Glory

Moreover, every time Xia Momo visited, she would advise Xiao Xiang on how to serve Yu Shi, manage her time, and snatch moments to rest without the mistress noticing. This helped Xiao Xiang avoid much scolding and reduced her exhaustion. Consequently, Xiao Xiang felt not only gratitude but also a sense of attachment toward Xia Momo.

Her loyalty lay with Ye Yaming.

Therefore, to obtain inside information about the Song family or to manipulate matters, they had to start with Xiao Xiang.

The Song mother and son had previously spoken ill of the Ye family and the original host behind their backs. Xia Momo had long heard about this from Xiao Xiang and felt indignant, believing the Song family was not a good match. She had tried to advise the original host twice.

Unfortunately, the original host was deeply immersed in her imagined romance, not only refusing to listen but also scolding Xia Momo, saying things like "turn a blind eye and a deaf ear to improprieties" and accusing Xiao Xiang of being a troublemaking maid.

This frightened Xia Momo into immediately keeping quiet, worried that the original host might speak ill of Xiao Xiang to Yu Shi. Xiao Xiang had meant well but gained nothing from it; instead, she risked harming the girl.

Because of this, the original host distanced herself from Xia Momo for a while and stopped bringing her along on visits to the Song family.

As an experienced servant, Xia Momo naturally understood the ways of survival for those in her position. From then on, she never spoke another word against the Song mother and son.

Now that they were dealing with the marriage arrangement, Ye Yaming had a heart-to-heart with Xia Momo just last night, sharing her thoughts.

Xia Momo had watched the original host grow up and, being a woman herself, knew well the suffering of marrying the wrong person.

Hearing that Ye Yaming wanted to break off the engagement, she was both sorrowful and overjoyed, nearly moved to tears.

Without Ye Yaming having to say much, Xia Momo immediately pledged to seek out Xiao Xiang and gather evidence against the Song family, ensuring the Ye family would not suffer losses during the annulment.

Thus, Ye Yaming entrusted this matter to Xia Momo.

During this period, Ye Yaming had been focused on the affairs of the Ye family and Meng Chengwei, as it was a matter of life and death for the entire family. A single misstep could drag them into the quagmire created by Meng Chengwei, leaving her no time or energy to deal with Song Yifeng.

Now that the matter with Meng Chengwei was nearly resolved, it was time to seize this opportunity to confront Song Yifeng.

Therefore, when Old Madam Ye offered to provide her with assistance, she was quite in need of it.

She said, "I'll call Xia Momo over and let her explain to you."

Shortly after, Xia Momo arrived. Learning that Old Madam Ye intended to help Ye Yaming break off the engagement with the Song family, she was exceedingly pleased and immediately recounted some of the disparaging remarks about the Ye family that she had heard from Xiao Xiang, which the Song mother and son had made.

This infuriated Old Madam Ye.

Xia Momo, being a wise old woman, noticed Old Madam Ye's anger and quickly added, "Fortunately, the young lady is clever and discerning, seeing through the true nature of that mother and son. That's why she promptly sent this old servant to investigate them. Since she hasn't married into their family yet, there's still time to act."

Old Madam Ye was somewhat comforted by this.

She now eagerly wanted to annul the engagement for Ye Yaming and turned to ask her, "What do you plan to do next?"

Ye Yaming shook her head. "Not for now. Let's wait and see how things unfold."

Xia Momo looked at her, hesitating to speak.

"Mom, if you have something to say, please go ahead," Ye Yaming said with a smile.

The original host had disliked Xia Momo because of her connection to the Song family and seldom confided in her. Xia Momo, understanding the situation, kept her distance. Thus, the two had maintained a lukewarm relationship for two years.After Ye Yaming arrived, she gradually grew closer to Xia Momo, who had now resumed her habit of being overly concerned with everything.

Xia Momo glanced around the room and, seeing that aside from Old Mrs. Ye's confidante Granny Yu, no other maids or servants were present, lowered her voice and said, "Miss, we don’t actually have to wait for him to make a mistake. We can set a trap to 'make him slip up.' I’ve heard that the Yu girl next door visits his house every day..."

As she spoke, she gave Ye Yaming a meaningful wink.

Old Mrs. Ye’s eyes lit up at this, and she said to Ye Yaming, "Exactly! We can turn their scheme to our advantage."

Ye Yaming frowned slightly and shook her head. "No, we can’t do that."

Xia Momo was Old Mrs. Ye’s personal attendant and had grown up in the Mei family. The Ye family upheld a righteous and principled household tradition, but Xia Momo, having spent her youth in the Mei family and occasionally accompanying Old Mrs. Ye back to her maiden home, had heard of and witnessed too many dark, underhanded affairs within the Mei household.

Initially, Old Mrs. Ye had assigned these attendants to the young ladies of the family out of concern that the sheltered environment at home might render the girls naive and unprepared for the complexities of married life. She hoped the attendants could guide them.

Seeing Ye Yaming’s disapproval, Xia Momo assumed she was being too soft-hearted. She was never one to hold back her words in front of Old Mrs. Ye.

She tried to persuade Ye Yaming, saying, "If that Yu girl harbors no such intentions, we naturally won’t do anything. But if she knowingly tries to seduce Young Master Song despite your engagement to him, then she has only herself to blame. Besides, we won’t force her into anything. Any consequences would be the result of her own actions."

"Putting myself in her shoes, I don’t like the idea of treating another girl this way," Ye Yaming replied.

It was one thing for Yu Ling’er to try to seduce Song Yifeng on her own, but to deliberately set a trap, lure her into making a mistake, and then use it to stir up rumors—potentially ruining a girl’s entire future—was something Ye Yaming would never do.

Old Mrs. Ye seemed moved by these words.

She gazed at Ye Yaming, and the lingering worry in her heart finally dissipated.

Despite her young age, Ye Yaming possessed an almost uncanny intelligence. Though Old Mrs. Ye and Ye Chongming never voiced it, they had secretly feared she might use her cleverness for unscrupulous purposes.

In the short term, they worried she might suppress or even persecute the first, third, and fourth branches of the family to monopolize the Ye family’s wealth. In the long term, they feared she might leverage her beauty and intellect to marry into an official or even royal family, stirring up turmoil and disrupting the court’s stability.

Ye Chongming and Old Mrs. Ye were advanced in years and lacked ambition. They only wished for a smooth, stable life, with the family conducting business peacefully and living in tranquility. They had no desire for someone in the family to rise to a position that could overturn the court.

Such a person might bring glory to the family, but more often than not, they would be walking a tightrope—one misstep could lead to utter destruction and bring catastrophic disaster upon the entire clan.

Now, however, Old Mrs. Ye realized that even toward a stranger—a girl who coveted her fiancé—Ye Yaming could still show kindness. Her inner softness was evident.

A child like this would naturally not be ruthless toward her own family, nor would she stray down a wrong path or commit misdeeds.

A slow smile spread across Old Mrs. Ye’s lips, and her gaze toward Ye Yaming was filled with affection.Ye Yaming didn't notice the change in her expression and continued speaking to Xia Momo: "Moreover, employing this scheme is not only useless but might achieve the opposite effect."

Xia Momo had been about to say something, but upon hearing this, she promptly closed her mouth and listened carefully to what Ye Yaming had to say.