Ye Yunniang returned home, changed into clean clothes, and went back to Courtyard No. 7, feigning ignorance of what had happened in the backyard.
"Mother, I'm here. Don't be afraid." Li Ping patted Ye Yunniang's shoulder.
His small hand helped shift the fear in Ye Yunniang's heart. She still had children to care for; she had to pull herself together.
"Mother's not afraid. What did you eat for lunch?"
"Noodles. Uncle Damai brought them back."
"Were they good?"
"Not as good as yours." In Li Ping's heart, Ye Yunniang's cooking was the best.
"Tonight, mother will make hand-pulled noodles for you, alright?"
"Alright, hand-pulled noodles."
Her son's joy completely dispelled the fear in Ye Yunniang's heart.
She got up and went to the kitchen to slaughter a chicken.
For dinner, she used chicken broth to cook the hand-pulled noodles.
Ye Yunniang shredded the two chicken legs, divided them equally into three portions, and put them in the children's bowls.
After coaxing the three children to sleep, Ye Yunniang returned to her room to rest.
She lay down.
Then sat up, got out of bed, and lit the oil lamp.
Returning to the bedside, she lifted the pillow.
Underneath lay a small box. Opening it, she found a letter inside.
Beneath the letter, pressed flat, was a piece of semi-transparent jade, fine-textured, glossy, and warm to the touch, driving away the chill in her heart.
Opening the letter revealed familiar handwriting.
"The weather is cold, take care to keep warm."
Clutching the warm jade, Ye Yunniang lay down to rest.
What should have been a joyous wedding feast ended with Wang Qiang severely injured, and Ma Hui, Xiumei, and Zhang Er arrested.
Wang Qiang held on at home for two days before succumbing to his severe wounds.
A joyous event turned into a funeral. The Wang family hated the Ma and Zhang families to the core. Granny Wang went to both houses to curse them out.
The Zhang family was also furious, as Xiumei had been exposed that day for adultery with Zhang Da. Although Zhang Da vehemently denied it, his wife Caixia wouldn't listen and took their child back to her parents' home.
Although Zhang San and Qiufang had already moved out, this incident brought past matters back to light.
Qiufang's family somewhat blamed her, asking why she had insisted on being with Zhang San in the first place.
Zhang San also blamed himself immensely because his second brother had killed someone.
A crack appeared in the couple's relationship.
A perfectly good family was about to fall apart because of Xiumei. Granny Zhang hated Xiumei to death.
With Xiumei in prison, Granny Zhang couldn't do anything to her. Granny Wang, who came to their door cursing, became the perfect target for Granny Zhang's vented rage.
Granny Zhang, who had been a formidable widow since her youth, cursed from morning till night without catching her breath, never repeating herself.
Granny Wang, unable to match her, was cursed until she fainted.
Upon waking, she didn't dare go to the Zhang house again and instead turned to go curse at the Ma family.
Niu Dajiao also harbored hatred for the Wang family. Hongyan had stolen her man, and Hongyan's man had ruined her son.
Niu Dajiao refused to be outdone and traded curses with Granny Wang at the mouth of the alley, from insulting each other's entire families to their eighteen generations of ancestors.
The two of them blocked the alley entrance, making it inconvenient for the residents of Wanxia Lane to come and go. Someone tried to persuade them to take their cursing elsewhere, but was instead cursed by both of them into silence.
It was only when Tie Xiong returned from the yamen and drew his sword that he frightened them off to continue their cursing elsewhere.
Wanxia Lane endured their dueling curses from dawn till dusk, initially treating it as a spectacle but later finding it an unbearable torment.
"Officer Bao, please conclude the case quickly." Li Pan covered her ears; it was so noisy.
Li An didn't speak, but his expression showed he agreed; it was too loud.
Only Li Ping remained completely unaffected, lying comfortably on the bed with his little feet propped up.
The very Bao Min that Li Pan was thinking of returned to the Prefect's residence with a displeased expression. He had spent all this time accompanying Cai Damei, finally softening her up and getting her to agree to let the child take his surname.
And now these troublesome people were causing him more headaches again.
Cai Damei was worried about Yunniang and the three children at home and was unwilling to stay at the estate.
Bao Min had just managed to persuade her, promising to handle things properly.
Returning to the Prefect's residence, he led his men to swiftly investigate the situation and pass judgment.
Zhang Er killed one person, severely injured another, and lightly injured three others. His actions were heinous; he was sentenced to death. The sentence would be carried out immediately upon reporting to the imperial court.
Ma Hui and Xiumei committed adultery, which was the root cause of all these events. They were sentenced to 50 heavy strikes and exile to the frontier, forbidden from returning to Jiangcheng for life.
As for the others who had committed adultery with Xiumei, upon confirming the facts, Bao Min sent Tie Xiong to arrest them and bring them to the Prefect's residence, where they received 30 strikes as a warning.
Wanxia Lane became famous throughout Jiangcheng; everyone now knew about the affairs of Ma Hui and the other two.
Zhang Da received 30 strikes, leaving his flesh torn and unable to work.
Caixia remained at her parents' home with her son, and it was unclear when she would return.
Granny Zhang, learning her second son had received the death penalty, collapsed.
Zhang San quit his job and moved back home with Qiufang to take care of the household.
The Zhang and Wang families, being next-door neighbors, argued daily over this matter, keeping the lane unsettled.
Ye Yunniang took the three children to the temple to offer incense and also to see Cai Damei.
Not seeing her family would leave Cai Damei uneasy.
After praying for peace talismans for her own family and that child, Ye Yunniang met Cai Damei in the guest quarters.
Cai Damei was already seven months pregnant, with a very large belly, but her complexion was still fair.
"Yunniang, I'm not at home. You must stand strong." Cai Damei urged Ye Yunniang.
This time, Ye Yunniang didn't just nod silently but answered aloud, "Mother, don't worry. I will take good care of the household and the children."
Having gone through these events, Ye Yunniang had matured considerably. Her actions were more steady and composed than before.
When Granny Wang came to her door, Ye Yunniang showed not a trace of panic.
"The person in the room that day should have been you, not Xiumei." If Ye Yunniang hadn't dodged, her son wouldn't have died. Her family also wouldn't have had rotten vegetables thrown at them.
Everything was Ye Yunniang's fault. The more Granny Wang thought about it, the more she hated Ye Yunniang, wishing she could kill her. But thinking of her two grandsons, she couldn't.
"Your business, I won't tell. But you must give me three hundred taels of silver." Granny Wang stated her purpose.
Ye Yunniang's reply was a single word, "Scram."
"I have evidence. Ye Yunniang, once I produce my evidence, you're finished." Granny Wang threatened.
"Take your evidence and go tell everyone. Tell them your son also tried to scheme against me, Ye Yunniang." Ye Yunniang showed no panic. "Then I can go to the yamen and accuse you."
"The yamen won't believe the wild tales of a widow." Granny Wang thought Ye Yunniang was just trying to scare her with the yamen.
"How would it be wild tales? Don't you have evidence?"
Granny Wang suddenly realized that the evidence in her hands would implicate her deceased son, saddling him with the crime of plotting to harm someone.
Not only could Granny Wang not say that Wang Qiang had tried to scheme against Ye Yunniang, she also had to prevent others from saying it. Understanding this, Granny Wang felt as disgusted as if she had swallowed a fly.
"You... just you wait. I will definitely not let you off easy." Granny Wang left after uttering these threats.
To her threats, Ye Yunniang merely snorted coldly.
Liang Maimiao, who was going out, saw Granny Wang leaving the Li house. She walked over, "What did Granny Wang come for?"
"She said her son's death was related to me and demanded three hundred taels of silver from me." Ye Yunniang told her.
"She's gone mad." Liang Maimiao exclaimed in surprise.
"It's all because that auntie that day couldn't hold the dishes steady and got oil on my clothes. I went to the backyard to clean up. Granny Wang thinks that since I went to the backyard, I must be connected to her son's death." Ye Yunniang said angrily.
"She really is mad. I also went to the backyard to use the outhouse. By that logic, I'm also connected to Wang Qiang's death."
"Who makes me a widow? Easy to bully." Ye Yunniang sighed helplessly.
"Granny Wang is just talking nonsense. Xiumei, Ma Hui, and Wang Qiang were all cleared by the magistrate's investigation. It has nothing whatsoever to do with you." At this point, Liang Maimiao slapped her thigh. "I've got it."
