Although Chi Lemin was honest, he wasn't foolish. Seeing the situation, a hint of hesitation appeared on his face. He frowned slightly and let Shen Chong into the house.
In that era, when guests arrived, women were generally not allowed in the living room. Ye Huohuo hid outside the door, listening to the conversation inside.
Shen Chong said, "Brother Chi, to be honest, I truly have no other choice. If your paintings were sold as they are, no one would buy them.
I had no choice but to remove your name and add mine so that they could be sold. You see, people nowadays value fame more.
If it were someone else's painting, I could have told the truth and refused to help sell it, saving my reputation.
But who are you? You are my most valued sworn brother. If I don't help you, who will? That's why I had no choice but to risk my reputation by putting my name on your paintings.
This way, everyone thinks they are my paintings and are willing to buy them. I was afraid of hurting your pride, so I never told you. I hoped you would continue to paint. I truly didn't want your talent to be buried!
Although this is a foolish method, it allows you to do what you love and also support your family. I am willing to bear this infamy.
So, my dear brother, I truly want to help you. If you feel you've been wronged, you can sell your paintings yourself from now on. It's all the same to me." kuAiδugg
Chi Lemin's previously suspicious expression immediately vanished, replaced by one of deep gratitude.
"Brother Shen, your righteousness is unparalleled. Lemin truly doesn't know how to repay you! I never knew Brother Shen would go to such lengths for my affairs. Please rest assured, Lemin will be even more diligent and hardworking from now on, so as not to waste Brother Shen's kindness."
Ye Huohuo, listening from outside the door, felt her lungs about to explode. She thought, "Is this Chi Lemin a fool?
Even after being treated like that, how can he still be so easily deceived? I never expected that this vengeful spirit was such a dull-witted person in life. His paintings are indeed good, but his wits are severely lacking.
Clearly, the owner of this body thought the same. She immediately rushed into the room, "Mr. Shen, you say you are helping my husband, but please tell me, how much did you sell my husband's paintings for?"
Shen Chong was clearly taken aback by Ye Huohuo's sudden intrusion and was momentarily speechless.
Ye Huohuo sneered, "Are you reluctant to say? Husband, how much does he give you for a painting?"
Chi Lemin's expression stiffened, and he looked a bit embarrassed. "Madam, ten taels of silver per painting. I gave it all to you, keeping nothing for myself."
Ye Huohuo suddenly felt that this scholar, who looked exactly like Li Mohan, was foolishly endearing. At this moment, he still thought she was asking if he had kept any personal savings.
Ye Huohuo gritted her teeth, "He gave you ten taels of silver, and you don't even know how much he sold your paintings for?"
"How much? Could Brother Shen have paid me out of his own pocket?" Chi Lemin's expression deepened with an almost apologetic look.
"Are you foolish? They sold you, and you're still counting money for them. You can go ask that wealthy merchant who just moved in. He spent three thousand taels of silver last year for your painting of a beauty admiring flowers.
Three thousand taels, do you understand? What he gave you isn't even a fraction of that! And you're still so grateful to him?
He previously refused to sell his paintings to locals precisely because he was afraid you'd discover he was selling your paintings under his name at a high price. If this merchant from out of town hadn't displayed the painting, you might have been deceived by him your entire life, and you would have painted for him your entire life!" Ye Huohuo was utterly enraged.
Chi Lemin was an art fanatic. He painted in the bitter cold of winter and the sweltering heat of summer. No one knew how much hardship he endured to create a masterpiece, but as his wife, she knew it all.
In winter, his hands developed frostbite from painting. In summer, he nearly succumbed to mosquitoes while observing the fleeting beauty of a night-blooming cereus, with bites that persisted for over ten days.
Yet, his painstakingly honed artistic skills were being plagiarized, and the perpetrator shamelessly claimed it was for his own good.
Chi Lemin looked at Shen Chong in disbelief, "Brother Shen, is Rong'er speaking the truth?"
Shen Chong's expression finally shifted slightly. He pursed his lips, "Dear brother Chi, I, alas, actually came today to explain everything. I was wrong before, but I truly had no other choice. You know I'm merely a renowned scholar in the art world, with many acquaintances, so my expenses are naturally high, and I often live beyond my means.
That's why I had no choice... It was my fault. I came today intending to compensate you.
I still have two hundred taels left from the paintings sold. I've brought it for you. From now on, for your paintings, how about we split the profits fifty-fifty?"
Ye Huohuo sneered, "Three thousand taels reduced to two hundred, and you still want my husband to paint for you, so you can gain fame and fortune?"
Shen Chong's face darkened, and he looked at Chi Lemin, "Dear brother Chi, your paintings were previously completely ignored. Isn't the fact that they can now sell at this price due to my fame? If it were based on your own reputation, your paintings would still be worthless.
Think carefully, and do what's best for yourself!"
Shen Chong then turned and left, taking the two hundred taels of silver with him.
Chi Lemin looked at Ye Huohuo, "Rong'er, I... what should I do? Do people really like my paintings? Can they really be sold?" His face was dejected.
Ye Huohuo had already grasped Shen Chong's methods, having seen them many times before.
First, he used his status in the art world to suppress Chi Lemin's paintings, making him feel that his work was unappreciated. Then, he played the good Samaritan, claiming to appreciate his art and offering to help sell it. However, he would only give Chi Lemin a meager amount, just enough to get by, while claiming the paintings as his own and selling them under his name.
This way, he gained both fame and fortune, profiting from both.
It was just that this Chi Lemin was so naive he couldn't see through it all.
Ye Huohuo, inhabiting Rong'er's body, nodded affirmatively, "Husband, don't worry. Your paintings will definitely sell. I believe in you! From now on, we'll sell your paintings ourselves. Even if it's as hard and difficult as before, I'm willing to stay by your side. I don't want your hard-earned paintings to bear another's name!
I also believe that one day, husband, you will achieve great success."
Chi Lemin's eyes welled up with tears, and he nodded.
That evening, within the bridal chamber.
Two figures were entwined.
Although Ye Huohuo knew that the scholar Chi Lemin's consciousness held Li Mohan, this man with the same face as Li Mohan gave her a completely different feeling.
Last night, Li Mohan was domineering and fierce, making her feel as if she was drowning in suffocating waves several times.
But Li Mohan now, even in bed, was so gentle and refined.
His kisses fell lightly on her forehead, the tip of her nose, her lips, her neck...
Moving downwards...
Although it wasn't her own body, she felt every touch as if it were her own, and every movement was so tender it made her heart tremble. "Husband..."
Her lips parted slightly, and whether it was Rong'er or herself, she softly called out in a moment of passion.
"Rong'er..."
The candlelight flickered, filling the room with an intimate glow.
Just as they were both exhausted and about to drift off to sleep after their passion.
The door was slowly pushed open from the outside.
Two figures in black crept in stealthily, and the gleaming tips of their blades parted the curtains.
Chi Lemin hadn't fallen completely asleep. He sensed the intruders and his eyes snapped open, just in time to see the black-clad assailants raise their blades to strike him.
He quickly dodged, narrowly avoiding the blow, but the pillow was cleanly sliced in half.
Ye Huohuo was jolted awake by the commotion. Her instinct was to attack the two black-clad figures, but this was not her body, and she couldn't control it.
She could only watch helplessly as Chi Lemin was seized by the two assailants, with knives pressed against his throat.
"Do you want money? I'll give you all the money in the house, just please let my husband go," Ye Huohuo said, her voice trembling, as she clutched her partially revealed clothing tighter.
"What little money do you have? But if you want us to let him go, you have to come with us!" one of the black-clad figures said.
"No, where are you taking my wife? We have no past grievances, no recent enmities. Why are you harming us? You can kill me, but you cannot take my wife away!"
A bloodstain appeared on Chi Lemin's neck as the pressure increased. Both his arms were bound behind him. He was merely a scholar, utterly lacking in strength. But upon hearing that they intended to take his wife, he began to struggle desperately.
The blade at his neck dug deeper with each struggle, and blood stained his collar.
"They say scholars are the most useless. They can't even protect their own wives, so what's the point of living! They might as well die!" The black-clad assailant holding the knife to Chi Lemin's neck applied more pressure, and blood spurted from his neck.
A splash of crimson blood hit the painting of a beauty admiring herself in a mirror that hung on the wall.
"No! I'll go with you. Please, let my husband go!" Ye Huohuo pleaded almost desperately.