576 An Arrangement That Can’t Be Rejected
Madam Zhao did not give Fen Lan a chance to speak. “In a rich family, a woman like you will probably be beaten to death before you can even enter the house.”
Fen Lan looked up at her in disbelief.
Madam Zhao, who had been crying non-stop last night and was angry with Third Master Ye, suddenly became a different person today. She was calm and rational. She would not lose control of herself just because of a few words from Fen Lan.
The more Madam Zhao thought about it, the calmer she became. “Our Ye family is not a rich family, so the rules are naturally not that harsh. However, it’s not like our Ye family doesn’t have rules. You’re seriously ill and have a daughter. If your daughter was still young, we would naturally raise her. However, she’s already at the age of marriage. Our Ye family is willing to accept her and find a good marriage for her. We’re willing to give her a generous dowry and let you accompany your daughter for a year or two. That way, when you leave the world, you’ll not be sad.”
Old Madam Ye nodded. “Madam Zhao is kind and tolerant. Kowtow to her and thank her. For her dowry, I’ll give your daughter twenty taels of silver and five acres of third-grade land.”
Fen Lan and her daughter were dumbfounded.
Third Master Ye looked at Madam Zhao. After thinking about it, he couldn’t bring himself to say anything bad about her because she was already being very merciful and tolerant.
Such a dowry was generous enough. Many women did not even have half of it.
Madam Zhao looked at Fen Lan and her daughter. “Do you have anything to say about this arrangement?”
Madam Geng intervened immediately. “What else can she say? If it were me, I would be grateful.”
Madam Qiu nodded. “Sister-in-law, you’re too kind-hearted. If I were you, I would probably have killed her out of anger.”
Tears welled up in Fen Lan and her daughter’s eyes.
Fen Lan pulled Yingying and looked at Third Master Ye with tears in her eyes. “Yingying has no father or relatives since she was young…”
Madam Zhao’s eyes darkened as she gritted her teeth and said, “Fortunately, you came after giving birth. If you came while pregnant, I would never let you give birth to this bastard”
She looked at Fen Lan and her daughter coldly, feeling extremely uneasy. Logically speaking, this arrangement was for the best, but this mother and daughter didn’t seem to be satisfied with it.
Madam Geng and Madam Qiu looked at Fen Lan and her daughter and gradually felt that something was wrong. Why didn’t this arrangement satisfy them? They were quite ambitious. If they didn’t leave and stayed in the Ye family, the family would not be peaceful anymore.
Madam Geng and Madam Qiu frowned. Madam Qiu said coldly, “Your daughter is old enough. She doesn’t need a father anymore.”
Madam Geng also said, “If you really want her to have a father, why didn’t you get married early and find a father for her? What a joke!”
Old Madam Ye’s expression was cold and serious. “Don’t push your luck. Or do you have other motives?”
Fen Lan pulled Yingying and quickly kowtowed. “Old Madam, you’ve misunderstood. We don’t have any other motives. We’re just very touched.”
Old Madam Ye snorted. “If you’re very touched, then no more talking about this. Just listen to the arrangements.”
Fen Lan nodded. “Yes.”
After Fen Lan agreed, Madam Zhao heaved a sigh of relief.
Old Madam Ye no longer looked at Fen Lan and her daughter. She looked at First Master Ye and Second Master Ye. “From now on, if such a thing happens again, don’t call me Mother.”
First Master Ye and Second Master Ye quickly knelt down. “Mother, we don’t dare.”
Third Master Ye also knelt down. “Mother, hit me to vent your anger.”
Old Madam Ye looked away. “Is hitting you going to help? If hitting you helped, I would have done it.”
Such a thing would leave an indelible stain in the history of the Ye family.
Old Madam Ye continued. “You should make it up to your wife. Think about it. When I was sick and bedridden, who took care of me? Who was taking care of this family. The entire family is heartbroken by you. Don’t take pity on people just because they shed a few tears.”
Third Master Ye lowered his head in guilt.
It was the same for First Master Ye and Second Brother Ye. Although they weren’t the ones in trouble, they had also had some affairs outside.
Since ancient times, filial piety had always been important. Being criticized and scolded by their mother made them feel guilty.
When Old Madam Ye saw this, she waved her hand. “Go and find a matchmaker to settle the marriage as soon as possible.”
First Master Ye quickly replied. “Okay, I’ll go and do it now.”
Old Madam Ye waved her hand and asked everyone to leave.
Madam Zhao returned to her room, and Third Master Ye quickly followed.
Ye Niuniu went out. Since she was engaged to Liu Erlang, the Ye family was not concerned about Liu Erlang taking her out to play.
Fen Lan pulled Yingying and wanted to do the chore, but Madam Geng and Madam Qiu stopped her. Fen Lan’s expression darkened, and she took Yingying back to the woodshed.
There was a temporary bed in the small woodshed where the mother and daughter slept.
After closing the door, Yingying grabbed her mother’s hand. “Mother, what should we do now? They don’t want us to stay. How can we stay?”
Fen Lan’s expression darkened. “They want us to leave, but It’s not going to be that easy.”
Fen Lan instructed Yingying. “Go and get the jar.”
Yingying went to take out a palm-sized black jar from her bag. She seemed to have thought of something and looked a little resistant and afraid.
Fen Lan held her finger, opened the jar, and put her hand in. Yingying bit her lip and let out a muffled cry of pain. Fen Lan smiled. “My good boy, get to work after eating.”