ROHYX Chapter 649 : Bully The Weak And Fear The Strong (1)

Ye Shi has to deal with Yurong and Jiang Hongjin's marriage crisis; To not lose face, the Jiang couple pressure Jiang Hongjin to apologise to Yurong

Mama Li personally escorted Ye Shi out. When they reached the courtyard doorway, Mama Li lowered her voice as she spoke, "Old Madam Jiang had previously set her sights on Fourth Young Miss and wanted to arrange a marriage between her and Second Young Master Jiang."

Even now, Ye Shi still didn't understand why Qiu Shi was so angry. Honestly, it was fortunate that Fourth Young Miss did not marry Jiang Hongjin. It was even something to be grateful for, so why was Qiu Shi upset instead? But a mother-in-law's thoughts were hard to guess, so it was better not to waste brainpower over it. "Thank you, Mama."

Mama Li was deliberately doing Ye Shi a favour. "It's a small matter, my Lady needn't worry about it. But please allow this old servant to speak out of turn—it's better not to get involved in the Third Branch's affairs. Given the Old Third Lord's selfish and cold nature, even if you help him, he won't remember your kindness."

Ye Shi had no desire to get involved in such matters, but she had no choice. "Wangfei¹ personally made the request, so it's hard for me to refuse." After Yun Qing's rebellion, Jing Wangfei¹had greatly helped them. Since Yuchen had personally made the request, refusing wouldn't have looked good.

Mama Li understood the difficulty of the situation and said nothing more.

A little over half an hour later, someone from Jinyu Alley came to invite Ye Shi. The maid said, "Madam Jiang has come bearing gifts to offer an apology." Wen Shi was always more likely to mess things up than fix them, which was why Han Jingyan stripped her of her authority over household management. There was no way he could trust her to handle such an important matter. As for Yuchen, she had already been married off, so it would not have been appropriate for her to come forward. Thus, Ye Shi was the most suitable person.

By the time Ye Shi arrived at Jinyu Alley, half a shichen² had already passed. Madam Jiang had drunk several cups of tea and was becoming increasingly angry. However, as the Jiang family were in the wrong this time, she could not express her frustration, despite having been kept waiting.

They hadn't torn their faces³ yet, so they were still family for now. When Ye Shi saw Madam Jiang, she was fully courteous: "Sorry to have kept Auntie waiting for so long." Relying on her father as the Grand Chancellor and her niece being the Empress, Madam Jiang had been acting arrogantly and ostentatiously. Many people disliked her because of this.^ℹ️

After a few polite exchanges, Madam Jiang said, "Qingjia Saozi⁵, which couple doesn't argue? But just because of that, she can't just run back to her parents' home every time and refuse to come back, can she? Causing such unrest between our two families over such a small matter is really too much, don't you think?" Yesterday, Jiang Hongjin came home injured, and Madam Jiang was so furious that she almost stormed over to the Han family home to confront them.

Ye Shi accepted the tea handed to her by the maid, blew gently on the peony-painted lid twice, and said slowly, "Even the groom not entering the bridal chamber is also a small matter—perhaps Auntie could explain what would count as a big one?"

At any other time, Jiang Hongjin and Yurong's affair would have caused an enormous scandal and become the talk of the town. However, given the current situation, who would even bother with this gossip now when everyone's attention was on whether the Emperor had committed treason?

Yu Shi's face flushed red. She hadn't expected Yurong to bring up such a topic with her maiden family. Madam Jiang forced a smile and responded, "Qingjia Saozi⁵, it's all just a misunderstanding."

Ye Shi asked gently, "I wonder what kind of misunderstanding it is? Could auntie-in-law please explain it more clearly?" Seeing Yu Shi remain silent, Ye Shi raised her voice by a few notches: "My Han family is also a noble house. We cannot allow our married daughter to be treated with such disgrace. If the Jiang family cannot give us a satisfactory explanation, don't blame us for being unkind." She set the teacup down heavily on the table as she finished speaking, producing a crisp clink.

Madam Jiang was so startled that her heart jumped. When she came to her senses, her face turned red with anger. However, circumstances outweighed her will, so she swallowed her temper and said, "My son is perfectly healthy. He doesn't have a single problem. He didn't enter the bridal chamber because something happened a few days before the wedding that put him in a foul mood."

Yesterday afternoon, Yuchen had someone inquire about Jiang Hongjin's health with the physician treating the Jiang family. The physician said that he was in good health. Naturally, Ye Shi wouldn't argue about this. She just gave a little 'oh' and then, looking surprised, wondering, "He was in a bad mood? What kind of problem could keep him from even entering the bridal chamber?" If something significant had happened within the family, it would make sense that he wasn't in the mood to consummate the marriage. However, the issue here was that he hadn't entered the bridal chamber *at all.

Holding back her anger, Yu Shi replied, "This involves a family matter, not something that can be shared outside. But I can assure you that our Jin-er is in good health—he rarely gets sick."

Ye Shi responded, "Madam Jiang, I believe you. But the issue now is that the Second Young Master Jiang refuses to enter the bridal chamber. This time, however, he must explain this matter; otherwise, as Yurong's eldest brother and sister-in-law, we simply will not accept it."

Yu Shi knew it wouldn't be possible to persuade Yurong to return with just a few words. "What do you want in order to be satisfied?"

Ye Shi's conditions were simple: Jiang Hongjin must formally apologise to Yurong and promise that nothing like this would ever happen again.

Unable to decide it herself, Yu Shi said, "I'll go back and have Jin-er come and apologise to Yurong." In truth, Yu Shi resented Yurong deeply. It was only two days into the marriage that he hadn't entered the bridal chamber. It wasn't as if he never would. But now the whole matter had blown up, causing the family to lose all face.

Ye Shi nodded. "As the saying goes, it's better to tear down a temple than to break up a marriage⁶. If Second Young Master Jiang is willing to listen to Madam Jiang, then all the better." Jiang Hongjin's actions clearly showed he had no regard for the Han family, so Ye Shi saw no reason to be polite either. As for how Yurong would fare back in the Jiang family, that was no longer her concern.

After seeing off Yu Shi, Ye Shi returned to the inner courtyard to see Yurong and told her what had been discussed. "Second Young Master Jiang will come to apologise later. Once he does, just go back with him—don't make any more trouble. The more fuss you cause, the worse it'll be for you." Madam Jiang already disliked Yurong and would loathe her even more after this. Since Jiang Hongjin didn't stand by Yurong either, she was in for a hard time.

Predictably, the Jiang family would treat Yurong even more poorly in the future. To prevent her from frequently running to Yuchen for help and burdening her, Momo Gui advised Yurong that, if she wanted to secure her place in the Jiang family, she must not be afraid of conflict. Just like this time, if Madam Jiang or Second Young Master dared to mistreat her, then she had to make a big scene, big enough that the Jiang family would fear crossing her again.^🦊

To be honest, Momo Gui's approach was somewhat deceptive — it essentially encouraged Yurong to behave like a shrew. As the saying goes, when a scholar meets a soldier, reason is useless⁸. The Jiangs were a scholarly family, and such families cared deeply about their reputation. If Yurong caused a scandal without caring about appearances, Jiang Wenrui wouldn't possibly let it slide, even if Madam Jiang and Jiang Hongjin didn't mind.^🦊

A sharp glint flashed in Yurong's eyes as she said, "I'm not afraid of them. If they dare to bully me, they'll see that I'm not someone they can push around."

Seeing this, Ye Shi no longer worried. "As long as you know what you're doing, that's fine." After all, a family like the Jiangs wouldn't easily divorce a wife.

Ye Shi didn't leave either, waiting for Jiang Hongjin to arrive. She knew that, even though Yurong hadn't consummated the marriage, it would be difficult for her to find another suitable partner after a divorce. Otherwise, Ye Shi would have urged Yurong to leave him. With such a cold and heartless husband, a good life together was out of the question.

It was close to noon when Jiang Hongjin finally arrived to apologise to Yurong.

By this time, Yurong no longer felt any affection for Jiang Hongjin, only resentment. She asked, "You must make it clear today: why didn't you consummate the marriage with me?"

Hearing such a direct question, a flicker of disgust flashed in Jiang Hongjin's eyes. Nevertheless, he replied, "Because I was very worried about the situation in Liaodong—that's why I didn't enter the bridal chamber."

Yurong sneered. "What a loyal and devoted subject you are, always thinking of the country and its people. I might go back, but only if you can guarantee that nothing like this will ever happen again."

Struggling to hold back his nausea, Jiang Hongjin promised, "It won't happen again." The night before, he had told Jiang Wenrui that he wanted to divorce Yurong, and in return, got a slap across his face. Jiang Wenrui had warned him that he would disown him if he dared to go through with the divorce. Even Madam Jiang had told him before coming over that if he didn't bring Yurong back and let her cause another scene, the whole capital would know by tomorrow that he was impotent. If that happened, he could forget about ever marrying again.

After two chaotic days, Jiang Hongjin finally brought Yurong back to the Jiang household. That night, they consummated the marriage. Jiang Hongjin was not interested at all and only managed it by taking aphrodisiacs. As soon as it was over, he rolled over and tried to sleep, treating Yurong as if she were a raging flood or fierce beast¹⁰—one more glance at her could cost him his life.

Yurong wasn't the kind of person to swallow her anger in silence¹¹. She threw on a robe, sat up, and asked, "What do you mean by this?" There was hardly anything more humiliating than this.

Jiang Hongjin replied coldly, "I already did what I promised. What more do you want?" Despite his disgust, he had forced himself to go through with it—he hadn't expected this woman to make such a fuss still.

Furious, Yurong kicked Jiang Hongjin off the bed, grabbed a pillow, and hurled it at his head. After hitting him, she shouted, "What did you mean by what you just said? Say it again if you dare!"

Jiang Hongjin was livid. "Crazy woman." No one had ever laid a finger on him since childhood. But ever since he married this woman, his luck had been going downhill—first he was beaten up by Han Jiancheng, and now again by this crazy woman.

Seeing that Jiang Hongjin was about to leave, Yurong said coldly, "If you dare step out that door, tomorrow I'll make sure the entire capital knows you're impotent. Even your colleagues and classmates will know—how do you think they'll see you then?" This warning was a blatant threat.

Jiang Hongjin was so angry that his face turned pale, but he truly didn't have the courage to walk out. If Yurong had said that publicly, people would have believed her, and he would have had to endure those people's strange, judgmental stares.

Watching Jiang Hongjin obediently return to bed, Yurong sneered coldly. He was nothing more than a hypocritical, good-for-nothing coward with a false appearance—no different from his father.^🦊

Yurong's fierce nature was not just a result of Momo Gui's words; her years of managing the household had also played a part. The maids and servants were often lazy and sneaky. Yurong didn't have the eloquence to reason with them, so she resorted to force to maintain order. As crude as it was, it worked—and now she was applying the same method to Jiang Hongjin.

Before dawn the next day, Jiang Hongjin left. His face was as dark as iron. The maids and old servants in the courtyard witnessed this and trembled with fear.

Luye cautiously said, "Miss, Guye¹³ has gone out…" She had been on duty the previous night and was therefore aware of what had happened in the room.

Yurong looked utterly contemptuous. "Let him go. He's just a cowardly fool who thinks he's something special." Momo Gui had previously suggested that Jiang Hongjin was probably impotent, and Yurong had been half-convinced and last night had confirmed it. No wonder that b@stard had refused to break off the engagement—it was because of *that. And to think she'd been happy for years, believing she was lucky!

Footnotes Full List

1. 王 wáng: king; 妃 fēi: consort
2. 时辰 shíchen: 2 hours. Half a shichen means one hour.
3. "撕破脸 (sīpòliǎn)" — idiom meaning "tear off the mask (of civility)," or "fall out completely."
4. Madam Jiang's surname is Yu, in case anyone is wondering.
5. 亲家 (qìngjiā): This term refers to the parents or family of one's son's or daughter's spouse. It denotes a relationship established through marriage between two families. "嫂子 (sǎozi)" – "elder brother's wife" or "sister-in-law" (when addressing or referring to the wife of an older male relative). I can't find an equivalent term in English.
6. "宁拆一座庙不毁一门亲 (níng chāi yīzuò miào bù huǐ yīmén qīn)" — a proverb meaning "better to destroy a temple than to break up a family relationship," emphasising the cultural importance of maintaining marital ties.
7. Another foolish one who listens to Momo Gui. 🤦🏻‍♀️
8. "秀才遇见兵,有理说不清 (xiùcái yùjiàn bīng , yǒulǐ shuōbùqīng)" — an idiom meaning "when a scholar meets a soldier, logic doesn't help," implying reason is useless in the face of brute force or irrational people.
9. I know that Momo Gui is a 👹 in disguise.
10. "洪水猛兽 (hóngshuǐměngshòu)" — literally "floods and fierce beasts," metaphor for something terrifying or untouchable.
11. "忍气吞声 (rěnqìtūnshēng)" — idiom meaning "to swallow one's anger in silence," describing someone who tolerates mistreatment without protest.
12. His father? Jiang Wenrui? A coward?
13. 姑爷 gūye: [term of address for a man used by members of his wife's family] son-in-law

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