The sound of pattering footsteps approached. Ye Chutang looked up to see a chubby Little Milk Group running toward her on stubby legs.

Xiao Wu threw herself into Ye Chutang’s arms.

’Her big sister had only been gone for half a day, but to her, it felt like they’d been apart for ages!’

Ye Chutang gently tapped her on the nose. "What’s this? Did you smell the silver and come running?"

Xiao Wu tilted her face up and gave her a brilliant smile.

A moment ago, she had indeed overheard Ye Chutang talking to the servants and learned the origin of those letters.

In her eyes, there was nothing her big sister set out to do that she couldn’t accomplish.

Now that the shops were reclaimed and her big sister was personally taking over, wouldn’t business be booming in the future?

Ye Chutang took her hand and walked inside, her pace unhurried.

The servants following behind couldn’t help but turn to look at the servant who had accompanied Ye Chutang out.

The Second Miss had been refusing all visitors lately. Today was her first formal outing, and it just so happened to coincide with Ye Mingze’s sudden death. By now, half the Capital City knew the news. Tongues were wagging, and everyone was paying particular attention to Ye Chutang’s attitude.

But... no one could tell what she was really thinking.

To say she didn’t care seemed wrong; she had sent someone to order a coffin for Fengling Lane first thing in the morning. Yet to say she did care also seemed wrong; her expression remained calm and composed, betraying nothing.

And now, she was even planning to personally manage the affairs of those shops...

"Send a standard reply to all these letters. Ask them to come tomorrow."

Ye Chutang quickly opened and read each of the letters before giving the order.

"Yes."

Ye Chutang asked again, "By the way, what’s the situation over at Fengling Lane?"

The servants glanced at one another.

Finally, one of them stepped forward and recounted everything that had happened in front of the Ye Family’s gates that morning.

Ye Chutang listened impassively, as if she had already anticipated the outcome.

"Did she say where she wants to bury Mingze?"

The servant trembled and stammered, "Th-that, it seems she didn’t..."

Ye Shixian had nearly died of anger. If it weren’t for the soldiers still guarding the Ye Family estate, she likely would have thrown a massive fit right then and there. How could she have thought of anything else?

’If someone asked her that to her face... she’d probably follow Ye Mingze to the grave herself.’

Ye Chutang let out a soft "Oh."

"Right. She and Second Aunt must be overcome with grief right now; how could they possibly think of such things? But it is a difficult decision. I heard that when Second Uncle chose the burial plot for my father, mother, and older brother, he also went to a great deal of trouble."

Xiao Wu looked up at her, her clear, jet-black eyes like the purest obsidian, her expression a mixture of confusion and understanding.

Ye Chutang rubbed her little head, but her mind couldn’t help but recall Xu Fengchi’s earlier words.

"...Back then, everyone thought he would send them back to your ancestral home in Qingzhou for burial. But it was the dead of winter, with heavy snow making the roads impassable. Qingzhou was also a long way off; the journey would have taken a month or more. He had just been promoted to Right Temple Minister of the Ministry of Justice and was swamped with official duties, so it was all very inconvenient. In the end, he decided to bury your parents and Xiting at the foot of Jiuhua Mountain in the suburb of the capital. He said your father had grown especially fond of that place after arriving in the Capital City, and that this way, they could rest in peace."

The corner of Ye Chutang’s lip twitched slightly.

Qingzhou might be far, but it was less than a hundred li away.

She had managed to lead Yan, A Feng, and Xiao Wu all the way south, braving the elements and enduring every hardship imaginable. Yet Ye Heng couldn’t even be bothered to send the souls of her father, mother, and older brother back to their ancestral home.

A "favor" like that was more than she could bear.

Ye Chutang said in a flat voice,

"Then let’s set it... at Bao’er Pass."