Ye Yunniang rewrapped the clothes, carried them on her back, and walked out of the yamen guards' line with the other few who had passed the inspection.
"Hey girl, have you seen my daughter?"
"What's going on inside? What did the Jiang family do wrong?"
...People outside the defensive line kept asking questions, wanting to know what was going on inside.
"Get out of the way, don't block my daughter's way." Cai Damei pushed aside the person blocking her way and grabbed Ye Yunniang's hand. "Yunniang, don't be afraid, Mother will take you home."
Cai Damei comforted Ye Yunniang.
Ye Yunniang nodded and followed Cai Damei home step by step.
Back in Sunset Lane, I pushed open the door and entered the courtyard.
Cai Xiaomei, Zhang Cai'er, and her mother, Granny Zhang, were all present.
Granny Zhang came to ask Granny Tian about her situation and also wanted to know about the Jiang family.
Ye Yunniang was also unaware of the situation. She told Granny Zhang what she had overheard from the slave trader: the servants of the Jiang family who had signed death contracts would be sold off in three days.
After hearing this, Granny Zhang hurriedly left with Zhang Cai'er.
Cai Xiaomei stayed and said a few words before leaving.
With all the outsiders gone, Ye Yunniang breathed a sigh of relief.
"Go inside and rest for a while, I'll go pick up Pan'er." Upon hearing that something had happened at the Jiang residence, Cai Damei handed Pan'er over to a neighbor and hurriedly ran to the Jiang residence, where she has been waiting outside ever since.
"Okay." Ye Yunniang entered the side room, her own room.
After buying the house, Cai Damei made some renovations.
Originally, there were two main rooms. One was used as the main hall for meals, entertaining guests, and chatting, while the other was used as a bedroom where she and Pan'er lived.
The previously empty side room was cleaned up by Cai Damei. She bought a bed, cabinet, table, chairs, stools, and other furniture and arranged them to serve as Ye Yunniang's bedroom.
The beds inside are all new, and Cai Damei takes them out to air them every few days.
If you get close, you can smell the sun-dried scent of the blankets.
Ye Yunniang did not lie down to rest, but instead took out a jade thumb ring from her bosom.
This was what Jiang Mingzhe had slipped into Ye Yunniang's hand when he helped her up. She didn't understand why Jiang Mingzhe had given it to her, but she would keep it and wait for him to come and take it.
Ye Yunniang opened the bundle again, took out the silver and jewelry sewn into her cotton-padded jacket, and put them into the box on the dressing table.
The cotton-padded jacket was sewn back on, but the other clothes were ransacked by the yamen runners, which made Ye Yunniang feel uneasy. She took the clothes to the backyard.
There are wells in both the front and back yards of the house; the well in the front yard is mainly for drinking water.
The well in the backyard is used for washing and watering the fields.
After washing the clothes, Cai Damei returned with Pan'er.
“Pan’er, your mother is home. From now on, the three of us can be together forever.” Cai Damei said, wiping away her tears. She had been looking forward to this day for more than a year.
Ye Yunniang's eyes were a little red, and she reached out to Pan'er, wanting to hug her son.
Pan'er hid behind Cai Damei. After not seeing her for several months, he felt much more unfamiliar with Ye Yunniang.
"Yunniang, you play with Pan'er for a while. I'm going to cook." Cai Damei said, pushing Pan'er in front of Ye Yunniang.
"Mother, I'll cook." Ye Yunniang walked towards the kitchen. She was back; how could she let her mother cook?
“You’ve only been back for one day, you can’t go into the kitchen,” Cai Damei stopped Ye Yunniang.
After some tugging and pulling, the three of them went into the kitchen.
Ye Yunniang helped Pan'er tend the fire, while Cai Damei busied herself at the stove.
By bedtime, Pan'er was willing to call for her mother. However, she still wanted to sleep with her grandmother at night.
Ye Yunniang lay alone in bed, reflecting on the day's events. She thought of Li'er, Chunyao, Granny Shi, and the others. She was grateful for their help in managing things at the Jiang residence.
Ye Yunniang couldn't bear to see them sold like merchandise. But she had no money to buy them.
Another reason is that if you buy it, you won't have a way to make a living and won't be able to support yourself.
Unable to sleep, Ye Yunniang got up and made breakfast when she saw that it was getting light outside.
Ye Yunniang cooked rice porridge, made dough to make pancakes, and fried an egg.
Cai Damei opened her eyes, looked at her grandson first, then got up and went to the kitchen to prepare breakfast.
Ye Yunniang had already prepared breakfast. She had also boiled water for washing one's face.
"Getting up so early, why not get some sleep?"
“I usually get up around this time too,” Ye Yunniang said, scooping water for Cai Damei to wash her face.
Cai Damei washed her hands and face, then took the towel to wipe her face.
"Mother, should we wake Pan'er up?"
"No need, he still needs to sleep for half an hour."
"Alright, I'll go wash the clothes." Ye Yunniang said, taking the dirty clothes to the backyard to wash.
"You sit down. You've been busy all morning. I'll go do the laundry." Cai Damei pulled Ye Yunniang aside, telling her to rest for a while. She then took the dirty clothes to the backyard to wash them herself.
“Then we’ll wash together.” Ye Yunniang followed to the backyard; she carried water while Cai Damei washed.
The mother and daughter worked together to wash the clothes.
After washing, I swept the yard clean.
Pan'er woke up, and Ye Yunniang went in to dress him.
Pan'er was still somewhat unfamiliar with Ye Yunniang and avoided letting her wear it.
"I want Grandma, Grandma!" Pan'er called out to the outside.
"Grandma is serving rice. Mom will help you get dressed. Once you're dressed, we'll go eat. There will be your favorite scrambled eggs," Ye Yunniang discussed with Pan'er.
Upon hearing about scrambled eggs, Pan'er no longer hesitated and asked Ye Yunniang to dress him.
Ye Yunniang dressed her son, took his hand, led him to the courtyard, washed his hands and face, and then went to the main room.
Cai Damei has already set out the food.
The family of three had breakfast together again after more than a year.
After the meal, Ye Yunniang stayed home to take care of Pan'er, while Cai Damei went out to inquire about the Jiang family's situation.
Ye Yunniang wanted to go, but Cai Damei disagreed.
“You came to Jiangcheng and went straight to the Jiang residence, so you don’t know anyone else. I’ve gotten to know quite a few people in the past year or so. If I go, I can find out more.”
Cai Damei left the house and returned at noon.
He returned and told Ye Yunniang about the information he had found out.
The reason for the raid on the Jiang family's home has already spread throughout Jiangcheng.
The Jiang family was implicated in the raid on their property.
The dealer angered the emperor, and his family was confiscated and his clan exterminated.
Jiang Mingde pleaded for mercy, but the emperor was angered and the Jiang family was exiled to the frontier.
Because the Jiang family split up, the eldest branch was exiled to the frontier, while the other branches, though not exiled, were implicated and had their property confiscated.
The eldest branch of the Jiang family is not here; they have been taken to the frontier.
The Jiang family members were driven out of the mansion, leaving in coarse linen clothes. All of the Jiang family's assets were gone.
No one dared to take them in temporarily at the dilapidated temple.
Hearing this, Ye Yunniang thought of Jiang Tingjun and felt sad.
"Mother, I want to go see him. When I was in the Jiang family, the Fourth Madam treated me very well. She rewarded me with a lot of jewelry, clothes, and silver. Although she went to nurse the young master for money, she still drank my milk for more than a year. I feel..." Ye Yunniang looked at Pan'er beside her and couldn't continue.
“One should never forget one’s roots. The Jiang family has been kind to us. It is only right that we do so. The Jiang family is now living in a dilapidated temple. If you want to go, go and see them, and help them if you can.” With that, Cai Damei got up and took out a bag of loose silver and a few pieces of valuable jewelry from the cabinet.
"I have some on me." Ye Yunniang refused.
“Take it if I give it to you. Without the Jiang family, who knows when our family will be able to settle down in Jiangcheng?” As she spoke, she stuffed the sachet that Ye Yunniang had given her at the temple into her hand.
"Mother, you are so kind." Ye Yunniang held the sachet.
Following Cai Damei's instructions, Ye Yunniang arrived at the dilapidated temple. She could hear arguing in the distance.
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