Chapter 12: Outwitting One’s Father by Sheer Skill

Ye Kun could only smile bitterly in his heart. Oh, little brother, at this rate you'll never find a wife. He quickly nudged his younger sibling.

"Brother, why are you poking me?" Ye Qin asked in confusion, his expression as if to say, "What could possibly be more important than studying?"

"Ba Wanqing is coming to our house, did you forget?" Ye Kun replied helplessly. This little brother of his—wasn’t he always hoping proximity would win the day? Here he was, giving him a chance, and yet he still acted like this. Was studying really that important? Did he not want a wife in the future?

As soon as Ye Qin heard this, realization dawned on him. "Right, right, I almost forgot." He had been preoccupied with thoughts of next month's Qingyuan Festival.

"Can we go now?" Ba Wanqing whispered.

Ye Kun nodded. Captain Zhang Tiantian, standing nearby, looked on in puzzlement. The two young masters were actually bringing a young lady home?

And what’s more, she was the county magistrate's daughter.

Ba Wanqing instructed her attendant to lead the carriage behind them, and she followed Ye Kun on foot.

Not far away, Yuan Zhen and Feng Dian watched the group’s retreating figures with some confusion.

"How did those Ye brothers end up with Ba Wanqing?" Yuan Zhen asked curiously, though he looked somewhat displeased.

"This isn’t good news. Ba Wanqing’s father is the county magistrate. If they get close, it’ll be bad for us," Feng Dian observed, surprisingly shrewd for his age—clearly a product of his family's influence.

Yuan Zhen kicked at a pebble and muttered, "Our family isn’t easy to mess with either. We’ve got people in Ankang Prefecture."

Had Ye Kun been present, he would have sighed at how precocious these two children were—what would they be like when grown?

"Why not make them lose face during the Qingyuan Festival?" Feng Dian suggested, a mischievous gleam in his eye, showing quite the aptitude for troublemaking.

"Great idea. That Ye Kun only got praised by the teacher for a painting. I’ve got plenty of those at home," Yuan Zhen scoffed.

The two children began whispering conspiratorially.

Meanwhile, Ye Qin seemed unusually shy today, his gaze darting about. He longed to speak with Ba Wanqing but couldn't find the words.

After a while, they finally arrived at the gates of the Ye manor. The plaque above the entrance was thick with dust; a stranger might have mistaken it for an abandoned estate.

Ye Qin hurried ahead to push open the doors himself, even his manner of address shifting. "Wanqing, come in quickly!"

His eagerness was plain to see; Ye Kun shook his head. Could he be any less discreet?

Ye Kun smiled gently. "Please, come in."

Ba Wanqing returned his smile and entered the Ye residence, glancing around with curiosity.

She remembered her father mentioning the Ye family. Even before she was born, they had come to Taixi County, but the husband and wife rarely went out, leaving servants to handle daily errands.

She once overheard her father discussing them with a guest, learning that the Ye family here were abandoned collateral relatives—bearing the Ye name but deprived of its privileges.

If they still enjoyed their family's benefits, the Ye house wouldn’t be so quiet; visitors would come daily, just as they did at her own home.

Her father often didn’t even want to receive guests.

Today’s visit to the Ye family was driven by curiosity; after all, the Ye name was well known.

Even as cast-off relatives, they were once part of the Ye clan.

At that moment, Ye Ming was in the front courtyard, leisurely pruning the flowering branches and humming a tune—a scene more befitting a foppish scion. Had he been holding a birdcage, the image would have been complete.

In Ba Wanqing’s mind, even collateral branches of the Ye family were expected to behave with dignity, but this man before her completely upended her expectations.

No wonder the main family had severed ties. There had to be a reason.

While snipping the branches, Ye Ming called out, "You're back! Go wash up quickly—dinner’s almost ready, or your mother will have a fit."

"Father," Ye Kun coughed lightly, reminding him that there was a guest present.

"What is it?" Ye Ming turned around, curiosity on his face—then spotted Ba Wanqing and froze.

Ye Kun couldn't help but cringe at the transformation in his father's expression. It was as if a rogue had suddenly become a paragon of virtue. The act was so obvious—was he afraid no one would notice?

"So, we have a guest," Ye Ming said, his voice suddenly deep and dignified, authority radiating from him. He looked every bit the patriarch.

These two brats brought a classmate home without so much as a word—what a lapse in decorum.

"Father, why is your voice so deep? Did you catch a chill?" Ye Qin asked in confusion. He’d been perfectly normal a moment ago—what brought on the change?

Ye Kun sighed inwardly. This little troublemaker—no wonder Father sometimes wanted to give him a beating.

Indeed, Ye Ming wanted nothing more than to give his son a good thrashing. The boy was clearly getting back at him!

Well, don't blame your father for being ruthless—I'll tell your mother about this.

"Ahem, yes, the weather is cold today, my voice is a bit off," Ye Ming replied, trying to play along, deeply embarrassed. Fortunately, it was only a young girl; hopefully she wouldn’t think too much of it.

Ba Wanqing thought to herself, The Ye family… How can I even describe them?

In short, two words: utterly unexpected.

"How do you do, Uncle?" Ba Wanqing greeted him respectfully, as etiquette dictated for elders, though she couldn't help but feel a twinge of disappointment.

Ye Ming seemed to sense the strange look in her eyes and felt a little frustrated.

"Hello, hello! Welcome to our home. Qin, what are you standing there for? Go pour some tea!"

"Yes, Father," Ye Qin replied, eagerly trotting off to fetch tea.

Ye Ming smiled and said, "Kun, take your classmate to the main hall—don’t just stand around."

"Yes, Father," Ye Kun replied, leading Ba Wanqing inside, while Ye Qin happily followed with the tea.

Dongmen Meng emerged from the kitchen and approached Ye Ming, asking curiously, "Who is that young girl?"

"Oh, the children brought her home. Must be a classmate," Ye Ming replied in a low voice.

Truly, never stepping out the front gate left one out of the loop—she didn’t even recognize the girl.

"A classmate?" Dongmen Meng asked, glancing from Ba Wanqing to her youngest son.

Ye Ming chuckled quietly, "Looks like our boy is acting a little unusual."

"He certainly is," Dongmen Meng agreed. So young and already interested in girls—just like his father.

Had Ye Ming heard this, he surely would have protested, "When I was his age, I wet the bed!"

"Qin, you brought a friend home?" Dongmen Meng entered the hall, her voice gentle and warm.

Ba Wanqing stood up and greeted her respectfully, "How do you do, Auntie?"

But in her heart, she couldn't help but marvel. The aunt seemed extraordinary, worlds apart from the uncle. There was a strange sense of imbalance between them.