Glory

After saying this, she swept her gaze over the crowd, a smile on her face, but her eyes paused on Su Rou's face for a moment, filled with cold severity and warning.

When Su Rou saw the situation completely deviating from the expected direction, she knew trouble was brewing and felt panicked inside.

At this moment, public opinion was entirely in Ye Yaming's hands, and she had heard much about Ye Yaming's sharpness from Ye Yaqing; she was also well-informed about the incident where Ye Yaming confronted the Yang siblings at the jewelry shop.

If she were to say anything unfavorable about Ye Yaqing now, Ye Yaming might very well turn the spearhead toward her. Hadn't she seen how Yang Chuzhi was about to be sent to the authorities on charges of theft?

If they had known Ye Yaming was also at the Chen family's today, they would never have carried out their plan.

Wasn't it said that Ye Yaming hadn't come? Where did she suddenly appear from? And since she was here, why hadn't Ye Yaqing informed her?

Her mind racing with thoughts, weighing the pros and cons, Su Rou quickly changed her strategy amidst her internal turmoil.

She echoed Ye Yaming, saying, "Miss Ye makes a valid point. With all the banquets hosted by families around the New Year, minor incidents are unavoidable and don't really affect anything. Since there are servants handling this, let's go back to our own activities."

She then turned to Miss Chen with a sweet smile, "Sister Chen, what do you think?"

Some sensible and considerate young ladies also chimed in, comforting Miss Chen.

Miss Chen was clever enough to understand that Ye Yaming and Su Rou were hiding something and didn't want the matter to escalate. Besides, the back gate was guarded by servants, and without her parents' orders, these people couldn't leave.

So, she could simply ignore the matter and leave it to her parents to handle. Moreover, while the Su family might not matter much, the Ye family's reputation had to be respected.

She took the opportunity to step down gracefully, smiling, "Thank you, sisters, for your understanding. I'll have someone take care of it later. Let's continue with our own fun and not let this minor issue spoil our mood."

She tugged at Ye Yaming, "Come on, the wind by the lake is strong. Let's head back to the hall."

Ye Yaming pinched Ye Yaqing hard, warning her with a glare, and pulled her along to follow Miss Chen.

By now, Ye Yaqing's mind had cleared, realizing that speaking out would surely damage her reputation. As for Yang Chuzhi, it seemed he had also acted inappropriately earlier.

No matter what, the safest approach was to follow Ye Yaming and plead for Yang Chuzhi when they reached a more convenient place to talk.

So she remained silent and followed Ye Yaming back to the hall.

Tao Shi had been sitting in the hall all along, waiting for Ye Yaqing to send someone to summon her to identify Yang Chuzhi. But no one came, no matter how long she waited.

Just as she was growing restless, she saw the two sisters enter. Both looked very upset, especially her daughter Ye Yaqing, whose face was deathly pale as if she had suffered a fright.

She was about to call Ye Yaqing over to ask what had happened when Old Madam Ye called out to her, "Eldest daughter-in-law, come quickly. This is the Chen family's aunt—do you remember her? She attended the celebration when you gave birth to Jiaxing."

Tao Shi had no choice but to gather her composure and socialize with the Chen aunt.

Ye Yaqing followed Ye Yaming to a corner and sat down. As she looked at her cousin, about to speak, Ye Yaming thrust a cup of hot tea into her hands.Ye Yaming whispered, "If you don't want to die, and don't want him to die either, then shut up and act as if nothing happened. After the banquet ends, I'll take you back. We'll discuss everything then. If anyone notices something off, this matter will inevitably blow up."

Ye Yaqing stared wide-eyed at her cousin.

Ye Yaming ignored her and calmly sipped her tea.

Despite having contingency plans, she had broken out in a cold sweat the moment Ye Yaqing fell into the lake.

Falling into the lake in this weather—even if one didn't drown, the cold would sap half their life force. Especially for someone with Ye Yaqing's constitution, and in this era with limited medical resources. A simple fever could easily prove fatal.

Hadn't the original host met her end precisely this way?

After drinking a cup of hot tea, her body gradually warmed, and her mind relaxed somewhat.

But Ye Yaqing remained persistent. As soon as Ye Yaming finished her tea, she grabbed her arm and said, "He's not a thief, right? That jade pendant—it was Mama Lin or Granny Liu who planted it, wasn't it?"

Fortunately, she still remembered they were in a crowded place and kept her voice low, whispering directly into Ye Yaming's ear.

Seeing her like this, Ye Yaming felt both exasperated and disappointed. "Seems you're not entirely foolish—you can be quite clever when you want to be. So how did you get deceived like this?"

Ye Yaqing's eyes widened further. "What nonsense are you talking about? Who deceived me?"

"Do you need to drown before believing someone tricked you?" Ye Yaming's gaze turned icy.

Ye Yaqing met her eyes but eventually looked away, murmuring with downcast eyelids, "It can't be... He wouldn't deceive me."

She clutched Ye Yaming's arm again. "No matter what, you can't have him arrested as a thief. Cousin, I'm begging you. You'll ruin his future."

Seeing how Ye Yaqing was getting agitated and forgetting their surroundings, Ye Yaming knew their conversation would soon attract attention if it continued.

"Don't worry," she said. "He wasn't taken to the magistrate. Da Bo took him back for questioning. If he's truly innocent and sincere about marrying you, Da Bo won't harm him."

"Really?" Ye Yaqing brightened. "You're not lying to me?"

"Right, I'm lying. I'm the worst person in the world who'd deceive you—everyone else is completely sincere with you." Ye Yaming had no desire to continue this conversation and turned away.

She considered moving to sit beside Old Mrs. Ye but knew she had to stay here to keep an eye on this fool—to prevent her from being tricked into revealing information or being swayed by that woman Su Rou.

Su Rou needed to be dealt with, but now wasn't the time. Going after a rat might break the precious vase. Besides, what would scolding or slapping Su Rou accomplish? It would be mere superficial punishment.

The Su family were also merchants. Su Rou had helped the Yang family scheme against Ye Yaqing to benefit the Su family. When the time came, the Ye family would deliver a severe lesson to the Su family—that would be striking the snake's vital spot.

Realizing her words had upset her cousin, Ye Yaqing hurriedly leaned over to apologize.

"Enough, enough. Just stay quiet where you are. We'll leave after the meal. Ignore Su Rou, and play dumb if anyone questions you," Ye Yaming instructed.

She feared that if she glanced away for even a moment, this fool would be sold out yet again—and still help count the money for her betrayers.A young girl who was naive about the ways of the world still hadn't come to her senses after experiencing such a harsh lesson from society. Stubbornly refusing to admit she had been deceived by a man, Ye Yaming felt utterly exhausted.

After sitting for a while, the banquet was announced to begin.

Tao Shi glanced back and noticed Ye Yaqing's complexion had improved significantly compared to when they first arrived. Ye Yaming had long returned to normal, chatting and laughing with a girl beside her. Only then did Tao Shi feel relieved.