107 Ye San
Young Master Ye instructed another man to steer the boat towards Li Yu and the others.
Jin Jiu carried a bundle of bamboo poles over. Li Yu and Zhou Jia each took one. Seeing this, everyone picked up the bamboo poles and secretly waited for the boat to come over.
When the boat was about two meters away from the lotus pond, Young Master Ye leaned over the bow and saw Li Yu clearly. He smiled roguishly. “I didn’t expect there to be a beauty hidden in this mountain nest. Little beauty, come forward and let me take a good look.”
When Zhou Jia and the people by the pond heard Third Young Master Ye’s words, they were so angry that they raised their bamboo poles and poked the boat, causing it to sway in the pond.
Seeing this, the horse-faced coachman hurriedly got out of the carriage and walked to the side of the lotus pond. As he snatched the bamboo pole, he threatened fiercely, “You country bumpkins are quite bold. That’s the third young master of High Scholar Ye. Hurry up and let my young master up.”
The coachman was shouting, but he did not see that the horse had been driven away by Er Ya.
Zhou Jia looked at him and mocked, “We’re villagers and don’t know any Third Young Master Ye. We only know that a thief ran to my lotus pond and stole fish and lotus flowers. The entire village can testify for me.”
The man with the net on the boat lost his balance and swayed a few times before falling onto Young Master Ye. The boat shook violently.
The woman on the ship screamed in fear. Third Young Master Ye hurriedly stabilized He Cheng. “Don’t move. If you move again, the ship will capsize. He Cheng, swim back first and get someone to chase these mudlarks away.”
He Cheng leaned on Third Young Master Ye and cried, “Third Young Master, I don’t know how to float.”
“Neither do I.” Ye San looked at He Cheng in frustration. He pushed him away, got up, and hurriedly rocked the boat to the center of the lotus pond.
Zhou Jia smiled and said, “Little thief, listen up. Since you cherish this pond and can’t bear to leave, play to your heart’s content.”
Young Master Ye shouted at Zhou Jia, “Dog, just you wait.”
Li Yu sneered and raised the bamboo pole in her hand. “Your entire family are dogs. Let’s see who won’t spare the other. Stay on the boat!”
At this moment, Chen Yaohui and a few villagers also came to the lotus pond. They looked at Third Young Master Ye and the others on the boat. “Mr. Zhou, Xiaoyu, where did these people come from? Why did they come to the foot of the mountain to ruin things?”
“They’re from the Ye family. They might be here to cause trouble,” said a footman.
Chen Yaohui was so angry that he spat at Third Young Master Ye. “Pfft! What a scumbag.”
When the coachman saw Third Young Master Ye stuck on the boat, he said in exasperation, “Wait for me. I’ll go back and call my master over.”
“Go! We’re waiting here! Let your High Scholar see how his young master injured my servants and destroyed my property. We’ll be in the right even if we report it to the government office.” Zhou Jia poked him with his bamboo pole, scaring the coachman so much that he covered his head and ran.
The coachman ran to the front of the carriage to drive it. When he realized that the carriage was there but the horse was gone, he shouted anxiously, “You horse thieves, return my horse.”
Zhao Laizi laughed and pointed at the foot of the mountain. “Are you blind? Your horse is walking up the mountain!”
The coachman followed Zhao Laizi’s hand and saw that the horse had run to the foot of the mountain for some reason. He was so frightened that his soul flew away. He ran after the horse.
Zhou Jia saw that Li Yu was sweating profusely and her face was flushed red, making her look even more beautiful. His heart ached and he didn’t want anyone to see Li Yu’s beauty. “Yu’er, the sun is too hot. Go home first and leave it to me.”
“Alright, I’ll go back then.” Li Yu thought that with so many people here, Zhou Jia wouldn’t be at a disadvantage and left in relief.
After a while, Er Ya carried a bucket of cold tea to the lotus pond with a parasol and shouted at everyone, “Miss instructed me to bring everyone mint tea to quench their thirst.”
Er Ya put down the herbal tea and tied the umbrella handle to the bench. She smiled at Third Young Master Ye and the others in the pond and said to Zhou Jia, “Sir, the lady asked me to bring you the umbrella.”
Zhou Jia nodded and sat under the umbrella with the herbal tea. The group of people drank the herbal tea and took turns guarding the lotus pond. No matter where Third Young Master Ye wanted to go ashore, he would be poked to the center of the lotus pond.
For the entire day, Zhou Jia and the others had been guarding the shore of the pond, not letting Ye San off the boat.
On the boat, Third Young Master Ye saw Zhou Jia and the others by the lotus pond. They were drinking herbal tea and waiting for him leisurely under the umbrella. He looked at Zhou Jia and the others hatefully. He wanted to hit them but could not reach them. He was so angry that his teeth itched.
The hot sun made one’s skin burn. The people on the boat were hot, thirsty, and anxious. The feeling was really unbearable.
On the boat, Third Young Master Ye and the woman blushed. “Third Young Master, just say something good to them! I-I’m really in a hurry to relieve myself.”
Third Young Master Ye gritted his teeth and looked at the two women. “I’m also in a hurry. He Cheng, tell these bumpkins I promise to compensate them with silver. I’ll deal with them after I’ve gone down to relieve myself.”
Afraid that Third Young Master Ye would go back on his word, He Cheng hurriedly shouted at the edge of the pond, “People above, listen up. Third Young Master Ye said that he will compensate you with silver. Let us off the boat quickly.”
“Of course, he has to compensate. Let him write a letter of repentance first, and we’ll let him off the boat,” Zhou Jia said loudly.
He Cheng looked back at Third Young Master Ye. “Third Young Master Ye, what do you think we should do?”
Third Young Master Ye clamped his legs together and gritted his teeth. “Ask him to bring me a pen and paper to write it down for him.”
When He Cheng heard this, he shouted again, “Get a pen and paper. How can we write without a pen and paper?”
Zhou Jia got Ruyi to bring a pen and paper, tied it to a bamboo pole, and handed it to the boat. “Get Third Young Master Ye to write clearly. He injured the servants of the Li family in Phoenix Village for no reason and even destroyed the Li family’s lotus pond. Write clearly that he’s willing to compensate according to the price. When we’re satisfied, we’ll let you off the boat immediately.”
Third Young Master Ye gritted his teeth and wrote a letter of repentance. He tied it to the bamboo pole and handed it to Zhou Jia. Zhou Jia saw that it said: Ye Liangcheng damaged the Li family’s lotus pond for no reason. Behind it was a signature.
Zhou Jia asked everyone to let Third Young Master Ye and the others off the boat. After they got off the boat, Third Young Master Ye clamped his legs together and looked around. He didn’t forget to say ruthlessly, “Just you wait. When I’ve relieved myself, I’ll deal with you.”
Zhou Jia glanced at Third Young Master Ye and waved the apology letter in his hand. “I’ll wait for you to come. Let’s see who will deal with whom.”
After the horse-faced coachman found the horse, he hurriedly drove the carriage back to High Scholar Ye’s house in Phoenix Cry Town and ran to the study in the outer courtyard.
In the study, a clean-shaven, shrewd-looking middle-aged man was writing something at the table.
The horse-faced man stood at the door and reported to High Scholar Ye, “Master, Third Young Master is trapped in the lotus pond by the people of Phoenix Village and is not allowed to go ashore.”
High Scholar Ye looked at the horse-faced coachman and said with a dark expression, “What nonsense are you talking about? When did Third Brother return to Phoenix Village? How did he get trapped in the lotus pond? Tell me honestly from the beginning to the end.”
The horse-faced coachman knelt down with a bang. “Master, Young Master Lianggong from Old Madam Ye’s family was sued by the Chen and Zhou families of Phoenix Village and exiled a few days ago. Third Young Master didn’t know about it either. As soon as he returned today, he went to play with Young Master Lianggong. He was urged by Old Madam Ye to go to Phoenix Village to cause trouble. He injured the person guarding the lotus pond and made a mess of their lotus pond. Those people stopped Young Master on the boat.”
High Scholar Ye’s face darkened. “How dare you ask my son to avenge you?” He kicked the horse-faced coachman and shouted, “What are you waiting for? Lead the way.”
“Yes, my lord.” The coachman scrambled to his feet and followed High Scholar Ye outside.