"Who are Jiang Mingrui and Zhuang Meixue?" Cai Damei had never heard these names before.
"Jiang Mingrui is Jin Huifang's husband, and Zhuang Meixue is Jin Huifang's sister-in-law," Bao Min explained to Cai Damei.
"Oh. Jin Huifang told my daughter-in-law herself that her husband and sister-in-law abandoned their wives, children, and parents and ran away." Cai Damei spoke with disdain for the two who fled.
Bao Min pursed his lips and chuckled, sneering, "Jiang Mingzhe, so you’ve finally met your downfall."
"What did you say, sir?"
Bao Min cleared his throat. "Keep going. How did you end up here?"
"Today, I was selling vegetables at a street stall. My neighbor came to tell me that someone had left a child at my doorstep."
"Get to the point." The clerk recording the conversation interrupted Cai Damei, asking about Jin Huifang. Why talk about a discarded child? Didn’t he have enough work already?
"This is the point." Cai Damei shot the clerk a glare but quickly regretted it, feeling a pang of fear.
"Tong Mo." Bao Min called the clerk’s name, signaling him to stay quiet, then turned back to Cai Damei. "Continue."
"Oh, right." Satisfied with Bao Min’s attitude, Cai Damei tried to recall. "Where was I?"
"A child was left at your doorstep," Bao Min reminded her.
"Oh, yes! There was a child at my door. When I got home, I asked my daughter-in-law about it. She recognized the child immediately—it was Jin Huifang’s.
With his father abandoning his family, I figured Jin Huifang was planning to run away too and leave the child behind.
So I rushed to Sheep Dung Alley to confront Jin Huifang.
Even if you don’t want your child, you can’t just dump him at my door. My daughter-in-law and I owe the Jiang family nothing." Cai Damei was furious.
"Were you the first one inside? How did you get in?"
"The door wasn’t locked. I pushed hard, and it swung open. Then I pushed open the main hall door, and… and…" Cai Damei couldn’t finish—the scene had been too horrifying.
"Did you see anyone else alive when you entered?"
Cai Damei thought carefully and shook her head.
Her mind had been entirely focused on confronting Jin Huifang. She hadn’t noticed if anyone else was in the courtyard.
Bao Min asked a few more questions before instructing Cai Damei not to leave Jiangcheng. The authorities might need to question her again.
Cai Damei agreed and left the interrogation room.
As dusk fell, Tie Xiong, worried about Cai Damei traveling alone, volunteered to escort her home.
"I should have gone this afternoon," Ye Yunniang said guiltily, blaming herself for Cai Damei’s fright.
"Yunniang, don’t take everything on yourself. Even the Bodhisattva in the temple can’t make everything perfect. You think too much." Cai Damei patted Ye Yunniang’s shoulder.
Ye Yunniang leaned her head against Cai Damei’s shoulder, her gaze falling on the sleeping Jiang Tingjun.
Jin Huifang must have wanted to entrust the child to her.
Ye Yunniang didn’t know whether to feel grateful for Jin Huifang’s trust or heartbroken.
Raising a child was no easy task.
"This child is pitiful—his father ran away, and his mother is dead. Let’s just take him in." Cai Damei made the decision, partly swayed by the two silver notes.
"Mother, you’re so good to me." Ye Yunniang’s eyes welled with tears, and she vowed to work hard and repay Cai Damei’s kindness.
"I’m your mother. Who else should I be good to?"
Mother and daughter-in-law talked until dawn.
Ye Yunniang tidied up and hurried to the market, where she bought a proud, spirited rooster.
Spotting a black chicken in the coop, she thought of Cai Damei’s recent exhaustion and bought it too, planning to make a nourishing soup.
Cai Damei took the chickens to the backyard to slaughter them while Ye Yunniang boiled water.
The rooster was stir-fried in a large wok, while the black chicken simmered in a small pot for soup.
Li Pan and Jiang Tingjun, after just a morning together, were already calling each other "brother" and "little brother," acting as close as if they’d never quarreled the night before.
At noon, Pan’er happily devoured two large chicken legs.
In the afternoon, Tie Xiong arrived and asked Ye Yunniang to bring Jiang Tingjun to the magistrate’s office.
Cai Damei, uneasy, left Pan’er in Liang Maimiao’s care and accompanied Ye Yunniang to the prefect’s office.
Cai Damei held Jiang Tingjun at the door while waiting for Ye Yunniang.
Tie Xiong led Ye Yunniang to the study, stopping at the entrance and motioning for her to enter.
"Sir, you are just and upright. Speak the truth without fear."
Ye Yunniang nodded and stepped inside.
Bao Min sat behind the desk, studying her.
She wasn’t some breathtaking beauty. How had she captured Jiang Mingzhe’s heart?
Before leaving Jiangcheng, Jiang Mingzhe had met with Bao Min privately. He hadn’t mentioned his family at all—only asked Bao Min to secretly watch over Ye Yunniang and ensure no one mistreated her.
"Ahem." Clerk Tong Mo coughed twice, reminding Bao Min not to stare.
Bao Min snapped out of it. "Ye Yunniang, recount your encounter with Jin Huifang at the market."
"Yes, sir." Ye Yunniang described everything that had happened during her meeting with Jin Huifang.
"The buns—you bought them for Jin Huifang?"
"Yes, I did. I got them from Guo’s Bun Shop—ten meat-filled and ten vegetable-filled."
"Which way did Jin Huifang go with the buns?"
Ye Yunniang thought carefully. "She headed east."
"Did she carry anything else?"
"No." Ye Yunniang had paid special attention to Jin Huifang’s hands—no nail guards.
"How much do you know about Jiang Mingrui and Zhuang Meixue?"
Ye Yunniang looked up, confused by the question, then quickly lowered her gaze. "I don’t know."
"Really?" Bao Min didn’t believe her—surely Jiang Mingzhe had told her something.
"I—I really don’t know."
Ye Yunniang knew nothing about the affair between Jiang Mingrui and Zhuang Meixue.
Seeing she wasn’t lying, Bao Min dropped the subject and held up a portrait.
"Do you recognize this person?"
Ye Yunniang studied the painting. "Yes. Her name is Zi Yuan. She used to be the madam’s personal maid."
"Why isn’t she anymore?"
"The madam dismissed her."
"Why?" Bao Min pressed.
"I don’t know." Ye Yunniang shook her head.
"You do." Bao Min saw through her evasion and slammed the table. "Tell me—why was she expelled from the Jiang Mansion?"
Ye Yunniang clenched her teeth and repeated what she’d heard from Li’er.
"Do you know why she betrayed her mistress?"
"I… I think… it might have been because of Third Master Jiang." At this point, Ye Yunniang stopped hiding and shared her suspicions.
Her explanation helped Bao Min piece everything together.
Zi Yuan had an affair with Jiang Mingyu and leaked information about the fourth branch. When Jin Huifang found out, she dismissed Zi Yuan.
Zi Yuan’s family took her back, but within three days, they married her off to Niu Liqiang.
Niu Liqiang spent his days drinking, gambling, and visiting brothels, then came home to beat his wife.
Zi Yuan’s life became unbearable, and she longed for her days in the Jiang Mansion and her lover, Jiang Mingyu.
She grew to hate Jin Huifang, cursing the Jiang family’s downfall day and night.
To her shock, the Jiang family did collapse—and Jin Huifang ended up renting a house next to hers.
Posing as a loyal former servant, Zi Yuan showered Jin Huifang with false concern.
At the time, Jin Huifang had lost all hope—in both her birth family and her in-laws. Zi Yuan’s sudden kindness won her trust.
After uncovering Jin Huifang's background, Zi Yuan turned against her. First, she incited Niu Liqiang to force himself on Jin Huifang, then exploited her as a tool for their profit.
When Jin Huifang resisted, they drugged and beat her.
Desperate, Jin Huifang managed to escape. With nowhere else to go, she fled to a dilapidated temple.
"Mother, Father, please let me come home. I promise to stay obediently—I won’t wander off again."
