Inside the main manor of the Ye Household, the sound of cups shattering echoed loudly.
All members from the different branches of the family had been summoned—except for Ye Huang Yu. Even Ye Huang Yun, the second uncle responsible for guarding the Martial Shrine, was called back.
The reason? A major incident had just occurred at the Ye family's forge.
Ye Gu's face was dark with fury as Ye Saint knelt before him, looking completely dejected. The rest of the first branch stood silently to the side, terrified.
What had happened at the forge was too serious to be hidden. Knowing this, Ye Saint had taken the initiative to confess in front of everyone—leading to this very scene.
"Father, I don't think this matter should be blamed entirely on Ye Saint. I saw those fake iron ores too. There's something off about them." After hearing what happened, Ye Huang Cheng had rushed back from the mines.
Even he, with more than twenty years of mining experience, had trouble telling if those ores were real or fake at first glance.
The rocks looked ordinary, but somehow, their surfaces had been infused with a half-inch-deep layer of Yuan Iron.
If it had been him today, he might have been tricked too—let alone Ye Saint.
"The poison used by that merchant Chen was extremely strong, and it destroyed all traces. There must be someone orchestrating this from behind the scenes—that's why it was so cleanly done. This foolish child almost walked right into their trap." Ye Huang Yun, the eldest uncle, gave his son Ye Saint a look of bitter disappointment.
This son had really let him down. He had originally planned to let the boy be responsible for transporting ores to the city on the next trip. But with this mess, it was clear that Ye Saint would now be punished according to the family rules and locked away for a month. Ye Huang Yun sighed inwardly.
Anyone with sense could tell this was all a setup. Someone clearly wanted to frame the Ye Household. And in all of Autumn Maple Town, only the Song family would dare do such a thing.
Unfortunately, the only witness had poisoned himself to death. The investigators only found out that he was a thug from the next town—so the only lead was gone.
Without witnesses or evidence, the Ye family couldn't just confront the Song family. In the end, they had no choice but to swallow the insult.
"Thankfully, there was luck amidst misfortune. If not for little Ling Yue's quick thinking today, we'd have taken a huge loss." Ye Huang Shu spoke up, trying to give Ling Yue credit.
The biggest hero of the day stood quietly to one side. Aside from her few words back at the forge, Ling Yue had remained silent this whole time. This calm and composed behaviour made Ye Gu feel very satisfied.
He'd already heard—today was Ling Yue's first visit to the family forge.
What a lucky star. Without her, the Ye family would have lost over five thousand gold—that was more than a quarter of their annual income.
"Ling Yue, even your big cousin Ye Saint couldn't tell something was wrong with the ores. How did you notice?" Ye Gu, mistaking her silence for fear from the commotion, softened his tone into a gentle one.
"Grandfather, it was pure luck. I'm not as capable as big cousin. I just thought the merchant looked suspicious—and the next thing I knew, I discovered the problem." Ling Yue scratched her head shyly, putting on an innocent smile.
Could it be this girl really was just that lucky?
Ye Gu was puzzled. Ling Yue had never even visited the forge before—how could she tell real from fake?
Fine, maybe it really was just coincidence. She was a girl, after all, and girls tended to be more observant about subtle changes—more than Ye Saint at least.
"In any case, you've made a great contribution. Tell me, what kind of reward would you like?" Ye Gu was a fair man. Ling Yue had done well, so she deserved to be rewarded. As for Ye Saint, he would be confined at home for a month for his serious mistake.
The moment they heard that Ling Yue was getting a reward, both Ye Huang Cheng and Ye Huang Shu visibly tensed.
Ling Yue was rising in the family way too quickly. At this pace, she might become the second Ye Huang Yu.
If she dared to ask for something beyond her place... Ye Huang Cheng cast a cold glance at Ling Yue.
"Grandfather, if possible, I'd like to help cut and sort ores at the family forge," Ling Yue replied.
Her request stunned everyone.
Cut and sort ores? That's your reward?
Weren't rewards supposed to be things like money, martial arts techniques, or weapons?
That was hard physical labour. What young master or lady from the Ye family would want to do that? Was Ling Yue just stupid?
"This… of course, that's fine. Go get a badge from your big uncle, then you're free to enter the forge whenever you want." Caught off guard by the strange request, Ye Gu agreed without hesitation.
As Ling Yue left the hall, she was soon caught up by the embarrassed Ye Saint.
"Ling Yue, thank you. I really owe you this time." Ye Saint had still held some resentment toward her earlier, but after her "accidental" help and her support in front of their grandfather, his attitude had completely shifted.
"You're welcome, big cousin. We're family—no need to be so polite," Ling Yue replied humbly.
"If you ever need anything, or if someone dares to bully you, come to big cousin, alright?" Ye Saint was clearly moved by her respectful tone. After patting her on the shoulder, he finally left.
Meanwhile, at the Song Household in Autumn Maple Town—
"What? The plan failed? What have you all been doing?" the master of the Song House roared in rage.
He slammed his hand down, smashing the red ebony table beside him, sending everything on it tumbling to the ground.
But just as the white porcelain cup was about to shatter on the floor, something strange happened.
The cup froze mid-air. Floating gently, still full of water, it drifted into the hand of another man.
The owner of that hand was a young man with yellowish skin. His facial features looked righteous at first glance—but his eyes, filled with intense lust, gave off a strangely evil vibe.
"Master Lian, I apologize for making you witness such a joke," the Song House master said, suddenly reminded of the important guest in his home.
For someone like him to humble himself so much—who knew what kind of background this young man, around twenty-five or twenty-six years old, really had?
"No need to worry. I took your money, so naturally, it's my duty to solve your problems. Since the plan failed this time, we can always try again." Master Lian smiled, calm and confident.
"That's right. With you here, what is the Ye family to us? Next month is Ye Gu's fiftieth birthday—we'll trouble Master Lian to strike again then." Just imagining the Ye family's downfall filled the Song family master with delight.
The two men laughed together—both seeing the same fierce killing intent reflected in each other's eyes.