Volume 2: Eagle vs. Dragon Chapter 46: Changing Daughters for Marriage
Changzi broke free from Ye Duofu and crawled to Wu Chengjian's feet, shouting, "Haoguan, this is fake! They want to use the Second Miss to replace the Third Miss! Please save the Third Miss!"
Wu Chengjian said "oh", a little surprised, but not too surprised, and looked at Ye Dalin and said, "Father-in-law, is this... true?"
In recent times, the close relationship between the Pan, Wu and Ye families has almost returned to its historical peak.
The three families originally had a long history, but in the few years after Pan Zhenchen's death, the relationship between the three families turned from close to distant. The most fundamental reason for this was that neither the Wu nor the Ye families wanted to continue to be vassals of the Pan family, while Pan Youjie was unwilling to truly give up his control over Wu and Ye.
But now that Wu and Ye are getting married, their relationship will naturally become closer. After the alliance between Wu and Ye, they will become a rival to the Pan family. Seeing that it is impossible to control Wu and Ye, Pan Youjie finally gave up his old strategy after the tea party at Baiyun Tower. For the first time, he treated Wu Ye as an equal ally. After they worked together to push Pan Youjie to the position of chief merchant at the recent business protection meeting, the relationship between the three families has rapidly become closer.
Ye Dalin was very satisfied with the recent development of the family situation. Although changing his daughter to marry might bring changes to this good trend, Ye Dalin felt that it was worth taking the risk. If the matter could be covered up, then the relationship between the Ye family and the Wu family might be further adjusted.
But now that Wu Chengjian asked directly, he couldn't lie to her face, so he said, "Youyu is sick. She has been coughing up blood since last night. I thought it would not be good for the Wu family if she married in. So I discussed it with your aunt for a long time before deciding to let Haocai marry in."
Without waiting for Wu Chengjian to answer, he turned to Pan Youjie and said, "Youjie, my daughter is so sick that she will definitely not get married. But now everyone in Guangzhou knows that our two families are getting married, and our relatives and friends have hung firecrackers all over the banks of the Pearl River. We can't just cancel this marriage. If we do that, our three families, Pan, Wu and Ye, will be laughed at from now until the New Year, don't you think?"
Pan Youjie's mind raced as Ye Dalin was talking. As soon as Ye Dalin finished speaking, he immediately interrupted and said with a smile, "Uncle Ye, what you said makes sense. As the saying goes, the arrow is on the string and has to be shot. Chengjian was originally engaged to the second sister, but now it's the third sister's turn. Unfortunately, she got sick at the right time. It seems that the third sister is not going to have this blessing after all."
He patted Wu Chengjian on the shoulder and said, "Chengjian, I think Uncle Ye's plan is not wrong. After all, they are Uncle Ye's daughters. Both sisters are good girls. It doesn't matter who you marry. The second sister is also the legitimate daughter. It's more of a match, don't you think?"
Wu Chengjian frowned. The unexpected events before his eyes were strange and sudden. Although he guessed that there must be something fishy, he couldn't fully figure it out in a moment.
Then Changzi shouted, "No, no! Third Miss, no..." He was about to say that Third Miss was not sick, but Ye Dalin interrupted him and shouted, "Shut up! Slap her face!"
The latter sentence was said to Ye Duofu. Ye Duofu had grabbed Changzi's hair and slapped Changzi's mouth. He then picked up a handful of mud and stuffed it into Changzi's mouth.
What was Wu Chengjian's expression? Naturally, he immediately guessed that Ye Dalin's so-called "illness" was just an excuse. Just as he was about to speak, Ye Dalin said, "Official Hao, don't listen to the nonsense of this little beast. Youyu is really sick. This marriage is not only a marriage between our Wu and Ye families, but Youjie has also stepped forward to witness the marriage for the first time. This is not just a marriage, but also a major event for our Pan, Wu, and Ye families. A sick girl marrying into your Wu family is a bad omen for your Wu family, and it is really shameful for our Ye family. If Youyu falls ill in public during the wedding ceremony, it will be even more unlucky. We can't take this risk. Youjie, don't you think so?"
Pan Youjie smiled and nodded, which was considered as his tacit support.
Ye Dalin added, "Chengjian, I don't know why you want to pick Youyu. You don't want the legitimate daughter, but a concubine's daughter. But if you really like her so much, when she recovers from her illness, I will make the decision to let her enter the Wu family and become your concubine."
Everyone present—from Pan Youjie to Ye Zhong, from Wu Chengjian to Pan Haigen—was shocked, the only difference being the degree of shock. Some were horrified, while others were slightly surprised.
After tomorrow, Ye Dalin will be Wu Chengjian's father-in-law. A father-in-law is willing to give his other daughter to his son-in-law as a concubine - even if she is a concubine! Ye Dalin is not a poor and helpless person, but one of the top rich people in Guangzhou!
Pan Youjie finally smiled and said, "Uncle Ye is the only one in Guangzhou who can be so kind. Chengjian, you are the only one who is so lucky."
Wu Chengjian narrowed his eyes slightly. The cheaper something looks, the more cautious you should be. This is what Wu Guoying taught him since childhood. Now that the wedding is imminent, Ye Dalin suddenly changed his wife. It is impossible for Wu Chengjian not to be suspicious and annoyed.
However, the reasons Ye Dalin gave next, although not very convincing, were sufficient as a way out. He even offered to give Wu Chengjian a daughter as a concubine, which made it impossible for him to get angry.
If Ye Dalin was not here today, Wu Chengjian would have learned the news and would have been able to slowly understand the situation and find a way to deal with it; even if Ye Dalin was here and Pan Youjie was not, Wu Chengjian would have been able to put pressure on Ye Dalin more smoothly. But now, not only Ye Dalin was here, but Pan Youjie was also here, and after Ye Dalin made concessions, Pan Youjie took the opportunity to act as a peacemaker, which made Wu Chengjian unable to even lose his temper.
If they opposed too strongly at this time, the alliance between the Pan, Wu and Ye families that was just about to be formed might collapse at any time, and not only would the Ye family, their relative, be pushed away, but the Pan family would also be offended - considering the consequences, Wu Chengjian weighed the recent worries and remained silent for a while.
Changzi was pressed to the ground, whimpering.
Wu Chengjian thought several times in a flash and waved to Wu Qi. Wu Qi and Ye Duofu dragged Changzi's legs out backwards. Changzi grabbed the ground with his ten fingers. At first, his nails were full of mud, and later they touched hard bricks, leaving blood marks.
Seeing how loyal he was, everyone in the garden was moved. Wu Chengjian couldn't help but think, "Youyu is a little girl with no status or position in the Ye family. How could she make this little stutterer so devoted to her?" For a moment, he became even more curious about his former fiancée.
Ye Duofu dragged Changzi out of the double doors and handed him to the servants of the Ye family. Then he came back and said to Ye Dalin, "This wicked servant has no respect for the family rules. I will beat him to death and throw him into Lingdingyang." He didn't mean to target Ye Youyu deliberately, but he felt that this stuttering servant had embarrassed him in front of Pan Youjie.
Wu Chengjian said: "Father-in-law, we are celebrating a wedding these two days."
Pan Youjie also said: "Yes, it's unlucky to mention such a thing that ruins the mood."
Ye Dalin said immediately, "Yes, yes. Then lock him up first and deal with him after Chengjian and Haocai's wedding is done."
Ye Duofu went out to do it immediately.
Wu Chengjian waited until the servants had left before saying, "Although Uncle Ye has his reasons, it is not right to change the bride at the last minute."
When Ye Dalin heard this, he guessed that Wu Chengjian was going to raise the price again. He was prepared and said, "Haoguan, what do you mean?" The change of address turned into a business tone.
Wu Chengjian learned about this matter suddenly, and the intelligence from all parties was not comprehensive enough. He couldn't judge the severity of it at the moment, so he just said lightly: "Let me ask my father about this matter first."
Ye Dalin said, "Okay, you two can discuss it. Anyway, our Ye family will prepare the bride. It's up to you to choose whether it's a sister or a younger sister. If the Wu family is really not afraid of having a sick bride, I will just bring Youyu over."
These words were a bit scary. Zhou Yijin couldn't help but shiver beside him. Even Wu Chengjian felt a chill in his heart after hearing these words.
Pan Youxiu's light flashed. None of the insurance merchants in Xiguan were merciful, but when it came to cruelty, Ye Dalin was always at the top.
What was originally a happy gathering was ruined by the stutterer's disturbance. The three of them lost interest and chatted for a few words before going their separate ways.
After seeing off Pan and Ye, Zhou Yijin said, "Ye Dalin really lives up to his reputation! He is so shameless and has such a dark heart! He changed the bride right before the wedding and even gave his own daughter away as a concubine . Only he could do such a thing. His last words, hehe!"
Wu Chengjian said, "He is threatening me. Even if Youyu is not sick, he can make her sick. If we insist on having fish, he might dare to let the bride die in the sedan chair and bring bad luck to our Wu family."
This matter is too horrible to say out loud, but given Ye Dalin's personality, who knows whether he can do it.
What is even more troublesome for Wu Chengjian is that once it comes to this point, the relationship between the Wu and Ye families will be completely broken. If Wu Ye collapses, the existing relationship with the Pan family will no longer be able to maintain.
Half a month ago, the Ye family could not afford this collapse . But times have changed, and now it is the Wu family that cannot afford this collapse.
Zhou Yijin lowered his head and pondered for a while, then sighed, "That confidante who was infatuated with you, I'm afraid... she's going to have a bad ending."
If Wu Chengjian agreed to let the sisters marry, Ye Youyu would have a hard time in the Ye family. But if Wu Chengjian didn't agree, Ye Youyu's life would be in danger at any moment, so Zhou Yijin said that she would have a bad ending.
"Who is madly in love with me?" Wu Chengjian said: "That little girl must be full of calculations. She is madly in love with me? I don't believe it! But..."
Wu Chengjian paused and said, "I think it will be inconvenient for me these two days. Please find a way to help me take care of her."
Zhou Yijin smiled and said, "You are just tough on the outside, but you are soft-hearted in the end."
"Who's being tough? Who's being soft-hearted?" Wu Chengjian smacked his lips and said, "I just think that although this little girl has a lot of ideas, her life story is actually quite pitiful. With such a pair of biological father and mother, some of the sins she suffers are not what she deserves. It's not worth it for me to ruin the current situation for her, but if I can help her a little, I'll help her a little."
After all, Ye Youyu is not Tanka Sanniang after all, and her importance in his heart at the moment is just this.
