The Old Madam was truly starting to lose her composure and wanted to faint.
But she was also afraid that the moment she fainted, that wretched girl would immediately rush to have her trusted servant beaten to death.
So she could only force herself to stay conscious, staring straight at Ye Yunmian with eyes full of hatred, as if she wanted to strangle her on the spot.
“You are a young unmarried girl, yet you dare to say such things in front of so many people—you are deliberately trying to disturb the peace of my Duke’s household! From today onward, you are grounded!”
The Old Madam no longer bothered to restrain herself. If she didn’t make this girl suffer a little, she would never understand who truly held power in this household.
Ye Yunmian thought for a moment and replied seriously, “I have an appointment with someone. I can only begin my confinement in a few days. I hope the Old Madam will understand.”
“…”
Lady Ge felt a surge of anger clogging her chest, neither rising nor falling.
Who gets grounded and then says they need to wait a few days before starting?!
“Am I no longer able to control you?!” she snapped.
Ye Yunmian’s gaze casually swept over the “gold and silver trinkets” being moved, while she replied unhurriedly, “It’s not that you can’t control me. You are my elder after all—if you make unreasonable requests, as a junior I should at least listen respectfully. But I made an agreement with someone before returning to the capital, and it is an important matter. By the latest the day after tomorrow, I must go fulfill that appointment. If I don’t go, someone may die, and it might even affect the Old Madam’s blessings and longevity.”
She had made herself very clear.
Originally, after arriving in the capital, she intended to deal with this matter immediately—but the family situation was so chaotic that she had no choice but to handle it first.
“You are an unmarried young lady. With whom could you possibly have an appointment? Yunmian girl, don’t forget you still have an imperial marriage decree granted by the Empress Dowager. You must not act improperly or associate recklessly with men.”
From the age of three, she had been sent to the frontier—a wild girl who only returned to the capital yesterday, and already she claims to have an appointment? Impossible.
Clearly, she was young and full of lies.
“Rest assured, Old Madam. It is proper business,” Ye Yunmian said with a faint smile. “In the next two days, I will be going to Wuyun Temple. I won’t trouble you the way Cousin Sister does.”
In a household like the Duke’s estate, even if the younger generation was a bit unruly, it wouldn’t cause much of a stir.
Moreover, the Ye clan had few collateral branches, and its family rules were not particularly strict. So even if a young lady’s reputation was slightly damaged, at most people would only criticize the household for poor discipline—unlike other families, where a few rumors could ruin a girl’s entire life.
The Old Madam’s words would not truly humiliate Ye Yunmian, but they were irritating.
And Ye Yunmian would not simply let her smear her reputation either—so she turned the dirty water back onto the Old Madam’s precious granddaughter, Ye Yunwan.
The Old Madam was so furious her teeth trembled.
Soon, the silver was fully moved out.
The Old Madam stayed nearby the entire time, and seeing so much wealth, her eyes inevitably grew a little greedy.
She knew these private assets well. Over the years, she had not once stopped wanting to fold them into the public accounts—but it was difficult to do so, because most of the wealth came from the original wife’s dowry.
At that time, the Duke’s household was at its peak, and his first wife came from a noble family—someone far beyond her reach.
Those dowries rightfully belonged to the heirs of the main branch. She could not touch them.
She had tried once before, but Ye Weiren had an extremely bad temper when it came to this matter. He tolerated many things, but not interference with these assets. After one incident, he had people release dozens of venomous snakes into the Second Branch’s residence.
Although the matter later escalated and the Emperor punished Ye Weiren, she no longer dared to gamble.
What if he went mad again in the future? No one knew what he might do.
Fortunately, Ye Weiren had been in poor health in recent years and had no time to deal with them.
And given his condition, it was uncertain how long he could even live. Once he died—and after dealing with that useless Third Young Master—the title would naturally fall into her own sons and grandsons’ hands without any struggle.
“Yunmian girl,” the Old Madam said, suddenly switching to a kind, benevolent expression, “our Duke’s household holds imperial favor. This much wealth is something ordinary people would never see in several lifetimes. You must learn to spend it carefully.”
Nearby, many onlookers had gathered out of curiosity.
They were indeed interested in the internal disputes, but once things settled, what remained was resentment over inequality.
Just one debt collection incident had yielded so much wealth—it was clear how lavish the Duke’s household lived.
If there were still members of the family fighting at the border, defending the nation, that would be one thing. But the current generation had accomplished nothing and only indulged in luxury. Naturally, the common people would feel resentment, and officials might even submit memorials criticizing the household for corruption and extravagance.
Ye Yunmian simply smiled without responding.
She had no intention of keeping this wealth at home—not because she feared envy, but because her relatives were simply not good at keeping money.
She reclaimed the silver to reclaim dignity, not to squander it.
At this moment, she no longer wished to deal with the Old Madam.
After everything was sorted, she politely sent away the representatives from each household, then returned directly to her own courtyard.
Inside, the donkey had already rested.
Under the dim moonlight, the courtyard full of goods seemed to glow faintly, almost dazzling.
“Elder sister… I won’t be going out these next few days. I won’t accompany you to Wuyun Temple… C-can you manage alone?” Ye Weiqing finally spoke up.
Earlier, when the Old Madam was present, he had wanted to turn himself into smoke.
“Yes,” Ye Yunmian nodded.
Ye Weiqing immediately let out a breath of relief.
She had only just returned home, but his fear of her had already surpassed everyone else’s.
His elder brother was harsh but mostly dismissive; sometimes he even punished him with beatings, but now barely bothered to speak to him. The Old Madam was also strict, but he had long grown used to her ways.
Only this elder sister was different.
She looked at him with expectation, spoke gently to him—but her actions were anything but gentle.
She dared to demand people from his brother, kill his uncle’s servants, step on the Old Madam’s dignity, and beat her trusted aides…
He was now afraid of displeasing her, because he had no idea where her breaking point truly lay.
“You are at the right age to focus on your studies. Just stay home and study properly. I can handle things outside,” Ye Yunmian said gently.
The household had a private school.
They had hired a renowned scholar from the capital, one who had once taught their father. After growing old, he had been invited to stay in the estate as a tutor for the children.
But not long after, their father passed away.
In the original story, members of the Lin family came to study at the Ye household, and this scholar was briefly mentioned.
It was said that Ye Weiren had attended school for a short time in his youth, but after his health deteriorated, he stopped going. Ye Weiqing was unruly, and the scholar had originally intended to leave—but the Old Madam had kept him.
But that was the storyline.
In reality, she understood the truth.
Scholar Wei and her father had a relationship that was half teacher, half father.