Chapter 451: Chapter 440: The Top Scorer from a Farming Family
The celebration at the Wang family for Wang Zhaoxing’s admission as a scholar ended quickly. Before they could even start, Ye Baomin’s family began rushing people out, but since the incident occurred at the Wang family’s home, Wang Yang and Wang Po could only send people off with forced smiles.
However, no one blamed them, after all, the Wang family was the victim!
And since they had heard and seen things they shouldn’t have, their trip was not wasted.
Soon, only the Wang family, Ye Baomin’s family, Ye Qiu, and the second rascal were left in the courtyard, as Xiuya and the others had already returned home early following Ye Qiu’s instructions.
Ye Baomin had a grim expression, while the second rascal did not care and cheerfully said, "Grandpa, father-in-law, and mother-in-law, don’t worry, I will propose marriage tomorrow."
"Who is your mother-in-law?" Ye Wangshi roared, holding her sobbing daughter, wishing she could eat the second rascal’s flesh and drink his blood.
The second rascal did not take it seriously, his parents had died early, and he was not very capable, so over the years he had endured a lot of cold treatment: "Of course, you are my mother-in-law, Ye Mei belongs to me, if I don’t marry her, should I just watch her sink in the pond? Don’t worry, I, the second rascal, dare to act and will not deny my responsibilities."
In fact, the second rascal was thrilled inside. This was the village chief’s granddaughter, would her dowry be small? Gaining a wife for free without spending any dowry, this was a huge profit!
The second rascal was still reminiscing about Ye Mei’s figure, regretting that he was too confused at the moment, feeling unclear, but it did not matter, once they were married, he could touch however he wanted.
Therefore, he smilingly said to Ye Mei, "Wife, rest assured, I will definitely treat you well in the future."
Hearing the words of the second rascal, Ye Mei cried even harder, even fainting at one point. She was supposed to marry Wang Zhaoxing, not a universally reviled rascal like the second rascal.
Her face all tear-stained, she looked piteously at Wang Zhaoxing and weakly pleaded, "Save me, Zhaoxing brother, please, save me."
At this, the second rascal’s playful smile faded. What, was she still seducing other men when she was about to become his wife?
Similarly, the faces of the Wang family did not look good. What was Ye Mei doing? Those unaware might think Zhaoxing had some relationship with her!
"Wang Yang, what do you have to say about today’s events? My granddaughter encountered trouble at your home," said Ye Baomin, drawing on his dry tobacco and questioning in a manner that demanded accountability from the Wang family.
Wang Po suddenly laughed sarcastically and retorted, "Oh, blaming my family now? I didn’t make your granddaughter climb into a man’s bed."
At this, the Ye family’s faces turned even darker, and Ye Mei’s cries grew louder.
"Then, I want to ask, how did the second rascal end up in Wang Zhaoxing’s room?" Ye Baomin wouldn’t focus on anything else and just kept insisting on this point.
"What’s so strange about that? We were hosting a celebration today, the second rascal drank too much and went in to take a rest, didn’t he!" Wang Po rolled her eyes and retorted.
"Is that so?" Ye Baomin glared darkly at the second rascal.
The second rascal was not intimidated, determined to marry Ye Mei, he boldly pushed all blame onto her: "Yes, that’s right, I just drank too much and went in to lie down for a while, how was I to know that Ye Mei would come in and sleep next to me."
"Nonsense, I clearly put Wang Zhaoxing..." Ye Ming, angered and black-faced, began to shout, then quickly shut his mouth under the knowing gaze of the Wang family.
Ye Baomin’s expression darkened even more, glaring fiercely at Ye Ming and Ye Wangshi, his spouse, both of whom were more trouble than they were worth.
"Oh, so that’s the case. I was wondering why your family kept dragging us along!" Wang Zhao Yang said mockingly.
Ye Wei and Mrs. Xiao Wang also looked embarrassed. They had followed their father’s instructions to stall the Wang Family, thinking that Ye Mei’s marriage to Wang Zhaoxing was a settled matter. However, they did not expect it to turn out this way. Had they known earlier, they wouldn’t have helped. Now, they got themselves into trouble. Having a niece like Ye Mei, won’t people laugh at them when they go out? Besides, they have a daughter of their own. How is she going to get married after this?
"Wang Family, make sure you have evidence when you speak," Ye Baomin warned dangerously.
But Wang Zhaoxing is now a scholar, why would he fear him?
Wang Po immediately said: "Since it has already happened, seeing that Second Rascal’s attitude is decent, and he admitted to it, though the incident indeed happened at my house. How about this, when Ye Mei gets married, as an old lady, I will provide a generous dowry as an apology?"
At the mention of money, Second Rascal’s eyes lit up, then he grinned and said: "Then thank you, Wang Po. I will definitely invite you to have a drink at the wedding."
Ye Baomin closed his eyes and took a deep breath, knowing that he could not escape from this scandal of Ye Mei today, especially since so many women had seen Ye Mei and Second Rascal in disarray, lying on the same bed.
But he was not willing to let it go. How did Wang Zhaoxing manage to evade this? His eldest son, Mingming, had assured him that he personally helped Wang Zhaoxing onto the bed. Was this a conspiracy against Old Ye Family? Could it be that Wang Yang wished to take over as village chief now that his son had become a scholar?
Ye Baomin indeed forgot that if it weren’t for their initial scheming, none of this would have happened.
Seeing that her grandparents and parents were silent, Ye Mei, engulfed in fear, cried out: "Grandfather, father, mother, I don’t want to marry Second Rascal, I don’t want to! Please."
However, after what happened, other than not marrying Second Rascal, Ye Mei only had death as an alternative.
This was not without precedent. When Ye Baomin first became village chief, an incident of a widow committing adultery occurred, and to establish his authority, no matter how the widow defended herself, he had her drowned in the pond.
If Ye Mei does not marry, where does Ye Baomin’s authority stand? Could he still command respect? Even if he is no longer the village chief, would others let Ye Mei off? It is hard to say.
But if Ye Mei really marries Second Rascal, is the honor of the Ye Family preserved?
At this moment, Ye Baomin had the urge to strangle both Ye Mei and Second Rascal.
"Let’s go, let’s go back," Ye Baomin glared angrily at everyone present. Ye Mei shivered in Ye Wangshi’s arms, feeling that something was off about the way her grandfather looked at her just now.
"Father-in-law, I will come to ask for her hand in marriage tomorrow!" Second Rascal excitedly shouted after the Ye Family as they left.
"Tsk, a no-parent rascal still wants to marry my daughter," Ye Wangshi muttered under her breath.
Ye Ming glared at her: "Enough, why didn’t you speak up earlier?"
Ye Wangshi retorted: "Wasn’t it because of you? Didn’t you assure that the one in the room was Wang Zhaoxing? How did it turn into Second Rascal?"
"How would I know?" Speaking of this, Ye Ming was also furious. He was certain he had personally assisted Wang Zhaoxing into bed, but how did it turn into Second Rascal?
Ye Wei and Mrs. Xiao Wang looked at the couple with a mix of sarcasm and resentment. It was their fault, and now even their daughter’s marriage prospects were in jeopardy.
"Enough, why the quarrel, let’s go home!" Ye Baomin shouted, and Ye Ming and Ye Wangshi instantly shut up, and even Ye Mei could only quietly shed tears.