Madam Tong smiled amiably, but her eyes were full of contempt.
Yet Ye Weiqing was afraid of even a mere old nanny like her.
When he was little, his grandmother had punished him, and these old maids had looked down on him as well.
Take Madam Tong for example. Countless times, she had “accidentally” dripped hot wax onto his hands. When taking care of him, she would yank him around, let him bump and fall, slap him, and scold and berate him without restraint. She acted nothing like a servant.
At first, he had even thought of complaining to his grandmother. But what happened?
His grandmother had said that he was narrow-minded and intolerant.
He had once believed that his grandmother was simply strict. But after seeing his second uncle’s son, he finally understood—
his grandmother hated him.
But what could he do?
His parents were dead, his elder brother ignored him, and among all the people around him, not a single one would help him.
Study?
It wasn’t that he had never thought about it. But over the years, had he ever truly had the chance to attend his tutor’s lessons properly?
“I…” Ye Weiqing lowered his head. The tiny bit of self-respect he had regained over the past few days with his teacher instantly crumbled away.
Then he said softly,
“I… I don’t really like studying anyway. I-I just won’t study anymore…”
Before he could finish, a shadow swept in through the doorway.
Ye Yunmian stepped inside and slowly approached.
“Madam Tong speaks so well,” she said in a clear voice, her steps firm. Seeing how thoroughly Ye Weiqing had been bullied, anger surged in her heart.
“Then how about this? Starting tomorrow, we’ll trouble Teacher Wei to hold classes right here in the ancestral hall. Let our ancestors watch my brother’s lessons themselves, so they won’t have to worry.”
“Miss!” Madam Tong immediately cried out in displeasure.
Ye Yunmian felt she had already been remarkably patient. But hearing this old hag shout at her, she could no longer control herself.
A nameless fury burst forth.
She lifted her foot and kicked Madam Tong squarely in the stomach.
Bang!
Madam Tong was sent flying.
Clutching her abdomen, she howled in pain.
Ice filled Ye Yunmian’s eyes.
“Who taught you to shout in front of the Ye family’s ancestors?”
“Miss! I serve the Old Madam! How dare you strike me in the ancestral hall? Do you even respect the ancestors—”
Though she said so, Madam Tong was truly frightened.
Last time, Ye Yunmian had already beaten her. Her injuries had yet to heal; she still walked unsteadily and couldn’t even straighten her back.
Ye Yunmian let out a breath.
Her gaze swept over the burning candle stand nearby. The weak flame gave off little warmth.
She slowly walked over, picked up the bronze candlestick, removed the soft candle, and weighed the object in her hand.
Then she turned back toward Madam Tong.
“Y-you… what are you going to do? I-I serve the Old Madam. You can’t—”
“Ahhh—!”
Before she could finish, all Madam Tong saw was the bronze object rapidly enlarging before her eyes.
Then came a heart-piercing pain.
Blood gushed down her forehead.
Fear and despair struck her all at once, and before long she collapsed uncontrollably to the ground.
She was dead.
Ye Yunmian tossed the candlestick onto the floor.
The other old maids outside were so frightened that their legs gave out. One after another, they collapsed and desperately crawled away.
Unhurriedly, Ye Yunmian sighed.
“You had a perfectly good way to live, so why insist on seeking death? My Ye family comes from a line of military generals. Killing a few old fools who don’t know their place is as easy as lifting a hand.”
“Go back and tell the Old Madam that since we’re paying our respects before the ancestors, no one can be absent. If I don’t see Ye Weiting and Ye Yunwan coming to study tonight, then don’t blame me for personally inviting them.”
“Y-Yes… yes…”
The old maids scrambled away, rolling and crawling.
Ye Weiqing trembled all over in fright.
Taking tiny, shaky steps, he approached Madam Tong and reached out with a trembling hand to check her breathing.
Only to discover—
she was really dead!
Dead?!
His eyes widened into perfect circles.
He was afraid, yet somehow also found it absurd.
Dead?
Just like that?
“Lessons can wait until tomorrow. Go back and rest first,” Ye Yunmian said, looking at her foolish little brother with complicated emotions.
“Big Sister… you killed her…” Ye Weiqing pointed at the corpse.
His eldest brother killed people too.
But his brother never did it personally. He had trusted subordinates to act as his blades. And even then, he rarely took lives so directly and decisively. More often, he did it in secret, using underhanded methods.
“Killing people is wrong. Don’t learn from me,” Ye Yunmian said, unwilling to look at the corpse.
“You should become a scholar. Use your brain more often. I’m different—I picked up bad habits at the border and got used to being rough and savage.”
This wasn’t the first time she had killed.
At the border, enemies frequently burned, murdered, and looted. There were countless bandits as well.
As a traveling physician, she inevitably encountered danger.
She had seen unarmed commoners butchered and trampled. She had seen perfectly good homes set ablaze.
In such situations, if she had obediently stood there doing nothing, she would have died countless times over.
“…”
Ye Weiqing was dumbfounded.
Savage?
He didn’t think so at all.
The moment his sister smashed Madam Tong to death, he had felt as though she were glowing—
gentle and beautiful, like an immortal fairy descending from heaven.
“In a while, I’ll prepare some medicine for your itching. Apply it and you’ll be able to sleep well. Remember to come back tonight. Since we’re consoling the spirits of our ancestors, everyone must be present.”
Ye Yunmian smiled as if nothing had happened.
When she had returned from the Daoist temple, she had brought back some commonly used medicinal herbs, which happened to come in handy.
What she hadn’t expected was that her younger brother could be this foolish.
Just a few old maids had been enough to make him obediently kneel here for an entire night!
“Okay…” Ye Weiqing answered obediently.
His legs were numb as he slowly walked back.
Ye Yunmian noticed that there wasn’t a single considerate person by his side. Those servants had actually allowed her brother to suffer alone.
She truly couldn’t understand what her elder brother was thinking.
He was willing to lend her people like Steward Liang, yet he remained so cold toward their younger brother.
Unable to figure it out, Ye Yunmian returned to her courtyard first.
The donkey was still fine. When it saw her, it even brayed twice.
After preparing the medicinal powder, she personally delivered it to her brother and watched him apply it and rest before leaving.
At that moment, the Old Madam received the news that Ye Yunmian had killed Madam Tong.
The shock nearly scared her to death.
She lost her footing and fell to the ground.
“S-She… she really dared to kill someone?” the Old Madam asked fearfully.
Ye Weiyin had a fierce temper, but he never cared much about household affairs. Since she had never tried to take Ye Weiqing’s life, she had deliberately avoided provoking him, and the two of them had rarely clashed.
Naturally, she had never seen how ruthless he could be.
She had thought Ye Yunmian was merely difficult to deal with.
She never imagined that the girl would actually beat someone to death!
“The eldest miss said… that Fourth Young Master and Second Miss are to go to the ancestral hall tonight to study…” The servant’s voice trembled.
Anyone who had witnessed the eldest miss strike so decisively would have been scared out of their wits.
How were they supposed to deal with her from now on?
What if they accidentally offended her and she attacked again?
Servants like them belonged to the Ye family. Even if they died, it would only cost the family some compensation money.
Perhaps it would damage the eldest miss’s reputation…
But judging from her actions, she clearly didn’t care about her reputation at all!
The Old Madam had already sat down, but the hand holding her teacup trembled.
“Wantonly killing servants… isn’t this madness?” she muttered.
Then, after thinking for a long while, she finally made her decision.
“Someone… lock the eldest miss up… and… send her to a convent to recuperate!”
That girl was indeed decisive and ruthless.
But this time, she had finally handed them a weakness to exploit.
Killing someone in the ancestral hall!
With such a reason, wasn’t it enough to lock her away for the rest of her life?