Even if Fifth Concubine had made many mistakes, she truly loved her daughter. Ye Ruyi's words were too hurtful.

Ye Ruyi did not dare contradict Ye Jiuge but pulled a long face and remained silent. She radiated an intense air of violence and cruelty and was acting entirely different from the previously cute and quick-witted girl.

Ye Jiuge was growing worried. She'd heard that children who experienced traumatic and perverted things grew up to have warped minds and became abnormal. She did not wish for this to happen to Ye Ruyi. She needed to think of a way to resolve Ye Ruyi's violent and cruel ways. 

Ye Jiuge thought about it for a moment then smiled and said to Ye Ruyi, "The weather has been quite nice for the past few days. Why don't we go for a walk in the spring sun?"

Little children loved playing; it would be good to take Ye Ruyi outside.

"I still have many books that I have not read." Ye Ruyi shook her head. To her, it was more important to read than play.

"The books won't run away if you leave them here. We shall go out and play tomorrow. It's a deal." Ye Jiuge did not give Ye Ruyi the chance to refuse.

"Alright!" Ye Ruyi bulged her cheeks and agreed unwillingly. She would not disobey her Elder Sister, who had saved her from the depths of misery. Forget it, she will treat it as a chance to accompany Elder Sister on a trip.

"Eldest Miss, where do you plan on taking Ruyi?" Fifth Concubine looked at Ye Jiuge expectantly, as though a trip could immediately restore her precious daughter to her normal state.

"How about the Putuo Temple?" Ye Jiuge blinked her eyes.

Although her childhood memories were limited, she recollected that, when she was young, the trips to the Putuo Temple with her mother, Yun Qiaoqiao, had been her favorite. The vegetarian food and pastries were delicious there, and a patch of beautiful Yaoguang flowers grew on the hill behind the temple. The scenery during the day was like a fairyland; nothing more beautiful could be imagined. 

"Good, good, good!" Fifth Concubine nodded her head repeatedly. She and her daughter had suffered a string of misfortunes lately. Nothing could be better for them than to go and pray to the Buddha at the temple.

"Fourth Sister, do you wish to go? The Yaoguang flowers there are pretty, and they share the same name as your residence. Furthermore, their vegetarian food and pastries are really delicious." Ye Jiuge grinned like the grandma wolf.

"Elder Sister, we shall go if you wish," Ye Ruyi spoke like an adult. She looked at Ye Jiuge with an indulgent yet helpless look in her eyes, as though Ye Jiuge was the child.

Ye Ruyi's gaze made Ye Jiuge's hair stand on end. This child was getting weirder, and she needed to be straightened out at once.

When Qing Mama heard that the Eldest Miss was taking the Fourth Miss out, she immediately set about the preparations happily. She also did not forget to help them inform Old Master.

Ye Yuxuan agreed to let Ye Jiuge take Ye Ruyi out, but he refused to allow Fifth Concubine to accompany them. Firstly, Fifth Concubine's body was too weak. Secondly, because of the incident regarding Chen Fuhan, he now loathed her. If it weren't for Ye Ruyi's young age and her need for her mother, he would have sent Fifth Concubine away to one of the other estates.

Ye Jiuge was very angry when she heard this. She wanted to find Ye Yuxuan and argue with him, but Fifth Concubine stopped her.

"Eldest Miss, my body is too weak to leave the residence. You don't have to go and find Old Master," Fifth Concubine pleaded humbly. She was already satisfied that she could stay in the Ye Residence and take care of her daughter. She did not dare to wish for anything else.

Fifth Concubine could not even stand straight by herself. Ye Jiuge wanted to help her but had no way of doing so, and she could only sigh. No matter which world a woman was in, she was always in a weak and powerless minority.

Even if Ye Yuxuan had known that the incident regarding Chen Fuhan was not Fifth Concubine's fault, he would still label her guilty. He felt that, if she had known her place, the incident would not have occurred. After all, no such thing had happened with his other concubines. Furthermore, he had already shown great mercy by not having her executed. 

Ye Ruyi was unaware of how many things had to happen before the trip. For now, she was still arguing that she wanted to wear men's clothes. Fifth Concubine felt helpless and could only ask Ye Jiuge for instructions.

"If she wishes to wear men's clothes, let her." Ye Jiuge knew that the incident in the underground room had severely traumatized Ye Ruyi.

She felt that being a woman was a weakness, so she wanted to wear men's clothes. Forcefully refusing to let her wear them would only cause her to become more rebellious. It would be better to placate her and improve her mood first.

On the day of the trip, Ye Jiuge dressed like a man as well. First, she hid the black scar on her face. Then, she wore a long ice-blue gown embroidered with bamboo leaves. Her black hair was neatly combed into a hairpin and contained within an exquisite white jade crown. Her body had yet to develop fully, and she had a flat chest. As such, she did not need to bind her b.r.e.a.s.t.s. She only used some ointment to cover her pierced ears. 

Ye Jiuge had a masculine personality, so she dressed up as a handsome teenager. Her face wore a hint of confidence and boldness.

"Elder…Elder Sister?" Ye Ruyi blinked. Looking at the handsome teenager in front of her, she felt that Ye Jiuge was even better looking than any man she had seen before.

"What Elder Sister? Call me Elder Brother, Fourth Brother!" Ye Jiuge flicked Ye Ruyi's forehead.

Although Ye Ruyi was wearing a sapphire blue men's suit, her red lips and white teeth as well as her delicate appearance, still gave her a feminine look.

"Elder Brother." Ye Ruyi covered her forehead and revealed a shy smile.

She had initially been worried that she would make her Elder Sister angry by wearing a men's suit. She had not expected her Elder Sister to wear a man's outfit as well. Furthermore, her Elder Sister looked confident and handsome, and she was envious.

"Let's go." Ye Jiuge picked up Ye Ruyi and got onto the horse-drawn carriage.

"Elder Sister, since you have a way to hide the black scar on your face, why don't you always do it?" Ye Ruyi asked curiously. Her Elder Sister would always look beautiful if she removed her black scar.

"A person's worth cannot be determined only by her appearance," Ye Jiuge replied lazily.

Since Zi Shang had taken a fancy to her even with her ugly appearance, she felt that it would be a defiance of the natural order if she were to become more beautiful. 

"Is it?" Ye Ruyi blinked as she began to consider the meaning behind Ye Jiuge's words.

"That's enough. You shouldn't be thinking about these problems at such a young age. Otherwise, you'll lose all your hair!" Ye Jiuge played with Ye Ruyi's hair for a while, then changed the topic.

The Putuo Temple was not very far from the Ye Residence. It only took about half an hour to reach their destination.

They saw a towering ancient temple amidst the mountains. White smoke was coming out from the top, giving it a Buddhist appearance. The Putuo Temple was a prominent, centuries-old shrine always enshrouded in incense smoke. Many high officials and n.o.bles came here to wors.h.i.+p the Buddha.

After Ye Ruyi offered incense to the Buddha, Ye Jiuge was about to bring her to the hill behind to enjoy the scenery of the Yaoguang flowers when she was stopped by a novice monk. "Benefactor, the Yaoguang flowers on the hill behind is not open to visitors today."

"We just want to take a walk along the perimeter, small master. Please grant us this favor." Ye Jiuge recalled that the perimeter of the patch of Yaoguang flowers in the hill behind was always open for visitors to tour.

Only the temple's interior was segregated to allow some of the influential families to sightsee.

On this occasion, since she was wearing men's clothes to escort Ye Ruyi, she did not use the name of Ye; she had only wanted to take a walk outside the perimeter. After all, there was plenty to look at.

"Merciful Buddha! The exterior perimeter of the hill is not open today either, benefactor. I apologize and seek your understanding," the novice monk said with his hands clasped together.

Ye Jiuge studied his expression and understood that the entire hill had been reserved by an influential family. She wondered which hedonistic son of a wealthy clan had reserved the hill for himself.

That hill is so huge, you b*stard. How many eyes do you have? Can you even see anything with them?