Ye Yunniang looked at Yang Guihua and asked, "Is there any problem with the wedding dress?"
"No problem," Liang Hemiao answered.
"It was agreed upon from the start, to embroider one wedding dress. As I was embroidering, I noticed it was missing a red bridal veil.
My relationship with Maimiao is good.
So, I used some red cloth from home to embroider a veil, intending to give it to Hemiao as a congratulatory gift." As Ye Yunniang spoke, she pulled over the red veil. "This is my gift, not part of your wedding dress."
Liang Hemiao took her wages and the red veil, then left the Liang household.
"You jinx! It's you who brought death upon my son. Get out!"
"Get out! Take your bastard child and get out!"
...
A large gate swung open, and a mother and daughter dressed in mourning clothes were driven out with a broom.
At a glance, those being chased out were Huandi and Wang Damei. The ones doing the chasing were Old Mrs. Wang and Wang Cuicui.
Old Mrs. Wang and Wang Cuicui stood inside the gate, their faces etched with meanness.
Seeing Ye Yunniang passing by, Wang Cuicui tightened her grip on the broom as if she wanted to do something, but was stopped by Old Mrs. Wang.
Ye Yunniang had powerful backing; they couldn't afford to provoke her.
Wang Cuicui watched Ye Yunniang walk away with resentment, then vented her anger on Huandi and Wang Damei.
"It's you who brought death upon my brother!"
Ye Yunniang hadn't gone far when she heard hurried footsteps behind her.
Huandi, pulling Wang Damei along, caught up with Ye Yunniang and blocked her path.
"Thank you," Huandi said.
"For what?" Ye Yunniang was puzzled.
Huandi didn't explain, but gave Ye Yunniang a deep bow.
"Be careful of Wang Dashan," Huandi threw out the warning before running off.
Ye Yunniang chased after them for a stretch but couldn't catch up.
She mentally noted the name Wang Dashan.
On her way home, Ye Yunniang ran into Tie Xiong.
"Sister-in-law, heading out?"
"Yes, I took on some embroidery work for the Liang family. I've finished it and was delivering it," Ye Yunniang explained.
Tie Xiong thought about the Liang family's location. "You passed by the Wang house."
"Yes, I did." Ye Yunniang told him what she had seen passing the Wang house and about Huandi's warning.
"Wang Daxing was implicated in several theft cases, involving huge sums and bribing government officials. The magistrate sentenced him to beheading," Tie Xiong told Ye Yunniang what he could share.
As for Wang Dashan, he would investigate thoroughly. He would never allow him any chance to harm the Li family.
As they neared the alley entrance, Tie Xiong quickened his pace to put some distance between himself and Ye Yunniang.
A man and a woman alone, he was afraid getting too close might give rise to gossip.
At the alley entrance, Liang Maimiao was waiting for Ye Yunniang.
"It fits your sister very well."
"That's good, that's good," Liang Maimiao said twice, grasping Ye Yunniang's hands. "Yunniang, thank you."
"We're neighbors and good friends, no need for formalities."
"Yes, Ye Yunniang, I, Liang Maimiao, consider you a friend for life."
"Don't stand here talking at the alley entrance, you're blocking the way."
Ye Yunniang turned to see Hongyan walking over, protectively holding her belly.
"Hongyan, your belly seems unusually large."
Hongyan looked down at her stomach. "What's wrong with it?"
"Your belly now is even bigger than mine was when I was about to give birth to Pan'er."
Ye Yunniang's words made Liang Maimiao realize it too.
"Yes, it is big."
Hongyan thought back to her previous pregnancies; her belly had never been this large.
"What's going on?" Hongyan was frightened. The child was her foundation for securing her place in the Ma family.
"You should go see a doctor. Ask what the doctor says." Ye Yunniang didn't want anything to go wrong with Hongyan's pregnancy; she hoped the birth would go smoothly.
"Alright. I'll go now." Hongyan said, returning to her room to ask Ma Kouzi to take her to see the doctor.
In the afternoon, Ye Yunniang learned from Liang Maimiao that Hongyan was carrying twins.
Ye Yunniang used scraps of fabric from home to make two sets of small clothes for the babies in Hongyan's belly.
"It's enough that you came to see me, why bring clothes too." Hongyan took the small clothes from Ye Yunniang.
The stitches were even, and the thread ends were all facing outward so they wouldn't chafe the baby's delicate skin. They were made with care.
"They're just made from fabric scraps at home. I hope you don't mind." Ye Yunniang said, looking at Hongyan's belly.
"This is good quality cotton and silk fabric. I'm grateful, not minding at all." Hongyan accepted the clothes.
"What did the doctor say?"
"The doctor said I'm not getting enough nutrition, that I need to eat more." Hongyan had been very hungry before but had restrained her eating daily, afraid the baby would grow too large for an easy birth.
Now, knowing she was carrying twins, she wasn't holding back as much and ate a bit more.
After talking with Hongyan for a while, Ye Yunniang got up to leave.
As she was leaving the Ma house, she ran into Niu Dajiao returning home.
Niu Dajiao saw Ye Yunniang and remembered the two slaps, her cheeks aching at the memory. She snorted at Ye Yunniang, muttering some indistinct words under her breath.
Ye Yunniang couldn't be bothered with Niu Dajiao and walked away without stopping.
Returning home, Ye Yunniang first went to the kitchen to check the chicken soup simmering on the stove.
Tasting it, she found the flavor good. She first fished out the chicken meat, then removed the ginger slices, goji berries, red dates, astragalus, etc., from the broth.
She used the chicken broth to cook congee.
She shredded the chicken meat, stir-fried it with shredded carrots and wood ear mushrooms, using sesame oil.
She beat eggs and flour in a bowl, added water and stirred until smooth, added a little salt and chopped scallions, heated the pan with oil, and made thin egg pancakes.
She cut them into small pieces, bite-sized.
After preparing the food, she placed it in a clay pot, wrapped it snugly in a small quilt.
Carrying the pot, she entered the No. 3 courtyard through the back yard and handed it to Luo Xin, who was waiting there.
Cai Damei had given birth to a daughter two days before—Bao Shuyi.
During her postpartum confinement, Cai Damei didn't want to eat food cooked by anyone else. She only wanted to eat meals made by Ye Yunniang.
Ye Yunniang had to look after her child and couldn't leave.
Bao Min had a female physician write out a confinement diet plan and had Luo Xin, the one with the best Qinggong (lightness skill) under his command, deliver it.
Ye Yunniang cooked according to the recipes and handed the food to Luo Xin.
Luo Xin, holding the clay pot, delivered it to the villa at top speed, ensuring it was still hot when Cai Damei ate.
Back in the kitchen, Ye Yunniang used the leftovers to make lunch, which she ate with Li Ping.
She took Li Ping for a few laps around the courtyard, then went back inside for an afternoon nap.
After waking, Ye Yunniang took Li Ping to the Baise Embroidery Shop.
Seeing Li Ping, Baise delightedly stepped forward to hug him.
"Little cutie, you came to see Auntie Baise. Give auntie a kiss~" Baise hugged, kissed, and pinched Li Ping's cheeks.
Li Ping was indifferent at first, struggled in the middle, and ended up looking utterly resigned to his fate.
Ye Yunniang watched, highly amused. After laughing, she finally rescued her son from the clutches.
"If you like children so much, have one yourself."
Having grown familiar, Ye Yunniang spoke casually with Baise.
"I'd like to, but there's no suitable candidate." Baise sat back in her seat and sighed.
"Do you really want to find someone?" Ye Yunniang asked seriously.
Baise straightened up. "Why, do you have someone in mind?"
Ye Yunniang thought of Tie Xiong.
"Chief Constable Tie Xiong of the Prefectural Yamen." Baise knew of Tie Xiong.
"Brother Tie Xiong is a good man. Should I introduce you two?"
"No." Baise refused outright.
"Why not?" Ye Yunniang didn't understand; in her view, Tie Xiong was a good match.
"Tie Xiong's age isn't suitable," Baise gave her reason. "I'm 34 this year, and he hasn't even reached thirty yet."
"Grandpa Tie Yi."
