Chapter 118 Unexpected Events
After returning to her parents' home, Ye Mingzhu's intention to find a suitable husband for her younger sister, Ye Baozhu, was spread through her relatives.
This was within her expectations and was part of her plan.
Having been given a second chance at life, all she wants is to bring good fortune to her family and not let them suffer because of her.
She even had Yu Shu deliver the message to Sheng Huai'an, just to warn him from afar to stop playing tricks and not to make a move on Ye Baozhu.
Not only that, she secretly contacted the official matchmaker hired by the Jia family, adding fuel to the fire that caused the relationship between Sheng Huai'an and Liu Rumei to break down.
As long as Sheng Huai'an's marriage continues to go wrong, and Liu Rumei's pregnancy can no longer be concealed, that will be the time when the two become enemies.
Their illicit affair has crossed the line; the show can now come to an end!
But to Ye Mingzhu's surprise, the old ancestor returned to the mansion.
...
The Duke of Wei's Mansion.
As soon as the carriage arrived at the side gate, Ye Mingzhu saw Yaqin waiting by the gate through the swaying curtain, looking anxiously as if she was waiting for someone.
Just as she was about to ask about the situation, Yaqin's eyes lit up, and she walked over and gave a curtsy.
"Greetings, Your Excellency and Madam. Our late Madam has returned from her Buddhist pilgrimage and said she will arrive at the docks in Yanjing today. The Princess has already gone to the docks to greet her, and she has instructed me to inform you both that you should also go there as soon as possible."
Ye Mingzhu then realized that Yaqin was waiting for her and Sheng Yunche.
She exchanged a glance with Sheng Yunche, then said to Yaqin, "Let's skip the carriage and go straight to the dock. You come on up too, we'll go together."
Yaqin quickly bowed and said with a smile, "This servant will not disturb you and the Duke any longer. Baozan and I will ride in the carriage in the back."
The carriage turned around and headed straight for the dock.
On the bus, Ye Mingzhu couldn't help but frown.
For some reason, the return of the ancestor gave her a bad feeling, as if the deadly trap she had set for Sheng Huai'an and Liu Rumei would take an unexpected turn.
Suddenly her hand was grasped, and she looked to the side, meeting Sheng Yunche's calm and dark phoenix eyes, which calmed her down.
We arrived at the dock.
Ye Mingzhu immediately spotted Princess Ronghua's noble and solemn figure. Standing beside her were Sheng Huai'an and Jia Shi, who was "confined" to Rongshou Hall by him.
Seeing her and Sheng Yunche get off the carriage, Sheng Huai'an called out from afar, "Cousin, Cousin's wife," appearing polite, but his gloomy eyes were filled with complex emotions.
Madam Jia gave a heavy snort, disregarding all pretense of propriety.
Jia is an elder, and she can be disrespectful to Ye Mingzhu, but Ye Mingzhu cannot.
At least outwardly, she didn't want anyone to criticize her.
They said the daughter raised by the Ye family was ill-mannered.
But just as she raised a polite smile and walked toward Madam Jia, Sheng Yunche grabbed her wrist, forcefully stopping her in her tracks.
"No need to go," Sheng Yunche said calmly.
Ye Mingzhu looked up and stared at her in surprise.
Sheng Yunche raised his hand to tidy a strand of hair behind her ear and said calmly, "With me here, you don't need to wrong yourself. A woman follows her husband after marriage. If there are any gossips, just blame it on me."
Ye Mingzhu was in a bad mood, and when she heard him say that, she couldn't help but raise her sleeve to cover her face, hiding the smile on her face.
Since Sheng Yunche was backing her up, she really didn't give Jia any face. Seeing Jia's face as black as the bottom of a pot, she inexplicably felt much better.
"Finally, he smiled."
Sheng Yunche chuckled softly and, using his sleeve as cover, grasped Ye Mingzhu's slender hand once more.
After waiting at the dock for about half an hour, we finally saw the old ancestor being escorted by servants as he disembarked from a huge passenger ship.
Princess Ronghua was the first to go forward, followed closely by Sheng Yunche and Ye Mingzhu.
Jia tried her best to impress the old matriarch, but the old matriarch ignored her attempts to please her. Helpless, she gave up in frustration and stopped trying.
The group boarded the carriage and headed back.
Upon returning to the Duke of Wei's mansion, the old ancestor sat down in the main seat of the Songhe Hall and spoke again.
With the Cold Clothes Festival just two days away, a time for ancestor worship and tomb sweeping, why not have the two families gather together for a meal after the ancestor worship is over?
This request was, after all, the first request made by the ancestor upon returning from his Buddhist pilgrimage, and it was merely a meal. Even Princess Ronghua couldn't refuse it, let alone Ye Mingzhu.
Although she could claim illness and rest at home, she wanted to stay by Princess Ronghua's side.
If Jia Shi goes mad, at least the mother-in-law and daughter-in-law can stand together. She doesn't want Princess Ronghua to suffer.
...
On the Cold Clothes Festival, the ancestors led the people of the two families to worship their ancestors and burn paper clothes.
Nothing unexpected happened during dinner that evening.
Although Jia was full of resentment, she dared not act presumptuously in front of the matriarch. She just kept complaining about being poor, saying that the family was so poor that they could hardly afford to eat and that they could not even pay the servants' monthly wages.
Unable to resist her persistent pestering, the old ancestor gave her a thousand taels of silver, saying it was for emergency use, but it was basically like throwing good money after bad, never to be returned.
Upon receiving the silver, Jia felt it was too little, but dared not show it.
He was afraid that if he acted recklessly again, he would lose even a thousand taels of silver.
Sheng Huai'an and Liu Rumei became more well-behaved. Not only did Sheng Huai'an stop giving Ye Mingzhu disgusting looks, but Liu Rumei also became more gentle and compliant.
However, she couldn't help but gag twice while eating the fish, which immediately drew a subtle look of concern from Sheng Huai'an.
Their eyes met, their gazes lingering on each other.
Ye Mingzhu was unfazed by their flirtatious exchange, but Jia's face contorted in agony, and even her breathing became labored.
While the Sheng family members were still making some noise, Sheng Wan'er and her two half-brothers remained completely silent.
Although the matriarch was kind, she did not favor the daughters and sons born out of wedlock. Not only were the concubines not allowed to sit at the family banquet, but Sheng Wan'er and her two half-brothers were also used to being ignored and even hoped to be ignored.
After finishing the meal, I couldn't taste anything.
After the meal, the old ancestor sipped his tea and slowly began to speak: "I've heard some rumors since I returned today."
“Your children and grandchildren will have their own blessings. If I interfere too much, you will hate me. I won’t say more, but starting today, Huai’an will move to my Songhe Hall and stay here until he participates in the imperial examination next year.”
What?
Ye Mingzhu was startled and looked at her ancestor in disbelief.
Not only her, but everyone else was also completely taken aback by the ancestor's words.
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