C21 Father You must Have Picked Her up from the Streets Right?

The maid beside Old Madam Ye hurriedly patted her back, worried she might faint from anger.

"Grandma, I'm not making things up. You just called the Second Concubine my second mom. Isn't that a sign you're losing it?" Ye Yuvyuv's lips curled into a smile, which quickly vanished, leaving her pretty face with a hint of coldness.

Her voice was steady and cool as she pointed her slender finger dismissively in the direction of the Second Concubine. "How can someone with just the status of a concubine expect me, a legitimate daughter of the Ye family, to call her 'second mom'? Where does she get the nerve?"

Everyone remained silent, but they knew in their hearts that the Fifth Miss was right. After all, the Second Concubine was just that—a concubine. Even though she managed the household affairs, she wasn't the official lady of the house.

The Second Concubine felt a surge of anger, wishing Old Madam Ye would order someone to sew up this brat's mouth.

Ye Yuvyuv stared coldly at the Second Concubine, her voice dripping with sarcasm. "A concubine's status, back in the day, was nothing more than that of a mistress."

"A mistress, at best, is half a master of the house. But to put it bluntly, she's just a notch above the maids."

"That notch above means the maids serve tea and attend to the masters. A mistress, well, she's just there to entertain the master in bed."

Her words paused ominously.

Ye Yuvyuv's gaze swept coldly over the other concubines seated nearby, her eyes flashing a warning.

Her voice rang out again, steady and clear, "In the past, a mistress could be dealt with as one pleased—dismissed or sold off."

Raising an eyebrow, Ye Yuvyuv's face broke into a charming smile as she looked at Old Madam Ye. "So, Grandma, calling the Second Concubine my second mom—isn't that a sign of losing touch with reality?"

"By making a concubine my second mom, you're not just insulting me; you're tarnishing the entire Ye family. After all, our family is still a prominent household, isn't it?"

"You... you little troublemaker, troublemaker." Grandma Ye's face turned a shade of blue with anger, her mouth trembling as she struggled to speak.

Ye Yuvyuv wasn't finished yet. After mocking the Second Concubine and leaving Grandma Ye speechless, she suddenly turned her worried gaze to her father, Ye Mingyuan.

Ye Mingyuan was still reeling from his daughter's earlier outburst, trying to make sense of it all. Suddenly, he found himself under the intense gaze of her big, bright eyes, and he felt a strange tension. What was his daughter getting at?

"Dad, are you sure Grandma is your real mom?" Ye Yuvyuv's words were as shocking as ever.

"Stop this nonsense, Erya. Don't talk like that," Ye Mingyuan said, his eyelid twitching as he looked at his daughter.

"Dad, I'm serious. Didn't you hear Grandma just now? She called me a no-good girl and a troublemaker," Ye Yuvyuv said, tilting her pretty face with utter seriousness, as if she were airing a grievance.

Ye Mingyuan's heart softened, feeling a pang of sympathy. "Erya, your grandma was just angry. Don't take it to heart."

"Dad, I am taking it to heart," Ye Yuvyuv insisted, her little face showing a hint of temper as she glanced toward Grandma Ye, then turned back to her father. "Dad, tell me, whose daughter am I, whose child?"

Everyone in the living room was stunned.

"Erya, young ladies shouldn't talk so rudely," Ye Mingyuan scolded, though he couldn't help but reassure his precious daughter, "Of course, you're my child, no doubt about it."

"Right, so Dad, you see, when Grandma calls me a no-good girl, isn't she calling you that too? When she calls me a troublemaker, isn't she calling you that as well? I'm your child, so when Grandma insults me, she's really insulting you, cursing you."

She emphasized her point again, "Dad, make no mistake, Grandma was cursing you just now, wishing you ill. Doesn't she seem like a stepmother? Or maybe you were just picked up by Grandma?"

*Cough, cough, cough!*

From the living room, someone couldn't hold back and let out a cough.

"Mingyuan, if you won't handle this troublesome girl, then I will today."

Old Madam Ye finally caught her breath and shouted sharply, "Someone, bring me the thickest needle and thread. Sew that girl's mouth shut so she stops spouting nonsense."

"Grandma, are you just embarrassed, or did I hit a nerve?"

Ye Yuvyuv raised an eyebrow, unafraid, and suddenly covered her mouth in mock surprise. "Oh my, Grandma, could it be that my dad really was picked up from the street by you?"

Old Madam Ye's face turned a shade of blue with anger. She opened her mouth to curse, but instead, rolled her eyes and fainted.

"The Madam has fainted!"

The maid cried out in panic.

With Old Madam Ye unconscious, the living room descended into chaos.

The Ye family's tribunal seemed destined to end unresolved.

The Second Concubine, seeing a chance, grabbed her daughter, Ye Yulin, intending to slip away in the confusion.

Suddenly, a sharp voice rang out, "Second Concubine, stop, we're not done here."

Ye Yuvyuv hooked a leg around a chair and swept it in front of the Second Concubine with a loud "thud," blocking her escape.

"Dad, order a search of my mom's dowry," Ye Yuvyuv said seriously this time.

Ye Mingyuan looked at his daughter, feeling a headache coming on. He glanced at his mother, then back at his daughter. "Erya, can I check on your grandma first?"

"Sure, Dad, but leave the search to me. I promise to catch the thief who stole my mom's dowry red-handed."

"You?" Ye Mingyuan hesitated. "I already had them search the Second Concubine's room and found nothing."

"Then search the whole house, leave no stone unturned," Ye Yuvyuv insisted, her expression turning serious.

"Really?" Mingyuan pondered for a moment before nodding. "Alright, as you wish, but let's leave your grandma out of this. She wouldn't..."

"Dad, I can't say for sure about Grandma, but Second Aunt is definitely her niece," Yuvyuv reminded him at just the right moment.

In the end, Mingyuan couldn't resist his beloved daughter's plea and agreed to her request for a thorough search of the entire household.

The Ye family.

What followed was an entire afternoon of chaos as they searched for the dowry.

They did find the dowry.

It wasn't in the Second Aunt's room, nor in any of the other concubines' rooms. The maids and servants wouldn't dare steal it.

So, where did they find it?

With Old Madam Ye.

In the very place where she prayed daily, the prayer room.

The irony was palpable.

Old Madam Ye, who professed her devotion to Buddha, clutching prayer beads with an air of sincerity.

Yet, while chanting scriptures, her hands reached for the dowry of a motherless child.

The embarrassment was undeniable.

When the dowry was uncovered, Yuvyuv, with a touch of kindness, instructed that a box of jewelry from the dowry be placed right in front of Old Madam Ye when she regained consciousness.

"Grandma, did my mom visit you last night for a chat? Did she remind you to return anything you might have taken?"

"Grandma, my mom loved my sister and me dearly. She said she's staying with us now, not returning to the afterlife. She wants to protect us from being bullied."

"Grandma, would you like to chat with my mom? Next time I see her, I can let her know."

Yuvyuv's cheerful words sent chills down the spines of everyone in Old Madam Ye's room, as if a cold wind had swept through, leaving them with goosebumps.

Old Madam Ye rolled her eyes and fainted once more, this time out of sheer fright. The Ye family drama concluded with Yuvyuv reclaiming her mother's dowry and stripping the Second Concubine of her managerial rights.

At ten o'clock that night, Yuvyuv sat in front of her vanity, her mother's dowry chest open before her. Her beautiful amber eyes flickered with thought as she rested her delicate, fair hand against her cheek, tilting her head in contemplation.

Suddenly, a cold breeze swept in through the window.

"Who's there?"

Yuvyuv reacted swiftly, grabbing a pair of scissors and swinging them behind her.