Chapter 25: The Fifth Sister of the Liao Family

  Ye Baiji chose a box of Osmanthus fragrant rouge, asked Liao San for the price, thought it was still reasonable, and calculated the money she had brought, just enough. She opened her mouth and said: "I want this box. But you have to tell me what I want to know first, and then I'll give you the money."

  The little vendor nodded repeatedly and praised Ye Baiju for having a good eye.

  Who doesn't love listening to good words? Ye Baiji's mood improved, and she asked what she wanted to ask.

  When Ye Baiji mentioned the Liao family, especially Liao Wujie, the small vendor's face turned pale and even looked a bit cold. "What do you want to know about Liao Wujie for?"

  Ye Baiji was choked by these lukewarm words. She didn't dare to say that the man hit her father, wanting to make her his concubine?

  "Oh, we've heard that Liao's fifth sister is very pretty and has a good temperament, so I just wanted to ask." Qizhen quickly came up with an excuse.

  Liao San looked at Qi Zhen'er, who was so young and yet liked to listen to gossip, and still had such an unscrupulous attitude, with a sarcastic smile on his face. When did the Liao family's fifth sister have such a good reputation? How could he not know at all?

  But thinking about it, Liao San was relieved. Since that incident, he would get angry whenever he heard the name "Liao's family". People who knew him didn't dare mention the Liao family from the county town in front of him, and he might not even know why.

  "I don't know anything about the Liao family's affairs. You can leave, I won't do business with you." Liao San picked up a feather duster and pretended to dust off the powder on his face, chasing away Qi Zhen'er and the others.

  Ye Baiji couldn't understand why someone who was just fine a moment ago suddenly changed their expression.

  "Hey, if you're not going to do business, then don't pretend to. What's with the attitude? You were the one who came looking for us first, and now you're chasing us away? If you want me to leave, fine. Just tell me what I want to know and I'll go."

  Liao San's face turned completely black, "Get out, get out, get out! If you don't leave now, don't blame me for being impolite!"

  Although Zhen'er didn't know what kind of grudge Liao San had with the Liao family, seeing his dark face when he heard about the Liao family, she knew that the hatred must be very deep.

  She had already seen that Liao San was not ordinary, as the saying goes, "many friends, many roads; many enemies, many blocked walls". She still didn't want to casually make enemies with people. Seeing Ye Baiji about to cause trouble without losing out, Qi Zhen'er quickly pulled her away.

  After turning two streets, until Liao San's figure was no longer visible, Qi Zhen'er let go of Ye Baiji.

  Ye Baiji tidied up her slightly wrinkled clothes while complaining, "Zhen'er, why did you drag me along? Look at that peddler's attitude, how terrible! He didn't know and just said he didn't know, why get angry and drive us away? It's as if we wanted to linger there."

  Qī Zhēn ér sighed and said, "Bái zhǐ jiě, didn't you also see that the little peddler isn't simple? We don't need to make a fuss with him over such a small matter. Anyway, for people like the Liāo family, what secrets can be hidden? Someone must know something, we'll just ask around again."

  Ye Baiji rolled her eyes and said, "Do you think I don't know? Isn't this just swallowing your pride? Now our second house is someone everyone wants to trample on, but he's a street vendor who dares to give me attitude, what's the reason for that?"

  Zijin knew that she was not feeling well in her heart, after all, it was her father who took a concubine. If it were someone obedient and kind, it would be fine. But the Liao family's reputation in Jiyang County was not good. Moreover, her mother was weak and couldn't do anything about it. This matter also involved their own relatives, so she had been holding back her anger for a long time.

  "Bai Zhi sister, where are we going now to gather information?" Qi Zhen'er changed the subject and asked.

  Ye Bai Zhi furrowed her brow and looked at the bustling streets, saying anxiously: "I don't know either, I'm not very familiar with the county town. In the past, my mother said that girls from our family can't show their faces outside, we always go out in sedan chairs."

  It seems that the Ye family used to be quite well-off in the county town, and there were not many people who could afford to take a sedan chair when going out, no wonder the three houses of the Ye family wanted to return to the city at all costs.

  They say Ye Lao San's medical skills were passed down from his father, Ye Lao Yezi, who was also a famous doctor. It's just unknown why he returned to the countryside.

  "Why don't we ask a vendor then?" suggested Ye Baiji, seeing that there were many vendors around.

  Qī Zhēnér shook her head, "Bái zhǐ jiě, look at all these people coming and going, you haven't even asked anything yet and someone's already gone to buy something. Those peddlers probably don't have the mind to chat with you idly. Moreover, if others overhear, they'll just think you're inquiring about the Liāo family's affairs. If someone with ill intentions picks up on it, that would be troublesome."

  Ye Baiji also knew this method wouldn't work and said dejectedly: "Then what should we do?"

  She gazed intently at the bustling street for a long time before Qi Zhen'er thought of something.

  "Baizhi sister, I haven't strolled through the market yet, take me for a stroll." Qizhen'er said, holding Tiger's hand with one hand and Ye Baizhi's hand with the other, and they really started strolling down the street in high spirits.

  "Hey, you..." Ye Baiji hadn't finished speaking when she was pulled by Qi Zhen'er to start picking and choosing in front of the small stall. Thinking that there's still no solution now, her siblings were indeed very pitiful, so she decided to play with them instead. Thus, Ye Baiji accompanied them wholeheartedly as they strolled around.

  Qī Zhēnér pulled Yè Bái zhǐ to a stop in front of the stalls that interested her, occasionally even chatting with the vendors and asking about the latest gossip from the city. Along the way, they also learned many small rumors, but they were quite disorganized.

  It's said that there isn't a woman who doesn't like shopping, and Ye Bai Zhi is no exception. At first, it was Qi Zhen Er dragging her out to shop, but later on, she found herself enjoying it even more.

  Ye Baiji was picking and choosing at a small stall selling hair ribbons, silk flowers, and pearl pins. Qi Zhen'er saw that she couldn't use these things and didn't have the money to buy them, so she started chatting with the vendor about everyday life.

  This peddler was a woman in her thirties or forties, with a very sharp tongue, who knew all the gossip from east and west. Normally, when calling out to customers, no one would chat with her about these things, but now that Qizhen had brought up a topic, she wouldn't stop talking. From the second daughter of the Er family at the entrance of the alley having ripe fruit, which some kids went to secretly pick, to the daughter of the Ma family who was engaged and soon to be married, it turned out that her husband-to-be wasn't a good person, he had an affair outside and got someone else's belly big. The conversation shifted to Liao's fifth sister, who had just gotten up with a start, thinking that this topic couldn't be casually discussed, so she laughed haha and prepared to change the subject.

  Qī Zhēn'er certainly disagreed, she listened to half a day of gossip just wanting to know something about the Liāo family, this woman had already reached the point, if she didn't speak, she would have lost out big time.

  Ye Baiji initially thought that Qi Zhen'er was just chatting with the stall owner to build a relationship and get a better deal later. This time, when she heard the stall owner mention the Liao family, she understood Qi Zhen'er's intentions and was about to persuade the stall owner to speak up, but Qi Zhen'er pulled on her sleeve and gestured to the handkerchief flower in her hand.

  Ye Baiji wasn't stupid either, seeing the stall owner stop talking and paying attention to her hand movements, she understood what was going on. She picked a few hairpins and some silk flowers, and placed them in front of the stall owner.

  The boss's face immediately smiled like a flower, and was just about to wrap them up.

  "Hey, sis, didn't you say you wanted to buy a pair of pearl hairpins for Aunt? You'd better choose carefully, can't pick something that doesn't suit her."

  Ye Baiji nodded repeatedly, "I was going to Silver Building to pick some for Mother, since you like the things here so much, I'll just pick them here."

  The stall owner laughed even harder when she heard that, Ye Baiji had picked so many things but they didn't add up to the profit of a single pearl hairpin, how could she not be happy if they wanted to buy things from her?

  Ye Bai Zhi picked up something, and Qi Zhen'er's face showed a confused expression, continuing to ask: "Auntie, you just mentioned Liao Jia Wu Jie, who is Liao Jia Wu Jie?"

  The stall owner thought they were big customers and wanted to serve them well, Qizhen asked this question just thinking that the little girl didn't understand things and liked to listen to gossip, so she told everything she knew.

  Liao's fifth sister was the younger sister of Liao Dangjia, born to the same mother. She married a scholar-official and thought that she would become an official's wife when he became an official. Unfortunately, the scholar-official did not achieve good results in his studies for many years and is now just a minor clerk, and also a pedantic one. At first, the couple got along well for several years, but later they had more conflicts. After becoming an official, the scholar-official began to put on airs, thinking that his wife was only responsible for managing the household and that men were in charge outside. He even took several concubines. However, Liao's fifth sister was a fierce and ruthless woman who thought that her husband became an official thanks to her family's influence. When he became an official, he did not take care of his own family, so she vented her anger on the concubines, making their lives miserable. Later, she even found a lover... Ah, these things cannot be said in front of young girls like you.

  Look at that vendor, although he talks a lot, he also knows what's important and what's not.

  Qizhen'er asked persistently: "Auntie, what happened next?"

  But the vendor only shook her head and refused to say anything. Qizhen pulled on her arm, coquettishly saying: "Auntie, good auntie, just tell me, I promise not to spread it around."

  That peddler wasn't afraid of Qizhen saying it out, everyone in the city already knew about this matter, they just didn't dare to discuss it openly due to the Liao family's power. She was worried that if Qizhen and Ye Baiju heard these words and learned something bad, what would happen when their families came looking for them?

  Qī Zhēn ér yòu mó le yí zǎi er, nà tān pīn nài bù guò tā, yā dī shēng xiǎo shēng dào: "Nà jǔ rén yǒu yī huí huí jiā, zhèng hǎo kàn dào Liáo jiā wǔ jiě gēn yī gè nán rén shuì zài chuáng shàng, dàng jì jiù yào bǎ nà jiān tóu dǎ sǐ le, bèi Liáo jiā wǔ jiě gěi lán xià le, shuō nà jǔ rén lǎo ye jiù shì gè chī ruǎn fàn de, méi shén qí hái yào chōng dà yé. Shèn zhì míng bái de shuō tā yǒu hǎo jǐ gè jiān tóu, tā yào shì dǎ sǐ le, tā hái zài zhǎo. Dàng jì bǎ nà jǔ rén lǎo ye qì de bù qīng, nào zhe yào xiū qī, bèi wén xùn gǎn lái de Liáo jiā rén gěi quàn zhù le, dài le Liáo jiā wǔ jiě huí qù jiào dǎo."

  "Who would have thought that in just two days, the official was dismissed from office for his mistakes and even stripped of his title. At this time, the Liao family found him to divorce. Then, the fifth sister of the Liao family returned to the Liao family and became the eldest sister again."

  Qī Zhēn ér pretended to be shocked and exclaimed: "Wow, is there such a thing? That juren is unlucky enough."

  "It's not that, but outside they're all saying that the official was dismissed because of the Liao family. If he hadn't been dismissed, then the fifth sister of the Liao family would have been sent to the Cold Pond."

  "What about Master Juren?" Ye Baiji asked, looking up.

  The street vendor waved her hand and said, "Who knows? Some say he was taken care of by the Liao family, some say he went far away, and others say he encountered robbers and was killed. No one knows where he is, anyway, it's not good."

  Ye Baiji and Qi Zhen'er remained silent for a long time, Ye Baiji didn't even have the mind to pick anything else. She picked up a decent-looking pearl hairpin and asked the vendor to wrap it up.

  The street vendor's wife happily wrapped them up for me and even threw in two hair ties.