Truth be told, it had been several years since Ye Wushuang last saw Qian Gugu. After all this time, she wasn’t sure if her aunt would still recognize her.
Even if she did recognize her, would she grant her this favor?
Though uncertain, she had to try.
The moment “Empress Dowager” was uttered, Ye Jintang’s complexion completely changed.
She clenched her fists so tightly that her fingernails finally gave way, tearing from their beds. The nail plates clung to torn flesh in her palms as sticky blood dripped from her fingers onto the ground.
Yet she only frowned without making a sound, her heart so filled with intense jealousy and resentment she could barely breathe.
That was the Empress Dowager! The emperor’s birth mother, now the most noble woman in the realm second only to the emperor’s legitimate mother!
When she first learned about her own origins years ago, she had sent a letter instructing Nian Cuilan to never let Ye Wushuang near Phoenix Cry Mountain!
Though she knew she might be worrying unnecessarily, she didn’t want to plant any future troubles, hence her early preparations.
Never did she expect she would be one step too late!
How did this Ye Wushuang manage to evade every meticulously planned trap? Was she some nemesis sent by heaven to torment her!
While she was inwardly reeling, Ye Zeyu acted as if he’d heard some hilarious joke.
Seemingly having forgotten about his father’s loving slaps, he sneered and said:
“Father, have you been possessed by some foul spirit? Who did you say she should invite? The Empress Dowager? Does she even know which direction the palace gates face? How would an ill-bred wretch like her be fit to know the Empress Dowager?”
The stone in Ye Wushuang’s hand still flew out, heading straight for his front teeth.
Followed by a cry of pain, Ye Zeyu opened his hand to reveal a bloody front tooth lying in his palm.
Ye Wushuang was delighted.
“Who was it? Who hit me! I’ll have your life!”
Ye Zeyu glared around madly like a lunatic, but shivered when he met his father’s gaze.
He had been so enraged he lost his composure.
In this room, besides himself, only his father knew martial arts.
But why would his father do this? He was the legitimate heir, future successor to the marquis estate. How could his father treat him like this, disregarding his dignity entirely?
Ye Siyuan’s expression remained unchanged as he coldly declared:
“Without any subtlety or restraint in speech, how can such recklessness bear great responsibilities? Go kneel in the Ancestral Hall. Don’t come out without my order.”
Su Yun cried out in alarm, holding her son as tears streamed down again.
“Master, Zeyu is bleeding from his mouth! Let him see a physician first, don’t delay treatment!”
Ye Siyuan remained iron-willed, showing no consideration for his wife’s feelings:
“If he dares speak so arrogantly before me, who knows what disasters he might cause outside in the future!”
With meaningful eyes and a warning tone, he added: “Too much kindness ruins household management. If you cannot properly educate both your children, I’ll have my parents return to the estate to help discipline these two brats!”
Watching the devastated expressions of Su Yun and her son, Ye Wushuang felt immensely satisfied.
In her previous life, when Ye Jintang framed her for stealing jewelry, what had these two done?
Su Yun had the matron slap her face, using palm-length boards swung with full force.
It hurt so much!
Just one strike made her cheek swell terribly, knocking out two teeth.
And she still had to endure Su Yun’s insults, calling her shallow-eyed, worthless trash.
That was when she discovered that noble ladies weren’t particularly refined when cursing—they just used the same few words repeatedly.
When the cursing tired them out, they sent her to the Ancestral Hall.
The Ancestral Hall in winter was gloomy and dark,
The cushion before the ancestral tablets was snatched away. A hard kick from the matron sent her sprawling, her knees slamming against the cold, unyielding floor tiles with a piercing pain.
But that wasn’t all. They denied her food and sleep.
With an inflamed broken tooth, she burned with fever until she finally collapsed unconscious on the floor.
Ye Zeyu sneered, accusing her of feigning illness. He doused her with a basin of cold water, his tone laced with warning:
“Jintang has a kind heart. She pleaded with Mother on your behalf to spare you further punishment. Get out of here now, and stop defiling the ancestors’ sight!”
How laughable. She had knelt for a full day and night…
Some memories, even when past, could still make her knees ache with that same piercing pain.
She smiled faintly, studying Ye Jintang’s manner of speaking, then spoke with tear-filled eyes:
“Father, please don’t be angry. This is all your daughter’s fault. I shouldn’t have mentioned anything about Qian Gugu.”
She dabbed at nonexistent tears with a handkerchief, her voice growing nasal:
“If I hadn’t returned, none of these troubles would have plagued our household. You, Mother, my brothers, and Sister Jintang would still be a harmonious family.”
“I… I never should have come back. I beg you to send me back to Suixian County, so peace may be restored to our home.”
Having said this, she genuinely moved herself to tears. They streamed down uncontrollably, falling in torrents.
Ye Jintang stood dumbfounded, staring blankly at Ye Wushuang as if countless grass-mud horses were stampeding through her mind.
Those were all my lines!
Ye Siyuan’s eye twitched, then the corner of his mouth. Watching Ye Wushuang’s performance, he couldn’t help but shudder, goosebumps covering his skin.
What is she trying to do? This is absolutely mortifying!
As he scrambled to think of how to pacify this drama queen, Su Yun, having regained her composure, added fuel to the fire:
“Stop your acting! Only your father would fall for your tricks. I see right through you! If you want to leave, then leave! No one will stop you! Get back to your countryside and don’t ever return!”
The irony was palpable. It turned out no one in this mansion was blind. They could recognize acting when they saw it, yet failed to discern genuine sincerity.
Ye Wushuang looked at Su Yun, uncertain of her own feelings.
Disappointed? Not entirely. But she knew reconciliation was impossible at this point.
The last shred of unrealistic hope vanished, leaving her with terrifying calmness.
No matter how deep her resentment, this was still her birth mother. She couldn’t commit the atrocity of matricide.
She needed an opportunity – a chance to sever their mother-daughter bond completely.
The same applied to Ye Zeyu.
Seeing the venomous glares from mother and son, she knew the moment was approaching.
…
Arriving at Ink Garden, Ye Wushuang watched as furniture was carried into the courtyard, her mood quite pleasant.
Soon, Mama Zhao from Su Yun’s retinue arrived with six maids and an older servant woman.
Mama Zhao carried herself with arrogant disdain, offering no greetings and speaking with obvious reluctance:
“Madam has sent this old servant to deliver household staff for the young mistress.”
Having delivered the message, she turned to leave without another moment’s delay.
This too was Su Yun’s intention – no need to show respect to some country girl who’d returned.
She had Mama Zhao randomly select five maids and transfer one from her own courtyard, all to keep watch over Ye Wushuang.
Mama Zhao’s disrespectful attitude served as a signal to the servants: the Madam did not value this new mistress.
In wealthy households, not only servants had hierarchies – the masters themselves were ranked too.
Apart from the family head, favored young masters like the heir and Ye Jintang belonged to the first tier—figures one must never offend.
Concubines with some standing and illegitimate children formed the second tier.
As for someone like Ye Wushuang, a child despised by the ruling madam, they were at the very bottom, their status even lower than that of respectable servants.
Several servants lowered their heads and eyes, each with their own thoughts.
After Mama Zhao finished speaking, she rolled her eyes and was about to turn away when a sudden pain in her knee made her drop straight to her knees.
Ye Wushuang widened her innocent eyes, feigning surprise, and said,
“What are you doing, Mama? Oh, I see—you’re waiting for a reward, aren’t you?”
She then put on a troubled expression. “But I’m penniless right now and don’t have anything worthy to give. You’ve knelt to the wrong person.”
A maid nearby, her head bowed, couldn’t hold back a snort of laughter, earning a glare from Mama Zhao.
Ye Wushuang glanced at the maid—a tall girl in a pink dress. Something about her figure felt strangely familiar.
Pushing aside her thoughts, she addressed Mama Zhao:
“Alright, you’ve knelt. I understand your intentions now.”
Mama Zhao gritted her teeth in fury. She had come to assert her authority but ended up humiliating herself!
Fuming, she turned and stormed off, only to stumble again at the courtyard gate, falling flat on her face.
“Pfft—hahaha!”
Led by the maid in pink, the others couldn’t contain their amusement and burst into laughter.
Ye Wushuang noted the only maid who remained displeased, filing it away in her mind.
In good spirits, she commanded the servants,
“Lift your heads.”
Her gaze first fell upon the maid in pink, and at the sight, she was so startled she nearly cried out.