Chapter 15: Hypocrisy

When the Ye family wanted to give a house to Song Yifeng, he refused. He claimed that he bought the house with money earned from copying books, writing poems, and selling paintings, but in reality, it was bought with the Ye family’s money.

To protect Song Yifeng’s pride and reputation, whenever he needed money, it was Yin De’an, the father of Madam Yin and Song Yifeng’s mentor, who would inquire about his needs. Upon learning that Song Yifeng needed money for an event or other expenses, he would send a message to the Ye family, who would then send the money. After some persuasion, Song Yifeng would reluctantly accept it.

To Ye Yaming, this behavior was truly hypocritical.

But what happened later? Despite the Ye family’s wholehearted support, once Song Yifeng passed the imperial examination, he looked down on the Ye family for being merchants and deemed the merchant’s daughter unworthy of him, the great scholar. He despised the engagement. Afraid that breaking off the engagement would tarnish his reputation and knowing that the Ye family had invested so much in him, he reluctantly married the original owner but treated her coldly, rarely visiting her room.

When the Ye family got into trouble, instead of helping them, he felt relieved.

Ye Yaming even suspected he might have had a hand in their downfall to rid himself of the engagement.

After the Ye family was sentenced to confiscation and exile, he didn’t immediately divorce the original owner but used the situation to gain a good reputation. In private, however, he verbally abused the original owner and subjected her to emotional abuse.

Madam Yu, wanting a reputation yet despising the original owner, didn’t confront her directly. Instead, she used the excuse that the original owner hadn’t conceived after nearly two years of marriage to buy a capable maid for Song Yifeng. When the maid became pregnant, she was promoted to a concubine and encouraged to bully the original owner.

With her husband cold and indifferent, a concubine who bullied and insulted her, and her maids sold off by Madam Yu for various reasons, the original owner was closely watched and not allowed to leave the house. In her despair, Song Yifeng had a servant “accidentally” reveal the tragic deaths of Ye Hongsheng and Ye Yayin.

The original owner, proud and deeply in love with Song Yifeng, endured daily humiliation from him, the concubine’s insults, and Madam Yu’s various abuses. She held on, hoping to escape and see her parents and sister one day.

The news of their deaths was a devastating blow, leaving her with no will to live. On a snowy night, she ended her life with a white silk ribbon.

Believing that dying in red clothes would make her a vengeful ghost, she wore the wedding dress she had painstakingly embroidered for three years. She wanted to become a ghost and avenge the Ye family and herself against Song Yifeng and his mother.

However, instead of becoming a ghost, she went to the underworld and was given a chance to be reborn.

Recalling the original owner’s experiences, Ye Yaming felt a chill and looked at Madam Yu with cold, disdainful eyes.

If Meng Chengwei’s actions against the Ye family were understandable as business competition, the Song family’s treatment of the Ye family and the original owner, despite their kindness, was truly despicable.

Such people were intolerable to Ye Yaming, and she wanted to break off the engagement immediately after her rebirth.

However, even in modern times, divorced women, even if blameless, were often judged and criticized. In ancient times, the scrutiny was even harsher.

Song Yifeng was good at pretending. At this time, the Ye family was wealthy, and the Song family was poor. Although Song Yifeng had passed the imperial examination, there were many talented scholars in Jiangnan, and being a scholar wasn’t particularly impressive. He only stood out because of his young age.

Breaking off the engagement could damage the Ye family’s reputation. While Song Yifeng, having taken so much money from the Ye family and passed the examination, could get what he wanted by ending the engagement with a merchant’s family. Such a good outcome for him was unacceptable.

Hence, Ye Yaming planned to take her time. She not only wanted to break off the engagement but also ruin Song Yifeng’s reputation. Since she couldn’t break off the engagement immediately, she didn’t want to pretend to be friendly with Madam Yu. That’s why she went to the mountains with Ye Chongming and Ye Jiaxing under the pretense of needing a break.

Encountering Madam Yu here was truly unlucky.

After saying that, she nodded politely to the woman standing next to Madam Yu and said, “You two chat,” before entering the carriage.

Madam Yu was stunned.

Because her son was smart and handsome, after getting engaged to Ye Yaming, Ye Yaming fell in love with him at first sight and was very respectful to her future mother-in-law. This was the first time she had been brushed off with a few words and then left.

The woman standing next to her smiled and said, “So this is the young lady from the Ye family you mentioned. She is indeed beautiful.”

She didn’t show it on her face but felt disdainful inside. She was a new neighbor who had bought the house next to Madam Yu’s. Every time they chatted, Madam Yu would talk about her family’s relationship with the Ye family, how much Ye Yaming liked her son, how she flattered her future mother-in-law, and how the Ye family tried to curry favor with them.

But now, it didn’t seem like that at all.

Used to being flattered, Madam Yu was furious at being snubbed, especially in front of her new neighbor. She decided that the next time Ye Yaming visited, she would treat her coldly to show her that she wasn’t an easy mother-in-law.

Seeing a tall, handsome young man approaching, Madam Yu’s eyes lit up. She waved and called out, “Feng’er, you’re back?”

She turned to the older woman and said, “Mrs. Luo, my son is back. Let’s chat another time.”

With that, she ignored Mrs. Luo and went to greet her son, returning home with him.

In the courtyard, she recounted her encounter with Ye Yaming and how coldly she had been treated, complaining, “She hasn’t even married into the family yet, and she’s already treating me like this. What will it be like after she marries?”

“She wouldn’t dare!” Song Yifeng’s eyes flashed with coldness.

He said to Madam Yu, “Mother, you raised me with great effort, and I will never allow anyone to be unfilial to you. If it were before, we might have had to endure it. But now that I’ve passed the imperial examination, the Ye family won’t dare to look down on you anymore.”

He lifted his head slightly, a hint of pride showing through his restrained expression, “The education commissioner praised my essay and said I would surely do well in the next exam. When that happens, you can return all the cold looks the Ye family gave us.”