Glory

He defended, "Ming'er has her own reasons for what she does. Song Yifeng wronged her—she needs to vent her anger. As her grandparents, we absolutely shouldn't protect outsiders and let our own child suffer in silence."

Old Mrs. Ye fell silent.

It was indeed true.

When Zhou Xiang was summoned by Ye Chongming, he had someone notify Ye Yaming. Regarding this matter, Ye Yaming had something to say to her grandparents. If she didn't explain clearly and left them with the impression that she was ruthless and vicious, it would be unfortunate.

Although she didn't care much about how others viewed her, if communication could foster harmony between them, why remain silent and let misunderstandings fester?

As she reached the doorway and overheard Ye Chongming's words, she felt a surge of joy, and a smile spread across her face.

Stepping over the threshold, she first bowed to the two of them and said, "Regarding this matter, I have something to discuss with Grandfather and Grandmother. That's why I specifically instructed Zhou Xiang to send someone to notify me when he came to report to you."

Zhou Xiang cast a grateful glance at Ye Yaming.

If Ye Yaming didn't explain this matter, Ye Chongming and Old Mrs. Ye would inevitably hold a grudge against him later. "Oh? What do you have to say?" Ye Chongming asked with interest.

He was genuinely very curious about Ye Yaming's next move. If arranging for Zijin to approach Song Yifeng was merely about using feminine charms to ruin his reputation, he felt it was too shallow and immature—not Ye Yaming's style.

Ye Yaming smiled at him and turned to Old Mrs. Ye. "Grandmother, do you think I'm too ruthless and vicious? You've always taught us to be kind and tolerant, not to nitpick over every little thing."

If Ye Yaming had only asked the first question, Old Mrs. Ye would naturally have denied it. Her husband was right—there was no reason for their own child to suffer injustice and not even be allowed to vent her anger.

But the latter part was something she often taught her granddaughters. Denying it would be contradicting herself.

She said, "While I don't think you're overly ruthless or vicious, I do believe in moderation. You can let go of the matter with Song Yifeng. Only by letting go can you truly free your heart from him. Freeing yourself from him is also freeing yourself."

She felt her words carried a profound Zen-like wisdom and nodded in satisfaction after speaking.

"I could let him go. But given his character, now that he's fallen to such a state, if he passes the imperial exams and becomes an official, will he let our Ye family off?"

Ye Chongming was taken aback, then his expression turned serious.

Old Mrs. Ye was also startled and stammered, "N-no, he wouldn't, would he?"

"Why wouldn't he?" Ye Yaming said calmly. "At the prefectural school, he's like a rat scurrying across the street—though not everyone shouts to beat him, they still avoid him. He used to live comfortably and spend lavishly, but now he has to rely on others and can barely afford to buy a book."

"Before, our family gave him money and gifts, treating him with great respect, but just because we had money and he didn't, and we were the benefactors, he resented us. Now that we've brought him to such a state, won't he harbor deep hatred for us?"

Ye Chongming and Old Mrs. Ye fell silent.

Having lived most of their lives, their rich experiences had given them insight into human nature. They knew Ye Yaming's words had hit the mark precisely.

Did Song Yifeng hate the Ye family? Absolutely! If he gained power, would he seek revenge? Without a doubt!

A chill ran down their spines.

"So, since we've started this, we can't stop halfway. If we don't crush him completely and ensure he can never recover, this matter will bring endless trouble," Ye Yaming said."You're right," Ye Chongming sighed. "Your grandmother and I have lived so many years, yet we don't see things as deeply and clearly as you do."

Old Mrs. Ye said with shame, "Grandmother was mistaken. I shouldn't have thought of you that way."

"Do as you see fit," Ye Chongming said, then added with emotion, "No wonder people say wealth never lasts three generations." Why doesn't wealth last three generations? It's not because descendants squander the family fortune, but because they grow up in comfort, never tasting life's hardships or experiencing the wickedness in people's hearts.

Just like himself—he had been pampered since childhood, his life smooth sailing, so he took everyone for a good person. As a result, he almost fell into a trap without any alertness.

"And as for what you plan to do next, go ahead without hesitation. I won't summon Zhou Xiang for questioning anymore. Your grandfather believes in you," Ye Chongming added.

Ye Yaming gratefully stood up and bowed. "Thank you, Grandfather and Grandmother."

From then on, true to his word, Ye Chongming refrained from interfering.

In truth, even if he had inquired, he wouldn't have uncovered much. Ye Yaming knew that some matters couldn't be rushed—haste would reveal one's tracks. Slow and steady wins the race.

So for the next ten days to half a month, she took no action, merely continuing to have people keep an eye on the Song mother and son, as well as Cui Zijin and her nephew.

Yes, to avoid capsizing in a ditch, even though Cui Zijin and her nephew had been hired on Ye Yaming's orders, she still didn't trust them entirely, fearing that Cui Zijin might develop feelings for Song Yifeng and turn against her.

She had already informed Cui Zijin that they couldn't send her away until after the New Year. After all, it was late autumn, the rivers were freezing over, travel was difficult, and leaving Lin'an wouldn't be easy. Falling ill on the road could be fatal.

She said this partly out of concern that Cui Zijin might grow impatient and expose their plans.

Unexpectedly, while she remained inactive, Cui Zijin sent over a piece of good news.

"What did you say?" Ye Yaming asked in surprise, turning to Zhou Xiang.

Zhou Xiang pulled a piece of paper from his bosom and handed it to Ye Yaming. "This was copied by Miss Zijin."

Ye Yaming quickly took the paper and examined it closely.

After a couple of glances, she looked up in confusion, waving the paper. "What is this written about?"

Zhou Xiang suddenly laughed. "Miss Zijin is very cautious. She was worried that if this paper fell into the wrong hands, it could bring her fatal trouble. So she copied the text in a staggered pattern. You have to read it by skipping lines—start with the first character, then jump to every other line, reading the first, second, fourth, sixth characters, and so on after finishing the first row."

Ye Yaming raised an eyebrow, quite impressed with this Cui Zijin. "She is indeed careful, clever, and quick-witted."

"But no one is cleverer than you, miss," Zhou Xiang said.

He wasn't just flattering her; he meant it sincerely.

Back when the young lady had first made this move, everyone thought she was playing a game with feminine charms to make Wang Wenzhi hesitate to marry his daughter to Song Yifeng, thus thwarting Song Yifeng's ambitions to climb the social ladder. Who would have guessed that she actually intended for Cui Zijin to act as a spy, infiltrating the Song family just to obtain Song Yifeng's writings?

He couldn't fathom how the young lady had known that Song Yifeng would write such an article. After all, Miss Zijin had mentioned that Song Yifeng only wrote it yesterday.

After reading the article, Ye Yaming smiled cheerfully. "It's settled."

Truly, it was like searching far and wide only to find what you need without any effort.

She had the original host's memories—in them, this Song Yifeng had a habit of writing poems and essays criticizing and denouncing others whenever he encountered setbacks.