“Don’t worry, I’ll protect what rightfully belongs to us.” Ye Shaoting put his arm around Shen Meixiu’s shoulders and led her upstairs.
Back in their room, Di Mingjue tended to Ye Ziyu, ensuring she was fast asleep. He then went to the wardrobe and took out a thin blanket. After a moment’s thought, he put it back and grabbed a thick jacket instead.
Stepping out of the room, the Ye residence had returned to its quiet nighttime state.
Di Mingjue went downstairs, his memory guiding him to the ancestral hall.
As the door opened, Ye Chenhan was found kneeling steadily before numerous ancestral tablets.
“Put this on. It’ll block some of the cold wind.”
Ye Chenhan initially thought it was a servant sent by Ye Qianzhi to supervise him. Upon hearing it was Di Mingjue, the tension in his straightened back instantly relaxed.
“How did you know the ancestral hall was here?” Ye Chenhan asked, taking the jacket without politeness and putting it on. Feeling the warmth chase away the chill, he rubbed his rumbling stomach and shamelessly asked, “Did you bring any food?”
Food?
Di Mingjue hadn’t actually considered that.
He looked at Ye Chenhan’s expectant gaze, pondered for a moment, and said, “I’ll bring you some later.”
“It’s fine if you didn’t bring any. If you go back and forth, the old man will find out, and then you’ll be kneeling here too,” Ye Chenhan muttered.
Though he said it didn’t matter, his stomach rumbled in protest.
Di Mingjue scanned the surroundings. Apart from the kneeling cushion in front of him, there was nowhere to sit. “You seem accustomed to being punished like this?”
“Are you mocking me?” Ye Chenhan was immediately displeased.
“No, I just noticed you’re moving freely, as if it’s a regular occurrence,” Di Mingjue mused.
A regular occurrence?
Ye Chenhan nodded in full agreement. “The old man has a very bad temper. It’s either physical punishment or reprimands.”
“All fathers are the same,” Di Mingjue said, feeling a sense of kinship.
They would impose their own wills on others, completely disregarding their thoughts. To defy them meant filial impiety, and a thousand justifications would be conjured to condemn you.
Hearing his tone, Ye Chenhan’s eyes lit up, and he tentatively asked, “A fellow traveler?”
“Are you sure you don’t want me to get you some food? You sang and danced all night, and you still have the energy to kneel here?” Di Mingjue changed the subject. xxs1
His stomach ached with hunger. More importantly, his clothes were stained by Ye Ziyu’s vomit. With every slight movement, the wind carried the smell to his nose.
“Maybe you could risk getting something back?”
Seeing Ye Chenhan’s pitiful expression, Di Mingjue smiled helplessly. “Wait.”
“And get another shirt? This one smells terrible,” Ye Chenhan said disdainfully, showing the stained area.
Di Mingjue let out a mocking laugh.
“Be careful, don’t get caught!”
He went to the living room. The only light left on was a passage light. Di Mingjue made his way upstairs smoothly.
Opening the door, he found Ye Ziyu sitting on the bed, looking dazed and running her hands through her hair.
“Awake?”
“Where did you go?”
Di Mingjue went to the bedside and pulled the blanket up to cover her body. “To the ancestral hall to give Ye Chenhan a jacket.”
“The ancestral hall?” Ye Ziyu sounded confused. “He’s not sleeping and is singing in the ancestral hall at night?”
Hearing his tone, Di Mingjue felt like laughing. He nuzzled her cheek and explained, “The family doesn’t allow him to sing. He was punished after he came back at night.”
Her memories gradually clearing, Ye Ziyu recalled some things. She looked at Di Mingjue and couldn’t help but ask about Ye Chenhan’s condition. “How is he now?”
“He seems fine. You don’t need to worry. I’ll bring him some clothes and food when I get back. You go back to sleep.”
“I’ll come with you.”
Despite Di Mingjue’s attempts to dissuade her, Ye Ziyu insisted on getting out of bed.
The two of them, carrying the items, cautiously made their way to the ancestral hall.
Ye Ziyu saw Ye Chenhan resting his head on the kneeling cushion, his legs crossed as he stared at the ceiling.
Was this the person being punished?
Hearing the movement, Ye Chenhan tilted his head and saw two pairs of long legs appear before him.