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墨書 Inktalez
"As long as Miss Ye agrees, I, Liu, am willing to marry her as a concubine and will not treat her poorly. The marriage gifts and dowry will all be provided by my family; Miss Ye only needs to wait for the wedding in peace." Liu Yuan presented the most tempting offer first.
It is important to understand that one of the main reasons women in ancient times chose to remain widows rather than remarry was the disdain that feudal society held for divorced women. Many men, even if they liked a woman, feared public opinion and were reluctant to take her as their wife openly.
For someone like Liu Yuan, who was willing to marry Ye Xiaohan, a woman who had been cast aside, as a concubine was quite a remarkable occurrence in the local area, giving Ye Xiaohan considerable face.
Liu Yuan glanced at the calm-faced Ye Xiaohan and continued, "Once Miss Ye enters my household, I will allocate several of my best shops to you, which will be recorded under your name as your private property. You can manage them freely. I have already witnessed your intelligence and capability during this time; it would be a waste to continue in this manner."
One had to admit that Liu Yuan's conditions were quite persuasive. For an ordinary woman, it would likely bring tears of gratitude. Even Ye Xiaohan felt a moment of temptation.
While she was not interested in the previous offer, the prospect of receiving unconditional support, especially at a time when she felt isolated and helpless, was undeniably appealing.
However, Ye Xiaohan rationally declined, saying, "Thank you for your kindness, Liu Gongzi, but I am unworthy of such generosity. Please retract your offer."
Although Liu Yuan appeared cheerful on the surface, there was an underlying sharpness to his actions, like a breeze carrying a hidden blade that could cut if one wasn't careful.
A gentleman does not stand beneath a dangerous wall; she was no fool. There is no such thing as free lunch; equal exchange is an eternal truth. She had no desire to engage in an arrangement where she did not know what price she might have to pay in the future.
Moreover, the family that had been cast aside belonged to the original owner of her body; she was still an innocent young lady! She neither wanted to be a second wife nor a concubine!
Ye Xiaohan's unyielding refusal left Liu Yuan momentarily stunned. In his view, the conditions he offered were already quite generous; how could any woman remain unmoved?
Liu Yuan's smile finally faltered as his expression darkened. "Miss Ye, do you need to reconsider? I am willing to give you more time."
"No need," Ye Xiaohan replied firmly. "My mind is made up and will not change."
Liu Yuan's demeanor turned grim. "What if I told you that if you refuse, your shop may not be able to continue operating?"
Ye Xiaohan stood up to take her leave. "If the shop cannot operate anymore, then it will close for good. If Liu Gongzi intends to use his status to pressure us common folk, there is nothing we can do about it. Please feel free."
She walked away without looking back.
Liu Yuan watched her leave with a dark expression. Once she was out of sight, he slammed his fan onto the ground in frustration. "Ye Xiaohan! You have some nerve. I'll show you the consequences of refusing my invitation!"
After leaving Liu Residence, Ye Xiaohan no longer felt justified; she had thoroughly offended Liu Yuan. It seemed that running her shop would be difficult from now on.
As she had expected, everywhere she went afterward, she was turned away at the door. Not only did she fail to secure custom orders for her boxes, but she also couldn't gather the second batch of raw materials.
Ye Xiaohan felt frustrated, her mood plummeting to rock bottom. After finally finding a place to settle down, she was pushed back just as she was starting to find her footing.
Returning home, she hoped to finish dinner quickly and rest early, planning to ask around in more distant places tomorrow—surely there were areas Liu Yuan couldn't reach.
However, the house was eerily quiet. Yang hadn't returned from school yet, and Bei was nowhere to be found. Usually, at this time, Bei would have prepared dinner and been waiting for them to come home, but today the kitchen was silent.
The weight of stress combined with fatigue and now hunger made Ye Xiaohan's mood sour; she felt a surge of anger with no outlet.
Just as she was about to head to her room and lie down on an empty stomach, Bei returned.
Seeing Bei made Ye Xiaohan's previously suppressed dissatisfaction bubble up uncontrollably. "Why are you back so late? You didn't even cook dinner! Can't you see the smoke rising from other people's chimneys?"
Normally, when Ye Xiaohan got angry, Bei would quickly apologize and try to smooth things over. But today, for some reason, Bei refused to back down. "If you're hungry, why don't you cook for yourself? This house isn't just mine; whoever gets home first does the chores. Are you really incapable of lifting a finger?"
"What kind of attitude is that?" Ye Xiaohan had only intended to complain a little; if Bei had softened up, she would have calmed down too. But instead of yielding, Bei stood firm against her. Ye Xiaohan's voice rose in frustration.
Bei matched her anger with defiance. "What attitude? You think you can bully me and expect me to stay silent? Dream on!"
With that, Bei tossed her hands in the air and stormed off to her room, slamming the door behind her.
Ye Xiaohan followed after her. "Don't walk away! You listen here! How have I bullied you? When have I ever bullied you? Bei, stop right there!"
The answer came from the door, which was forcefully shut but still trembling slightly in its frame.
"Sister-in-law, why are you standing in front of my brother's door?" Liu Yang's voice came from behind, peeking around the corner. "My brother is back; he isn't angry, is he?"
Ye Xiaohan snorted. "He has quite the temper. Who can stop him when he gets angry?"
Liu Yang quickly understood. "He came back angry? Did you two have a fight? Sister-in-law, you must forgive my brother this time; he must be really furious, or else he wouldn't dare to argue with you."
He pulled Ye Xiaohan aside, away from Liu Bei's room, so he wouldn't overhear them. Leaning in close to her ear, he whispered, "Someone dug up my father's grave! In the village, they want to dig up all our family graves and won't let them be buried here. My brother went to confront them, but those people are unreasonable. My brother even got into a fight because of it."
Upon hearing Liu Yang's words, Ye Xiaohan's earlier anger dissipated instantly, replaced by shock. "What? The village wants to dig up your family's graves! When did this happen? How come I didn't hear anything about it?"
Then she realized that she had been so busy with her shop that she hardly paid attention to anything else, allowing such a significant issue to slip past her notice.
Liu Yang continued to add fuel to the fire. "You've been so exhausted lately; my brother has noticed and feels terrible about it. He told us not to let anything slip in front of you and that he would handle this matter himself. But now that it's escalated this much, you'll find out sooner or later. It's better for me to tell you now than for you to hear it from someone else and end up having an unpleasant situation between you two."
Ye Xiaohan reflected on her feelings; her earlier frustration was mostly misplaced anger. Instead of acknowledging her inability to solve the problem, she had taken it out on others—something unbecoming of a respected physician.
Seeing her expression soften and no longer filled with anger, Liu Yang quickly seized the opportunity to bring them back together. "Sister-in-law, my brother is hurt! It really hurts! They took advantage of their numbers and surrounded him. If it weren't for my brother's strength, anyone else would have been knocked down already! Your medical skills are amazing; could you please give him some medicine?"
With Liu Yang providing an opening, Ye Xiaohan agreed. "Alright then, I'll go take a look at him. What about you? Did you get hurt?"
"No," Liu Yang replied proudly. "I dodged quickly; they couldn't catch me. Besides, if they ganged up on a kid like me, they'd just end up being laughed at by others—they wouldn't dare hit me."
Ye Xiaohan patted his head and praised him. "Very good! You’re both brave and clever; keep it up."
"Hehe." Liu Yang smiled shyly as he rubbed his head and urged Ye Xiaohan to reconcile with Liu Bei.
Ye Xiaohan returned to her room to find a bottle of medicine for swelling and bruising before heading towards Liu Bei's door. However, when she reached the entrance, she found herself unable to knock; her hand froze mid-air.
"Creek." Just as she hesitated, the door swung open, and 6 Bei was taken aback to see her standing there, a look of surprise on his face.
"Uh, I came to... to..." Ye Xiaohan stammered, unable to continue. Reflecting on her life, she realized that it was always others who apologized to her; it was rare for her to be the one apologizing.
6 Bei also looked surprised. "You came! I was just about to look for you." After a moment of shock, he snapped back to reality and stepped aside. "Come in and sit down; it's tiring to stand."
"Oh, oh, okay." Ye Xiaohan squeezed the bottle in her hand as she walked in and handed it to him. "This is for you. It's really good for bruises; just apply it every night after cleaning."
6 Bei accepted it silently. "You already knew?"
"Yeah." Ye Xiaohan betrayed her teammate without hesitation. "It was 6 Yang who told me; he just got back. Seriously, why would you hide such a big thing from me? We could have figured something out together; more heads are better than one."
6 Bei lowered his head. "You've been busy with the shop, coming and going early and late. I can't help at all, and now you have to worry about the 6 family too."
Seeing 6 Bei so lost was quite rare, indicating just how much the grave digging incident had affected him.
Ye Xiaohan quickly comforted him. "Don't worry; there will definitely be a way. Tell me what happened. Out of nowhere, who could hold such a grudge against us to do something so harmful?"
Having received a modern education, Ye Xiaohan wasn't particularly attached to burial customs. However, she understood that for ancient people, being buried in the earth after death represented their final resting place.
Unless there was a deep-seated blood feud, it was uncommon for someone to commit such a vile act as digging up a grave.
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