Aunt Lai felt as if her heart was being carved with a knife. Despite fighting with Mrs. Lai for several years, she could never match her, who had both sons and daughters. Moreover, those children had now grown up and could lend a hand, and there were even grandchildren to help out as they aged.
The daughter she gave birth to had been ill these past few days and hadn’t even come to see her, let alone help her seek justice. During these days, she had to watch her daughter cling to Mrs. Li, which infuriated her so much she almost vomited blood. When she got angry , her condition only worsened.
She could only nod to her brother; it was the first time she had ever felt so humiliated and restrained since marrying into the Ye family!
"Sister, I won’t say much more," he said, "I’m going back to work now. If there’s really a problem, just send a message. Please don’t be rash again!"
Brother Lai said this, comforted his sister, and then left the room with a heavy heart.
When he got to the courtyard, he saw two men who worked on the estate and had been acting as bodyguards for the young ladies. They stopped him as he came out.
"Brother Lai, we brothers were looking for you. There’s something at the estate that needs your attention."
Brother Lai understood at a glance: this was the boss’ men sent to take him away, a precaution to prevent him from causing trouble!
Fortunately, he knew his place well enough to understand that causing trouble would not end well.
Alas, supporting elder sister in taking revenge against Concubine Aunt back in the day – that was a bad idea for an old concubine!
If only elder sister could have become the boss’s concubine, the situation would have been different, wouldn’t it?
Brother Lai, amidst his regrets, glanced at the boss emerging in the yard, thinking there wasn’t a single age-appropriate lady in the family for such a big deal to go through.
Hongji, relieved to have sent the people away, couldn’t possibly imagine the look in the Chi Brothers’ eyes, thinking also of Hongji.
Ye Shiqi, by her elder sister’s side, saw Aunt Lai’s brother arrive. She believed her parents could handle it well. Sure enough, she saw her father send someone to take him away and mentally gave her father a thumbs-up.
As noon approached, and 7 a.m. to 9 a.m. had passed, the guests should have arrived. They had been preparing the ingredients in the kitchen amid the heat, and they were almost done.
Therefore, the four sisters left their elder sister in the kitchen, and they went to bathe and change.
During the matchmaker’s visit, the girls were not supposed to appear outside, so as not to hinder their preparation. They could show up for the meal after getting dressed.
Ye Shiqi and her fourth sister hurriedly washed their faces and changed clothes. They had already heard voices outside the courtyard, and without enough time to bathe, they quickly finished dressing to receive the guests.
When the two sisters appeared, the other two elder sisters had already reached their room.
They heard more than just the matchmaker’s voice. Second Aunt and Third Aunt had also arrived, along with their children.
Subsequently, the sisters went to their grandmother’s room, as Second and Third Aunts would surely be there to visit.
When the sisters reached their grandmother’s room, Second and Third Aunts arrived with the children in tow, chatting with grandmother. Sadly, after falling ill, grandmother couldn’t remember much, unable to answer any of their questions.
They could also hear, on the other side in the living room, the teacher with the matchmaker at the door, the prospective groom had also arrived, and their parents were there to host, it seemed Third Uncle was there too.
"Second Aunt, Third Aunt," they greeted before taking their place near their grandmother’s bedside.
"What exactly is going on between your grandmother and Aunt Lai?" Ye Shuzhen addressed her nieces and nephews.
"Right, what exactly happened, and how did they become ill?" Ye Shuzhi had wanted to ask her elder brother and sister-in-law before, but it wasn’t appropriate to discuss such matters in front of guests.
"Second Aunt, Third Aunt, after receiving the invitation and responding, we all went to that estate, leaving only grandfather, grandmother, the Concubine Aunt, and Aunt Lai, who had returned to her maternal home the night before and not come back."
"We learned the urgent news from home only after dinner that Aunt Lai and grandmother had both fallen ill," Ye Mei Qi started explaining.
"The doctor said that Aunt Lai and grandmother had consumed different herbs. There were workers’ testimonies that when they first fell ill, they both accused each other of poisoning," Ye Xinqi continued.
Upon hearing their second and third nieces’ explanations, Ye Shuzhi and Ye Shuzhen still harbored doubts, considering that Aunt Lai hadn’t returned home the night before, it seemed possible she had gone out to seek medicine.
But where could mother’s medicine have come from?
"Did your Concubine Aunt visit grandmother?" Ye Shuzhi asked. This lack of communication from maternal relatives puzzled her and her sister when something so major had happened at home.
Even the village elder sister hadn’t passed on any news.