When Sang Yinyue stopped speaking, the room fell silent.

When Sang Yao entered, she didn’t bother to close the door.

Now, it stood wide open, occasionally passed by servants outside.

Initially, Sang Yao didn’t think much of it. After Sang Yinyue blurted out a bunch of words, she suddenly wanted to close the door.

She looked at Sang Yinyue’s tear-streaked face, and in the silence, she spoke first, with a hint of absurdity in her words, “You…”

She didn’t even know how to ask.

Sang Yinyue grabbed her sleeve and nodded, saying, “Yaoyao, I didn’t lie to you. I went through great difficulties to escape from home and the guy even played with me!”

If it were someone else, Sang Yao might actually have helped her look into it.

After all, with such a thing happening, it wouldn’t be right to just let it go.

But what Sang Yinyue had done, Sang Yao really didn’t know how to judge.

“You first drugged and tied him up, and then tried to… do something…”

Sang Yinyue said matter-of-factly, “But I didn’t, did I?”

“Besides, he didn’t suffer any loss. What’s there to refuse? I offered him money, and he didn’t even accept it. Isn’t that how you try to cover up one’s tracks?”

“… “

Sang Yao couldn’t judge anymore.

She didn’t want to discuss this issue with Sang Yinyue any further.

Instead, she remembered another thing she had said.

“You wrote to me?”

Sang Yinyue nodded and said, “I wanted to meet you, but after I finished writing the letter, my mother found out and confiscated it.”

“Did you arrange to meet at the Ningxiang Tower?”

Sang Yinyue nodded, “Yaoyao, how did you know?”

Sang Yao didn’t answer right away.

It seemed that the last letter was indeed written by Sang Yinyue herself.

She had originally thought that Ming Rong had forced Sang Yinyue to write it, but now it seemed that it was not the case.

The letter was taken by her aunt and then ended up in Ming Rong’s hands.

She didn’t want to speculate too maliciously about her aunt’s family, but now it seemed that this was the case.

Sang Yao could even imagine how Ming Rong had sent someone to persuade her aunt, perhaps promising them something hard to refuse or repeatedly assuring them that she wouldn’t harm her, just wanting to talk.

They might not even know that Ming Rong would harm her, and they might think that even if it were investigated, they could say that Sang Yinyue was forced or that the letter was stolen.

But regardless, Sang Yao was indeed a little disappointed this time.

Sang Yinyue was still crying and talking to her, but Sang Yao wasn’t paying much attention.

She was married now, and her future contact with her aunt’s family would not be much.

She had no feelings for them and could completely ignore them, but her father was still in the Sang family.

Sang Yin had only her and her sister as daughters.

After her mother died, he had no intention of remarrying, so with just him, it would be difficult to split the family.

“Yaoyao, will you help me?”

Sang Yao came back to her senses and said truthfully, “I can give you some money.”

As for investigating who that man was, she didn’t want to bother Xie Yun because of Sang Yinyue.

Moreover, it was not necessary. Regardless of whether it was voluntary or forced, she and that man would end up with the same result.

If Sang Yinyue had been forced, she could help her a little. In the current situation, she really didn’t know what to say.

Sang Yinyue said, “I want fifty taels, can you?”

Sang Yao had her own small treasury, so fifty taels wasn’t much to her. “Alright.”

Sang Yinyue wiped her tears and stood up, saying, “Then help me find that man.”

Sang Yao replied, “That’s not possible.”

Sang Yinyue was unhappy. “You must be able to. Why won’t you help me?”

“I’m your sister. You have to help me!”

“Please, talk to Xie Yun for me.”

Before Sang Yao could refute her, a low voice outside said, “Young Master.”

As the voice fell, Xie Yun walked in from outside.

His tall figure blocked the pouring sunlight. Sang Yao stood up, but before she could speak, Sang Yinyue said first, “Lord Xie!”

Xie Yun ignored her, walking straight to Sang Yao without looking elsewhere.

He said, “It’s time to come back.”

Sang Yao and Sang Yinyue said, “Then I’ll have someone bring you the money, and you can go.”

Sang Yinyue didn’t say anything more. She was very reluctant and said to Xie Yun, “Lord Xie, please help me. Aren’t we family?”

“It should be simple for you to help me. Don’t be so stingy.”

Standing next to Sang Yao, Xie Yun stared at Sang Yinyue expressionlessly, not answering.

Sang Yao’s face fell. Her tone was cold. “Sang Yinyue, what are you saying?”

Sang Yinyue said, “You, silly girl, shut up!”

Sang Yao really disliked being called that by Sang Yinyue.

It always forced her to remember the teasing she endured as a child when she was sick and without a mother.

At that time, several people called her that, laughing as they did.

Later, she grew up, her illness was cured, and no one called her that anymore, except Sang Yinyue, who never changed.

Before she could speak, Xie Yun frowned. “What did you call her?”

Xie Yun always exuded a sense of oppression. Even though he was calm now, it made Sang Yinyue’s fear intensify.

Her voice lowered as she tried to evade, “I said Yaoyao.”

Sang Yao whispered to Xie Yun, “Have someone escort her out.”

Xie Yun didn’t respond.

He was still looking at Sang Yinyue, then asked, “What did you want me to help you with just now?”

Sang Yinyue was delighted and repeated what she had said to Sang Yao to Xie Yun.

Xie Yun nodded and said, “Escort her out.”

Jinglian, who had long been displeased with this cousin-in-law who often bullied his young lady, stepped forward eagerly. “Young Master, please instruct.”

Xie Yun said, “Send her back to the Sang family.”

Jinglian said, “Yes.”

Sang Yinyue was stunned. “I… I’m not going back! I finally managed to escape.”

But she didn’t dare to get angry at Xie Yun and could only look at Sang Yao. “Yaoyao, I won’t ask for your help anymore. Just give me the money.”

Xie Yun’s expression turned cold, his patience exhausted.

Soon, two rough servant girls came in and escorted Sang Yinyue out directly.

After Sang Yinyue left, Sang Yao whispered to Xie Yun, “My uncle wants her to marry. If we send her back, it might not be good.”

“Right?”

Xie Yun didn’t answer.

Instead, he asked a question he was more concerned about, “Does she often call you like this?”

Sang Yao had wanted to say a few words in defense of Sang Yinyue, but after holding back for a while, she couldn’t help but nod and complain to Xie Yun, “Yes, often.”

“My father and my sister have punished her, but she never changes. It’s so annoying.”

“I’m not that silly. Why does she call me that way?”

“She’s really annoying. I can’t even scold her because if I do, she’ll be even more annoying. When we were young, she always wanted to boss me around, and I couldn’t beat her.”

Although Sang Yao was a bit healthier now and could fight her evenly, what young lady wanted to fight all the time?

Xie Yun said in a deep voice, “Does anyone else call you that?”

Sang Yao thought for a moment and then shook her head. “No.”

She didn’t often go out.

Although the capital was a place where people were often praised or looked down upon, there weren’t that many malicious people.

Most of the time, the people she met were very friendly.

She still felt it wasn’t quite right and hesitated, “Should we still send her back? I can just not give her the money…”

Xie Yun took Sang Yao’s hand and walked out of the side room, saying quietly, “Don’t worry, if she can escape once, she’ll do it again.”

Although this time, he wouldn’t let her escape so easily.

Being too easygoing wouldn’t teach her anything.

He had heard from Jinglian that this cousin-in-law who often bullied Sang Yao, but since Sang Yao didn’t mention it, he didn’t intervene much.

If Sang Yao hadn’t treated this cousin-in-law tolerably, he wouldn’t have just scared her this time.

“If you agree too easily, she will think that it’s only right for you to help her.”

“If you can’t really make her afraid, she will never take your words seriously.”

Sang Yao thought Xie Yun made some sense.

Even though her sister had been scolded by her and her father many times, she hadn’t learned her lesson, so scaring her might work.

She hoped the words “silly girl” would never appear in her life again.

“Since we scared her, I’ll still give her the money in the end.”

After Sang Yao finished speaking, she didn’t continue the topic.

Walking side by side with Xie Yun, she suddenly remembered something and asked in a low voice, “By the way, Xie Yun, was my dress washed yesterday?”

Xie Yun replied, “Yes, it’s been washed and put away.”

Sang Yao couldn’t help but pinch his arm, her face slightly flushed. She whispered, “I forgot this morning, and you didn’t remind me. How could you let…”

“I washed it.”

After a pause, he added, “With just one hand.”

Sang Yao followed him.

She was used to Xie Yun helping her wash her clothes.

The first time Xie Yun helped her wash her clothes, it was a small dress stained with something that shouldn’t be there.

Xie Yun probably noticed that she didn’t want the servants to wash such obviously stained clothes, so he did it himself.

Later, every time they finished, Xie Yun would wash her intimate clothes himself when he got up early.

Sang Yao couldn’t imagine this scene, nor could she imagine how the servants would react if they saw it, but he insisted on doing it.

When the two of them ate together, Xie Yun never spoke while eating.

Sang Yao wasn’t so particular.

She would say whatever she wanted to Xie Yun.

After talking for a while, she picked up a chicken leg from the plate that had hardly been touched, and the thin chopsticks seemed to be unable to hold it. Her thoughts suddenly drifted back to the past.

She said to Xie Yun:

“I used to love eating chicken legs when I was a child.”

But that’s not entirely true.

She lowered her eyes and said softly, “There was a shop on Lingfang Street that sold roast chicken. I remember when my father went out when I was young, he would always bring back half a chicken for me and my sister.”

“My sister would always save the chicken legs for me and then tell me that she thought eating chicken legs would make her fat, and if she got fat, she wouldn’t be pretty, so she asked me to get fat for her.”

Xie Yun put down his chopsticks and stared at the delicate girl in front of him. “Your sister cared so much, yet you’re still so thin.”

Sang Yao didn’t think she was thin at all. She snorted and continued, “After I figured it out, I thought that when I grew up, I would buy my sister lots of chicken legs.”

She sighed and continued, “But when I grew up, let alone sending them to the palace, I never even bought roast chicken from that shop.”

Xie Yun looked at Sang Yao.

He didn’t want her to know too much about the struggles in the court and the harem, but after a moment of silence, he still spoke, “There’s something I forgot to tell you.”

Sang Yao asked, “What is it?”

“Your sister is pregnant. The emperor is very pleased and might appoint her as a noble consort.”

Sang Yao widened her eyes. “What?”

Xie Yun said it might happen, so it was very likely.

Sang Yao herself was not a person with many ambitions, but her sister was not like that.

One of the reasons why Sang Zhu entered the palace was to help Sang Yin rise in the world.

Most of it was because Sang Zhu wanted to enter the palace herself.

However, imperial favor is fickle.

Although Sang Zhu was able to become a consort, she was actually not as powerful as those who had family backing.

So, she always kept a low profile.

Unexpectedly, after two years of silence, there was suddenly such a development.

Sang Yao was happy for Sang Zhu, but Xie Yun pursed his lips and said, “But I guess that child is probably not real.”

Sang Yao exclaimed again, and a piece of chicken leg from her chopsticks fell onto the table.