After the mind-reading and gossip-eating incident, officials in the imperial city were demoted one a

Ye Mian, being questioned, grew increasingly grim, silently pondering to himself:

Family scandals should not be aired in public. It would have been fine if you, Liu Yunshu, had come to me privately to resolve this, but to do it in front of everyone like this...

The servants around Ye Xiyao all saw the scars on her arms and gasped in shock.

Some covered their mouths, some stared wide-eyed, whispering amongst themselves, their hearts filled with sympathy for the Third Miss's plight.

Ye Mianming asked, knowing full well, "Was all of this done by Mother?"

His tone carried a hint of doubt, but his eyes darted away.

Liu Yunshu glared angrily.

"Otherwise what? Did you expect me, as her mother, to beat her? A legitimate daughter, besides her elders, who else would let her suffer a loss and endure it all by herself?"

Ye Mian turned to look at Old Madam Ye, his expression serious, trying to get a reasonable explanation from her.

"Mother, what happened to the injury on Xiyao's hand?"

The next moment, Old Madam Ye's face turned bright red, spittle flew everywhere, and her body twisted uncontrollably as she wailed as if she had suffered a great injustice:

"Oh dear, this is terrible! I was just trying to teach my granddaughter with good intentions, but who would have thought that she would blame me for the injury on her arm?"

Madam Ye was agitated, waving her arms and behaving like a shrew.

"Other people's daughters-in-law are filial to their parents-in-law and live in harmony, but our Ye family married a noble lady from a prestigious family."

She looks down on me because of my peasant background, and thinks I'm an eyesore to her. I'd rather go down and keep my deceased husband company than suffer her slander here.”

As she sobbed, Old Madam Ye slapped her thigh with her hand.

"Godmother, please don't be like this. There must be some misunderstanding here."

"Let's talk things out clearly, everything will be alright, please don't say anything that worries us."

Xue Ruoxue gently comforted Madam Ye, her soft voice seemingly able to soothe all troubles.

As expected, Old Madam Ye looked delighted and held her hand tightly, saying:

"Ruoxue! I wish my daughter-in-law was as understanding as you."

Xue Ruoxue gently patted her hand, speaking up for Liu Yunshu.

"Godmother, please don't say that. My sister-in-law actually cares about you a lot too."

Ye Yaoyao couldn't bear to watch the two of them act, and looked at Ye Xiyao expectantly.

These two are even putting on an act. Sister, can you howl? If you can, howl a few times too.

Three neighbors have climbed onto the wall, watching the spectacle unfold with great interest, getting the scoop on the drama, and the adult is watching too.

The two older brothers looked at Ye Xiyao, whose face looked rather unnatural. She couldn't howl!

However, there is another way to seek justice for oneself.

A resolute glint flashed in Ye Xiyao's eyes as she secretly made up her mind.

She bit her lower lip tightly, reached out and secretly pinched her leg hard. Tears welled up instantly and slid down her cheeks.

Then, clutching her chest, she ran toward the pillar.

The triplets worked together seamlessly, with the two older brothers running over to stop Ye Xiyao from crashing into the pillar.

"Hiss! Hiss! Xiyao, what are you doing?"

Ye Jingyang frowned, his face showing a pained expression.

Because he ran straight to the pillar and stood in front of it, Ye Xiyao bumped into his stomach.

Then he clutched his stomach where he had been hit, bent over, and looked as if he couldn't stand up after being hit.

Everyone saw that Ye Xiyao's actions were resolute; she was truly disregarding everything.

Ye Li'an held her tightly, while Ye Xiyao covered her face with her sleeve, crying and struggling.

"Waaaaah... Big brother, let me go! Let me die! I don't want to live anymore!"

Ye Xiyao's cries were heart-wrenching, and her body writhed incessantly, as if she were in great pain.

Ye Yaoyao watched the triplets' behavior with smug satisfaction, thinking to herself:

[So my sister can fight back too! The neighbor next door saw it clearly. My sister is really smart.]

The old woman sat on the chair, wailing as if she were going to die. The older sister ran and banged her head against a pillar. Look how much pain the second brother was in. Now it's clear who was really trying to kill themselves and who was just putting on an act.

My second brother is still clutching his stomach in pain! His acting is superb too.

Ye Xiyao was almost swayed by Ye Yaoyao's true feelings. Could you please not praise her at this moment?

She could only reach out and secretly pinch her leg again, and this time the tears fell even more fiercely.

"Let me go, let me die! It's all my fault. I don't like my grandmother. I shouldn't have accidentally let my mother see the wounds on my body."

Waaah... I shouldn't have told my mother that ever since I was five, my grandmother would slap my hand whenever she asked me to go to her place.

I shouldn't have told my mother that I was often locked in a small room and went hungry.

I shouldn't have told my mother that some of the nannies around my grandmother would prick me with needles, and there were many other things I shouldn't have told my mother.

Am I superfluous? Why doesn't Grandma like me? If I'm superfluous, then I should go down and keep Grandpa company; he'll definitely like me then.

Liu Yunshu was shocked to learn that Xiyao had been abused by the old woman since she was five years old, and felt a sharp pain in her heart.

He staggered to her side and hugged her tightly, tears blurring his vision, his heart breaking.

"Xiyao, why did you hide this from me for so long?"

Liu Yunshu's voice trembled slightly. Why? Xiyao is her granddaughter, why is she being treated like this?

He held Ye Xiyao tightly in his arms, as if his daughter would disappear if he let go.

Her daughter had been sensible since she was little. When she came back from the old lady's house, she was always smiling in front of her. She told her that her grandmother was good to her, but it was all a lie. Liu Yunshu felt extremely guilty.

“Mother, Grandmother doesn’t like you. I’ve always thought that as long as I’m more filial to her, she won’t scold you anymore.”

But I don't know why Grandma treats me this way. I dare not tell you; I'm afraid that if Grandma knew, she would reject you even more, and then she would never see your good qualities.

Ye Xiyao sobbed, her words filled with grievance, which was her previous thought.

You'll realize how foolish you were in the past, and how utterly worthless it was.

"My silly daughter." Liu Yunshu hugged Ye Xiyao and wept bitterly.

“Grandmother, how cruel you are! Xiyao has always been well-behaved and obedient since she was little. You don’t love us, and we don’t force you to. Why do you treat her like this?”

Ye Li'an knew that what her sister said was true. Her eyes burned with anger, and her usually gentle face became somewhat frightening to behold.

Ye Jingyang also shouted loudly:

"Grandmother, isn't it just that my mother and you have different views? She has given in and stopped managing the household for more than ten years, and you have the final say in everything at home."

The few months' worth of silver you gave my brother and me was the least in the entire Holy City. Did we say anything about that?

Why are you treating Xiyao like this? Aren't we your own grandchildren?

Ye Jingyang's voice was filled with anger and grievance, the veins on his neck bulged, and his eyes were bloodshot.

Ye Yaoyao knew that Ye Xiyao had suffered a lot, and hearing her say this made her heart ache terribly.

"You insolent fools, what nonsense are you spouting? Is this how you question your elders?"

Ye Mian's face was terribly gloomy, and he reprimanded the brothers once again.

Ye Jingyang, having no other choice, loudly questioned Ye Mian.

"Dad, I want to ask you, are we really your children? Why do you scold us so easily?"

And what kind of person is your grandmother? Don't you know? Now, how are you going to handle Xiyao's situation?

Ye Jingyang's voice trembled, tears welled up in his eyes, and he stared straight at Ye Mian as if trying to see into his heart.

At this moment, he desperately wanted Ye Mian to protect them; otherwise, he would consider himself as if his father had died.

However, Ye Mian disappointed him.

"How dare you... how dare you speak to your father like that!"

Ye Mian felt his authority had been challenged, and he trembled with anger, pointing his finger at Ye Jingyang.

The servants around initially thought that the old lady was innocent, and that the third young lady was indeed a good person. But now it seems... some of them looked at the old lady with disdain.

The adults are also blindly filial!

The three members of the Xin family had tears in their eyes, and Xin Chuli wiped away her tears with her sleeve.

"Father and Mother, how could there be such a vicious grandmother? And this father is such a muddle-headed person."

Xin Chuli sobbed as she spoke, her voice filled with confusion.

"Ye Mianxian is well-known, but this good reputation was probably bought with money."

Xin Chonglian's eyes were full of disdain, and his face showed deep disappointment. The scene in front of him made his goodwill towards Ye Mian collapse instantly.

I had heard of Ye Mian's reputation and wanted to get to know him, but I never expected him to be like this in private.