Because Ye Jiu had determined that he couldn’t be the main proprietor of the soap.
If the Liu Family were willing to easily let go of this profitable venture they had already consumed, the Empress wouldn’t have scolded her at the beginning.
However, reality always defied Ye Jiu’s expectations. Liu Yunqing nodded without hesitation, and his eyes carried a very serious expression, "The soap originally belonged to the Ye Family. It was the Liu Family’s greed that led to its acquisition through despicable means. The Liu Family has profited from the soap for quite a while now, and today, if the Ye Family wishes to reclaim it, the Liu Family will naturally hand it over willingly."
Now that Liu Yunqing had the backing of the Princess Consort, even if he had to return the soap to Ye Jiu, although there might be objections within the Liu Family, they could still be suppressed.
After all, the Liu Family had existed in Dongyue for hundreds of years,
although the profits from soap were not insignificant, for the entire Liu Family, even the loss of them wouldn’t cause any impact.
The Liu Family in Dongyue had long been a colossal entity, and with the protection of the Royal Family, they had contributed a great deal to the national treasury over the centuries. Otherwise, the Princess Consort would not have been able to marry the esteemed Prince as a merchant’s daughter.
The Princess Consort and the Liu Family depended on each other. As long as the Princess Consort said the word, the Liu Family would definitely not fall out with her over a mere soap recipe.
Liu Yunqing thought that saying this would make Ye Jiu very satisfied.
Unfortunately, he underestimated Ye Jiu’s wariness.
Exactly because Liu Yunqing had placed himself too low, Ye Jiu felt even more uneasy about his intentions.
At the very least, there wasn’t much of a relationship that Liu Yunqing and the Ye Family would regret losing. If he went to such extremes, it was definitely because he had an ulterior motive.
Ye Jiu didn’t act rashly, but Ye Gaosheng was starting to lose his composure.
"This was your own offer to return the soap..."
The words that followed were drowned out by Ye Jiu’s firm grip on him.
Ye Gaosheng’s entire face twisted from the pinching, but in front of Liu Yunqing, he still had to keep it tightly controlled and not let it show.
Fortunately, although Ye Jiu’s grip was strong, it did not last long.
So, once she let go, Ye Gaosheng quickly turned and walked over to the table, picked up a cup of water, and pretended to drink tea to secretly wipe away his tears.
He didn’t understand why Ye Jiu pinched him when it was Liu Yunqing who offered to exchange the soap back.
Oh God, it really hurt!
"Liu Gongzi’s willingness is already sufficient. However, regarding the soap, Prince Dongyue had already compensated the Liu Family for it long ago, and the Empress also provided a reward. Therefore, the soap recipe has long since belonged to the Liu Family," Ye Jiu said.
Ye Gaosheng, who was pretending to drink water, felt his heart quiver violently. Originally, the tears were due to physical pain, but this time, it was from heartache.
Because they could no longer produce soap at home, his second sister-in-law had refused to speak a word to him until now.
Seeing that an opportunity for return had emerged, yet his younger sister casually dismissed it with a single phrase, made Ye Gaosheng feel as if his heart was convulsing.
Looking at Ye Jiu, Liu Yunqing suddenly spoke, "I’m serious."
He feared Ye Jiu might think he was playing with her by making these statements. After all, for the Liu Family to have done what they did to steal the recipe and now to offer it so readily, it indeed seemed quite incomprehensible.
"I’m not joking either," Ye Jiu replied.
No matter whether it was the Empress or Prince Dongyue, what they had given had already exceeded the benefits of the soap house. As for the discontent in the hearts of Ye Jiu and Ye Gaosheng, it was only against the Liu Family’s bullying methods.
Besides feeling uncomfortable, materially, they weren’t actually at a loss.