When the long night was over and morning arrived, Ye Ling woke up, got down from the bed lightly, and got dressed.
He went downstairs to find all his brothers had already woken up.
“Morning, Yang, Liu, Mo.”
The four washed up by the well. Ye Ling asked the other three, “Shall we have porridge today?”
“Sure, anything will do. We love eating whatever you make,” Ye Liu said with a smile.
Ever since Liu Duo had arrived at their house, Ye Ling would ask for their opinions on meal choices.
Ye Yang finished washing up, got a broom, and started sweeping.
He opened the front door to find Grandmother Liu and the other two still sitting at the entrance, huddled on the ground against the wall.
They hadn’t left throughout the whole night. Ye Yang didn’t even say anything or show any emotion as he resumed his chores.
The sound of his sweeping the yard could be heard. Slowly, the three woke up.
When she saw Ye Yang sweeping the fallen leaves, Grandmother Liu shot wide awake.
“Yang, is Duo Er awake yet? Please don’t press charges, I beg of you!”
Her voice was very hoarse in the morning. It was not easy on the ears.
Ye Yang didn’t even look at her.
Ye Liu, who had finished washing up too, went over when he heard the sounds. “Oh, you’re quite early today. Afraid we’d go take it up with the officials? My, you’re awfully active. Sadly we’ll have our breakfast first before we go, so… keep waiting.”
He giggled, and lent a hand with the sweeping.
Grandmother Liu could identify the joke hidden in his words, so she went up to him sincerely, “Liu, please, can you advise Liu Duo? We’ve been here all night. That’s punishment enough. Don’t go to the government office, please.”
Ye Liu only smiled in response and said nothing.
They agreed with whatever Liu Duo decided and whatever she wanted to do. Her four husbands would support her no matter what.
After one night, Liu Qing, face still bruised, wobbled as he stood up. He remained quiet as he slowly made his way out of the bamboo forest.
Grandmother saw him leave and quickly woke Liu Quanyan. The two quickly followed him, afraid he would do something regrettable.
By the time Liu Duo woke up, Grandmother Liu and her posse were long gone.
After breakfast, and after Li Wazi’s family arrived, Ye Liu, Ye Mo, and Li Wazi went to town on their ox-cart.
They went to file a complaint. Later, an official would arrive to summon Liu Qing and bring him in for questioning.
“Liu, Mo, how long do you think Liu Qing’s prison sentence will be when this blows over?” Li Wazi asked an honest question.
Ye Liu scoffed, “Either three or four years. But Mo’s complaint was written quite nicely, so I think he would get four years.”
Li Wazi nodded. The longer the better, he thought. That way, he couldn’t disturb them.
The three delivered the tomato sauce to the restaurant, which the management had previously ordered. After that, they came across Dongfang Ming by chance.
“Brother Ye…” Naturally, Dongfang Ming had seen them too.
It wasn’t hot that morning, so he hadn’t taken his horse carriage.
“Brother Dongfang…” Ye Liu responded with a smile, and introduced Ye Mo beside him, “This is my third brother, Ye Mo. You can call him Mo.”
When Ye Mo heard his brother mention the name of this man, he was able to guess that this was Mr. Dongfang, who had an interest in their wife.
Damn it! The man was quite handsome too! Ye Mo couldn’t deny it.
Dongfang Ming observed the brother who looked similar to Ye Liu, but with a different temperament, and thought, I’ve seen three out of four brothers now. They all look quite dashing. I haven’t met the eldest, but he shouldn’t look too different…
He greeted him with a smile, “Pleasure to meet you.”
