Lu’E, as if granted a great pardon, happily gave Ye Yaming a deep bow before turning and racing out of the courtyard.

Guan Ting, meanwhile, paced back and forth along the corridor.

Not long after, Lu’E returned and reported to Ye Yaming: “At first, Nanny Zeng claimed it was a maid, but when the physician summoned by the Old Lady checked her pulse, the Third Madam had nothing more to say.”

At this point, she lowered her voice and whispered in Ye Yaming’s ear: “The Old Lady had the physician check the pulse of everyone in that courtyard. Guess what? Someone dressed as a maid tried to slip away but was caught by the guards who had already surrounded the area.”

“After being caught, that person still struggled. The Old Lady ordered two servant women to strip off their clothes. Guess what? It turned out to be a man disguised as a woman.”

This matched what Ye Yaming had suspected.

Ye Yaming asked, “Did you find out what the Old Lady plans to do?”

Lu’E shook her head: “The Old Lady is still talking with the First Madam. They probably haven’t reached a decision yet.”

After saying this, she asked, “What should I tell Miss Guan?”

Even though Guan Ting shared her love for gossip, as Ye Yaming’s senior maid, Lu’E knew her boundaries.

This was a family scandal. How could they tell an outsider like Guan Ting? If Guan Ting had a loose tongue and spread the news, it would be humiliating not only for the masters of the Ye family but also for servants like themselves.

“Just tell her that a maid got pregnant, the Third Madam tried to protect her, and it led to a conflict with the Old Lady. The mother-in-law and daughter-in-law argued.”

The outcome was still uncertain. Ye Yaming guessed that Old Lady Ye would not allow Madam Cai to remain in the Ye family. Not just in ancient times, but even in modern times, any widowed daughter-in-law living with her husband’s family who committed adultery and became pregnant would be driven out by her in-laws.

So this lie was the necessary groundwork for what would follow.

Lu’E nodded: “Alright, I’ll say that.”

Ye Yaming, however, was thinking more deeply.

Who exactly was this adulterer? Did Madam Cai start the affair after Ye Hongrong died, or had she been involved with him before? If it was the latter, had Ye Hongrong been murdered by them, or had he truly died from illness?

This matter couldn’t be resolved simply by expelling Madam Cai from the family.

She was just thinking whether she should go to the main house when she saw Lan’er, the Old Lady’s maid, arrive: “Third Miss, the Old Lady requests your presence.”

Ye Yaming rose: “Very well, I’ll come right away.”

She turned to Lu’E and said, “Come with me,” before heading out.

As they left, Lu’E spread her hands in a helpless gesture to Guan Ting, who was standing in the corridor, then hurried after Ye Yaming.

Upon arriving at the main house, Ye Yaming saw that not only were Old Lady Ye and Madam Tao seated in the hall, but Madam Yin was there as well.

She greeted each of them in turn.

Old Lady Ye had sent her maid to summon Ye Yaming without informing her two daughters-in-law.

Seeing their surprised expressions, she explained: “This matter shouldn’t involve a young lady. But Yaming has a quick mind, far-sighted vision, and thinks more deeply than we do. We need to ask for her opinion on this matter.”

In reality, it was because Ye Yaming was the next head of the Ye family. This was a significant issue, and Ye Yaming had to be involved.

However, out of consideration for Madam Tao’s feelings, she phrased it differently.

Madam Tao was extremely dissatisfied that the Ye family had chosen Ye Yaming, a young lady from the Second Branch who would eventually marry out, to be the family head.

But both her husband and son approved, so her objections were futile. She was deeply resentful but couldn’t show it.

Her husband had already told her that if they offended Ye Yaming, and she angrily refused to be the family head and instead demanded to split the family, the First Branch would indeed receive seventy percent of the assets, but they wouldn’t see any benefits from the Longjing tea.

The Ye family was wealthy with considerable assets. But no matter how much money they had, without power to protect them, it would bring trouble rather than good fortune. If Longjing tea could become a tribute tea, or if the Ye family could become imperial merchants because of it, the power and wealth it would bring would be immeasurable.

Therefore, Madam Tao had to swallow her deep dissatisfaction.

Even now, though she felt unhappy inside, she had to put on a smiling face to demonstrate her magnanimity: “Yaming is the next head of our Ye family. Such a major matter, she must be consulted.”

Madam Tao’s facade wasn’t deep enough; the hatred in her eyes and the smile she forced on her face were easily discernible to Ye Yaming.

She smiled at Madam Tao, then turned to ask Old Lady Ye: “What’s the situation with Third Aunt? How do you plan to handle this?”

Old Lady Ye shared the results of the investigation.

It turned out that the man disguised as a maid was a male servant from the Cai family. Madam Cai had developed feelings for him even before she married into the Ye family.

Old Lady Ye said bitterly, “They cuckolded your Third Uncle. Yayu isn’t even your Third Uncle’s flesh and blood. I don’t know how she can be so shameless. As soon as she realized her lover couldn’t be hidden, she confessed everything, and with such an entitled attitude too.”

At this point, tears flowed down her face, and she covered her mouth, sobbing: “My poor Fanrong, how could he be so unfortunate!”

Ye Yaming asked: “My Third Uncle’s death—they didn’t cause it, did they?”

Madam Tao said: “We asked, but she denies it. She claims your Third Uncle went to work while sick, which is why he died.”

Old Lady Ye wiped her tears: “When your Third Uncle was ill, the physician who was called and the medicine he took were all arranged by me. As for whether they added something to his medicine, I don’t know. I never imagined a wife would harm her husband, so I had no defenses against her.”

She raised her tear-filled eyes: “I called you here because I wanted to ask, what should we do? Should we report this to the authorities?”

Just thinking that her third son might have been killed by this adulterous couple made her want to devour their flesh and marrow.

But the incident had happened over ten years ago, and there was no evidence. Even if they reported it to the authorities, they couldn’t gather any proof. As long as Madam Cai and her lover firmly denied harming anyone, the authorities couldn’t punish them.

And who would admit to being a murderer? Admission meant death, denial meant life. No one would be that foolish.

“Let’s report it to the authorities,” Ye Yaming said. “The officials have more experience in investigating cases than we do. Where we’re at a loss, they might find clues.”

At this moment, Ye Chongming hurriedly returned.

He had gone to the tea factory early that morning. He had just arrived at the factory, not even alighting from his carriage, when people sent by Old Lady Ye called him back.

Old Lady Ye explained the situation to him, and Ye Chongming was furious as well.

“Report it to the authorities. We must report it,” he said, pounding the table. “We must seek justice for Third Brother.”

Madam Tao, however, hesitated: “But our Longjing tea is at a crucial point in becoming a tribute tea. If such a scandal spreads from our family, I’m afraid the tribute tea status will be lost. After all, they require a clean family history and upright conduct.”

After she said this, Ye Chongming also hesitated.