"No. It's Wang Jinsheng's."
Liang Hemiao really is bold.
"Do the Xing family know?"
"The Xing family doesn't know. Liang Hemiao meets Wang Jinsheng for secret rendezvous after going out with Xing Jinxiu. The ones keeping watch are Yang Guihua and Liang Maimiao."
"If they meet again, could you inform me in advance?" Ye Yunniang stated her request.
"Alright," Luo Xin agreed, without asking why Ye Yunniang wanted to know this.
"Thank you for the trouble." Having said that, Ye Yunniang turned to leave.
"Lady Ye." Luo Xin called out to stop her.
Ye Yunniang halted, waiting for Luo Xin to speak.
"Lady Ye, my master has always wished to marry a wife with proper ceremony."
"Hmm." Ye Yunniang knew this.
"Lady Ye, could you persuade Madam?"
"I support all my mother's decisions." After saying this, Ye Yunniang left without lingering any longer.
The next day, Ye Yunniang received news.
Liang Hemiao would be going out with Xing Jinxiu the day after to have tea and listen to opera at the Xiangji Teahouse.
Ye Yunniang picked up a basket and went out, heading towards the alley entrance.
She stopped at No. 2 courtyard. "Sister Chunyao, are you home?"
"I'm home." Hearing the voice, Chunyao came out.
Chunyao was wearing a hat on her head, her face covered with a cloth, and there were cobwebs in her hair.
"Sister Chunyao, are you cleaning the house?"
"I have time today, so I'm tidying up the house." Chunyao was usually busy with the restaurant business and had no time to clean at home.
"Let me help you." Ye Yunniang rolled up her sleeves, ready to help.
"I'm almost done. Sit in the courtyard for a while, wait for me." How could Chunyao let Ye Yunniang do the cleaning? She insisted that Ye Yunniang wait aside.
Ye Yunniang sat down in the courtyard, glancing at the courtyard wall.
Chunyao soon finished and brought out two cups of tea.
"Sorry to keep you waiting."
"It's me coming uninvited, disturbing you while you were working."
"You're never a disturbance when you come. Have some tea." Chunyao invited Ye Yunniang to drink tea.
After a cup of tea, Ye Yunniang stated her purpose for coming.
"Sister Chunyao, there's something I might need to trouble you with."
"Whatever you need me to do, just say it." Chunyao was only afraid that Ye Yunniang wouldn't ask for her help.
"This matter is, well, a bit..." Ye Yunniang hesitated, not knowing how to begin.
"Is it difficult?"
"Very difficult. After all, my relationship with Maimiao..." Ye Yunniang paused here.
"Does what you want to say have to do with Maimiao?"
Ye Yunniang hummed in affirmation and sighed. Her face was full of hesitation, unsure how to proceed.
"There are no outsiders here." Chunyao said, looking towards No. 1 courtyard; no one was eavesdropping. "You can speak freely."
After hesitating for a moment, Ye Yunniang spoke.
"A few days ago when I went out, I saw Maimiao talking with Wang Jinsheng."
Chunyao didn't react at first. "Is it wrong for them to talk?" Then it hit her. "The two of them talking!"
"Yes."
"Where did you see them?"
"At a teahouse not far from Jin Yu Man Tang. They were standing very close at the time." Ye Yunniang lowered her voice. "Sister Chunyao, have you seen anything?"
"I'm at the counter all day, I didn't notice anything outside." Chunyao shook her head. Since opening Jin Yu Man Tang, she had no personal time left.
"Could you have been mistaken?"
"I also hope I was mistaken." Ye Yunniang sighed. "You know how strained our relationship is now. It's not good for me to say anything, nor to ask."
"You want me to go and ask?" Chunyao frowned. She really didn't want to get involved in this sort of thing.
Ye Yunniang shook her head. "I don't know if I should ask you to inquire either. This matter... it's wrong no matter how you approach it. It's also possible I saw wrong from a distance."
"In which direction from the restaurant did you see them? What location?"
"West of the restaurant, two shops away?... Hmm... three, three shops away." Ye Yunniang tried to recall.
"Three shops away, that's Xiangji Teahouse." Chunyao was very familiar with that area. "I'll go to the teahouse area when I have time. If I run into her, I'll talk to Maimiao." For the sake of their past chats, she would try to persuade her to turn back if she could.
"Sister Chunyao, I'm causing you trouble. I really hope I was the one who saw wrong."
"Don't think too much about it." Chunyao comforted Ye Yunniang, feeling that Ye Yunniang's character was too weak and soft. She still cared for someone who had hurt her.
But this was also good. Because Ye Yunniang cherished old ties, she herself could gain many benefits.
Leaving No. 2 courtyard, Ye Yunniang went straight home.
"Pingping, you're back."
"Mother, I missed you so much." Li Ping rushed towards Ye Yunniang.
Ye Yunniang also hugged her youngest son tightly. This was the first time Li Ping had been away from her for so long.
Ye Yunniang examined Li Ping. His little face hadn't thinned, and he felt fleshy to the touch. But his face was flushed from the wind, and his fingers had chilblains.
"You've suffered." Ye Yunniang's heart ached as she took Li Ping to see the doctor.
After checking his pulse and confirming he was fine, she bought two boxes of chilblain ointment.
On the way back, they met Li Pan and Li An who were returning from school.
"Big brother! Second brother!" Li Ping shouted.
"Pingping!" The two cheered and ran towards Ye Yunniang.
The three brothers hugged each other.
"Mother, why are you carrying medicine? Are you sick?"
"Mother, where do you feel unwell?"
"I'm fine. This is chilblain ointment for Pingping." Ye Yunniang explained.
Only then did Li Pan and Li An notice the chilblains on Li Ping's hands.
The brothers were heartbroken. Each held one of their younger brother's hands, saying they would warm them for him.
Ye Yunniang watched the harmonious and loving trio from behind, smiling.
If only life could continue this smoothly forever.
With Li Ping back, Ye Yunniang sliced all the cured meat, then went to the cellar to fetch dried shrimp, air-dried chicken, and other stored delicacies.
That evening, she prepared a table full of good dishes.
Smelling the fragrance from next door, then looking at their own overly salty pickles and a bowl of vegetable porridge that smelled burnt even before tasting it...
"I want meat!" Xu Erlei couldn't take it anymore and slammed his chopsticks on the table.
"You look like meat yourself. Eat your meal properly." Liang Maimiao frowned.
"I saw Grandma give you money for meat this morning. Why is there no meat?" Xu Erlei yelled.
"Grandma gave 20 wen. What kind of meat can you buy with that?"
"Even 20 wen can buy half a jin of meat." Xu Dalei spoke up.
"Are you going to make trouble for me too?" Liang Maimiao's expression darkened as she looked at Xu Dalei.
"Mother, Second Brother and I just don't want to eat burnt vegetable porridge." Xu Dalei stated their demand.
"There are still steamed buns here. Hurry up and eat." Liang Maimiao urged.
"I'm going to tell Grandma you're mistreating me!" Xu Erlei said, getting up and running outside.
At that moment, the other three members of the Xu family were busy at the noodle stall at the street entrance.
"Come back here!" Liang Maimiao stood up, wanting to catch Xu Erlei. She couldn't let her son reveal that she was skimping on grocery money.
Xu Dalei blocked Liang Maimiao. "You didn't hide it well. Grandpa and Grandma know. Father knows too." Xu Dalei's words made Liang Maimiao take a step back and collapse onto the chair.
"I had no choice. If I don't give the money, your aunt will be bullied to death by the Xing family."
"Aunt is your family. We are your family too."
"It's all Ye Yunniang's fault."
Xu Dalei frowned. "What fault does Auntie Yunniang have?"
