Jiang Tingjun was placed on top, surrounded by various toys.

Jiang Tingjun looked at this and played with that, then threw them all on the ground. He lay down and looked at his mother.

He reached out for a hug.

The son is still closer to his biological mother, and Madam Jiang thought to herself as she reached out and hugged Jiang Tingjun.

Then Jiang Tingjun grabbed her earring and yanked it hard.

"Ah—" Madam Jiang couldn't help but exclaim.

The maids around them changed their expressions.

The atmosphere inside the room was tense, and Jiang Tingjun burst into tears.

Ye Yunniang stepped forward to hug her.

"Don't hug him, let him cry. That brat dared to hit his mother. He needs to suffer a bit." Madam Jiang looked at her ears in the bronze mirror; they were red and swollen, and hurt terribly.

Madam Jiang touched her earlobe, then slapped Jiang Tingjun on the buttocks.

As his crying subsided, Jiang Tingjun raised his head and burst into tears.

He cried, but Madam Jiang laughed instead.

"My son is crying so loudly."

This was the first time Ye Yunniang had ever seen a mother teasing her son like this.

A maidservant came in to report that someone from the Zhongle Courtyard had arrived.

Madam Jiang instructed Ye Yunniang to carry Jiang Tingjun back to the side courtyard.

He went to see the maidservant at Zhongleyuan himself.

A maidservant came to inform us that we would be having dinner at Zhongle Courtyard tonight.

A letter arrived from the capital: the old man has another son.

After seeing the maid off, Madam Jiang scoffed, "Here we go again, asking for money."

Ye Yunniang carried Jiang Tingjun back to the small courtyard.

Chunyao came over in the afternoon.

Ye Yunniang did not leave, but instead asked Chunyao what she should pay attention to when taking the young master to Zhongleyuan.

“With Fourth Madam here, you don’t need to worry,” Chunyao comforted Ye Yunniang.

Ye Yunniang nodded.

"But remember one thing: slow down your breathing before going inside."