Courtyard House: My Wife is Xu Huizhen

Page 393

He Yuzhu said, "Although sparrows are considered pests, they are still edible. We can buy some sparrows and stew them; they'll taste delicious."

He Yushui laughed and said, "Brother, how come you have such a good appetite? You want to eat everything."

"Okay, but don't eat it when I make it."

"Hmph!" He Yushui turned her face and complained to He Daqing:

"Dad, look, my brother is bullying me."

Just as He Daqing was about to speak, he heard a commotion coming from ahead, saying, "What's going on now? Let's go out and see."

He Yushui was just being coquettish; she wasn't really wronged, so she followed him out of the house.

You can clearly hear voices in front of you, it's quite chaotic. After waiting at the door for less than two minutes, you see a group of people come in, and Xu Xiaomei is walking in the middle.

This was something I had agreed upon with He Yuzhu beforehand. Xu Xiaomei was supposed to go back to the courtyard tonight to clarify things and resolve the issue. Continuing to drag this out like this is not a normal thing.

Upon seeing Xu Xiaomei, Yi Zhonghai angrily said, "You still know how to come back?"

"Old Yi, stop talking. It'll only make things worse if she leaves again. It would be good enough if she came back at all," Yan Bugui advised.

Xu Xiaomei snorted and said, "Do you want me to make everything public?"

It would be too shameful for Yi Wending to become a eunuch if word got out, so Yi Zhonghai had previously asked the Xu family not to talk about it. So when Xu Xiaomei said this, Yi Zhonghai felt extremely aggrieved.

Those who had been watching the spectacle immediately began to guess why the younger sister had only completed the wedding ceremony on the day of the wedding but had not consummated her marriage with Yi Wending.

She must have discovered something wrong, which is why she made the decision to elope.

The question itself is baffling, and no one would be foolish enough to ask Yi Zhonghai directly; they would only guess in their hearts.

Yan Bugui was also very curious, but he said, "Uncle Yi, now that my little sister is back, don't talk about him anymore. Sit down and talk things out. We still need to live a good life together in the future."

The white widow muttered curses under her breath. Although she was very resentful, she didn't want to provoke Xu Xiaomei any further, lest she cause an even bigger problem.

Yi Wending was also very nervous, afraid that Xu Xiaomei would suddenly reveal the fact that he was a eunuch in public, and that would be worse than death.

Yi Zhonghai was also worried about this, and quickly said, "Little sister, now that we've held a wedding ceremony and completed the rituals, we're all family now. Any issues should be resolved at home."

After pausing for a moment, she remembered an idea and then said, "You only had a few words with the boss. I've already criticized him, and he promised not to do it again. So don't be angry."

Yi Wending also recovered and said, "Yes, little sister, I shouldn't have said that to you. It's all my fault, so please don't be angry."

He was seething with hatred, but for now, he had to appease his younger sister to prevent her from spouting more nonsense.

He was also thinking about how to teach his younger sister a lesson in the future. He was determined to torture her severely and not let her have any pleasure.

It's perfectly normal for couples to fight; we absolutely cannot let her live a good life.

Seeing that the father and son were both so sensible, Xu Xiaomei took the opportunity to back down and said, "Alright, let's make things clear."

Yi Zhonghai nodded in satisfaction. It was already the best outcome that the matter could be resolved today.

Inside the east wing, the Yi and Xu families sat down separately, and Yi Zhonghai was the first to launch an attack:

"This is outrageous! Running away on your wedding day?"

Xu Xiaomei showed no respect for her father-in-law, and said disdainfully:

"Don't you know your own son's situation?"

"Then you can't just run away without saying a word."

"I have already married your son as agreed, we've gone through the wedding ceremony and entered the bridal chamber, what more do you want from me?"

“Of course, it’s consummating the marriage!” Yi Zhonghai exclaimed.

Chapter 286 Eliminating Pests

Xu Xiaomei looked disgusted and asked, "Is your son even a son? He's just a useless eunuch. What would I keep him for?"

"You..." Yi Zhonghai felt like his lungs were about to explode with anger. He couldn't catch his breath and was gasping for air while clutching his chest.

Widow Bai was startled and quickly got up, patting Yi Zhonghai on the back and shouting, "You brat, how can you talk to your father-in-law like that?"

"He's not my father-in-law," Xu Xiaomei said angrily.

Yi Zhonghai, having recovered his composure, said to Xu Wude, "Old Xu, you should also discipline your daughter; she has absolutely no manners."

"hehe!"

Xu Wude wasn't angry. He simply said, "Our Xu family has excellent family values. Unlike some people who force others to marry their daughters to their eunuch sons."

Yi Zhonghai was even more hurt now; this really hit a nerve.

Xu Xiaomei said, "Don't push me too far. If you push me too far, I'll tell everyone everything and then file for divorce. Then we'll see who looks worse."

"You can't do this, little sister, let's talk this out."

The white widow was terrified. If this were made public, her son would have no face to live with.

They will be pointed at and talked about for the rest of their lives, and will never be able to hold their heads up again.

Yi Zhonghai was also discouraged, realizing that he was still being manipulated. He thought and thought, but couldn't come up with a way to resolve the current conflict. It seemed that he would have to see what Xu Xiaomei thought.

Thinking about it, it makes sense. If he makes it public, his family will be embarrassed, and her father will be branded as someone who sold his daughter. That wouldn't look good either.

It also involves Xu Damao's assault, which might affect his future marriage prospects.

He said, "Little sister, let's discuss things together. If things get out of hand, it will affect your father's and your brother's reputation, and then your brother won't be able to find a wife."

Xu Xiaomei thought so too. If it weren't for Xu Damao, she wouldn't have married Yi Wending, that eunuch.

Although he was already married, he didn't want to be tied to Yi Wending for the rest of his life, otherwise he wouldn't be able to live like that, and he would rather be bullied to death every day.

So I made up my mind early on to make a scene and then fight for economic and lifestyle independence.

She said, "I'm getting married, but I won't live with him. I'll go to work and live on my own from now on. I won't go to the machine repair factory's dormitory."

After obtaining his marriage certificate, Yi Wending applied for a room in a tenement building near the machine repair factory to use as their marital home.

The place was only about 10 square meters in size, and there wasn't even a kitchen, so of course Xu Xiaomei wouldn't sleep in the same bed as Yi Wending.

Yi Wending's face turned ashen with anger, and he shouted, "No way! What would that be? My wedding would have been for nothing!"

"Do you think you're still of any use?" Xu Xiaomei retorted, leaving Yi Wending speechless with anger.

Yi Zhonghai thought for a moment and said, "It's fine if you live separately, but I have one condition."

"What?" Xu Xiaomei asked.

Yi Zhonghai said, "You should also show your face often, so as not to arouse suspicion. You can also say that the machinery factory allocated the houses to you and that you usually live in the factory."

After thinking for a moment, Xu Xiaomei said, "That works too."

Yi Zhonghai added, "And in the future, you should come over to celebrate holidays with us, just like a family."

Xu Xiaomei nodded. There shouldn't be any problem with that. At most, she would go for a walk during the day, but she would definitely not spend the night with Yi Wending.

"I won't spend your money anymore, but you shouldn't expect to get a single penny from me for household expenses."

Yi Zhonghai wanted to save face for his son and keep Xu Xiaomei at home, so he nodded in agreement.

Xu Xiaomei said, "I have one last condition."

"what?"

"You have to return that 1500 yuan."

That was compensation for my father's imprisonment, which lasted for nearly four years. It was less than 1400 yuan, but Yi Zhonghai took 1500 yuan and even paid me more than 100 yuan out of pocket.

Yi Zhonghai thought it was just a normal offer, but he didn't expect Xu Xiaomei to want the money back, and he was immediately unhappy.

"No, that's compensation for the child."

Xu Xiaomei said, "Returning the money is the prerequisite; otherwise, there's no point in discussing anything else."

By putting the money last, she was giving Yi Zhonghai hope. If he agreed to hand over the money, she would obediently cooperate and nominally become Yi's daughter-in-law.

This does not violate Hughwood's previous promise.

Although the Xu family members are all a bit wicked, it's also a kind of wisdom in life. They won't easily break their promises, after all, they all live in a courtyard house, and promises are more important than anything else.

No one knows when family problems might arise. Neighbors won't fall out, for fear that if something unexpected happens, the other party will stand idly by.

Therefore, Xu Xiaomei was willing to live her whole life bearing the title of Yi family's daughter-in-law.

But I still want my money back.

Yi Zhonghai was naturally unwilling. The money was already in his own pocket, so how could he possibly take it back? After all, in his view, that money was originally his salary.

Xu Xiaomei stubbornly refused to budge and insisted on getting all the money back. And so, they argued back and forth, unable to reach an agreement.

Finally, when he was forced into a corner, Yi Zhonghai said, "I need the money so that you two can live a good life. I have two sons, so I'll give you half."

"No, half is too little. You need at least 1,300."

Both sides softened their stance, but there was still a significant disagreement regarding the amount. After several rounds of bargaining, they finally settled on a price of one thousand yuan.

Moreover, it was agreed that the previously agreed-upon 10 yuan was no longer due, and Yi Zhonghai would not pay any more money.

Xu Xiaomei was very satisfied with the result; getting 1000 yuan back was already an unexpected bonus.

I was originally thinking that getting three or five hundred back would be a good result.

Xu Wude was extremely satisfied, watching his daughter argue her point and hold her own, and he thought to himself that she had really grown up and could stand on her own.