Free Web NovelChapter 23: Chapter 23: Stolen Food
Ye Chengde hurriedly stopped Old Madam Ye’s hand. "Mother, don’t take it."
Old Madam Ye wasn’t really the biological mother of the first and second son. She only gave birth to the third son, Ye Yaoting.
After the first wife died, Old Madam Ye replaced her position as the mistress of the Ye family, taking care of the household until the next head of the Ye family was appointed.
She did make things difficult for Shen Jingyi when she first took over, but later let her take over the household affairs.
"Mingyuan is not feeling well. Your second branch has one extra steamed bun, why not give it to him?" Old Madam Ye was displeased.
She didn’t expect much when she came to the second branch, and seeing one steamed bun was an extra surprise. As expected, the second son received a slightly preferential treatment because he was the former Minister of Rites, she thought.
They might even receive one steamed bun instead of half. At the thought of this, she gripped the steamed bun harder and wriggled her hand out of Ye Chengde’s grasp.
"Second son, look at your wife and children. They have already got their share of steamed buns." Old Madam Ye was shaking her head with some disappointment. "You don’t even want to give this one to your nephew."
Ye Chengde was confused. "Mother, listen to me..."
However, Old Madam Ye didn’t want to listen. She pulled her hand out of his grasp and walked away with the steamed bun.
"Mother, that’s..."
Old Madam Ye quickened her pace, signalling she didn’t want to listen. Before long, she disappeared into the darkness and arrived at the first branch’s location.
"Should I go there and steal the steamed bun, Father?" Ye Lanxi cracked his knuckles. "It should be easy taking it from Fatty Mingyuan."
He didn’t act earlier because it was Old Madam who asked for it. There was a slight hope she would be reasonable and listen to her second son’s explanation, however, her action was totally disappointing.
Old Madam Ye’s biased action became apparent at this moment.
Previously, it wasn’t this obvious. Even if she favored Ye Shichang and his wife or descendants, she would use a roundabout way by lecturing them about family unity.
"No need." Ye Chengde shook his head. "Your grandmother might still feel angry at us."
For the past two weeks, Old Madam Ye had been ignoring their second branch, blaming them for their exile punishment and not willing to listen to any explanation.
"But, the twins’ portion..." Ye Zhiqiu mumbled, his brain started to think of a solution.
Everyone had already eaten their share. Only the twins from the third branch hadn’t; they were still sleeping soundly in the carriage.
Once they wake up, the kids will definitely be hungry.
"I will ask the imperial guards for extra food," Ye Zhiqiu volunteered.
With that, he stood up and went to find the imperial guards. The result was already expected.
Standing beside Yan Luo, the imperial guard under him sent a disdainful look at Ye Zhiqiu. "Is your family a pig? How can you eat so much?"
He waved his hand. "No, we don’t have extra here. We already calculated the provision according to the number of people."
Ye Zhiqiu’s face darkened slightly, but he didn’t want to argue with them. He went back to his family and could only deliver a disappointing result.
"Let’s see if we can find any wild fruits around," Ye Lanxi suggested. He got up and went to rummage through the high bushes around.
An imperial guard thought that he wanted to escape and immediately came over, cracking his whip.
"What are you doing here?!" The imperial guard demanded. A few other imperial guards followed and began to restrain Ye Lanxi.
Lin Su came over and asked them. "What’s going on?"
"Captain Lin!" The imperial guards greeted him.
"Captain Lin!" Ye Lanxi also called out. After spending two weeks together in this exile journey, they more or less already knew most of the imperial guards’ personality.
Captain Lin Su was strict but he wasn’t as heartless and as arrogant as the imperial guards under Captain Yan Luo.
They were also incredibly lucky to have Commander Leng Hai leading the journey. He was someone who knew how to differentiate right from wrong, never looked down on them because of their current status.
"We are still hungry, so I am trying to find some wild fruits," Ye Lanxi told him honestly.
Lin Su nodded at him and told the imperial guards, "Keep watch over him."
With a few imperial guards following behind him, Ye Lanxi began to rummage through the bushes. He found a few wild berries, but they still wouldn’t be enough.
Even with Ye Zhiqiu coming over and helping him, they still couldn’t find extra. They could only give up and returned while bringing the fistful of fruits in their hands.
The twins were already awake, sitting in the carriage with a pair of sleepy eyes.
When they offered the fruits to them, they took it without hesitation. Ye Lingyue couldn’t help but pity the kids a little.
She could only hope that Ye Lanxi would have a deep sleep tonight so that she could sneak out. She might be able to cook the rice from her space or hunt a game.
As the night became deeper, she opened her eyes. There was no trace of sleepiness.
"Ugh, this place has so many mosquitos!"
She could hear the passing guards on patrol complaining and lightly slapping their own skin.
Her eyes landed on Ye Lanxi almost instantly. Her hand reached out for a rag near her feet and threw it to him.
In an instant, she pretended to be asleep, waiting for any movement.
A faint snoring filled the carriage room.
She opened her eyes slightly, peeking. Ye Lanxi was still sleeping, his eyes closed tightly. She immediately slipped outside, feeling relieved and full of joy as she stood beside the carriage.
Finally, she could eat some decent food again...
But then, someone grabbed her shoulder.
