Glory

"Yes, yes." Yin Shi looked relieved. "I was furious when he came to break off the engagement back then. But now it seems like a blessing in disguise."

She opened her mouth, about to say she would carefully select another husband for Ye Yaming to comfort her daughter, but the words caught in her throat as she suddenly remembered Ye Chongming's warning. She quickly shut her mouth in frustration.

In the past, Ye Yaming wouldn't have wanted to continue the conversation. She wasn't the original owner of this body and found it hard to feel genuine warmth toward Yin Shi, yet she had to maintain the original host's persona in front of her.

The original host had been deeply affectionate and close to her mother. Her strong-willed nature came not only from Yin Shi's inheritance but also because Yin Shi had no sons. As the eldest daughter, she felt the need to protect her mother and hold up a banner for her.

Moreover, Ye Yaming had just resolved to unite everyone in the Ye family, which naturally included Yin Shi.

In this ancient society that emphasized filial piety, she could maintain a distant attitude toward uncles and, if necessary, sever ties through family division. But Ye Hongsheng and Yin Shi, her biological parents, were relationships she could never truly cut off.

Besides, without familial love, romantic love, or even friendship, what would be the point of building a career in this foreign time and space?

She affectionately linked arms with Yin Shi, pulling her along as they walked inside, and said, "Yes, Mother. That's why the ancients said, 'Misfortune may be a blessing in disguise, and blessing may be a misfortune in disguise.'"

"Right, right, right." Seeing her daughter, who had been somewhat distant lately, being affectionate with her again, Yin Shi nearly burst into tears.

"Were Grandfather and Grandmother angered by the Song Yifeng incident?" Ye Yaming asked.

Yin De'an had come by, sat with Ye Chongming for a while, had a cup of tea, and then left. Ye Chongming had asked if he wanted to see Yin Shi and Ye Yaming, but Yin De'an declined.

However, Yin Shi was worried about her parents, fearing they might fall ill from anger. After informing Old Madam Ye, she returned to the Yin family.

She had hesitated about whether to bring Ye Yaming along but was lectured by the old madam.

The old madam said that Ye Yaming was the one most hurt by this incident. Taking her back to her maternal home and subjecting her to repeated inquiries about the broken engagement would only rub salt in her wounds.

Yin Shi saw the logic in this and went alone to the Yin family with her servants. She stayed for a while, had a meal, and then returned.

Seeing Ye Yaming's concern for her grandparents, Yin Shi quickly replied, "They're fine. Your grandfather was indeed very angry, but that's secondary. What troubled him most was his deep guilt toward you. He feels it was his misjudgment that led you to suffer this ordeal. He feels he failed you. Your grandmother and uncles comforted him at length, and when I returned, I told him about your condition, which eased his mind somewhat."

She took Ye Yaming's hand and said, "Ming'er, don't blame your grandfather. He truly had no idea Song Yifeng was such a person. No matter what, he would never harm you."

"Yes, yes, I know," Ye Yaming said with a smile. "Please tell Grandfather not to blame himself. This marriage wasn't forced on me by him or Grandfather—I was willing at the time. The blame lies solely with the Song mother and son for their heartless actions. Fortunately, they've faced retribution."

"Yes, heaven has eyes." Yin Shi clasped her hands together and bowed toward the sky.

Ye Yaming escorted her to the main room's entrance and was about to take her leave when she saw a figure running toward them—it was Ye Yayin.

"Sis-sister, is what they're saying true?" Ye Yayin, clearly having rushed over, was panting heavily and could barely speak coherently.

"If you're referring to Song Yifeng being imprisoned, then yes, it's true," Ye Yaming replied."I heard from the servants that you broke off the engagement some time ago?" Ye Yayin asked again.

Ye Yaming nodded: "Yes."

She hadn't deliberately concealed her broken engagement, but she hadn't announced it throughout the mansion either. This wasn't a good thing, and the servants who knew about it were afraid that discussing it would lead to punishment from the displeased Old Master Ye and Old Madam Ye, so they all kept silent.

Because of this, apart from Ye Hongchang and Tao Shi, who were in charge of the main branch, and her birth mother Yin Shi, no one else knew about it.

It wasn't until Song Yifeng was imprisoned, causing an uproar throughout the city, and the mansion's servants began discussing it, that those who knew about the broken engagement revealed what had happened. This led to Ye Hongrong and Ye Yayin coming to comfort her.

Ye Yaming estimated that Ye Yaqing would probably arrive soon.

As soon as this thought crossed her mind, she saw Ye Yaqing's figure. Like Ye Yayin, she was also running and completely out of breath.

Moreover, because the main branch was far from the second branch, she was so breathless she couldn't even speak. "Don't rush, don't rush. I know what you want to ask. Yes, yes, the Song family broke off the engagement with me some time ago. Now Song Yifeng has gotten his retribution and is in prison. Seeing him like this makes me feel so relieved, I wish I could celebrate with a big drink." Ye Yaming said while patting Ye Yaqing's back.

"Come in and sit, everyone." Yin Shi was very happy that everyone cared about Ye Yaming and quickly invited them into the hall to sit, repeatedly calling for snacks to be served.

Ye Yaming wanted to ask about Ye Yaqing's marriage situation, worried that she might not speak freely in front of Yin Shi, so she said to her mother: "Mother, I'll take my sisters to my place."

"That's fine too." Yin Shi smiled. "You sisters should have a good talk."

Ye Yaming led Ye Yaqing and Ye Yayin back to her courtyard and explained in detail the circumstances of Song Yifeng breaking off the engagement. This made Ye Yaqing and Ye Yayin so angry they started cursing. However, their vocabulary for cursing was quite limited, repeating phrases like "this person is too wicked" and "this makes me so angry."

After finishing her own story, Ye Yaming asked Ye Yaqing: "How is your marriage arrangement going?"

Ye Yayin also blinked her big eyes curiously, looking at her cousin.

Ye Yaqing glanced at Ye Yayin and was about to find an excuse to talk about something else when Ye Yaming said: "It's fine, let her listen. It will broaden her experience so she can keep her eyes open and learn lessons when choosing a marriage in the future."

"Exactly, Second Sister, let me listen too." Ye Yayin pleaded softly.

Ye Yaqing smiled at her, then said to Ye Yaming: "Fortunately, you reminded our grandparents and my father. They sent people to thoroughly investigate the Wang family and found it was indeed quite inappropriate, so this marriage arrangement was called off."

Ye Yaming nodded, feeling relieved.

But Ye Yayin asked curiously: "What exactly was inappropriate about them?"

To prevent young girls from developing premature interest in romantic matters, older girls usually avoided discussing their own marriage arrangements in front of younger ones. Ye Yaqing glanced at Ye Yaming and, seeing she didn't object, explained to Ye Yayin in detail: "At first glance, their family seemed particularly good. Leaving aside their scholarly reputation, just the fact that no one in their family kept concubines made everyone think they had pure family traditions and were very willing to arrange marriages with them. Moreover, they didn't look down on merchants - from the old madam down to the daughters-in-law, many came from merchant families."