qian looked at Madame Zhang wronged and said quietly: "Mother, I just can't stand it."

Can't stand what? Can't stand that other people are prettier than you?

That's how they were born, what's the use of you being angry? I've never seen anyone get angry over such pointless things. That's too foolish, isn't it.

Even though she thought this in her heart, she said to Madame Qian: "At least Dalang can accompany you here. What does that Ye Jiao have? Second Young Master Qi was rumored to be seriously ill during the New Year. I'm afraid he's dying. No matter how pretty she is, she's still going to be a widow, isn't she?" The more Zhang said this, the more she thought it was true. Especially thinking about the anger Madame Liu gave her at the temple before the New Year, she became more convinced that Madame Liu was just putting on a brave face.

Madame Qian was stunned when she heard this, and then a smile appeared on her face: "Really?"

"How could I lie to you." Zhang also wanted to take this opportunity to remind her daughter-in-law, "As long as you treat Dalang well in the future, there will be plenty of good days. Dalang is healthy and whole, he is excellent in every way. Why do you have to fight over this moment of anger?"

Madame Qian nodded repeatedly, smiling through her tears, as if she felt comfortable just because others are having a bad time.

After their emotions calmed down, the mother-in-law and daughter-in-law left as if nothing had happened. They did not know that Ye Pingrong in the dark had heard every word of their conversation.

Big Ye Lang narrowed his eyes, clenched his fists tightly, and gritted his teeth until they ached.

And in the main hall, not many people cared about Madame Zhang and her daughter-in-law. Their leaving and returning did not attract much attention.

Seeing that there was still some time before the auspicious hour, Madame Dong asked people to serve new dim sum.

This time it was warm red bean paste. The soft-cooked red beans were strained to remove the skin, leaving only the soft bean paste, added with fine granulated sugar, and decorated with snow-white glutinous rice balls and chopped preserved fruits. It tastes soft, sweet and fragrant, extraordinarily warming.

Many people thought to themselves that the Qi family really made a lot of money. Even their own families are not willing to eat such sweet things often, but they take it out to entertain guests.

But Ye Jiao didn't care that much, and didn't think this thing was anything special.

She ate a few meat buns in the morning, and she wasn't very hungry now. She just ate a bowl to try something new and put it down.

Madame Meng just took a small taste, and she vaguely saw a figure flash by outside the main hall. She couldn't help but look at Ye Jiao.

Seeing that Ye Jiao put down her bowl, she also put down her spoon and said with a smile: "Jiaoniang, if you are not busy, would you like to accompany me out for a walk? The sun is nice outside, and I am also very curious what the lucky flower you talked about looks like."

When Ye Jiao heard this, she looked at Madame Dong and asked: "Chunlan, are you coming with us?"

Madame Dong said with a smile: "You go first. I will come find you after I finish my work here."

Ye Jiao smiled and nodded, got up and took Xiao Su with her to go to the back garden together with Madame Meng.

But Madame Meng didn't come here for the lucky flower. She just came here to do Ye Pingrong a favor.

When she saw Ye Pingrong, Madame Meng stopped her steps.

Ye Jiao looked at him in surprise and asked: "Brother, why are you here?"

Earlier in front of the Guanpu stall, Ye Jiao didn't see Ye Pingrong, so she naturally didn't know he was the guard of Chu Chengyun and Madame Meng. And Ye Pingrong didn't want to drag his little sister into this, so he didn't point it out. He just cupped his hands slightly to Madame Meng and asked: "Madam, can my little sister and I have a word in private?"

Madame Meng nodded. That was her original intention, so she was not surprised at all, and walked aside to look at the flowers on her own.

Ye Jiao walked towards Ye Pingrong. Before she could speak, she heard Ye Pingrong say: "Jiaoniang, these years you have suffered so much."

Ye Jiao was stunned for a moment, and couldn't help but look up. She saw Ye Pingrong's tiger eyes filled with tears, looking at her with distress.

Little ginseng rarely cries. Except for the time she cried before because she was worried about Qi Yun, she doesn't cry much at other times. After all, she lives comfortably every day, and there's nothing to cry about.

Now seeing Ye Pingrong, an eight-foot-tall man, crying just like that, Ye Jiao was a little at a loss.

She quickly handed over her handkerchief and said: "I'm not suffering, really. My life is very good. Brother, don't cry. It's cold today, take care of your eyes."

The woman's voice was soft, full of concern, but it made Ye Pingrong even more sad.

Over the years on the battlefield, he has walked the line between life and death all the time. Not to mention eyes, even his life is worthless, and he can lose it at any time.

Who has ever thought to care about him?

Only his own little sister would worry about him. But before he left, he didn't arrange her well, and let her be harmed by that jackal-like second brother. She has suffered so much pain and hardship.

Ye Pingrong, who had already pictured Ye Jiao as a poor little cabbage in winter, felt even more stuffy in his heart, but his tears stopped.

He is not the kind of person who indulges in emotional affection. He was just excited for a moment just now, and fortunately he still kept his head clear.

Not willing to use Ye Jiao's handkerchief, Ye Pingrong just wiped his eyes with his fingers, then said seriously to Ye Jiao: "Jiaoniang, you don't have to be afraid of the Qi family. I am now a seventh-rank military inspector after all. Although I can't compare to civil officials, I also draw a salary from the court. As long as I make the decision for you to divorce, the Qi family will definitely not dare to force you to stay."

...Divorce?

Ye Jiao was stunned for a moment, and shook her head subconsciously: "Brother, I don't want a divorce."

But Ye Pingrong had already preconceived that Ye Jiao was having a hard time. Especially after inquiring around about Qi Yun's situation, he had thought over and over again about the miserable life Ye Jiao might be living.

Now hearing Ye Jiao's words, Ye Pingrong thought to himself 'My little sister is just too kind-hearted, and doesn't want me to worry about her', and persuaded: "It's well known that Second Young Master Qi is in poor health. Second Ye is a scoundrel, but elder brother will not harm you. If you are willing, I will definitely take care of you for the rest of my life. If you want to set up your own household as a female head of household, I will also help you."

Ye Jiao doesn't know what a female head of household is, but she understands that Ye Pingrong has misunderstood.

This man really cares about her, but his concern is a little off track.

Misunderstandings need to be cleared up. Little ginseng doesn't like vagueness, and never drags her feet when it comes to things that need to be said.

She looked up at Ye Pingrong, and answered him seriously too: "Brother, what I say is true, I didn't lie to you. Although my husband was in poor health before, he is much better now. My mother-in-law is good to me, and my husband's brothers get along harmoniously. I really have never been wronged."

Ye Pingrong heard this, didn't speak, just looked at her.

Ye Jiao was not afraid that he wouldn't believe her. Anyway, she was firm on only one point: "I won't divorce. I want to spend my whole life with my husband."

Little ginseng's voice is soft and a little sticky, but this sentence is firm and clear, which also shook the original firm idea in Ye Pingrong's mind.

Just at this moment, Xiao Su, who had been afraid to disturb them, saw Tiezi waving at her from a distance.

She hurriedly stepped forward, and said to Ye Jiao: "Second Young Mistress, Second Young Master is here."

When Ye Jiao heard this, it was as if she had gotten someone to back her up. She immediately smiled and said to Ye Pingrong: "Brother, let my husband tell you. He always makes sense. Let him tell you, it will definitely be clearer than what I say."

Actually, Ye Pingrong was already extremely shocked when he heard that Qi Yun was coming. After all, according to the rumors outside, Second Young Master Qi was already terminally ill, bedridden every day, and seemed to be about to die at any moment.

But he just quietly went out?

Seeing Ye Jiao dragging Xiaosu trotting all the way to the gate, Ye Pingrong quickly strode after them.

To other people, the arrival of Qi Yun's carriage also brought no small surprise.

What Ye Pingrong could hear, they could also learn about. On top of that, Qi Yun had been hiding in the Qi household avoiding outsiders all this time. Even if the managers of his shops praised him to the skies, other people would not believe it.

Moreover, among the rumors about Qi Yun, apart from saying he was dying of illness, people also claimed he was repulsive in appearance, with a fierce and terrifying visage that could stop children from crying at night.

This made many people want to go out and see the novelty for themselves, to find out what this Second Master Qi actually looked like.

Even the women who had originally been chatting in the main hall exchanged glances, tacitly walked out to the outer corridor, and craned their necks eagerly looking out.

Just as Ye Jiao reached the gate, Qi Yun's carriage happened to stop.

Tiezi hurried forward to move a low stool, lifted the curtain, and reached out to help Qi Yun, but Qi Yun spoke faintly from inside the carriage: "No need."

A man's voice is naturally pleasant, and now without the hoarse rawness from when he was ill, it sounded like a stone dropping into clear spring water, clean and crisp.

When Qi Yun stepped out from the carriage, the surroundings suddenly fell silent for a moment. Ye Pingrong also suddenly stopped in his steps, staring blankly at his nominal brother-in-law.

Qi Yun stood there, with open, clear features and a calm expression, as elegant as a jade tree standing against the wind.