Ye Yaming discovered that Yun’er had no connections to the capital yet spoke with a capital accent, and was exceptionally capable. She had him follow Zan’er for a period before dispatching him to the capital.

Therefore, Yun’er had never served directly by her side. The master-servant relationship was relatively unfamiliar.

There had been no way around it before. Now that Ye Yaming had come to the capital, she would frequently summon Yun’er for conversations, cultivating the master-servant relationship and giving Yun’er a stronger sense of belonging.

After the two servants left, Ye Yaming stood up: “I’ll go check on Madam.”

Madam Yin had always been fond of tranquility since her time in Lin’an. She didn’t have much money at her disposal previously, so she rarely enjoyed shopping. She would hardly leave the house a few times a year. The farthest place she had ever been to in her life was when she accompanied Old Madam Ye outside the city to offer incense.

Accustomed to a life of comfort and luxury, this journey to the capital had exhausted her. The hardship of traveling by carriage was too much for her to bear, and upon arriving in the capital, she complained of discomfort.

For this reason, Ye Yaming had called for a physician to examine her and had some medicinal ointment prepared.

Fortunately, except for Madam Yin, everyone else in their traveling party was fine. The elderly clan members were probably accustomed to doing work regularly, making their bodies more robust than Madam Yin’s.

But before Ye Yaming could leave, Zi Yuan, standing in the corridor, saw Madam Yin entering and quickly turned back to report: “Miss, Madam is here.”

Ye Yaming rose and went to the door to welcome Madam Yin.

Behind Madam Yin followed Ye Yayin and Ye Yayu, like two little shadows.

“Mother, how are you feeling? Why didn’t you rest more?” Ye Yaming asked.

“I’m fine,” Madam Yin said. “It was just body aches from sitting in the carriage. Yesterday, the physician gave me acupuncture and medicinal wine, and Nanny Bai helped massage me. I’m feeling much better now.”

“How is Seventh Great-Granduncle’s wife?”

“Despite her age, her physical condition is even more robust than mine. She recovered after just one night’s sleep here. Yesterday she even teased me for being delicate.” Madam Yin smiled when mentioning Madam Zhou, the Seventh Great-Granduncle’s wife.

This Madam Zhou was an elder from the Ye family clan, invited as a woman of complete blessing.

She was fifty years old this year, with both her parents and parents-in-law still alive—quite rare in ancient times when “seventy was considered old age.” Additionally, she had given birth to a son shortly after marriage, followed by two more sons, and finally a daughter, giving her both sons and daughters. Now her family had four generations living under one roof, in harmony and moderate prosperity. Therefore, whenever someone in the clan got married, they would invite her to serve as the woman of complete blessing.

Originally, Madam Tao could also qualify as a woman of complete blessing: her birth parents were still alive, and Ye Chongming and Old Madam Ye remained in good health. She had both sons and daughters, and the Ye family was thriving. To outsiders, she appeared to be a very fortunate person.

But compared to Madam Zhou, Madam Tao was somewhat lacking. Her firstborn was a girl, Ye Yaxiu, followed by Ye Jiaxing. Among her three children, there was only one son, which was somewhat precarious in ancient times when child mortality rates were extremely high. In comparison, Madam Zhou, who was ten years her senior, still had her parents-in-law and parents alive, and had more sons, making her more fortunate.

This was why Old Madam Ye and Madam Yin had chosen Madam Zhou.

As for Ye Yaming herself, even without Madam Zhou, she would not have wanted to invite Madam Tao. Madam Tao harbored resentment towards her. Who knew if, while combing her hair and offering blessings at the wedding, she might not only withhold sincere blessings but even curse her instead?

Having transmigrated and been reborn, with this life being given to her by the original owner at the Naihe Bridge, Ye Yaming naturally believed in the existence of deities.

She might not have expectations for her marriage, but she absolutely would not allow anyone to curse her at her wedding.

This was why she not only refused to have Madam Tao serve as the woman of complete blessing but also didn’t want Madam Tao to be part of the escort party.

“That’s good,” Ye Yaming said, relieved.

“If there’s nothing to do tomorrow, let’s go shopping. I’ve already had Nanny Bai inquire about it. The silk shops and jewelry shops on Vermilion Bird Street are the finest in the capital. Let’s go there tomorrow to browse,” Madam Yin said.

Before her departure, Old Madam Ye had repeatedly instructed her to accompany Ye Yaming to purchase the most fashionable jewelry and clothing in the capital, so that she could wear them when attending banquets after marriage, preventing the capital’s noble ladies from looking down on her.

“Mother, it’s best if we don’t go out during this period,” Ye Yaming said seriously.

Her expression startled Madam Yin: “What’s wrong?”

Ye Yaming beckoned to Ye Yayu. After Ye Yayu came and sat close to her, she gave her a piece of pastry, gently stroked her back, and then slowly explained the matter of the Meng family to the three of them.

Ye Yaming had been very attentive to Ye Yaqing in the past, not to mention her sister Ye Yayin and the poor child Ye Yayu. Over the past two years, she had arranged for two elderly nannies to regularly take the two girls out to see the suffering in the outside world. She had also had the nannies tell them about the tricks, deceptions, and schemes used to target young ladies.

Of course, considering Ye Yayu’s psychological state, some particularly distressing matters were discussed out of her earshot, to prevent the child from becoming even more fearful and reluctant to step outside the estate.

Her efforts had not been in vain. Ye Yayin was no longer the naive and gullible girl she once was. Even Ye Yayu, who frequently went out to play and had seen the outside world, had made significant progress compared to before. At the very least, she could now communicate normally with people.

After hearing Ye Yaming’s words, Ye Yayin angrily said: “The Meng family is too wicked! Back then, they…”

She listed the despicable things the Meng family had done, saying: “Even after ending up in their current state, they still don’t reflect on their actions and continue to do evil. How can people be so beyond redemption?”

Ye Yayu, who was talkative when alone with Ye Yayin, remained quite quiet in other settings.

Hearing Ye Yayin’s words, she nodded in agreement.

Madam Yin, who had lived within the inner chambers all her life, was even less experienced than the two children. Upon hearing this matter, she was immediately startled.

She quickly said: “We won’t go, we won’t go out. We’ll just stay at home.”

Then she became worried again: “But what about your clothes?”

“There’s no rush. We still have more than ten days, don’t we? I’ll teach them a lesson first, and maybe they won’t dare to harbor evil intentions again. If necessary, I can have Nanny Xia, Bai Rui, and Lu’E go out to shop for me. My physique is similar to Lu’E’s, and they know my preferences.”

Both Lu’E and she had tall and slender figures, while Bai Rui was about half a head shorter than her.

Madam Yin nodded: “You make the decision.”

Ye Yayin curiously asked: “Sister, how do you plan to deal with the Meng family?”

Ye Yaming smiled: “Let me keep that a secret for now. After their matter is settled, I’ll have Zan’er tell you about it.”

“Alright then,” Ye Yayin pouted.

At this moment, a door-keeping matron came to report: “Madam, Miss, the Paternal Aunt has arrived.”

Both Ye Yaming and Madam Yin were momentarily stunned, then realized that the “Paternal Aunt” mentioned by the matron referred to Ye Hongrong’s sister, Ye Ruhui.

“Please invite her in,” Ye Yaming said hurriedly.

Everyone stood up and went out to welcome her.