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Ye Caiping raised her eyebrows.
With this rescue from the water, there was now a physical connection!
This incident made Ye Caiping and Ye Jin’er lose the mood to wash clothes, and they hurried to follow Ye Yong back to the house.
Zhuzi’s wife and two boys closely followed behind.
Upon arriving home, Ye Yong went to change clothes in the house.
Ye Caiping and the others entered the main room, closed the door, and shared what had happened by the river with Yan Fang, Old Man Ye, and Du Shi.
“What did you say?” Du Shi’s eyes widened in shock, “This, this…”
Zhuzi’s wife laughed and said, “Hey, your Yong’er and Xiuxiu have had a close encounter, haven’t they?”
Yan Fang felt a bit happy upon hearing this. Although the incident was somewhat inappropriate, it did provide a solution for Ye Yong’s marriage issue.
Moreover, this girl was Hu Xiuxiu, who already had mutual feelings with Ye Yong.
Wasn’t this a case of joy upon joy?
Du Shi raised her eyebrows, feeling somewhat complicated inside.
Although their family couldn’t afford the 20 taels of betrothal gifts, they could still gather some money to the best of their ability.
If they arranged the marriage this year, after a year or so, when the family’s crops grew, plus the fact that their mother-in-law had a job, they could gather about seven or eight taels, which was already higher than the average for girls.
“Yong’er’s mother, are you home?” Outside, they heard Tie Niu’s wife calling, “Xiuxiu’s mother has come.”
Du Shi was delighted and quickly opened the door, “She’s home, she’s home, please come in.”
Tie Niu’s wife and Xiuxiu’s mother walked into the main room together.
Yan Fang smiled and said, “Xiuxiu’s mother, please have a seat. Caiping, go get some tea and water.”
“No need,” Xiuxiu’s mother smiled stiffly, “I’m here today to thank Ye Yong for saving our Xiuxiu.”
Du Shi laughed, “Oh, Yong’er is still changing clothes, I’ll go call him.”
“No need, sister-in-law, it’s the same if you thank us. Besides expressing thanks, I also hope everyone will promise me that no one will talk about what happened by the river today.”
Everyone was taken aback. Du Shi furrowed her brows slightly, “Of course. This… everyone understands. Otherwise, it wouldn’t be honorable when they get married.”
“Get married?” Xiuxiu’s mother’s voice rose, her smile strained, “What, do you have 20 taels?”
Du Shi and Yan Fang, along with the others, were all stunned. Du Shi’s face turned pale:
“Xiuxiu’s mother, what do you mean? 20 taels… our family naturally doesn’t have it.”
“Of course, we wouldn’t take advantage. Our family wouldn’t take advantage either. We don’t have the 20 taels for the betrothal gift, but everything else that other girls should have, we won’t be lacking, we definitely won’t wrong Xiuxiu.”
Xiuxiu’s mother was firm, “No, our Xiuxiu is a golden hen who guarantees a son. Without 20 taels, our Xiuxiu will never marry!”
“My Yong’er saved Xiuxiu, and they had a physical encounter, seen by so many people. How could your Xiuxiu get married? We are taking responsibility for her.”
“Responsibility? I see that you want to take advantage! You poor devils without 20 taels want to marry my Xiuxiu?”
Du Shi, Yan Fang, and the others were all dumbfounded by Xiuxiu’s mother.
Tie Niu’s wife and Zhuzi’s wife were speechless, and Ye Xing and Ye Wang, the two boys, turned pale.
“What, why are you suddenly mute? You want to force a marriage by ruining a girl’s reputation? This is not playing fair, you’re bullying us orphans and widows!”
Xiuxiu’s mother cried as she scolded, her voice sharp and hoarse.
“Auntie, stop arguing, we don’t have 20 taels, and we won’t marry Xiuxiu, okay!” At this moment, Ye Yong pushed the door open and entered.
Xiuxiu’s mother glared at him, “Good, that’s what you said. No one is allowed to talk about what happened by the river today.”
“Don’t worry, I’d rather die than tell anyone,” Ye Yong said coldly.
“And you all,” Xiuxiu’s mother looked around at everyone present.
Du Shi was also furious, “I don’t want a relative like you, I definitely won’t say anything.”
“Words are empty. Swear, all of you, swear to me, whoever talks about Hu Xiuxiu falling into the water and being rescued by Ye Yong will be struck by lightning, covered in boils and die.”
As soon as these words were uttered, Yan Fang, Du Shi, and the others all gasped.
Tie Niu’s wife and Zhuzi’s wife were utterly dumbfounded. They were just washing clothes, and they encountered this mess!
Ye Xing and Ye Wang, brothers who are still young, were so frightened they were about to cry.
Xiuxiu’s mother urged anxiously, “Aren’t you going to swear?! Hurry!”
Old Man Ye trembled with anger, about to speak, when Ye Caiping stepped forward and sneered:
“I won’t swear, what are you going to do about it?”
“You—”
“Not only will I not swear, but I will also spread the word to everyone I see, saying that Hu Xiuxiu fell into the water yesterday and was rescued by Ye Yong!”
“You, you dare!” Xiuxiu’s mother was enraged, her blood surging. If this got out, how could Xiuxiu ever marry?
“Why wouldn’t I dare?” Ye Caiping scoffed. “I’d like to ask you, did we owe you money? To be forced to make such a poisonous oath?”
“Or are you planning to give us a few taels of silver as hush money?”
Xiuxiu’s mother exploded: “Nonsense, why would I give you hush money!”
“Then why should we keep quiet for you?”
“It’s, it’s Ye Yong who promised himself, saying he’d rather die than tell anyone. And Daquan’s wife also agreed!”
“They are them, we are us.” Ye Caiping sneered, then spread her hands, “You need to understand your situation.”
“It’s not about raising your voice and bullying that makes you right! What right do you have to coerce us? On the contrary, your Xiuxiu falling into the water is the biggest leverage, and we hold it in our hands! Now, you need us, not us needing you.”
Xiuxiu’s mother’s face changed drastically.
Actually, she knew deep down that she was in a weak position, but in her rage, she couldn’t control herself from lashing out!
Furthermore, she subconsciously believed Ye Yong was dull and easy to manipulate, Du Shi was stubborn, Yan Fang was weak, Old Man Ye was intelligent but somewhat aloof, and Tie Niu’s wife and the other woman were simply simpletons.
She thought that by taking the initiative and intimidating them, she could control them.
Unexpectedly, she had overlooked Ye Caiping, this unpredictable variable!
Truly worthy of being the fierce woman who dared to break her mother-in-law’s leg – sharp-tongued and mean-spirited, her reputation was well-deserved!
Xiuxiu’s mother’s eyes flickered, and she gritted her teeth, “Then what do you want?”
“An apology!” Ye Caiping said sternly.
“Yes, an apology! We didn’t eat your food, we don’t owe you anything,” Tie Niu’s wife stepped forward assertively.
She had felt something was wrong just now. They hadn’t done anything, so why were they suddenly being asked to swear an oath?
Now, after Ye Caiping’s explanation, it became clear.
They had been confused and overwhelmed by Xiuxiu’s mother’s unreasonable demands.
Xiuxiu’s mother was furious, her liver aching. She looked at Ye Yong, “Ye Yong, are you just going to watch your aunt being bullied like this? You claim to care about my Xiuxiu!”
Ye Yong frowned, “Auntie, if it were just me, for Xiuxiu’s sake, even if you beat me, I would take it. But my mother, my grandparents, my younger aunt, and the two aunties, they have no obligation to suffer injustice for me.”
“My attitude, I’ve already made it clear. Even if I die, I won’t talk about yesterday’s events. But my younger aunt and the others, I can’t control them.”
“You—”
“Will you apologize or not? Oh, it doesn’t matter if you don’t. I don’t have any good qualities, but I’m loud-mouthed, and I’ll gossip to anyone I meet.” Ye Caiping smiled.
Xiuxiu’s mother was dizzy with anger.
This time, she truly understood her situation.
Thinking this, she took a deep breath and reluctantly said:
“Caiping… and the other sisters-in-law, about this incident… it’s because I was too worried, after all, this is Xiuxiu’s lifelong matter, so I was a little hasty and said the wrong things. Please forgive me.”
“Please… about Xiuxiu’s matter, please don’t tell anyone…”
Tie Niu’s wife and Zhuzi’s wife snorted, signifying their agreement.
Old Man Ye said in a deep voice, “Since your family doesn’t have the intention of marrying her off, then let’s just forget about it. Although our family is poor, we wouldn’t do such an immoral thing.”
Xiuxiu’s mother breathed a sigh of relief and looked at Ye Caiping.
Ye Caiping sneered, “Don’t get too comfortable. Whether this secret can be kept depends on your sincerity, so pray to the gods more, and hope that we don’t slip up.”
Xiuxiu’s mother was once again filled with anger, but she had no choice. She turned around and fled in disgrace.