Volume 2: Eagle vs. Dragon Chapter 29: The Power of Sisters-in-law
Ye Dalin saw Ye Youyu coughing a few more times. Although she didn't vomit blood again, the saliva she sprayed out was still stained with blood, so he asked a maid to take her away.
Ma was very displeased: "Did you really believe her lies?"
Ye Dalin said coldly: "What else? Do we really go to war with the Wu family? It may not be good for the Wu family to kill us, but there are countless people in Xiguan waiting for us to fall and eat our meat. Look at what happened to the Xie family!"
Ma was not a fool, and she couldn't help but shudder when Ye Dalin mentioned it.
The Xie family was one of the four major families in the Thirteen Hongs, but such a huge family was eaten up in a few months under the pressure of everyone's help: Pan and Wu ate meat, the Lu family ate some, Pan, Yi, Liang and Ma also got a lot of soup, and the Cai family gnawed bones - only the Ye family got nothing. In addition, dozens of merchants, big and small, also benefited from this, but except for Pan, Wu and Lu, the other families, big and small, were still not full.
It would be fine if the wolf was hungry all the time, but it was even more dangerous and terrifying at this time because it could lick a little blood but couldn't eat the big head.
Ye Dalin said: "Even if this girl is really in collusion with Wu Chengjian, since Wu has nominated her as his wife, we can't beat her to death now, otherwise there will be no room for negotiation."
Only then did Ma stop talking.
Ye Youyu reluctantly went out, and Ye Haocai looked at her, gloating over her misfortune but also feeling indignant that she could escape. Dongxue, who was standing beside her, was already supporting Ye Youyu with tears in her eyes and was about to go back to Yingyang Garden. On the way, Changzi also came, bringing a servant he had subdued and carrying an armchair over, letting Ye Youyu sit on the chair, and they carried her back to Yingyang Garden.
Xu waited at the gate of Yingyang Garden with trembling lips. She took her daughter into the house, opened her clothes with shaking hands, and burst into tears after just one look, shouting, "We have fish, we have fish, don't fight for it, don't fight for it, we don't want anything! I will scrub toilets for the rest of my life until I die, rather than let you suffer this pain again."
At this time, there was only Dongxue in the house. Trust between the master and servant had been established. Ye Youyu did not avoid her. She forced a smile on her pale face and said, "Mother, what are you talking about! If this is the case... then... weren't those two kicks I received in vain? Aren't all these sufferings in vain?"
Xu said, "But even if you really marry into the Wu family, with the Wu family's current prestige and our mother and daughter's backgrounds, can you really live a good life?"
Yingyang Garden is different now than before. It has several maids and servants, and Xu is not so isolated from the news . She has also heard that the Wu family is going to marry Ye Youyu. When she first heard the news, she was really shocked, thinking that this was Ye Youyu's plan all along. However, Xu did not think it would be a good thing for her daughter to marry into the Wu family.
After Ye Youyu heard what his mother said, two shadows emerged in his mind. One was Wu Chengjian, who helped him solve his problems and gave him a beeswax gourd. The other was Wu Chengjian, who negotiated conditions with him in a cold manner - are they really the same person?
Has Wu Chengjian, who had invaded her dreams countless times since she was a child, changed, or has he never existed?
"There are fish, there are fish, what's wrong with you?" Mrs. Xu asked worriedly when she saw her daughter was distracted.
At this time, Dongxue had already brought the plaster over - it had only been a few months since the last kick, and there was still a lot of plaster left .
Xu took it and applied it to her daughter very carefully, but still touched Ye Youyu's pain point.
A sharp pain brought Ye Youyu back to her senses. She smiled softly despite the pain and said to herself, "No matter what, even if he... he is really not that person anymore, he is at least a capable businessman. To be able to sit in this position, he must have weighed the pros and cons and should know the value of keeping his word. As long as he has these two points, then what he promised me can be taken seriously, and then... I can at least find a way to get my mother out of this hell."
She had a humble status in the Ye family, and everything she said and did was controlled by Xu. Even though she had gained power in recent months, if she showed any sign of rebellion, Xu could kill her with a single move - just like today.
But if she goes to the Wu family, there may be other difficulties, but at least she will have a status, and may even have financial resources that she can control independently. With financial resources, she will have manpower, and with money and people, she will have more room for planning.
Yes, that's a better place to go...
But why did her heart ache so much when she thought of Wu Chengjian not being the same Wu Chengjian, and Haoguan not being her third brother? The pain was ten times more severe than the area covered by the plaster?
Xiguan is a very small circle.
The news that the Wu family was going to marry the third daughter of the Ye family was not as explosive as Wu Chengjian's overnight comeback, but it was also a rare news in recent times, so it spread quickly.
Cai Shiqun and his wife also heard about it. Although they lived in Daxing Street, they were essentially from Xiguan, and they were also relatives of the Wu family of Yihehang, so naturally they got the news quickly.
Two sedan chairs were carried into the Wu family mansion. This time, Cai Shiqun and his wife were the visitors. The grandfather came to see his grandson, and the mother came to see her daughter.
After entering the door, the two went to the backyard to visit Wu Guoying first.
Wu Guoying was in good spirits. After that dinner, Aunt Yang took over the job of serving him, and Wu Chenggou came every day, acting like a filial son. Although he saw through the intentions of his mother and mother, Wu Guoying just enjoyed himself. He had a comfortable life these days and his complexion was much better.
After the two relatives exchanged a few words, Cai Shiqun was invited to the accounting office, while Cai's mother went to the right courtyard.
Since the attempt to detain Cai Qiaozhu in Daxing Street, the mother and daughter had not seen each other for nearly three months. When Cai's mother arrived at the right courtyard, she first saw Wu Chengjun on the sickbed. She was an experienced person, so she could naturally see that Wu Chengjun relied on the Wu family's huge wealth, spending money like water, and using famous doctors and good medicine to keep her alive. However, she only sighed twice when they met, not daring to touch her daughter's heart.
After meeting the son-in-law, the mother and daughter went to a small room and started talking about their personal matters.
After talking about a lot of trivial things, Cai's mother asked: "It is rumored that Hao Guan wants to marry the third daughter of the Ye family. Is it true?"
Cai Qiaozhu said: "It's true, the master has already agreed, Hao Guan himself is willing, so I started to make arrangements, now it depends on the Ye family's opinion."
Cai's mother didn't know about the "dowry list" and thought to herself, how could the Ye family disagree? She then asked, "Does this mean that the Wu family is planning to reconcile with the Ye family?"
"Even when Chengjun was the head of the family, my daughter never cared about the outside world." After all, Cai Qiaozhu has been the head of the family for many years. She is in the Wu family both physically and mentally. Although they are mother and daughter, she still knows how to handle things very well: "Now even the master doesn't care about the outside world. I will take care of the inner house for the time being. As for the outside world, it all depends on what Haoguan wants."
Mother Cai frowned slightly and said, "Even if you want to reconcile with the Ye family, why don't you pick a legitimate daughter, but a concubine's daughter instead?"
Cai Qiaozhu said: "We are not from an official family, so as long as our family background is clean, it will be fine. If we really wanted to be well matched, Chengjun would have married my cousin Bo instead of me."
"Cousin Bo" is the daughter of Cai Shiwen. She is not as beautiful and virtuous as Cai Qiaozhu, but in terms of family background, even back then, Cai Qiaozhu was marrying up when she married Wu Chengjun. "Cousin Bo" is the perfect match.
In fact, it was because of the comparison with Tanka Sanniang's background that Cai Qiaozhu and Wu Guoying felt that Ye Youyu was completely acceptable, but they did not want to say this to Cai's mother.
Cai's mother said, "But it's good this way. When Miss Ye San comes to marry in the future, it will be difficult for her to suppress you."
Cai Qiaozhu was stunned for a moment, not quite understanding what her mother meant.
They were mother and daughter, and they were not deliberately deceiving each other. One look at each other's face told them what the other was thinking. Cai's mother said, "You are smart, but you are too honest. You don't think long-term about some things."
Cai Qiaozhu asked: "What should we think about in the long term?"
Cai's mother said, "If Chengjun is healthy, even if Haoguan marries a princess, it won't be a burden to you. But the current situation... Qiaozhu, you must listen to what your mother says. You must hold on to the power of the inner house firmly."
Cai Qiaozhu vaguely guessed what her mother was going to say, and asked in astonishment, "Mother, what do you mean by that?"
Cai's mother said, "If Chengjun is in good health, you naturally have nothing to worry about. And now... the family business has been handed over to Haoguan. If he is still a playboy, or just a conservative person, it would be fine. Who knew that he would be such a powerful person? In the future, he will definitely have the final say in this family."
Wu Chengjun made great contributions to the Wu family and Yihe Bank. If Wu Chengjian was a playboy, he would have lived under the shadow of his elder brother all his life even if he inherited the family business. Even if he was a conservative person, he could have kept his rightful position as the eldest son of the family by following the rules. But who could have thought that after Wu Chengjian inherited the family business, he would do something shocking to the whole city within a few months, and his reputation would have surpassed Wu Chengjun in just a few months.
Cai Qiaozhu thought her mother's words were strange: "Of course, he is the head of the family."
"Why don't you understand?" Cai's mother said, "He is the head of the family. He has the final say outside. Who will have the final say in the inner house in the future? I know you have a good relationship with this brother-in-law, but no matter how good the relationship between uncle and sister-in-law is, can it be better than that between husband and wife? When your future third aunt marries, will you hand over the power of the head of the inner house? Or not?"
Cai Qiaozhu was stunned by what her mother said - it was not that she was not smart enough, but she had never thought about this issue during this period of time. She herself had not thought about it, and even if others had thought about it, who would dare to easily tell her about it? Only the closest relatives, mother and daughter, would dare to point it out in person.
Cai's mother added, "But now, it is thanks to the Bodhisattva's blessing. Miss Ye San is a concubine's daughter, and the situation of the Ye family is so bad, she will not dare to compete with you for power after she enters the family, so things will be much easier."
Cai Qiaozhu was surprised, but she felt more and more uncomfortable the more she listened. Finally, she couldn't help but said, "Mom, don't talk about this! If the third daughter of the Ye family is a virtuous woman and is willing to manage the family affairs after she gets married, then the burden on my daughter's shoulders can be lifted. What about the power of the inner house, what about holding it tightly in hand, these things... Don't tell me about them anymore in the future, I don't want to hear them either."