Chapter 7 — When the Top Beam is Crooked, the Bottom Ones Will Be Too

Fu Bo could tell that Ye Jingchuan suspected him of stealing.

“Master, please see clearly! This old servant truly doesn’t know how the wheat vanished all of a sudden. We’ve been guarding the warehouse in three shifts and have never slacked off.”

After the rainy day, he had even opened the granary to check—there had been wheat inside.

Ye Jingchuan listened to the weak explanation, then sneered. “Even you don’t believe what you’re saying, do you?”

Fu Bo knew how ridiculous his words sounded—no one would buy it.

His lips trembled. “What I say is true!”

“You think saying ‘what I say is true’ is enough to make the magistrate swallow the loss of two hundred dan of wheat?”

Fu Bo was just about to take the blame when Ye Chutang, who had been quietly watching from the side, spoke up.

“Wheat doesn’t just disappear into thin air. You were only guarding from the outside—what if someone dug a tunnel into the warehouse from below?”

Fu Bo’s dull eyes lit up. “This old servant will go check right away!”

Ye Jingchuan glanced at Chen Zhong.

Chen Zhong got the message and followed Fu Bo at once.

About the time it took for one incense stick to burn later, the nimble Chen Zhong returned to the manor first.

“Master, there’s indeed a tunnel in the corner of the granary. It extends toward the mountains. The guards have gone to investigate.”

Ye Jingchuan’s face turned stormy, his eyes brimming with fury.

“They dared to steal right under this official’s nose? Tell the guards to report to the authorities immediately—we must catch the thieves and bring them to justice!”

“Yes, Master.”

Chen Zhong went to the granary again and returned with Fu Bo.

Ye Jingchuan looked at Fu Bo, who now seemed relieved.

“You and the guards stay here. Wait for the authorities to recover the wheat.”

Then, turning to Ye Chutang, he said, “Chuer, let’s go—back to the Ministry’s residence.”

The manor was about two hundred li from the capital, a journey that took over two hours by carriage.

Midway, the three of them stopped at a postal station for lunch.

Ye Chutang ordered the most expensive dishes on the menu.

Though the taste was mediocre, the quality of the ingredients wasn’t bad.

While Ye Jingchuan and Chen Zhong weren’t paying attention, she quietly stored some of the food into her space.

By the time they reached the capital, it was already past mid-afternoon, and the weather was sweltering.

Ye Chutang lifted the curtain of the carriage window, admiring the lively and bustling city streets of the ancient capital.

She was already plotting her revenge.

Not only would she reclaim what rightfully belonged to her, but she would also make that scumbag father regret everything—and strip her stepmother of everything she held dear!

Ye Jingchuan thought Ye Chutang was simply dazzled by the novelty of the capital, so he instantly adopted a kindly tone.

“Chuer, once the sun eases up a bit, let Ling’er take you around. Buy yourself some rouge and powder, maybe a few pieces of jewelry and clothes.”

“Who’s paying?”

“I’ll pay, of course. Two hundred taels should be enough to buy you several outfits.”

“Sure thing, Lord Ye.”

Ye Jingchuan frowned at how she addressed him.

“We’re back in the capital. You should start calling me ‘Father.’”

Ye Chutang closed the curtain and smiled at him. “No problem, but you’ll have to give me a renaming fee.”

“I’ve always been your father—why should I pay you for that?”

“What you said makes sense. But you did forget about your daughter for fifteen years. For the sake of fairness, I’ll remember you as my father fifteen years from now. It’s not too late to call you that then.”

Ye Jingchuan: “……”

“Where did you even learn such twisted logic?”

“Self-taught. I guess this is what they call: ‘When the top beam is crooked, the bottom beams are bound to be crooked too.’”

Ye Jingchuan suddenly felt immensely grateful that he’d sent Ye Chutang to be raised in the countryside. If she’d stayed in the capital, he’d probably have died of anger long ago.

“I already promised you ten thousand taels as compensation for those fifteen years, didn’t I?”

The implication was that accepting the compensation meant acknowledging him as her father.

Ye Chutang pressed the back of her hand to his forehead.

“No fever. Why is Lord Ye talking nonsense then? That ten thousand taels was simply the price I agreed on to return home.”

Ye Jingchuan stared at this girl who had nothing but money in her eyes, and took a deep breath.

“How much do you want for the renaming fee?”

Ye Chutang raised a single finger and waved it. “Not much—just another ten thousand taels.”

Ye Jingchuan almost coughed up blood.

“No money!”

Ye Chutang didn’t mind in the slightest and shrugged.

“Why get so worked up over something so trivial? I think ‘Lord Ye’ sounds smooth and respectful. It’s perfect.”

Ye Jingchuan felt an urge to march her straight to the palace and throw her in front of the Grand Eunuch De, saying: “My legitimate eldest daughter is way better looking than my second daughter—she’s a better match to be your food-sharing companion!”

But he didn’t dare.

After all, the reason he brought Ye Chutang back was to have her take the marriage in someone else’s place.

But this couldn’t be done openly.

Otherwise, the Grand Eunuch would think he was unwilling to marry off his talented and beautiful second daughter, so he dragged back a daughter from the countryside with nothing but looks to fob him off.

Ye Jingchuan took a deep breath and gritted his teeth.

“Fine! Even if I have to sell the pots and pans, I’ll get you another ten thousand taels!”

Just three more days. He only had to endure her for three more days!

Ye Chutang hadn’t expected Ye Jingchuan to actually agree.

Now she was genuinely curious—what kind of marriage could make him suppress his anger this much?

“Well then, thank you in advance, Lord Ye.”

She didn’t actually mind calling him “Father.” That was part of the revenge plan anyway.

Not long after, the carriage arrived at the gate of the Minister’s residence.

Chen Zhong jumped down and lifted the curtain. “Master, we’ve arrived.”

Ye Chutang immediately looked outside.

The gold-embossed sign reading Minister’s Residence came into view—neither elegant nor bold in style.

“Who wrote this plaque? It’s way too—”

Before she could say “ugly,” Ye Jingchuan cut her off in a panic.

“That plaque was inscribed by His Majesty himself! It symbolizes the Ye family’s glory—don’t say anything reckless!”

Of the six ministry heads, only his residence had a plaque written by the Emperor himself, thus named the Minister’s Residence.

The other five had to name their homes after their family names.

Ye Chutang leaned in closer to Ye Jingchuan and smiled. “So Lord Ye thinks the Emperor’s handwriting is ugly too, huh?”

“You—” Insolence!

“No need to shout, Lord Ye. When I get startled, I tend to blurt out the truth. If I accidentally offend the Emperor, the Ye family is done for.”

With that, she ignored Ye Jingchuan’s constipated expression and hopped off the carriage first.

Ye Jingchuan was suddenly uncertain whether bringing Ye Chutang back to be a stand-in bride was the right move.

He was starting to feel like not only would she destroy the Ye family, she might just turn the whole capital upside down!

Just then, the stepmother, Kong Ru, stepped out of the Minister’s residence, ready to greet Ye Jingchuan.

But instead, she saw a slender girl with stunning beauty leap down from the carriage.

She paused in surprise.

She had expected a sallow, timid country bumpkin, not this fair-skinned beauty.

Though the girl’s manners were a bit rough, she had the bearing of someone born to be in charge.

Kong Ru quickly composed herself, smiled, and came down the steps to stand in front of Ye Chutang.

“You must be Chuer? You look just like your mother.”

Then she turned to the two maids behind her. “Come, greet the young miss.”

The maids stepped forward and bowed. “Greetings, Young Miss.”

Ye Chutang ignored the maids and looked straight at the young woman in a lake-blue gauze dress, her hair covered in pearl pins. She immediately guessed her identity.

Her stepmother—Kong Ru.

Ye Chutang stared at her, completely unbothered. “If you don’t know how to run a household, maybe don’t manage the household affairs at all.”

Kong Ru: “???”

“What do you mean by that, Chuer?”

“The Ye family is so poor it can’t even afford food anymore. Clearly, you’re useless at managing money. Compared to my mother, you’re leagues behind.”

Kong Ru’s forced smile froze as her fingernails dug into her palms. She used the pain to force herself to stay calm.

The maids hadn’t expected the “country-raised” young miss to be so rude to the lady of the house.

One of them opened her mouth to scold her but was immediately silenced by Kong Ru’s look.

For the sake of her daughter, she had to endure this!

She turned to Ye Jingchuan, who had just walked over, and quickly stepped forward to greet him. “Master, you must be exhausted from the journey.”

Ye Jingchuan nodded. “Let’s talk inside.”

Then he looked at Ye Chutang, face stern.

“Chuer, the capital is not like the countryside. You must watch your words and actions—otherwise, you’ll bring disaster upon yourself.”

“Don’t worry, Lord Ye. I value my life very much.”

Ye Chutang knew that if she wanted to survive in this world she’d crossed into, she had to fully blend in.

This wasn’t like those time-travel novels, where one could just change the rules of society single-handedly.

That was foolish.

What she had to do was learn the rules, use the rules, and master them.

And then—earn as much merit as she could, within her limits.