Ye Jiayao had lost track of time as she lounged around the couch. She was only startled back to reality when she was called to eat.
“Where is the Heir-son Lord? Has he come back yet?” Ye Jiayao asked as she washed her face.
Qiao Xi responded, “Song Qi just stopped by to say that the Heir-son Lord and your brother have gone to the dining room.”
Ye Jiayao paused. Chunyu took Zhong Yuan to the dining room to eat with everyone? He’s really taking this ‘brother-in-law’ thing seriously, wasn’t he?
She finished washing and quickly headed to the dining room.
There were two dining rooms in the mansion. If there were no guests, everyone sits at one table. If they have guests, the men and the women would eat at separate tables.
After dinner, the three daughters-in-law along with Xia You retreated to chat.
A servant handed You the menu for the New Year’s Eve and without even glancing at it, You said, “Give it to the Second Young Lady for approval.”
“Second Sister-in-law knows about banquet matters the best,” Qiao said with a smile.
Ye Jiayao looked the menu over. The dishes were all pretty common and it was sure to please everyone’s palate. She said, “I’m gonna change a few dishes and make some that I know Father will love.”
“If you can think of a few Hunan cuisine for the Third Master’s family, that would be great. They grew up there so they’re used to that cuisine,” You added.
The servant, Zhou Xing, said, “Madame, the cooks don’t know how to make Hunan dishes.”
“You don’t have to worry about that since Second Sister-in-law is here,” Qiao offered.
You swept a hard gaze at Qiao and the latter immediately piped down.
“Second Daughter-in-law, teach them how to cook Hunan dishes,” You said. She was not going to let Jinxuan cook on New Year’s Eve!
“Jiang Yue has been shadowing me for a long time and she knows how to make Hunan cuisine too. I think she can show off her skills on New Year’s Eve,” Ye Jiayao said humbly.
Zhou Xing nodded happily. “That would be good.”
“I have no problem with that,” You said.
Liu Li smiled and chimed in, “I heard that Second Sister-in-law’s younger brother is here. Why don’t we invite him to stay for the New Year? Chunfeng said that Zhongyuan is very talkative and quite talented. Second Sister-in-law, you’re really lucky to have such an excellent younger brother.”
You asked Jinxuan, “How old is your brother?”
“He’s turning fifteen. He was a scholar at the age of thirteen,” Ye Jiayao replied.
Xia You paused and then asked Mother Sun, “How come no one told me that Jinxuan’s brother is here?”
Mother Sun was stumped since she didn’t know about it either.
Liu Li laughed. “Mother, don’t blame Mother Sun. He just arrived a couple of hours ago and since Second Sister-in-law and Second Brother-in-law wasn’t here yet, Chunfeng was the one who welcomed him.”
Ye Jiayao observed Liu Li. She was puzzled as to why Liu Li seemed so enthusiastic about Zhongyuan’s visit.
“Mother, don’t worry about it. I have taken care of it,” Ye Jiayao assured You.
“Is your brother here to…” Xia You trailed off.
“Just visit me and bring me some goods from Yang Zhou. He’s leaving tomorrow.”
“It seems sweet that your family’s always thinking of you,” Liu Li commented with a fake gentle smile.
Xia You knew the relationship between Jinxuan and her family was very complicated. She trusted Jinxuan’s judgment so she didn’t dare involve herself any further.
She simply said to Mother Sun, “Prepare some gifts for Jinxuan’s brother to take back home, it’s the polite thing to do.”
As Ye Jiayao was walking out of You’s house, she noticed Chunyu and Zhongyuan on the other side of the yard, walking side by side. They seemed to be talking about something important but for the life of her, she couldn’t guess what it was about.
She wanted to go to them, but thought better of it and headed to her courtyard instead.
It was a while before Chunyu came back.
Ye Jiayao was already in the bed, a warmer set at her foot and a warmer placed in her hands. She was used to a comforter and heater, but this would do.
“Where have you been? What were you and Zhongyuan talking about?” she questioned a bit unhappily.
Xia Chunyu sat down at the bed, reaching into the quilt to touch her feet. Although she already has a warmer, her feet were cold as ice. “Let me go shower first and then I’ll tell you everything.”
Once he has showered and changed, he got into the bed and gathered Yaoyao in his arms. “I learned something from Zhongyuan.”
“What is it?” Ye Jiayao burrowed her hand under his shirt and placed them on his warm bare chest.
“Your father is being impeached and it may endanger his future.”
She gasped softly. So this was the reason her father wanted her to come home.
“What’s his crime?” she asked.
“Corruption. It’s said that they have some damning evidence so…”
“Well, that’s his fault then. It’s not our job to worry about him.”
Xia Chunyu silently sighed. “Yaoyao, he is still your father. You’re still a Ye, whether you like it or not. If he goes down, people would know that he’s your father. He would be known as my father-in-law.”
“So what? He did something wrong, he broke the law, he should be punished. Just because he’s related to someone powerful doesn’t mean that he should be exempted. The law is hard, but it is the law.”
“Yaoyao, I talked with Zhongyuan. I think he is a reasonable and smart child. If he’s trained well, he could become successful. However, if your father’s issue affects him, it’d be hard for him to get a good job. He shouldn’t have to suffer for your father and Ning’s fault,” Chunyu reasoned. “Also, the details of your father’s crime are still unclear. The evidence they have were still unknown.”
Her lips twitched. “What do you want to do?”
“When we go to Zhenjiang, let’s stop by your family home and talk to your father about this,” Chunyu suggested.
Ye Jiayao suddenly sat up. “Chunyu, if my father’s really guilty, are you going to cover it up? You can’t deliberately break the law, Chunyu. Don’t get entangled with my father’s trouble. Just because you like Zhongyuan doesn’t mean that you have to risk your career and morals for him.”
Xia Chunyu pulled her back into his arms and said, “Stop spiraling. If I can help, I will. If he’s really guilty then I can’t do anything. I know that you hate your father and Ning, and I don’t have any love lost for them either, but Yaoyao, the Ye family is still your home. Even though the Helian family have adopted you and you will be the Mistress of the mansion one day, you cannot completely turn your back on them. We cannot just stand by and watch them fall.”
Ye Jiayao understood where he was coming from. Really, she did. She just found it so hard to forgive and reconcile the people who made her life a living hell.
“Zhongyuan told me about your situation back then. I can’t believe that you used to be such a weak person. If you had half the temper that you have right now, I don’t think anyone would’ve dared to mess with you,” Chunyu added. It was hard to imagine Yaoyao as the woman that Zhongyuan described. He couldn’t imagine her just sitting there taking the abuse without saying anything.
“I was enlightened,” Ye Jiayao said with a shrug. “The betrayal and the near-death experience changed me.”
Ye Jiayao knew that if her host was still in control of this body, she would’ve died a long time ago.
He looked at her proudly. “Sometimes, we have to thank those who have hurt us. For better or for worse, they have inspired us to be stronger individuals.”
Early the next morning, Zhongyuan went back to Yang Zhou. He wasn’t expecting his brother-in-law to agree with his request, but he was thankful that he did. However, the conditions that his brother-in-law raised were a bit difficult to meet.
Today was New Year’s Eve, but Ye Binghuai was not happy at all. Only the Jing An Marquis’ mansion could save him, but with Jinxuan’s feelings toward the family, that would be a difficult feat.
It was all Ning’s fault. If she hadn’t been so horrible and stirred up so much trouble, he wouldn’t be in this situation. He has made up his mind that if he ever survives this, he would start teaching Ning a lesson. His wife has been so sneaky and he was afraid that one day, she’d betray him when it suits her. He couldn’t have that.
“Master, Third Young Master is back,” the housekeeper reported.
Ye Binghuai’s heart skipped a beat. “Tell him to come to see me.”
Ye Zhongyuan stepped into the study and Ye Binghuai hurriedly asked, “How was it?”
“Big Brother-in-law has already promised that they will leave to Zhenjiang in the sixth day of the New Year and will stay in Yangzhou for a day.”
Ye Binghuai was overjoyed. Their willingness to come and visit has given him so much hope and assurance.
“Father, Big Brother-in-law has proposed several conditions,” Zhongyuan started.
“What are they?”
With much hardship, Zhongyuan began, “He said that he doesn’t want Mother and Second Sister to be here when they come.”
Ye Binghuai was quiet for a while. “I will discuss this with your mother.”
“Second, he said he hoped that Grandmother and Grandfather won’t use their age to ask for excessive demands.”
