Chapter Forty-Five: Hard to Explain

  "Come on, Zhen'er, drink the medicine." Ye Baiju held out the medicine and helped Qi Zhen'er sit up, propping a pillow behind her back.

  Qī Zhēnér took the medicine, held her breath, and drank it all in one gulp. She handed the bowl to Yè Bái zhǐ and said calmly: "Thank you, White Orchid sister."

  "Silly girl, why be polite with your sister?"

  Hu Zi has been by Qī Zhēn's side since she fell unconscious, not leaving for a moment. Seeing his sister wake up now, he squeezed into her arms in a hurry.

  "Sister, what's wrong with you? I was scared to death when Bai Zhi sister carried you in." As he spoke, Hu Zi's eyes turned red.

  Qī Zhēn ér also knew that she had scared Huāng Zǐ, but she didn't mean to. Today, being pressed by those people, she felt dizzy. Before, she always thought that she was reborn and very strong, able to take good care of Huāng Zǐ. Now, however, she realized that she couldn't do it. In fact, she wasn't as strong as she thought, and couldn't provide a shoulder for Huāng Zǐ to rely on.

  Ye Baiji saw Zhen'er's sad face and comforted her, "Zhen'er, don't think too much. The villagers also don't understand you two siblings, that's why they have misunderstandings about you. After a while, when they know the truth, they will forget this matter."

  How could her good intentions be unknown to Qizhen? However, people are so superstitious nowadays. Once they decide that someone is a jinx, they won't easily change their minds. Besides, now they want to drive them away, how can they give them time to understand each other?

  Sometimes, the deepest hurt isn't from a stranger stabbing you ten times, but from the person closest to you stabbing you in the back once.

  Just the other day, someone in Ye's family said she was a jinx, how did everyone in the village know about it today? Don't tell me it was someone else who thought of it themselves, outsiders wouldn't even know about their siblings' circumstances.

  She pulled at the corner of her mouth and said: "I know, Bai Zhi sister. I have some good news to tell you."

  Ye Baiji saw Qi Zhen'er didn't want to discuss this topic and followed her lead: "What good news?"

  "Liao family's fifth sister is getting married the day after tomorrow!"

  "What?" Ye Baiji exclaimed, "So that's settled then?"

  Qī Zhēn ér nodded, "Alright!"

  Ye Baiji's hands were clasped together in excitement, her mouth murmuring: "Bodhisattva bless! It's really Bodhisattva bless! This is truly a great piece of good news, I must go tell my mother and grandfather."

  After finishing speaking, Ye Baiji quickly ran away.

  Qizhen'er hugged Hu'zi and asked: "Hu'zi, we're going to leave again, are you willing to go with your sister?"

  "Sister, where are we going?" Hu Zi said to his sister as they walked. His deepest memory was the time spent in the mountains. "Aren't we supposed to build a house? Why do we have to leave again?"

  Mentioning the house she had been thinking of, Qizhen's tears flowed out uncontrollably. Why did her and Huizi's fate have to be so bumpy? Why couldn't they just have a home?

  Huzi saw her sister crying, and felt very heartbroken. Clumsily, he wiped away the tears from the corner of her eyes. "Sister, don't cry. If you have to go, I'll go with you. We will be together forever."

  Holding Hu Zi in front of her chest, Qi Zhen Er buried her head in Hu Zi's neck and wept uncontrollably. Hu Zi was also infected by his sister's emotions and started crying too. He didn't want to leave Grandpa, Auntie, and Bai Ju Jie.

  In the upper house, Old Master Ye sat at the head, while Ye Shiwen and his three brothers sat on one side with their wives, the Mao sisters, sitting separately on the other side.

  Ye Lao's gaze swept across the four people in front of him and said, "What do you think about this matter today?"

  "Father, I think the villagers have gone too far today. Wa's mother also thinks so. Since Zhen'er lives with us, if she were to bring misfortune, it should be to our family, not someone else's. Besides, from what I've seen of Zhen'er and her brother, they seem like good people, and I don't agree with the notion that they're jinxes."

  Ye Lao looked at Mao Shi and said, "Old Master, what do you think?"

  Mao looked at her father and said, "Dad, I agree with Eldest Brother. I quite like this child Zhen'er."

  Yeshi Xie hastily opened his mouth before the old man could ask him, "Brother and sister-in-law, what you're saying isn't right! What's this about being jinxed by our family? Who says those two jinxes didn't affect us? Didn't my wife get sick for several days? And I've had bad luck these past few days too, wasn't that their doing?"

  "Isn't it because you wanted to take a concubine that your brother and sister fell ill?" Madam Mao asked him with a slanted glance, her tone light.

  "Are you going to gamble again?" Ye Shiwei's words were originally asked together with Mao Shi, but after hearing Mao Shi's words, he asked in confusion: "What about taking a concubine? Who wants to take a concubine?"

  Mao pointed in the direction of Ye Shixian: "Your good second brother, he doesn't put on airs in town, but when he returns to the countryside, he actually wants to take a concubine."

  Ye Shiwei's anger ignited, and he picked up the bowl in his hand and smashed it towards Ye Shixian's head.

  "Ah, big brother, I'm your own little brother! Are you going to kill me?" Ye Shixie was hit on the head and cried out in pain.

  "I'd be better off if I beat you to death!" Ye Shiwei said in a tone that was as hard as steel. "Ye Erlang, look at what you've done! At your age, aren't you ashamed? I'm embarrassed for you when I go out!"

  The person Ye Shixian fears the most is his older brother. He is straightforward and honest, with no room for deceit in his eyes, and he strictly disciplines his younger brothers. In the past, when their mother was still alive, she could restrain his older brother to some extent, but now that she's gone, he really dares to beat him to death.

  "Big brother, stop it, stop it!" Ye Shixian hastily cried out when he saw his brother still wanted to hit him.

  Ye Lao Yezi was annoyed by their noisy chatter, his head aching, and he heavily put the teacup on the table, making a loud noise, and everyone looked at him and also quieted down.

  Ye Lao Yezi glanced at everyone and said: "Today, let's first discuss the matter of Zhen Er's brother and sister. As for the second child's matter, we'll talk about it after this is over."

  Everyone heard him say that and didn't entangle themselves in this matter anymore. However, Ye Shiwei glared at Ye Shixie with a fierce gaze, scaring him into trembling slightly.

  "I won't ask you anything else. I regard Zhen as my own granddaughter and will make sure to keep her and her brother here."

  Jiang pulled at Ye Shiyan's sleeve, and Ye Shiyan understood, just about to speak when he was stopped by Old Master Ye stretching out his hand.

  "There's another thing that puzzles me, how did the villagers know about Zhen'er and her brother's background? I've said before that no one is allowed to mention that Zhen'er and her brother are jinxes, it seems like my words don't count in our old Ye family anymore?"

  Everyone fell silent. Neither Ye Shiwei nor his wife knew that the family had already made a fuss about Qizhen being a jinx, and those who knew were also at a loss for words, finally focusing their eyes on Ye Shixian, who was covering his head and shrinking to one side.

  Yeshi Xie saw that everyone suspected him, and he hastily explained: "What are you looking at me for? It wasn't me who said it. I've been stuck in the gambling house for the past two days, where would I have the leisure to grind teeth with someone?"

  "Hey, Old Three's family, those women who came today and were making the most noise seemed to be quite close to you, right? I still remember it was you who first said that Zhen's parents were both dead, and that she's a jinx. Was it you who spread the word?"

  Jiang was stunned by his words, which seemed reasonable and well-founded. Those who had made the most noise were indeed closer to her, but she hadn't spoken out about it.

  Ye Shiyuan also looked at Jiang with some suspicion, seeing that her expression was uncertain and there was something she didn't understand. But this was a family scandal, so no matter what he had to help her cover it up.

  "Second brother, you can eat whatever you want, but you can't talk nonsense. What evidence do you have to prove that it was Xiumei who spread the word? Everyone in the family knows that you don't like Zhen'er and her brother and want to drive them away, I think it's you who leaked the news."

  Ye Shixian saw that the Jiang family was about to admit it, but his third brother still refused to give in and wanted to splash dirty water on him. How could he let them have their way?

  "Third brother, you know what's going on in your heart. Don't think I don't know what you're plotting. Isn't it just that Zhen'er's younger brother doesn't want to be a servant for your family? You've been harboring resentment and want to get rid of the two siblings."

  "Third brother, third brother, you two are really ruthless. You can bear to lay hands on such young children? Is it fun for you to stab people in the back?"

  Ye Shiyuan and his wife's faces turned pale with anger at Ye Shixian's words.

  Jiang saw that everyone's expression was not good, and she hurriedly waved her hand repeatedly, "It wasn't me who said it, really wasn't me. I haven't left the house for the past two days, oh, except today when I went to Lian Jie's house to help her pick out a few flower patterns, I really didn't spread this matter around."

  Although Jiang said it sincerely, the crowd still couldn't believe her for a while. Firstly, she loved to gossip and often stabbed others in the back, just like Ye Shixie said. Secondly, among the people who drove Qi Zhen'er crazy today, Lian Jie, Jiang's good friend, was the most excited. Thirdly, when others came to cause trouble, Jiang never spoke up for Qi Zhen'er and her brother, and occasionally turned around, Mao Shi and Sun Shi saw the smug smile on her face.

  Jiang saw that no one believed her, and her eyes turned red with anxiety. Fortunately, Qizhen only fainted; if something really happened to her, others would say she had driven the lonely girl to death, and then how could she still show her face in public?

  "Pulling her husband's hand, she said: 'You're in charge, you explain to them, it really wasn't me who leaked it out. You quickly explain.'"

  Ye Shiyuan glanced at her and sighed. This wife of his was good in every way, but she loved to gossip and had poor relationships with the other wives. When they lived in town, everyone was far apart, and whenever they met, they were still enthusiastic. But since their return, this habit of hers had offended both Eldest Sister-in-law and Second Sister-in-law. Second Sister-in-law's gentle nature meant she didn't mind too much, but Eldest Sister-in-law now treated them with only a superficial courtesy. Yet she remained oblivious, always thinking herself superior to others, believing everyone else should fawn over her.

  "Dad, big brother, second brother, I think Hsiu-mei already knows she was wrong. She didn't mean to and didn't know the consequences would be so severe. Scolding her now won't do any good. Let's think of a way to dispel the villagers' prejudices and let Jen-er and her siblings stay instead." said Yeh Shih-yen.

  Ye Lao Ye Zi also knew that it was no use finding out who spread the word now, but if they didn't take this opportunity to teach them a lesson, they would regret it later if such a situation happened again.

  "What do you think we should do?"