l." 。Even if we retrieve the bodies, it wouldn't be of much use. The murderer is now a fool, and even if they were taken to be punished, it wouldn't hold much significance. 。“Why would that young lad...Shi Liyuan thought today's play would be very interesting. He had heard that there were constant struggles within wealthy families, and everyone had a cunning heart. But seeing this kind of drama with his own eyes was the first time today.

The Emperor stood by the wall of General One's mansion, his arms crossed. He sent a voice transmission to Ye Wenyan: "I don't care what kind of play you're putting on, but remember not to hurt yourself, even if you're wronged, you can't let yourself be harmed. If that happens, since I've come today, I won't hesitate to take matters into my own hands for you. As for whether your Ye family can withstand my actions, that's another matter entirely."

She also replied telepathically, "Rest assured, there's no way I would be at a disadvantage. Just watch."

So he sat back and enjoyed the play, even conjuring up a chair with magic, placing it before him. There was also a small table in front of the chair, upon which sat a cup of tea.

When Zhu'er returned to the mansion with the butcher, it attracted a lot of people from Lin'an City. Whether they were officials or slaves, everyone came to watch the commotion. Some even followed them all the way from the outer city to the inner city, shaking their heads and pointing: “I never expected that a renowned general's mansion like this would actually be so poorly run. The entire family couldn't even afford a decent piece of meat, surviving on plain vegetables day after day. They live worse than we do!”

"Well, now we have to sell the jewels from my fourth sister's wedding gown to buy food. That shows just how poor a one-star general's mansion is!"

Ruier listened to the people's words, and her admiration for her elder sister grew even stronger. This scene was exactly as her sister had imagined before.

Then she sighed and said, "Actually, when the old General and the grandfather were alive, our family wasn't like this. We didn't have every meal be mountain delicacies or seafood, at least Eldest Sister's room had a six-dish and one soup meal every time. There were at least four meat dishes out of the six! This is what a family like ours should have."

People chimed in, "That's right! General Ye is a first-rank martial artist, who has fought for the country his whole life. His family deserves to eat well. Our master is only a third-rank official, but even our young masters and misses have two or three meat dishes at each meal!"

"My home is in the outer city, we're common folk. We don't see meat at every meal, but at least once every three meals there's a bowl of meat soup! Miss, how did you come to be at the market Even the big madam's family can't afford rice for their porridge."

"Yeah, yeah," said Zhu'er, "There aren't even a few grains of rice to be seen. The porridge is just like water."

"Then wouldn't that be a situation where there's no rice to cook Just calling a butcher isn't enough, you'll also need to buy rice. Wait here, I'll go call a rice merchant over. We can weigh the rice right here."

The enthusiastic crowd went to call the rice merchant, and Zhuai expressed great satisfaction.

The butcher was also a good flatterer. Hearing the words of Zhuier and the onlookers, he immediately shouted loudly: "Since it's for General's Mansion to send meat, I'll charge less. Today, I won't make any money, just cost price! Who says General's Mansion can't afford it Even if I am greedy, I can't earn the money that would be used to buy Sister Four's wedding clothes. That would be truly wicked!"

At this moment, Old Madam walked out supported by Ye Lianlian. Behind her followed Mu Shi, Xiao Shi, Liu Shi, and a crowd of elders.

“The four words 'black-hearted and ruthless' pierced her heart. She immediately roared, “Bold! This is the official residence, not a place for you commoners to come!”

The butcher was taken aback and said rather unhappily, “What’s wrong with you I haven't broken any laws, nor have I even stepped onto your property. Shouldn't commoners be allowed to stand on the street Is it only permissible in front of the palace You expect a first-rank general’s residence to have the same rules as the imperial palace”

With one sentence, she had rendered the old matriarch speechless. The woman behind her, Xiao shi, quickly exclaimed, "Hu, which family's residence can compare to the imperial palace You mustn't speak recklessly and slander our reputation." She glanced at Zhuier, then pondered for a moment. Feeling that as the second mistress of a prestigious general's mansion, she needn't engage in conversation with a maidservant, she turned to Ye Wenyan instead. "Fourth Miss, what is going on Why have you brought a butcher here"

Ye Wen only took a step forward, frowning: "Auntie, don't force it. It's not shameful that our family is struggling financially. I have money now, and as long as I have money, I will definitely think of improving the lives of my family first."

The Xiao family was stunned. When did their life become so difficult When did she start putting on a brave face

Jinxiu lightly pinched her arm and whispered a few words in her ear. Only then did Xiao Shi suddenly understand.

These past few days, the household has been truly harsh on the eldest daughter's family. They are served only wilted vegetable leaves for every meal, or perhaps some tough cabbage stalks. Even the porridge they drink in the morning lacks a few grains of rice, and their lunch and dinner rice bowls are barely filled at all.

This wasn't her idea; it was the old lady's doing. But even after she found out, she didn't stop it, and even instructed the kitchen not to use new rice for the main house. The old lady praised her for this.

Is tonight when Yin Yan is going to take this matter

Xiao shi was a bit worried, any family matters getting aired out publicly would not look good. How could Ye Wen yan not know to resolve it behind closed doors

When Ye Wen spoke, the Mu clan had already stood up with Ye Feiyu and Ye Qingmei. Only Ye Lianmian remained standing by Old Madam's side. At this moment, she was shouting at Ye Wen: "Where did you get your money"

Ye Wen was amused by her question and immediately replied, "I dismantled the wedding dress my grandfather prepared for me when he was alive and sold the gemstones on it to get money. Otherwise, where would I have money I'm now penniless, poorer than even a servant in the house."

People heard from outside the door, "The Fourth Sister is poorer than the servants in the mansion How can that be"

"Don't you understand Sister Four has nothing, but the servants all have their allowance money. Naturally, they are wealthier than Sister Four."

"What about the monthly allowance of the fourth sister Shouldn't the young mistress also have a monthly allowance"

"Right, where did Fourth Sister's silver go"

The little girl burst into tears: "Thieves broke into our house and stole my elder sister's allowance money!" As she cried, she pulled out a piece of paper from her sleeve. "Look at this," she said, "This is what my sister has been eating for the past few days, along with the mistress, young master, and eldest lady. Take a look, what are these things Even rabbits wouldn't be fed like this."

The paper slip in Zhuier's hand was passed around by people. It recorded the meals of these days, and the maid remembered them in great detail, wishing she could even write down how many grains of rice were in a bowl of porridge.

Those with shallow eye sockets watched and cried, saying, “How awfully miserable Sister Four must have spent this night!”

Someone else said, "People used to say that Ye Si was a witch, but I didn't expect that a witch would just be beautiful and live such a life at home."

"Look at Ye Si Jie's face, it's as white as paper, and she's so thin she looks frail. This is clearly from hunger."

"Forget it, forget it. I used to be angry with Ye Sijie because of her beauty, but now I'm not angry anymore. It turns out we are all pitiful people. Everyone has their own hardships."

Ye Wen, upon hearing this, also dabbed at her eyes with a handkerchief. Although she didn't shed any tears, she said in a mournful tone: "Our family is truly too poor. I'm already so thin, you can imagine what life is like for everyone else. Grandmother is elderly, and my second uncle and aunt have always been pampered. How could they endure such hardships Besides, I haven't married yet, so it's better to dismantle the jewels on my wedding dress and sell them to buy food for the family. The dress is useless anyway; it's better to eat it than throw it away, isn't it By the way, doesn't this also count as a type of blood bun After all, there's still blood on the wedding dress!"

The old woman was so angry she was seeing stars, “Nonsense! Absolute nonsense!” She pointed at Ye Wenyan and shouted, “You unfilial child, you’ve disgraced the Night family! How could our family produce someone like you You are so disrespectful!”

"How could I be unfilial" Ye Wen said, perplexed. "Instead, I sold my wedding clothes to buy meat for the household, mainly for Grandmother and Second Uncle and Aunt to eat. This is a demonstration of filial piety. Does Grandmother not like to eat meat Or perhaps, these days, only our main branch has been eating vegetarian food, and you haven't experienced this hardship at all"

She waved her hands repeatedly, "No, no, absolutely not! How could something like this happen This is clearly intentional mistreatment. You are the esteemed matriarch of our General's Manor, with a first-rank imperial edict on your back, how could you possibly do such a heartless thing."

The old lady felt like she was being scolded and her face flushed. This wasn't a straightforward answer, either way. If she didn't accept this payment today and disregard Ye Wenyan's feelings, she would appear to be deliberately harsh and uncaring, losing all credibility as a person. But if she accepted it, what about the Ye family's reputation

In the crowd, a blue-clad woman who came to watch the commotion walked forward a few steps accompanied by her maidservant. With a sorrowful expression on her face, she said: "I didn't expect that after the old general's death, the First Rank General's Mansion would be in such a state, it's truly pitiful." She instructed her maidservant beside her, "Yu, go back and get some rice and noodles from our house, and then buy some snacks on the street. Tell someone to bring them to the First Rank General's Mansion by carriage. Go quickly!"

The fish's maidservant responded with a sound and hurried away.

Upon hearing this, Zhu'er quickly replied, “Thank you kindly, madam. Please wait a moment while I calculate the silver for you.”

That sister shook her head. "No need, consider it my charity work. Just remember, everything sent from my household is for the eldest wife and her family to eat. As for the second wife's family and the old madam... well, eating some warm human blood buns will be enough."

"Completed, she smiled broadly and bowed to the old lady: 'Wan Ting greets Elder Lady Ye, how have you been lately'"

The old lady is unwell, the old woman almost fainted from anger. The old lady thinks, which young lady is so disrespectful, isn't she intentionally making trouble for her!

Look closer, oh my, it hurts even more.

This is not the best friend who usually plays with Ye Wen, Jiang Wanting, the only daughter of Minister Jiang Feng from the Ministry of Punishment...

>"The Emperor said, waving his sleeve widely, "All of you, disperse! This deity is going to see our young master. Oh, and from now on, when you meet Miss Ye Si, remember to address her respectfully as...