Chapter 7: Let’s Go to the Capital and Stir Up Trouble with Your In-Laws!

Ye Sanqiu returned home after dinner time.

As usual, her portion of dinner was kept warm in the pot.

Ye Daniu, the eldest granddaughter of the Ye family, noticed her return and promptly brought the warm food to her.

Noticing that Ye Laotai (Grandmother Ye) was nowhere to be seen, Ye Sanqiu asked, “Where’s Grandma?”

Ye Daniu glanced towards Grandma’s room with a look that seemed to want to say something but held back.

Grandma had personally made the white flour pancakes that were only made during the New Year. After baking them, she had carefully placed them in a basket and brought them to her room.

No one in the family was allowed a bite.

Grandma and the second aunt had had a big argument with Grandpa and the second grandpa about this. But the argument didn’t last long, and just as Sanqiu was expected to come back, both Grandma and the second aunt had quietly ended their dispute.

Ye Sanqiu frowned. Not in the mood to eat, she stood up and headed for Grandma’s room.

Just as she reached the door, it opened from the inside.

Seeing Ye Sanqiu, Grandma Ye gave her a reproachful look. “You little monkey, always running around outside. You’re a girl, what’s the point of constantly running about? Be careful, or no one will want you when you grow up.”

Ye Sanqiu felt relieved to see that Grandma was fine and didn’t take the old woman’s daily nagging too seriously.

“Why are you locking yourself in here?”

Grandma Ye peeked out of the door towards the main and second rooms, and after confirming no one was around, she quickly pulled Ye Sanqiu inside and shut the door.

Ye Sanqiu couldn’t help teasing, “What’s going on? Got some important intel to share with me?”

Grandma Ye nodded seriously.

Ye Sanqiu raised an eyebrow, playing along, “What kind of intel?”

Grandma Ye gestured to a nearby stool. “Sit, I’ll tell you.”

Ye Sanqiu obediently sat down, and Grandma Ye took a seat on the other side.

After a pause, Grandma Ye pulled two folded pieces of paper from her pocket, one red and one white, and handed them to Ye Sanqiu.

Ye Sanqiu glanced at the two papers in her hand and raised an eyebrow. “Really have intel for me?”

Grandma Ye smiled. “Just look, you’ll know!”

Ye Sanqiu first opened the white paper. After reading it, she was puzzled and looked up at Grandma Ye. “Why are you giving me a letter of introduction? I never said I was going on a long trip.”

Grandma Ye smiled without answering. “Just look at the other one.”

A strange sense of foreboding filled Ye Sanqiu as she turned to the red paper. The red paper seemed old, though the words on it were still legible. After reading it, she maintained her composure, though her thoughts were racing.

She handed the paper back to Grandma Ye and smiled. “What’s this? Why suddenly do I have a fiancé I never knew about? And this fiancé was supposedly arranged when I was two years old—how is that even possible? And why did I only find out when I turned twenty?”

The timing of this revelation seemed odd, as did the fact that her fiancé was living all the way in the capital. She hadn’t even heard Grandma Ye mention any relatives there!

Grandma Ye sighed deeply. “This marriage was arranged by your mother before she passed. Unfortunately, your mother didn’t live long enough to see you grow up.”

Ye Sanqiu didn’t have many memories of her biological mother. She was only five years old when both her parents passed away.

The memories of her parents were vague at best when Ye Sanqiu took over the original body, and the original owner seemed to have cared deeply for them.

In the beginning, Ye Sanqiu had often dreamed the same dream where the original owner would cry out for her parents, asking them to come home and see her.

It was said that only people with deep attachments would visit others in dreams after death.

Ye Sanqiu, who had no idea how to deal with this, had promised the original owner in her dreams to take care of her parents, reassuring them that she would handle everything.

After making that promise, the dreams stopped. From that night onward, the original owner no longer appeared in her dreams.

It felt like an absurd thing to do.

Having lied in her dreams, Ye Sanqiu couldn’t shake the feeling of unease. She had even secretly inquired about the original owner’s parents. She found out that they had died in a landslide while traveling to the county for medical treatment, and their bodies had never been recovered.

At the time, Ye Sanqiu had found it strange.

If the bodies weren’t recovered, how could they be certain they were dead?

She had looked into it privately, but found nothing.

At first, Ye Sanqiu thought she was overthinking things. But now it seemed that there might indeed be a big secret hidden behind her parents’ untimely deaths.

Her curiosity piqued, she asked, “My mother was just a country girl, how could she possibly know people in the capital?”

Having come this far, Grandma Ye decided it was time to stop hiding the truth.

She recounted everything she knew to Ye Sanqiu.

“Your mother wasn’t actually a country girl. She was from the capital.”

Ye Sanqiu’s eyes widened as she listened.

“Your maternal family was reported, and in order to protect your mother, your grandparents severed ties with her publicly and sent her to the countryside, giving her a new identity to keep her safe.”

“Her real name wasn’t Huang Huijuan, and she didn’t carry the Huang surname—she was actually Pei Yin.”

“Your mother had a close friend in the capital, named Ruan Xue.”

“After your mother moved to the countryside, she kept in contact with Ruan Xue. But there was a period when they lost contact.”

“When you were two years old, your mother received a letter from Ruan Xue, and they reconnected.”

“Perhaps your mother mentioned you in the letter, because when Ruan Xue wrote back, she included the marriage papers you’re holding.”

“Your mother told me that when they were young, she and Ruan Xue made a promise. They agreed that if they both married and had children, their children would be connected—if they had a son and a daughter, they’d become in-laws, and if they both had the same gender, the children would be like siblings.”

“Ruan Xue ended up having a son, and that’s how your marriage was arranged.”

Grandma Ye only explained the origins of the marriage. She didn’t mention anything further, leaving Ye Sanqiu with more questions.

However, Ye Sanqiu didn’t push for more information. It seemed that Ruan Xue might be an important lead.

Grandma Ye was surprised by Ye Sanqiu’s calm reaction. She thought her granddaughter would have many questions about her biological mother’s true identity, but instead, Ye Sanqiu simply asked, “So, you want me to go to the capital to meet my fiancé, whom I’ve never seen and haven’t even heard from in twenty years, and fulfill a promise?”

Ye Sanqiu did have a lot of questions, but she wasn’t in a rush to get answers. If Grandma Ye was willing to share more, she would, and if not, asking wouldn’t change that.

At the moment, what concerned Ye Sanqiu more was the marriage papers and the letter of introduction in her hands.

After looking at Grandma Ye’s expression, Ye Sanqiu knew it was pointless to press her further about her biological mother’s identity. She had other plans.

With a thoughtful expression, she finally said, “I’m not that interested in the fiancé or my in-laws. I just want to see the world, maybe visit a big city.”

She folded the papers and stuffed them into her pocket.

She hadn’t planned to leave the village this early, thinking of waiting until the college entrance exams were reinstated in a couple of years before considering going somewhere else. But now, with Grandma Ye mentioning both her mother’s identity and the marriage arrangement, it seemed like a trip to the capital was inevitable.

“Fine, leaving a year earlier isn’t the end of the world,” she thought. “In fact, I’m tired of the village. It’s time for a change of scenery and stir up trouble elsewhere.”

Grandma Ye, sensing that her granddaughter had accepted the situation, let out a sigh of relief. But at the same time, she couldn’t shake a sense of loss, her eyes filled with reluctant affection as she looked at Ye Sanqiu.

Ye Sanqiu caught her gaze and smiled, but before she could say anything, Grandma Ye quickly put on an expression of relief, as if she had finally rid herself of a huge burden.

“It’s getting late,” Grandma Ye said, trying to push her granddaughter into action. “You’d better go back to your room and pack up your things. Get some rest tonight, and don’t miss tomorrow’s train.”

Ye Sanqiu raised an eyebrow, feigning an exaggerated pout. “You really want me to leave that badly? Maybe I’ll just stay in the village. Who knows if my fiancé is a good person or a bad one?”

Grandma Ye, already anxious, quickly retorted, “What are you saying? The capital is a place for leaders and important people. Common folks would never have the chance to go there in their entire lives. How can you not understand? You’re so smart, but why aren’t you seeing the bigger picture now? You should be thinking about enjoying a good life in the capital, not staying here in the countryside.”

“You better not tell anyone you’re my granddaughter if you choose to stay here!” Grandma Ye scolded in exasperation.

Ye Sanqiu couldn’t help but smile inwardly. She had teased Grandma Ye just enough, and seeing her so worked up, she decided to stop.

“I know, I know,” Ye Sanqiu said with an exaggerated nod. “I’ll leave tomorrow morning.”

Grandma Ye, finally relieved, gave her a knowing smile. It seemed her granddaughter had finally agreed to go, though part of her was still holding onto some sadness at seeing her leave.

Ye Sanqiu wasn’t planning to turn back now. She had plans of her own going to the capital, uncovering some truths, and maybe even building a little fortune while she was at it. In a couple of years, she could bring Grandma Ye back with her.