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  Chapter One Hundred and Eighty-Four: Intention

  That night, Ye Zhuo slept soundly, but Qiu Yue couldn't sleep and kept tossing and turning. The next morning, she got up early and ran to the alley entrance to ask Wei Da Xiang about the result of the matter. Before long, a gust of wind swept into the room, staring blankly at Ye Zhuo who was sitting in front of the dressing mirror combing her hair.

  "Is everything all set?" Ye Zhuo turned around.

  "Hmm." Akizuki responded with a murmur, her expression still a mixture of worry and distraction.

  Ye Chou let out a long sigh, turned around and looked at the mirror, softly asking Qiu Yue: "Do you think I'm particularly heartless? What one would not desire for oneself, do not impose on others. The despicable behavior that everyone hates, I went ahead and did it, and even felt justified in doing so. Do you think this is very wrong? Do you think that I am no longer the girl you respect and love? Are you afraid that one day I will treat you like this too?"

  "No, no, miss..." Autumn Moon shook her head repeatedly with a meaningful expression. After shaking her head, she looked worried and said, "Miss, when you were talking to Brother Wei yesterday, I felt so relieved in my heart. I hated her for hurting you. But later, I kept feeling uneasy, but couldn't figure out why. Just now, when Brother Wei said everything was settled, my heart... feels very uncomfortable? It's as if we shouldn't be doing this."

  She quickly explained to me, "I'm not saying you're heartless. This was a decision we made together, and it's not like what you did was wrong. An eye for an eye, a tooth for a tooth, that's how it should be. And isn't there another saying? 'Repay kindness with grievances, how can one repay kindness?' But... but miss... I just feel like this doesn't sit right in my heart. Actually, I think that since she's already been sold to the brothel and will eventually be ruined anyway, why must we intervene? If Brother Wei isn't discreet and gets found out, we'll..."

  She didn't say another word, but just bit her lip and stared at Ye Zhuo.

  Ye Zhuo didn't immediately respond, but instead lowered his head and quietly gazed at the pair of hands holding the comb. Although these hands had become rough from carving, they still retained their elegance; set off by the cherry-red comb, they also appeared very fair and delicate.

  This life, it's already been tainted beyond redemption.

  Ye Zhuo sighed inwardly, withdrew her gaze, raised her hand to continue combing her hair, and spoke in a flat tone with an expressionless face. Nie Wei Yue's appearance was indeed exceptional; coupled with her proper upbringing and noble demeanor, she would be considered a rare find even in a high-end brothel like Zui Hong Lou. The madam wouldn't hastily sell off her first night. It was necessary to slowly train her, then spread the word and heavily promote her to raise her value, only then could they make a lot of money. On the other hand, with Nie Wei Yue missing, the Nie family would definitely go all out to search for her in every direction. Regardless of whether she had run away or been kidnapped by someone, relying on the Nie family's power and influence, they would surely quickly track down Zui Hong Lou. In this way, even if Nie Wei Yue spent some time in the brothel, she wouldn't suffer any harm; once she returned to being the eldest young lady of the Nie family, the Nie family would inevitably have everyone at Zui Hong Lou, from top to bottom, several dozen people, be eliminated under some pretext for the sake of their reputation and the entire Nie family's reputation.

  "However, however..." Autumn Moon's eyebrows were knotted into a ball. She admitted that Ye Zhuo's words made perfect sense, but she still wanted to find reasons to refute them. "But if you put it that way, even if Wei Da Ge went, the old madam wouldn't possibly sell her...her...thing, right? And besides, Nie Wei Yue isn't mute, as long as she reveals her identity, the old madam wouldn't dare sell her. Sending her back to the Nie Manor might even bring a large sum of reward money."

  "Reward money?" Ye Zhuo sneered, "Is it a reward for the disaster of exterminating the family? How can there be people who are not afraid of death and have a tight mouth? For the sake of the Nie family's reputation, can't the Nie family do anything about it? If Nie Wei Yue didn't shout out her identity, it would be fine. But now that she has shouted it out, letting everyone know that she is indeed the daughter of the Nie family, she will only die faster. Those who mix with this line of work and even dare to buy girls from bandits must have an inseparable relationship with the underworld. As long as they find out about Nie Wei Yue's identity, they will not send her back home but kill her to silence her. As long as they destroy her body and eliminate all evidence, and then find another girl who looks like her to replace her, even if the Nie family investigates, they won't be afraid."

  "But...” she continued, “from what I know of Nie Weiyue, she escaped to find Du Haoran. To achieve her goal and not be sent back home to be locked up, she would never reveal her identity first. She will only desperately resist and try to escape. Because she has confidence that as long as she reveals her identity at the critical moment, it can guarantee her safety. So unless absolutely necessary, she won't reveal her identity. Since she didn't reveal her identity, Wei Dage offered a high price, and a woman who lost her body would be more likely to resign herself to staying in the brothel, no longer seeking death or escape, so naturally the brothel would be happy for Wei Dage to buy her first night. This is why things can be settled for Wei Dage. Probably not long after, Nie Weiyue will be caught by the authorities and Zui Hong Lou will be shut down."

  "But, but..." Akatsuki's eyebrows were still furrowed. Ye Zhen said something that made a lot of sense, and things had developed just as she had predicted, but Akatsuki still felt uncomfortable in her heart. In order to take away Nie Weiyue's innocence, she had let her hands be stained with blood, and had also put several families at risk, which didn't seem worth it. The girl who was usually so cautious and clever, why was she acting so rashly this time?

  "I didn't take her virginity to vent my anger or seek revenge." Ye Zhuo stood up and turned around to face Qiu Yue, "Qiu Yue, the power of the Ye family is too small. Even if Yang Da Shu is now the county magistrate, he can't compete with the Nie family. And although the Second Prince wants to contend with the First Prince for territory, he also can't be too overbearing, perhaps he will wait for an opportunity to strike; and Du, his identity is not ordinary, but first, he has a relationship with the Nie family, second, he doesn't want to get involved in the struggle between the two factions. As long as the Nie family doesn't go too far, after he finds what he wants, he will leave here and have no more dealings with the Nie family. They are not afraid of the Nie family, they can advance or retreat at will, very composed; but the Nie family also dares not provoke them too much. But we are different. As soon as I show my head, I will be met with the Nie family's attacks or attempts to kill me. Even if I rely on my abilities and attract the attention of the Second Prince's faction, earning their appreciation, the Nie family absolutely won't watch idly by as I join the Northern faction, allowing me to grow up and expand the Northern faction's power."

  "So, I must take the initiative to light the fire and let them make the first move. This will allow the Second Prince's power in this place to grow stronger. Only then can we be safe. And Nie Weiyue is a chess piece that I want to use." Ye Zhuo said up to here, raised his eyes and looked straight at Qiu Yue, suddenly changing the subject, "Qiu Yue, you are already 16 years old, shouldn't you consider marriage? Your mother has been thinking about it for you, right? It just so happens that your contract is also expiring soon. If you have someone in mind, feel free to tell me. I may not be able to do much else, but adding a generous dowry for you is still possible."

  Qiu Yue was taken aback, and rushed to Ye Zhuo's front, "thud" knelt on the ground, raised her head to look at Ye Zhuo, tears welling up in her eyes. Miss, don't drive me away, I didn't mean to blame you with those words just now, I just had some questions that I couldn't figure out, so I said them like that. Miss...

  "Autumn Moon, don't be in a hurry, I'm not blaming you, quickly get up." Ye Zhuo helped Autumn Moon up and walked her to the chair, pressing on her shoulders to make her sit down, and also sat down beside her. Only then did he continue, "Autumn Moon, if you had kept those words bottled up inside without asking me about them, that would have been distrustful of me, and you would have been resentful towards me in your heart. You asked me about it precisely because there is no distance between us in our hearts. However, you are not young anymore, didn't your mother mention marriage to you when you went back home last time? I cannot delay you any further because of my own affairs. Besides, during these uncertain times, it's also not safe for you to stay here."

  "No, miss, I won't go." Qiu Yue shook her head, her eyes firm.

  Ye Zhuo looked at Qiu Yue for a while, nodded and said "Alright, then stay by my side forever, until old age. Don't marry anyone."

  "In the autumn moon, tears turn into laughter. If you don't want to marry, I'll accompany you in not marrying."

  The two were talking when they heard Guan's voice outside the door: "Zhu'er, aren't you feeling well? Why haven't you gotten up so late?"

  "I'm already up, I don't feel unwell." Ye Zhuo responded with a sound, and Qiu Yue ran to open the door.

  "Miss Guan came in and looked at Ye Zhuo's face, saying: 'Just now Wei Daxiang came to find you, I don't know what's going on. He didn't say anything when I asked him. You'd better hurry up and wash your face and go see.'"

  "Ah?" Ye Zhuo was somewhat surprised, but soon vaguely guessed what had happened and said to Qiu Yue, "Go take a look, if it's that child's matter being handled by his parents, tell Wei Da Ge not to worry, nothing will happen, everything is under my control."

  "Yes." Autumn Moon Leaf's words were hinting at the matter of Nie Wei Yue being bullied by her family members, she quickly lifted her skirt and ran out of the courtyard, rushing towards the alley entrance.

  "What about the child?" asked Mrs. Guan.

  "Oh, a kid didn't listen well in class and I scolded him." Ye Zhuo casually replied.

  "When children misbehave, teach them well, don't scold or hit them randomly."

  "Uh-huh, grandma, I'm back. Did you cook something delicious for breakfast? I'm hungry."

  "I asked Yu Sao to cook a bowl of bird's nest for you, I don't know if it's ready yet, I'll go take a look. You hurry up and wash your face." Guan Shi pushed Ye Zhuo away and rushed towards the kitchen. She also called out to Qiu Ju to come and attend to Ye Zhuo's washing up.

  Ye Zou shrugged and had to stand there waiting for Qiu Ju to take her. Guan's family spoiled her extremely in life, treating her like a precious daughter, which made her both resentful and helpless.

  Thank you to the master of Guang Han Palace for voting with three 10-point evaluation votes, thank you to He Xi for rewarding me with a peace symbol, and thank you to He Xi, Xiao Jing Zhi, Miao Ya Dian, I am Nong Nong Tou, and Zhu Ri's daughter for the pink votes!

  Recommendation letter from Wenwen:

  Book title: "Mystic Spirit"

  Author: Huayong Rong

  Introduction: The cultivation talent is too good, hiding everywhere. If you like this work, welcome to subscribe and reward, your support is my greatest motivation.

  Chapter One Hundred and Eighty-Four: Intention

  Chapter 184 The intention is made by members themselves

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