When Ye Zeyu heard his father was coming, his hand paused mid-action. He glared fiercely at Ye Wushuang, his face full of reluctance, but still put away his whip and warned:
“You’d better not spout nonsense in front of Father, or I’ll definitely make you regret it!”
After saying this, he snorted coldly and pulled Ye Jintang outside.
The two walked extremely fast and didn’t encounter Ye Siyuan.
As they gradually moved farther away, Ye Jintang glanced back at Ink Garden, her eyes filled with worry.
“Do you think that wretch will believe Xia He?”
Ye Zeyu’s eyes grew even more ruthless: “We set it up so meticulously, she’s bound to take the bait! Today we must destroy her!”
“Then… are you sure, brother? Could that woman know martial arts?”
Mentioning this, Ye Zeyu’s expression darkened somewhat.
Previously, Mama Zhao had spoken mysteriously about it, and his knee had hurt strangely just now.
But he had watched carefully – that wretch hadn’t made any moves.
Thinking it over carefully, it might have been because he’d been indulging in coolness these past few days, making his knee uncomfortable.
As for Mama Zhao, she must have failed her task and thus made it sound so mysterious.
Thinking this, his expression improved somewhat.
She’s just a wild girl. Looking at her thin figure, she’s lucky to get a full meal – how could she possibly have energy to practice martial arts?
Having reached this conclusion, he comforted her in a relaxed tone: “I watched carefully, she doesn’t know martial arts. Don’t worry.”
While the siblings were getting along harmoniously, Ink Garden was in complete disarray.
Servants were cleaning up the fragments. Ye Wushuang sighed and stood up, planning to change clothes.
But when she opened the wardrobe, she discovered something strange.
The wardrobe was empty.
All the clothes that had been inside had disappeared.
Without thinking, she knew this was definitely Su Yun’s doing, aiming to force her to wear that iridescent brocade dress.
What a vicious heart, such thorough methods.
Ye Wushuang sighed, but couldn’t help feeling somewhat relieved.
In her previous life, she’d been tricked too many times, so she’d always maintained the habit of preparing backups in advance.
She dismissed the servants and fiddled with the wardrobe alone for a while, retrieving a light blue dress from the hidden compartment.
After changing clothes, she took out another lightweight dress of the same color, folded it tightly, and tied it up.
Fortunately, this dress didn’t take up much space and could easily fit into her sleeve pocket.
While Shu Lan re-did her hair, she pondered the recent events.
These two seemed to have come to provoke and frame her, but she felt something was odd.
Based on their personalities, if they didn’t gain any advantage, they would never give up.
Moreover, Ye Siyuan had only passed by without entering, yet these two hadn’t returned.
This wasn’t normal!
These two came but didn’t leave anything in the room, nor did they take anything from the courtyard.
So what did they come for? Just to annoy her?
Her eyes shifted around, and she said to Shu Lan:
“Today I’ll only take Xia He. You stay in the mansion and help me keep a close watch on this courtyard. Don’t let anyone exploit any loopholes, understand?”
Shu Lan was clever and immediately understood, her eyes lighting up as she acknowledged the order.
Ye Wushuang relaxed, looking at Shu Lan with unconscious satisfaction.
Although this woman had become somewhat twisted in her previous life, she was still proper now. Most importantly, having loyal and capable allies was more valuable than any amount of silver.
After finishing her toilette, breakfast was delivered.
Xia He looked at the pearl hairpin and spoke with some concern:
“Miss, this was sent by the madam. You…”
She hesitated, then finally resolved to say, “You’d better not wear it.”
Ye Wushuang shook her head. “I like this style. It’s fine to wear. Go fetch me some ice water.”
The weather was cool at this time—why would the young lady need ice water? But she didn’t ask further and turned to leave.
When she returned, she saw that half the breakfast had already been eaten. Lowering her gaze, she began tidying up without a word.
Not long after, an old nanny entered and spoke respectfully:
“Madam says to gather in the flower hall. Please don’t be late, young lady.”
She recognized the nanny as someone from Bright Moon Courtyard, and inwardly cursed:
Damn it, aren’t these people tired?
It’s like an old sow wearing a bra—layer after layer.
It was the same old trick from her previous life: making her wait in the flower hall early in the morning while the others went directly to the main gate, then using it as an excuse to scold her.
Really, not a single new trick.
In her past life, she had been foolish too. The flower hall and the main gate were in opposite directions of the main courtyard—who would take the long way around just to take off their pants and fart? Only her naive past self could have been so easily deceived.
Helplessly rolling her eyes, she calmly stood up, called for Xia He, and the two went straight to the main gate.
No sooner had she arrived than she saw Su Yun and the other two discussing:
The hypermasculine Ye Zeyu: “That wretched girl has no manners at all! Making everyone wait for her at such an important banquet? Utterly outrageous!”
The green tea Ye Jintang: “Brother, don’t say that. Sister just returned from the countryside—it’s normal she doesn’t understand these rules. Let’s not blame her.”
The blind Su Yun: “You’re always too kind-hearted. If she had any sense of propriety, she wouldn’t have caused such chaos in the household. Only your father protects her. If it were up to me, I’d have sent her away long ago!”
“Where does Mother wish to send me?”
Ye Wushuang’s voice was devoid of emotion as she appeared behind them, startling the group.
Ye Zeyu turned first, his face full of disbelief:
“You… you… how did you…”
“How come I’m not waiting foolishly in the flower hall for you, right?”
She was utterly fed up. How could these people be so thick-skinned, not even blushing when exposed?
“It seems a treacherous servant falsely relayed Mother’s message. Such misconduct must not be tolerated. I beg Mother to identify this person and punish them severely.”
The messenger was a favored servant of Bright Moon Courtyard, one Ye Jintang found very useful and was naturally reluctant to lose.
“It’s not as serious as Sister makes it out to be.”
Ye Wushuang was truly exhausted. The amount of inner-house strife she’d experienced this morning was almost equivalent to a month’s worth in other households.
All she wanted now was to see Ye Langting as soon as possible—she didn’t want to delay a moment longer.
“Deceiving me is a small matter, but if in the future a servant falsely relays Father’s orders, commits misconduct in the capital, or even offends royalty, it would mean losing their head. Sister, as a noble lady of the capital, how could you not understand this reasoning?”
Su Yun had a headache. Originally, she had intended to use this as an excuse to scold Ye Wushuang, but never expected this wretched girl to be so sharp-tongued and twist the matter so far.
Yet what she said made sense, which only fueled Su Yun’s anger.
Unwilling to let Ye Jintang face embarrassment, she took responsibility:
“Initially, we did plan to gather in the flower hall. It was my last-minute decision to change the plan, and I forgot to inform you. It has nothing to do with Jintang.”
Ye Jintang’s eyes grew moist as she clung to Su Yun’s arm, her gaze full of adoration.
“Mother…”
Ye Wushuang felt like vomiting…
Though she could play the green tea act too, it seemed useless against this wretched trio right now.
Seeing Ye Zeyu about to start blabbering again, Ye Wushuang couldn’t resist flicking a pebble at his knee, making him grunt in pain.
After another round of “loving mother and filial children” theatrics, they finally boarded the carriage.
Ye Wushuang let out a heavy sigh.
The marquis’s carriage was spacious. She sat on the northern side near the interior, while Su Yun sat with Ye Jintang on the southern side near the entrance, keeping as much distance from Ye Wushuang as possible—as estranged as strangers.
Previously preoccupied with shock, Su Yun only now noticed Ye Wushuang’s clothing and couldn’t help feeling disappointed. She had specifically ordered all the decent clothes hidden away, and the only remaining set had been ruined by Zeyu—how did she still manage to find something suitable?
But when her eyes fell upon the pearl hairpin, her heart settled.
Simultaneously, a trace of contempt rose within her.
She acts as if she doesn’t care about wealth and status, yet here she is wearing an exquisite hairpin after all.
Just a shallow country bumpkin with no vision—she had plenty of ways to torment this lowborn creature.
The imperial city’s roads were smooth, but the carriage still rocked slightly. Ye Wushuang half-closed her eyes, lost in thought, when suddenly she noticed a pastry appearing before her. She looked up to see Ye Jintang’s sickeningly sweet face.
Ye Wushuang felt utterly exhausted. She accepted the snack and expressed thanks but didn’t eat it.
The green tea incarnate Ye Jintang said: “Sister, why aren’t you eating? Do you resent me for taking your place? If that’s the case, I’ll…”
Ye Wushuang took a deep breath, then her eyes suddenly brightened.
How could she have forgotten such an important item!
In the blink of an eye, she flicked the pill she’d extracted from the pearl directly into Ye Jintang’s throat.