Chapter 82 Opening the Great Bronze Door

The study was unusually quiet.

After listening to the recording twice, Ye Baoling sat opposite Ye Huaizhang and slowly digested its contents.

She glanced at him, unsure whether she should feel sorry for him or pity him.

At this moment, no matter how much pain Ye Huaizhang felt, he didn't want to show it; instead, he appeared even calmer.

Ye Baoling first confirmed with him: "Isn't Ye Huaili your second uncle's son?"

Ye Huaizhang got up, took the appraisal report from his desk, and handed it to her: "I just looked at the report again, and I'm sure it's correct."

"That means Han Yanmei deceived your father, telling him that Ye Huaili was his son in an attempt to seize the inheritance. And your father believed her."

Ye Huaizhang nodded: "It should be."

Since Ye Jinsong chose to believe it, it's obvious that he maintained a relationship with Han Yanmei after their marriage.

After all, Ye Huaili is several years younger than Huaizhang.

Ye Jinsong cheated on his wife.

"I'll have another paternity test done tomorrow, just in case the previous sample was incorrect," he said.

Being cautious is the right thing to do.

They began to analyze the last sentence Han Yanmei didn't finish saying.

“She said the red wine she gave to Gong Jiahua was useless, but luckily Gong Jiahua did this and that to the red wine. The next part should be ‘Luckily, Gong Jiahua gave the red wine to Fang Shanxing’…” Ye Baoling filled in the blanks like she was doing a fill-in-the-blank exercise.

Ye Huaizhang: "Gong Jiahua did indeed send a bottle of 1946 red wine to Fang Shanxing, so our previous suspicion of Gong Fonian was wrong, and the person we should have suspected should have been Sir Fang."

Sir Fong knew that Ye Huaizhang had given two bottles of red wine to Gong Jiahua, and mistakenly thought that Ye Huaizhang knew the underground secret, so he sent Aunt Mei to kill Ye Huaizhang.

Ye Baoling suddenly made a connection and said, "Do you remember the housekeeper from the Fang family? I think her name was Sister Ju, and she had a square face. Could she be Aunt Mei? Mei, Lan, Ju, and Zhu—similar names, similar face shapes, and she also wears her hair up."

Sister Ju, the housekeeper of the Fang family?

This line of thinking might be correct.

He said, "Tomorrow I'll have someone get a photo of Sister Ju and show it to Shui Gou so he can identify her."

Ye Baoling continued her analysis: "Your father and Han Yanmei should both know something about the secret of the wine cellar, but how exactly they found out is unknown. Your father knows more information, while Han Yanmei knows less. Han Yanmei wanted to use someone else to kill you, but your father deliberately provided a wrong route, leading her to deliver the wine to the Gong family. Unexpectedly, Gong Jiahua gave the extra bottle of wine to Fang Shanxing, which ultimately resulted in you almost being assassinated."

This line of thinking should be pretty much correct.

Ye Huaizhang said helplessly, "If this were ancient times, and my father were an emperor, I probably would have been dead long ago."

Ye Baoling reached out and touched his hair. "Now that your dad isn't the emperor, you can be the emperor... Get rid of him!"

"..."

Ye Huaizhang, who was initially feeling a bit down, was successfully amused.

"How do we do it?" he asked.

Ye Baoling: "Although Ye Jinsong was soft-hearted and didn't actually send you to your death, he cooperated with Han Yanmei throughout the whole process, pretending not to know the truth even though he knew it. After the New Year, once we get the Ugly King's Jade, we'll find an opportunity to force your father to tell the truth. The two of them are deceiving each other; they're not a united front. Your father won't be able to withstand your questioning. Afterward, we'll make your mother divorce him, leaving him with nothing, ruining his reputation, and leaving him with nothing! You can also ask a lawyer if this counts as instigating a crime. If it does, send him to jail."

This is the ideal outcome.

After all, it concerned Ye Huaizhang's vital interests, so he clearly considered things more carefully.

Their family is not an ordinary family; their every move is scrutinized and amplified by the media, which ultimately affects their stock price.

He didn't want to move for the time being: "Continue to listen in. Judging from Han Yanmei's tone, she will continue to look for him. Maybe we will make new discoveries."

Ye Baoling understood his caution, and she suggested, "Then you should have the family servants and attendants follow your father at all times, so that he has no chance to chat with Han Yanmei in private, and force Han Yanmei to call him."

"I'll listen to you."

She scratched his ear. "You need to be careful what you eat at home. What if Han Yanmei goes crazy and poisons you?"

Ye Huaizhang remained silent.

It sounds absurd, but it's not impossible.

The next day, Water Dog confirmed that Sister Ju was Aunt Mei.

Therefore, the speculation that Sir Fang was the mastermind behind Ye Huaizhang's murder is correct.

Two days before Lunar New Year's Eve, the results of the second paternity test came out, confirming that Ye Huaili was indeed the biological son of his second uncle, Ye Jinbo.

*

On the eve of the Spring Festival holiday, Ye Baoling went to Qiyuan to discuss recent work with Liu Haonan.

Agreements have been signed and payments made for the two plots of land in Shenzhen. They are currently undergoing the approval process and are expected to be approved after the Lunar New Year.

They hired a professional accounting team to oversee Gezhi Jewelry to ensure that there would be no financial problems.

They don't have much liquid cash on hand right now, but Ye Baoling just got 10 million from Ye Huaizhang, which should be enough for them to get by after the New Year.

She also took out 500,000 yuan in cash to distribute as bonuses to her employees, making sure that all her staff could have a prosperous and happy New Year.

Back at the Yulong Building, the secretary said that President Lin had come to see her.

It turns out that Ye Qingtang and Su Man Jewelry's year-end bonuses are still stuck with Ye Qizu and haven't been approved.

Lin Zhong said, "The chairman's point is that this year's year-end bonuses are too high, and once that starts, it will be difficult to lower them later. But he hasn't given us a standard, so we don't know how much to set. If we set it according to the standards of previous years, the management and employees will definitely have a lot of complaints. After all, the company performed well this year, everyone put in a lot of effort, and the company made money."

Ye Qizu is just unwilling to part with a single penny.

"How much was the year-end bonus in previous years?" she asked.

Lin Zhong: "At most, it's a month's salary. At least, it's half a month's salary. This time, we've set two months' salary. That's why the chairman is holding back the approval."

"Is my grandfather at the company today?"

"Just arrived."

Ye Baoling sighed, "Even if I go to him, he might not give me face. Let me think about how to proceed."

After Lin Zhong left, Ye Baoling made a few phone calls and had the plan revised before going upstairs to find Ye Qizu.

Ye Qizong was also in Ye Qizu's office.

The two brothers seemed to be gossiping about how the third branch of the family almost had its Hong Kong-Tong Holdings seized by the Lai family.

Ye Qizong sneered: "In our lifetime, we will also have the chance to watch the third branch of the family have a good time. I don't know who helped them this time, but they managed to get through the crisis by sheer luck."

Yeh Chi-tsu: "Therefore, excessive expansion of capital is not a good thing."

Upon seeing Ye Baoling enter, Ye Qizong asked curiously, "Baoling, I haven't congratulated you yet. I heard that Huaizhang has been promoted to chairman of Gangtong Industrial."

Ye Baoling: "Third Uncle, why don't you go and tell him why you're congratulating me?"

"Isn't he your husband? A wife's honor is tied to her husband's; this is an age-old principle." Ye Qizong's rigid, old-fashioned male mindset was sometimes even more annoying than Ye Qizu's.

Ye Baoling was speechless: "He made money but didn't give it to me. What kind of ancient principle is this?"

Ye Qizong asked curiously, "Do you know who did the third branch of the family such a big favor this time?"

Me!

Ye Baoling forced a polite smile: "I don't know. I'm the granddaughter of the eldest son's family, they wouldn't tell me anything."

Yeh Chi-tsung complained, "Then what's the difference between you getting married and not getting married at all?"

Ye Baoling didn't want to waste time talking to him, so she put the documents on the table in front of her grandfather. "Grandpa, here's the year-end bonus distribution plan for this year. Take a look."

Ye Qizu didn't want his younger brother to interfere in the company's operations, so he instructed, "Qizong, you should go back first. We can discuss the ancestral worship ceremony when we get back."

Ye Qizong, who had originally wanted to stay and hear about the year-end bonus plan, had to stand up. "Alright, I'll head back now."

After Ye Qizong left, the old man picked up the documents, put on his glasses, and asked, "What's different from the previous version?"

Ye Baoling: "This year, employees have high expectations for their year-end bonuses, expecting at least two months' salary. If it's lower than expected, there will definitely be a significant loss of talent after the New Year. I just inquired about the year-end bonuses of Hong Kong Tong Holdings and Yun Cheong Group, and they both gave out three months' salary, one month more than us."

"They're a big corporation!"

At this point, the old man was no longer willing to argue with others.

Ye Baoling couldn't help but sneer, "Grandpa, if you're so stingy, our company will never become a big conglomerate or corporation."

"Tch!" Ye Qizu sighed. "Ye Qingtang is alright; he has enough funds in his account. Su Man just bought an Australian gold mine, and most of the money in his account is bank loans. There's no reason to take out loans to pay year-end bonuses. Besides, the money in his account is all used for something."

Ye Baoling had anticipated her grandfather's response: "Su Man's revenue has skyrocketed in the past month. I just checked the accounts, and we have plenty of working capital, more than enough to cover year-end bonuses. Everyone can see how booming the business is; they won't understand if we complain about being poor. Grandpa, take a look at these two payment methods and choose one."

Which two?

By asking Ye Qizu this question, it means that Ye Qizu has implicitly agreed.

Therefore, the best way to deal with your boss is to provide options for him to choose from, rather than offering only one option and letting him decide whether it is feasible or not.

"The more common approach is to pay a year-end bonus equivalent to two months' salary before the Lunar New Year. Another approach is to pay one month's salary before the Lunar New Year and the remaining month's salary in the first quarter of the year. One advantage of this approach is that it reduces talent loss after the Lunar New Year."

Ye Qizu wavered. "How about we pay one month's year-end bonus before the Spring Festival, and another month's bonus in the first quarter after the Spring Festival?"

"Yes. As long as it's explained clearly, the employees will understand the company's difficulty in securing sufficient working capital. Even with insufficient working capital, we are still willing to give bi-monthly year-end bonuses, so everyone will definitely be more grateful."

"Let me think about it some more," Ye Qizu said, habitually putting it off.

Ye Baoling: "The day after tomorrow is Lunar New Year's Eve. If you don't approve it soon, the finance department won't have enough time."

Ye Qizu didn't believe it. "The finance department had already prepared the money. Did they think I didn't know?"

“Since everything is already prepared, why not issue it? They know that both President Lin and I have come to you. If you don’t approve it, you’ll be the one who’s wrong.” After Ye Baoling explained the situation, Ye Qizu had no choice at all.

In the end, the old man had no choice but to wave his hand and say, "Then let's proceed with the second option you suggested."

Ye Baoling quickly took the document, turned to the last page, unscrewed the pen in the pen holder on the table, and handed it over.

"Grandpa, sign here."

Ye Baoling left with a smile after Ye Qizu signed his name.

In practice, she also specifically instructed the finance department to give an extra New Year's allowance to the lower-level employees in the cleaning and security departments.

*

On New Year's Eve, the old eldest son's mansion was filled with festive decorations for the Spring Festival, both inside and out.

The Spring Festival couplets and the large "福" (good fortune) character were all written by Ye Qizu himself.

After it was pasted up, the family members all came over to see it, and they couldn't help but flatter the old man, praising his good handwriting.

Ye Baoling returned to the Gu family early in the morning.

Uncle Gu Xianyong received a large bonus this year, and he bought New Year's clothes, shoes, and socks for all the children. He also spent money to have Gu Man'er buy a scarf for Ye Baoling.

This is the second gift I received from my uncle, after the birthday lipstick.

Gu Man'er chose it; it wasn't expensive, but the pattern was beautiful.

It just so happened that the temperature dropped today, so Ye Baoling smiled and put it on, "Thank you, Uncle. I wish you great fortune and continuous advancement next year."

Aunt Shen Yue'e was putting red paper on a pair of large oranges next to her. She complained, "They say they're going to get promoted, but I don't even know if I'll still have a job after the New Year."

"What's wrong?"

"This garment factory, your uncle set up the factory buildings and production lines in the beginning, and recruited and trained all the workers. But now the boss wants his younger brother to replace your uncle. It's like they only use people when they need them and discard them when they don't. It's like turning the pig inside out and finding only shit." Shen Yue'e finished speaking and cursed.

Gu Man'er comforted him, "It's okay, I got a raise, my second sister is graduating soon and can do an internship, and Dad can find a lower-paying job when he comes back."

Shen Yue'e: "At his age, it's not easy for him to find a job now."

Ye Baoling had an idea: "We've acquired land in Shenzhen and are preparing to build a factory. Uncle, could you be the person in charge for me?"

Upon hearing this, Shen Yue'e assumed that the land belonged to Ye Qingtang, and that it would be good to have a powerful backer. She laughed and said, "Of course that's good. Bao Ling is now the deputy general manager of Ye Qingtang. Who would dare to fire your uncle so easily in the future?"

Gu Xianyong said somewhat awkwardly, "After all these years of hard work, in the end I still have to rely on my niece."

Ye Baoling disagrees: "It's not that I can rely on you. I also need suitable and trustworthy people to keep an eye on things in Shenzhen. My uncle just finished a series of procedures for opening a garment factory in Shenzhen. You have experience, which is very valuable."

Hearing his niece say that his experience was valuable, Gu Xianyong finally smiled, "It means I'm still somewhat useful."

"certainly."

With Gu Xianyong's work problem resolved, the Gu family can finally enjoy a happy and prosperous New Year together.

Ye Huaizhang also came at noon. It was rare for Grandma Gu to come downstairs, so we had a reunion dinner together.

In the evening, Ye Baoling returned to the eldest son's house, and Ye Huaizhang returned to the third son's house. The couple went back to their respective homes to have another reunion dinner.

Ye Qizu was especially happy during the Lunar New Year this year. After dinner, he gave Ye Baoling and Ye Baoshun a large red envelope each.

On the first day of the Lunar New Year, he offered incense at the shrine and made a wish: that 1988 would bring great success and that Ye Qingtang would have a worthy successor.

On the first day of the Lunar New Year, Ye Baoling first went to pay New Year's respects to her maternal grandmother and then gave New Year's red envelopes to her cousins.

Grandma Gu reminded her, "Tomorrow is the second day of the Lunar New Year, which is your mother's birthday. Remember to come back and burn incense."

I almost forgot, it's the original owner's mother's birthday tomorrow.

But Ye Baoling was going to pretend to have menstrual cramps and stay home the next day, so she said, "Mother-in-law, I have something to do tomorrow and may not be able to come back. I'll offer three more incense sticks to my mother today, and she'll understand."

"What's wrong?"

"It's a big deal," Ye Baoling said mysteriously before going to add incense for her mother.

Grandma Gu knew she was busy, so she didn't ask any more questions.

On the morning of the second day of the Lunar New Year, the three branches of the Ye family gathered at the ancestral hall to worship their ancestors.

Ye Huaizhang declined to attend, citing the excuse that he had foreign guests to personally receive.

Ye Baoling pretended to have a stomachache and stayed in the bedroom without going downstairs.

After everyone left, Xihetang was quiet. Except for the kitchen on the first floor, everyone else had gone to the ancestral hall.

Only Sister Qin and her son didn't ask for leave; they pretended to be working and stood guard at the entrances to the stairwells on both sides.

Ye Huaizhang came to Ye Baoling's room through the blue brick tunnel. The two put on gloves, and Ye Baoling carried a small satchel containing tools on her back and went up to the third floor.

Pingjie stood guard by the window on the third floor. From her position, she could see the entrance to the ancestral hall in the large garden and keep an eye on the activities on this floor.

Ye Baoling instructed, "Sister Ping, if you see anyone returning from the ancestral hall, call me immediately."

For this "sneak operation," Ye Huaizhang prepared mobile phones for the servants who were keeping watch.

"Okay, okay." Sister Ping was very excited; she didn't know what the young lady was going to steal.

But she knew it must be important.

There is no room for error.

The couple quickly arrived at Ye Qizu's bedroom, but the door was locked.

Ye Huaizhang glanced at her, as if to say, "Locksmith, please."

As a result, the "locksmith" took out a bunch of keys. She had already prepared the keys for the doors on the third floor, so she opened the door directly, saving time and effort.

He couldn't help but exclaim, "Amazing!"

Ye Baoling smiled and said, "It took some thought."

Upon entering the bedroom, there was a faint smell of medicinal oil.

The lights weren't on early in the morning, so the room was a bit dim. The elderly people are focused on health and wellness, so the room wasn't big; you had to pass through the dressing room to reach the bathroom.

All of them are smaller than the rooms of young people.

It's unlikely the codebook was hidden in the walk-in closet or bathroom; it's probably in the bedroom.

After scanning the surroundings, Ye Huaizhang noticed that the floor-to-ceiling cabinet on the left was quite tall, so he quickly assigned tasks: "I'll take the left, you take the right."

"Okay." Ye Baoling walked to the right.

Bedside tables, desks, drawers, chests of drawers, rocking chairs, carpets, baseboards... no place where a codebook or code paper might be hidden was overlooked.

I searched for at least twenty minutes without any results.

Finally, they turned their attention to the large bed, and the two of them, one on each side, moved the bed out.

They practically dismantled the bed frame, but still found no clues.

The two had no choice but to put the bed back in its original position.

Exhausted, Ye Baoling sat down to rest in a rocking chair. "Isn't he in the bedroom?"

The two went into the small walk-in closet and searched high and low, but still found nothing.

Back in her bedroom, Ye Baoling suddenly remembered Ye Qizu's cane, "Where is my grandfather's cane?"

"I didn't see it. It might have been taken to the ancestral hall."

"Could it be hidden inside the cane?"

She had seen many TV dramas where elderly people liked to hide things in their canes.

This is a world of scripts.

It's quite possible.

"Hide it in the cane?" Ye Huaizhang shook his head: "Your grandfather just has a little difficulty walking and only uses a cane occasionally. If you don't need to use a cane all the time, it's like an umbrella, you can just throw it away."

That seems to make sense.

Reminded by him, Ye Baoling looked towards the bedroom: "Hidden in something that's hard to take away. Let's switch places and search again. This time, I'll be on the left, and you'll be on the right."

Time is of the essence; if we can't find it now, today will be wasted.

As it turned out, they really couldn't find anything.

Ye Baoling glanced at her watch; an hour had passed, and she felt that the people who had come to the ancestral hall to pay their respects would be returning soon.

If all else fails, why not go to an escape room and try each family member's birthday as a password one by one? Maybe you can figure it out.

Just as she was about to act, Ye Huaizhang, who was standing in front of the dresser, called to her, "Come and take a look."

"What?"

"Isn't the board on top of this chest of drawers too thick?"

Ye Baoling leaned closer to take a look; it was indeed a bit thick.

The two bent down to examine it.

The wooden board under the panel is quite special; when you tap it lightly, it sounds hollow, as if it's hollow inside.

They tried to pull it outwards with all their might, but couldn't budge it.

Ye Huaizhang noticed traces of wooden planks being pieced together on both sides and said, "Let me take a look."

He grabbed both ends of the plank and pulled it to the left and right respectively, and it actually opened.

Inside was a hidden, shallow drawer.

Ye Baoling whispered excitedly, "Honey, you're so amazing."

Listening to his wife's exaggerated praise, Ye Huaizhang appeared calm and composed, but in reality, if he hadn't been pressing his eyebrows down, they would have practically shot off to the sky.

Sure enough, there was a small notebook in the drawer. After quickly flipping through it, I found the page where the password was recorded.

The writing was a bit strange. Ye Baoling took out her camera to take pictures, but a small box at the very back of the drawer caught their attention.

She said, "I'll take a picture, and you can see what's in the box."

She not only photographed the password page, but also all the others.

As they were filming, Ye Huaizhang remarked quietly from the side, "Look."

Ye Baoling glanced at it and froze.

She was stunned for at least several seconds before she came to her senses.

Isn't this the ugly prince she's been dreaming about day and night?!

The eldest son's ugly jade pendant was pure white and was hidden in this inconspicuous little drawer.

Ye Baoling excitedly picked up the white ugly jade pendant and whispered to it, "How could my grandfather treat you like this? You're just left here all alone? Don't you deserve to be in the safe? Don't you deserve it?"

All that effort she spent researching how to unlock the safe was for nothing.

Ye Huaizhang laughed at her: "Are you crazy?"

I almost went crazy.

The moment Ye Baoling gripped the Ugly King's Jade, a mechanical voice from the system suddenly came to her ears.

[Congratulations, host, on completing the mission. Please select your next direction.]

A blank screen appears before you, with a button on the left for "Return to the original world" and a button on the right for "Continue the level".

She wondered what the next level would entail.

The system notification indicates a quest related to the Ugly King Jue. Success will grant permanent residency in the scenario world, while failure will return you to your original world as a beggar.

There's no need to overthink it; the obvious thing to do is continue clearing the levels.

She's a multi-billionaire here, with two large companies waiting for her to take over in the future. She has no desire to go back to being an office worker. Although she had a high salary and wasn't short of money in her original world, even the richest public fighter champion wouldn't be as rich as she is now.

Without hesitation, she chose to continue.

And that was the end of it.

She didn't know what the next challenge would be.

The system disappeared again.

Ye Huaizhang had already put everything else back in its place, and if he took the Ugly King's Jade directly, it would be easy for her grandfather to find out.

The fake ugly Wang Jue that Ye Baoling had prepared earlier came in handy.

Since they are all pure white jade, with the same shape and similar texture, it would be difficult to tell the real from the fake without careful examination.

Ye Baoling didn't have time to think much. She quickly ran back to her room and found the fake ugly Wang Jue. Her old mobile phone rang.

Ping called; the event at the ancestral hall has ended.

Ye Baoling ran up to the third floor as fast as she could, put the fake jade into the box, and closed the drawer. The couple had just returned to their bedroom when they heard footsteps coming from the hallway outside.

Knock knock knock!

"Baoling! Baoling! Are you feeling better?" Second Aunt Liang Meiyun knocked on the door.

Ye Huaizhang went into the secret room first and down the tunnel, while Ye Baoling quickly took off her coat, messed up her hair a little, and then went to open the door.

Liang Meiyun asked her, "How are you?"

Bao Ling clutched her stomach and said, "It was a lot of pain just now, it was so uncomfortable. It's much better now."

Do you have any painkillers? I'd like to take some.

Yes. I just ate it.

Liang Meiyun instructed, "Lie down first. A doctor friend of mine is coming over later, and she will take a look at you."

Ye Baoling was eager to meet Ye Huaizhang at the Qingzhuan Tunnel, but she quickly declined, saying, "No need, Second Aunt. It's bad luck to see a doctor on the second day of the Lunar New Year. I'm a little sleepy after taking my medicine, so I want to take a nap first."

"Okay then. I'll eat something after I wake up."

"good."

After closing the door, Ye Baoling tied up her hair, put on her coat, went to the dressing room to take out the other two ugly jade pendants, and put them together with the white jade pendant from the eldest son's family into a copper box. She then slung her small bag over her shoulder and quickly went down through the secret room.

Ye Huaizhang was waiting for her in the underground wine cellar.

The two walked into the blue brick tunnel together and opened the brick door at the bottom of Silver Snake Mountain again.

Standing in front of the large bronze gate, she nervously took out a bronze box. The couple exchanged a glance, and then she put the bronze box containing three ugly king jade rings into the coin slot.

After the copper box was inserted, it was rotated clockwise one full circle to the left, and then a "crack" sound was heard...

It was a success!

Ye Baoling thought with delight, 1988 is truly a new year, it's been so smooth!

The third ugly jade pendant, which had taken more than half a year to find, was surprisingly obtained smoothly at the last moment.

No, it definitely won't be that quick, after all, she just took on a new mission.

Ye Baoling was a little nervous and a little scared, after all, the bull-headed skull had terrified her last time.

She had a vivid imagination, and she was afraid that if she opened it, the inside would be littered with corpses.

"You drive." She gently nudged him, and instinctively stood behind him.

Ye Huaizhang gently pushed the door open, and just as it opened a crack, a red light shone through...