Ye Suijin wasn't surprised when the father and son duo, Fourth Young Master and Fifth Uncle, were the first ones to arrive. It was because she had been in contact with Yuan Ling, who was in Deng Prefecture, through fast horses, making the trip daily.
In reality, the entire province was not that big, and a fast horse could reach any place within the province in a single day. If they were in a hurry, they could even cross two provinces in one day without any problem.
Therefore, Ye Suijin, who was in Tang Prefecture, was well-informed about what happened in Deng Prefecture.
"You came for the Tong family matter, right?" Ye Suijin raised an eyebrow.
Both Fifth Uncle and Fourth Young Master had unpleasant expressions.
With Ye Suijin's remark, they understood that she had received the news earlier than them.
They had no prior business or interest in Yuan Ling. They only knew about his whereabouts because Ye Fourth Uncle mentioned that Eleventh Sister went back to Deng Prefecture with Yuan Ling to visit her teacher, and that's how they found out Yuan Ling was not in Biyang.
"Must they sentence Yue Niang to death?" Fifth Uncle's expression turned grim. "After all, she is Fourth Young Master's father-in-law..."
Ye Suijin shifted her gaze to Ye Silang and asked, "What do you say, Silang?"
Ye Silang's expression was also grim, and he asked first, "What exactly happened? Is it true, or is there a misunderstanding?"
Ye Suijin handed him a few sheets of paper.
Both Ye Silang and Fifth Uncle leaned in to read. The more they read, the grimmer their expressions became.
Ye Silang's father-in-law, Master Tong, forced himself upon the daughter-in-law of a tenant family. The daughter-in-law later committed suicide. When the grandson went to demand justice, the Tong family beat him severely and left him in the wilderness.
It was a struggle to find him, and after they brought him back home, he passed away within a few days.
The Tong family was located in Nanyang.
Ye Silang's grandfather and father wanted to go to Nanyang County to file a complaint, but when they arrived at Nanyang County, they found out that the young county magistrate shared the surname Ye.
Why did the Tong family become so arrogant in the past year? It was because their in-laws, the Ye family, had become prosperous, and they rode on their coattails.
Ye Silang's grandfather and father were dumbfounded.
In the end, they cried bitterly, didn't file a complaint, and returned home.
They didn't dare to.
They were afraid.
Yuan Ling's letter was thick and included a copy of the testimony, detailing the specifics of the case.
The tenant family was poor, so the daughter-in-law and granddaughter-in-law worked for the Tong family, doing laundry and odd jobs.
On that day, when they were going to the Tong family to return the cleaned clothes and pick up the dirty ones, Ye Silang's father-in-law saw the granddaughter-in-law, who was well-featured. Taking advantage of the dirty clothes waiting to be picked up, he deceived her and her mother-in-law, leading them to another courtyard and into a room.
Unexpectedly, tragedy struck.
She hanged herself when she returned home.
The testimony and witnesses were all clear and detailed.
The one sent by the Tong family to report and seek help was Ye Silang's uncle. Although he was evasive and tried to hide the truth, the facts were as they were, and he couldn't conceal them.
Yuan Ling's letter objectively and accurately reconstructed the whole incident.
There was no misunderstanding.
It was simply that Ye Silang's father-in-law, who had taken six concubines, had once again acted with improper intentions.
Ye Silang's face turned livid.
Fifth Uncle sighed, "Oh dear, oh dear," and said, "So, the Tong family... won't accept redemption?"
Ye Suijin said, "Forcing and defiling an upright woman is already a grave crime. If the woman is married, the severity increases. To drive her to her death and still claim to be from the Ye family, the wickedness of their actions, if Yuan Ling hadn't spared them from Lingchi, would have already brought shame to our family."
Although the tenant family was poor, they were still an upright family.
The letter made it clear that the Tong family was acting arrogantly and bullying others. They boldly declared, "My son-in-law is Ye Silang, currently in Biyang. If you want to report to the officials, go ahead and do it. Let's see if there's any official in Deng Prefecture who dares to meddle in Ye Silang's affairs."
Upon learning that the county magistrate in Nanyang was surnamed Ye and belonged to the Ye family, the unfortunate victims, father and son, were filled with despair and wept bitterly before wiping away their tears and returning home.
Those words were written in the letter and caught the attention of both Fifth Uncle and Fourth Young Master Ye. They were extremely provocative.
But after all, Fourth Young Master Ye was their son-in-law, and their daughter-in-law was on the verge of death from crying.
"Well... let them offer more money. Can we save their lives?" Fifth Uncle rubbed his hands together. "Ah, look at your fourth sister-in-law. You know how she has always..."
"Uncle," Ye Suijin interrupted him, her gaze shifting to Ye Silang. "Let Silang speak."
She stared at Ye Silang and asked, "Silang, what do you think?"
However, Ye Silang remained silent, his expression filled with inner conflict and hesitation.
"Silang, we are the same age," Ye Suijin said, looking at him. "We're not children anymore. Not everything requires the intervention of our elders. Now, it's time for you to speak up for yourself."
Her words carried a sense of authority.
Fifth Uncle turned to look at his own son.
Ye Silang hesitated for a long time, then continued the unfinished sentence that Fifth Uncle had started: "Yue Niang... you know her, she has always been filial..."
He couldn't go on any further.
Both father and son clearly saw the cold smile on Ye Suijin's face.
"So, in order for Tong Family's daughter to appear filial, we, the Ye family, have to bear the stain on our reputation for her?" she asked.
Neither Fifth Uncle nor Ye Silang could utter a word.
After all, they bore the Ye surname.
Ye Silang murmured, "Must it come to sacrificing our lives?"
Ye Suijin looked at the two of them and said, "Do you understand what I am doing now?"
Both Fifth Uncle and Ye Silang fell silent once again.
When Tong Family's uncle came seeking help, naturally, he mentioned other matters in Deng Prefecture.
That was when they learned that Ye Suijin had quietly sent Yuan Ling to investigate. This mission was not just about the Ye family; it was related to the Ye family.
It was easy to understand what Ye Suijin was up to with a little pondering.
In just one year, things had progressed too quickly.
The Ye family had suddenly become the local tyrants of Deng Prefecture and Tang Prefecture.
Relatives followed suit and rose in status.
Many people started to act arrogantly.
Ye Liu, the sixth sister, took action and intended to cut off all these inflated tails.
Someone suddenly felt dazed.
It had only been a year, just one year? So short?
It felt like such a long time had passed.
How could it be only a year?
Tsk.
The sound of knuckles tapping on the tabletop brought the person back to reality.
Ye Suijin's knuckles tapped again—tsk.
This sound inexplicably made people feel uncomfortable.
Things were going downhill.
Everyone understood what Ye Suijin intended to do.
With her temperament, bloodshed was necessary.
The problem was that Fourth Young Master Ye's father-in-law arrived at this critical moment.
Ye Silang dared not meet her gaze.
"Your sister, causing all this trouble... after all, she's her biological father, my father-in-law. I know what her father did was wrong, but..." he stammered.
Ye Suijin felt a slight disappointment towards Ye Silang.
But as the head of the family, she couldn't abandon a child just because she was disappointed in them.
The head of the family had to shoulder the heavens and lift up each and every child, unless that child was rotten to the core and beyond redemption.
Clearly, Ye Silang hadn't reached that point of no return.
Ye Suijin had to fulfill her responsibilities as a parent.
"You know it's not right," she said. "Why don't you know that you should divorce your wife?"
The study fell silent for a moment.
Ye Suijin said, "Don't know how to write a divorce letter? It's okay."
She opened a drawer and pulled out a piece of paper. "I've already written it for you. Sign it and from now on, there will be no connection between the Tong family and our family."
The study was so quiet that you could hear a pin drop.
Both Fifth Uncle and Fourth Young Master were sweating on their foreheads.
Fourth Young Master was sweating profusely.
At this moment, he was not facing his sisters, but the head of the Ye family.
Sisters would talk about the relationship between brother-in-law and sister-in-law.
The family head only considered the interests of the family.
Mistakes made by children and grandchildren can be expelled from the clan; mistakes made in choosing a wife can be divorced.
Ye Fifth Uncle was also sweating on his forehead.
The main branch of the Ye family had not divorced a wife for generations. Yet now, their family was going to divorce a wife?
But he understood that Ye Suijin wasn't asking him. She was pressuring Fourth Young Master.
She was the head of the family.
She wouldn't think about changing the older generation. But she had expectations for the younger members of the clan.
Guiding them was her responsibility.
Back then, she had taken a strong medicine and sacrificed her chance to have children to secure this position. She had to shoulder this responsibility.
Fourth Young Master's face turned pale.
"Mother... Yue Niang..." he said.
Ye Suijin said, "The Tong family has committed many wrongdoings this year. It's because their nature changed after they became prosperous by following our family."
Saying their nature changed was putting it nicely. In reality, it meant that when external conditions were sufficient, the evil that had not been able to manifest before burst forth.
With a backing and increased courage, they dared to do evil.
"It's not good to have ties with the Tong family. Cutting them off is better for you and Fifth Uncle," Ye Suijin said.
Ye Fifth Uncle fell silent.
But Fourth Young Master still couldn't bring himself to say the words "divorce your wife." They were still indebted to each other, a young couple with a daughter who was not yet two years old and was just learning to speak.
Fourth Young Master didn't immediately agree to divorce his wife, and Ye Suijin felt slightly relieved.
The Tong family was indeed detestable. But people were ultimately not weapons or swords; they were not heartless objects.
Ye Suijin, as the head of the family, was naturally only responsible for the clan.
But Fourth Young Master was Yue Niang's husband, and he should be responsible for Yue Niang. If Ye Suijin pressured him and he abandoned Yue Niang, Ye Suijin would be disappointed in him.
If a man was indifferent to his own wife, don't expect him to be sincere to others.
Fourth Young Master's forehead was covered in layers of sweat, his face turned pale, but he still held on.
"The Tong family is the Tong family, Yue Niang is Yue Niang," he said. "The day she married me, she already became a Ye family wife. I can't divorce her just because the Tong family did something wrong."
"I'll go talk to her. I won't meddle in this matter. You... figure it out."
Ye Suijin wanted to clean house and make an example to warn others.
If she didn't make this move, even her own prestige would be damaged.
With her personality, no one could stop her from making this move.
Her father-in-law had brought this upon himself and couldn't blame others.
"Fine. I'll give Yue Niang another chance," Ye Suijin said. "Talk to her properly. She doesn't need to get involved in this matter."
"But if she still forces you to prioritize personal desires over the public good... Fourth Young Master, you know what to do."
She pushed the divorce letter in front of Fourth Young Master and stopped speaking.
Fourth Young Master stared at the divorce letter for a while, nodded, and turned around, walking away briskly.
Fifth Uncle rubbed his hands anxiously, "Oh, you, you caused such a fuss without making a sound..."
Causing such a commotion silently.
Ye Suijin sneered, "Do I have to go and alert them first? So they have time to cover up and destroy everything?"
Fifth Uncle gasped.
Ye Suijin took out a thick stack of letters and flipped through them, saying, "Wu Sheng's maternal family..."
Fifth Uncle's hair stood on end.
Ye Suijin continued, "Nothing much happened. Everything seems fine."
Fifth Uncle was almost infuriated.
He muttered and cursed under his breath before leaving.
Not long after Fifth Uncle left, Fourth Uncle and Ye Silang arrived.
"What's going on? Can't you make a single sound? You caused such a big commotion silently," Fourth Uncle said angrily.
He had just heard the news. Ye Qi and Ye Ba were not in Biyang, and he had planned to meet Ye Wu first before asking Ye Suijin what was happening. Unexpectedly, Ye Wu's family was in chaos.
Their family was the first to be involved, such bad luck.
Fourth Uncle hurriedly came to find Ye Suijin.
"Prevent the ruler from losing his state, and the subject from losing his life," Ye Suijin replied with a smile.
"Don't speak nonsense. Is there anything wrong with my family?" Fourth Uncle asked.
Ye Suijin smiled. Her smile reassured both Fourth Uncle and Ye Silang.
"Your family, Tong Niang's family, and Lan Niang's family are all fine," Ye Suijin said. "They are all decent families."
"Naturally," Fourth Uncle said proudly, with his hands on his hips. "Your Fourth Aunt was personally chosen by your Uncle Grandfather. They are honest and upright, never involved in any wrongdoing. That's the rule set by your Uncle Grandfather. I investigated Tong Niang's family and Lan Niang's family before we made the marriage arrangements. They are both decent families. Unlike Ye Wu, who didn't pay attention to such things when he got married."
"Wow, are you making a list for Yuan Ling to go house by house?" Fourth Uncle finally realized.
"This is called investigation," Ye Suijin said.
"Tsk," Fourth Uncle asked again, "What about Eighth Aunt's family?"
Because Fourth Uncle and Ye Ba were siblings. Fifth Uncle and Seventh Uncle were their cousins. Naturally, siblings were closer.
Eighth Aunt was not in Biyang right now, she was in Yanchen City preparing for the shipbuilding project, so Fourth Uncle had to ask.
"Eighth Aunt's family is also fine," Ye Suijin praised. "Uncle Grandfather really pays attention to people."
"But I still need to talk to them," she said. "I'm most afraid that even if they are originally upright and proper, there might be wicked people watching your family. When they see your family prosper, they might incite or entice, or even set traps and frame you. We must be on guard against bad people causing trouble."
Ye nodded, "Yes, I'll go talk to Fifth Young Master and inform the Yue family."
Ye left.
However, Fourth Uncle didn't leave yet.
He asked, "Will there be bloodshed this time?"
Ye Suijin coldly smiled, "Just because we're surnamed Ye doesn't mean we have a get-out-of-jail-free card."
Fourth Uncle asked, "Which branch is it?"
"Zhongyuan Hall," Ye Suijin replied.
Fourth Uncle crossed his arms, "As expected."
Ye Jingyi came from Zhongyuan Hall.
He was the first branch member of the Ye family to enter official service, rising from a commoner to a county magistrate in one step.
It can be said that thanks to Ye Jingyi, Zhongyuan Hall was the most prominent branch of the Ye family, second only to the main branch. With such an outstanding member in the hall, someone was bound to rise.
It was reasonable.
However, Fourth Uncle Ye stayed behind because he had something else to ask Ye Suijin.
With his arms crossed, he had a strong build and stood in front of the desk, his shadow almost enveloping Ye Suijin.
"Eleventh Sister," he stared at Ye Suijin and asked, "Did you really go to see her teacher?"
...
The study fell silent for a moment.
Ye Suijin: "Yes!"
