The Young Lady is a Bit Unruly [Fragrant Harbor] - Chapter 8: The Young Master Returns

Chapter 8: The Young Master Returns

After discovering the secret compartment in the wardrobe, Ye Baoling’s first thought was whether Ye Huaizhang had hidden the Ugly King Jade Pendant from the Third Branch inside.

For safety’s sake, she first went to lock the dressing room door.

Only then did she return to the wardrobe, squat down, and pull open the card slot at the bottom.

Once the card slot was released, she pushed gently against the back panel of the wardrobe. Sure enough, the back panel opened inward like a door.

It was pitch black inside, and she couldn’t see anything clearly.

Ye Baoling removed all the clothes from the wardrobe. With the outside light, she could see it was a completely enclosed square space.

The space wasn’t large—just over one meter in length and width, and three meters in height.

To her disappointment, it was completely empty. Not only was there no Ugly King Jade Pendant, there wasn’t even half a piece of fabric.

If nothing was hidden there, what was the purpose of this square space?

Various thoughts swirled in her mind…

After lunch, she asked Chen Guilan to fetch a flashlight. Taking advantage of nap time, Ye Baoling returned to the square space.

The interior walls were lined with the same wooden panels as the exterior. She tapped around the walls but couldn’t determine if there were hollow spaces behind them.

However, she could confirm that aside from the wardrobe side, the sounds from the other three walls were basically identical.

Based on her observation, of these three walls, the south-facing one had the corridor outside, while the other two walls faced north and west, both adjacent to Ye Huaizhang’s study.

Could this square space be a passageway to Ye Huaizhang’s study?

But why would a passageway be installed inside a wardrobe?

Clearly, this wasn’t an ordinary passageway.

Could there be a secret room with a safe between this square space and the study?

Might the Ugly King Jade Pendant be hidden in that secret room?

This possibility couldn’t be ruled out.

Ye Baoling carefully examined the north and west walls again, but unfortunately, she found no switches.

After staying too long in the small space, she felt suffocated and breathless, so she had to give up for now.

She closed the back panel and returned to the bedroom.

Lying on the bed, she couldn’t help but wonder: did her actions just now resemble those of a thief?

No! She and Ye Huaizhang were legally married—she was completely justified.

After denying it, she felt guilty again; she really had acted like a thief.

For the next three days, Ye Baoling basically stayed in the bridal suite.

She had no interest in the low-quality, low-resolution TV dramas of this era, nor did she want to read books, so she discussed with Chen Yulan about learning self-defense martial arts from her.

The original host’s body was too weak—even slight exercise left her panting.

Chen Yulan was also a straightforward girl who didn’t know how to lie: Cousin, you really need to exercise more. Let me teach you Chen Family Fist—it can both defend yourself and improve your health.

Ye Baoling gritted her teeth. I’ll learn!

If she failed her mission and the system assigned her 365 ways to die, knowing some martial arts might help her struggle a bit longer.

Then you’ll need to wake up by at least 5 AM every day. Practice basic skills for two hours in the morning, and another two hours before bed at night.

This seemed like asking for trouble. The previously ambitious Ye Baoling now wanted to back out: I can’t wake up that early.

I’ll wake you.

Isn’t that too much trouble?

No trouble at all—it’s my duty.

Let me think about it.

Don’t hesitate anymore. I’ll wake you tomorrow morning.

Sure enough, the next morning, ten minutes before five, the alarm clock rang by her ear.

Ye Baoling buried her face in the quilt with a pained expression, but was ultimately hauled up by the dutiful Chen Yulan.

Standing on the balcony, Ye Baoling stretched lazily.

The balcony faced the garden, and the pre-dawn air carried a damp, cool mist. Stretching and moving about felt truly comfortable.

The three branches of the Ye family lived in houses that formed half a street, with interconnected gardens. Iron railings separated them, creating both a shared large garden and individual small gardens. Small gates connected them all, so visiting any household simply required passing through the main garden and ringing the doorbell at the entrance to their private garden.

While holding a horse stance, Ye Baoling caught a glimpse of a figure moving in the garden. Looking closer, she saw someone entering the third branch’s small garden from the main garden.

A light-colored robe, long hair—who could that be?

Chen Yulan followed her gaze just in time to see the person’s back disappear into the rear building.

I know who that is.

Ye Baoling hadn’t expected Chen Yulan to be so sharp-eyed. Who?

Ye Huaizhang’s aunt. She was present during both lunch and dinner yesterday. Her height and hair match what I saw.

Ye Baoling always ate meals in her room and never went downstairs, so she wasn’t as familiar with the third branch’s members as Chen Yulan.

These wealthy people don’t even sleep in, waking up so early, Ye Baoling muttered, then added, Probably can’t sleep well when you’re older.

Chen Yulan nodded with a smile. Must be.

After bathing and having breakfast, Ye Baoling took a morning nap.

She woke up before lunchtime and counted the red envelopes she’d received on her wedding day—three envelopes totaling just three dollars short of thirty thousand.

She took three dollars from her wallet to make it an even thirty thousand, then placed the money in an envelope.

She’d deposit it another day.

This counted as unexpected windfall.

Just as she finished counting, Yang Pinxian came to see her and asked for her bank account details.

Already elevated by her grandmother’s expectations, Ye Baoling could only politely decline, You’ve already given me what I need. There’s really no need for additional money.

If they insisted, she wouldn’t refuse either.

She believed that if they were sincere enough, Yang Pinxian would find a way to get the money to her.

Faced with such a morally upright young woman, Yang Pinxian didn’t dare press further. She said somewhat apologetically, Your grandmother raised you too well, making us seem rather vulgar.

Not really.

Ye Baoling maintained a polite smile.

Yang Pinxian didn’t disappoint Ye Baoling’s expectations: I’ll have someone open an account for you at Minhua Bank. Your monthly allowance will be deposited there going forward. Although you’re reluctant to accept it, we have this responsibility during your marriage to Huaizhang.

Further refusal would seem deliberate, so Ye Baoling slightly bowed her head in gratitude. Thank you, Mom.

This address pleased Yang Pinxian greatly. I should be the one thanking you.

After chatting awhile, Ye Baoling quietly inquired, Whose room is next door?

Yang Pinxian replied, The right side? That’s Huaizhang’s study. It contains quite a collection of books. If you’d like to read, I’ll have someone bring you the key later.

Lovely.

Soon after, the butler brought the study key and unlocked the door for Ye Baoling.

The study was reasonably spacious and perfectly rectangular, featuring floor-to-ceiling windows and two walls of bookshelves. The southern corner adjacent to the corridor didn’t contain the protruding wall disguised as a column that Ye Baoling had imagined.

In other words, the square space did not protrude into the study.

That left only one possibility—there was another hidden room of equal width to the north of the square space, seamlessly aligning with the wall to remain completely undetectable.

Ye Baoling didn’t dare scrutinize the area too obviously. She casually pulled two novels from the bookshelf and returned to her bedroom.

At noon, while Chen Yulan was taking her nap, Ye Baoling locked her bedroom door and returned to the square space inside the walk-in closet.

This time, she had a clear objective: she headed straight for the northern wall.

But the wainscoting on the north wall was sturdy—it wouldn’t budge when pushed or pried. The surface was smooth all around, showing no signs of a hidden mechanism.

Could this small square room truly be nothing more than an isolated, concealed space?

Yet space doesn’t simply vanish. Logically, it made no sense to build a solid wall over a meter wide and three to four meters long to the north—there must be a hidden chamber there.

So, were the northern and southern hidden rooms completely separate from each other?

She sat down cross-legged, sweeping her flashlight beam across each section of the wainscoting. Then she noticed something: on the southern wall, about two meters up, two horizontally joined wooden boards were slightly lighter in color than the surrounding panels.

The difference was extremely subtle—almost impossible to detect without careful comparison.

Could it be that the mechanism to open the northern wall was controlled from the southern wainscoting?

Immediately, she stood on tiptoe, holding the flashlight in one hand while using the other to feel along those two lighter boards.

Pressing firmly on the left one yielded no response; pressing the right one did nothing either.

She thought about prying them open like she had with the card slot earlier, but there was no groove to grip.

Trying to press both boards at once, or one after the other, also failed.

Standing in the center of the small room, Ye Baoling found herself sweating from exertion.

She looked at the southern wall, then back at the northern one. The joinery of the wainscoting was identical on both sides.

On the northern wall, in the exact same position as the lighter boards on the southern side, there were also two horizontal boards of the same size. But these blended in perfectly with the surrounding wood, making them completely inconspicuous.

Tapping lightly on the horizontal boards of the northern wall produced a dull, uniform sound, indistinguishable from the rest.

Pressing firmly on them still triggered no response.

Just as she was about to give up, she tried pressing both horizontal boards on the northern wall simultaneously with her left and right hands…

Click!

A muffled sound came from behind the wall.

Slowly, the northern wainscoting swung inward.

Shining her flashlight through the opening, she saw a long, narrow hidden room resembling a corridor.

Just as she thought!

Her earlier speculation had been correct.

It turned out the wainscoting was tightly attached to a half-hand’s-width brick wall behind it—no wonder the knocking sound had been no different from the other panels.

As the brick wall swung inward, Ye Baoling stepped through, feeling both excitement and nervousness.

Inside, there was a faint scent of camphorwood. Three walls were lined with floor-to-ceiling bookshelves filled with books and small ornaments.

She scanned the titles—all were old books from decades earlier. Most were English-language legal texts, with the most recent publication date being 1956. Further back, there were even antique volumes from the mid-19th century.

These didn’t seem like books Ye Huaizhang would have collected.

English legal books…

If she remembered correctly, Ye Huaizhang’s great-grandfather had been a lawyer.

Was this his great-grandfather’s hidden room?

It appeared this secret chamber had existed for at least several decades.

Among the small ornaments on the shelves—aside from silver statuettes of the Four Heavenly Kings and the Eighteen Arhats—stood a half-foot-tall white jade statue of Guanyin in the center.

English law books, Chinese Buddhist statues…

It carried a faint, inexplicable air of strangeness.

What was this hidden room used for?

Meditation room? Too small and cramped, not even a single chair—doesn’t seem like one.

Prayer hall? No incense burner or meditation cushions—doesn’t fit either.

Could it simply be a secret chamber?

What is it hiding?

Are there precious rare manuscripts among these English books?

Thinking seriously, it has nothing to do with her anyway.

She moved the books aside to examine the wall panels. They weren’t made of wood but rather copper sheets in black and white, which looked somewhat peculiar. Tapping each one, she found them all solid.

After a thorough search from top to bottom, she found no trace of the Ugly King Jade Pendant.

Perhaps Ye Huaizhang didn’t even know about this secret chamber.

After all, between his bedroom and study, there were closets in the dressing room, walls of unknown thickness, and the study’s cupboards and bookshelves.

Without precise measurements, it would be hard to detect the secret chamber’s existence.

Could it be that none of the surviving members of the Third Branch know about this hidden room?

In that case, being led here by a pearl on her very first day staying at Inheritance Harmony Residence must be a remarkable fate?

Indeed.

Ye Baoling let out a sigh. Despite her disappointment, she looked up at the jade Guan Yin before her, instinctively clasped her hands together, and prayed devoutly, Guan Yin Bodhisattva, our meeting is destiny. Please bless me, Ye Baoling, to smoothly obtain the other two Ugly King Jade Pendants, alright?

Gazing at the jade Guan Yin, she then switched to a kindly tone and answered herself, Alright.

Once I gather all three Ugly King Jade Pendants—no, as soon as I collect the second one—I will make sure to offer you the finest food and drink. Please bless me with a windfall, to quickly find the second Ugly King Jade Pendant.

Ye Baoling smiled slightly and replied on behalf of the Bodhisattva again, Alright.

It’s a promise then. Ye Baoling bowed.

The air in the secret chamber felt stifling. Checking the time, it was almost two o’clock—Chen Yulan would soon come upstairs after her nap. Ye Baoling hurriedly retreated.

Another day passed without incident.

Early in the morning, Ye Baoling finished her exercises and took a hot bath.

The three-day period was over, and they packed their belongings to return to the Gu residence.

The maid brought breakfast promptly at eight, and accompanying her was Guan Old Lady.

Ye Baoling greeted her cheerfully, Good morning, Grandma.

Her sweet talk endeared her to Guan Old Lady. Good morning. How have you been sleeping these past few days?

Quite well.

After the maid left, Guan Old Lady sat down to have breakfast with her.

Ye Baoling’s meal consisted of Crab Meat Crystal Buns with chicken mushroom soup, while the old lady had a light and healthy red rice porridge, broccoli, and a fried egg.

On the wedding day, your grandfather came asking about the bride’s surname, nearly giving us away. I explained to him that it wasn’t a real marriage, and the bride was kindly helping us out.

Ye Baoling ate her crystal bun and laughed, Of course, I meant well.

I know. You just took pity on an old woman like me. From now on, if anyone asks, we’ll say your surname is Gu.

That’s fine.

After all, the original host had spent more time at the Gu residence anyway.

Last night, I had a dream. I dreamed that early in the morning, someone rang the doorbell. Strangely, I was the one who answered it. When I opened the door, Huaizhang was standing right there. Guan Old Lady’s eyes sparkled. He was all dirty and disheveled. I was so overwhelmed I hugged him and cried, but then I woke up from weeping.

After being kidnapped and missing for a month, the chances of Ye Huaizhang returning were slim. Ye Baoling couldn’t bear to speak the truth, nor did she know how to offer comfort.

The old lady sighed, If only it weren’t a dream, how wonderful that would be.

What if the dream comes true?

Guan Old Lady finally smiled: Let’s hope so. You’ll be heading back soon, right? I truly can’t bear to part with you.

Ye Baoling replied: My father needs me for something, so I must return.

Guan Old Lady understood.

As they chatted while eating, sudden hurried footsteps echoed from outside.

Knock knock knock! Knock knock knock!

After the urgent knocking, a voice called out: Old Lady! Old Lady!

Chen Yulan rushed to open the door, where the butler Uncle Guang stood.

Old Lady, the eldest young master has called back.

What? Guan Old Lady stood up, her hands trembling, Is it Huaizhang?

The eldest young master has called back, Uncle Guang said excitedly, speaking rapidly, He’s already bought a plane ticket to England and will be home the day after tomorrow.

Five words flashed through Ye Baoling’s mind: Ye Huaizhang is alive?

Author’s Note:

Ye Huaizhang: Surprise! Bet you didn’t see this coming [Let me see]

Ye Baoling: Slightly traumatized over here Eye roll