C70 The Two Fake Cat Tears of the Little Bastard!

"What's this, Second Aunt? Are you deaf at this hour?" Yuvyuv raised an eyebrow with a smile, confidently walking up to her dad. She tilted her face up and playfully said, "Dad, are you and Grandma staying up just to wait for me?"

Ye Mingyuan, seeing his daughter's playful demeanor, felt most of his anger dissipate, though he still tried to maintain a stern fatherly front. He deliberately huffed, "Do you know what time it is? How could you stay out so late? The whole family was worried about you."

"Dad, didn't I tell Second Aunt before I left? I might be back late tonight," Yuvyuv pouted, her big eyes darting towards the stunned Second Aunt. Her voice rose intentionally, "Second Aunt, I remember telling you I was going to a modern costume party and would be home late. I said I'd ride back with my classmate and asked you to let Dad and Grandma know so they wouldn't worry. Did you forget to tell them?"

As she finished speaking, Yuvyuv's expression turned cold, and she fixed her gaze on Second Aunt, ready to confront her. "Second Aunt, do you really think you're the lady of the house now? Are you trying to take my mom's place since she's gone?"

Turning away, Yuvyuv's eyes welled up with tears as she clutched her dad's sleeve. "Dad, you haven't forgotten Mom, have you? It's only been a few years since she passed, and you're already thinking of elevating Second Aunt?"

She started to cry, holding onto her dad's sleeve without covering her face, letting the tears roll down her cheeks. This broke Ye Mingyuan's heart.

He initially believed what the Second Concubine and the matriarch said, thinking his precious daughter was just out having fun and forgot to come home. She didn’t even bother to call ahead to let them know where she was. He planned to give her a good talking-to when she finally returned.

But now, seeing his darling daughter all teary-eyed and upset, his heart ached for her.

“Erya, don’t cry, please don’t cry. It’s all my fault. I shouldn’t have scolded you without knowing the facts. I promise it won’t happen again. Come on, sweetheart, stop crying.”

Ye Mingyuan was helpless when he saw his daughter Erya in tears. He quickly tried to comfort her and, in front of the entire Ye family, solemnly declared, “I, Ye Mingyuan, hereby announce that in this household, there will only be one lady of the house, and that is Erya’s mother, the late first wife. I will never allow any other woman, whether from outside or among the concubines, to take her place.”

The Ye family erupted in shock at his words. The servants were all taken aback.

Some of the more astute servants whispered among themselves, “From now on, we better keep our eyes open in this house. The Fifth Miss still holds the highest position here. If you’re going to upset anyone, make sure it’s not Miss Yuvyuv, because she’s truly the apple of the master’s eye.”

Meanwhile, the concubines turned pale. The Third Concubine, who had hoped her clever son would secure her position, was furious. She threw down her handkerchief and stormed off, losing interest in the drama.

The Fourth Concubine remained indifferent, as if the matter of who was the lady of the house didn’t concern her at all.

The Fifth Concubine barely lifted her eyelids, her face revealing no emotion.

Only the Second Concubine and Old Madam Ye, this aunt and niece duo, looked as if they'd seen a ghost, their faces turning an unpleasant shade of green.

Old Madam Ye slammed her cane on the ground with force. "Nonsense! What kind of nonsense talk is this? Whether or not the Great Madam is mentioned is not something a mere girl can decide."

Ye Mingyuan was busy comforting his precious daughter and didn't notice his mother's anger, so he didn't respond immediately. This only made Old Madam Ye even more furious.

Old Madam Ye fumed internally, thinking that her status as the real mother seemed less significant than the fake tears of that little troublemaker.

Despite treating Ye Yuvyuv and her sister like stepchildren, Old Madam Ye sometimes understood Ye Yuvyuv quite well. After all, she had suffered many losses at the hands of this mischievous granddaughter, losses she couldn't even begin to recover.

Old Madam Ye was livid, her eyes filled with a fierce desire to devour Ye Yuvyuv.

Ye Yuvyuv was looking right at Old Madam Ye, seemingly oblivious to her menacing glare. She even flashed a smile at her, one full of smugness and arrogance.

This infuriated Old Madam Ye even more, making her want to push her son aside and personally teach this little troublemaker a lesson.

The Second Concubine's face was a mix of blue and purple. She was torn between wondering if Ye Yuvyuv had fallen into her trap and being angry at the master of the house for being swayed by a few words from this little brat about the Great Madam.

The Second Concubine could tell that the master's words tonight were serious, not just to appease the little brat. She had coveted the position of Great Madam for nearly twenty years, only for that hope to be dashed by a single sentence from the little brat.

When the Second Concubine looked at Ye Yuvyuv, her eyes were filled with a destructive and venomous intent. She was determined to destroy this little brat.

"Yuvyuv, look, it's all... I'm not good." The Second Concubine hesitated to call herself 'Second Mom,' fearing the brat across from her would make a snide remark, so she stopped herself.

With a gentle smile, she took a few steps forward and said, "Yuvyuv, staying out so late, the party must have been quite something, right? Can you tell me what you did? I'd love to hear about it. I’ve heard that the new trends from abroad are quite entertaining."

The Second Concubine maintained her usual facade of grace and generosity.

Ye Yuvyuv felt nauseated just looking at her.

Suppressing the urge to spit, she didn’t spare the Second Concubine a glance. With tear-streaked cheeks, she sniffed and turned to her father, "Dad, I'm tired and want to sleep. Why is the Second Concubine pestering me?"

Ye Mingyuan's anger flared, and he glared at the Second Concubine, snapping, "Shut up. If you make my girl shed another tear, you're out."

"But, sir, I..."

The Second Concubine had miscalculated, underestimating the master's protectiveness over this girl.

Even though he knew something was off with her coming home so late, his affection for her meant he wouldn't let her face any distress or rumors.

If there was even the slightest chance of harm coming her way, he would personally put an end to it.