Translator: Atlas Studios Editor: Atlas Studios
The letter did not mention anything about the dog emperor, but after the Xie family read this letter, they would definitely have some guesses.
After writing it, Yu Youyao was worried. She looked at it carefully again. After confirming that she had not missed anything, she took out an envelope and sealed the letter. The paint seal was intact.
The Xie family might be able to hear about the commotion in the capital.
However, Quanzhou was a long way away, so it would definitely take a long time for the news to reach them. It would also not be as detailed as what she knew in the capital.
It was only a guess if the dog emperor was really coveting the wealth of Duke Rongâs Residence.
But what if it was true?
In that case, the dog emperor was probably eyeing the Xie family the most. Now, there were varying degrees of drought in all parts of the country, and the treasury was empty. The Imperial Court had not released silver for a long time. The Xie familyâs wealth was indeed too eye-catching.
She was just worried that the information the Xie family had obtained was not detailed enough and they would not be on guard.
There was nothing wrong with being careful.
Yu Youyao handed the letter to Xia Tao. âHurry up and send this letter to the Xie Residence in Quanzhou.â
Seeing Young Missâs serious expression, Xia Tao knew how urgent this was. She quickly went to the outer courtyard to look for Tao Da l s family.
Yu Youyao sat in the study, feeling more and more uneasy.
The dog emperor had already sacrificed too many people to retain his power. As long as he could achieve his goal, what was a small Xie family?
It wasnât without reason that Yu Youyao would think this way.
At the very least, in her nightmare, she had been raised as a medicinal test subject by Song Mingzhao, and the Xie family never cared about her. Yu Youyao knew very well that if her world was in shambles, it was not that the Xie family did not care about her but the Xie family no longer had the ability to care about her.
Even though it was just a nightmare.
However, every time she thought about it, she felt flustered. She could no longer treat it as a pure nightmare.
Yu Youyao thought about it carefully again. She had a strong feeling that the older Yao Yao in her nightmare must have been coveted by the Third Prince and damaged her reputation.
That night, Yu Youyao had a dream.
In her dream, the older Yao Yao had participated in the Flower Festival at Duke Rongs Residence with her grandmother. Her grandmotherâs hair was gray, and she looked very old. She was far from being as lively as in reality.
As her grandmotherâs health wasnât good, the older Yao Yao was also wary of Duke Rongâs Residence, so she gave up on admiring the flowers and accompanied her grandmother in the reception pavilion.
After a while, the other young misses in the reception pavilion had already left.
The Princess Consort of Duke Rongâs Residence Prefecture came over. âEldest
Miss Yu, why arenât you going to Fangfei Courtyard to admire the flowers with the other young misses? Could it be that the flowers and plants in Duke Rongâs Residence donât catch your eye?
These words were too serious. The older Yao Yao quickly shook her head. âPrincess Consort, you must be joking. Grandmother isnât in good health and rarely goes outâ¦â
Before she could finish speaking, Yang Shuwan smiled and said, âThe Princess Consort is right. You came to the Dukes Residence today to admire the flowers. If you donât go and admire the flowers and just sit here, others will think that the Duke Rongâs Residence doesnât treat our guests well. Wouldnât that be rude?â At this point, she chuckled. âAs Matriarchâs daughter-in-law, Iâll take care of her. You can play with the others too!â
The older Yao Yao pursed her lips. At this point, if she refused to leave, she would be insensible, rude, and unruly.
After all, her stepmother had already said that she wanted to take care of her mother-in-law. It was not her place to show her filial piety.
However, her grandmotherâs health had been deteriorating recently.
Usually, she was the one attending to her grandmotherâs illness, so Madam Yang and Second Aunt might not be as appropriate as her.
Under the probing gazes of others, the older Yao Yao couldnât sit still anymore.
Old Madam Yu glanced at Yang Shuwan indifferently and smiled. âMy health isnât too good. Usually, itâs my granddaughter who takes care of my illness she couldnât leave for the time being. We must have embarrassed ourselves in front of everyone.â At this point, she looked at Yu Youvao. âItâs also unlucky to follow an old woman like me around every day. Itâs rare for you to come out.
Donât just sit around. Go out and play too!â
In the eyes of outsiders, it was appropriate for her to have her daughter-in-law by her side to take care of her. It was not Yu Youyaoâs place to interfere.
Moreover, it wasnât good for her granddaughter to stay when the adults were talking together.
These words were brilliant. The Madams and Madams who had originally thought that Yu Youyao was an eldest daughter without a mother immediately thought highly of her.
It was really rare for her to be so filial at such a young age.
It wasnât good for the older Yao Yao to stay. After instructing Nanny Liu, she said, âIâll take a walk nearby and not go far. If thereâs anything, get Sister Qing
Xiu to come and look for me.â
Madam Luo solicitously led Eldest Yao Yao out.
Fifth Miss Yin welcomed her warmly and dragged her to the corridor.
After walking for a while, the older Yao Yao saw that there were fewer and fewer people on the way and was about to go back.
Fifth Miss Yin did not allow it, so it was inevitable that the two of them would have a conflict.
Seeing that her plan to trick Eldest Yao Yao to go to the crepe myrtle garden had failed, Fifth Miss Yin stopped pretending and called three burly old maids over.
The Duke Rongâs Residence had come prepared. Chun Xiao and Xia Tao were restrained by the old maids.
Another old woman covered her mouth and dragged her to the crepe myrtle garden.
No one knew that the area near the crepe myrtle garden had been cleared. As expected, the older Yao Yao âmetâ the Third Prince in the crepe myrtle garden.
Her grandmother was so angry that she fainted on the spot, and her health deteriorated.
Everyone accused her of not knowing shame and even seducing the Third Prince.
She tried her best to defend herself, but no one believed her. Her father punished her to be sent to the ancestral hall.
The Third Prince felt that he had âoffendedâ the older Yao Yao, so he felt very guilty. He began to brazenly enter and leave the Yu Residence, often sending over some good things.
On the surface, he wanted to compensate them and even promised to marry
Eldest Yao Yao as his secondary consort.
Her father had tacitly agreed, but her grandmother had never relented.
Everything that had happened in the nightmare made Yu Youyao feel that things were absurd. She was deep in the nightmare, but she kept shouting in her heart, âGo find Cousin. Hurry up and find himâ¦â
It was as if she had heard Yu Youyaoâs shout. The older Yao Yao couldnât defend herself. She was here⦠At this moment, The Green House was still called The Lotus House.
There was no one in the empty courtyard. Only an apricot tree in the courtyard had green fruits on it.
The older Yao Yao heard a servant sayâ
âYoung Master Zhou has been back in Youzhou for more than ten days. He was originally so sick that he was about to die. Itâs not good for him to die in our residence and bring bad luck to our residence.â
âHeâs just hanging on by a thread. Itâs not good for Matriarch to stop him if he wants to return to his roots. I wonder if she can return to Youzhou.
Otherwiseâ¦
âShh, donât say it. If Eldest Miss finds out, shell be flogged again. You donât know this, but on the day Young Master left, Eldest Miss chased him all the way to Chang An Street. Later, she was knocked unconscious and carried back by a maidservantâ¦â
Yao Yao, who was isolated and helpless, sat under the apricot tree and sobbed..
âCousinâ¦â