The Young Lady is a Bit Unruly [Fragrant Harbor] - Chapter 83 Patricide, Rebirth

Chapter 83 Patricide, Rebirth

Red light seeped through the door crack, making Ye Huaizhang pause his hand pushing the door.

“Could there be some mechanism?” Ye Baoling pulled him back. “Infrared rays? Is there a power source inside?”

Rushing in recklessly would be troublesome if there were dangers.

Ye Huaizhang judged: “This isn’t infrared. Look, it’s very uniform light.”

Ye Baoling immediately recalled the electronic candlelight used for worship in Buddhist halls.

But for safety’s sake, Ye Huaizhang still closed the bronze door.

He came up with an idea: “I’ll go back to get the camera.”

She didn’t dare stay here alone. “I’ll go back with you.”

Ye Huaizhang indeed wasn’t comfortable leaving her alone either, so they both walked back to the Lao San Fang wine cellar. He went upstairs to retrieve the camera and also put on rubber gloves.

Returning outside the Great Bronze Door, he carefully opened the door crack and placed the camera inside.

His gloved hand reached in, rotating the lens up, down, left, and right.

After filming, they returned to the study and inserted the tape into the projector.

The screen showed a completely red scene – spells were painted all over the walls and floor, with a large red light bulb in the corner of the ceiling.

So it was a red light bulb. That meant there was a power source.

From the corner downward, the camera panned to the other side, suddenly revealing a human skull hanging on the wall.

It made Ye Baoling’s hair stand on end: “People they killed?”

“Probably.”

Who did they kill?

Requiring such layers of secrets locked underground.

Definitely not an ordinary murder case.

If it were just an ordinary person, in those days they could have just thrown them into the Mass Grave and no one would care.

The camera continued moving downward. Below the human skull was another door.

“There’s another door.”

There was actually still an unopened door – this was comparable to Russian nesting dolls.

After reviewing the recording several times, they were basically certain there were no mechanisms inside. They gathered their things and went back down.

Opening the bronze door, Ye Huaizhang said: “Wait here for me. I’ll go in first.”

At times like this, she valued her life and didn’t dare to show off. “Okay.”

Ye Huaizhang slowly pushed the door open and slipped inside.

Ye Baoling stood by the door, peeking in.

The red light was dizzying, and the opposite door was also bronze, though much smaller than the outer one. The skull on the door faced directly toward her, and she didn’t dare look too long.

She asked quietly: “Can you open it?”

“It’s locked, can’t open it. You can come in now.”

Was her lock-picking skills finally going to shine again?

Ye Baoling pushed open the Great Bronze Door and walked in. The space inside was similar in size to outside the bronze door, but this place was more eerie – not only were there spells on the walls, but even on the floor.

Against the red lighting, it looked like a bloody womb.

The power cord behind the light bulb was embedded in the wall, with no telling where the power came from.

Only then did she notice that all four corners of the room had large red light bulbs, though the others weren’t lit anymore, leaving only one still stubbornly emitting its faint glow.

Approaching the Small Bronze Door, she noticed two plum blossom-shaped lock holes on the right side of the bronze door.

He said: “Probably two locks.”

This kind of unusually shaped plum blossom lock – Ye Baoling had never seen it before, let alone picked one.

Just then, the system voice finally sounded again.

[Congratulations host for unlocking the challenge mission – please find two Plum Blossom Locks to open the Small Bronze Door.]

So their earlier speculation had been correct.

After the meal, Ye Baoling took out four red envelopes. “Two are for you, and two are for Sister Qin and her son Aqing.”

Sister Ping only accepted two: “I’ll deliver theirs to them. I won’t take mine—I haven’t done anything special.”

Ye Baoling insisted on stuffing them into her pocket: “It’s the New Year—you’re not allowed to refuse my red envelopes.”

Only then did Sister Ping smile and say, “Thank you, Miss.”

Since she had free time in the afternoon, Ye Baoling still went to the Gu Family to offer incense to her mother and stayed for dinner.

Before dinner, she lay in Gu Man’er’s room chatting with her sisters.

Her mobile phone rang—it was Yang Pinxian calling.

“Bao Ling, how are you? I heard you had a stomachache—are you feeling better?” Yang Pinxian asked with concern.

Ye Baoling sat up and smiled, “I’m already better. I’m at my grandmother’s house now.”

Hearing she had recovered, Yang Pinxian felt relieved. “That’s good. How about coming over for lunch tomorrow? You can keep Grandma company playing mahjong too.”

Ever since Ye Baoling exchanged the Ye Qingtang shares from the third branch, an invisible tension had grown between her and them.

Ye Baoling didn’t mind, but Yang Pinxian was anxious. She hoped the family could remain harmonious without unnecessary conflicts.

Since Ye Baoling had no other plans tomorrow, she agreed, “Sure. I’ll come over tomorrow.”

*

On the third day of the Lunar New Year, the mahjong game started in the morning.

When organizing the game, Ye Baoling specifically asked Ye Yongqi to invite Ye Huaili.

Only with Ye Huaili present would the second aunt come sit and watch them play.

Guan Lao Taijun, Ye Baoling, Ye Yongqi, and Ye Huaili played the morning session. Their aunt wasn’t home, and the daughters-in-law didn’t play but placed side bets instead.

Ye Yongqi chatted with everyone about the beautiful Northern Lights in Iceland. “It’s a pity my photography skills and camera couldn’t capture even one-tenth of the actual beauty.”

Yang Pinxian said, “Aren’t we all going to the seaside tomorrow for a day? Remember to bring your camera.”

“Got it.”

When Ye Baoling arrived in the morning, Yang Pinxian had told her about the family’s seaside trip tomorrow and hoped she could join.

Ye Baoling had agreed.

Fourth Aunt Tang Jing sat behind the old lady as her advisor and asked Ye Baoling, “Where’s Huaizhang? Why haven’t we seen him today?”

“I’m not sure what he’s busy with either,” Ye Baoling said, then turned to Huaili. “Huaili, are you starting at Hongtong Industry after the New Year?”

Ye Huaili smiled, “Just an internship. I’m not sure what I can do yet.”

Han Yanmei rarely spoke, but she gently told her son, “Learn well from your uncles and eldest brother.”

Fourth Aunt joked, “You won’t learn much good from your fourth uncle—he can hardly protect himself these days.”

This remark about “hardly protecting himself” displeased Guan Lao Taijun. “It’s the New Year—watch your words.”

Fourth Aunt quickly lightly tapped her own mouth. “Ancestors bless us, I misspoke—no offense meant.”

Ye Huaili inherited his father’s temperament and smiled, “As long as Fourth Uncle and Eldest Brother are willing to teach me, I’ll study hard.”

Ye Jinbai, watching from the side, remarked, “He’s no match for Huaizhang. If he can become half as capable as Fourth Uncle and handle things independently in the future, that would be quite enough.”

Just as he spoke, Ye Huaizhang and Ye Jinsong entered from outside.

When the topic of Ye Huaili joining the company came up, Ye Huaizhang remarked thoughtfully, “Huaili’s temperament isn’t suited for business. He loves painting and sculpture—we could entrust him with managing the art pieces we’ve invested in.”

At these words, Ye Baoling noticed her second aunt’s expression darken slightly. What future could there be in managing art collections? It was essentially being sidelined from the family business.

If anyone knew how to stir trouble, it was Ye Huaizhang.

Ye Jinsong kept his head lowered, staring at the old lady’s mahjong tiles, clearly avoiding Han Yanmei’s gaze.

Only Ye Huaili remained blissfully unaware, smiling as he thanked his elder brother: “That sounds perfect! I’d love that kind of work.”

That very evening, Ye Huaizhang’s provocation yielded results.

Han Yanmei called Ye Jinsong again.

[Han Yanmei: Did you hear what Ye Huaizhang said this morning? He has no intention of letting Huaili into the company.]

[Ye Jinsong: It doesn’t matter if he objects. I can make other arrangements.]

[Han Yanmei: That’s not what I want, and you know it, Ye Jinsong. You owe me this. If you don’t give me a satisfactory answer, I’ll send Huaili away, then poison your entire family before killing myself. We’ll all go together—no one gets to live.]

[Ye Jinsong: Please calm down. I can’t talk freely right now. Tomorrow the family is going to the beach—I’ll book a separate room. Come see me there, and we’ll discuss this properly.]

Han Yanmei agreed.

Ye Baoling and Ye Huaizhang simultaneously removed their earphones.

“Does Second Aunt have mental issues? She seems dangerously unhinged,” Ye Baoling couldn’t comprehend such twisted logic.

Poisoning the entire family? Keeping someone like that around was like stepping on a landmine every day.

Ye Huaizhang’s face was grim. “Get some rest. I need to make arrangements.”

“What arrangements?”

He didn’t elaborate.

*

The next day at the beach resort, they opted for a five-star hotel with private beach access instead of the family villa for greater comfort.

After arriving in the morning and having lunch, everyone retired to their rooms to rest.

They planned to go deep-sea fishing that afternoon.

Ye Huaizhang had secretly installed listening devices in the extra room his father booked.

The young couple waited next door, earphones ready.

“Do you think Second Aunt will come tonight?” she asked.

Ye Huaizhang predicted, “She won’t be able to wait that long.”Just as he anticipated, during the lunch break, Han Yanmei knocked and entered the adjacent room.”

The moment she stepped in, Ye Jinsong closed the door behind her. “We have half an hour.”

Among the three sisters-in-law, Han Yanmei was the most beautiful and appeared the most cultured.

Yet she was also the most stubborn and inflexible.

Han Yanmei stared resentfully at Ye Jinsong. “You never had the heart to kill Ye Huaizhang. You’ve been deceiving me all along.”

“I explained this before—”

Han Yanmei stood before him. “So you lied to me? Let me deliver that poisoned wine to Gong Jiahua thinking you could placate me? But you see, heaven itself wanted to help me—one bottle still reached Fang Shanxing in the end.”

Ye Jinsong took her hand. “As you said, fate works in mysterious ways, but heaven didn’t help you. It helped Huaizhang. Yanmei, let our generation settle our own debts, alright?”

“You were the one who abandoned me back then. Right after you abandoned me, you immediately married Yang Pinxian and had a son the following year. Later, when you found out I was dating Ye Jinbai, you became resentful and came back to reconcile with me. You betrayed me first, then betrayed your own family by sleeping with me! And now you tell me this generation’s grievances should be settled by this generation? How exactly? Tell me!” Han Yanmei’s voice wasn’t loud, but its tone revealed her tenacity and stubbornness – she wasn’t someone easily persuaded.

Ye Jinsong also brought up old grievances: “Weren’t you dating Jinbai just to spite me? You only met him through me anyway.”

“Did I force you to sleep with me?”

Ye Jinsong was instantly silenced. “Then what do you want me to do now?”

Han Yanmei: “Since your father discovered our affair and you were stripped of your inheritance rights, why should this be? Personal morals shouldn’t affect inheritance rights. Which family business skips the son to pass directly to the grandson? Ye Huaizhang leapfrogged over you to become chairman directly. Are you really content with this?”

He wasn’t content, but what could he do?

Ye Jinsong remained silent.

“Just have someone tamper with the brakes on Ye Huaizhang’s regular car. Let fate decide whether he dies or becomes disabled. Then you can become chairman and gradually train Huai Li to succeed. Both of us would get what we want, wouldn’t that be good? Don’t tell me now that even a vicious tiger won’t eat its cubs. How many times have you told me before how much you detest Ye Huaizhang, how he looks too much like Yang Pinxian, how you could never genuinely care for him? Have you changed now that you’re older?”

Ye Jinsong shook his head helplessly: “If this were ten years ago, I might have actually listened to you. But now that I’m older, I can’t bring myself to do it.”

A cold glint flashed across Han Yanmei’s gentle face: “If you can’t do it, I’ll find someone who can. But you need to cooperate with me. And promise me that the family business will be passed to Huai Li eventually. Is such a simple request too much for you to agree to?”

She was someone who wouldn’t retreat once she set her mind to something.

Ye Jinsong stepped back and sat on the sofa: “Are you doing all this just for Huai Li?”

Han Yanmei: “Half for Huai Li, half to get revenge for you abandoning me to marry Yang Pinxian. I should have been the one marrying you. My child should have been the Third Branch’s heir.”

Ye Jinsong sat on the sofa without speaking.

Han Yanmei walked over, embraced his head and pressed it against her chest. “I’ll have someone tamper with Ye Huaizhang’s car and let heaven decide his fate, alright? Just pretend you know nothing and focus on handling the aftermath. With luck, you might become chairman of both Hongtong Industry and Minhua Bank after the new year.”

He still didn’t speak.

His silence was taken as consent.

Between interests, love, and kinship he didn’t particularly care about – the choice wasn’t difficult.

After a while, Ye Jinsong finally said: “If heaven still sides with Huaizhang this time, will you stop for good?”Okay,” she agreed with extreme gentleness.

They held each other quietly for a while. She had been inside for nearly half an hour and couldn’t stay any longer.

Han Yanmei straightened her clothes. “I’ll call you if anything comes up.”

With that, she walked out.

But upon opening the door, she discovered Ye Huaizhang, Ye Baoling, and Dong Jian standing outside.

Han Yanmei froze for a moment, then quickly forced a smile. “You… I just asked your father for some of the medicine your second uncle takes…”

Before she could finish fabricating her lie, Ye Huaizhang cut her off directly. “Let’s talk inside.”

After Ye Huaizhang and Ye Baoling entered the room, Han Yanmei glanced at Dong Jian and the bodyguards standing at the door. This kind of formation…

Her heart was in turmoil, filled with anxiety and unease.

Ye Jinsong was also surprised to see his son and daughter-in-law enter, as this apartment had been booked under a friend’s name by his assistant.

How did they know he was here?

After forcing himself to appear calm, he asked, “What’s going on?”

Ye Huaizhang looked at his father with a grim expression and asked, “Do you think heaven will spare me?”

Ye Jinsong froze—wasn’t this exactly what he had just said to Han Yanmei?

He instantly plunged into panic but still tried to play dumb. “What do you mean?”

“In your heart, I don’t deserve to live? Then why did you marry my mother back then? Why did you bring me into this world?”

Ye Jinsong attempted to explain, “Huaizhang, are you misunderstanding something?”

Ye Huaizhang grabbed Ye Jinsong by the collar. “We heard everything you said just now. One attempt to kill me wasn’t enough, so you want to try again? Even a beast knows not to harm its own offspring. You’re worse than an animal.”

Ye Jinsong looked at Han Yanmei, and both of them realized they had been bugged.

Gone was the fierceness Han Yanmei had displayed ten minutes earlier. Now, she leaned against the wall, gloomy and silent, not daring to utter a word.

Ye Huaizhang suddenly released his grip, and Ye Jinsong fell to the floor.

He scrambled up and grabbed his son’s hand. “Huaizhang, listen to me. I never intended to kill you. I was just trying to buy time.”

“Ye Jinsong, you’re both foolish and wicked! Do you think everyone is as stupid as you? What you did just now wasn’t buying time—it was tacit approval!” If he had a gun at that moment, Ye Huaizhang would have blown Ye Jinsong’s brains out right then and there.

Patricide, rebirth!

Ye Jinsong swallowed hard, knowing his son wouldn’t listen to his explanations. He turned and tried to speak to Ye Baoling instead. “I truly never intended to kill Huaizhang.”

Ye Baoling recalled the infamous case of a parent killing their child from her original world.

Her voice was ice-cold as she said, “You can argue that you weren’t the mastermind, but you were definitely an accomplice. A man helping another woman kill his own child—Huaizhang is right. You’re worse than an animal.”

Ye Jinsong retorted, “If I really wanted to kill Huaizhang, I wouldn’t have lied to her the first time and told her to give the red wine to Gong Jiahua.”

He pointed at Han Yanmei.

Although Ye Huaizhang and Ye Baoling had speculated about the general direction of events, many details still remained unclear to them.

Ye Huaizhang demanded, “Explain the matter with the red wine clearly. Now.”

Ye Jinsong glanced at the two women in the room. “I’ll discuss it with you in detail alone when we return.”

Unwilling to delay, Ye Huaizhang looked toward the inner bedroom. “We’ll talk in there.”

With that, he entered first.

Reluctantly, Ye Jinsong followed him into the bedroom.

Ye Huaizhang stood by the floor-to-ceiling window, staring at his father, waiting for him to speak.

Only then did Ye Jinsong reveal what he knew.

“That happened decades ago. Fourth Uncle from the second branch came to discuss matters with your grandfather. They didn’t notice I was reading on the balcony at the time, so I overheard their conversation.”

“Fourth Uncle’s wine cellar had a rock collapse, he felt it was unsafe and wanted to find someone to repair it. Your grandfather said Sir Fang would definitely not agree to hire outsiders for the repairs, so your grandfather offered to help prop up the stones together. I was outside the door at the time and couldn’t hear clearly, but it seemed they said the wine cellar contained some secret of Sir Fang’s. If he discovered someone knew about the wine cellar’s secret, Sir Fang wouldn’t just kill the person who knew – he’d also kill the Ye family head who leaked it. They said this was a promise the head of Ye Family’s Third Branch made to Sir Fang back then.”

Ye Huaizhang couldn’t help asking: “What is Sir Fang’s secret?”

Ye Jinsong shook his head: “I don’t know.”

“Then how did you discover the wine cellar?”

“Because your grandfather and Fourth Uncle directly entered a secret chamber from the study – your current study. There’s a door leading to a secret chamber, and the stairs inside connect to the wine cellar on the third basement level.”

Ye Huaizhang hadn’t known about this door to the secret chamber in the study.

Ye Jinsong: “I didn’t dare follow them in at the time. Later I found an opportunity to sneak in and discovered the third basement level was filled with red wine. But I couldn’t find the entrance or exit, nor did I know how your grandfather and Fourth Uncle reached the Second Branch’s wine cellar.”

So Ye Jinsong didn’t know about the Blue Brick Tunnel.

Ye Huaizhang asked coldly: “Later you told Han Yanmei about this?”

Ye Jinsong: “Yes, I only told her roughly about the matter, but I didn’t tell her which person the Ye Family’s Third Branch was keeping the secret for. Later when Han Yanmei wanted to eliminate you, she asked if taking wine from the cellar and sending it in your name to that person would work? Unable to withstand her constant pestering, I lied and told her that person was Gong Fonian. She forced me to take two bottles of red wine from the cellar, then had someone deliver them to Gong Jiahua in your name. Who would have thought, through some strange twist of fate, Gong Jiahua shared one bottle with Fang Shanxing. So Sir Fang still found out.”

“Later when you were kidnapped in South Africa, I didn’t know if it was arranged by Sir Fang. That period was too tormenting – I truly never intended to kill you. Fortunately you returned. But right after you came back, you had that car accident. This time I’m certain it was definitely arranged by Sir Fang. Afraid he would continue sending people to kill you, I quickly found an opportunity during the charity banquet to chat with Gong Jinghui in front of Sir Fang, deliberately revealing that our family patriarch originally left two premium 1946 red wines for his descendants to treasure, and someone had played a prank by impersonating you to send the wine to Gong Jiahua.”

“Perhaps Sir Fang took this to heart. He knew those two bottles were privately stored by your grandfather, not taken out by you after learning about the cellar. Later he might have confirmed through other channels that you truly didn’t know, which is why he stopped sending people to kill you afterwards.”

Ye Jinsong confessed all this to tell his son that he had been secretly trying to save and protect him all along.

Ye Huaizhang let out a complex, derisive laugh: “So I should thank you for saving me?”

Ye Jinsong fell silent.

“How did Han Yanmei find out you deceived her?” he asked again.

“Once when I tried to persuade her to stop, in the heat of conversation I accidentally let it slip. Later I denied it, but she still found out.”

That he could let something like that slip made Ye Huaizhang utterly speechless.

“Is Ye Huaili your son? Have you verified it?”

Ye Jinsong was stunned once more, looking somewhat embarrassed as he said, “It was tested—he is indeed my son. Please don’t tell your second uncle. He doesn’t know about this.”

It seemed Han Yanmei had tampered with the samples sent for testing. Ye Huaizhang let out a cold laugh but said nothing further.

As father and son stepped out of the bedroom, Ye Huaizhang and Ye Baoling exchanged a glance before turning their gaze toward Han Yanmei, who was crouched on the floor. “You should leave now,” Ye Huaizhang said. “Go back and think it over carefully—whether you’ll turn yourselves in at the police station or wait for me to report you.”

“Do you have to go this far?” Ye Jinsong hadn’t expected all his pleading to be in vain.

Ye Huaizhang glanced at his watch. “Still not leaving?”

Ye Baoling warned, “If you don’t leave now, don’t blame us for stripping you of all dignity. I’ll immediately call Grandma, Mom, Second Uncle, and Ye Huaili over to witness the disgusting things you’ve done.”

Hearing this, Ye Jinsong quickly relented, “I’ll go, we’re leaving.”

Ye Jinsong grabbed his car keys and dragged Han Yanmei downstairs in a hurry.

Once in the car, he told Han Yanmei, “I’ll send you away first. I remember there’s another flight to the U.S. this afternoon. If I stay, they can’t do much to me.”

Han Yanmei got into the car with a face ashen with despair, fuming, “It’s all because you’re too soft-hearted! How could I…”

How could I have fallen for a man like him!

She didn’t voice this thought aloud.

Pressing for time, Ye Jinsong drove at breakneck speed.

Just then, his mobile phone rang. Thinking it was Yang Pinxian calling, he hung up immediately, but the phone rang again.

He had no choice but to answer. “Hello?”

Ye Huaizhang’s voice came from the other end. “I still need to tell you—Ye Huaili is not your son. He’s Second Uncle’s. I ran two parentage tests for the three of you. The evidence is in the glove compartment.”

With that, Ye Huaizhang hung up.

Ye Jinsong opened the glove compartment, pulled out the test report, and glanced at it. Instantly, his blood ran cold.

Ye Huaili wasn’t his son—he was Ye Jinbai’s!

She had deceived him for all these years!

He threw the report at Han Yanmei.

Han Yanmei shot him a bewildered glare. “What’s wrong?!”

She then unfolded the papers he had thrown at her. After staring blankly for a few seconds, she tried to explain, but noticing how recklessly fast he was driving, she panicked and grabbed the handhold. “Calm down! This is just Ye Huaizhang’s psychological warfare.”

“Your psychological warfare, you mean? Playing me for a fool for over twenty years!”

They were on a downhill slope, and the car accelerated even more, swerving unsteadily. Ye Jinsong tried to brake, only to realize that while a light press worked, slamming the brakes had no effect at all.

At this speed, lightly tapping the brakes was useless—the car simply wouldn’t stop.

The handbrake had failed as well.

Just then, a large truck approached from the opposite direction. Ahead was the truck, to the right a mountain, and to the left a cliff overlooking the sea.

Perhaps it was a split-second decision in desperation, or perhaps his heart had already shattered.

He cranked the steering wheel hard to the left, and the car hurtled toward the sea.

Han Yanmei screamed in terror, “Huai Li! Aaaah!”

Ye Jinsong wondered—had Ye Huaizhang used their methods against them, deliberately having someone tamper with his brakes?

Sadly, no one would ever give him the answer.