The Double
Chapter 214 - 214 98 Trouble_2

214: Chapter 98 Trouble_2 214: Chapter 98 Trouble_2 “The Ye Family was indeed living well in Xiangyang, but that was several months ago,” Ye Jiaer said with a wry smile, “but now, look at the situation.

People always say that after prosperity comes decline; could it be that the Ye Family’s time to wither has arrived?”

In Ye Jiaer’s tone was an unmistakable sense of loss.

Although she usually carried herself with grace and propriety, she was still young and the sudden onslaught of events had an impact on her.

Especially since her eldest uncle and father had been taken away and their circumstances were unknown, she was bound to be affected.

Jiang Li noticed the dark circles under her eyes; these past days, she must have hardly had a good night’s sleep.

“Man will triumph over nature; there is no such thing as an appointed time for prosperity or decline.

Besides, the Ye Family hasn’t done any wrong, so surely heaven will look after the Ye Family,” Jiang Li consoled her.

As the words left her mouth, she almost wanted to laugh.

Heaven surely doesn’t care for someone just because they are good.

In her previous life, wasn’t everyone in the Xue Family upright and righteous throughout their lives, yet they ended up alone and destitute.

Heaven has never been reliable; one can only rely on oneself.

She steadied herself and said to Ye Jiaer, “Cousin, don’t speak such disheartening words.

In my opinion, our eldest uncle and second uncle, being in the government office, are unlikely to encounter any trouble.

If there were any real desire to harm them, it would have been made clear by now.

This secrecy, on the contrary, suggests that a deal is being made.

I guess Tong Zhiyang is refusing to let the aunts see them because he’s waiting to drive up his price.”

“Waiting to drive up his price?” Ye Jiaer was puzzled.

“Isn’t this sort of thing common in the business world?

Many deals aren’t completed all at once; there’s a process of pulling and tugging, a stalemate where both sides gradually make concessions until a price acceptable to both is reached.

At this point, it depends on who has more bargaining chips.

The one with the heavier chips is fearless and patient, able to withstand the wait.

Once the other side starts panicking and can’t keep their cool, they’ll instinctively make the first concession, offering up more,” she explained.

Ye Jiaer suddenly understood and said, “You mean to say that right now, Tong Zhifu and our Ye Family are like parties engaged in a business transaction.

By not allowing our family to see father and eldest uncle, if our family members become anxious and lose their cool, they will back down on their own, and at that point, we’ll accept whatever conditions Tong Zhifu proposes.”

“That’s exactly what I mean,” Jiang Li said with a smile, thinking Ye Jiaer was very clever.

“But, what kind of deal does Tong Zhifu ultimately want to make with us?” Ye Jiaer was still confused, “By detaining our family members, what does he want to do?” Unconsciously, whenever Ye Jiaer encountered a problem, she had grown used to discussing it with Jiang Li.

After all, Lady Guan and Lady Zhuo didn’t get involved in business matters, and Ye Rufeng was still too naive, leaving Jiang Li as the only one in the room able to hold a meaningful conversation.

“That will depend on the terms Tong Zhiyang comes up with,” Jiang Li said.

“Rest assured, if Tong Zhiyang indeed has the intention to deal, it won’t be long before he proposes his terms.

We just have to wait.”

Seeing Jiang Li’s confident demeanor, as if she had found her backbone, Ye Jiaer also gradually calmed down.

Her expression eased slightly, and she teased, “However, why does cousin keep addressing Tong Zhifu by his name directly?

If someone heard this…

”

“He’s just a government official,” Jiang Li said with a smile in her eyes, a hint of naïve irrelevance, “My father is the Grand Secretary.

Even if I were to call his name directly to his face, no matter how much he resents it in his heart, he would have to behave submissively.”

Ye Jiaer blinked in surprise, and Ye Rufeng also turned to look at Jiang Li.

Even though they had long been aware of this cousin’s past “great accomplishments,” the Jiang Li who had arrived at the Ye Family was always gentle and considerate, seemingly unrelated to the harsh legitimate daughter spoken of in rumors.

Over time, people would come to think that Jiang Li was amiable and soft-natured, but at this moment, the disdain with which she spoke of Tong Zhiyang was unmistakably observed by both Ye Jiaer and Ye Rufeng.

Jiang Li truly looked down on Tong Zhiyang.

Jiang Li certainly looked down on Tong Zhiyang, but not simply because he was just a government official.

This Tong Zhiyang had reached his position by relying on his brother-in-law and his wife’s influence.

He presented himself as very henpecked, yet he kept a concubine outside and even fathered a child.

At the end of the year, as the district magistrate was to receive a performance review from the government official, Xue Huaiyuan maintained his integrity, unlike other magistrates who would send silver to Tong Zhifu.

In response, Tong Zhifu purposely caused trouble for Xue Huaiyuan.

Xue Zhao couldn’t stand by and let it happen, intending to catch some of Tong Zhifu’s wrongdoings.

He didn’t expect to uncover this secret and used it to threaten Tong Zhifu, forcing him to stop making trouble for Xue Huaiyuan.

Xue Huaiyuan himself was unaware of Xue Zhao’s interference, only finding it strange that in the following years Tong Zhifu stopped harassing him.

In truth, if not for Xue Zhao’s fortuitous discovery of Tong Zhiyang’s secret, Xue Huaiyuan’s tenure as magistrate could have been cut short.

Given Tong Zhiyang’s pettiness, he certainly would have found an excuse to dismiss Xue Huaiyuan from his post.