Night fell. The sky was starless and moonless, veiled only by great masses of gloomy black clouds, hazy and oppressive.

Peace was not to be found in the Ye Family tonight.

Ye Shixian sat at the table, the food before her long since cold. She hadn’t taken a single bite, her body ramrod straight. At a glance, she resembled a lifeless puppet.

Shaoyao entered the room and saw the scene, her heart thumping with anxiety.

Ye Shixian’s temper had been extremely volatile lately, and even Shaoyao didn’t dare get too close. Being sent away on an errand would have been a relief, but the Ye Family was on lockdown—no one in, no one out. Ye Shixian could torture them to death, and no one would ever know.

Shaoyao steeled herself and stepped forward. "Eldest Miss, the food is cold. Shall I go and heat it up for you?"

Ye Shixian ignored the question, her voice suddenly turning cold. "How is the mistress?"

Shaoyao hurried to reply, "Don’t worry, Eldest Miss. The mistress has just fallen asleep."

Earlier that day, Mrs. Gao had blocked everyone, desperately refusing to let anyone move Ye Mingze’s body. After Ye Shixian ordered her men to forcibly pull her away, Mrs. Gao had turned and screamed curses at her.

The words had been utterly vile. Ye Shixian couldn’t bear to listen, nor did she want to. In the end, she simply had Mrs. Gao locked away, ordering her servants to use whatever means necessary to make the woman "rest well."

Ye Shixian nodded, but her heart remained heavy.

She glanced outside, her brow furrowed. "Has Mr. Murong not been here today?"

Shaoyao held her breath, bowing her head even more cautiously as she whispered, "...He has not."

Ye Shixian’s expression twisted for a moment.

’After that scene outside the gates today, the entire Capital City must know by now that Mingze is dead!’

’This is precisely when I need help the most, so how could Murong Ye not even make an appearance!?’

Of course, she had no way of knowing that the Murong Mansion had been fully aware of the situation from the moment the coffin was placed outside her gate.

There was no way Murong Yang would allow Murong Ye to make the same mistake twice. Not only did he assign extra men to watch him, but he also issued a direct warning: if his son dared to meddle in the Ye Family’s affairs again, he could forget about ever setting foot in the Murong Mansion again!

Although Murong Ye was anxious, he ultimately couldn’t defy his father. 𝓯𝓻𝒆𝙚𝒘𝓮𝙗𝓷𝒐𝓿𝙚𝒍.𝙘𝓸𝙢

Ye Shixian, however, knew none of this. All she felt was that in her moment of need, there wasn’t a single useful or reliable person to be found.

Shaoyao was all too familiar with this side of her mistress and quickly tried to soothe her. "Don’t be anxious, Eldest Miss. Perhaps Mr. Murong was simply delayed by something? A-And this all happened so suddenly. I’m sure he’s trying to figure out a way to help you..."

Ye Shixian bit her lip.

’What I really want right now is to find out news of Father through Murong Ye. Mingze’s sudden death... I can’t imagine how devastated Father must be. And most importantly, he’s still trapped in that prison...’

’I was afraid for him to find out before, but you can’t keep a thing like this secret forever. Besides, with Ye Chutang deliberately stirring up trouble, there’s no way Father hasn’t heard.’

’In that case, all I can do is wait and see if there’s any breakthrough on Father’s end. If he can get out soon, at least he could see Mingze one last time...’

Ye Shixian resolved to do this, but things did not go according to her plan.

At the crack of dawn the next morning, Ye Shixian was jolted awake by the blare of suona horns and drums.

She hadn’t slept well and was utterly exhausted; her eyes were so sore she could barely force them open.

"What in the world is going on now?!"

Shaoyao ran in, her face pale.

"E-Eldest Miss, you must come and see! They... they—"

She was stammering, unable to get the words out. Ye Shixian’s patience had run out; she strode outside.

A loud, piercing funeral dirge soared into the air, accompanied by shrill, mournful wails that instantly shattered Ye Shixian’s nerves.

’Ye Chutang had actually hired professional mourners!’