Volume 2: Eagle vs. Dragon Chapter 51: It Really Became a Dowry
When Ye Youyu was "sick", the head of the family actually came to visit him in person. This was unprecedented in the Ye family, and Changzi even hid aside.
Ye Dalin walked into the room, without even glancing at Xu who was beside the bed, and said coldly to Ye Youyu: "Are you sick?"
Ye Youyu half-raised herself and said, "My daughter is ill and has been disrespectful to me. I troubled you to come here. Youyu is really guilty."
Ye Dalin snorted softly and said, "Then can I still get into the bridal sedan tonight?"
Ye Youyu said, "I heard from the servants that because Youyu is sick, didn't father decide to let my second sister marry in Youyu's place? Then let my second sister be the bride."
Ye Dalin asked, "Who told you this nonsense?"
Ye Youyu said, "It was Old Zhu, the gatekeeper of Chenglu Garden, and the old woman who looked after my mother when she was staying in the Goose House to recuperate."
Ye Dalin said, "Nonsense!" Then he said to Ye Duofu, "Drag those two dogs into the yard and punish them!"
Ye Duofu thought to himself, "These two guys are unlucky." But he didn't say a word, and had them dragged in, a man and a woman, and started beating them in the yard. Ye Dalin was not in a hurry, so he sat on a chair in the house and waited for the screams of Old Zhu and the woman to come in, then he said, "Are they feeling better now?"
Ye Youyu said: "Thank you, father. I don't know why, but I suddenly feel better now."
Ye Dalin said, "Now that you are feeling better, get up and dress up so as not to miss the auspicious time."
Ye Youyu said: "Although I feel better, it's just..."
Ye Dalin asked: "Just what?"
Ye Youyu said, "When my daughter thinks about marrying into the Wu family, where she is unfamiliar with the place, she feels panic and fear."
Ye Dalin said, "I'll ask you to bring a few people with you. Take all the maids and servants you served in Yingyang Garden with you."
Ye Youyu said, "These people can't accomplish anything. What about the shopkeepers who want to join the Wu family? Can I let my daughter meet them too?"
Ye Dalin suddenly became alert and asked, "What do you want to do?"
Ye Youyu said, "It's still half a day before we get on the bridal sedan. Father, can you ask the shopkeepers to come over and let your daughter recognize the people?"
Ye Dalin stood up suddenly and shouted angrily: "Little girl! Don't push your luck!"
Ye Youyu asked, "Mom, can you let me talk to Dad alone?"
Xu had been feeling uneasy because of the atmosphere in the room, so she got up and left upon hearing this.
Ye Duofu finally understood what was going on and went out as well.
Ye Dalin: "What exactly are you going to do?"
Ye Youyu stopped pretending to be sick and sat up. She got off the bed, knelt down, and said, "Father, I want to ask you something."
Ye Dalin said, "What do you want to ask? Tell me."
Ye Youyu said, "Father, my daughter is about to get married. It is said that a daughter who is married off is like spilled water. But even so, which daughter's family does not have roots in her natal family? No matter how bad my family background is, after all, my surname is Ye. Now I am going to marry into the Wu family and become the third young lady of the Wu family. I won't talk about my future, but I want to ask you, father, do you hope that the third young lady of the Wu family is your daughter or your enemy?"
Ye Dalin didn't like Ye Youyu's attitude because he was not used to it. However, he was a business tycoon who had been able to gain a foothold in the Thirteenth Bank for decades. Even when he was unhappy, he could still maintain a calm analytical ability. Ye Youyu put aside family affection and talked directly about the benefits, which made him change his mind.
Ye Youyu continued, "Father, I know you may be better to my second sister, but I don't care about that. If you are willing, I can let go of what Madam did to me in the past two days. I am not such a narrow-minded person. I only ask for one thing: After I get married, you can treat my mother well. If so, I will definitely treat my brothers as my own brothers in the future. As for father, as long as I can, I will help the Ye family with the Wu family's affairs. As for the Ye family, no matter what, it will still be my daughter's long-term support in the future. Father, don't you agree?"
At this point, she prostrated herself on the ground and called out, "Father."
When Ye Dalin heard this, his mind started to work quickly and he immediately figured out the pros and cons.
He is a ungrateful and heartless person, but he can distinguish between good and evil and keep accounts clearly.
Indeed, what Ye Youyu said made sense. Now that she was about to get married, what good would it do for him to become an enemy with his daughter? On the contrary, if he gave her a decent gift before she got married, it would help to resolve some old grudges and make it easier for them to meet in the future. It was just a small favor, but there would be many benefits in the future. As for taking good care of Xu after Ye Youyu got married, it would be even simpler. He would let Xu live in Yingyang Garden and arrange two more maids to serve her, so that his wife would not have to contact Xu often in the future. How much are these things worth?
Thinking of this, Ye Dalin nodded. If it were someone else, they might not be able to bring themselves to do it for a while, but Ye Dalin had this ability. He could turn hostile in an instant, and he could turn from a rage to a genial expression in the blink of an eye. He actually sat down and said, "Okay, you can marry her without worry. I will still let her live in Yingyang Garden. You can arrange the maids and servants to take care of her."
Ye Youyu was overjoyed and kowtowed nine times on the ground.
Ye Dalin suddenly had an idea and thought, "Although this girl often does things out of line, she is forced to do so. She rarely does things that go against my will." As soon as he thought of this, he thought of more. He said, "Since you want to meet those shopkeepers, I will let you meet them. After all, this is also your dowry."
Ye Youyu said happily: "Yes. Thank you, Dad!"
After Ye Dalin left, Xu came in. Seeing Ye Dalin's happy expression when he left, she felt relieved, but she was also curious and asked, "Daughter, what did you say to your father?"
"Nothing, just talk some sense to him."
Ye Dalin would "reason"? Xu Shi didn't believe it at all, but she heard Ye Youyu say: "Mother, come and help me comb my hair, tonight... my daughter is going to get married..."
Xu came forward, looked at her beautiful face in the mirror, and suddenly tears started flowing again. A few hours ago, she was still sad because her daughter was deprived of her marriage. Now her daughter had used some means to reverse the situation, but when she thought about the fact that after tonight, she would go to the shrewd and powerful Hao Guan and to the Wu family, a family with deep and deep business, she was worried, afraid, and reluctant, and she couldn't stop crying.
Seeing her mother crying, Ye Youyu couldn't help crying too, and said, "Mom, mom, what's wrong with you? Today is your daughter's big day, and she's marrying the man I've been thinking about for many years. Why are you crying?"
Xu cried, "I...I..." She had all kinds of worries in her heart, and she blamed herself for not being able to give her daughter a good future. However, she thought that things could not be changed, and there was no point in talking about unknown troubles. And for Ye Youyu, this might be the best destination...
She immediately wiped away her tears and picked up the comb.
On this day, Ye Dalin not only rearranged Ye Youyu to be the bride for tonight's wedding, but also asked the shopkeepers who were responsible for managing the properties that served as dowry to come and meet Ye Youyu.
In the main house of Ye Garden, seven or eight shopkeepers stood by. Ye Dalin pointed at Ye Youyu, who was dressed in fancy clothes, and said, "This is the third girl. Most of you have never seen her. Now she is getting married. You are all old friends who have accompanied me, Ye Dalin, to conquer the world. I think you should come and meet her."
Ye Youyu stood up, bowed to the shopkeepers, and said, "Hello, uncles."
The shopkeepers knew what it meant as soon as they heard it. The one in front of them was the third young lady at the moment. After tonight, she would be the third young lady of the Wu family. They were a little nervous about going to the Wu family, but when they thought about the third young lady in front of them becoming Hao Guan's bedmate, it was like a reassurance. They all returned the greetings and said, "Hello, third young lady."
Here, Ye Dalin and Ye Youyu were meeting with the shopkeepers. At the same time, the news also reached the room, making Ma so angry that she almost smashed everything that could be smashed in the room.
Cui Ping advised from the side: "Madam, Madam... why are you doing this?"
"What do you know, what do you know!" Ma picked up an antique Ming Dynasty bowl and smashed it to pieces: "Now... it really has become the dowry... it has become the dowry of this little bitch!"
That night, when Ye Youyu was about to get married, according to etiquette, she should come to pay her respects to her parents. Xu was the concubine, so she should come to pay her respects to Ye Dalin and Ma. Xu could only stand by.
Unexpectedly, Ma was angry with Ye Dalin and stayed in the room and refused to come out. Ye Dalin was so angry that he pulled Xu to sit next to him.
Xu was flattered and felt very uncomfortable sitting next to Ye Dalin. However, Ye Youyu was overjoyed and quickly bowed to his parents.
On this night before the Chinese New Year, firecrackers suddenly rang out on both sides of the Pearl River.
The crackling sound was like that of gunfire, rang from Xiguan Street to Baietan, and from Baietan to Henan Island. The road from Yejiayuan to Panjiayuan was even brighter than day.
Fireworks bloomed on both sides of the Pearl River, making the night sky extremely gorgeous, and half of Guangzhou was like a festival. Especially over the sky of Shenxianzhou, the fireworks were launched one after another, and at the most frequent time, three flowers were set off at the same time, making Shenxianzhou as bright as day in an instant, attracting thousands of spectators to cheer in unison.
Tan Sanniang stared at the fireworks on the Huachai for a long time in a daze.
Bi He beside her couldn't help but advised: "Girl, don't look at it, there's nothing to see."
Tan Sanniang slowly lowered her head, turned and went into the cabin.
The sound of firecrackers not only resounded in Xiguan and Henan, but even reached the city of Guangzhou.
Zhu Gui, who was reading, put down the book in his hand and asked, "What is that sound?"
Zhu Qing, the long-servant, came in and said, "It's the wedding of the Wu and Ye families of Baoshang. People in Xiguan and Henan are setting off firecrackers and fireworks. I heard that half of the people in the provincial capital prepared stools early in the morning. Some went out of the city, some climbed up the wall, and went to listen to the firecrackers and watch the fireworks. It was more lively than the New Year's Day."
Zhu Gui was silent for a long while, neither upset nor angry, but he let out a long sigh and shook his head, saying, "The world is no longer the same as it used to be, and people's hearts are no longer the same!" He slammed the scroll heavily on the stool.
