Chapter 61 Ye Baoling and Ye Huaizhang?
In front of the ancestral tablets in the main hall on the fourth floor of Xihetang, Ye Baoling knew clearly that her grandfather had brought her here to be the scapegoat.
He wanted her to reject Liang Meiyun.
How could she so easily give in to the old man's wishes?
So she agreed.
Seeing the old man's face growing increasingly grim, Ye Baoling changed the subject: "However... Second Aunt, although I can help with this, even if I were in charge, I couldn't do it alone. I'd need Uncle Xing and the others' help."
The implication is that it still depends on the old man's opinion.
Liang Meiyun didn't trust the old man's men. She said, "If you need people, you can hire a private investigator. I'll pay for it."
Ye Qizu retorted, "How can you let private investigators from outside investigate? Do you want the whole world to know before you're satisfied?"
Liang Meiyun was always more assertive than Zheng Junni: "How could it be that I want to make a scene that the whole world knows?"
She pointed at Junnie Cheng: "It was her who caused this trouble!"
Zheng Junni immediately retorted, "Second Aunt, stop making baseless accusations. If you want to make a scene, I'm not afraid of making a scene. Let's see who loses face."
The two sisters-in-law started arguing again.
Liang Meiyun, backed by a wealthy family, refused to budge an inch. "If Bao Ling isn't willing, then I'll hire a private investigator myself and have my brother keep an eye on things. I refuse to believe I can't find out who leaked the information!"
Compared to Liang Meiyun and the Liang family, Ye Qizu trusted his own granddaughter more. He was also afraid that Liang Meiyun would make a big fuss, so he finally had to say, "Baoling, you are in charge of the investigation. Just tell me what cooperation you need and make sure everyone cooperates!"
Ye Baoling wanted everyone to beg her, yet she also wanted to control the overall situation: "After all, I'm not a professional investigator. If I were in charge, I certainly couldn't guarantee we'd have an answer by next week or next month. I can only guarantee that I will do my best to find out the truth. Can you accept that?"
"I can!" Liang Meiyun was confident that she could hire a private investigator to help Ye Baoling.
Ye Kaimin knew he couldn't control his daughter, but compared to Liang Meiyun investigating on her own, his daughter was more reliable.
He tugged at Zheng Junni: "Say yes."
Zheng Junni didn't want to agree, and the best outcome for this matter was to not investigate and let it go unresolved.
But she couldn't object now; the more she objected, the more guilty she would seem. So she could only nod and say, "Take your time investigating. I won't rush you. Just don't target me."
Ultimately, it was decided that Ye Baoling would be in charge of investigating who leaked the information to the media about Ye Baoshun's case.
Yeh Chi-tsu warned: "This investigation is mainly about who leaked the information, not targeting anyone. Before the results are out, please do not discuss it privately, and do not label your own family members without evidence. This matter is settled."
Before the event ended, Ye Qizu looked at Ye Baoshun and said, "Kneel here for a day and reflect on your actions!"
Then he instructed Uncle Xing: "Don't give him any food today. Lock him in his room on the fourth floor tonight. He is not allowed to leave the room without my permission."
Uncle Xing quickly agreed.
Ye Qizu then called Ye Baoling to his study and instructed her that it didn't matter if the truth couldn't be found; the most important thing was to be fair and just.
The meaning is, don't be misled by Liang Meiyun into targeting Zheng Junni.
Ye Baoling countered, "What if the investigation reveals that it really is Zheng Junni?"
What can we do?
She hasn't broken the law, so cutting her allowance and not letting her manage the household is already the worst-case scenario.
The old man simply hadn't considered that there might be even worse possibilities.
Meanwhile, Ye Kaimin returned to his room, dismissed the servants, and then whispered a question: "Did you really send Ah Jin to leak this information?"
Zheng Junni didn't want to admit it, but at this time she needed allies. "It was Ah Jin who heard about Ye Baoshun and Lü Tianyou from others. She said she was going to expose them. I didn't know if it was true or not, so I reminded her that even if she went to expose them, she couldn't use our phone. If something happened, they wouldn't be able to trace it back to us. Who would have thought that Ah Hong would overhear it?"
Ye Kaimin couldn't say anything about his wife, since they were the beneficiaries of this incident.
Zheng Junni observed Ye Kaimin's expression and knew that he didn't blame her. She quickly whispered, "I never believed before that Ye Baoshun would like men. I think God is helping us. Our Xianbao is really lucky and blessed. Look, those who were blocking his way have all automatically made way for him."
Since things had come to this, Ye Kaimin couldn't say much more, only saying, "That's fine too. Ye Baoshun is gay now, and I want to see how the old man will arrange things for him next."
But Zheng Junni was still a little worried: "Why don't you go and talk to Bao Ling and let her know who her family is? Don't believe Liang Meiyun, she's helping outsiders, she's all talk and no action."
I'll contact her later.
*
When Ye Baoling arrived at the company, she saw her colleagues gathered in a group, gossiping about something as soon as she stepped off the stairs.
It's not hard to imagine that they were looking at Ye Baoshun's scandal.
Upon seeing Ye Baoling enter, the crowd quickly dispersed, only offering a smiling greeting: "Good morning, Miss."
"Good morning." She smiled and nodded to everyone.
Not long after, Wang Simin slipped in.
Her gossip-loving spirit was already burning brightly, and she asked softly, "Did your family appoint six prime ministers yesterday?"
"It wasn't there last night, but it was this morning."
Wang Simin: "Did your brother admit it?"
"Do we still need to admit it?"
"That's true. What about him? Will your family accept his...partner?"
Ye Baoling was amused by her, "Don't ask any more questions, go out and get to work, we have a meeting to attend."
Wang Simin tactfully stood up and said, "When you're feeling frustrated and want to vent, feel free to come to me. I can be your dumping ground."
Just then, Ye Baoling's team members came in for a meeting, and her "trash can" floated away first.
The meeting began with a brief review of the information that everyone had recently collected.
The work at Lisa's husband's L&D company is progressing slowly. Ye Baoling asked, "Where is L&D at now?"
Yang Baozhu replied to her: "L&D has just passed the first round of evaluation and is now conducting the second round of evaluation. If there are no problems after the second round of evaluation, they will start to discuss cooperation with us. They may come to Hong Kong for inspection, and we will bear all the inspection expenses."
Covering the inspection expenses is no problem; the key issue is time.
How long will the second round of evaluation take?
"About three months."
In other words, if an agreement can be reached, it will be next year.
The time frame for developing a large regional market is not long, so the team members are not in a hurry.
Ye Baoling was even less in a hurry; she was waiting for the stock market crash to arrive.
After finishing her work at the company, she went to the Tumbleweed Newspaper Office to find Bai Zhu.
The sales of "Tumbleweed" have recently stabilized at around 5,000 copies, basically achieving a balance between income and expenditure except for labor costs.
Ye Baoling picked up the latest sample newspaper from the table. The newspaper's large red headline warned that the stock market was on the verge of danger and advised everyone to be cautious when entering the market.
Ye Baoling has been reading various financial magazines and newspapers recently, but only "Tumbleweed" reminded everyone that the stock market is on the verge of danger.
Bai Zhu made her a cup of instant coffee. "Nowadays, when stock market investors see that the market is rising and others are making money, they rush in en masse, buying junk stocks with very poor performance. What kind of logic is that? Everyone's carrying the sedan chair forward together? If we don't stop in time, we'll crash off a cliff sooner or later."
Ye Baoling wholeheartedly agreed: "What you said makes sense. But at this time, no one will listen to your words. People will only think that you are hindering his from making a fortune."
Bai Zhu nodded helplessly: "Yes. But I still want to remind you to be a clear-headed financial journalist."
Ye Baoling gave her a thumbs up.
After chatting for a while, Ye Baoling finally brought up the real reason for her visit.
Do you know any editors or reporters at Sunday magazine?
“I know someone.” Bai Zhu had also been watching the news these past few days. She asked, “Are you going to clean up your cousin’s mess?”
Ye Baoling took a sip of coffee and said, "There are people who specialize in cleaning up his mess. I want someone from Sunday magazine to help me find the whistleblower's phone number."
Bai Zhu shook his head: "This might be difficult. I don't know if they have recorded the specific time the whistleblower called. If they have the specific time, it will be easier to check with the phone company to find the phone number that called at that time."
The lack of caller ID in this day and age was indeed quite inconvenient.
Ye Baoling was prepared. "If there isn't a specific time, a time period will do. We can check the call logs for those who made the tip-off calls to the newspaper during that time period."
"If it's a time period, it shouldn't be difficult."
"Then could you please ask around for me?" Ye Baoling said, handing over an envelope. "I'm asking for a favor, so I can't let people help me for nothing. If it's not enough, just let me know."
Bai Zhu knew that the eldest daughter of the Ye family was not short of money, so she joked, "If there are any jobs like this in the future, you must come to me. Don't look for anyone else. Let me earn some extra money to support the newspaper."
During this time, Ye Baoling did indeed help Bai Zhu earn a lot of extra money, and the two of them couldn't help but laugh.
After leaving the Tumbleweed newspaper office, Ye Baoling went to the third house to have afternoon tea with the old lady and Yang Pinxian.
After that, I went home and finished writing the rest of the paper.
Dinner was just the two of them, Ye Baoling and Liang Meiyun, and Liang Meiyun was in a very low spirits.
Her son knelt for a whole day and was locked in a room on the fourth floor.
“Your grandfather was heartless. He even said to let him continue to go hungry and only give him water to drink.”
Ye Baoling was filled with heartache and pity: "How can you go hungry for a day..."
They'll have to go hungry for at least two days!
She sighed, "What if I get sick from hunger?"
"It's all that woman surnamed Lü's fault for deceiving him, and your wicked stepmother for making the whole world know about it! I don't even dare to answer the phone now."
In Liang Meiyun's eyes, everyone is at fault except her son.
Ye Baoling gave her a suggestion: "Later, you can secretly bring him some food."
"I don't have the keys. They're all with Uncle Xing. I can't deliver them."
Then you'll just have to go hungry!
fine.
Ye Baoling comforted him, "Grandpa does this because he values Baoshun too much."
"Why don't you go and try to persuade the old man?"
How is that possible?
Ye Baoling frowned: "I have no problem trying to persuade him, but I'm afraid that the more I try, the more upset he'll get. Sometimes, Grandpa also dislikes me. It would be better to let Uncle Xing try to persuade him. Uncle Xing is an outsider, so his advice might be more effective."
Just then, Ye Kais returned. "What's there to persuade him about? Just let him go hungry! He did something so stupid because he ate too much!"
Liang Meiyun couldn't stand her husband bringing it up again. "Alright, stop talking about it. It's so annoying. Isn't that your son?"
Ye Kaisi sat down to eat, not wanting to say anything more.
Liang Meiyun asked Ye Baoling if the investigation had begun.
"I asked a friend to check the whistleblower's phone number, but we probably won't have the results until next week."
Liang Meiyun had also been pondering this matter: "Maybe it was made from a public phone booth near us."
To maintain her impartiality, Ye Baoling didn't want to make any predictions beforehand, saying, "We'll only know once the investigation is complete."
"If you need a private investigator, just tell me, and your second aunt will help you..."
Before Liang Meiyun could finish speaking, Ye Kaisi interrupted her, saying, "This is none of your business. People will say you're interfering with the investigation, which will put Baoling in a difficult position."
Ye Baoling laughed and said, "It's not a courtroom, and it's not that serious. There's no rush with private investigators. I have friends who can help."
"Look at you, you're not even as concerned about Bao Shun as Bao Ling is. As soon as you get back, all you think about is eating. Have you even thought about how our son has been hungry since last night?!"
Ye Kais slammed his chopsticks on the table and said, "I'm not eating anymore! Are you satisfied now?! The reason Ye Baoshun is like this is because you and Dad spoiled him!"
The couple bickered quietly, exchanging words back and forth.
After finishing her meal in silence, Ye Baoling made an excuse to make a phone call and went upstairs.
I had just finished showering and dried my hair when I heard a knock on the door.
She opened the door, and there stood her father.
If her father needed to contact her, he would always have a servant relay the message, telling her to go to Shengyue Tower.
The fact that she's willing to lower herself today must mean she needs something from her.
Ye Baoling asked with a smile, "Dad, did you need something from me?"
Ye Kaimin walked in and sat down on the sofa in the living room.
Since they weren't outsiders, he didn't bother with formalities and asked directly, "How's your investigation into Ye Baoshun's matter going?"
Ye Baoling: "It's only the first day, how can there be any progress? I'm not a professional at this."
Ye Kaimin crossed his legs: "I'm not rushing you, but don't you know what kind of person your second aunt is? Last time she took away the lucky charm and lost her power as the housekeeper, she started to hate your Aunt Jun. This time she's just making baseless accusations. Your grandfather also knows what kind of person she is, and in the end he entrusted the matter to you because he didn't want her family to get involved. You should focus on your work. Aren't you supposed to be expanding into the European and American markets? Don't let these messy things waste your time."
The implication is that investigations should be avoided if possible.
It was rare for her father to speak to her in such a gentle tone and so tactfully.
Ye Baoling suddenly said, "Dad, are you feeling a little guilty?"
Ye Kaimin smiled helplessly, "Who's feeling guilty? Where's the guilt?"
They didn't dare to yell at her, as that would make them seem even more guilty.
"Don't worry, I won't wrong an innocent person, but I won't let..." she emphasized, "those who cause trouble."
Ye Kaimin realized that his daughter was deliberately going against him. "Can't you understand human language?"
Before her father could get angry, Ye Baoling smiled and said calmly, "I know. You don't need to remind me of some things; I already know what I'm doing."
Ye Kaimin took it as a yes.
Back at Shengyue Tower, Ye Kaimin went to play with his son, and Zheng Junni asked softly, "What did she say?"
Ye Kaimin: "She knows what she's doing."
Upon hearing this, Zheng Junni's heart pounded: "What do you mean by 'knowing what'? She didn't agree to it! Is she still your own daughter?"
Ye Kaimin clicked his tongue: "Then what kind of guarantee do you want from her? Isn't it enough that she knows what she's doing? You're just making trouble out of nothing."
I hate these kinds of sandwich cookies.
The current Ye Baoling is not the Ye Baoling of the past, whom he can manipulate at will. "It's good enough that he agrees and knows what he's doing."
As he spoke, he got up and walked outside.
Ye Baoxin had just returned home from working overtime when she heard them arguing quietly. She came in and asked, "What's wrong?"
Zheng Junni walked to the door and asked the nanny to take the child away before telling Ye Baoxin what had happened.
“They’re not born of the same mother after all. She won’t treat Baoxian like her own brother. Judging from her behavior, she’ll always cause trouble.”
Ye Baoxin had some ideas: "If we can find something to hold against Ye Baoling, can we turn the tables and control her?"
“What can we find out about her? Does she really like women?” Zheng Junni’s scalp tingled, and she asked her daughter to apply herbal ointment to her head.
Ye Baoxin applied some herbal ointment to her mother's scalp with a cotton swab. "We've arranged two blind dates for Ye Baoling recently, but they didn't go well either. Mom, don't you find that strange?"
Zheng Junni turned around: "Does she really like women?"
"It might be more serious than liking women."
"Tell me quickly."
"I suspect that Ye Baoling and Ye Huaizhang have gotten together."
"Huh?! That can't be right!" Zheng Junni was both surprised and excited: "How could she and Ye Huaizhang be doing something like that? They share the same ancestor and the same ancestral hall. If the old man found out, wouldn't he break her legs?!"
Ye Baoxin recounted some of the situations she had witnessed recently.
“In the past, it was rare to see Ye Huaizhang at any events. He would participate, but it was difficult for us girls to run into him. But in the past few months, Ye Huaizhang has appeared at almost every event where Ye Baoling is present.”
"In what context?"
"They played pool together on the night of Grandpa's birthday."
Zheng Junni remembered, "Yes, Ye Baoling also got a ride with Ye Huaizhang that night."
Ye Baoxin continued, "Later, Gong Jiahua invited Ye Huaizhang, Ye Leqiong, and me to play tennis at the sports center. Coincidentally, Ye Baoling also came, and we ended up playing badminton together. At the last Ye Qingtang listing party, Ye Huaizhang arrived late and immediately went to talk to Ye Baoling. Later, they left the venue one after the other. And yesterday, they played bridge together, exchanging glances and showing great chemistry. Now that I think about it, no matter what they play, Ye Huaizhang and Ye Baoling are always on the same side."
Zheng Junni seemed to understand. "Ye Baoling and Ye Huaizhang weren't close before, but they became acquainted after the old man's birthday. The day Ye Baoling left in Ye Huaizhang's car, they probably hit it off and started hanging out together."
"Possibly," Ye Baoxin said with disdain. "I just didn't expect Ye Huaizhang to be such a lecherous man, not even sparing his own relatives. To put it bluntly, that's incest!"
Zheng Junni snorted coldly: "Ye Baoling is beautiful. All men are lustful."
She continued, "That makes sense. Don't we know who Ye Baoling is? Besides her looks, what else does she have? It's just that after hooking up with Ye Huaizhang, her horizons broadened, and she's completely changed during this time. I don't believe that Ye Huaizhang didn't help her with the things she did at the company. That Xian Bi, maybe Ye Huaizhang helped her get things done."
"Most likely."
Ye Baoxin was initially quite unhappy with Ye Baoling's recent attention, but if it was all because Ye Baoling had Ye Huaizhang backing her, she felt much better.
This shows that Ye Baoling is not better than her.
Ye Baoxin threw the cotton swab into the trash can: "I'll hire a private investigator to keep an eye on them. As long as we have this leverage over Ye Baoling, Mommy, you won't have to be afraid of her at all."
With such a good handle in their hands, they can control Ye Baoling for a lifetime!
Zheng Junni screwed the cap back on the herbal ointment and sneered, "I don't know if Ye Baoling is really stupid or just pretending. She didn't choose such a good young master as Gong Jiahua, but insisted on having a secret affair with Ye Huaizhang. Who is Ye Huaizhang? Even if he divorced the woman he was supposed to marry to ward off bad luck, he would never marry her. Isn't that the same as letting her sleep with someone for free? Oh dear, she really disgraces the eldest branch of the family."
Zheng Junni could imagine how angry Ye Qizu would be when he found out.
*
Unaware that Ye Baoling was being discussed, she sneezed.
She was on the phone with Ye Huaizhang.
"You have a cold?" he asked.
"I don't have a cold."
The atmosphere at the dinner table that evening made Ye Baoling eat poorly; she was now starving and craving barbecue.
Ye Huaizhang was still on his way home: "Let's go get some barbecue. There's a pretty good barbecue place in the South District. Come out now, I'll wait for you at the intersection."
"I don't want to move." She was lazy and didn't want to go out. "I'll just ask the kitchen to cook something edible."
After hanging up the phone, Ye Baoling went down into the wine cellar and opened the brick door for Ye Huaizhang beforehand.
Back in the living room, she opened the door to go out for food, only to hear her second uncle and aunt arguing outside.
The purpose was to secretly deliver food to Ye Baoshun.
Ye Baoling quickly closed the door, not only because she didn't want to meddle, but also to avoid her second aunt from overthinking things. Ye Baoshun hadn't eaten all day, and she, as his older sister, was still thinking about having a midnight snack.
Oh.
Forget it, I don't want to offend them for now.
She had no choice but to curl up on the sofa and watch TV. After flipping through two channels, she saw an entertainment program that was giving a long and detailed account of Ye Baoshun's scandal. The host was beaming with joy, looking happier than anyone else.
The eldest son's family spent a lot of money to quell this disgraceful sex scandal, but there were always those who wouldn't buy it for the sake of sales or ratings.
In order to know herself and her enemy, Ye Baoling watched the entire program.
She believed that in the next couple of days, the talk of the town's elite circles would be about Ip Po-shun.
Still hungry, she opened the cabinet behind the bar, found half a box of cookies, took them out, and ate them with jasmine iced tea, which had a unique flavor.
Just then, Ye Huaizhang arrived, carrying a bag of things.
She smelled the aroma of roasted meat.
"You bought barbecue?"
That's fast?!
"It's not far, and there aren't many customers in the shop."
If you pay extra, the boss will definitely prioritize your request, so it will be quick.
Besides the barbecue, there was also beef porridge. Ye Baoling first ate a bite of the barbecued pork belly, then drank a few sips of porridge, and was immediately satisfied.
When you're hungry, being able to eat what you want is the simplest form of happiness.
Ye Huaizhang took out all the roasted meat and arranged it, teasingly saying, "The eldest son's family doesn't feed you? You're so pitiful."
Ye Baoling smiled and said, "I wasn't very hungry when I ate dinner tonight."
Then she changed the subject, "It's Ye Baoshun who's not being fed right now, not me. He's been kneeling at the shrine for most of the day and has been starving all day. I really want to go see how pitiful he looks now."
He helped her pull her hair back, saying, "Why don't you be a good Samaritan and save him?"
He doesn't deserve it.
If Ye Baoshun hadn't been so arrogant in trying to drive her away, she wouldn't have dragged him out as a sacrifice beforehand.
What makes her happiest right now is that she's eating and drinking her fill in the room while he's pitifully starving.
Meanwhile, the mother and daughter in the next building, who were rushing to hold a flag-raising ceremony, had already decided to hire the most expensive private investigator to follow Ye Baoling.
As for why they didn't follow Ye Huaizhang, it was mainly because they were afraid of leaking information in advance, which would be bad if Ye Huaizhang found out.
Zheng Junni said cautiously, "Don't worry about contacting a private investigator. Keep yourself clean and don't get involved in this matter. I'll handle everything from now on. Don't ask any more questions."
Ye Baoxin understood her mother's predicament and nodded in agreement.
"Okay, I don't care. Tell me if there's any progress, Mommy."
Zheng Junni has been able to control Ye Baoling for so many years, and she doesn't believe that she can't continue to control this brat after Ye Huaizhang's help is removed.
She just didn't believe it.
-----------------------
Author's note: Ye Huaizhang; I urge you to think twice.
Ye Baoling: I urge you to be kind.
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