The next day.
At dawn, Ye Chutang was awakened by noise.
Villagers who weren’t busy with farm work had come to the estate on their own to help clean up the burned-down west wing and kitchen.
The Liu family of three had been completely reduced to ashes, leaving behind nothing but a pile of white dust.
The villagers wanted to gather the Liu family’s ashes and erect a memorial grave with their belongings.
But then, an eerie gust of wind came out of nowhere, scattering the ashes and mixing them with the charred remnants of the fire.
“What… what should we do now?”
Ye Chutang stepped out of her room and said, “Leave it be. This is the heavens decreeing they be scattered to the winds.”
At her words, the villagers shuddered in unison.
Aunt Wang rubbed her arms. “Then we’ll follow the heavens’ will and leave it.”
With that, she picked up a basket from the ground and handed it to Ye Chutang.
“Miss Ye, I figured you hadn’t eaten breakfast yet, so I brought some plain congee and pickles. Don’t mind the simplicity.”
Ye Chutang took the basket. “Thank you, Aunt Wang.”
“Eat first, Miss Ye. We’ll clean up the burned ruins.”
“Alright. I’ll help after I finish.”
“No need. It’s too dirty, and there’s not much left to clean anyway. We’ll handle it.”
Ye Chutang didn’t insist. She walked to the stone bench beneath the crabapple tree and sat down.
Inside the basket was a bowl of thick, yellowish porridge—clearly made from low-grade rice.
There were also two greasy vegetable pancakes, a serving of pickled vegetables, and a boiled egg.
To her, this breakfast could be described as coarse and barely edible.
But she knew that for the impoverished villagers of this era, it was a lavish feast they could afford only a few times a year.
Ye Chutang only ate one of the dry, throat-scraping pancakes and drank some spiritual spring water.
After about an hour and a half, the villagers had cleared away the unburned wood and ashes, leaving only two patches of scorched earth behind.
The pots and bowls that had survived the fire were also scrubbed clean.
Aunt Wang wiped the sweat from her face as she looked at the risen sun.
“Miss Ye, the village chief has already sent word to the Minister's Mansion. Someone should arrive by tomorrow at the latest.”
The estate was nearly two hundred li from the capital. A fast horse could make the round trip in a day.
Ye Chutang handed out the spiritual spring water, pretending it was well water.
“Understood. Thank you all for your help. Have some water to quench your thirst.”
Aunt Wang took a sip, and her eyes lit up.
“The well water’s so sweet today! Miss Ye, did you add sugar?”
Without batting an eye, Ye Chutang nodded.
“I found a packet of sugar in the east wing and put some in the bucket.”
One villager, who had never tasted sugar before, sighed in amazement.
“No wonder sugar’s so expensive in the shops. Just one sip has me feeling energized!”
“Right? My back was aching earlier, but after drinking this, I feel fine!”
Everyone praised the “sugar water” but soon became reluctant to drink more, wanting to save it for their elders, children, and hardworking husbands.
Ye Chutang didn’t mind. “Do as you please.”
“Thank you, Miss Ye.”
Aunt Wang, remembering the estate’s kitchen had burned down, offered,
“Miss Ye, until the Ye family arrives, I’ll bring you three meals a day.”
Ye Chutang knew Aunt Wang meant well, but she had no intention of torturing her stomach. She declined.
“No need. There’s food and vegetables in the cellar. I can set up a simple stove with some stones and cook for myself.”
Seeing her resolve, Aunt Wang didn’t press further.
After the villagers left, Ye Chutang took out steaming hot century egg and lean pork congee along with crispy fried dough sticks from her space, enjoying them thoroughly.
In her free time, she often prepared meals to store in her space, ready to eat whenever she pleased.
After breakfast, she practiced martial arts beneath the crabapple tree.
She needed to strengthen her body and regain her inner energy.
But the original owner’s physique was too weak. Less than an hour in, Ye Chutang felt dizzy.
She returned to the east wing, sitting cross-legged on the daybed to regulate her disrupted energy flow.
By the time she finished, it was noon.
She ate a bowl of tomato beef brisket rice, took a bath in her space, and then napped.
Upon waking, she resumed her training.
After dinner, she took a stroll around the estate to aid digestion.
Passing by a large warehouse, the guard on duty greeted her.
“Good evening, Young Miss.”
Through the original owner’s memories, Ye Chutang recognized him.
“Uncle Fu, hasn’t the Ye family transported and sold the harvested wheat yet?”
The Ye family’s hundred mu of fertile land grew wheat in winter, harvested in late spring, then rice in early autumn.
The harvested crops were temporarily stored in the warehouse, guarded by Uncle Fu and ten rotating sentries.
Once prices were favorable, they’d be sold, and the guards would return to the Minister's Mansion.
Uncle Fu replied, “The master intended to sell, but wheat prices suddenly dropped, so he decided to wait.”
Hearing this, Ye Chutang’s fingers itched.
Though ancient grain yields were low—about three hundred jin per mu—a hundred mu still amounted to thirty thousand jin.
Not a small amount.
Time for a midnight shopping spree!
As a member of the Ye family, taking what was rightfully hers wasn’t unreasonable, was it?
After some small talk with Uncle Fu to gather more information about the Ye family, she returned to the estate.
She trained until midnight, then sneaked to the warehouse under the cover of darkness.
Four guards patrolled outside.
Using her earth-based ability, she dug a short tunnel into the warehouse, costing only one merit point.
With a wave of her hand, over thirty thousand jin of wheat vanished into her space, nearly filling a container.
She extended the tunnel toward the mountains—a longer distance requiring two more merit points—then retraced her steps and went back to sleep.
Ye Chutang had originally planned to wait for the Ye family to repair the estate and return to the capital with them.
But three days passed. The wound on her forehead healed, yet not a single soul from the Ye family appeared.
The villagers whispered.
They said Ye Jingchuan had completely abandoned his daughter raised in the countryside and wouldn’t care if she lived or died.
They said the capital remembered only the talented and beautiful second daughter, Ye Anling, and had forgotten the eldest.
They said poor Ye Chutang would never return to the Minister's Mansion and would end up married to a farmer.
After three days indoors, Ye Chutang smirked coldly.
“I’ll make sure everyone in the capital remembers the name ‘Ye Chutang’—deeply.”
With that, she packed her belongings and prepared to leave for the capital.
But the moment she stepped out of the estate, she was stopped by the Ye family’s warehouse guards.
“Young Miss, you’re not allowed to go anywhere.”
The guard stared at Ye Chutang, stunned. Even in coarse clothing, she was breathtaking.
How had she become so beautiful in just a few days?
Ye Chutang had been training, drinking spiritual spring water, and refining her body.
No longer the sallow, frail girl, she was now a radiant beauty with skin like jade.
Her smile alone could enchant souls.
As the guard stood dazed, Ye Chutang turned and shouted to the villagers irrigating the rice fields nearby:
“What? Ye Jingchuan wants to starve me to death?”
The guard snapped back to reality, his face paling.
“Young Miss, don’t spout nonsense! And you mustn’t address the master by name!”
Ye Chutang rolled her eyes and raised her voice further.
“Ye Jingchuan is ashamed of me, a village girl? Thinks I disgrace him and should die for it? But wasn’t he the one who sent me to the countryside?”
“If not for my mother, Ye Jingchuan wouldn’t have had the money to take the imperial exams, let alone forge connections with nobles or secure an official post in the capital after passing!”
"Ye Jingchuan used my mother's dowry to take a concubine—fine, I’ll let that slide. But now he’s plotting to seize the entire dowry and even wants me dead! Does he really think he won’t face divine retribution?"
Her voice boomed, loud enough for the entire village to hear.
Onlookers gasped: Who knew Minister Ye was this kind of man!
The guards, horrified by Ye Chutang’s outburst, rushed to cover her mouth.
But Ye Chutang dodged effortlessly, her travel bundle slung over her shoulder as she bolted toward the village outskirts.
"Help! They’re trying to silence me!"
The guards: "..."
Villagers muttered: Minister Ye has no conscience—even his own daughter isn’t safe!
The guards chased after Ye Chutang while desperately pleading with the crowd.
"The young mistress has lost her mind! Don’t believe a word she says!"
The villagers rolled their eyes: Oh sure, we’ll trust the murderers over her?
Ye Chutang sprinted straight to the village entrance, nearly colliding with an ornate carriage rolling in.
As she wondered why such a high-end carriage would come to their humble village, her eyes landed on the wooden plaque hanging above the door—carved with the character "Ye."
Wait… could it be her scum of a father, arriving in person?
