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

"Slap!" Liu Yunshu ran over and slapped Ye Mian across the face again.

"Liu Yunshu, how dare you hit me again!" Ye Mian's face was once again turned to one side by the blow.

"It was you who hit."

The people on Madam Ye's side were initially confused by Ye Xiyao's actions. The Liu mother and daughter were indeed different now, and they were afraid that they would no longer be able to control him.

"Liu Yunshu!"

Ye Mian gritted his teeth in anger.

"Ye Mian, you have disappointed me greatly. When I first met you, you were proud and could distinguish right from wrong, which was admirable."

And what about you now? You indulge your mother-in-law, who knows nothing, in managing the household, allowing countless wicked servants to harm others.

Now that your daughter is suffering so much, you don't offer her any protection whatsoever. Is this the epitome of blind filial piety?

Liu Yunshu looked at him with a look of despair.

The topic of Ye Xiyao's exposed injury was brought up again. He couldn't care less about being angry now, and naturally wouldn't admit it, retorting:

“Mother just said it wasn’t her. How could she be so cruel to her own granddaughter? We still need to investigate this matter, as well as the matter of the wicked servant. Why didn’t you discuss it with me first?”

"If it wasn't Mother, could it be the maids or servants around Mother who dared to beat and scold Miss without her permission? Would they dare to do that without authorization?"

Liu Yunshu was determined to get Ye Mian to make a statement on the matter today.

Ye Mian: ...

He dared not say it, but he couldn't say it, so he could only yell at the servants:

"Which servants dared to hit the young lady? Step forward!"

Ye Mian's face turned bright red, and his roar echoed in the courtyard.

Liu Yunshu looked at Ye Mian with a sneer, thinking that he was trying to make a servant take the blame.

After waiting for a while, no one dared to step forward.

"Xiyao, come out and identify who it was? Find all the people who hit you."

Filial piety is paramount. Even if the old woman really abused Xiyao, they couldn't do anything to her. However, it would be good if they could just remove a few of the old woman's people.

A few people in the crowd began to panic, their eyes darting around nervously.

Ye Xiyao pointed out the people who had attacked her: two old women and two maids. They were all people around the old woman and were used to bullying others by taking advantage of their power.

“It’s those four.” Ye Xiyao’s voice was calm yet firm.

The four people who were identified trembled involuntarily, and even the adults were slapped a few times by the lady.

They knew their good days were over.

Liu Yunshu sneered sarcastically:

"They are all people who serve Mother closely. All four of them were involved. How dare you hit the Third Miss?"

Liu Yunshu's gaze was like a sharp sword, piercing straight into the four servants. The four men turned pale, their legs went weak, and they almost collapsed to the ground.

They were all the old lady's capable assistants, so now everyone knows what's going on.

Ye Wan was pushed again by Xue Ruoxue. She was startled. Wasn't the purpose of dealing with Liu Yunshu hitting her? How did it turn out like this?

Xue Ruoxue pushed her again, then realized what she was doing and raised her voice to scold her:

"Yes, how dare you beat Xiyao in Mother's courtyard behind her back."

"We...we..."

The four of them immediately knelt down, stammering and unable to continue.

"It's thanks to Mother's kindness that you family members have jobs; you are all heartless and ungrateful."

Ye Wan's voice was sharp and shrill, her face full of anger, as if she wanted to devour those servants alive. Anyone who didn't know the situation would think that it was her daughter who was being bullied!

At the same time, these words also told them that if they confessed their crimes, their families would not be implicated, so the four of them dared not argue any further and could only confess their crimes.

“My aunt is just like a hen with its feathers ruffled,” Ye Yaoyao said, expressing her thoughts.

A suppressed laugh came from the surrounding area.

"What did you say?" Ye Wan glared at Ye Yaoyao.

Oh dear, how could I have said that?

Ye Yaoyao then realized she had let something slip and gave her an embarrassed smile:

“I didn’t say anything, Aunt, you misheard me, please continue.”

"Yes, I must have lost my mind."

Ye Wan glared at the four servants, then angrily sat back down.

"It is this old servant who is ungrateful and malicious."

The group of people lowered their heads, their voices trembling with sobs, and their bodies shook uncontrollably.

[Ye Wan reacted quickly, but no matter how much trouble she causes, we still need to send her back to the Yun family. Then her brothers can find her some work to do there.]

[Host, it was Xue Ruoxue who secretly made these moves.]

[Yes, I saw them exchanging glances; Xue Ruoxue hid it very well.]

Old Madam Ye pointed at the maids, her eyes filled with anger, and moved closer to Ye Xiyao as she spoke.

"Oh! So it was you servants who acted on your own initiative. I only asked Xiyao to copy more scriptures, but I didn't expect you to lock my granddaughter up behind my back."

Xiyao! Grandma is so sorry, Grandma didn't know you would be beaten by them.

Old Madam Ye feigned wiping away non-existent tears from the corners of her eyes, her expression exaggerated and fake. She walked unsteadily to Ye Xiyao, intending to hug her.

Ye Xiyao stepped back, her face full of disgust and her eyes filled with deep resistance.

Liu Yunshu stared sharply at the few wicked servants.

"So Mother didn't know? You lot, tell me, why did you bully the Third Miss in private?"

Granny Zhao lowered her head, her voice trembling slightly, and her eyes darting around.

"Madam, you may have forgotten, but I was once told by you that I was dishonest. I held a grudge and did something foolish."

"And what about you?" Liu Yunshu pressed on.

"The second young master once reprimanded my son, and I, being petty, held a grudge."

Granny Zeng answered tremblingly, cold sweat beading on her forehead and sliding down her cheeks.

Ye Jingyang had no recollection of who her son was, so he asked the two head maids.

"Then what about you guys?"

"This servant...this servant is jealous of the Third Miss."

A maid's voice was as soft as a mosquito's buzz, and she lowered her head even further, wishing she could disappear into a crack in the ground.

"This servant...this servant..."

The other maid stammered, unable to get a coherent answer for a long time.

"Heh! Since you can't come up with a reason, then there's no need to say anything."

Such a flimsy reason was not believed by anyone present. Ye Jingyang's explanation was so obvious that the servants lowered their heads and chuckled.

Ye Yaoyao curled her lips, her disdain undisguised.

[After all, he'd been hanging around the old woman for so long, acting like a bully, and this is all he got? I feel embarrassed for the old woman.]

Xin family: What terrible acting.

Ye Mian's face was so gloomy it could drip water, his cold gaze sweeping over the snickering servants, his heart filled with irritation.

Knowing they wouldn't gain anything today, and to prevent word from getting out, they decided to make them all back down.

Someone confessed, and Madam Ye didn't care what others thought; she looked at Ye Xiyao with a fawning expression.

"Xi Yao, your grandmother is confused. She didn't know that the servants around her had ill intentions. I will make it up to you in the future. Can you forgive your grandmother?"

Madam Ye's face was full of smiles, but the smiles seemed very stiff, and there was a hint of urgency in her eyes.

Ye Xiyao's voice trembled slightly, and her eyes were full of grievance.

“Grandmother, Xiyao has been abused since she was five years old. More than twelve years have passed. Xiyao is not yet able to let go of the resentment in her heart.”

"Xiyao, Grandmother really didn't know. Will you forgive me? Grandmother will deal with these unruly servants."

This little brat, I apologized to her in a very polite manner, and she still dares to act all high and mighty?

Old Madam Ye gritted her teeth in hatred, but her smile grew even more kind, though a hint of malice occasionally flashed in her eyes.

Ye Yaoyao's thoughts were transmitted.

You think you can get forgiveness so easily? Dream on. You should at least pay your sister some compensation for emotional distress.

It would be best to take as much as possible, emptying her secret stash.

Ye Xiyao finally understood why her younger sister kept clinging to the jade cabbage. The old woman was their grandmother, and they couldn't scold or hit her. It was time for her to suffer a major loss.

“Grandmother, you can forgive Xiyao if you want. I just noticed that my younger sister seems to really like the ornaments on your shelf. Why don’t you let her pick out a few she likes to take with her?”

Ye Xiyao looked at Old Madam Ye cautiously and timidly, and stated her request.

Madam Ye was delighted to hear this. A few items were enough to show that she was a good grandmother, so she immediately agreed. She nodded repeatedly, her face full of smiles.

"Alright! Alright! Then let Yaoyao pick a few, and you won't be angry with your grandmother anymore."