“That wouldn’t be good. After all, Grandfather died from being angered too much by you. If Grandpa Cen came here and you made him die of rage too, what then? He’s sworn to live to a hundred.” Ye Sangzhi spoke earnestly, her eyes wide with innocence.
“You—what nonsense are you spouting?” Ye Yunchang could no longer maintain his kindly facade. He leaped up, furious. “Uncle Cen is a learned scholar, a great teacher. And yet he raised you into such a coarse, disrespectful child?”
Ye Sangzhi smiled shamelessly, as if nothing was wrong. “Father, why be so angry? Did I say anything untrue? Wasn’t it all fact?”
Ye Yunchang clutched his chest, struggling to breathe, his face darkening, his trembling finger pointing at her. “You, you…”
Outside, Concubine Wei had been eavesdropping. She was stunned—this wretched girl dared to speak so boldly, offending her father the moment she returned. Did she not care to stay in the household at all?
Seeing the master shaking with rage, Concubine Wei seized the chance. She rushed in, crying out: “Master—Master, are you all right?”
She fussed over him, helping him sit, soothing his breath, offering hot tea. “Master, drink some tea to calm yourself.”
Watching him sip, Concubine Wei asked with concern, her face full of worry.
“I’m fine, much better,” Ye Yunchang said, moved. Truly, Yao’er was the good one.
Concubine Wei turned to Ye Sangzhi, reproachful: “Eldest Miss, forgive me for saying so, but couldn’t you speak more gently? Why make your father so angry the moment you return? What if something happened to him?”
“He’s fine, isn’t he? Father has been an official for years, dealing with countless people, hearing all kinds of words. If a few sentences from me could kill him, wouldn’t that make him rather useless?” Ye Sangzhi retorted coolly.
“Eldest Miss, whatever else, the master is your father. As his daughter, how can you speak so? Apologize at once and beg his forgiveness.” Concubine Wei then turned to Ye Yunchang: “Master, the Eldest Miss grew up outside, surely she suffered much. She didn’t mean to anger you. Please forgive her this once.”
“Concubine Wei, you have no right to lecture me, nor to tell me how to speak,” Ye Sangzhi said coldly.
“Master…” Concubine Wei ignored her, looking pitifully at Ye Yunchang. “Does the Eldest Miss misunderstand me? I only mean well.”
“Enough.” Ye Yunchang, seeing Wei so wronged, looked at his daughter with disappointment. “Zhi’er, today you’ve gone too far. You’ve truly let me down. I heard the steward and Nanny Zhang were beaten by your servants, and that you seized your sister’s courtyard. Do you admit this?”
At first, he hadn’t believed Concubine Wei. Surely his daughter wouldn’t return only to order beatings. But seeing the steward and Nanny Zhang’s injuries, he had begun to accept it. Still, he wanted to hear from her directly. But this daughter seemed utterly changed. If not for her familiar face, he might have thought she’d been replaced.
Ye Sangzhi nodded without hesitation. “I should correct you. The steward and Nanny Zhang were beaten because they were disrespectful to me, the Eldest Miss. As for ‘seizing’ my sister’s courtyard—that’s nonsense. That courtyard was mine to begin with. I simply reclaimed my own rooms. Perfectly reasonable.”
Ye Yunchang scolded: “Nonsense! If servants disrespect you, you should tell me and I’ll punish them. How can you strike them yourself? And how can you fight with your sister over a courtyard? Wouldn’t it be a laughingstock if word got out? I’ve already had Concubine Wei prepare another courtyard for you.”
“Father, are you getting old, forgetful, muddle‑headed? Must I repeat again and again whose courtyard that is?” Ye Sangzhi’s tone grew impatient.
“I am the Eldest Miss of this household. Punishing two disrespectful servants is within my rights. I’m past the age of needing Father’s protection—I don’t have to report everything to you. As for the courtyard Concubine Wei arranged, if Father likes it so much, you’re welcome to move in yourself.”
“You dare speak to me like this? Do you even acknowledge me as your father?” Ye Yunchang’s eyes were full of disbelief.
“What do you think?” Ye Sangzhi sneered.
Seeing her suddenly cold gaze, Ye Yunchang faltered, remembering how her mother had died in childbirth, with Concubine Wei bearing undeniable blame—and how Ye Sangzhi had nearly killed her then.
“Eldest Miss, look how you’ve angered your father. Stop speaking. Surely you don’t want gossip spreading the moment you return?” Concubine Wei pretended to mediate, certain that the girl cared about her reputation.
She was sixteen now, old enough for marriage talks. If bad rumors spread, what respectable family would want her? Concubine Wei had thought years away would teach her restraint, but instead, she had offended the master outright. Was she mad?
Ye Sangzhi’s gaze turned icy. “It seems Concubine Wei doesn’t understand plain speech—are you trying to threaten me? Then let me tell you: if anyone outside dares spread rumors about me, I guarantee your two children won’t fare well either.”
“…” Concubine Wei was startled, as if reliving the day Ye Sangzhi had chased her with a blade.
“Zhi’er, you—” Ye Yunchang tried to speak again.
But Ye Sangzhi cut him off. “If Father has nothing else, I’ll return to my rooms. Oh, when Ye Lingzhou comes back, have someone inform me. Thank you, Father.”
With that, she rose and left.
Ye Lingzhou was her younger brother. Back then, when her mother died suddenly and her maternal family fell into misfortune, no one could care for the siblings. In her rage, she had injured Concubine Wei. Though Concubine Wei was only a concubine, Ye Sangzhi was just five years old, and her father had insisted on punishing her, letting servants spread word of her attack. Some pitied her as a motherless child, some blamed her father’s neglect, but many called her vicious even at such a young age.
Grandfather, angered by Father, fell ill. Unable to care for both her and the newborn brother, and fearing she’d be unhappy or schemed against in the capital, he sent her away—worried that if he died, no one would protect the siblings.