Ye Yunniang carefully thought back; she hadn't helped Qiufang with anything.
Qiufang had mentioned the words Ye Yunniang said when the Wang family came to make trouble.
Back then, Ye Yunniang was in such a difficult situation, yet she withstood the pressure, beat the Wang family, and intimidated everyone.
Qiufang thought, what was her own problem compared to that?
Zhang Er and Xiumei getting married was decided by Granny Zhang and Zhang Er. She hadn't held a knife to force them to agree.
After the marriage, she and Zhang Er avoided speaking whenever possible.
Later, to put Xiumei at ease, she and Zhang San even moved out.
The main reason for all the trouble between Zhang Er and Xiumei was themselves; it had little to do with her.
After Qiufang figured this out, when the Zhang family blamed her again, she didn't hold back. She argued with them, made a scene.
Qiufang thought, if life really became unbearable, she would seek a separation. She was still young and wouldn't have trouble finding someone else.
With this attitude, the Zhang family didn't dare say much to Qiufang. The Zhang family's reputation was almost ruined. If Zhang San and Qiufang really separated, it would be extremely, extremely difficult for him to find another wife.
Without the complaints from Granny Zhang and others, Zhang San could also think calmly and realized he had been in the wrong recently.
Zhang San apologized to Qiufang. Qiufang truly had feelings for Zhang San and was reluctant to let go.
The couple reconciled. Then came an unexpected joy: Qiufang was pregnant.
Qiufang was only two months pregnant, which couldn't be announced publicly. But Qiufang felt she had to tell Ye Yunniang.
"Congratulations," Ye Yunniang offered her well-wishes. Even someone like her, who rarely went out, knew that a child was what Qiufang and Zhang San had most longed for in their six years of marriage.
"Yunniang, thank you, truly," Qiufang was deeply grateful to Ye Yunniang.
"I didn't do anything. All of this is the result of your own efforts," Ye Yunniang didn't claim any credit.
"If not for the things you said, I wouldn't have fought for myself," Qiufang firmly believed that her pregnancy was all due to the good luck Ye Yunniang brought.
Qiufang went into the room and fetched a large oil-paper package—spicy dried meat she had made—for Ye Yunniang to take home and eat.
Unable to refuse, Ye Yunniang carried it home. Mentally, she calculated that she still had a piece of red cotton silk at home, which she could use to make a winter coat for Qiufang's unborn child.
Calculating the time, Qiufang would give birth around October or November, when the weather would be cold, perfect for wearing a padded jacket.
Cai Damei saw Ye Yunniang's hands full of items. "Did the Wang family give so many return gifts?"
"No," Ye Yunniang explained. In her left hand were the congratulatory gifts she had taken to the Wang family. The oil-paper package in her right hand was from Qiufang, and the cloth bag was from Baise. Baise had given Ye Yunniang the congratulatory gifts returned by the Wang family.
"I don't care for sweet pastries. You take them for the children to eat."
Ye Yunniang told Cai Damei what Qiufang had said and also mentioned her own idea for a return gift.
Cai Damei agreed. "Embroider a gourd pattern on the red jacket; it can be worn by either a boy or a girl."
"Good," Ye Yunniang agreed.
"How did things go at the Wang family?"
"Mother, let's go inside and talk slowly. It's still a bit chilly outside." Ye Yunniang and Cai Damei went inside, sat down, and talked.
Ye Yunniang recounted what happened at the Wang residence.
After she fainted, she was conscious and heard Liang Hemiao's two-faced words. The last trace of guilt in her heart vanished.
Liang Hemiao opened the door, told a maid to take the noodle bowl away to feed to the dogs, and then bring a bowl of bird's nest soup.
After sending away the maid guarding the door, Liang Hemiao turned and walked toward the bed, reaching out to take off Ye Yunniang's clothes.
With a thud, Liang Hemiao's body fell directly onto Ye Yunniang.
Ye Yunniang inwardly cried out, "Ouch!" Then she smelled a sharp, awakening scent.
She opened her eyes.
Unsurprisingly, Tong Mo stood by the bed, smiling at Ye Yunniang.
"This is the third time I've saved you," Tong Mo held up three fingers.
"Thank you," Ye Yunniang offered thanks this time, pushed Liang Hemiao off with effort, and rolled out of bed.
Ye Yunniang moved Liang Hemiao onto the bed, deftly removed her floral crown, took off her wedding dress, and covered her with the quilt.
"Getting more and more skilled," Tong Mo praised from the side.
Ye Yunniang paid no attention to Tong Mo's words. She picked up the wedding dress, stuffed it under the bed, checked that she hadn't left anything behind, and walked toward the door.
"You're just leaving like this?" Tong Mo stopped her.
Ye Yunniang turned back and smiled at Tong Mo. "I'll leave the rest to you." With that, she pushed the door open, looked left and right to see no one was there, and quickly left.
Ye Yunniang carefully avoided people all the way to the garden, circled around, and finally returned to the Qunfang Pavilion to find Baise and talk.
After that, she went with the crowd to see the commotion at the bridal chamber, completely removing herself from the situation.
After hearing the account, Cai Damei instructed Ye Yunniang, "If Liang Hemiao comes to ask, you must stick to your story. You were in the garden, you didn't go anywhere else."
Even without Cai Damei saying it, Ye Yunniang would have done so.
"Oh, right, Mother, there's one more thing."
Ye Yunniang told Cai Damei about Xing Jinxiu.
"That Miss Xing is not someone to be trifled with," Ye Yunniang worried that if Xing Jinxiu learned of Cai Damei's existence, she might target them.
Cai Damei wasn't too concerned. The matter with Bao Min was for him to handle himself. If he couldn't handle it well, he could live separately with his daughter.
Seeing Cai Damei was open-minded about it, Ye Yunniang said no more. Then she told Cai Damei about the possible drought.
"We should stock up on more grain," Cai Damei pondered how to store grain without attracting attention.
As Cai Damei and Ye Yunniang discussed how to dig a cellar in the backyard and how to buy grain discreetly, Bao Min had already arranged for people to dig a cellar in the backyard of houses No. 3 and 4.
Bao Min also made a list of items to store in the cellar.
There was rice, wheat, corn, sorghum, various beans, all kinds of dried and cured meats, salt, sugar, oil, and so on.
"Is this drought going to be very severe?" Seeing the quantities on the list made Cai Damei's heart tighten.
"I consulted the former head of the Imperial Astronomical Bureau. He said it's a once-in-a-century event," Bao Min said with a grave expression.
"Is the cellar a bit small? Should we dig another ten meters down? There are two months until the summer harvest. Don't sell the produce from the manor farms and country estates; store it all. Also, the wells at home are quite shallow. In a drought, we probably won't be able to draw water. We should dig them deeper too," Cai Damei calculated the preparations needed.
"I will arrange a city-wide cleaning of the wells," Bao Min said. Jiangcheng was under his governance, and he didn't want a situation where people had no water to drink and died of thirst.
"After a drought, there could be major floods. The wells need cleaning, the riverbeds need dredging, and the embankments need reinforcement," Having lived in farming villages for decades, Cai Damei had heard many elders speak of droughts and floods.
"After the wells in Jiangcheng are cleaned, I'll arrange for the riverbeds to be dredged and the embankments reinforced," The former head of the Imperial Astronomical Bureau had also mentioned the possibility of flooding to Bao Min.
Bao Min took Cai Damei's hand. "Wife, what I'm about to say next, please don't be angry."
"Say it first," Whether Cai Damei would be angry depended on what Bao Min specifically said.
"I need to borrow Li Ping for a while."
