Ye Yunmian lightly patted Ye Weiqing’s shoulder.
“Big sister, are you alright?” Ye Weiqing hurriedly asked. He seemed to realize that his own timid nature—despite knowing the truth—made him look weak and useless, so he quickly added, “I… I… I don’t like going to Second Uncle’s place…”
As he said this, his eyes subtly swept over Ye Yunmian.
Her clothes were neat and intact, not torn by vicious dogs.
Her expression was calm, and she didn’t look like someone who had been chased by a ferocious hound…
But faintly, Ye Weiqing seemed to catch a trace of blood in the air.
“You’re injured?!” Ye Weiqing suddenly stood up. “Where are you hurt? Come on, I’ll take you to the family physician. I already told you, Second Uncle’s dogs can’t be messed with! Luckily your face wasn’t injured this time—if it had been… anyway, you’re not allowed to come here again!”
He was so agitated that it was probably the loudest he had spoken in years.
“I’m not injured. And this sword of yours really is a fine protective blade! You must take good care of it in your daily training to keep it so sharp. This time it was my fault for getting it dirty.”
Ye Yunmian spoke as she placed the item back into Ye Weiqing’s hands.
Ye Weiqing froze. “Not injured? Then the smell of blood is…”
“You… you really killed that dog!”
Suddenly, realization struck him.
In that instant, his hair stood on end, and a sense of impending disaster washed over him.
“It’s over… it’s over…” His face went pale as he paced anxiously. “You don’t understand—that dog is Second Uncle’s lifeblood. If you killed it, we’re all finished…”
Second Uncle was the only son of the Dowager Grandmother’s line, utterly spoiled and deeply favored. If she found out he had suffered a loss…
The more Ye Weiqing thought about it, the more he began to tremble uncontrollably.
Ye Yunmian immediately held him down. “Brother, trust me. It’s fine.”
“It can’t be fine…” Ye Weiqing’s hands clenched tightly. He looked like he had forgotten how to think, his body rigid and cold. His panic was on the verge of collapse, and even Ye Yunmian found it hard to believe.
In the original plot, Ye Weiqing was described as mischievous since childhood—cowardly, yet vicious.
As a child, he once tried to poison the Dowager Grandmother’s food, though his crude method was quickly discovered; people said he was neither smart nor filial.
His family dog once barked at Second Uncle, seen as rude and unruly.
He was also said to be extremely lazy, unwilling to endure martial training, and secretly malicious in his timid nature—once deliberately misdirecting his weapon during practice, nearly disfiguring the female lead who was visiting under everyone’s watch…
But looking at Ye Weiqing now, Ye Yunmian couldn’t imagine how such a person could have done all those evil deeds.
“Brother, I heard that when you were young, you tried to poison the Dowager Grandmother?” Ye Yunmian asked, holding his arm.
Ye Weiqing looked dazed. After processing her words, he quickly shook his head. “I… I didn’t do it on purpose. Grandmother was very strict with me back then. I always wanted to make her happy. There were many blooming flowers in the garden, so I picked some to give her, but I didn’t expect the pollen to somehow fall into Grandmother’s porridge…”
He had been very young then, but he still remembered it clearly.
“And your dog barking at Second Uncle?”
“That day I was carrying a jade pendant left by my parents, and Second Uncle took it from me. I cried a few times, and then my dog started barking too…”
“……”
Ye Yunmian asked everything she wanted to ask. After finishing, she felt both angry and amused.
She suspected the plot revolved entirely around Lin Mianmian—whenever Lin Mianmian viewed the Second Branch as good people, the narrative would automatically frame everything the First Branch did as false accusations.
“Brother, I heard you say you should go back to the border. Weren’t you only returning for the marriage granted by the Empress Dowager? I know that man—it’s not a good match. You should quietly leave, go far away, and after a few years the engagement will naturally be void. In the capital, there are troubles everywhere…” Ye Weiqing said anxiously.
Ye Yunmian exhaled slowly and relaxed.
“It’s not as scary as you think. Remember, who is the rightful master of this household. From now on, just follow me. If the Dowager questions anything, I’ll handle it.”
She was the one who killed the dog—she would take responsibility.
“But…”
“No ‘buts’.” Ye Yunmian said firmly. “At the end of the day, this is just internal family conflict. There’s still bigger excitement outside. If you can’t even handle this little shock, I suggest you take this pill first.”
She took out a small bottle from her robe.
The pills inside were originally for elderly people who couldn’t handle excitement—but looking at Ye Weiqing… he probably needed a few.
“What excitement?” he asked, confused.
“The steward has already sent the account books to every household. According to my instructions, I want silver delivered to our Ye residence within three days. But I assume people in the capital care more about face than money—so tonight, we’ll likely start seeing payments arrive.”
She smiled faintly.
She was short on money.
It had been three years since she lost her memory and stopped sending funds to the border region—she didn’t know how things were there now.
Only then did Ye Weiqing, already shaken, become even more stunned.
He looked at her in disbelief. After confirming she wasn’t joking, he nearly broke down again. “How can you… how can you demand debts like this? How am I supposed to face people in the future?”
Ye Yunmian remained calm.
Face? If they didn’t act now, they’d be burning paper offerings at his grave in a few days.
Whether he’d even still be human in the next life was uncertain.
But she didn’t want to appear too forceful. So when she saw his despair, her expression immediately turned confused and slightly aggrieved.
“Brother… what do you mean?” she asked softly.
“Repaying debts is only natural. If we don’t collect what’s owed, we’ll all be left starving.”
She sighed. “Besides, you don’t know this, but when I was young… I suffered a serious illness. A famous doctor saved me, but I promised him I would repay him one million taels of silver. I thought I could settle it after coming to the capital…”
She was completely making it up.
“A million taels?!” Ye Weiqing gasped. “Big sister, you were scammed!”
“At that time, did I even have a choice? Spending money to save a life—no matter how much it costs, it’s worth it. Don’t you think so?”
“….”
Ye Weiqing opened his mouth, but couldn’t agree.
But in the end, he still couldn’t bring himself to refute her.
He hadn’t expected his big sister to have such a difficult life in the borderlands, even suffering such a tragic incident.
A million taels…
For a noble household like theirs, it was indeed wealthy, but many assets couldn’t be sold, and their liquid wealth wasn’t nearly that much.