Chapter 177
Ye Yunniang saw Cai Damei and Cai Shuyi on the morning of the second day of the new year.
Cai Damei's neck was tightly bandaged, her face pale as she lay on the bed, sleeping quietly.
Cai Shuyi hugged her arm, motionless.
"Shushu, sister-in-law is here." Ye Yunniang approached Cai Shuyi.
"Don't come over." Cai Shuyi instantly became agitated, her small hands waving, her little face full of fear.
Ye Yunniang's heart ached at the sight, suppressing the tears that were about to burst, she continued to speak softly.
"Sister-in-law won't come over. Shushu don't be afraid. Does Shushu not remember sister-in-law? Shushu promised sister-in-law to kowtow to auntie for sister-in-law and take an extra red envelope home."
Ye Yunniang spoke of their conversation when they parted yesterday morning.
"Kowtow, red envelope?"
"Yes, kowtow to auntie and take the red envelope."
"Kowtow to auntie for sister-in-law, take the red envelope."
"Yes, does Shushu remember?"
"Sister-in-law..." Cai Shuyi reached out her small hand to Ye Yunniang.
Ye Yunniang reached out and hugged Cai Shuyi, "Sister-in-law is here, Shushu don't be afraid. With sister-in-law here, no one will bully you and mother anymore."
"Sister-in-law... wa... mother is hurt... hurts... wa... blood... wa..." Cai Shuyi cried loudly while hugging Ye Yunniang.
Ye Yunniang's tears could not be controlled, falling.
After coaxing Cai Shuyi to sleep, Ye Yunniang held Cai Damei's hand.
So cold.
"Why doesn't my mother wake up?"
Cai Damei loved Shushu the most, hearing Shushu cry so hard, it was impossible for her not to wake up.
"Mother has been poisoned with Thousand Days Sleep."
"Thousand Days Sleep?" Ye Yunniang had never heard of it.
"People poisoned with Thousand Days Sleep will fall into a deep sleep for a thousand days and die."
Family members watch the poisoned person slowly die, the powerlessness from hope to despair. Therefore, Thousand Days Sleep is also called "Death of Love."
Ye Yunniang murmured the words "Death of Love."
"Who poisoned mother, is there an antidote?"
"Xing Jinxiu's dagger was tainted with Thousand Days Sleep, and it cut mother's neck. Xing Jinxiu committed suicide and did not leave an antidote." Jiang Mingzhe's answer made Ye Yunniang's body go soft.
"Mother has already separated from Bao Min. If she wants to hate or blame, she should hate Bao Min and blame Bao Min. Why hurt mother?" Ye Yunniang hated Xing Jinxiu and blamed Bao Min for causing trouble.
"Shushu is still young, she cannot be without her mother."
Whenever Ye Yunniang thought of Cai Shuyi's small body trembling from crying, her heart ached terribly.
Outside the house, Bao Min listened to Ye Yunniang's crying accusations, clenching his fists.
Beside him, Zhou Yunluo was dissatisfied and wanted to rush in to defend Bao Min.
Tong Mo held Zhou Yunluo back, forbidding her to go in.
"Uncle didn't do it on purpose."
"Aunt had an accident."
Cai Damei was poisoned, her life and death uncertain, whatever explanation Bao Min gave was useless.
Ye Yunniang wiped her tears and picked up Shushu.
"Jiang Mingzhe, call someone to carry mother home."
"You can't leave." Bao Min stopped hiding outside and entered the house to stop Ye Yunniang.
The prefectural magistrate's mansion had the best doctors in Jiangcheng, as well as maids and old women to ensure Cai Damei had the best care.
"These are not what mother wants." Ye Yunniang's single sentence made Bao Min suppress the rest of his persuasion.
Ye Yunniang took Cai Damei and Cai Shuyi home.
Bao Min also brought people to Sunset Alley and demolished all the courtyard walls between houses 3 and 4.
The doctor and the maids and old women caring for Cai Damei were settled in Courtyard 3.
Ye Yunniang did not refuse. She alone could not guard Cai Damei day and night.
Accompanied by Li Pan and the other two, Cai Shuyi slowly recovered. She no longer cried during the day, but at night she always had nightmares, waking up crying.
Ye Yunniang had no choice but to kick Jiang Mingzhe out of the room and sleep with Cai Shuyi.
Ye Yunniang pushed open the door to her home.
Li An and Li Ping stood face to face, clearly arguing.
Li Pan stood in the middle trying to mediate.
"What's wrong?"
"Nothing." Li Pan shook her head.
The expressions and demeanor of Li An and Li Ping did not look like nothing was wrong.
"Are you two fighting?"
Li An: "No."
Li Ping: "Yes."
The two looked at each other, their eyes competing.
Li An: "Yes."
Li Ping: "No."
Ye Yunniang smiled, "Is it yes or no?"
"No, neither." Li Pan waved her hands vigorously.
Something was definitely up.
"What's the matter?" Ye Yunniang walked to the stone bench in the courtyard and sat down. "Come here and tell me properly."
Li Pan walked over and sat next to Ye Yunniang.
"Mother, we'll tell you, but don't blame yourself."
Since it concerned her, Ye Yunniang promised Li Pan, "I won't blame myself. What's the matter?"
Li Ping told Ye Yunniang the information he had found out.
On the morning of the first day of the new year, when Chunyao came to pay New Year's greetings, Li Ping passed by the door and saw Chunyao stuffing something to Cai Damei.
At the time, Li Ping was in a hurry to go to the outhouse and didn't pay attention.
After that, Cai Damei and Cai Shuyi disappeared.
Li Ping was worried about his grandmother and little aunt and never suspected Chunyao.
It wasn't until the afternoon, when they learned from Xu Erlei that Ye Yunniang went to the deserted house.
The three of them chased after her, and passing by Courtyard 2, Li Ping saw a fleeting smug smile on Chunyao's face.
A thought flashed through Li Ping's mind, but he couldn't remember exactly what it was.
It wasn't until they went home at night that Li Ping remembered Chunyao stuffing something to Cai Damei in the morning, and he became suspicious of Chunyao.
Li Ping had his subordinates investigate Chunyao.
This investigation revealed that Chunyao and Chef Jin had divorced.
Chef Jin took Jingao and Jindou back to live in his hometown town.
Chunyao stayed to live in Jiangcheng.
Chunyao proactively made contact with Xing Jinxiu. What exactly they talked about couldn't be found out because both the triangle-eyed old woman and Xing Jinxiu were dead.
But after that, the triangle-eyed old woman secretly tracked Cai Damei.
Based on the investigation, Li Ping suspected that Chunyao tipped off Xing Jinxiu and passed the note, causing Cai Damei's accident.
There was only circumstantial evidence, no direct proof.
In Li An's perception, Chunyao was not that kind of vicious person. He felt they should investigate clearly before asking.
Li Ping disagreed, feeling it was better to kill by mistake than to let one go.
Li Pan felt both sides made sense.
After listening to their analysis, Ye Yunniang decided to go ask directly.
Ye Yunniang came to Courtyard 2.
Chunyao was sitting on a stool, sewing clothes.
"Yunniang is here, sit." Chunyao greeted warmly, "I don't know when I cut my clothes. My sewing skills really haven't improved at all, it's sewn all crooked."
"You told Xing Jinxiu. You also passed the note to my mother for Xing Jinxiu." Ye Yunniang did not beat around the bush.
Chunyao put down the clothes in her hands, "Yes, I did it."
Getting a definite answer, Ye Yunniang turned to leave.
Chunyao called out to Ye Yunniang, "You're not going to ask me the reason."
"Knowing it's you is enough." Ye Yunniang didn't want to know the reason.
No matter the reason, Ye Yunniang would not forgive Chunyao and would definitely make her pay the price.
"It's because of you, you forced me."
Chunyao had experienced the joy of being a master, and then making her go back to being a servant, to serve Ye Yunniang, who originally was inferior to her in every way.
Chunyao was unwilling, she wanted to be better, to live the life of a superior person.
"I did nothing wrong. I did nothing wrong..."
Chunyao kept muttering.
Did she really do nothing wrong?
Her trembling hands betrayed her.
Ye Yunniang returned home, Li Pan and the other two were waiting for her.
"It's her."
"I'll kill her."