Chapter 854: 854 Third Brother Sees Through Rong’er’s Schemes
Xiao Yuchuan scraped the medicinal paste from his wound and placed it on the old bandage, “Third brother is not skilled, and although my wife has been teaching Fourth Brother medical skills recently, I’ve also learned a little. I knew that when she made that cut, she showed restraint. Knowing you were unharmed, I didn’t worry too much. The family has no objections to you bringing a woman back. You said Li Rong’er, a weak girl, nearly got sold to a kiln; if you want to do a good deed with the money I earned with you, I wouldn’t have any complaints. But you… used your wife’s money.”
He fell silent, his face showing extreme discomfort.
“Second brother,” Yuchuan’s voice betrayed no emotion, “even if your wife bears no romantic feelings for you, even if she tells you to marry another, you shouldn’t use her money to bring another woman back. After all, before today… in the eyes of the world… she was still considered the wife the Xiao Family had taken in by marriage.”
At this point, his voice became slightly strained, “Have you ever considered, morally speaking, how utterly wrong this course of action is?”
“I’ve said that I will repay her the twenty taels I spent on Li Rong’er!” Xiao Yishan’s expression was icy.
“This isn’t about the twenty taels of silver.” Xiao Yuchuan said, “It’s about the behavioral issue. Imagine, if your wife used your money to bring another man into the house, how would you feel?”
“I’ve said it, Rong’er was bought to be a maid in the Xiao Family!” He tried to say more, but Xiao Yuchuan cut him off, “Second brother, there’s no need to keep making excuses. No master would cook dinner for a maid, no master would be too reluctant to let a servant fetch water, nor would any master eat alongside a servant at every meal. Moreover, no master would ever talk of consummating with a servant. And certainly no master would ever say they aren’t worthy of a servant! Your feelings for Li Rong’er are different. Can you honestly say that in your heart, you truly consider her a servant?”
Xiao Yishan was so confronted that he couldn’t utter a single word in response.
Once Xiao Yuchuan had cleaned away the blood-stained old medicinal paste from the wound and wiped it dry with a cloth towel, he used a spatula to apply the newly-made medicinal paste from the bowl onto the injury, and then he wrapped it with a new bandage, “This cut represents what you owe your wife.”
There was a hint of apology in Xiao Yishan’s voice, “Actually, I also know I shouldn’t have rescued Li Rong’er. But she did me a favor, and I just couldn’t bear to see her sold into a pit of fire.”
“You keep saying she has done you a favor.” Yuchuan asked, “What exactly has she done for you?”
With no one else around, Xiao Yishan told him about the affair where Li Rong’er had given Xing one tael of silver on behalf of Lady Mo, and added, “Although that one tael of silver was given on Lady Mo’s behalf, the affair started because Lady Mo left vegetables for me to eat, so it can be considered a favor to me too.”
After hearing this, Xiao Yuchuan’s brows furrowed in confusion, “Second brother, what kind of favor is this? Don’t you see there’s a big problem with this? A head maid earning 300 cents a month, one tael of silver is her wages for three or four months. Life is not easy for a servant, always having to bow and scrape before others; a woman who manages to become a head maid certainly has her wits about her and should greatly value her silver. Even if she gave one tael of silver, knowing full well you’re not short of money, you should at least have returned it, and accepted another amount in its place. Not doing so is a major issue.”
“What could the problem be?” Xiao Yishan truly couldn’t understand.
Xiao Yuchuan spoke thoughtfully, “The quickest ways to win over and gain favor with a person are to bestow favors upon them, to return favors, and third, to tell that person you admire them greatly.”
PS: Dear girls, could you flip over and see if you have any monthly tickets left?