The Mute Wife Who Brings Prosperity-Chapter 552 - 519: Keep Acting

Ye Ling and Song Jiao could be said to be two people completely unfamiliar with each other.

Before this, Song Jiao didn’t know Ye Ling, and Ye Ling didn’t know Song Jiao either.

Now suddenly an invitation arrived at the Cloud General Mansion with straightforward content, saying that a girl from the second house of the Song family was about to get married. Having heard that Miss Ye is highly skilled in needlework, they wanted to consult her in person to make some outfits for her future husband and parents-in-law.

Ye Ling gently swayed on the swing in the back garden, cradling the little white rabbit caught for her by Song Yuanbao, staring blankly at the gold-embossed invitation on the stone table.

The maid Liuli said, "The Ye family and the Song family never had any interactions before. Now that the Song family suddenly sent an invitation, I find it a bit odd. Anyway, Miss, you don’t know that Miss Song. Why not find an excuse to decline?"

Ye Ling frowned slightly, "Wouldn’t it be inappropriate to just decline like that?"

She originally wanted to say, although I don’t know Miss Song, I do know Young Master Yuanbao. Since Young Master Yuanbao caught me a rabbit, now that his sister is getting married, shouldn’t I give face?

But Ye Ling only thought this in her mind.

As for whether to go to the Song Mansion or not, she was still hesitating.

Liuli hadn’t had time to speak when another voice, tinged with anger, interrupted her.

The person was Ye Ling’s own brother, Ye Rong. He seemed quite displeased, sitting heavily on a stone bench, snorting, "No need to look, it must be that little rascal Song Yuanbao tricking you into going to their house. Ah Yao hasn’t yet gotten married, and brother won’t allow you to go out and show your face."

Ye Ling: "Brother, why do you hold such a grudge against Young Master Yuanbao?"

Every time Ye Rong mentioned Song Yuanbao, his expression turned sour, fearing his younger sister might be deceived at such a young age. He snorted again, "Didn’t you notice his sinister intentions towards you?"

Ye Ling shook her head confusedly, indicating she hadn’t noticed.

Ye Rong glanced at his naive and innocent sister, sighed, and reached out to take the invitation from the stone table.

"Brother!" Ye Ling called out to him.

"What?" Ye Rong replied somewhat carelessly.

"I... I still want to go." Ye Ling said, "Sister Huan went to Jiangnan, and there are no girls in the mansion. I don’t even have a single confidante, it’s so boring. Now that someone has invited me, I’m actually not that opposed."

"But Song Yuanbao..." Ye Rong insisted on persuading his sister.

Ye Ling said, "The Song family is not without elders. Since I’m a guest, the elders would not allow people in the mansion to act recklessly, right? Besides, Young Master Yuanbao is not the kind of person brother says he is."

The last sentence she said in a very low voice, but Ye Rong still heard it clearly.

He gave up on persuading his sister and said, "You can go if you want, but I must accompany you. Otherwise, I will never let you take even one step out of the room."

...

Ye Ling, in the end, couldn’t defy her brother’s nature. The siblings changed their attire, with one riding a horse and the other in a carriage. When they arrived at the Song Mansion, a servant was waiting outside. It was Yun Cai, the head maid from Wen Wan’s room, who said she was instructed by the lady to welcome Miss Ye and Third Young Master Ye.

As they walked in, they happened to encounter a doctor who had just finished his diagnosis.

Yun Cai, worried about Song Yuanbao’s condition, asked casually, "Doctor, how is our eldest young master’s condition today?"

The doctor stroked his beard and shook his head with a sigh, "His condition is not very good. Let’s observe for a few more days. If there’s no improvement, I have no solutions left."

Yun Cai pressed her lips together, her expression revealing her anxiety.

The Ye siblings heard this and both furrowed their brows, asking in unison, "What happened to Little Yuanbao (Young Master Yuanbao)?"

The doctor had already walked away. Yun Cai dabbed at her eyes and explained, "When our young master first returned, he was fine. But later, he started locking himself in the study day and night. One time, the old lady went to bring him food, and before she could even start a conversation, he fainted. When he woke up, it was like he had become a different person. He couldn’t eat, didn’t speak, and only liked to sit quietly by the window staring into space."

Ye Rong sneered, "What kind of nonsense!"

Last time he went hunting outside the city, he had a very poor impression of Song Yuanbao. Now he was somewhat preconceived, feeling that this guy was pretending, and as for the purpose... Ye Rong uneasily glanced at his anxious sister standing beside him.

Ye Ling furrowed her delicate brows and asked Yun Cai, "During the days Young Master Yuanbao locked himself in the room, was he very uneasy?"

Yun Cai nodded repeatedly, saying, "Although the young master didn’t lose his temper with us servants, anyone could see that he was very irritable. He was irritable while eating, reading, and couldn’t settle down to paint. He even suffered from insomnia at night. If he couldn’t sleep, he’d stay up all night. When he finally managed to fall asleep and there was the slightest noise outside, he would wake up instantly, covered in a cold sweat. I was quite frightened when I went to the study to deliver food twice and saw his bloodshot eyes."

"And when he wakes up?" Ye Ling asked again, "Is it just as you said earlier, does he become quiet, like his soul is wandering off?"

Yun Cai nodded, then looked at Ye Ling in surprise, "Miss Ye, how did you know?"

Ye Rong also cast a suspicious glance.

Ye Ling looked at her brother and said, "Did you forget? Our uncle had a concubine who died the same way, by cutting her wrists."

Ye Rong looked shocked, but then calmed down, "That’s a completely different matter, don’t overthink it."

"I don’t want to overthink either!" Ye Ling said aggrievedly, her eyes reddening, "But when I heard about Young Master Yuanbao’s symptoms, I couldn’t help but think of Aunt Fang."

Yun Cai was so startled by Ye Ling that she burst into tears, squatting down and unable to speak.

Seeing the situation wasn’t right, Ye Rong quickly said, "Young lady, don’t be upset. My sister is young and just talks nonsense sometimes, don’t take it seriously."

Yun Cai was already crying to the point of being flustered, she looked up, her eyes blurred with tears, at Ye Ling.

Ye Ling wanted to cry even more than her, pursing her lips without saying a word.

Ye Rong had no choice but to patiently comfort Yun Cai again, and then asked her to lead the way, saying the siblings wanted to see Song Yuanbao.

Yun Cai, sobbing and sniffling, finally wiped her tears and led them to the outer courtyard, to the door of Song Yuanbao’s room.

After all, it was a man’s room, causing Ye Rong some hesitation. He stood at the door for a while, told Ye Ling to wait outside, and said he would go in to see what was happening and report back afterward.

Ye Ling saw her brother’s serious face and dared not say anything more, nodding and sitting on a bench nearby.

Despite her discomfort, Yun Cai didn’t forget her manners as a hostess and soon brewed a pot of floral tea for Ye Ling.

Ye Ling held the teacup, but her eyes kept darting towards the opposite house, clearly a bit distracted.

Ye Rong lifted the bamboo curtain and entered the inner room, finding Song Yuanbao sitting dazedly by the window. Probably to amuse him, a cage had been hung outside the wide-open window, with birds chirping and hopping around inside. Yet Song Yuanbao remained unmoved, his eyes barely shifting, as if he hadn’t noticed anyone entering the room.

The atmosphere inside was eerily quiet.

Duan Yan, who was standing beside him, finally spoke up upon seeing someone coming, "Who are you looking for, young master?"

Song Yuanbao had met Ye Rong at the Xue Family, but Duan Yan hadn’t seen this Third Young Master Ye before.

Ye Rong didn’t reply, his eyes fixated on Song Yuanbao as he took several big strides forward and firmly slapped Song Yuanbao’s shoulder, saying with a snort, "You brat, you’re quite the actor, keep acting! Dammit, I’m a fool if I believe you!"

The instant Ye Rong laid his hand on him, Duan Yan clearly saw their young master flinch involuntarily.

Duan Yan immediately got angry, glaring at Ye Rong, "Who are you? Running into our house to curse people out of the blue, do you know where you are?"

Normally, with Ye Rong’s temperament, he would definitely have had this talkative servant strung up for a good beating, but since this was the Song family, he suppressed his temper, flicked Duan Yan on the forehead, and told him to leave, saying he needed to talk to Song Yuanbao alone.

Duan Yan refused, standing still. 𝒇𝙧𝙚𝓮𝔀𝓮𝒃𝙣𝓸𝒗𝒆𝒍.𝙘𝒐𝒎

The two locked eyes, stuck in a standoff.

After a while, Song Yuanbao slowly turned his head to Duan Yan, "You go out first."

"Young master?" Duan Yan was incredulous.

Song Yuanbao nodded, his voice low, "Third Young Master Ye is my friend."

Upon hearing they were friends, Duan Yan had no choice but to leave, albeit with reluctance and under the taunting gaze of Ye Rong.

Ye Rong wasn’t polite either, reaching up to the treasure cabinet to fetch a Jade Ruyi to play with, occasionally glancing at Song Yuanbao. When the latter didn’t speak for a long while, he sat down and tapped Song Yuanbao’s arm with the Jade Ruyi, saying, "You little rascal, tell me honestly, are you faking being sick just to have Ah Yao come see you?"

Song Yuanbao turned his head to look at Ye Rong, "Did she come?"

The confusion on his face didn’t seem feigned.

Moreover, the listless and morose demeanor between his brows couldn’t capture any of the liveliness from before.

Ye Rong was so startled by him that he shivered, "What...what happened to you?"