C52 The Guilty Old Madam Ye!
At that moment, Ye Mingyuan, who had been standing behind his two daughters, finally noticed that his beloved daughter, Yuvyuv, indeed had soaking wet hair. Her long, seaweed-like hair looked as if it had just been washed, without even being towel-dried, with water droplets still dripping down.
He felt a twinge of reproach for his daughter; even if she was taking a bath, she should have heard her sister knocking on the door. However, he couldn't bring himself to scold his precious girl. Glancing at Yuvyuv's still-dripping hair, he quickly said, "Since Yuvyuv is fine, Nianci, go with her and help dry her hair. We don't want her catching a cold."
Ye Nianci, snapping out of her thoughts, was still puzzled but relieved to see her sister was okay. She figured that her sister's recent disappearance had made her overly anxious. Seeing her sister's wet hair, she quickly responded to her father and hurriedly ushered Yuvyuv back to her room to help dry her hair. Otherwise, as their father said, she might catch a cold.
This little episode quickly concluded after the family had dinner. At dinner, most of the Ye family was present, except for a few children studying abroad. However, Old Madam Ye was absent from the table.
Yuvyuv heard her elder sister whisper that Old Madam Ye had been eating all her meals in the prayer room for the past few days. She claimed she was in seclusion, asking Buddha to cleanse the house of evil spirits. Hearing this, a cold smile flashed across Yuvyuv's face. She thought to herself, "If the old lady has nothing to hide, what is she afraid of? Clearly, she's worried about the ghost of my mother coming to settle scores with her."
After all, her mother was so beautiful back in the day, and Old Madam Ye never liked her mother's beauty, often making snide remarks about her.
Sometimes, it seemed like they were just looking for trouble, making her mother serve the old lady under the guise of filial duty. She once saw with her own eyes how the old lady made her mother hold a cup filled with scalding hot tea for what felt like forever. When her mother's fingers were nearly burned, she couldn't stand it anymore. She rushed out, grabbed a long stick from her toy horse, and deliberately knocked over the cup of hot tea.
The tea spilled all over the old lady, making her yelp in pain. Yuvyuv, with an innocent face, looked up and asked, "Grandma, is the tea really that hot? You sure yelled loudly. If it's so hot, how could you let my mother hold it for so long? You wouldn't have done it on purpose to hurt her, would you?"
She heard her father's footsteps behind her, and she made sure to shout that last part loudly. Her grandma was about to explode with anger, but when she saw her father walk in with a stern face, she quickly fell silent, her eyes flickering.
Her father, a sharp man, understood the situation immediately. He gave her grandma a cold look and took her mother away. As they left, he threw a harsh remark over his shoulder, "Are all the servants dead? Why is my wife doing such menial tasks? If any servant can't find work to do, they'll be sent away."
From that moment on, whenever her grandma tried to make her mother do chores, the servants would quickly step in and take over. No matter how much her grandma yelled, the servants wouldn't let go, ensuring her mother didn't have to do the work.
After all, in the entire Ye family, it was her father who truly called the shots. When the head of the family spoke, the servants didn't dare to defy him. However, even though her grandmother later didn't have the chance to torment her mother with chores, she found other ways to make her life difficult.
Ye Yuvyuv's mother endured a lot of hardship at the hands of the old lady while she was alive. The old lady was well aware of this. When Ye Yuvyuv mentioned her deceased mother, saying she couldn't rest easy leaving her daughters in the Ye household, she claimed her mother's spirit would stay to watch over them. This made the old lady uneasy and scared.
Being a believer in Buddhism, the old lady also believed in spirits. She took Ye Yuvyuv's words to heart, thinking her late daughter-in-law's spirit had indeed returned to the house. This fear drove her to spend her days in the prayer room, seeking protection from Buddha.
Scoff!
Ye Yuvyuv bit into a piece of tender pork, chewing it into bits. She couldn't help but mock inwardly, wishing to remind her grandmother, "Grandma, Buddha is compassionate, protecting the weak. But you, with your black heart, don't fall under that protection. It's truly laughable that you seek Buddha's blessing."
A cold smile briefly touched Ye Yuvyuv's lips before vanishing.
After dinner, the Ye family chatted for a while before retiring to their rooms. As Ye Yuvyuv reached her door, she heard someone following her. Recognizing the footsteps, she knew it wasn't her sister or father. The steps were light and unsteady, indicating impure intentions.
Just as the person was half a step behind her, Ye Yuvyuv suddenly turned and delivered a swift, hard kick, sending the follower stumbling back.
“Bang!”
“Ah!”
A painful gasp escaped as the person fell to the ground, their face turning ghostly pale. With a look of shock mixed with anger, they stared at Yuvyuv, trying to speak but struggling to catch their breath.
Huh?
It turned out that Yuvyuv had kicked the newcomer right in the chest, knocking the wind out of them. They were left gasping, unable to make a sound for a moment.
Yuvyuv’s face showed surprise as she exclaimed, “Oh my, it’s the Second Concubine! What are you doing sneaking around like a ghost in the middle of the night instead of being in your room? I almost thought a burglar had broken in!”
Her face was all surprise, but her large, amber eyes glinted with a mocking smile.
Yuvyuv leaned casually against the white marble railing, her smile pure and innocent. “Are you okay, Second Concubine? Do you need help getting up?”
Though she offered, she made no move to assist. Her body remained lazily draped against the railing, her smile bright and carefree.
The Second Concubine struggled to stand, her eyes nearly bulging with anger at the insincere words from the vibrant young girl nearby. But remembering why she had followed this girl upstairs, her expression quickly shifted. Her eyes flashed with a hint of malice as she forced a smile, “No need, Yuvyuv. I can get up on my own.”
Yuvyuv watched the Second Concubine’s forced smile with a cold smirk but said nothing. She waited silently to see what mischief the Second Concubine had in mind.