Before her two younger cousins could finish speaking, their paternal aunt slammed her hand on the table and berated them.
"You two, sit down and eat. If she wants to cry, let her cry."
Her cousin looked at her mother in disbelief. "Mother, why has your heart become so cold?"
Upon hearing this, the paternal uncle set down his wine glass. "What are you talking about? How can you speak to your mother like that!" He was a man, but he could see what kind of person Sisi was, and his wife could too.
However, their daughters couldn't.
"I'm not wrong! Mother is very cold now, isn't it because grandfather doted on cousin's grandmother, that she looks down on us like this..."
"What are you saying!" The paternal uncle interrupted her, his face turning red with anger. He slapped the table and stood up, about to strike his daughter.
The paternal aunt, startled, quickly stood up and looked at her husband with some panic.
However, before the blow landed, Ye Qingcheng intercepted it.
"Uncle, this is a family banquet. Why ruin the harmony? Please ask the two cousins to sit down!"
The uncle hadn't really intended to hit his daughter. It was just that their words were too hurtful. He had already regretted it when he was about to act, but he was looking for a way to step down. He blamed himself and his wife for protecting their daughters too well.
Ye Qingcheng put down her chopsticks, comforted her mother, and stood up.
She looked around. The previous commotion had caused everyone to put down their chopsticks, their gazes fixed on her.
Ye Qingcheng smiled. "Everyone, today is a family banquet held by my father to celebrate me volunteering for the plague. I never intended to spoil everyone's mood, so I planned to resolve this privately. But you are all family members of the Ye family, and we are all one family, so there's no need for formalities. Let's settle this openly today!"
Her two cousins and cousin exchanged glances, not understanding what Ye Qingcheng meant.
"How do you want to settle this?"
"It's very simple." Ye Qingcheng smiled and looked at the matriarch. "Mother, can I borrow your servant?"
She didn't borrow Su Momo for two reasons. Firstly, Su Momo had just helped her with something, and soon someone would report to her father. To avoid being recognized, she wouldn't let Su Momo appear in front of everyone. Secondly, although her mother was now a concubine and enjoyed the same treatment as the primary wife, she still couldn't offend the primary wife. Everyone had to know that she was the matriarch, so that they wouldn't find fault with her mother in the future.
Mrs. Ye was a little surprised that she would think of her, but after looking at her mother sitting beside her, she understood. She hadn't expected Ye Qingcheng to have thought so much.
She smiled, raised her head slightly, and nodded. "Yes, you may."
Ye Qingcheng smiled and nodded her acknowledgment. "Nanny Liao, please escort this young lady out."
Everyone was stunned.
They looked at Ye Qingcheng in disbelief.
Ye Qingcheng smiled at everyone's reaction. "Since this young lady wants to go out to cry or beg for death, we can satisfy her."
Nanny Liao understood. "This young lady, please this way."
Cousin Sisi couldn't believe it. This was not what her mother had told her! Ye Qingcheng was so unconventional, and she didn't know how to respond. But she couldn't leave now. If she left, she would never be able to come back.
Thinking of this, she looked at Ye Qingcheng furiously. "Ye Qingcheng, you are also a concubine's daughter. Why are you treating me like this? Aren't our lives the same?"
Upon hearing this, Ye Qingcheng looked at her for the first time and burst into laughter.
"Should I call you an idiot, or a moron!"
Seeing Cousin Sisi's confusion, she decided to explain it to her.
"Although I am a concubine's daughter, and my mother is merely a concubine, even though I have the demeanor of a legitimate daughter, I know that my status in the Ye family will never compare to Ye Lanxin's. Because her mother is the legitimate wife, brought into the family by my father with great ceremony."
Ye Lanxin looked at her when she heard this.
"But I never worried about these things, because I never thought of competing with her for anything. Because that was never mine to begin with, so we are different."
Sisi stared at her blankly.
"Regarding your question, it's very simple. It's because I have the surname Ye. I was born into this family, I grew up in this family, and I will marry from this family. If I don't help the Ye family, am I supposed to help an outsider like you?"
For a moment, the air was exceptionally silent.
It was the paternal aunt who first broke the silence. "Why aren't you letting this young lady go and sit down to eat."
After hearing Ye Qingcheng's words, her two cousins felt a sense of shame. Upon hearing their mother's call, they slowly released their hands and sat down.
In fact, Ye Qingcheng's words were not only for them but for everyone present. Because she understood that although her mother had become a concubine, life in the Ye family was still very difficult. She couldn't always support her mother in the Ye family. But with her identity as a princess, the Ye family would have to reconsider bullying her mother. And after what she had just said, they would naturally understand that as long as she remained the princess, the Ye family would naturally prosper.
Sisi was reluctantly led away by Nanny Liao, but as she was being led away, Ye Qingcheng called out to her.
"Oh! Right, your name is Sisi, isn't it!"
Sisi looked back at her in confusion, tears still on her face, looking very unsightly. Ye Qingcheng was holding her chopsticks, her other hand supporting her chin. Her eyes held a sharp, unfamiliar glint, like a dagger, looking at her with eyes as dark as a deep pool.
"Go back and tell your mother that if she wants to climb onto our family's tree, her roots are not strong enough, and she might break."
At this moment, Sisi felt a chill sweep through her from bottom to top, and she couldn't help but shiver.
Stepping out of the Ye mansion, she felt as if she had just tested the edge of death.
Finally, Mrs. Ye took charge of the situation and instructed everyone to enjoy their lunch.
After the family banquet, Ye Qingcheng had to return.
However, this time, there were many people to see her off. Even Ye Lanxin, who was unwilling to come, was dragged by Mrs. Ye to see her off. This made her feel a bit overwhelmed.
Ye Qingcheng's mother stroked her face. "Child, if you ever suffer any injustice, come home, alright?"
Ye Qingcheng chuckled. "Mother, you probably haven't seen how formidable I am. I won't suffer injustice."
Ye Qingcheng's father patted her shoulder. "Come home often when you have time."
Ye Qingcheng's bright eyes flashed. "Father, are you sure?"
Ye Qingcheng's father was choked, and a sentence hung in the air, neither here nor there.