“Madam only arranged this for the Eldest Miss’s own good. Since you returned in haste, preparing a new courtyard would take time. This one may be farther away, but it is quiet and has everything you need. If you are dissatisfied, you may speak to the master directly later.” Steward Ye Cheng continued to fabricate excuses, inwardly full of disdain for her.
Raised in the countryside, and still thinks herself noble? She should be grateful to have a place to stay at all. The master wouldn’t care about her, and even if he did, any punishment would fall on the madam, not him.
“For my good?” Ye Sangzhi’s smile turned mocking. “I thought perhaps Father had squandered the family fortune after Grandfather’s death—why else would the legitimate eldest daughter be housed in such a shabby place?”
“Eldest Miss, you mustn’t speak recklessly. Be cautious,” Ye Cheng’s heart began to pound with unease.
Ye Sangzhi’s smile remained gentle, her pale face showing no anger. “Who is living in my original courtyard?”
“Uh… it’s… the Third Miss. But that was the master’s decision,” Ye Cheng stammered, unsettled by her strange smile.
“The Third Miss? Ye Sangli?” Ye Sangzhi lowered her gaze, her tone soft yet unquestionable. “It is still early. Go inform Concubine Wei and the Third Miss: within two hours, move all of her belongings out and clean the courtyard. Tonight, I will sleep in my own rooms.”
“That won’t do! The master already gave that courtyard to the Third Miss. As the elder sister, how can you snatch it back? If word spreads, it will only invite ridicule.” Ye Cheng’s face darkened, speaking instinctively.
“I’m tired from the journey. I’ll sit inside for a while. Bianliu, repeat my instructions to the steward.” Ye Sangzhi glanced coldly at him, then entered the house with Nanxing.
“Yes, Miss.” Bianliu turned to Ye Cheng, cracking her knuckles. “We’ve been traveling in the cold wind for days without stretching properly. Steward, forgive me.” With a grin, she swung a fist straight into his face.
“Ah—!” Ye Cheng had no time to react before his nose was smashed, pain exploding as if the bone had snapped. More punches landed on his eyes and cheeks, then Bianliu grabbed his collar and growled: “I’ll repeat my lady’s words. Within two hours, return her courtyard. Remember—two hours. And don’t damage anything. Not even a blade of grass.” She shoved him away.
Ye Cheng, face throbbing and head ringing, scrambled off in terror. The Eldest Miss was terrifying. He had to find help.
Bianliu watched him flee, sneering. She clapped her hands and went inside. “Miss, that dog of a steward has run off.”
“Bianliu, I saw you hit him—it was satisfying. The moment I saw him, I wanted to strike him myself. To speak so rudely to our Miss, to treat her with such disrespect—he deserved it, and you didn’t hit him enough!” Nanxing fumed.
“In Luoxia Valley, anyone who dared speak to Miss like that wouldn’t live to see another day.”
“I held back so he could still deliver the message. If I’d hit harder, he wouldn’t be able to move…” Bianliu scratched her head sheepishly. “Those punches weren’t light, though. Miss, I hope I didn’t cause trouble by fighting as soon as we returned?”
Ye Sangzhi smiled, raising a thumb. “Not at all. Well done. Next time he speaks like that, break his legs.”
“Yes!” Bianliu replied cheerfully.
Meanwhile, Ye Cheng, enduring the pain, quickly ordered a servant to leave the residence and head toward Puji Temple to find Concubine Wei. At this time, perhaps they could meet her on the road.
Sure enough, just outside the city, the servant encountered Concubine Wei and her daughter returning.
“Concubine Wei, something terrible has happened!” The servant panted, sweat beading on his forehead despite the cold weather.
“What’s all this fuss? No manners,” Concubine Wei scolded with a frown.
By her reckoning, that wretched girl should have arrived today at the latest. The madam had long lost the steward’s authority after angering the master, leaving Concubine Wei with the power. And since the madam had gone to her family’s home, it fell to Concubine Wei to arrange matters for the girl’s return—a task she loathed.
She still remembered vividly: when Zhang Yue died in childbirth, that girl had come at her with a dagger, eyes filled with ruthless fury. If the blade hadn’t been dull, and if the master hadn’t intervened, she might have died then and there.
In the chaos, she had escaped the knife but struck her forehead, leaving a scar that never faded. The old grandfather had even protected the girl, forbidding a physician to treat Concubine Wei’s wound. Since then, she had to hide the scar with her hair and ornaments. One day, she vowed, she would settle that score.
To vent her anger, she had gone to Puji Temple with her daughter under the pretense of praying for blessings. She hadn’t wanted to return today, preferring to let the girl stew, but the cold weather and poor conditions at the temple forced her back.
The servant blurted, “The Eldest Miss has returned.”
Concubine Wei’s tone was impatient. “So what? The courtyard was already arranged. She can live there. Can’t the steward handle even that?”
“She… she beat the steward, and said—”
“What did she say?” Concubine Wei was incredulous. The girl had just returned and had already struck someone? Impossible.
The servant grimaced. “She demanded that the Third Miss vacate her original courtyard. She insists on living there tonight.”
Concubine Wei’s fury flared. “How dare she? Causing trouble the moment she returns, does she think my Lier is easy to bully? The master and I are still here. Hurry back to the residence!”
She recalled how the girl had once chased her with a blade—now demanding her courtyard back seemed all too believable. That wretched girl! Always her enemy.
At her urging, the driver sped the carriage back.
Upon arrival, Concubine Wei rushed to the shabby courtyard assigned to Ye Sangzhi. But when she arrived, the girl was nowhere to be seen. Where was she? Hadn’t she returned?
As she puzzled, Ye Cheng stumbled up, battered and bruised. “Concubine Wei, thank goodness you’re back. The Eldest Miss has gone to the Third Miss’s courtyard.”
“What?” Concubine Wei looked up, shocked at Ye Cheng’s swollen face. “You were beaten like this—was it that wretched… Eldest Miss?”