Chapter 105 Beginning

"Uncle Mingyu, to put it simply, there was a nobleman in Yanjing City who had set his sights on the Ye family's assets and Cousin Ye's career, so he deliberately set up a trap to lure you into. But, it went wrong."

Ye Mingyu was a little dazed. He didn't quite understand what Jiang Li said, but he did understand it completely.

The Ye family is a wealthy family in Northern Yan. This huge wealth is really enviable. In addition to the jealous colleagues, there are also other people who have evil intentions. It is not impossible to use the Ye family and the Ye family's huge wealth to do some despicable means. But Jiang Li's words vaguely revealed a meaning that the people hidden in the Dafeng Pharmacy, or even behind Tong Zhiyang and Tong Zhiyang's brother-in-law, are very likely to be powerful.

People with great power are never easy to mess with.

Everyone knows that the people should not fight against the government. Although Ye Mingyu is brave and fearless, the Ye family is not an iron wall. If you are targeted by such a person, you can escape once, but what about twice? What about three times? You can't be lucky every time.

He murmured, "There's no reason to guard against thieves for a thousand days..."

"Uncle Mingyu, there is no need to belittle yourself. The Ye family and the Jiang family are also related by marriage. As long as I am alive, I will not let the Jiang and Ye families break off contact. My father and second uncle have a very high status in the court. The one is a nobleman. Our Jiang family is not a lowly family, and the Ye family is not something that can be bullied casually. And cousin Ye is now the Minister of the Ministry of Revenue. With such a high starting point, it will only be smoother in the future. When cousin Ye reaches a certain status, the Ye family will have a natural barrier."

Jiang Li paused and continued, "Why did those people choose to act now? It's simply because Cousin Ye is still immature. Once the beast grows claws, it will be even more difficult to act. They failed this time, and it will become increasingly difficult to find opportunities in the future."

After she said that, Ye Mingyu felt a little relieved. Thinking of what Jiang Li said, he couldn't help but feel ashamed again: "This will involve your father and the Jiang family, which will cause trouble."

"We are one family, why should we have different opinions?" Jiang Li smiled. "One day, the Jiang family may be in great trouble, and then we will need the Ye family to help us."

Ye Mingyu was amused by her and said, "Ali, you are really bluffing. The Jiang family will never fall to the level of needing help from our Ye family. Don't tell such a tall tale just to comfort me."

Jiang Li remained silent. In her opinion, it was hard to predict what would happen in the future. The greater the power of King Cheng and the Right Prime Minister, the more disadvantageous it would be for the Jiang family. Emperor Hong Xiao was weak for the time being, and it was unknown whether the world would fall into the hands of King Cheng in the future. Although she was trying to avoid this situation, she could not control what would happen to the Jiang family before that. Things change over time. The Jiang family had been so successful for so many years, and who knew what would happen in the future.

Jiang Li put away her thoughts and said with a smile: "Anyway, the matter of Gu Xiangduan has been resolved for the time being. Tong Zhiyang's mistress and his son are a problem. Since this Tong Zhifu is so trustworthy, we should return his beauty and son as agreed."

"Just give it back to him like this?" Ye Mingyu was a little indignant. After learning the truth written by Tong Zhiyang in the letter, he was very unhappy. Tong Zhiyang originally wanted to throw dirty water on the Ye family together with those people, but the result was good. Although the Ye family cleared the grievances, it would be difficult for the business of Guxiangduan to recover in the future, but Tong Zhiyang was not punished at all. This was unfair.

"People should keep their word," Jiang Li smiled kindly, "Tong Zhiyang loves his son so much because Tong Yu is his only descendant. It is not a good thing to let his only descendant wander around. We will do a good thing this time and help Tong Yu. Let the He family know about Tong Yu's existence. In this way, Tong Yu will not have to be a concubine's son, but a legitimate young master of the prefecture. In the future, Tong Zhiyang will be promoted step by step, and at least there will be someone to succeed him, right?"

She spoke with a smile and a sincere look, and every word she said seemed to be for Tong Zhiyang's benefit. No one would doubt her good intentions.

Ye Mingyu listened with a strange look on his face. After hearing Jiang Li's last word, he couldn't help but burst into laughter and said, "A real man has his own ways and his own ways, but I just realized today that I'm not someone you can mess with!"

Jiang Li was always very frank when she spoke, and she could only turn the conspiracy into an open one. This method was not fair and just because she had just said she would "keep her word" and then she caused a huge trouble for Tong Zhiyang. But as a member of the Ye family, Ye Mingyu felt very happy after hearing this, and the depression he had felt for the past few days was swept away.

"Tong Zhiyang fears his wife like a tiger. When he heard that Yi Xin was at the He family, he didn't dare to send anyone to follow him. This shows how much he fears his wife. Now if He knows about the existence of this mother and son, Tong Zhiyang's good days will be over. Apart from anything else, whether he can still sit on the position of prefect properly depends on whether He will be merciful. But everyone in Xiangyang City knows that the wife of the prefect is the most harsh and harsh. Hahaha, Ah Li, this trick of yours is really brilliant!"

"Uncle, you are too kind." Jiang Li smiled modestly. From the beginning, she had never thought of letting Tong Zhiyang go. A person like Tong Zhiyang would be a disaster if he was kept. Who knows if he would cause trouble for the Ye family again in the future, making him and the He family stalemate and become a joke in Xiangyang City. If this joke spread to Yanjing City and to that person's ears, it would be good for the other person to feel upset.

We can't let people do all kinds of bad things without any punishment.

Ye Mingyu was a man of impetuous temperament. He would act immediately upon thinking of something. He immediately stood up and said, "There is no time to lose. I have long wanted to see Tong Zhiyang's grandson embarrassed. Ah Li, you wait in the mansion. This time, let's see how I will avenge our Ye family!"

He turned around and disappeared in front of the door.

After Ye Mingyu left, Tong'er asked worriedly, "Miss, will the Third Master's doing this cause any trouble? What if the He family and Tong Zhiyang team up to deal with us?"

"Don't worry, it won't happen." Jiang Li smiled and said, "We are both human. He Shi will definitely not tolerate Tong Yu, and Tong Zhiyang will definitely protect Tong Yu. Tong Yu alone can make the couple go crazy. With just a little provocation, it's only a matter of time before they completely separate."

After she said that, Tong'er felt relieved.

Jiang Li did not relax her brows.

The Ye family’s affairs have come to an end for the time being, but her affairs have not been resolved yet. Her real purpose of returning to Xiangyang is not here, but Tongxiang...

Her father, Xue Huaiyuan.

……

Ye Mingyu acted quickly, even faster than Jiang Li expected, because a farce broke out in Xiangyang City that afternoon.

In front of the Tong Mansion, Tong Zhiyang and the prefect's wife He had a big fight, and even slapped He. Everyone in Xiangyang City knew that Tong Zhiyang was very afraid of his wife. Normally, when he saw his wife, he was like a mouse seeing a cat. He didn't dare to say a word of rebuttal, let alone hit his wife. However, in broad daylight, in full view of everyone, Tong Zhiyang was so bold that he slapped his wife.

The confused people watched with great interest, and then they saw that behind Tong Zhiyang was a young and beautiful woman, and a child who looked a bit like Tong Zhiyang. Now the matter was clear at a glance. It turned out that Tong Zhiyang, who never lingered in brothels, actually kept a mistress outside and had a son. Now the truth was exposed, and somehow his wife found out, so of course he had to be punished.

However, Tong Zhiyang seemed determined to stand on the side of the concubine, and even attacked the lady for the concubine's mother and son. How could this be tolerated? The He family was not a pushover. You have to know that Tong Zhiyang could have what he had today, all thanks to He's family.

"You bastard!" He was slapped in the face, her hair was messed up, and she didn't care about her appearance as a wife of an official. She pointed at Tong Zhiyang's nose and cursed: "How dare you hit me for this bitch? Tong Zhiyang, you are getting more and more daring!"

Tong Zhiyang actually regretted it right after he slapped He. Everything he had was due to He. If he attacked He, he would definitely suffer the consequences. But when he saw He was about to attack Tong Yu, he couldn't help it. Tong Yu was his only son, and He, the vicious woman, didn't even let his own flesh and blood go.

Thinking of this, he made up his mind and simply yelled, "Evil woman, I've had enough of you! I've been married to you for many years, and we have no children. My Tong family can't be extinct. Even if you can't have children, I can divorce you. Suqin gave birth to a son for my Tong family, but not only can you not tolerate her, you also want to kill Yu'er. How can there be such a vicious woman like you in the world!"

"Divorce me?" Instead of getting angry, He smiled and said, "Okay, since you have the courage to divorce me, you can go back and write a letter of divorce now. I will never say another word, but remember, your Tong family's house, servants, and your identity as a prefect, all belong to me. Without me, you are nothing! Don't you want to leave incense for the Tong family? Okay! I see that without your money, what else can you use to carry on the family line!" She waved her hand and asked the Tong family's servants to follow her back to the house. After entering the Tong house, she ordered the servants to slam the door shut.

Tong Zhiyang was not allowed to enter the house.

Tong Zhiyang was a prefect after all. Although he had been suppressed by the He family for so many years, he always put on airs in front of the people. Now he was kicked out in public. How could he keep his face? He immediately ordered the crowd to disperse, but his face was still full of shame.

Seeing the funny expressions on the faces of the onlookers, Tong Zhiyang was angry and resentful. He was angry that somehow He Shi discovered the existence of Suqin and her son, and he hated that He Shi really didn't care about the love between husband and wife. Then, there was a trace of uneasy fear.

He can indeed deprive him of everything he has now. If he is not the prefect and has no money, what will he do in the future?
Now I am in a dilemma and don't know what to do.

……

Ye Mingyu told everyone what happened in front of Tong’s house.

Speaking of Tong Zhiyang's ugly behavior, Ye Mingyu could only gloat over his misfortune. He vividly described He's fierceness and Tong Zhiyang's cowardice.

Guan was surprised, "I didn't expect that Governor Tong, who seemed to have the final say with He, actually secretly had a mistress. He was pretending to obey, but he was secretly disobeying her even when his son had grown up."

"Tsk, tsk, tsk, I really didn't expect it." Ye Mingxuan shook his head. "Logically speaking, Tong Zhiyang has kept it a secret for so long, which shows that the matter has been airtight. How could he be caught by the He family at this critical juncture?"

"If you walk along the river often, you will get your feet wet," Ye Rufeng said disdainfully, "What he did cannot be hidden, and it will be known to others sooner or later."

Ye Mingyu and Jiang Li exchanged glances. Only the two of them knew about Tong Zhiyang's mistress and his son. The reason why they didn't tell Ye Minghui and the others was because they were afraid that they would object from the beginning. Although the Ye family was very wealthy, it was precisely because of their large business that they were extra careful and followed the rules in doing business. Ye Mingyu was different. He was bold and dared to take action. Jiang Li had no choice but to discuss it with him, not afraid that he would disagree.

"Tong Zhiyang's career path will be difficult now." Ye Mingxuan said: "Even if it is to teach him a lesson, the He family will not let him have it as easy as before, and may even reduce his authority."

"It's actually a good thing for us." Ye Jiaer said, "But...even so, the business of Guxiangduan has plummeted now."

Tang Fan had someone explain the whole story of the Ye family's ancient satin incident, but the people only cared about the result, regardless of the twists and turns. Regardless of whether it was a frame-up by someone else, the problem was the Ye family's ancient satin. Wearing ancient satin might kill you, so don't wear it.

The weaving mill has resumed weaving fabrics, but no one dares to buy the latest batch of ancient fragrant satin. As a last resort, Ye Minghui had to suspend all weaving in the weaving mill, but until now, he has not come up with a good solution.

"Or, let's not do this business anymore." Ye Mingyu said carelessly, "Anyway, our Ye family's assets are enough to support several generations, so who would bother to make money? Why not learn from the dandy kids from rich families and travel around all day?" This was not something a Ye family member would say. Sure enough, after saying this, Ye Minghui looked at his brother sternly and said, "You'd better not mention what you said in front of mother. Over the years, I think you have grown older in vain, and you are going backwards as you get older!"

Guan was helpless: "Third brother, this is not a question of whether we should do business or not. The Ye family's business was built up by our parents. You know how much effort our mother put into the ancient fragrant satin. How can we let the Ye family's business fail in our hands? How can we face our father in the afterlife?"

"Yes, Third Uncle," Ye Jiaer also said, "Big brother is still serving as an official in the court. I heard that as an official in the court, you need money to manage things. Yanjing is not like Xiangyang, and the money may not last long. We can't let Big brother live in Yanjing City."

"That's right," Ye Mingxuan also said, "Even Jia'er is more sensible than you." He glanced at Jiang Li again and said, "Besides, if it weren't for Ah Li stepping in and borrowing the name of the Jiang family, how could we have escaped unscathed when Guxiangduan got into trouble this time? They just helped you, but you stopped doing business on the other side. How would the Jiang family feel after hearing this?"

Jiang Li understood what Ye Mingxuan meant. Not to mention herself, although Jiang Yuanbai was an official, in fact, the officialdom and merchants today actually have the same goal and both value interests. Jiang Yuanbai helped the Ye family. What value did the Ye family have? It was nothing more than doing a bigger business than others. When the Ye family stopped doing this business, the Ye family would have no value. Jiang Yuanbai saved the Ye family, but he really got nothing. It was an unprofitable deal.

Although the words were harsh, what Ye Mingxuan said was not entirely unreasonable.

"Alright, alright, it's all my fault for not being sensible." Ye Mingyu was attacked by the crowd, and he immediately made a gesture of begging for mercy, saying: "I can't argue with you, it's all my fault. But this is not my decision. It seems that the business of ancient fragrant satin can no longer be done. Our Ye family's weaving mainly relies on ancient fragrant satin, right?"

The Ye family members were silent.

Jiang Li asked: "Besides the ancient fragrant satin, does the Ye family have nothing else to weave?"

"It's not that there are no other fabrics." Guan explained, "In fact, in addition to the ancient fragrant satin, our weaving mill also weaves many other fabrics. But those fabrics can also be woven by others, and those that cannot be woven by others are not very attractive. When mother was with father, she would produce some fashionable fabrics every once in a while, but the only one that has been popular for a long time is the ancient fragrant satin."

"Ancient fragrant satin is of high quality and has a natural fragrance. Rich people like to use it. Even ordinary people who have some extra money are willing to buy one or two pieces to make clothes for festivals. Therefore, there is no shortage of people buying it."

Jiang Li thought for a moment and said, "After all, the reason why the Ye family got started with antique satin is because it is loved by people and is not irreplaceable. As long as we can make a more attractive fabric than antique satin, can we revive our reputation soon?"

Everyone in the room was silent, and Ye Jiaer said, "Cousin, it's easy to say, but over the years, there are countless merchants in Beiyan who make fabrics, and there are so many patterns. What you can make, others can also make. Don't even mention whether you like it or not, even the word "irreplaceable" is not easy to achieve."

That's true. The reason why the ancient fragrant satin is irreplaceable is because of the natural fragrance of the fabric. That is the secret recipe of the Ye family. But the secret recipe is not something you can just find on the street. Sometimes you can't find one in ten or a hundred years, and sometimes a secret recipe can save a family.

"Doesn't Uncle Mingyu travel all year round?" Jiang Li looked at Ye Mingyu and asked, "If we talk about fresh ingredients that no one has ever seen, Uncle Mingyu should have seen a lot of them."

If you want to find the "secret recipe", you have to find fresh "raw materials". The Ye family members in Xiangyang can hardly see many, but Ye Mingyu is different. He travels around the desert and grassland, and always sees some rare things that others can't see. Among these things, there may be something that can make new fabrics.

Everyone looked at Ye Mingyu. Ye Mingyu touched his nose and said in a rather embarrassed voice: "I have seen a lot of rare things every day, but they have nothing to do with the fabric business. Who would care about business when going out to play..."

Ye Minghui and Ye Mingyu both showed expressions of disappointment in their younger brother. It was a well-known fact that this younger brother was unreliable.

But Jiang Li was not discouraged.

She said, "It doesn't have to be something rare and related to weaving. For example, the box of peacock feathers that Uncle Mingyu gave me can also be used on fabrics, right?"

"Peacock feather?" Ye Mingyu was stunned.

"What peacock feather?" Ye Mingxuan asked.

"When Third Uncle came back, he brought back a few boxes of beautiful shells, like peacock feathers, which are very beautiful, but not worth much money." Ye Rufeng said unhappily, and then looked at Jiang Li curiously, "How can peacock feathers be used on fabrics?"

Ye Mingyu also looked at her. Although he was the one who found these shells, he was at a loss as to how to use them. When he bought these peacock feathers, he didn't think about doing business. He just had the money and thought the peacock feathers looked nice, so he bought them as a rarity.

"I just thought of this all of a sudden." Jiang Li smiled and said, "I know nothing about fabrics. I just had a sudden thought. If I'm wrong, please don't laugh at me. There are tiny phosphorescent lights on peacock feathers. I once read a book called Strange Stories. There were fairies on the fairy islands on the sea. The clothes they wore had tiny phosphorescent lights like water waves, but they were not embroidered with gold or silver threads. They looked like pearls. The colors were bright but not tacky. I thought that since ancient fragrant satin can make the fabric have its own fragrance, can peacock feathers also make the fabric produce the shimmering light recorded in the Strange Stories? Of course, you don't have to use peacock feathers, as long as you use raw materials to make it shine with a similar brilliance to peacock feathers, then it makes sense."

"And there are records in the history books. If it is put among the nobles in Yanjing City, it will definitely be very popular among the girls. Although the ancient fragrant satin can no longer be made, the Ye family's brand is still there. If we make a new fabric that is more popular than the ancient fragrant satin, we can slowly form a new business."

Jiang Li spoke slowly and calmly, as if she was very confident in what she said. In fact, only she knew that she was not sure whether this thing would succeed. "Every profession has its own specialty," this is about the meticulous way of doing things, but most things in the world are applicable to others. People who are good at one thing will also be good at that thing. Doing business and studying are not poles apart.

This idea of ​​hers was obviously unexpected. After being silent for an unknown period of time, Ye Minghui suddenly stood up and said to Ye Mingyu, "Go and bring your peacock feathers to me and let me see them. Go to the weaving factory tomorrow."

Ye Mingyu was startled, and before he could come to his senses, he saw Ye Mingxuan getting excited and saying, "I think this is a good idea, and it may work. Let's go to the weaving factory to see if it can be made. If it can...if it can..." He paused, as if he couldn't suppress his joy, and then said the second half of the sentence, "I'm afraid our Ye family will usher in a new prosperity."

Ye Jiaer and Ye Rufeng were also quite expectant when they heard this, and they couldn't help but look at Jiang Li with a strange look in their eyes.

She seems to know everything, and can always open up a new path in desperate situations, leading everyone to a new direction. She is always full of hope and reassuring.

Jiang Li felt the grateful gazes of the Ye family and smiled slightly.

She did what she could.

There was one more thing to do, but it wasn't something she could accomplish just by working hard.

……

Ye Mingyu took everyone to see the peacock feathers, but Jiang Li did not go with them.

She first went to see Old Lady Ye for a while and chatted with her. Old Lady Ye had been in much better spirits in the past few days. She also heard about Jiang Li's proposal to use peacock feathers to make new fabrics, and praised Jiang Li's wonderful idea. Jiang Li stayed with her for a while, and the two of them were very happy and became closer.

When Old Madam Ye was tired and lay down to rest, Jiang Li left Old Madam Ye's yard, but did not return to her own yard. Instead, she walked out the door.

Tong'er asked: "Miss, are you planning to go out?"

Jiang Li nodded: "Let's go out for a walk, the weather is nice today."

Tong'er and Bai Xue hesitated for a moment, then nodded in agreement. The Ye family was different from the Jiang family. The Jiang family's doorman would interrogate Jiang Li where she was going, and Ji Shuran's people would secretly observe her every move. But in the Xiangyang Ye family, Jiang Li was absolutely free, and no one would spy on where she went or what she did. At least no one in the Ye family would do that, so relatively speaking, it was also convenient for Jiang Li to plan for herself.

Jiang Li, Tong'er and Bai Xue first walked around the center of Xiangyang City for a while. Because her identity as the second Miss Jiang was known to everyone, Jiang Li also wore a fence. Tong'er and Bai Xue thought it was novel and bought some small things. Jiang Li looked at them but had no interest.

These were things she had seen many times before, not the first time, so naturally there was no sense of novelty in them.

Unconsciously, and not knowing how long they had walked, Tong'er felt that the road Jiang Li was walking on looked familiar, but she couldn't figure out where she had seen it before. But Jiang Li was very good at finding her way and had never taken the wrong road, especially in Xiangyang, which seemed to be familiar to her because she had been there many times. Therefore, Tong'er and Bai Xue didn't think much about it.

Until Jiang Li stopped in front of a big house.

Tong'er looked at the familiar house in front of her, her voice trembling a little, and said: "Miss, this is Xi, Xi..."

"Xihua Tower." Jiang Li reminded considerately.

"Xihua Tower!" Tong'er blurted out, and then immediately covered her mouth, fearing that someone would see her. She whispered to Jiang Li, "Miss, why are we here again?"

After coming to Xihua Tower last time, Tong'er was worried for several days, fearing that others would find out that Jiang Li, a daughter of an official family, visited a brothel. She never thought that it would be a short time before the nightmare came back again, Jiang Li is here again!
Could it be that my daughter really fell in love with some girl in there? My daughter is not good at polishing mirrors. I also heard that there are young prostitutes, but are there young prostitutes in brothels?
Tong'er was thinking about all sorts of things when she heard Jiang Li say, "You don't have to go up. Wait for me here. I'll be back soon."

Before Tong'er and Baixue could dissuade her, Jiang Li walked forward without looking back. They remembered that this was the "back door" of Xihua Tower.

Jiang Li took each step firmly.

Some time passed and she temporarily resolved the Ye family's affairs, but her real purpose of returning to Xiangyang had just begun.

I wonder what Qiongzhi is saying about the situation in Tongxiang?
　Today is 521, little bitches, I love you~
　　
　
(End of this chapter)