Chapter 8: Not Having a Good Appetite

A few people got off the car, passed through the drooping flower gate, and entered a long winding cobblestone path that followed along the riverbank, leading to a spacious courtyard, which was the prestigious residence of the Wen family.

Upon seeing the newcomers, a maid lifted the curtain and called out, "The eldest miss is back."

Ye Tangcai walked into the inner room, and a strong medicinal smell hit her face. On the bed, a beautiful woman in her thirties with closed eyes, leaning against the bed, looked haggard, with dark circles under her eyes and a pale complexion. In terms of appearance, Ye Tangcai bore a resemblance to Mrs. Wen.

Tears welled up in Ye Tangcai's eyes, "Mother!"

In her previous life, her mother was driven to death by the Zhang family and Ye Licai, while she was also seriously ill and unable to return home for the funeral. Now, seeing Mrs. Wen, Ye Tangcai felt a sense of being in a different world.

"Daughter!" Mrs. Wen embraced Ye Tangcai and couldn't help but cry, repeatedly comforting her, "My child, you've suffered, don't cry! I will definitely seek justice for you! We won't let this injustice go!"

Yesterday, upon learning that her good son-in-law had eloped with the niece of the second wife, Mrs. Wen was thunderstruck and fainted. She woke up in the middle of the night, only to learn that Ye Tangcai had been persuaded by Sun to marry into the Chu family, which made her roll her eyes in anger and faint again.

When she woke up again, it was already morning. She regretted being so weak and falling ill at a critical moment.

"Did the Chu family... trouble you?" Mrs. Wen asked anxiously, holding Ye Tangcai's hand and examining her up and down. Seeing her rosy complexion and lack of fatigue, she breathed a sigh of relief.

"Not at all," Ye Tangcai said, "Master Chu seemed gentle. After bringing me back yesterday, he left. Coincidentally, the lady of the house, the master, and the young ladies were all at their maternal home for a wedding celebration, leaving only Master Chu at home. No one dared to mistreat me."

"I mean... did that Master Chu... mistreat you?" Mrs. Wen's face turned pale. If she had been conscious last night, she would never have allowed her daughter to stay at the Chu family's house and would have had her brought back home first.

Ye Tangcai coughed, "Absolutely not."

"Really?" Mrs. Wen was afraid that her daughter, being timid, wouldn't dare to speak up even if she suffered.

"Madam, rest assured, the young lady is unharmed," Qiuju assured, while Huiran nodded repeatedly.

Mrs. Wen finally felt relieved.

Ye Tangcai said, "Master Chu is a good person, a gentleman. He just brought me into the house and then left, even sending a servant to bring me food and bedding."

After Mrs. Wen relaxed, she poked Ye Tangcai's forehead, "Silly child, what good person? This is called 'no good deed goes unpunished'!"

Qiuju nodded in agreement, and Ye Tangcai's mouth twitched.

"Madam, young lady," at this moment, a maid in green timidly walked in, "The second miss and the young master... cough, Mr. Zhang, have been brought back."

Mrs. Wen's face changed, and she stood up, "Ah, finally found... that little wench! Get me changed."

"Mother, you should rest, I'll go," Ye Tangcai looked at Mrs. Wen's pale face with concern.

"No, I can't rest today. I won't let that little wench off the hook! And Sun, that vile woman, I won't spare them!" Mrs. Wen said angrily, "Alright."

Ye Tangcai helped Mrs. Wen up and sat her at the dressing table. Nanny Cai immediately directed the maids to get busy, with some fetching water, some doing hair, and others bringing clothes.

Ye Tangcai went to the outer room and called the maid who had brought the news, "When were they found?"

The maid whispered, "The guards who went out said that they saw those two coming back when they were looking for them outside the city gate. They were tied up because the city gate was closed, so they had to stay at an inn outside the city for the night and were brought back this morning."

Those two coming back? Ye Tangcai sneered, "You may leave."

The Wen family had already changed into a new outfit, a brown horse-faced skirt with a dark embroidered cloud pattern, and a simple bun with a green jasper hairpin. Due to her pale complexion, Mrs. Wen had run out of time and only applied a little rose lotion and lipstick before hastily leaving the house.

Outside, a small sedan chair was already waiting. Ye Tangcai helped Mrs. Wen into the sedan chair, and she and Nanny Cai walked alongside as they left the courtyard and headed towards the main hall of the Jing'an Marquis's residence.

...

The main hall of the Jing'an Marquis's residence was located in the outer courtyard, consisting of three spacious rooms with intricately carved windows and ample natural light. The roof had flying eaves and was usually used for receiving distinguished guests or more formal occasions.

As she crossed the threshold into the main hall, Ye Tangcai shuddered all over, her pupils shrinking.

She saw a disheveled young man and woman tied up with ropes, kneeling in the center of the hall. They were none other than Zhang Boyuan and Ye Licai.

At this moment, Zhang Boyuan, a nineteen-year-old young man, still had the appearance of a refined scholar, with an air of self-proclaimed superiority.

He was wearing a dirty silk robe, and his hair was disheveled and sticking to his shoulders. However, his thin back was straight, and he held his chin up with an air of arrogance.

In her previous life, she had seen Zhang Boyuan as a proud scholar, but now, for some reason, Ye Tangcai felt that he was just a reckless fool who feared nothing!

Compared to Zhang Boyuan's arrogance, Ye Licai was trembling all over, her face pale, obviously very scared, and pitifully huddled next to Zhang Boyuan. But Ye Licai was a beauty, with an oval face and a pair of moist apricot eyes, biting her lip and lowering her gaze, as if she could burst into tears the next second. Even though she was in a sorry state, she still had a graceful demeanor.

Ye Licai was born a month later than her, even though they were the same age.

In terms of appearance, Ye Licai was inferior to her. If we were to make a comparison, Ye Tangcai was like a beautiful and elegant begonia flower, while Ye Licai was like a delicate and pure pear blossom. However, Ye Licai loved to dress plainly, making her look more like the last flower on a branch, standing alone in the wind, charming and delicate.

Zhang Boyuan loved this type. In his previous life, apart from Ye Licai, he had four concubines and one mistress, and three of them had similar looks.

Thinking of this, Ye Tangcai couldn't help but smile self-deprecatingly. It was no wonder that Zhang Boyuan didn't love her; she simply didn't fit his taste.

Although she had been at odds with him in her previous life, she secretly hoped that he would change his mind. She tried to imitate Ye Licai's plain dressing, only to receive a comment from Zhang Boyuan: "Trying to imitate someone else's beauty!"

Since her rebirth, she had known that she would meet these two people. She had expected it to be more painful and complicated, but now she found herself surprisingly calm.