Ye Yunniang froze—this was how the wealthy played their gas?
She opened her mouth to speak but found it obstructed, her words muffled and unclear as she struggled with her tongue.
Jiang Mingzhe took the opportunity to withdraw his fingers, letting them glide lightly over Ye Yunniang’s chin before applying slight pressure.
Forced to tilt her head back, Ye Yunniang beca like a delicacy offered up willingly, ready to be savored.
An unprecedented sensation surged through her body, leaving her both terrified and faintly expectant. Her legs weakened, her balance faltering as she leaned entirely against Jiang Mingzhe, surrendering to his demands.
Her mind grew hazy, her breath coming in short gasps.
"Breathe." The low, husky voice exploded beside her ear.
Snapping back to awareness, she wanted to pull away from Jiang Mingzhe’s embrace but rembered where they were.
She could only plead silently for him to release her.
But Ye Yunniang didn’t realize—her forced posture exposed the slender, vulnerable curve of her neck, her eyes glistening with unshed tears, making her look like a helpless lamb awaiting slaughter.
It ignited the primal hunger in the man before her.
Jiang Mingzhe tightened his grip, lifting her to et his gaze.
"Ye Yunniang," he declared, "you are mine."
Once again, she was dragged into the whirlpool of desire, unaware of when the people outside the room had left.
By the ti she regained her senses, she was already back in Zhiyu Pavilion.
After washing herself clean, Ye Yunniang lay on the bed, tears silently streaming down her face.
She had betrayed Li Jun.
Though there had been monts like this before, they had been in dreams—sothing she could dismiss as unconscious.
But this ti… this ti she had succumbed willingly, even if they hadn’t gone all the way.
The impact of it overwheld her.
Covering her eyes, she didn’t know how to face Cai Dai.
She had only upheld widowhood for a year and a half before straying.
Guilt and regret weighed heavily on her, but she dared not cry aloud, afraid soone might hear.
Ye Yunniang withdrew into silence, her days reduced to tending to Jiang Tingjun and practicing her reading and writing.
Her subdued deanor didn’t go unnoticed by those in Zhiyu Pavilion and the side courtyard.
They assud she was upset because Taohong had earned Fourth Madam Jiang’s praise—even being promised the role of Jiang Tingjun’s future wet nurse.
Ye Yunniang knew the real reason, but it was unspeakable, so she let them believe what they wanted.
Even Fourth Madam Jiang heard the whispers and permitted her a brief visit ho to see her family.
Ye Yunniang dreaded going back, but she couldn’t refuse her mistress’s order.
With Li'er called away by Taohong, Ye Yunniang returned alone to Sunset Lane, clutching a bundle of belongings.
The mont Cai Dai opened the door, she knew sothing was wrong.
Handing Pan'er to a neighbor to watch, Cai Dai pulled Ye Yunniang into the bedroom. "What happened?"
Ye Yunniang bit her lip, unsure how to explain.
"Speak! You’ll worry to death!" Cai Dai pressed.
With a thud, Ye Yunniang dropped to her knees. "Mother… I’ve failed you."
Cai Dai paled. "Who hurt you? I’ll make them pay!" She turned to leave, but Ye Yunniang clung to her leg, stopping her.
"Then tell what happened!" Cai Dai helped her up.
Between sobs, Ye Yunniang confessed everything.
After listening, Cai Dai said firmly, "Resign and co ho. We’re done with the Jiang household."
"No," Ye Yunniang refused. "Mother, just a few more months. Once the young master no longer needs a wet nurse, I’ll leave. At least then I’ll have another ten taels of silver. Fourth Madam is generous—she’ll likely give more."
She laid out her plans.
"The money and jewelry you’ve brought back, I’ve saved it all. It’s enough to last us years. I can also make shoe insoles to sell at your aunt’s shop—maybe thirty or fifty coins a month."
"Mother, taking care of Pan'er is already exhausting. Don’t strain yourself sewing at night." Ye Yunniang’s heart ached, reinforcing her resolve to stay at the Jiang residence until her term ended.
Cai Dai gripped her shoulders, forcing eye contact.
"Tell the truth—do you have feelings for Jiang Mingzhe?"
Ye Yunniang shook her head vehently. She felt nothing but fear toward him.
"Are you clinging to the luxury of the Jiang household?" Cai Dai pressed.
"No. I just want to bring ho more silver." Leaving now ant forfeiting dozens of taels.
"Mother, to , ho is wherever you and Pan'er are."
Cai Dai exhaled in relief. "Yunniang, rember what I told you? Won have desires too."
Ye Yunniang flushed at the mory.
"Listen to —treat Jiang Mingzhe as a ans to satisfy those desires."
"Mother!" Ye Yunniang was stunned. She never expected such advice.
"Li Jun has been gone for a year and a half. You’ve mourned long enough." Since Ye Yunniang beca a wet nurse, Cai Dai had discreetly gathered information about the Jiang family.
She’d even seen Jiang Mingzhe twice by chance—a handso man with a notorious reputation.
If a man like that wanted Ye Yunniang, resistance was futile. Better to yield gracefully and ease her own suffering.
Cai Dai fixed her with a piercing gaze. "But one condition—you must promise ."
"What?"
"No children."
"Mother, I—" Ye Yunniang faltered.
"Rember, Yunniang. A child would trap you in the Jiang household forever. Remarrying would beco impossible."
Ye Yunniang was still young—a lifeti of widowhood was too cruel. Cai Dai wanted her to remarry well.
A few lovers before remarriage ant nothing.
Cai Dai then taught her contraceptive thods—knowledge Ye Yunniang had never encountered.
Blushing, Ye Yunniang listened intently.
"Life is short," Cai Dai soothed. "Don’t tornt yourself over unnecessary guilt."
"Mother… would you do the sa?" Ye Yunniang couldn’t help asking.
"Maybe not." Cai Dai’s answer was vague.
Her bond with Pan'er’s grandfather was different—nineteen years of shared life, a love too deep to replace.
Ye Yunniang and Li Jun, though childhood acquaintances, had barely spent two days together as husband and wife. There was no real attachnt.
With her heart unburdened, Ye Yunniang finally relaxed. She opened her bundle, retrieving two hundred taels of silver.
Before Cai Dai could ask, she explained how she’d gotten it.
Cai Dai imdiately fetched a charm. "I had this blessed at White Cloud Temple for you. Keep it close."
Ye Yunniang tucked it into her clothes.
"Mother, use this silver to buy a house. Then we can truly settle in Jiangcheng."
Cai Dai traced the silver ingots and nodded. "Yes. A ho of our own will bring peace."
"Yunniang… what do you think of this rented place?"
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