Aunt Lai cared deeply about the property and her husband’s attention and, above all, longed to give birth to a son of her own.
She seemed to have little affection for her own children, girls, even though they were born from her risking her life.
Yet after giving birth, once she knew it was a daughter, she began to hate the child.
She recalled the times during her pregnancy when she almost miscarried several times, suspecting Mrs. Li’s sabotage, and even caused a scene about it; there were many close calls.
Sometimes, she would fall over in places where she normally walked without issue—why did she fall today of all days?
It was a clear day, not rainy at all.
Once, her food seemed to have contained laxatives somehow, and she spent the whole day running to the toilet.
There was even a more dangerous occurrence when she bled, and the doctor who examined her said that her child was saved.
Gradually, she directed her suspicions toward Mrs. Lai, initially thinking it was the servants under Mrs. Li’s authority, those who bought household goods.
The servants all listened to her, but later she believed that the one who most wanted her childless was Mrs. Lai, and she dared not eat in that part of the estate.
She had her husband personally purchase goods and hire someone to cook, separating themselves from the main house, and after that, nothing else happened.
Ever since she married into this family, aside from the month she gave birth and the time she was pregnant,
her husband would still visit Mrs. Lai’s room to sleep. After the birth and hiring a wet nurse, her husband returned to her side, and that’s when she had the chance to whisper in his ear and plot for power.
"Oh, how nice to see the young lady of the family bringing so many friends to play in the estate again, who won the match this time!"
Aunt Lai’s younger brother said with a cheeky grin. Ever since the gift money came from Aunt Lai’s family, this younger brother also had money to marry a wife, and the family of three continued to work at Ye’s Mansion.
From then on, they adopted the familiar tone of "family," since with Mrs. Lai’s and another woman from the Lai Family joining the Ye family, their status as relatives was secure.
Ye Shiqi... couldn’t be bothered to speak with this lazy and scheming old man, leaving the conversation to her elder sister, Ye Fengqi.
"Pssh, let’s just ignore him." Elder sister Ye Fengqi waved her friends past the old man.
The young masters were initially unaware of certain situations in the Ye family but gradually came to understand them, after all, the competitions over the years weren’t for nothing.
Each time after the competition, when entering the estate, they would have to see this nauseating face.
Being ignored, the man surnamed Lai didn’t care; his skin was a bit thicker than his elder brother’s and father’s, since he could still get some reward money from these people when they left.
"Hehe, niece, well done!"
Li Zhihao was originally at the breeding grounds on the mountain, organizing the workers. He occasionally glanced down the mountain,
just in time to see his niece winning the competition, so he hurried down, knowing his niece was bringing friends here for food and fun.
He needed to entertain them well, as these people were like the God of Wealth to their estate, leaving reward money every time they visited.
"Hehe, that’s because... who else would be my uncle!" Ye Shiqi joked.
"Hahaha, now that’s a phrase your Young Uncle likes to hear!"
Li Zhihao’s laughter and expression prompted the workers to bring fruit and pastries to these youngsters, and he even prepared a cup of honey water for them to quench their thirst and cool off.
All of them were young men and women with great energy and explosive physical strength. After resting and eating in the house for a while,
"I want to climb the tree and pick longans!" Si Ma Roumei dressed in pants for convenience while cycling, and for ease of horse riding, all of these people were dressed in pants.
Ye Shiqi... after several years, the longan trees were finally climbable. Initially, the lychee was forbidden to climb, but the fruits on the lower branches could be picked from the ground.
Now the lychee tree was also climbable; even shorter ones could be picked just by standing up. There were always some people who loved to climb trees.
Si Ma Rou loved climbing trees, her agility surpassing even the boys.
The boys... could they even say no?
So Ye Shiqi accompanied her elder sister and the group up the mountain. How they climbed was up to them; she only emphasized one thing, "Be careful!"
Workers came to help, carrying the longans, lychees, mangoes, and pineapples they picked down the mountain in baskets.
After a morning of activities, the cars of the young lords who came with them arrived, loading the fruit onto the carriages.
Ye Shiqi and her elder sister did not take these friends back home for meals, as there was the troublemaking Aunt Lai at home.
It would be inconvenient to accommodate so many people, and the estate’s lunch might be more sumptuous.
As Ye Shiqi and elder sister Ye Fengqi rode the Iron Bull, they would greet the villagers they recognized along the way.
When they met girls close to their age, they would receive admiring glances.
These girls did not envy their ability to know so many young masters; they understood status and connections varied depending on one’s family. Perhaps it was related to their parents.
They were envious of the sisters being able to ride Iron Bull, wishing they too could learn to ride it.