Chapter Ninety-Five Apology
According to her idea, she absolutely wants a low-key life. So yesterday she asked Master Yun and others not to spread the word about this matter. But with many mouths talking, yesterday she went into the house to carve again in full view of everyone, and it's almost impossible to keep this matter hidden now. Continuing to deny it would be meaningless. In the end, the Ye family would give people an impression of being dishonest, which is not good.
"Never mind, yesterday's matter. If someone asks you, just answer them the way you answered your uncle." Ye Zhuo said with some distress.
"I see what you mean," Ye Yuqi nodded. Looking at his granddaughter's beautiful little face with furrowed brows, he was even more delighted. Others were worried about not being able to make a name for themselves; but his granddaughter was worried about how to hide her true abilities. After the death of his grandson, to have such a capable and clever, filial granddaughter was truly heaven's blessing on the Ye family!
I don't know if the greedy younger brother of the second house is now regretful to the point of having a stomachache. Whenever Ye Yuxi thought of this, he couldn't help but curl up the corners of his mouth.
"Yu'er, we were worried about not having enough silver to buy a house just the day before yesterday, but who knew that yesterday we got several hundred taels of silver and also got a small courtyard. However, that courtyard is too far from here, so let's not go live there. I think we should just buy that courtyard in Qingyun Alley instead." Guan Shi said suddenly.
After saying this, she looked at Zheng with a scolding gaze: "Manwen, it's not that I'm blaming you, but living here with us is not only good company for you, but also reassuring for everyone. Even if we were to buy you a separate house and add a few servants, it still wouldn't be as reassuring as living with your own family."
Zheng had been staying in the main house for the past two days, and she felt a strong sense of family affection that she hadn't experienced even when living with her own family. Guan's and Zhao's thoughtful care and attention moved her deeply. Most importantly, by staying here, she could see her daughter every day, which was something she couldn't resist. So if Ye Yuzhang hadn't come today, she might have still been hesitant. But at this moment, her attitude was unusually firm: "Since the courtyard Mother mentioned is in Qingyun Alley, it's just a few steps away from here. Even if I move out, I'll still come back often to visit you all. It's not much different from living together."
Mr. Guan saw that Mr. Zheng's mind was made up, so he could only sigh and say, "Since you're determined to do this, let's go take a look at the house now. If someone beats us to it and buys it first, that would be troublesome."
"Let's go." Yezhuo stood up.
"Alright, take a look." Zheng said with a smile, "But don't worry about the money, Uncle and Aunt. I still have 300 taels of silver here, which was compensation from the second house when they drove me out. During my stay in the Zheng family, I never mentioned this money to them. Originally, that day when Fang Jing had an accident, I wanted to take it out, but before I could say anything, something happened."
Although Gu was straightforward, she wasn't someone who spoke without reserve. Although in her heart she was glad that Zheng didn't take out the money to help those people from the Zheng family whom she looked down on, these words were something she would never say out loud. She only said: "You can keep this money for your body. And don't be polite with Uncle and Aunt either. The few hundred taels of silver earned yesterday weren't ours, but rather Zhu'er's. If it wasn't for her yesterday, our whole family would have been sleeping on the streets last night, watching the world's coldness and warmth. Where would we have the heart to sit together eating and chatting like this? Your Uncle and Aunt aren't greedy people who don't know how to be grateful. Those few hundred taels of silver and the house are all Zhu'er's private property. The house, she doesn't want to manage it herself, so she handed it over to us to rent out; the silver is just right for buying a house for you. If you don't want this money, then look at whether your daughter agrees or not."
"Your aunt is right, it should be done this way." Ye Yuqi also said on the side.
Yue Zhuo leaned in close to Zheng Shi's side: "Mother, just agree. Your daughter is capable and will only earn more money later on, so don't bother pushing away these few hundred taels of silver. If you want to continue living at your brother's house, I won't give you the money; but now that you want to buy a house, it's naturally for your own use. As for the three hundred taels of silver that belong to you, keep them yourself. Having money in hand makes one feel secure, and even one's courage is different."
"Whatever Tuer says is reasonable, it's settled then." Guan Shi said with a direct nod.
Zheng's heart was moved. This is where the first and second houses, Liu's family are completely different. If it were the second house, not to mention taking out a few hundred taels of silver to buy you a house, it would be good if they didn't count the three hundred taels as yours.
It was settled that they would go to look at the house. Luo Jing Sheng left, and there were no jade carvers in the workshop, even if the door was open; moreover, at this time, the workshops must have been discussing yesterday's events everywhere, and if they went to Yi Ren Street, they would inevitably be caught and questioned. Therefore, Ye Yuqi did not plan to go to the workshop today and prepared to follow them to look at the house.
He told Zhao and Qiuju to stay at home and watch the door. Ye Yuqi, Lao Er and Zheng's mother and daughter were just about to go out, and as soon as they opened the courtyard gate, they saw Zheng Pengju, Liu and Zheng Fangjing standing at the door, with Zheng Pengju about to raise his hand to knock on the door. Seeing the door suddenly open, he seemed to be startled, but quickly put a smile on his face, calling out: "Uncle, Auntie." Then, seeing Zheng following behind him, his face slightly awkward, he called out: "Sister."
Zheng's smiling face suddenly fell, and he looked at Zheng Pengju with a faint gaze, without saying a word.
"After all, this is Zheng's maternal family, Ye Yiqi and Guan Shi are not satisfied with them, but they can't show it on their faces. 'How did you come? Come, sit in the hall.' After finishing speaking, he turned back to the hall again."
That day, her brother's attitude was like a thorn stuck in Zheng's heart. She didn't follow him into the hall, but instead told Ye Zhuo, who was supporting her: "I'm going back to my room." Then she turned around and left.
Ye Zhuo naturally wouldn't advise Zheng Shi to forgive Zheng Pengju. She stood in the courtyard for a moment, deciding not to enter the hall, but instead returned directly to her own room. She believed that with Guan Shi's temper, she would definitely help Zheng Shi vent her anger and wouldn't let her uncle's family off so easily.
But before she had reached her door, Qiuyue came over and called out: "Miss, the old master is calling for you."
"What did you call me over for?" Ye Zhuo asked.
They went into the hall, and no one in the family sat down. They stood there apologizing to Grandfather and Grandmother. Auntie first explained that she hadn't meant it that day, and Mother had misunderstood her; then she admitted her mistake, saying she shouldn't have lost her temper with Mother, and wanted to apologize to Mother. Then Uncle said he would take Mother home. Since Grandfather didn't want to make the decision for Mother, he asked me and Qiuju to come and call you and Mother.
"Let's go." Ye Zhuo turned around and walked out the door, but didn't rush to the hall. Instead, he stood at the entrance waiting for Zheng Shi. After all, it was Ye Yuqi and Guan Shi who had invited them, so even if Zheng Shi was still angry with Zheng Pengju, she wouldn't ignore the two elders and not go to the hall.
As expected, Zheng Shi soon arrived, followed by Qiu Ju. Ye Zhuo went to greet her and took Zheng Shi's arm: "Mother, I heard that Aunt wants to apologize to you, Uncle said he would take you back home."
Zheng's face was originally stern, but upon hearing this, she couldn't help but laugh: "If you have something to say, just say it straight out. Who taught you to beat around the bush and probe for information about your mother?"
"Hehe, does anyone care about you?" Ye Zhuo said with a smile.
"I won't go back with them. I know your aunt's temperament and your uncle's difficulties. Since they came to apologize, I'll give them some face. But from now on, we won't live together again, even if I have money, I won't give them a single penny. Let's just keep our distance in the future."
Ye Zhuo nodded, feeling relieved. She was afraid that Zheng Shi would encounter changes in love and family relationships, which would affect her personality, making her either more sentimental or more biased. But now, after hearing Zheng Shi's words, she knew that her worries were unnecessary.
At this time, the two had already walked to the entrance of the hall. Ye Zhuo released Zheng Shi's arm, slowed down his pace, and followed behind Zheng Shi into the hall.
"Sister." Zheng Peng raised his family and saw Zheng Shi and Ye Zhuo enter, they all stood up.
Zheng didn't pay attention to him and instead bowed respectfully towards Ye Yuqi and Guan who were sitting in the main seats: "Uncle, Auntie, Manwen has arrived."
"Come, sit down, let's talk." Guan stood up, warmly pulled her hand and had her sit at the lower seat.
Zheng Pengju saw that Zheng Shi was ignoring him and stood there feeling quite embarrassed. At this time, seeing Zheng Shi sit down, he gave Liu Shi a wink.
"Sister, I'm sorry. That day was my fault. I shouldn't have spoken like that and I shouldn't have gotten angry with you. You've always been magnanimous, so please forgive me." Liu got up and walked to Zheng's front, then bowed down.
As the saying goes, there is no greater sorrow than a dead heart. If Zheng's heart wasn't completely chilled, she might have cried and scolded at this time, and her relationship with her brother's family would have returned to what it was before. But that day, whether it was Liu or Zheng Pengju, Zheng Fangjing and others' actions had all chilled her heart, so at this time she wasn't very angry, but just stood up, avoided Liu's courtesy, and said lightly: "Sister-in-law doesn't need to say anything about apologizing or not. The matter is over. Sit down." After finishing speaking, she sat back down again on her own.
Liu and Zheng had been sisters-in-law for over a decade or two, so Liu was well aware of Zheng's temperament. With Zheng looking like this, it seemed she had no intention of forgiving her again. She raised her handkerchief to wipe away tears and began sobbing: "Sister, are you determined not to forgive me? Don't you know my temper? What I said that day were just thoughtless words. Otherwise, I'll kneel down for you." As she spoke, she was about to kneel down on the ground.
"Aunt, what are you doing? My mother said to let things go, but you won't give up. What do you want to do?" Ye Zhuo stepped forward in time to stop Liu Shi.
(Thank you for preparing them!! Six new year red envelopes as rewards, thank you...... I'm a fan of Nang Nang Tou's pink ticket!)