BXBX NOVEL Chapter 484 - 484: Red Rod
Yang Yi walked to the door and turned to look at his old grandfather. The regret and bitterness in his heart gnawed at him. He returned to the house and lay on the bed. He looked at the roof with blank eyes and thought that once he returned home, his family would be in debt for no reason. He wished he could cut that bitch with a knife.
It wasn’t easy for him to last until his father and brother returned home. He almost cried when he saw them happily putting their wages and rewards on the table for her grandfather to see.
Old Yang glanced at his silent grandson and said to his son, “Brother Yi has something to tell you.”
Yang Yi did not dare to let his grandfather hear him. “Grandpa, I’ll accompany
Father to change his clothes first before telling him.”
Yang Yi followed Father Yang into the house and knelt in front of his father. He told him everything that had happened after he left.
After Father Yang heard Yang Yi’s words, he seemed to have been hit in the head and almost couldn’t stand still. He was stunned for a moment. He fumbled around and sat on the edge of the bed. He looked at his handsome son and thought to himself that the lecherous woman had made up her mind to marry Brother Yi. Even if the family raised the money, she wouldn’t let Brother Yi off. At that time, she would threaten them, saying that Brother Yi had barged into the inner residence. What should I do?
Father Yang looked at his son kneeling on the ground and had no choice. He reached out to help Yang Yi up. Mother Yang’s panicked shout sounded outside the house. “Father, come quickly…”
The father and son hurriedly ran out and saw Old Yang grabbing an old woman in the courtyard. His entire body was trembling. “Tell me clearly, why do you
want my Yi to marry into your family? You’ve already agreed…’
Yang Yi rushed up and shouted at the old woman, “Get lost. You’re not allowed to spout nonsense here.”
“Nonsense. It’s Shopkeeper Yang who doesn’t dare to say it!” The old woman glanced at Yang Yi and snorted. “As long as you agree to let him marry into the family, you don’t have to compensate me with money. If your grandson marries into the Country Lord Ning’s residence, it’ll be like jumping into a golden nest. You should be content!”
Old Master Yang trembled. “I won’t agree even if I die. What right do you have to make a descendant of the Yang family marry into your family? Moreover, she’s a widow who is a generation older than my child.”
Father Yang went forward to support Old Master Yang. “Tell your Madam that
I’d rather sell the house than agree to let my son marry into your family.”
The old woman looked at the Yang family arrogantly. “Your grandson ruined my Madam’s reputation. If you don’t agree to marry into the Yang family, your family will be exiled!”
“Heavens! Is there no law!” Old Master Yang shouted and fell into Father Yang’s arms.
At this point, Yang Yi choked and could not speak. Ruyi patted Yang Yi. “Brother Yang, my condolences!”
Yang Yi calmed down and said to Zhou Jia, “Grandpa’s old illness relapsed. My family was busy hiring a doctor for Grandpa. The next day, my father found a few families to gather some silver. We’re still short of 300 taels. We father and son went to the village lord’s residence together and prepared to return the silver to that bitch.”
“After seeing that bitch, she accepted the silver and wrote an IOU for us to sign. She said that she would accept the silver first and she would return the silver after we become a family.”
“My father flatly refused. That bitch said that I ruined her innocence and I had no choice but to agree. She asked me go back and think about it carefully.
Steward Zhou also knows what happened next.”
Zhou Jia said to Yang Yi, “Go and report her to the officials for extortion and forced marriage. Go back and discuss it with your father. If you agree, I’ll get my private advisor to look for you and help you write a complaint to help your family fight this lawsuit.”
When Yang Yi heard this, he kowtowed gratefully to Zhou Jia. “Thank you, sir. Thank you, sir.”
“Get up! There’s no need to be so polite.”
Zhou Jia glanced at the handsome Yang Yi and felt that the Yang family was upright. The family had gone through thick and thin to support each other. He felt that with Yang Yi’s looks, he would definitely encounter more people like Country Lord Ning in the future. Some of them were even worse than her.
“You’re young and good-looking. You still have a long way to go. Today is the day of peace. If you encounter those strange men in the future, you won’t be able to protect yourself. You should continue to study and take the scholarly examination. You can only protect yourself with the scholarly examination.”
Yang Yi bowed. “Thank you for your guidance, sir. I’ve already passed the student examination back then. I’ll study hard in the future.”
“Okay, go back and discuss it with your family. If you agree, I’ll get the assistant to find you.”
Yang Yi bade farewell and left. Zhou Jia took a list and handed it to Ruyi. “I got someone in the Imperial Capital Office to find out something. I heard that they’re looking for an underground bank in the East City.
“It’s said that this bank is very well-hidden. Most of the borrowers are from the capital’s government office. Those low-ranking officials with poor families have already been targeted as borrowers. Get Han San and Ji Xiang to secretly keep an eye on these people on the list. Don’t alarm them. I still have something on in the government office and can only come back later.” “Yes, Master,” Ruyi replied.
After sending Zhou Jia off, Ruyi found Ji Xiang with the list and asked him to record the names of the people on it. After returning to the residence with the list and showing it to Li Yu. he burned the list. He was then called to the front
yard by Zhao Cai.
Zhao Cai pulled him along and looked around the front and back doors. “Did you see that peddler? Uncle Liu said that he found him wandering around the vicinity. There’s also the candied hawthorn seller. Listen to his shouting. Is he distracted?”
Ruyi looked at the candied hawthorn seller. There were children passing by looking at him, but he did not go up to promote himself. There was also the peddler who did not even swing the rattle in his hand. Then, he looked at the two of them carrying a load of goods and so much candied hawthorn. It was effortless for them to walk.
“Tell Granny Yang that from today onwards, we’ll pick Young Master up from school personally. Also, keep an eye on these two. We’ll find an opportunity to capture them.”
Zhao Cai shook his head. “Madam said that we should watch for two days and follow them to see where they head to first. Let’s find out how many of them there are. We’ll take action after the Yang family’s complaint is handed over.”
Ruyi nodded. “Okay, I’ll follow them later.”
Li Yu was in the kitchen, looking at the pots of sweet potatoes. The leaves were dark green and growing lushly.
Auntie He smiled and said, “Madam, I’ve been raising it for a few months. I’ve been carrying it out to bask in the sun these days. It feel heavier than before.
These leaves are green. Can they be eaten?”
Li Yu thought of the red tips and red rods. She thought that she couldn’t pinch the tips now. She could break off some of the rods and save herself from having too many rods and dividing up the nutrients of the sweet potatoes.
“It’s edible. Break off the thick rod below, tear off the outer membrane, scoop up some chili, soak it in ginger to stir-fry with garlic rice, or with shredded meat.”
Auntie He smiled and said, ‘Madam, teach me. I’ll do it.”
Li Yu nodded and instructed her to break off the stalk at the root of the sweet potato. She tore off the outer membrane and cut it into an inch-long section. She could stir-fry it with seasoning.
For dinner, Zhou Jia, his son, and Mr. Wen ate shredded pork stir-fried with sweet potato poles, and pickled vegetables stir-fried with sweet potato poles, and praised them endlessly. Li Yu gazed at them eating with relish and looked at the nourishing soup in her bowl that lacked salt and flavor. Her resentment was so deep..