Ye Weiqing was still trailing obediently behind Ye Yunmian. He had just started to relax slightly, but the moment he heard “audit the accounts,” he immediately tensed up again.
“You want to check the accounts?” Ye Weiyin let out a cold laugh. “That’ll mean killing quite a few people again.”
Ye Yunmian paused for a moment, then smiled. “If there are people who deserve to die, we shouldn’t play the compassionate Bodhisattva.”
Ye Weiyin looked at her with surprise. His younger sister… was not weak.
“You’re different from how you wrote in your letters,” he said, glancing at her.
“…!” Ye Yunmian was startled, a flicker of guilt flashing through her.
She had completely forgotten the persona she had carefully constructed in her letters.
After meeting so many people today, she had inevitably lost her temper a few times. How could she still remember that she had once forced herself to write as a gentle, refined young lady to reassure her elder brother and younger brother?
Her life at the frontier had actually been quite good. She still lived in a spacious residence, and her maternal uncle doted on her. Her food, clothing, and daily necessities were all of the highest quality. It was just that her own nature was restless—she was rarely at home for long, always seeking out trouble and activity. There was hardly a place in the frontier cities she had not been, nor anyone she had not saved.
But she was afraid that her family in the capital would think she was too rough and uncouth, so she deliberately presented herself as gentle and virtuous in her letters. She wrote that she rarely left her boudoir, spent her days embroidering and admiring scenery, and that she was kind-hearted, calm, broad-minded, and often engaged in charity such as giving clothing and distributing porridge…
She had boasted so much that she had even forgotten many of her own lies.
“Big Brother, it’s the same, isn’t it? Look at my face—my nose—doesn’t it match exactly what I drew in my letters?” Ye Yunmian immediately smiled, her expression turning innocent in an instant.
Ye Weiyin actually studied her for a moment. When he was silent, his eyes tilted slightly upward, making his already dangerous aura even more pronounced.
“It’s not the same,” he said simply.
Completely different.
The person in the drawing was indeed her, but gentle in temperament—like a timid, useless good-for-nothing.
But the living sister before him was different. There was something else in her—something he could sense immediately. A kind of rebelliousness that ran parallel to his own.
“If you want to check the accounts, then do it. Those who don’t obey—kill them and throw them out,” Ye Weiyin said coldly. Then he shot a dark glance at the useless younger brother behind them. “Such trash only gets in the way. Keep him farther away.”
Ye Weiqing’s face turned pale. He froze in place but did not dare to argue back.
Ye Weiyin had originally thought that this foolish younger brother bringing Yunmian back today might change something, but seeing him still as timid and cowardly as ever only made him more irritated.
“I already have plans for Little Brother’s matters. Big Brother, you should focus on recovering your health,” Ye Yunmian said, glancing at him with concern. “If you have time, I can take your pulse.”
Her eldest brother’s health was not good.
Without the storyline, she would never have known that he had once endured three years of bone-scraping pain. Old injuries like that were not so easy to heal—he likely still had hidden ailments that needed proper treatment.
But she had arrived in a hurry and only brought some ordinary medicinal pills with her.
“You don’t need to worry about me,” Ye Weiyin replied flatly. “I’m fine.”
No one could cure his condition.
Ye Yunmian was not surprised by this answer. Her elder brother was stubborn and self-righteous; he trusted only himself and would not believe she had any real skill. So insisting on taking his pulse now was nearly impossible.
She did not press further and fell silent.
She was tired from the day, and after arriving at her residence, Ye Weiyin had people send food for her so she could rest properly.
Meanwhile, the Duke’s residence was in chaos.
Especially the second branch. After returning to Madam Ge’s Crane Pavilion, they vented all their dissatisfaction.
“Grandmother, that cousin is so crude she looks like a country village woman! Being related to her is humiliating!” Ye Yunwan complained, leaning against the old madam with a spoiled tone.
The old madam was also feeling stifled, but still spoke gently. “The reputation of our Duke’s household has long been damaged. Thankfully, the heir of Marquis Yongyi is fond of you, so your marriage was not affected. Yunmian is indeed ill-mannered, but you only need to maintain appearances. Outsiders won’t be able to say anything. With her personality, she clearly can’t sit still, so let her run around. The more people see her, the more they’ll know who the proper young lady of the household is.”
At the mention of her fiancé, Ye Yunwan blushed slightly.
“No matter what Ye Yunmian does, it won’t affect my place in his heart,” she said proudly.
“That’s right. You will be a marquis’s wife in the future—what is she even worth?” the old madam agreed, feeling more at ease herself.
“Back then I did suffer because of her father, but now look—my son is still alive, and my grandchildren are all promising. There’s nothing left to resent.”
“Although Yunmian comes from a noble lineage, her uncle was foolish. Sending a proper young lady to the frontier ruined her entire life,” the old madam added with feigned regret.
“She’s nothing more than a pretty face.”
“What about my courtyard?” Ye Yunwan asked anxiously.
“Let her make trouble. I’ll send extra servants to guard your door. She must not be allowed inside. That girl is uncultured—if she damages anything the marquis gave you, it would be disastrous,” the old madam said protectively.
Reassured, Ye Yunwan leaned happily against her.
The group chatted for a while longer before dispersing.
The next morning.
Several people stood in Ye Yunmian’s courtyard.
Internal affairs of the estate were managed by the eldest brother, while minor household matters were overseen by the old madam. So at dawn, she had already sent over more than ten servants.
There were two rough maids, two errand girls, and two personal attendants. They stood neatly in a row, looking presentable—but their indenture contracts had not been handed over, so they were not truly loyal to her.
Moreover, the two leading maids clearly looked sharp and calculating. Servants like these were the kind you had to stay alert around at all times.
Ye Yunmian did not move.
She acted as if she did not even see them.
She did not want unnecessary trouble. When mealtime came, she simply went to find her eldest brother, and had someone call her younger brother over so they could eat together.
The group of servants stood there for two hours until their legs went weak. Seeing that Ye Yunmian had no intention of giving orders, they finally could not hold back and went to report to the old madam.
By the time the old madam arrived, Ye Yunmian was flipping through the account books.