"Madam, have you seen? The man riding the horse ahead is your family’s new son-in-law," said the staff.
Ye Shuzhen smiled and nodded, "Oh, we happened to meet him."
Upon hearing their conversation, Ye Shuzhi was puzzled. She boarded the carriage where others were present and said, "What’s the urgency to visit our family home?"
Sitting across from Ye Shuzhen, Ye Shuzhi, whose attire and accessories couldn’t compare to Ye Shuzhen’s, displayed no sense of inferiority on her face.
"Shuzhen, what is the matter you mentioned?"
Facing her second sister’s question, Ye Shuzhen was unsure whether to start with the good news or their mother’s condition but knew she had to convey the news, opting to begin with the simpler part.
"Second Sister, that son-in-law up ahead, yesterday he invited my husband for dinner and even had my husband help purchase many gifts. Today they are heading to our elder brother’s house where a matchmaker is scheduled to propose to our eldest niece."
Ye Shuzhi smiled upon hearing this, "So, you and your husband wanted to meet the new son-in-law first!"
"It’s not entirely about that, Second Sister. A few days ago, our mother and Aunt Lai both fell ill, and it was not a light illness! It’s a good opportunity to visit mother too!"
Concerned about her mother’s illness, Ye Shuzhi immediately tensed up, "How did both of them fall ill at the same time? Is it a cold or flu?"
Ye Shuzhen sighed, thinking that her sister, living independently, was unaware of certain complexities, still naive to the fact that matters were not always as simple as they seemed.
Especially since friction could occur between the legal wife and the concubine co-existing.
She hadn’t experienced such complex issues firsthand but, having married into the Tang Family, had heard enough to understand that things were not as simple as one might imagine.
"Second Sister, our mother and Aunt Lai ended up fighting, and both fell ill," she explained.
Ye Shuzhi, hearing this, raised her voice: "What? She dared to bully our mother? Why didn’t father tell us about this?"
"Alas, she didn’t end up well either, having miscarried and is now ill; father has just been drinking, elder brother."
These past few days, the sister-in-law has been busy with their issues. One thing I find strange is, isn’t our elder sister in our village? Why hasn’t she come to relay the message to us?"
Ye Shuzhi also felt something odd about the situation: "Did the two of them use any medicine? Where did the medicine come from?"
Ye Shuzhen shook her head, "That’s exactly why I want us to go back and check. We’ve been kept in the dark, but we can’t just ignore it."
At the Ye Manor, Aunt Lai had returned home last night and arrived this morning to find the estate staff, along with Li Zhihao, busy loading a cart with goods not meant for sale.
Rather, they were to be delivered to the Boss, and on such a hot day, delivering so much meat definitely meant preparation for a feast. He didn’t believe it was meant for storage, especially when procurement for another estate was happening elsewhere.
His eyes narrowed as he suddenly recalled his elder sister, who had stayed overnight one day prior, ordering some items, which he had purchased and handed to her.
These past few days, he had not dared ask anyone whether something had happened in the Ye family; his elder sister had not sent any messages either, which worried him enough to return home just the other night.
This was not the time for him to overthink, so he decided to follow the cart to the Boss’s home.
Li Zhihao disagreed with him going; he didn’t want him going to the Ye family and purposely causing trouble.
Li Zhihao, being the supervisor here, was naturally someone Brother Lai did not dare provoke, irrespective of opportunities to shirk work. His eyes shifted, thinking, "If not by cart, can’t I still walk there?"
Li Zhihao personally delivered the goods, unaware that Brother Lai would be tailing him.
His ox cart arrived at the Ye family, and he had the workers help move the items into the kitchen.
By then, it was between 7 a.m. and 9 a.m., the Ye family had already finished breakfast. Seeing the goods delivered, the Ye family’s sisters began discussing with the kitchen staff what to prepare for the banquet.
Hongji had heard last night that someone would come to propose today, feeling somewhat sour, yet he had no choice but to accept that his daughter would soon belong to another family. On such an important day, he could only take leave.
Hongji and his wife had been busy since getting up in the morning.
They also needed to take care of the two sick family members; his father, who had gotten drunk last night, was still sleeping.
Aunt Lai looked out from her room’s window, observing the busy scene outside, already guessing that something significant would happen today, possibly a joyous occasion.
Considering her own situation, she viewed the outside with a venomous gaze, resenting that Mrs. Li’s daughter had the fortune to marry into a wealthy family while that old ghost Mrs. Lai was still alive.
She certainly wanted to create a scene, but regrettably, her body was too weak to go out and also required care, without any help available. She certainly did not expect any help from her own daughter or her drunkard husband.