Yi Yuan's knuckles tightened involuntarily. Even he himself found his probing words rather inexplicable.
Ye Xi, however, let out a disdainful scoff.
"I used to think I was truly in love with Cao Sheng because of the affection he showed on the surface. In fact, I'm not even sure how much of my feelings for him were real. In the past, I always thought that all women would eventually get married. Coincidentally, Cao Sheng was good - looking, from a decent family, and seemed to have good moral character.
"He acted as if he was deeply in love with me, so I thought it would be okay to marry him. I tried to reciprocate his feelings in the same way, thinking that was true love.
"Now, it seems that I just felt obliged to return his kindness. Day after day, I even deceived myself.
"I've already let go of him, but I will never forgive him so easily."
The bright sunlight made Ye Xi's eyes ache. She squinted slightly.
In a soft, sigh - like murmur, she said, "After all, all the kindness I returned to him... was from the bottom of my heart."
In this bustling world, true feelings are scarce. And all the true feelings in this world should not be betrayed.
The Ye family is no exception!
Yi Yuan suddenly relaxed his clenched knuckles. He couldn't quite put his finger on the emotions churning inside him.
He was secretly happy that Ye Xi had let go of Cao Sheng, but also felt heartache because her whole - hearted devotion had been wasted. There was also a strange tinge of sourness lingering in his heart.
"Okay," Yi Yuan quickly glanced at Ye Xi and gently turned the delicate teacup in his hand. "What do you need me to do?"
Blinking her eyes, Ye Xi thought to herself: I want you to help me seduce Ye Jueyao and sow discord between Cao Sheng and Ye Jueyao. Given Cao Sheng's temper, he will surely expose his affair with Ye Jueyao out of jealousy and impulse and do something irreversible.
But Ye Xi didn't dare to say it out loud.
After all, Ye Jueyao had exposed her false claim that Yi Yuan was interested in Ye Jueyao in a letter. Fortunately, Yi Yuan had been busy looking for Lin An at that time and seemed to have forgotten about it when he came back.
Ye Xi was trying to avoid this matter, so there was no way she would bring it up again.
The words on the tip of her tongue changed direction. Ye Xi said, "The Cao family is fine for the time being, but I really need your help with the Ye family."
After all, although Ye Xi's mind - reading ability allowed her to hear what others were thinking, it only worked when the person was actually thinking about something or when she asked a question that made the person think.
But Ye Xi definitely couldn't ask directly, otherwise, she would arouse suspicion. And usually, no one would think about their bad deeds and hidden weaknesses all the time. Even if they did think about them occasionally, Ye Xi couldn't keep an eye on the Ye family members all the time.
So, after so many days, apart from starting with Ye Jueyao, Ye Xi couldn't find any other way to deal with the Ye family.
"Only one year is left before the gu worm in me is completely transferred to Ye Jueyao. At this critical moment, it's impossible for the Ye family to give me up voluntarily. So, I have to expel myself from the Ye family."
Ye Xi stared firmly at Yi Yuan, her eyes filled with determination. "But the Ye family will surely not agree. So, at that time, I must endure a great deal of grievance and make a big sacrifice. I need to make such a big fuss that everyone in the world knows about it. Only then can I break away from the Ye family and start my own life."
"Please help me find out the Ye family's weaknesses and their dirty deeds. And... help me get injured and create a stir at that time."
Yi Yuan's black eyes narrowed.
He couldn't help but imagine Ye Xi covered in blood and on the verge of death. His breath caught in his throat.
"Okay," Yi Yuan tried his best to adjust his breathing and maintained his usual indifference. "But we'll talk about the injury later."
Yi Yuan knew that Ye Xi was right. Family affairs like this were hard for anyone to interfere in. Only Ye Xi herself could break away from the Ye family after going through great pain.
But he didn't want her to get hurt.
He could only reply vaguely for the time being.
Ye Xi thought it was because the specific plan hadn't been worked out yet, so Yi Yuan couldn't decide what kind of injury or incident would happen.
She didn't think too much about it. Hearing Yi Yuan's agreement, a bright smile appeared on her lips. Her shiny eyes looked at Yi Yuan. "Thank you, Your Highness."
At the Cao Mansion—
After receiving Ye Xi's reply, Mrs. Cao and Cao Sheng immediately started making arrangements.
To prove his so - called true love for Ye Xi, Cao Sheng really drove a carriage to the prince's mansion to pick her up this time.
As soon as Ye Xi stepped out of the prince's mansion, she saw Cao Sheng standing beside the carriage with a fake gentle smile on his face, holding a folding fan with jade ribs painted with mountains and waters, trying to look suave.
"Xiaoxi..."
Seeing Ye Xi coming out, Cao Sheng immediately stepped forward. "Are you feeling better? I know you'll come to my house tomorrow, but I just couldn't wait to see you earlier..."
His eyes were full of tenderness, looking a bit shy. "So I came to pick you up..."
Saixing thought: I just want to vomit.
Ye Xi was already used to Cao Sheng's hypocrisy. After the initial surprise, she quickly put on a shy and happy expression.
"Thank you for your concern, Young Master Cao. I'm already better. Since I'm going to visit your family tomorrow, I should buy some gifts. I wonder if you'd like to accompany me?"
Cao Sheng stiffened.
Of course, he didn't want to. Ye Xi's thick makeup was smeared because of the hot weather, making her look even uglier and more disgusting.
If he took her out on the street, he would surely be laughed at.
"Visiting is just a casual thing, and it's not the first time. There's no need to buy gifts," Cao Sheng said, rolling his eyes. "Moreover, the street is crowded and chaotic, not very safe. I can't bear to let you get hurt. So, don't go."
Ye Xi knew exactly what he was thinking. Her smile remained on her face, but her voice turned a bit cold. "So, you don't want to, Young Master Cao?"
"I just want to buy some ordinary pastries and seasonal items for fun. You're being so evasive. People might think I, your future wife, am not presentable..."
By the end, her voice was on the verge of tears.
Not expecting Ye Xi to be so persistent today, Cao Sheng's expression turned a bit ugly.
But the words were out, and he couldn't refuse anymore. He just had to pretend for one more day, so he might as well give in.
Thinking of this, Cao Sheng looked wronged and gave in. "Why would you think that, Xiaoxi? It really hurts my feelings. Since you really want to go, I'll definitely accompany you."
"Please sit in the carriage. Let the servants do the rest. I'm really worried about you."
Cao Sheng looked sincere.
Ye Xi sneered inwardly but showed a happy expression on her face. "Okay, I'll listen to you, Young Master Cao."
She never really intended to walk around the street to pick things.
Cao Sheng wanted her to sit in the carriage so that no one would see them together on the street. But he didn't know that what Ye Xi wanted was for them to ride in the same carriage, so that people would see them as a loving couple...