Chapter 94 Retribution

Seeing Zheng Junni foolishly fall for Ye Baoling's tricks and betray him without hesitation, choosing to go home while he stayed, Ye Kaimin was so angry that he slapped his forehead.

"Are you crazy? How could you fall for this? She's trying to drive a wedge between us, and you can't even see that?"

Zheng Junni's only thought was to leave. She shook her head: "I want to go back. I want to leave here."

Ye Kaimin looked at her in disbelief: "You're going to leave me here so you can go back? Isn't that too selfish?"

"Aren't you the same? What are you accusing me of? If you weren't selfish, why don't you come and stay here and suffer in my place? Can you do that?"

"I'm trying my best to get you out of this mess, but all you want to do is drag me down with you. I've figured it out now, all that virtuousness and gentleness you showed before was an act, this is your true nature!" Ye Kaimin spat out his saliva.

Ye Baoling took two steps back in disgust.

Zheng Junni shook her head helplessly and smiled, "You know perfectly well what I was like before and what I am like now. Don't pretend with me. Nobody is cleaner than anyone else!"

Ye Kaimin snorted and walked away.

Zheng Junni watched him leave so casually, and quickly turned to look at Ye Baoling.

"He's gone! Does what you just said still stand?"

Ye Baoling: "You were the one who got locked up. It doesn't matter what you choose, the key is what he chooses. You saw the result, that's what men are like."

Zheng Junni knelt down with a thud. "Baoling, I know I was wrong, I really know I was wrong. I don't even want to go back to the Ye family. Just let me rent a place to live, let me see people, let me see Baolong, and I'll be satisfied. I beg you, please let me go?"

Ye Baoling looked down at her, feeling a pang of compassion, but not much.

If she could, she would lock up those two sluts, Ye Kaimin and Zheng Junni, here and lock them up.

"Give me one reason why I might let you go."

Zheng Junni froze, her mind blank. What reason could there be? She couldn't think of anything at all.

"Can't figure it out? Take your time thinking about it, and tell me when you do." With that, Ye Baoling left first.

As Ye Baoling left the villa on the hillside, she received a phone call from Ye Baoxin.

She was somewhat surprised.

This was their first phone call together.

After hesitating for several days, Ye Baoxin finally made up her mind and hid in the bathroom of her bedroom to call Ye Baoling using Fang Shanxing's mobile phone.

"Baoling, I have something very important to tell you. When is it convenient for you? I'll come to the company to see you."

Hearing Ye Baoxin's cautious and careful tone, Ye Baoling knew that things were not simple. She quickly said, "Don't come to the company. Make an excuse to go back to the old eldest branch of the family and say that you want to see Ye Baolong. An hour later, sneak to my room on the second floor of Xihetang and come to find me. Don't let anyone see you."

Seeing that Ye Baoling had made such detailed arrangements in such a short time, Ye Baoxin felt a little more at ease and nodded repeatedly: "Okay. I'll go over now. I'll find you in an hour."

Ye Baoling did not return to the company, but went directly back to the third branch of the family.

After returning, she went down the blue brick tunnel from her bedroom and then went back to her own room.

She had plenty of time, and after waiting quite a while, she heard a very soft knock on the door.

When the door opened, Ye Baoxin was standing in the doorway.

Ye Baoxin was ushered into the room, the door was closed, and the two sat down on the sofa. Ye Baoxin got straight to the point and explained the purpose of her trip in detail.

"You heard that Sir Fang wanted to kill Huaizhang? And that he wanted to continue?"

Ye Baoxin nodded: "Judging from their tone, they were the ones who orchestrated Huai Zhang's car accident last time. They guessed that you already knew he was behind it, so they wanted to do it again before you could retaliate."

Ye Baoling knew this, "Why are you telling me?"

Ye Baoxin lowered her head, gently tapping the bag in her hand. "I used to be so stupid. I felt that Grandpa never looked at me properly and looked down on me. The rest of the Ye family treated me the same way. They were polite on the surface, but they all saw me as a burden. Nobody treated me like family. I just wanted to... I just wanted to be superior to you in every way and win against you. Actually, it was me who reminded my mother to hire a private investigator after your relationship with Brother Huaizhang was discovered... I'm sorry, Baoling. I admit I was jealous of your background. I was really stupid."

Ye Baoling didn't believe that Ye Baoxin had suddenly become a good person; she must have encountered something. "Have you run into some kind of problem?"

Ye Baoxin raised her head. "I felt sorry for myself and thought I was not doing well. In fact, I grew up in the Ye family and was directly assigned to work in Su Man after returning from studying abroad. I had never seen the wickedness of society until I was engaged to Shan Xing and until my mother was imprisoned. That's when I met the real villains."

Ye Baoxin recounted how Sir Fong threatened her to leave Fong Shanxing and tried to force her to become his mistress, and how she resisted.

Ye Baoling was shocked; she hadn't expected that old bastard Fang Dingkun to be such trash.

Seeing Ye Baoxin holding back tears, her eyes red, Ye Baoling pulled out a tissue and handed it to her. "So, when you said last time that someone was loitering outside your room in the middle of the night, was it Sir Fang?"

Ye Baoxin wiped her eyes: "I'm not sure if it was him, but it was definitely someone he arranged. He wanted to scare me; he didn't want me to have an easy time."

Ye Baoling understood: "This Sir Fang is a hundred times more terrifying than the average hypocrite. Let me think about how to proceed."

After Ye Baoxin finished talking to Ye Baoling, she felt much more relaxed.

She knew Ye Baoling was clever and resourceful. She couldn't get rid of Sir Fang, but Ye Baoling could definitely help her find a way to get rid of him.

"Next, you need to remain calm and not act timidly, so as not to arouse their suspicion. Be more outgoing, and also, don't stay home alone. There must be someone else with you." Ye Baoling wanted her to save herself while also making good use of Ye Baoxin's identity to help her.

"I'll do whatever you say. I'll do whatever you tell me to do." Ye Baoxin knew that their relationship was now one of mutual benefit.

Ye Baoling then assigned her a task.

The two chatted for about an hour. Afterward, Ye Baoxin returned to the Fang family home, while Ye Baoling returned to the third branch of the family home through a secret room.

In the evening, Sister Ju reported her work to Sir Fang.

"Today, the eldest young mistress went back to the Ye family's main branch to visit Ye Baolong, and she seemed to be in a very good mood after she came back."

"She saw Ye Baoling?"

Sister Ju: "At that time, Ye Baoling wasn't in the eldest branch of the family; she was in the third branch, so the two didn't meet. But today, Ye Baoling went to see Zheng Junni, which is a bit strange. She's never visited Zheng Junni before."

Sir Fang put away the newspaper. "Keep a close eye on him. We can't let our guard down. Ye Huaizhang is followed by a bunch of people wherever he goes. He's very wary, so it's hard to make a move. If all else fails, we'll frame him."

Sending Ye Huaizhang to jail would be a good ending.

Sir Fang pondered for a moment, "Find a way to get Ye Huaizhang's fingerprints using a lighter."

Sister Ju thought for a moment and said, "This weekend is the eldest young master's birthday, and they will probably come over for a meal. I'll think of a way to arrange it then."

Sir Fang instructed, "Have more people keep an eye on them during their dinner party, in case they use this gathering as an excuse to cause trouble."

"I'll tell everyone to be careful."

*

When Ye Huaizhang returned home in the evening, Ye Baoling was playing mahjong with the old lady. They played until almost ten o'clock before she went back to her room.

Back in the bedroom, she told him about Ye Baoxin's visit earlier that day.

Upon hearing about Sir Fang's despicable and filthy behavior, Ye Huaizhang was quite shocked. He even wanted to sleep with his granddaughter-in-law; this was truly a breach of moral boundaries.

"This kind of person has spent his entire life as the chairman of the South China Group of Hospitals Charitable Association, and he's still the honorary chairman. Isn't that ironic?"

That's absolutely disgusting.

Ye Baoling added, "It's Fang Shanxing's birthday this weekend. I wonder if Ye Baoxin can get the password out of him in advance."

If not, they need to make a backup plan, since they can't keep delaying if Fang Laodeng is going to take action.

*

Ye Baoxin bought a small safe and put it in the closet in her bedroom.

She stood in front of the wardrobe, holding the instruction manual and setting a password. "Honey, what would be a suitable password?"

Fang Shanxing, who had just finished showering and was drying his hair, said, "It's your birthday."

Ye Baoxin turned to look at him, trying to use the method Ye Baoling had taught her to get information out of him, "Wouldn't it be easy to crack?"

“That makes sense. Then let’s use your birthday plus my birthday.”

"How do I add a four-digit number?"

"My birthday plus your birthday. Mine is May 15th, yours is October 21st, so it's 1521. The password contains both your birthday and mine, so it's hard to crack. Isn't that perfect?"

Ye Baoxin kissed him, "Honey, you're so smart."

Fang Shanxing said with a hint of pride, "Of course."

As Ye Baoxin set the password, she casually asked, "Your safe's password combination isn't always like this, is it?"

"You guessed right."

"So Grandpa's safe is for Grandpa and Grandma's birthdays, and your dad's safe is for Mom and Dad's birthdays?" Ye Baoxin praised with a smile, "They're both for the couple's birthdays, your family is so romantic!"

Fang Shanxing shook his head: "It doesn't seem so. I'm just a romantic."

"Huh? What do you mean?"

“Only my grandfather and my dad know the combination to my safe, so it should be my and my dad’s birthday, not my and my grandma’s.” After saying that, Fang Shanxing stood behind Ye Baoxin and gently stroked her belly. “I never thought that among us, I would be the first to become a father.”

He was very happy.

Ye Baoxin continued to probe: "You're just guessing. How do you know it's Grandpa and Dad's birthday? Couldn't it be Grandpa and Grandma's birthday?"

Fang Shanxing laughed and said, "I heard them talking about it when I was very young. It must be my grandfather's and my father's birthdays. But the key has always been with my grandfather, not my father. So only my grandfather can open the safe."

Ye Baoxin: "Your grandfather probably told him the password in advance because he was afraid that if he suddenly died, your father wouldn't know it, right?"

"You must never say things like that, which contain the word 'death,' in front of my grandfather and father. It's bad luck."

She didn't say it; she wished Fang Laodeng were dead right now.

But she was still very happy to have successfully gotten the password. "I'm not that stupid, I won't say anything wrong."

After setting the password, Ye Baoxin put all her valuable jewelry inside.

*

Saturday was the day before Fang Shanxing's birthday, so they celebrated in advance.

Ye Huaizhang, Ye Baoling, and Gong Jiahua arrived together, while the Ye Leqiong sisters, Gu Man'er, Fang Haiming, and others arrived much earlier.

Ye Huaizhang presented a birthday gift first, followed by Gong Jiahua presenting his treasured wine collection.

"Last year on your birthday, I don't know who gave me this red wine, but I'm just passing it on to you. This year is different. This is a fine wine that I've been treasuring for many years. We must drink it well today and not leave until we're drunk."

"You're so good at talking, you can't outdrink anyone," Fang Shanxing mocked Gong Jiahua as usual.

Today's gathering was a small indoor event with few guests; it was mainly young people having fun.

Sir Fang and his son Fang Xuhua did not come downstairs. Sister Ju secretly kept an eye on Ye Huaizhang and Ye Baoling, wanting to see what they would do.

Surprisingly, they sat in the living room chatting with people the whole time, occasionally filming guests and themselves with a camera, and didn't even seem to go to the bathroom.

When Ye Baoxin brought out her homemade birthday cake and was about to light the candles, everyone noticed that the lighter was placed next to Ye Huaizhang.

A maid squeezed through the crowd, "Mr. Ye, could you please get me the lighter?"

Ye Huaizhang had no suspicions and picked up the lighter, handing it to the servant.

Wearing work gloves, the maid took the lighter and handed it to the others behind her, while simultaneously running over to give another lighter to Ye Baoxin.

Standing on high up, Sister Ju could see everything clearly, but Ye Huaizhang and Ye Baoling, who were inside, were watching Ye Baoxin light the candles and were completely unaware.

Because there was a pregnant woman and elderly people in the family, Fang Shanxing's birthday party didn't last very late. After eating cake, drinking some wine and having some barbecue, everyone dispersed.

Sister Ju reported the situation to Sir Fang in detail.

Sir Fang: "Is there anything else unusual about Ye Huaizhang today?"

Sister Ju: "No. It's normal. They didn't stay for very long, they didn't even go to the restroom, they just chatted in the lobby the whole time."

Did Ye Baoxin and Ye Baoling whisper to each other?

"They were talking, but there were other people around them, so they weren't chatting alone."

Sir Fang nodded slightly, but was still uneasy: "Keep a close eye on them. As soon as they make the slightest move, we'll take action."

"Understood. I've already communicated with Old Ghost."

Tuesday arrived in the blink of an eye, and Sister Ju discovered that Ye Baoxin had left the Fang family and gone to the 30th floor of the Yulong Building.

The chairman's office is on the 30th floor of the Yulong Building, which means Ye Baoxin went to see Ye Baoling.

Just then, they were all ready, and Sir Fang told Sister Ju to get started immediately.

When Sister Ju picked up the phone to call Old Ghost who had helped her with the task, she discovered that the phone line was faulty and all landlines were unreachable.

Luckily, there was a mobile phone at home, and Sister Ju used it to call Old Ghost.

Old Ghost's name contains the character "Old," but he's actually not old at all; he's just a minor leader in his thirties.

Instead of using his own mobile phone, Lao Gui walked to the public phone booth in front of him, inserted a coin, and dialed the number of the gatekeeper of the villa halfway up Guling Mountain.

“Uncle Bing, this is Fugui. Uncle Xing asked me to call you and ask you to come back to the mansion. The old master has something to ask you... Yes, come back right now.”

Then he dialed the paging service again: "Leave a message for the owner of the phone. Her mother wants to meet her immediately and asks her to bring Ye Baoling to the villa on the hillside. There is something important to discuss. No need to call back... Ye is the leaf of leaves, Bao is the treasure of jewelry, and Ling is the command on the left and the feather on the right."

After hanging up the phone, Lao Gui and his two subordinates drove to the villa on the hillside. After Lao Gui and one of them got out of the car, the driver drove away.

The henchman who had been watching from the shadows ran out and said that Uncle Bing, the gatekeeper, had already gone down the mountain.

Old Ghost used a gun to unlock the outer iron gate and the inner second gate of the villa. Then the three of them hid in the bushes under the roadbed opposite the gate.

About ten minutes later, a car arrived.

The car stopped at the gate, beeped a few times, but no one opened the door. A middle-aged man came out, pushed open the iron gate, and went inside.

The henchman hiding in the bushes asked Old Ghost, "Who is it? Why is it a man?"

Old Gui wasn't entirely sure: "It seems to be Ye Kaimin. I've seen him in the newspaper."

"Then what should we do?"

"It doesn't matter. One more death won't hurt."

After Ye Kaimin got out of the car, he found that the iron gate was unlocked, the second gate was also unlocked, and the gatekeeper was not there. He went upstairs while cursing.

Not long after, another car stopped, and two young women got out and went inside.

"Are these the two?" the henchman asked again.

Old Ghost confirmed: "It's these two. Wait a minute, let them come upstairs."

This so-called hillside villa had a terrible environment; it had no large garden and no parking lot, so after they got out of the car, they had to drive back to the foot of the mountain to wait.

There are recreational facilities on the mountain, so minibuses and coaches often pass by.

Just then, a bus slowly drove past on the mountain. They waited patiently until the bus had completely driven away before Lao Gui and his men put on gloves, picked up the gasoline, and came out.

The three of them quickly poured gasoline on the wood inside the second gate and on flammable materials around the house.

Then Old Ghost took out a lighter he had prepared and lit the fire. He locked the second gate and the iron gate with chains and threw the lighter next to a cypress tree outside the gate before leaving.

A raging fire broke out instantly.

Old Ghost made a phone call to Sister Ju, then hid in the bushes again to keep watch, just in case.

Sister Ju told Sir Fang that the fire had been lit, "but there's one more person inside."

"who?"

"Ye Kaimin".

Sir Fang couldn't help but laugh, "Having one more good-for-nothing isn't so bad."

The telephone company staff were checking the telephone lines on the second floor when the doorbell rang. Ye Huaizhang showed up uninvited and said he wanted to see Sir Fang.

Sir Fang had no choice but to leave the study and go downstairs.

He greeted him warmly with a smile: "Huaizhang, are you looking for Shanxing? He has an event today and hasn't returned yet."

Ye Huaizhang smiled and said, "I'm not here to see Shan Xing, I'm here to see Grandpa Fang."

"Oh?" Sir Fang couldn't help but feel a little uneasy. "What do you want with me?"

Ye Huaizhang: "I was in a car accident earlier, and I investigated for a long time to find out who wanted to kill me. The result was quite unexpected."

Sir Fang's heart skipped a beat. "Who wants to kill you?"

“I found an Annamese man named Shui Gou, who identified a woman named Mei as the one who wanted to kill me.”

"Aunt Mei?"

“Yes, Aunt Mei.” Ye Huaizhang pursed his lips slightly. “A few days ago, I was surprised to find that Gong Jiahua’s mother’s name contained the character ‘Mei’, and her appearance was very similar to what Shui Gou described. I showed Shui Gou a picture of Mrs. Gong, and Shui Gou said he had only seen her once, that she looked somewhat similar but he wasn’t sure. I’m very confused now. I can’t understand why Mrs. Gong wanted to kill me.”

“There’s no reason for this. Could there be some misunderstanding?” Sir Fang said, then reminded her, “Could it be that someone in your family has a grudge against Mrs. Gong, and she’s taking it out on you?”

Ye Huaizhang looked bewildered: "That's why I wanted to see Grandpa Fang. Grandpa Fang, you're familiar with both our families. Do you know what kind of conflict our family had with the Gong family in the past?"

Sir Fang clearly knew something about Gong Jinghui and Ye Jinliu, and he smiled knowingly: "Why don't you go back and ask your aunt?"

"My aunt?" Ye Huaizhang seemed to understand a little. He glimpsed the telephone company maintenance worker leaving through the back door, led by a servant.

He asked calmly, "Does Grandpa Fang know something?"

Sir Fang waved his hand slightly: "Some things are not suitable for outsiders to say. Go back and ask your aunt, and you'll know."

"Alright. Thank you for reminding me, Grandpa Fang. I haven't investigated this matter thoroughly yet, and I'll need to trouble you to keep it a secret for me."

"certainly."

After chatting for a while, Sir Fang got up and personally saw Ye Huaizhang out.

*

Ye Kaimin received a strange pager. Zheng Junni was looking for him, saying she had something important to discuss.

He arrived at the villa on the hillside and found that the main gate and the second gate downstairs were unlocked, and the gatekeeper was nowhere to be seen.

He cursed and swore as he went up to the top floor, only to find that there was no one there.

It was deserted everywhere.

He went into Zheng Junni's room and casually rummaged through the drawers. He saw his son's photo album, which contained letters that Zheng Junni had written to him. He even took a look at them.

When he smelled the strong odor of gasoline, he went outside and found thick smoke and raging fire.

The doors and windows on the first floor were all locked.

The windows and balconies of this villa were fitted with security bars, originally intended to prevent Zheng Junni from escaping, but now they've become his death knell.

He screamed for help in despair, but no one paid attention and no one could hear him.

Thick smoke choked him, and he coughed so hard he almost fainted.

He could only run to the rooftop.

After wetting a rag in the room, I covered my mouth and nose with it.

The flames leaped up too fast; he never imagined that Ye Kaimin would end his life in this way.

Just when he was in despair, he discovered that there was a small escape hatch in the security bars on the top floor.

He ran to the escape hatch, climbed out, and tried to climb down, but there was only flame and thick smoke below, and there was nowhere to climb.

Under the threat of raging flames and billowing smoke, he covered his nose, closed his eyes, and jumped down.

"ah!"

He's such an old man, his bones are probably all broken.

The fire on the first floor was burning his body, and he endured the excruciating pain as he struggled to crawl outside.

She eventually fainted.

A fire broke out at a villa halfway up Guling Mountain. Fire trucks arrived and quickly brought the fire under control. The fire was extinguished shortly afterward.

A middle-aged man was rescued from the fire. He suffered a fracture, smoke inhalation, and multiple burns. He has been sent to Aihe Hospital for treatment.

A lighter was found at the scene, suspected to have been left by the arsonist.

When Sister Ju urgently informed Sir Fang of the news, Sir Fang asked incredulously, "Ye Baoling, Ye Baoxin, Zheng Junni, and the Filipino maid are all gone?"

Sister Ju looked helpless: "They're not here. When the police were investigating, they said that Zheng Junni was taken to the hospital for a check-up the day before, while Ye Baoling and Ye Baoxin didn't go to the villa at all. But Lao Gui said that his men kept watch all night and didn't find Zheng Junni being taken away, and they clearly saw Ye Baoling and Ye Baoxin enter the villa gate."

"One of them must be lying. Either Old Ghost didn't guard properly, or our operation was exposed and we were tricked."

Sir Fang recalled the question Ye Huaizhang had specifically come to ask earlier, "And it's very strange that Ye Huaizhang came by so coincidentally. The question he asked was also unusual."

Sister Ju couldn't understand, "If our operation has already been exposed, then why did Ye Kaimin still run into us? Ye Baoling couldn't just stand by and watch her father be burned, could she?"

It's bizarre. So bizarre.

Feeling increasingly uneasy, Sir Fang quickly went upstairs and opened the safe. He was relieved to find that everything inside was still there.

What exactly went wrong?

*

Seeing the smoke rising from the hillside, Ye Baoling gave Chen Yulan a look, and Chen Yulan quickly called the police.

On her way back, she received a call from Ye Huaizhang.

The guy posing as a telephone company employee has successfully obtained the second plum blossom key.

Very good!

There's only one lock to unlock left to complete the task.

She didn't rush to meet up with Ye Huaizhang, but instead went back to the company to continue working as usual.

They rushed to Aihe Hospital after receiving a call from the police.

Looking at Ye Kaimin, who was curled up like a rice dumpling, she stood aside and asked the doctor, "How is my dad?"

"He has multiple fractures and may need to use a wheelchair in the future. He also has multiple burns and will need skin grafts. This process will be very long and painful."

Good.

The eldest son's family is wealthy, so the surgery can be done slowly.

An hour and a half ago, Ye Baoling received a page from someone impersonating Zheng Junni. Immediately afterwards, she also had someone impersonate Zheng Junni and send a page to Ye Kaimin.

Yesterday evening, in accordance with her cooperation agreement with Ye Baoxin, Zheng Junni was secretly moved away under the cover of a bus. Wei Zaiqiang also left an escape route on the top floor as instructed by Ye Baoling.

Everything was done without anyone noticing.

Upon waking, Ye Kaimin groaned in agony, muttering, "Zheng Junni wants to harm me. She wants me dead."

"He left you an escape route; this person is quite kind," Ye Baoling replied.

Ye Kaimin: "Someone wants to kill me. Ouch, that hurts."

"Does it hurt? Just bear with it. The doctor said this is just the beginning, and it will hurt even more in a couple of days," Ye Baoling gently comforted her.

Hearing that this was just the beginning, Ye Kaimin, who was unable to move, felt like he wanted to die.

Ye Baoling remained silent, observing quietly from the sidelines.

Watching Ye Kaimin suffer, I felt a strange sense of satisfaction for some reason.

This was all she could do for the original owner and her mother.

-----------------------

Author's note: Ye Baoling: I am a good person.

Ye Huaizhang: Of course [dog head with rose in mouth]