Ye Zhinan's gaze fell on Zhao Qingfeng. She pursed her lips, lowered her eyes, and remained silent for a long while.
She didn't want to overthink, but the situation before her clearly told her that today's event was a "Hongmen Banquet"—a treacherous trap.
And the person who invited her here was none other than Zhao Qingfeng.
"Don't just keep quiet. Judging from what my elder brother brought back yesterday, it's obvious that your family still has some wealth. You're not short of money. So, let's settle the accounts properly."
Zhao Qingyuan was determined to get what he wanted. He even closed the main gate.
Ye Zhinan glanced around at the people in the yard and realized that Ye's elderly couple wasn't at home.
When the cat's away, the mice will play.
It seemed that this wasn't just a "Hongmen Banquet" but some shady scheme.
"If I tell Master Ye about what you've done, do you think he'll let you off?"
She stood in the middle of the yard, her gaze scrutinizing everyone's faces.
She wasn't completely disheartened, but she knew that Zhao Qingfeng was someone not worthy of her trust.
"The accounts you made aren't clear enough. Since you want to start all over again, then return all the things I gave your family yesterday."
She crossed her arms, relying on Ye Yingfeng's support behind her, and spoke with a bit more confidence.
Zhao Qingyuan's eyes flickered, and his hands rubbed back and forth on his knees, clearly showing his guilt.
As soon as Ye Zhinan entered, she noticed that the egg basket she gave yesterday was almost half - empty today.
They were probably eaten.
It would be no easy feat to get them back in the same state.
"That was your way of repaying a favor to our family. There's no way you can take it back."
Ye Zhinan sneered. Her words were for Zhao Qingyuan, but her eyes were fixed on Zhao Qingfeng not far away.
"They say the elder brother is like a father. It probably isn't your turn to speak in your family, is it?"
Zhao Qingyuan opened his mouth, not knowing what to say. Flushing with embarrassment, he looked at Ye Yingfeng beside him.
Ye Yingfeng knew what he was up to and quickly waved his hand, a sneer on his face.
"In our family, she has the final say. I'm just a martial man with brute strength. I'll only step in if a fight breaks out."
He drew out the dagger from his waist and played with it in his hand.
Ye Zhinan watched the familiar gesture and felt secretly delighted.
Sure enough, the little tricks her elder brother taught her could intimidate others anytime, anywhere.
"I think we'd better call it off. Our families have been on good terms for generations. There's no need to fall out over this."
Ye Yingfeng wasn't fooled. The smile in his eyes deepened.
"Now you want to play the good guy. Why didn't you say anything just now?"
Zhao Qingyuan was frustrated with his elder brother. He pulled him to a corner and scolded him severely.
"I think you're really confused. Your marriage with the daughter of the magistrate of Qinghui County has been arranged. Why are you still thinking about her? If the magistrate blames us, our whole family will be in big trouble."
Zhao Qingfeng frowned slightly, and his eyes drifted towards Ye Zhinan from time to time.
She stood not far away and vaguely heard their conversation.
She admitted that Zhao Qingfeng was an excellent man.
Whether it was his past achievements or the times he helped her, they all proved his upbringing.
She had also thought in the dead of night that if she were really going to marry him, would she accept it?
Her answer was always yes.
In her eyes, marriage was just finding a reliable support, and Zhao Qingfeng was indeed a good tree to lean on.
Ye Zhinan's eyes darkened. She stood still and quietly watched Zhao Qingfeng walking towards her.
He handed the bill to Ye Zhinan and hesitated before speaking.
"Go back and take a look. Although my younger brother is sharp - tongued, he's honest. He would never deceive you."
Ye Zhinan nodded, calmly took the bill, and turned to leave.
"And the greenhouse technology!"
A sneer curled up on her lips. She turned to look at the two brothers in front of her.
"He knows how to build it. Besides, mixing wax oil and tung oil can achieve the effect."
Ye Yingfeng was as anxious as an ant on a hot pan. He reached out to cover Ye Zhinan's mouth, but it was too late.
As soon as they stepped out of the door, Ye Yingfeng's face darkened.
She stepped forward, affectionately hooked his arm, and coquettishly pleaded.
"Don't worry. I only told him to mix the two kinds of oil, but I didn't tell them the ratio. Gather the things quickly and give them to them to completely shut the Zhao family up."
She didn't feel sad but rather relieved.
Zhao Qingfeng was like a bamboo. It looked strong on the outside, but it was actually hollow inside.
In the face of major issues in the future, he might not really side with her.
It was worth it to see a person's true colors with some worthless things.
Ye Yingfeng stormed back home. As soon as he sat down, he told the whole story in detail.
Han Xiangmei slammed the kitchen knife on the chopping board, scaring everyone in the family.
"The Zhao family is really money - hungry. So what if she's the magistrate's daughter? If he marries into their family, he'll still be like a son - in - law."
Ye Shenyan pulled her to sit down and patted her on the back to calm her down.
"I'm sure Mrs. Zhao was just casually mentioning the marriage. Only you were naive enough to take it seriously. Without the three letters and six etiquettes or an engagement token, how can this matter count?"
He took a sip of tea and looked at Ye Zhinan beside him.
The daughter he had raised for more than a decade, whom he had held in the palm of his hand like a precious pearl, must not be humiliated.
"Fortunately, this matter hasn't been made public. Only our two families know about it. Zhao Yongyu is a slippery person, always changing his stance according to the situation. The magistrate's family is not easy to deal with. They'll have a hard time in the future."
Han Xiangmei wiped the tears from her face and suddenly snatched the bill.
"Even if I empty our family's savings, I'll settle their accounts."
As she said this, she was about to stand up to look for her private money, but was immediately stopped by Ye Zhinan.
Ye Zhinan watched as her whole family thought about her, and her heart was filled with warmth. Besides, she felt an indescribable sense of guilt.
She took Han Xiangmei's hand and took out three taels of silver from her bosom.
It was exactly what Qin Yihuai gave her.
"Inspector Qin swindled dozens of taels of silver from the magistrate and specifically gave me three taels as hush money. It's just right to make up for our family's deficit."
Ye Zhinan felt inexplicably guilty. Her little tricks might deceive her mother and elder brother, but in Ye Shenyan's eyes, they were nothing.
But this time, Ye Shenyan was unusually calm. He didn't expose her but just nodded thoughtfully.
"We shouldn't have taken this silver, but since we're in trouble now, we should solve the immediate problem first. We'll just consider it a loan and pay it back in full later."
Han Xiangmei wiped her tears and mumbled a lot of grievances.
She was too naive, thinking that the two families had a deep friendship. Even if it was just a verbal agreement, it should be binding.
She never expected that in the end, her daughter would be humiliated.
Ye Shenyan gave Ye Yingfeng a look, and he immediately helped Han Xiangmei up and coaxed her into the house.