Everyone received Ye Ruhui at the second gate.

Ye Ruhui was the first child of Ye Chongming and Old Madam Ye, now in her forties.

Ye Yaming had previously instructed Yun’er to gather information about Ye Ruhui’s husband’s family while in the capital.

Ye Ruhui’s husband’s family surname was Su. Old Master Su had met Ye Chongming when they were doing business in their younger years. Both felt the other was of good character, and both wanted to expand their business in the other’s city, so they arranged a marriage between their children.

Men approached matchmaking for their children differently than women. Men typically found a friend agreeable, met his son once, found him acceptable, and then settled the marriage. They rarely considered other factors.

Only after marrying into the Su family did Ye Ruhui discover that her mother-in-law was difficult to get along with. Her father-in-law had many concubines, and there were many children born of these concubines, creating a complex web of conflicts within the family.

As the eldest daughter-in-law, Ye Ruhui had a gentle temperament and couldn’t help her mother-in-law in the struggles against the concubines, which made her mother-in-law dislike her. Her first child was a daughter. To seize the position of the first grandson, before Ye Ruhui even completed her postpartum confinement, her mother-in-law had arranged a concubine for her husband.

Therefore, Ye Ruhui’s life in the Su family was quite miserable. She was also too busy to divide her attention and hadn’t returned to her maiden home for many years, except for Ye Jiaxing’s wedding as the Ye family’s eldest grandson. If not for Ye Yaming’s marriage to someone in the capital, she might not have been able to see this eldest paternal aunt.

Normally, ladies like them who lived in the inner chambers, enjoying comfort and being served by servants without having to labor, would appear younger than women outside. For instance, Madam Yin was nearly forty but looked only in her thirties.

However, Ye Ruhui appeared older than her actual age. She had heavy eye bags, many fine wrinkles on her face, and surprisingly, a lot of white hair already.

She wore a light brown dress with a navy blue vest, with few ornaments in her hair, and arrived accompanied by one elderly maid and one young maid.

When she saw Madam Yin curtsy in greeting, she quickly held her hand: “Second sister-in-law, please don’t stand on ceremony.” She then said to the three girls who were bowing: “Please rise, please rise.”

After Madam Yin and the others stood up, she looked at Ye Yaming and said: “Is this Yaming? Even as a child, she showed the makings of a beauty, and now grown up, she’s even more beautiful—so beautiful she’s nearly blinding your eldest aunt.”

Fearing that the two younger girls might feel left out, she added: “These two are also very beautiful.”

As she spoke, she paused, looking at Ye Yayin, then at Ye Yayu, noting that the two young girls appeared similar in age, but had different features and heights.

She turned to look at Madam Yin, about to ask a question in surprise, when Ye Yaming quickly said: “Eldest Aunt, this is Yayin, and this is Yayu.”

As she spoke, she winked at Ye Ruhui.

Ever since Madam Cai had been sent away from the Ye family, no one dared to mention her in front of Ye Yayu. Initially, Ye Yayu had cried asking for her mother, but whatever her nurse had told her, she gradually stopped asking and no longer mentioned Madam Cai.

Ye Ruhui understood Ye Yaming’s signal and quickly said: “So it’s Yayin and Yayu. You’ve grown so much that your eldest aunt can barely recognize you.”

“Elder sister, let’s go inside to talk,” Madam Yin said.

“Yes, yes.”

After entering the hall and sitting down, Ye Ruhui presented a set of hair ornaments as a gift for Ye Yaming’s dowry.

Ye Yaming naturally had to express her gratitude.

Ye Ruhui quickly grasped her hand and said: “Yaming doesn’t need to be polite with your eldest aunt. Your good marriage benefits me as well. You don’t know this, but after learning that you’re marrying the heir of the Xuanwu Marquis, even my mother-in-law doesn’t dare to casually take out her frustrations on me anymore.”

Not just her mother-in-law, but also her husband, who favored his concubines and had not stayed overnight in her chambers for a long time, was treating her differently now.

Her words were heart-wrenching.

Ye Yaming said: “Eldest Aunt’s good fortune is still ahead. I hear my cousin is smart and capable, and highly valued by Uncle. When he marries, you can look forward to enjoying happiness.”

Ye Ruhui had given birth to two daughters before finally having a son. Her son was even two years younger than Ye Yaming.

Su, the master of the house, had first had an eldest son with a concubine before having a younger son with his legal wife—this showed the lack of proper rules in the Su family. In previous years, Ye Hongchang had been stationed in the capital and frequently visited Ye Ruhui, which had prevented Su from treating his wife too poorly.

In recent years, as the Ye family’s business had grown, and with Ye Yaming engaged to a noble in the capital, Su’s attitude toward them had changed significantly. Last year, he had begun taking his legitimate son under his wing to learn the business.

Fortunately, her son was intelligent and ambitious, giving Ye Ruhui some hope for the latter half of her life.

“Yes, yes,” Madam Yin also offered some kind words.

Seeing Ye Ruhui’s circumstances, Madam Yin felt deeply grateful. In truth, Ye Ruhui’s life reflected what most women of that time experienced: enduring a mother-in-law’s temper, competing with concubines for favor, and desperately trying to bear sons.

Madam Yin was immensely thankful that she had married into the Ye family, married to Ye Hongrong.

If someone like her, who had given birth to two daughters and then never conceived again, had married into a family like the Su’s, she would likely have lost her position long ago. Thinking about it this way, even though Ye Ruhui had a son, her life didn’t seem better than Madam Yin’s.

…

Several days later, at the Meng family residence.

“What’s going on? Has Ye Yaming still not left her home?” Seeing that seven days had passed since Ye Yaming’s group arrived in the capital, with Jiaxing and Jiawang reporting daily that she hadn’t gone out, while Jia’an kept urging from his end, Meng Xianzong couldn’t sit still any longer.

After Ye Yaming got married, he wouldn’t have the courage to do this. If discovered, the punishment would be completely different. After all, she would become a fourth-rank lady bestowed by imperial decree.

“No, she hasn’t,” Jiaxing replied with his head lowered, his thoughts already drifting elsewhere.

Before the Meng family’s downfall, he and Jiawang had become acquainted with the son of a small landlord. The three shared similar interests and had often schemed against others together. Recently, he noticed that this acquaintance was spending lavishly, with a demeanor full of vigor. Upon inquiry, he discovered that this fellow had made a considerable profit in a business venture.

The two servants had both given gifts and appealed to friendship, expending considerable effort before learning that their acquaintance had friends in the porcelain trade. Due to recent family troubles causing cash flow problems, he had allowed this acquaintance to participate. He didn’t need to manage procurement or sales, only provide capital—half each, with profits split 30-70.

Jiaxing and Jiawang had money, but their freedom certificates were still held by Meng Xianzong, preventing them from leaving. This type of business that only required money, not effort, was perfect for them. They were currently trying to persuade their friend, through both gentle and forceful means, to let them join and invest as well.

However, their friend was unwilling to include them, saying that if the Meng family found out about this, they would surely cause trouble, and he didn’t want any complications.

This had caused Jiaxing and Jiawang to harbor resentment towards Meng Xianzong, hoping that the Ye family matter would be resolved quickly.

But Ye Yaming was like a turtle, hiding in her residence and refusing to come out.

Meng Xianzong looked at Jiaxing’s demeanor and wanted to get angry.

But considering that the household still relied on them to handle matters, he had to suppress his anger and said: “You all need to think of a way for this, see if you can lure her out. Jia’an has been pressing for progress.”