Jiang Mai and Jiang Ya, the two little ones, rushed to Jiang Ji’s side, not caring about their own greasy little hands. One wrapped his arms around Jiang Ji’s waist, the other clung to his thigh.

They chattered away, “Brother, brother, why did you come back at this time?”

“Brother, brother, I missed you so much.”

Ye Li watched this scene unfold, his gaze fixed on Jiang Ji’s face.

He had absorbed the memories of his original host and knew what his husband looked like.

But memories were like watching a movie—the visual impact was nowhere near as powerful as seeing the real person before him.

His step-husband had long eyebrows and slightly narrowed eyes. Combined with his straight, high nose and thin lips, his features gave him a somewhat fierce appearance.

Yet he was exceptionally handsome.

His features were sharply defined, his eyes possessed a certain intensity, and standing well over six feet tall, he simply stood at the doorway, making Ye Li unable to look away.

What a strikingly handsome man!

He was a bit thin, though. Wearing a long, cross-collared robe reminiscent of a Taoist garment, the already wide body and sleeves hung on him like clothes on a bamboo pole.

Ye Li’s gaze swept from top to bottom, then bottom to top, circling twice before settling on a satisfied look.

He raised his left hand and tapped Ye Liang’s shoulder. “Brother, go say a few good words for me.”

“Last time he came back, he caught me beating Xiao Mai and Ya-ger. He wasn’t happy. Just tell him I’ve turned over a new leaf.”

“Alright!” Ye Liang agreed readily.

He walked toward Jiang Ji with a pleased expression.

Now that Li-ger could earn money and get along well with Xiao Mai and Ya-ger, his only worry was whether he could get along with Xiao Ji.

He’d definitely have to praise Li-ger more.

Just then, Jiang Mai and Jiang Ya tugged Jiang Ji’s hand toward the kitchen. He said, “Ji, you’re back just in time. Wash your hands and sit down for some soup. Li-ger stewed some bone broth—look at this broth, it smells amazing.”

He then turned to urge Ye Li to quickly serve Jiang Ji a bowl of the broth.

“Yes, sir.” Ye Li responded with an obedient expression and hurried into the kitchen.

Jiang Ji’s brow furrowed slightly. His gaze shifted away from Ye Li and landed on Ye Liang, his brother-in-law.

Apart from Ye Li, the useless one, everyone else in the Ye family was kind-hearted.

Ye Liang treated him like a real younger brother, and he respected Ye Liang deeply.

He motioned for Ye Liang to enter the kitchen: “Brother Liang, let’s go inside to eat. But what’s going on here? I thought I’d walked into the wrong house.”

Hearing this, Ye Liang couldn’t help but laugh heartily.

This smile surprised Jiang Ji.

The Ye family lived in poverty. The heavy, never-ending chores had aged Ye Liang far beyond his years.

Ye Liang was usually taciturn and wore a weary expression.

This was the first time Jiang Ji had ever seen Ye Liang laugh so loudly and heartily!

Ye Liang explained with a smile, “Xiao Ji, you haven’t come to the wrong door. Li-ger has changed his ways. He even learned how to make tofu now.”

“His fried tofu puffs are especially popular, earning him and the Ye family dozens of wens daily!”

“…”

Jiang Ji was utterly astonished.

His slightly narrowed eyes widened considerably.

Not only could that good-for-nothing make tofu, but he could earn dozens of coins daily?

“Brother! Brother! Brother Liang is telling the truth. Eat some meat—Brother Li bought this this morning.”

Jiang Mai tried to shove the half-gnawed bone in his hand toward his eldest brother.

If that person washed his hair, he’d gladly speak well of him.

Besides, as that person said, it wasn’t exactly flattery.

He was just telling the truth!

Jiang Mai’s words startled Jiang Ji once more.

Last time he’d come home, he’d caught the dimwit wielding a big stick, beating Xiao Mai with such ferocity it seemed he wanted to devour the boy!

But now, how could Xiao Mai…

By then, Jiang Ya had already dragged him to the kitchen doorway.

Ye Li, carrying a bowl of bone broth to the dining table, smiled upon seeing him standing there. “Husband, time for your bone broth.”

“?”

Jiang Ji looked at her as if he’d seen a ghost. “Have you been possessed?”

Ye Li: “…”

His lips twitched. Setting down the soup bowl, he straightened and glared at Jiang Ji. “Yes, I’m possessed. And I’ve cast a spell on Xiao Mai and Ya-ger. Now they both obey my every word. Scared?”

Jiang Ji: “…”

This time, it was his turn to be speechless.

But deep down, he felt a sense of relief.

Yes, this was how it should be.

What was with calling him “husband”? It gave him quite a fright.

“Alright, alright, Xiao Ji, wash your hands and eat. You definitely didn’t have lunch.”

Ye Liang chuckled, trying to smooth things over.

Jiang Mai, standing nearby, immediately piped up, “Brother, I’ll fetch water for you to wash your hands.”

He shoved the big bone into Jiang Ji’s hands and dashed toward the well.

As for the poison and obedience—well, if the blockhead had truly changed, he wouldn’t expose him.

Jiang Ya, however, had no idea what “casting a spell” meant.

But he was genuinely willing to listen to Ye Li now.

He tilted his little face up and grinned, “Brother, Brother Li is so nice! He washed my hair and Second Brother’s hair, let me gnaw on a big bone, and even gave us wages!”

“One wen a day! Second Brother and I have already saved fourteen wen!”

This statement left Jiang Ji speechless with shock.

It was utterly astonishing!

Could that good-for-nothing actually accomplish such things?

Yet Ye Li shot Jiang Ya an approving glance.

Not bad. Though small, his mind was sharp. No nonsense—he got straight to the point.

He turned his gaze to Ye Liang.

The moment Ye Liang met his eyes, he chimed in: “Xiao Ji, in a bit, Li-ger will be frying tofu puffs. Seeing is believing—he’s truly changed his ways.”

“But we’ll talk about that later. Xiao Mai has brought the water. Wash your hands first, then we’ll sit down and eat while we discuss.”

“Big Brother, wash your hands quickly!”

Jiang Mai hurried over, carrying a basin of water.

Jiang Ji felt a bit overwhelmed.

He washed his hands while listening to Jiang Ya chatter away.

Then he sat down at the dining table.

Before him was a bowl of bone broth, its milky-white surface dotted with oil droplets and a few red dates.

Besides two bones, it also contained plenty of corn kernels.

The rich aroma wafted straight to his nose, making his stomach growl even louder.

He hadn’t eaten lunch yet.

Worried that the good-for-nothing would mistreat his two younger brothers, he’d been anxious and restless these past days.

He wanted to go home.

But his studies were demanding. The imperial examinations were his only way out; he couldn’t neglect his duties.

He also had a book-copying job to complete. If he missed the deadline, his payment would be halved.

More importantly, he had no good solution for the fool’s mistreatment of his brothers.

After days of agonizing, last night he finally thought of a suitable plan.

This autumn, he would take the county-level examination. Before that, the fool would return to the Ye family.

His two younger brothers would go back to their second uncle’s home.

If he passed and became a scholar, meeting the fool’s expectations, he would then force the fool to change his ways.

Moreover, once he passed, he wouldn’t need to report daily to the private school; he could study at home.

With him there, his two younger brothers wouldn’t be beaten anymore.

If he failed, he would give up studying altogether.

If the fool could change his ways, he would endure it.

If he couldn’t change, then he would divorce the good-for-nothing.

From then on, he and the Ye family would owe each other nothing.

With the status of a primary scholar and his own strength, he could farm during the busy season and seek work in the county town during the off-season. With his two younger brothers, they wouldn’t starve no matter what.

Once this thought appeared, it couldn’t be stopped.

He tossed and turned until midnight. Waking today, he asked his tutor for leave, stayed in his quarters to finish the book copying task at hand, then went to the bookshop to deliver it and settle the payment.

Leaving the bookshop, he hurried home.

Today, he would send the good-for-nothing back to the Ye family!

But judging by the current situation, his plan seemed unnecessary…

“Eat! Why aren’t you eating?”

Ye Liang urged him, seeing Jiang Ji staring down at his bowl, motionless and silent.

Jiang Ji snapped out of his reverie at the sound. He gave Ye Liang a faint smile before picking up his spoon and taking a sip of soup.

“It tastes good, right? Brother Li deliberately made the food taste awful. He was afraid that if his cooking was too good, Father and Grandfather would make him cook every single meal.”

Ye Liang explained cheerfully why his third brother’s cooking skills had improved so much.

Of course, this was Ye Li’s excuse to fool the Ye family.

Jiang Ji heard this, his eyes darting to look at Ye Li sitting across from him.

His gaze held obvious suspicion.

Ye Li was busy gnawing on a bone.

Feeling his husband’s stare, he lifted his eyes to meet them.

Their gazes locked.

Ye Li swallowed the meat in his mouth and declared with righteous indignation, “Don’t believe me? Fine, don’t. That’s just how it is.”

It was impossible to explain anyway.

He absolutely couldn’t show even a hint of guilt.

He had to maintain this infuriating attitude of “believe it or not, it’s none of your business.”

Sure enough, upon hearing this, Jiang Ji instantly lost all desire to probe further.

He withdrew his gaze and focused on sipping his soup.

Ye Li quietly breathed a sigh of relief.

This husband clearly wasn’t someone easily fooled. He’d better not start digging deeper.

Truthfully, he still hadn’t come up with a particularly plausible reason to explain why he suddenly knew how to make tofu.

Ye Liang observed the scene and interjected, “Xiao Ji, Li-ger has changed his temper. He’s quite kind to Xiao Mai and Ya-ger now.”

“He’s only known you for a short time, and since you two had that argument before, he’s a bit impatient with you.”

“He’s a young master. Be more tolerant. Don’t pick fights with him.”

Hearing this, Jiang Ji couldn’t help but recall Ye Li’s earlier words: “Husband, drink your soup.”

He clenched the spoon in his hand.

The fool actually wanted to make amends with him.

But then he just blurted out something possessed…

He lifted his eyes to look at Ye Li.

Ye Li happened to be looking at him too.

Their gazes met unexpectedly. Before he could decide what expression to give Ye Li, Ye Li rolled his eyes at him and then lowered his head to continue gnawing on the large bone.

He rubbed his nose and lowered his own eyes to drink his soup.

Blame him.

What just happened?