The family isn't starving. Putting aside his shares in the furniture workshop, their monthly income of over ninety taels of silver shouldn't amount to this much.

Seeing Ye Erquan's hostility, Madam Wei glanced back and whispered, "This valuable gift isn't with me!"

As he spoke, he pointed at Ye Peng with his chin.

Ye Erquan was taken aback. If it was going to be a valuable gift, they should have been the ones to deliver it. Why was Ye Peng chosen to deliver it?

But it's too early to say anything now.

Never mind, as long as someone in the family sends something decent, that's fine.

At this point, all the elders have finished giving their gifts, and it's the younger generation's turn.

Ye Yong and his wife gave Xiuxiu a dress as a gift.

Ye Xuan gave him a set of writing brush and ink, and the gold and silver flowers were given together as a bracelet strung with several gold beads.

Ye Huan'er gave him a pearl necklace.

Ye Jin'er received the gifts one by one, her eyes almost squinting into slits with joy.

At this moment, Ye Peng stepped forward with a flushed face: "Here, this is a gift for my cousin Jin'er."

"Thank you, Third Cousin." Ye Jin'er took it, opened it, and found that it was also a gold hairpin.

Lady Wei smiled and said, "Oh my, it looks so good, Jin'er, put it on quickly."

Ye Jin'er paused when she saw the gold hairpin, then looked at Ye Peng with a conflicted expression.

Grandma Ye frowned. Hairpins weren't given away casually, especially between men and women.

Ye Caiping looked at the hairpin, then at Ye Peng's flushed face, and narrowed her eyes.

No way? It's not what she thinks, is it?

Du dropped the melon seeds in her hand. She suddenly remembered the scene of her sister-in-law putting a bracelet on Jinhua. She stared at Wei in astonishment.

The second son's family, could it be that they're thinking of...?

Ye Caiping laughed and said, "This gift must have been given to the wrong person."

He closed the box and stuffed it back into Ye Peng's hand: "It's so valuable, Peng'er, you should take it back. A set of writing brushes and ink or a ream of paper would be fine. Jin'er has been going through her writing brushes and ink very quickly lately."

Ye Jin'er glanced at Ye Peng, her expression complicated.

Hearing this, Madam Wei became somewhat annoyed and said urgently, "How is it valuable? My elder brother and sister-in-law just gave Jin'er a gold bracelet!"

As he spoke, he picked up the hairpin and was about to put it in Jin'er's hair.

Ye Caiping stepped forward and blocked her hand: "What are you doing, Second Sister-in-law? The hairpin is so sharp, be careful not to hurt someone."

Madam Wei's expression changed slightly, and she became anxious. She said urgently, "What do you mean by hurting someone... This is a gift from Peng'er to Jin'er. This is our family's most precious gift!"

Ye Caiping's face darkened: "Since it's so valuable, why didn't Second Sister-in-law deliver it herself, but instead had Peng'er do it? Doesn't Second Sister-in-law know the difference between men and women?"

"What man of the same age would give a woman a hairpin? Second sister-in-law, do you think that's appropriate?"

Ms. Wei's face stiffened.

Old Mrs. Ye and Mrs. Du also glared at her angrily.

Ye Erquan finally snapped out of his daze and angrily said:

"What are you doing? I told you to prepare a proper gift last night, and you prepared a tattered purse, but you asked Ye Peng to get a gold hairpin. Did you get the wrong one?"

Ms. Wei shrank back as he yelled at her.

Seeing Ye Caiping standing there with a sullen face again, I felt a little flustered.

Her asking Ye Peng to deliver the gold hairpin was a semi-explicit gesture, and she also wanted to gauge everyone's reaction.

She originally thought that once this gold hairpin appeared, Ye Jin'er, her prospective daughter-in-law, would blush and be very willing.

Even if Ye Caiping is somewhat displeased, Ye Jin'er will still defend Ye Peng.

Mr. Wei was momentarily confused about the situation and could only stammer:

"It's...it was the wrong one..."

Ye Peng glanced at Ye Jin'er with a hint of resentment. Why wasn't she saying a word?

Ye Jin'er's expression was complicated, and she lowered her head.

Seeing the awkward situation, Old Mrs. Ye rubbed her temples:

"Since you've taken the wrong one, don't bother sending it. It won't make a difference if you send one or two more. As long as the siblings know how close they are to each other, there's no need for gifts."

After saying that, he gave Mrs. Wei a warning glare.

Ms. Wei's face turned pale, and she dared not utter a sound.

Ye Caiping glanced at her, then pulled Ye Jin'er and Huan'er and turned to leave the main room.

...

Ye Caiping pulled her two daughters directly into Huan'er's room.

Because this room is far from the main hall.

After closing the door, Ye Caiping looked at Jin'er seriously: "What's going on?"

Ye Huan'er said hesitantly:

“My third cousin cares about my sister the most. But… he’s always been very good to us, and although I felt something was a little strange, I didn’t think much of it. I only found out today…”

Ye Caiping took a light breath: "Jin'er!"

Cold and sarcastic remarks.

Ye Jin'er's face turned pale: "I... don't know what to say..."

Hearing this, Ye Caiping felt dizzy. Her hesitation and helplessness proved that there was something going on between her and Ye Peng.

Looking at Ye Caiping's stern expression, Ye Jin'er felt extremely ashamed and burst into tears.

"Mother, I... sob sob..."

"I'll just ask you one question: do you like Ye Peng?"

Ye Jin'er clutched her sleeve tightly: "I...I don't know..."

Ye Caiping felt dizzy.

She took a few deep breaths to calm herself down.

She has been busy with business all year and has indeed neglected her two daughters.

However, even if she tried to ignore it, they were all right under her nose. If Jin'er really fell in love with Ye Peng, it was impossible for her not to notice at all.

Think back to what just happened...

Ye Caiping calmed down a bit and pulled Ye Jin to sit on the bed:

“Come here. I don’t mean to blame you. You know me, I’m very open-minded, there’s nothing I can’t accept.”

Nonsense, of course she can't accept that! The two are cousins, it's impossible for her.

But now she has to calm Jin'er down and coax her to make sure she understands what's going on.

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