During famine years, I had a divination slip in hand, and my whole family ate chicken, duck, fish, a

The Zhao residence.

Zhao Yuanlang gritted his teeth; the wound on his lip from the beating made his temples throb with pain.

He returned to the house, closed the door tightly, and took out a small wooden box from under the bed.

Inside the wooden box was a thick stack of IOUs.

The largest bill is for eight hundred taels, with compound interest, and it will mature at the end of the month.

The entire box was filled with his gambling debts, amounting to four or five thousand.

His family was very strict, and as the eldest grandson, he was regarded as the pride of the family from a young age. If people knew that he was addicted to gambling and owed so much gambling debt...

Zhao Yuanlang stared at the IOU for a long, long time before closing the wooden box and stuffing it back under the bed.

Ye Qingqing...

He slowly sat down, tapping his fingers on the table.

He spent money to have someone investigate this girl, starting from when she started selling animal hides in town, and she made piles of money.

[At this point, I hope readers will remember our domain name: 20 ...

And somehow she managed to find fresh wild vegetables in the dead of winter, selling them for one or two taels of silver per pound. Her shop could easily earn hundreds of taels of silver a day!

It's practically a walking gold mine!

Winning her over is like winning a gold mine for myself; my gambling debts of a few thousand taels are nothing compared to that.

Who knew that the country girl was so tough, she didn't even look down on him, a noble young master from a prestigious family!

Zhao Yuanlang couldn't help but sneer. Since the soft approach wasn't working, he would try another method.

What kind of trouble can a fifteen-year-old country girl cause?

When the carriage came to a stop under the big locust tree at the village entrance, the sun was already high in the sky.

Ye Qingqing jumped out of the car, patted the dirt off her skirt, and was about to walk home when she saw groups of villagers on the village road surging in one direction, their faces filled with excitement at the spectacle.

"Hey, you have some important guests!" Er Gouzi's wife from next door shouted from afar, "What a grand affair! Several carriages! They say it's the son of a wealthy family in town, bringing a whole cartload of gifts!"

Ye Qingqing paused.

She turned her head and glanced at Ye Dazhuang, who was also looking at her. Their eyes met, and Ye Qingqing's heart skipped a beat.

No way.

She quickened her pace towards home, and as she turned the corner of the alley, she could see a large crowd gathered at the entrance of her courtyard. A blue-curtained carriage was parked inside, with two servants standing beside it, holding neatly arranged gift boxes tied with red silk—at least seven or eight items in total. Zhao Yuanlang stood at the entrance to the main room, talking to Ye Youliang, his face bearing his signature gentle smile. His dark blue brocade robe gleamed in the sunlight, a stark contrast to the surrounding earthen walls and tiled roofs.

The villagers watching chattered away, their voices audible from a great distance.

"See that? See that? That's the young master of the Zhao family in town! I saw him when I went to the market in town; his house takes up half a street!"

"What's in that cart? It's tied with red silk, like betrothal gifts?"

"Tsk tsk tsk, the Ye family is about to strike it rich! Their second daughter has married into a wealthy family!"

"That's right. The Zhao family is a prominent family in town. Their fingers are thicker than our waists. If Ye Qingqing marries into that family, she'll be a young mistress, adorned with gold and silver. She won't need to run to town every day to sell wild vegetables."

Ye Qingqing stood outside the crowd, listening to these words. Her expression didn't change much, but the corners of her mouth turned down slightly.

She pushed through the crowd and went inside. Zhao Yuanlang spotted her immediately, his smile deepening. He took two steps forward, cupped his hands, and said, "Miss Qingqing, you're back. I apologize for the abruptness of your visit."

Ye Qingqing glanced at him, then at the pile of gift boxes tied with red silk behind him, and sneered inwardly, but her expression remained calm. "Young Master Zhao, what are you doing?"

"I feel very guilty for my offense at your residence yesterday, so I brought some small gifts to apologize today." Zhao Yuanlang said, pointing to the gift boxes. "It's just a small token of my appreciation, please accept it, Miss Qingqing and your uncle."

Ye Youliang stood to the side, looking extremely uneasy. He was an honest, simple farmer who had never seen such a grand occasion in his life. He didn't know what to do with his hands and feet, and kept rubbing his hands together, "This, this is too much... Young Master Zhao is too kind..."

"Of course," Zhao Yuanlang said with a smile, his gaze falling on Ye Qingqing again. His voice was so gentle it could melt your heart. "Also, I have another important matter that I would like to discuss with Uncle and Miss Qingqing in person."

When he said this, his tone became more serious, and the people around him immediately quieted down and pricked up their ears.

Ye Qingqing's bad premonition grew stronger and stronger.

Zhao Yuanlang took out a red envelope from his sleeve, held it with both hands, and respectfully handed it to Ye Youliang. "Uncle, I have come to your door today to ask for your hand in marriage. I have fallen in love with Miss Qingqing at first sight and wish to marry her with the respect due to a principal wife. I will never betray her in this life. This is the betrothal letter and the engagement letter. I beg you, Uncle, to grant my request."

As soon as he said that, the courtyard erupted in chaos.

"Did you hear me? Did you hear me?! I'm here to propose! I'm here to propose!"

"The legal wife! They're talking about the legal wife, not a concubine!"

"My goodness, Ye Qingqing is going to be a young mistress!"

"Old Ye is incredibly lucky; his daughter is married into the town!"

Ye Qingqing stood there, looking at Zhao Yuanlang's perfectly smiling face, feeling waves of nausea rising in her heart.

"Uncle, there's no need to rush to answer," Zhao Yuanlang said with a smile, striking a pose. "You can take your time to consider it. I am sincerely seeking your hand in marriage and will certainly not mistreat Miss Qingqing."

As he spoke, his gaze passed over Ye Youliang and landed on Ye Qingqing's face, his eyes filled with a determined look of certainty.

Just as Ye Qingqing was about to speak, a muffled sound came from behind her.

She turned around and saw Ye Dazhuang standing at the courtyard gate, one hand gripping the door frame, his knuckles white. His face was ashen, his cheeks clenched tightly, and his eyes were fixed on Zhao Yuanlang, as if he wanted to skin him alive.

Ye Qingqing's heart skipped a beat, and she quickly gave him a wink—don't be impulsive.

When Ye Dazhuang saw her gaze, his grip on the door frame loosened, then tightened again, but he ultimately didn't rush forward.

Ye Qingqing withdrew her gaze, walked to Ye Youliang's side, reached out and took the red envelope, handed it back to Zhao Yuanlang without even looking at it.

"Young Master Zhao, please take this back."

Her voice wasn't loud, but it was steady, and the noise in the courtyard immediately quieted down.

Zhao Yuanlang's smile froze for a moment, then quickly returned. "Miss Qingqing, what's wrong...?"