She only saw the woman who came in with Grandpa, adorned in gold jewelry on her head and body, likely gifts of the three gold pieces from Grandpa.
Of course, this woman’s jewelry did not match the abundance that Grandma wore. She had painted red lips and a face powdered with rouge.
To appear paler, she had applied much powder, and her eyes gleamed with greed as she looked at her Grandma.
Ye Shiqi could tell from this woman’s gaze that she was eyeing the jewelry on Grandma’s head and the furniture in the living room, along with other items displayed there.
Ye Shiqi’s guess was not wrong; the incoming concubine, Aunt Lai, had found out yesterday that she lived only in a small house within the Ye family premises.
The small house next to the Ye family’s main house, which she had secretly observed yesterday, was indeed new.
But her ambition, to seize all the Ye family’s wealth, was unstoppable.
She had been exhausted by her elderly husband all last night, and was awakened in the morning by the laughter of children, hearing the laughter from the main house.
Unable to resist, she came over to flaunt to Mrs. Lai.
"Humph, shameless, who are you to call yourself my sister?"
Enraged by this woman, Mrs. Lai slammed the table, her pent-up frustration from the past few days exploding into a fierce impulse.
The force of her slap wasn’t very strong, but it caused the items on the table to clatter, startling everyone around.
"Why are you going mad during breakfast?" Hongji’s father’s smile suddenly turned into a frown.
Aunt Lai didn’t care about Mrs. Lai’s anger. She brought an extra stool over to the dining table; normally, everyone’s seats in the household were fixed.
Now with an extra person, she sensibly located her own place, still not daring to take Hongji’s principal seat.
"Another concubine, who permitted you to sit down for breakfast? Stand and serve me!"
Mrs. Lai couldn’t hold back and asserted her authority as Aunt Lai arrived and no one else spoke up.
Aunt Lai was about to sit down when she was reprimanded and looked at Hongji’s father with a wronged expression.
"Since when do we have so many rules? If you don’t want to eat, then leave and spare us your mood!"
Hongji’s father scolded his wife sternly and then turned with a smile to Aunt Lai:
"Sit down, see if the breakfast suits your tastes. If not, we can ask the staff to make something else for you."
"Husband, whatever you eat, I will eat."
Aunt Lai replied, appearing very understanding and docile.
Hongji’s father was very pleased with the concubine’s tactful and modest demeanor, which perfectly matched the kind of tender and considerate woman men liked.
It satisfied his patriarchal ideas.
Mrs. Lai, upon seeing her husband giving such different treatment to this temptress, trembled with indignation:
"You!" She couldn’t complete her sentence.
Ye Shiqi, watching this drama unfold, thought to herself, "Born of the same root, why torment each other so urgently?"
Aunt Lai gave Mrs. Lai a triumphant glance and then said considerately:
"Sister, it seems the workers have prepared a delicious breakfast. Come, eat up, sister; you’ve lost weight these past few days!"
Mrs. Lai was so infuriated she trembled all over. Even in her old age, house fighting was inevitable. The boldness she had before had no effect on this temptress, feeling the supportive strength her husband used to provide.
At this moment, that strength was given to this temptress, allowing Mrs. Lai to experience the misery of being unable to retaliate when bullied.
The triumphant look on Aunt Lai’s face made Mrs. Lai realize that her own position was becoming secured, having learned a trick.
As long as she could captivate the man by her side, it was a direct path indeed!
She had heard stories about concubines; as long as they bore a son or a daughter and could keep the man ensnared, they would have both wealth and power.
She glanced surreptitiously at her former sister-in-law, who was known as a weak and gentle woman, often bullied by her mother-in-law.
Her daughters posed no threat at all. As long as she secured her own position, it was time for this person and those children to be stirred up.
"Old Master, eat more; you work so hard every day!"
Aunt Lai’s coquettish voice was very pleasing to Hongji’s father; he felt indeed that Aunt Lai was gentle and sensible, feeding his male vanity.
Yet he just nodded. He couldn’t display too much affection in front of his daughter-in-law and granddaughter.
Seeing her husband interact with the temptress, Mrs. Li nearly ground her old teeth to bits, swallowing the bitterness all by herself.
Mrs. Li quietly ate her breakfast, already having fed her son; much awaited him today.
As for the clash between the mother-in-law and the concubine, she wouldn’t get involved unless it affected her interests.