She replied awkwardly, “As you know, in situations like this, we fear the Third Madam might become desperate and end her life by throwing herself against a pillar. That would not only terrify the Fifth Miss even more, but the Cai family would also make trouble.”

Ye Yaming nodded. “In that case, stand guard outside and let the Fifth Miss stay only with her nanny. If you can find her cat, bring it to her. Perhaps seeing her cat will improve her mood.”

For children with autism or social anxiety, strangers could cause tremendous psychological pressure. The comfort offered by Ming’er and the others not only failed to soothe Ye Yayu but made her even more panicked.

As for herself, Ye Yaming figured she was practically a stranger in Ye Yayu’s eyes as well. She wouldn’t enter and cause her more distress.

“Yes, of course.” Ming’er went into the room to give instructions, called another maid out, and told her to stand watch at the door. She dashed off to catch the cat.

The door to the side room was already open, so Ye Yaming could see the situation inside from where she stood.

Seeing that Ming’er and the others had all come out, and the nanny was gently comforting her, Ye Yayu seemed to have tired herself out from crying. She leaned against her nanny’s embrace and closed her eyes.

The maid who had been called out by Ming’er saw this and breathed a sigh of relief. She turned her head, about to speak to Ye Yaming, but Ye Yaming made a “shh” gesture, nodded to her, and left with Lu’E.

She returned to her previous spot and found Ye Chongming sitting alone there. Old Lady Ye, Madam Tao, and Madam Yin had all gone to watch Auntie Lu’s interrogation.

However, just as she sat down, Old Lady Ye and her party returned.

Old Lady Ye snorted coldly. “At first, old woman Zhang wouldn’t confess, but after we applied some physical persuasion to that man, she admitted everything. She said the man’s name is Xu Fu, her son. The mother and son had saved money for a long time and then begged their masters, which finally gave them enough money to redeem him from the Cai family to become a commoner.”

“But they didn’t expect life outside to be so difficult. He got into a fight and had the tendons in both hands severed. Because he was good-looking, old woman Zhang devised a scheme to have him come here to Madam Cai’s place to live off her.”

There were some things she couldn’t say in front of her grandson Ye Chongming, a grown man, and her unmarried granddaughter Ye Yaming.

Back then, Madam Cai had heeded Auntie Zeng’s advice not to return to the Cai family for remarriage and planned to remain with the Ye family. But after three years, she couldn’t hold out anymore and again had thoughts of remarriage. She knew that, given the Ye family’s disposition, they would certainly let her go if she asked.

But Auntie Zeng felt that life in the Ye family was very comfortable. After Madam Cai remarried, unless by extraordinary luck, her life would inevitably be difficult.

Of course, there was another option: to leave the Ye family and establish her household, living off her dowry.

But without even thinking about it, one knew the Cai family would not agree.

If Madam Cai left the Ye family, it would be considered a mutual divorce, with no further connection to the Ye family. But she would always be a daughter of the Cai family.

A woman whose husband had died, unwilling to stay with her husband’s family or return to her maiden home, even abandoning her daughter to establish her household with maids and servants—what could she be planning?

Anyone would suspect she wanted to secretly keep a man.

Even if she intended to maintain her virtue, would those idle rogues leave her alone? What if someone climbed into her room at night? People often said that a widow’s doorstep was fraught with trouble. It wasn’t that widows didn’t want to live peacefully; it was that women were vulnerable, and those idle rogues wouldn’t let them be.

Once a scandal broke out, the daughters of the Cai family would have difficulty finding matches.

Auntie Zeng had been married before. Her daughter was about the same age as Madam Cai but died shortly after birth, and not long after, her husband went out on business and died in an accident.

She knew the hardships of a woman living alone. She thought that Madam Cai in the Ye family only lacked a man. It happened that Auntie Zhang wanted to bring her son into the Ye household as a servant, so Auntie Zeng simply came up with an unseemly plan, creating an opportunity for Xu Fu to meet Madam Cai.

This Xu Fu had originally been a servant of Madam Cai’s brother. He was glib-tongued and very good at reading people’s moods. He also knew that, having become disabled, even if his mother begged the Ye family to let him enter as a servant, his life wouldn’t be easy, let alone finding a wife.

The poor lived difficult lives and couldn’t afford to think about the future. Being able to eat well, dress warmly, and enjoy the soft, fragrant comfort of the Cai family’s young lady was enough. Such days were to be lived one at a time.

So he used all his skills to charm Madam Cai, making her heart bloom with joy.

Following Auntie Zeng’s suggestion, Madam Cai then married off the maids who had reached the right age and took the opportunity to have Xu Fu fill the vacancy left by a rough-work maid whose build was similar to his. To make up for the shortage, she bought another batch of people.

With this replacement, except for her and the three old women, no one knew Xu Fu’s background.

However, Madam Cai’s psychological fortitude was not strong enough to act as if nothing had happened. Every time Old Lady Ye, Madam Tao, and others came to see her or Ye Yayu, she became nervous and afraid. Helplessly, Auntie Zeng suggested that she move and used her preference for quietness as an excuse to cut off contact with the Ye family.

“Since the actual situation was known only to the four of them, Auntie Lu used Xu Fu to pressure Auntie Zhang to tell the truth, and conversely pressed Xu Fu to reveal the facts; the same was done with Madam Cai and Auntie Zeng. Combined with what other maids and servants saw and guessed, summarizing everything, I can generally confirm that Yayu is indeed Old Third’s child, and Madam Cai only took up with this man after Old Third died,” said Old Lady Ye.

Ye Chongming secretly breathed a sigh of relief and asked his two daughters-in-law, “First and Second Daughters-in-law, do you also think so?”

Madam Tao and Madam Yin both nodded.

Ye Chongming called Meng Ji in: “You go to the Cai family and invite the eldest master and madam to come over, saying I have important matters to discuss.”

Madam Cai’s parents had passed away, and now the family was headed by her half-brother.

Madam Cai’s mother was a second wife who had given birth only to Madam Cai after marrying Old Master Cai. The current Cai family head was the son of Old Master Cai’s first wife. The siblings had different mothers, with an age gap of over ten years, and the distinction between male and female made their relationship very distant.

This was also why Madam Cai was reluctant to remarry.

She knew that the match her brother would arrange for her would not be the best for her, but rather the one most beneficial to the Cai family. After all, her brother had no talent for business, and since he took over the Cai family business, their financial situation had been deteriorating day by day. Because of this, her sister-in-law was constantly trying to extract money from her to subsidize the Cai family.

Hearing Ye Chongming’s words, not only the soft-hearted Madam Yin but also Old Lady Ye and Madam Tao felt somewhat uneasy.

Old Lady Ye explained the Cai family situation to Ye Chongming and said, “If Madam Cai’s brother comes, he might beat her to death.”

If she died, the Ye family’s anger would be appeased, and they wouldn’t want to air their family’s dirty laundry, so the matter would pass. The Cai family wouldn’t be affected.

But if she wasn’t beaten to death and was taken back home, what if others asked, or someone from the Ye family let something slip? Wouldn’t the Cai family become a laughingstock?

Old Lady Ye remembered that the Cai family still had two unmarried young ladies.