The Eldest Prince twisted her forcefully, then pulled out a packet of medicine powder from his pocket, "Take this powder before you make merry with Father Emperor, and once he is affected by the drug, I will take the opportunity to make the old man write an Imperial Decree of succession. With that, the throne will be in my hands, won’t it? And your position as Empress will follow."
The consort was puzzled, "If I take the medicine, how will the Emperor be affected by its effects?"
The Eldest Prince pinned her down once more, "Do I really need to teach you how it’s done?"
The consort smiled seductively, "I understand now. Your Highness, please release me; we mustn’t go another round today."
"Why not?" the Eldest Prince asked.
"If there are too many marks on me, the Emperor will notice," the consort said weakly as she pushed him away, then added jealously, "Every time Your Highness comes to the palace, you treat me with cold indifference, but you look at the Ninth Princess utterly differently."
"The Ninth Princess is quite beautiful. If she weren’t my sister, I would..." The Eldest Prince didn’t finish his sentence.
Ye Jiu on the attic realized what he was about to say and in her shock, her foot slipped, and she fell straight down from the attic.
The disheveled consort on the ground panicked, "Your Highness, the Ninth Princess heard everything we said; our actions today, I’m afraid..."
I’m afraid we’ll be exposed, and then there will be no good ending!
The Eldest Prince calmly adjusted his clothes, kicked the broken leg of Ye Jiu, crouched down and said menacingly, "Ah Ju, those who know the current affairs are wise. You know what to do, right?"
Just then, the nanny arrived with others in search of the Ninth Princess.
The door was pushed open, and the scene on the ground was fully exposed to those who entered.
Not long after, the Emperor arrived at the scene with a neighboring country’s Prince...
"At that point," Ye Jiu said with a painful laugh, "everyone thought I had exposed the illicit affair between my eldest brother and Father Emperor’s consort, and that’s why I fell from the attic and broke my leg. In fact, I fell because of what my elder brother said."
Ye Yiheng said in a deep voice, "Though I always felt the matter was not as simple as it seemed on the surface, I never expected that the truth would be so sordid."
Li Yuyue was furious, "Thinking back on it now, the Eldest Prince and Second Prince, those siblings from the same mother, really are cut from the same cloth."
Ye Jiu continued, "On that day, fearing retaliation from my elder brother, I exposed his and the consort’s conspiracy right there. After hearing it, Father Emperor immediately had the consort executed, and not long after, my eldest brother was also taken care of by Father Emperor."
"Father Emperor, grateful that I saved his life, not only had my tenth younger sister marry in my place to the neighboring country but also doted on me even more. Everyone said that I became the most favored princess in the palace."
Ye Jiu cried while laughing, "But more than a few siblings whispered behind my back that Father Emperor’s favor towards me was bought with my eldest brother’s life. They even said that it was actually I who had killed my elder brother. But they didn’t witness the incident in the attic, how could they denigrate me?"
Ye Jiu gripped Leng Yu Yan’s hand tightly, "Ah Yan, do you know? Out of all my siblings and cousins, only my Sixth Brother and cousin Qingyu behave like real people, the rest are no good at all!"
"What do you mean by ’behave like real people’?" Ye Yiheng darkened his expression, "Ye Jiu, is it proper for you to speak of me like that?"
Ye Jiu sniffled, "Sixth Brother is only a year older than me. Don’t mind his cold and indifferent manner now; he wasn’t like this a few years ago. Back then, he would stand up for me when I was bullied by other siblings."
"The Tian Family is the most heartless, the Imperial Palace is the dirtiest, I don’t want to live in the palace anymore!" Ye Jiu started crying again, "Heir Lai, I truly like you, I am willing to marry and go to the remote Beilan City."
Li Yuyue clenched his fist, not knowing what to say.
"I’m so envious of the Leng Family, your sibling relationship is so pure, I really am!" Ye Jiu cried uncontrollably, covering her face in agony.
Leng Yu Yan knew that she could not force her elder brother to say anything and simply said, "Ah Ju, my journey to the capital this time wasn’t agreed upon by Father King, but after I spoke to Grandfather about it, because it was to treat your legs, Grandfather consented. Grandfather has seen the lip print on the letters you wrote to Elder Brother."
Hearing this, Ye Jiu cried and laughed at the same time, "Do you mean that Old Prince also supports me being with the Princely Heir?"
Leng Yu Yan helped her wipe away her tears, "If there’s an opportunity, you can ask my grandfather yourself."
"The real reason I fell from the attic, I’ve just spoken of it, and for these years, it’s the first time I’ve shared it with anyone," Ye Jiu moved her gaze to Li Yuyue and then back to Leng Yu Yan, "Saying it out loud relieves a lot of pressure from my heart."
Leng Yu Yan consoled her, "Ah Ju, no matter if it’s the reason for falling from the attic or the Empress Dowager’s incident, the fault is not on you. You needn’t feel distressed about it, nor should you bear any burden. The ones at fault are that pair of brothers!"
Ye Jiu asked softly, "So, I’m not a femme fatale?"
Leng Yu Yan spoke soothingly, "Femme fatale is a very unfair nickname forcibly attached to women. We women should be brave to be ourselves, live in the present, and not take the mistakes of others upon ourselves."
Ye Jiu nodded vigorously, "Ah Yan, you’re absolutely right!"
She understood that the eldest brother deserved his fate and that she shouldn’t feel guilty for his death.
Now, with her mental burden lifted, it was time for her to stand up.
With her hands supporting on the wheelchair’s armrests, Ye Jiu shakily stood up.
The three people present watched her slowly rise and all nodded with smiles.
"Ah Yan, you were right, there’s nothing wrong with my legs, the problem was in my heart. Now that the secret is out, it’s no longer a secret, and the mental knot untied, my legs naturally gained the strength to stand," Ye Jiu tried to take a step.
Despite the small and slightly shaky step, it indeed filled Ye Jiu with great excitement. Sёarch* The NovelZone.fun website on Google to access chapters of novels early and in the highest quality.
Leng Yu Yan reached out to support her, "You haven’t walked for years, don’t rush too quickly, appropriate exercise each day will do."
Ye Jiu nodded, "Please keep my ability to stand and walk a secret. A large reason why I didn’t go through with the marriage was my leg disability. If Father Emperor or someone else finds out now, I definitely can’t avoid future arranged marriages."
Li Yuyue’s brow furrowed, "Understood, you can stay at the Prince Mansion these few days if you wish."
Saying this, he stepped out of the room, had someone clean up the table he had shattered, and ordered a new table to be brought in.
Ye Yiheng took Leng Yu Yan out of the guest yard.
As they walked slowly, quite unexpectedly, he stopped and asked, "Yanyan, your medical skills are so remarkable, it makes me suspect if you are hiding some identity from me."
"Ah?" Leng Yu Yan laughed as she blinked, "What identity could I possibly hide from you?"
"It’s said that when you were thrown into the mountains, you were illiterate, but upon your return to the capital, your calligraphy caused a sensation at the conference. It’s said that in your youth, you couldn’t even distinguish dance movements, yet at the Flower Festival, your dance was outstandingly stunning. Yanyan, how did you learn your medical skills in the mountains for five years? And from whom did you learn your literacy and dance?"
Leng Yu Yan lowered her gaze, hiding the flicker of panic that passed through her eyes, "I learned from an expert, is that acceptable?"
"Oh, an expert, are there experts in the mountains?" Ye Yiheng removed his eye veil, his handsome eyes slightly squinted.
He lifted her chin, hoping to read some clues from her eyes.
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