C37 Bloody Mandara Flowers in the Night

Her father's gaze, as it finally settled on her grandmother, was filled with an unprecedented hatred. It was enough to frighten her. Her father had always been a dutiful son, showing great respect to her grandmother. Even when her grandmother hinted that he should confess to something he didn't do, he was only disappointed and shocked, never angry or hateful. What exactly did her grandmother say to him in the end?

That day, Ye Yuvyuv avoided her grandmother, and after she left, no matter how hard she tried, she couldn't get her father to reveal anything. He just reassured her not to worry, comforting her that he wouldn't listen to her grandmother and wouldn't confess to something he hadn't done. He promised her he had nothing to do with the missing gold and wouldn't admit to it. Only then did she feel relieved enough to leave.

But who could have guessed that the next day, she'd be met with the news of her father's suicide, supposedly out of guilt? The hatred she felt was bone-deep. She despised that malicious old woman, the people who secretly harmed her father, and most of all, herself. It was her fault everything had happened, giving the villains an opportunity to strike.

Ye Yuvyuv's hands clenched tightly, her nails digging into her palms until the metallic scent of blood filled the air. She didn't feel the pain; her face was cold and resolute. "If fate has given me a chance to be reborn and make amends, then I, Ye Yuvyuv, swear that in this life, I will never let any treacherous person harm my loved ones again."

"No villain will ever hurt them. And those who wronged me, my sister, my father, and the Ye family in the past life, I, Ye Yuvyuv, will make sure you pay back tenfold, a hundredfold, a thousandfold, even ten thousandfold. None of you will escape."

Her eyes briefly flashed a sinister crimson, like a blood-red mandrake blooming in the dark of night. The eerie glow vanished as quickly as it appeared.

A few days later, at dusk.

At the foot of the mountain, in a quaint courtyard, a young girl was haggling with an old man dressed in a traditional robe.

"Elder Qian, lend me a thousand bucks. Once I get back, my dad will pay you back," Yuvyuv said with a mischievous grin.

"No way! You little troublemaker. First, you trampled one of my herbs; then you messed up my vegetable patch; the next day, you nearly starved my cat, and the day after that..." Elder Qian's voice rose with each grievance, his beard twitching in frustration.

He continued to list every misdeed since the girl arrived, his heart aching more with each word. He resolved that once he got rid of this troublesome girl, he would demand compensation from her father, the notorious penny-pincher, Ye Mingyuan.

"Come on, Elder Qian, don't be so stingy!"

"And you're being unreasonable too, Elder Qian," Yuvyuv teased, gently pinching the ear of the plump cat in her arms.

The cat meowed, and seeing Elder Qian's exasperated expression, Yuvyuv laughed. "You claim I stepped on one of your herbs, but are you sure it wasn't just a weed? You can't see well, so don't blame me for something I didn't do."

"And about your vegetable patch, didn't you say I couldn't just freeload here? You insisted I work to cover my meals. I told you I don't know how to tend a garden. My dad's spoiled me my whole life, and I've never done chores. I warned you, but you made me do it anyway. If it didn't go well, that's not my fault."

"You, you little rascal, you're doing this on purpose! Stop twisting the facts," Elder Qian shouted, his frustration boiling over.

His sunglasses slipped down his nose in his agitation, nearly revealing his eyes.

Yuvyuv chuckled but didn’t call him out, continuing, “And you know, your fat cat here is overfed. Look at it, all meat and no brains. Most people keep cats to catch mice, so you’ve got to let them go hungry a bit. Otherwise, if they’re full all the time, they’ll have no interest in helping you out. I skipped a few meals for it, honestly, Elder Qian, it’s for your own good. I’m trying to get it to lose some weight so it can catch mice for you.”

“You, you little rascal, I’m not going to argue with you. Just give me back my Xiaohua.”

Elder Qian was feeling quite frustrated. Especially when this little rascal explained why she was starving his Xiaohua. He thought, if he hadn’t promised Sixth Boy to let her stay here, he would have chased her away with a stick by now.

His poor Xiaohua.

“How about this, Elder Qian, I promise not to touch a single hair on your Xiaohua while I’m staying here. How about you lend me a thousand bucks?” Yuvyuv remembered what her devilish instructor from her past life taught her—hit where it hurts.

Well, okay, she was being a bit of a rascal, using the same tactics on Elder Qian that used to drive him crazy in her past life.

Elder Qian, also known as Blind Qian.

If his real name were revealed, it would shock the entire country’s warlords, who would go to any lengths to take him away.

Thanks to her memories from a past life, Yuvyuv knew all about Elder Qian’s background. He was known as Blind Qian, always carrying a fortune-telling flag around town, looking like an old charlatan making a living off predictions.

But his true identity was astonishing because his real name was Tang Deqian, from the authentic Tang family.

The Tang family, known for their expertise in mechanics, poisons, and the Five Elements and Eight Trigrams.

When the previous dynasty fell, the Tang family vanished without a trace, disappearing from the world as if they never existed. However, Ye Yuvyuv knew that the Tang family had suffered a brutal massacre. The only survivor was Tang Deqian, the true heir of the Tang Sect, who rarely returned home and preferred to wander freely. He now went by the alias of Elder Qian, pretending to be blind.

Ye Yuvyuv wasn’t sure how Elder Qian ended up with her father and uncles. She only knew that the Tang family’s tragedy involved people from another country and a high-ranking eunuch from the previous dynasty. Whether revenge was ever achieved, Ye Yuvyuv didn’t know. After all, she wasn’t one to poke at old wounds. Despite her rebellious nature, she had her principles, didn’t she?

Just like now, with Elder Qian pretending to be blind in front of her, she had kindly never exposed him.

“Are you really asking to borrow money from me?” Elder Qian asked, staring intently at his beloved cat, Xiaohua.

“Of course, Elder Qian. You didn’t think I was joking, did you?” Ye Yuvyuv couldn’t resist giving the plump cat a playful squeeze. This cat was well-fed, and its soft, chubby body felt delightful to touch.

“Meow!” Xiaohua protested, its large, glassy eyes pleading with Elder Qian for rescue.

“Fine, fine, fine! A thousand dollars, right? I’ll give it to you, just put Xiaohua down,” Elder Qian said, his heart aching at the cat’s cry as he quickly waved his hand.

“Great, you should have agreed sooner. Your cat is so heavy, I’ve been holding it for ages. Gosh, I’m exhausted,” Ye Yuvyuv said, stretching her arms and legs.

Elder Qian, alarmed, shouted, “My Xiaohua, my Xiaohua, please put my Xiaohua down first.”