Ye Jueyao was in a sorry state, looking nothing like her former haughty self. She clung tightly to the railing and cried:
"Daddy, you've finally come. Are you here to rescue your daughter? Wuwu... Your daughter has had such a hard time these past two days. It's simply worse than death."
Qian Fangxue also said anxiously:
"Hubby, hubby, please save Yaoyao quickly. Yaoyao is so pitiful. She was already frightened when she came here. This prison is damp and cold, and there are even rats. How could Yaoyao ever have suffered such hardships? She's even fallen ill from the scare."
The two of them babbled on and on, making Ye Pengcheng's head ache.
He couldn't help but shout impatiently:
"Enough! What's the use of just crying here! Now that the Prince of Yu'an is determined to teach you a lesson, you should just endure it obediently in this prison!"
"And you," Ye Pengcheng pointed angrily at Qian Fangxue, "Yaoyao didn't participate in anything. It was clearly something that could have been resolved with just a few words and she could have been released. But you had to go and make a scene at the Supreme Court. Now look, you've even got yourself involved!"
Qian Fangxue immediately felt wronged. She glanced at Lady Cao, Zhao E, beside her and said in a low voice:
"I... I just came to see Yaoyao. I really didn't participate in the fight." After a pause, she added in an even lower voice, almost mumbling:
"It's all because of Lady Cao. If it weren't for helping her, I wouldn't have ended up in this situation."
Ye Pengcheng didn't have the time to listen to her complaints. He had come today to ask about something else.
He glanced at Lady Cao and Lady Zhou, who were looking longingly at their husbands and had no time to care about his side. Ye Pengcheng leaned in and lowered his voice:
"I've come today to ask you two about that girl Ye Xi.
"You two have watched her more often on a daily basis. But ever since she somehow got involved with the Prince of Yu'an's Mansion last time, problems have started to arise in our family. I suspect she knows something.
"Have you two noticed anything abnormal about her? If so, I can make plans early."
Both of them were stunned. They had also had the same suspicion before. But after Ye Xi became the tutor for the young heir, she spent most of her days in the Prince of Yu'an's Mansion. When she came back, everything seemed normal, so they didn't look into it further.
Now that they thought about it, it was a bit too much of a coincidence that Ye Xi had suddenly appeared in that jewelry shop that day. They had raised Ye Xi for more than a decade. In order to control her better, they had taught her day in and day out to be obedient and submissive. She had to act like a proper young lady from a good family and couldn't just go out and wander around without her parents' permission.
So why had Ye Xi insisted on going to buy those snacks that evening?
The more they thought about it, the more they felt that Ye Xi might have discovered something. Qian Fangxue felt a chill in her heart and said:
"On the surface, everything seems normal for her. But now that she spends so much time in the Prince of Yu'an's Mansion, there's no telling what she might be doing behind our backs."
Ye Jueyao also said:
"Yes! That day in the jewelry shop, I saw with my own eyes the Prince of Yu'an's different attitude towards her!"
Just thinking about the way Yi Yuan had protected Ye Xi in his arms that day made her jealous and hateful. She didn't believe a single word of Ye Xi's nonsense about Yi Yuan fancying her before.
But why? Ye Xi was so ugly and stupid. Why could she catch the Prince of Yu'an's eye?
She herself was a well - known talented and beautiful young lady in the capital. In what way was she inferior to that bitch Ye Xi?
"Bitch..." Ye Jueyao said hatefully, "She must have used some dirty tricks to seduce the Prince of Yu'an. Otherwise, with her disgusting and stupid appearance, how could the Prince of Yu'an take a fancy to her!"
"Yaoyao." Because Ye Jueyao had unconsciously raised her voice, Ye Pengcheng called out to her with a warning, reminding her to watch her words.
Ye Jueyao looked around nervously. Seeing that no one had noticed, she stopped speaking reluctantly.
But the hatred in her eyes couldn't be suppressed.
"Anyway," Ye Pengcheng continued, "we can't let that girl Ye Xi go on like this anymore."
"Then..." Qian Fangxue suddenly seemed to remember something and said anxiously:
"What if she really discovers what's tied to her body? Could she... could she have already removed it?"
Ye Pengcheng's eyes suddenly turned sharp. He said in a deep voice:
"It won't be that easy!" After a pause, he added: "But it's better to be safe than sorry. Ye Xi can't stay in the Prince of Yu'an's Mansion forever. Nominally, she's still a daughter of the Ye family. When she returns to the Ye Mansion, we'll be able to find out."
"What if she has really removed it?" Ye Jueyao's eyes were full of panic. "Then... then I'm doomed..."
Ye Pengcheng fell silent.
Although he doted on his daughter Ye Jueyao, but... If it had been before, with Ye Jueyao's fame and talent, she could have found a good marriage and surely added bricks to his official career. But now...
If she was no longer useful, she was just a daughter after all. If she was gone, she was gone.
But Ye Xi was still useful.
It was Qian Fangxue who quickly grabbed Ye Jueyao's much rougher hand and comforted her:
"No, no. Yaoyao, don't worry. Mother will never just sit back and watch you suffer. Mother will surely search the ends of the earth to find the person who helped you change your fate back then, and then find another girl with a compatible horoscope to take your place in the underworld."
As she spoke, the mother - daughter pair hugged each other and cried.
Ye Pengcheng was extremely annoyed. He scolded:
"Stop crying. It's not even a certainty yet. Aren't you two being inauspicious by crying like this?"
Angrily waving his sleeves, Ye Pengcheng continued:
"The hardships you two are suffering aren't a big deal. When the Prince of Yu'an calms down, he'll release you. But as for Ye Xi, you..." Ye Pengcheng looked at Qian Fangxue, "You've always had the deepest feelings for her. Find the thing that the person who helped you change your fate gave you. As soon as Ye Xi returns to the Ye Mansion, test her with it.
"No matter what the result is, in any case, we can't let Ye Xi continue to have such a close relationship with the Prince of Yu'an's Mansion."
"Okay." Qian Fangxue replied. "Then... what does hubby plan to do? Ye Xi is like a piece of tofu covered in dust. You can't pat it or beat it. And now that the Prince of Yu'an is backing her up, it might be difficult to take action."
"Humph..." Ye Pengcheng sneered coldly, looking extremely sinister and venomous.
"There's only one year left anyway. As long as the medicine is administered skillfully enough, it can ensure that Ye Xi's body and life aren't harmed, but on the surface, she'll look seriously ill. A daughter of the Ye family recuperating in her own mansion and not seeing any outsiders. No one can find fault with that, right?"
Both Ye Jueyao and Qian Fangxue's eyes lit up.
"Daddy is really extremely smart." Now that they had a solution, Ye Jueyao immediately beamed and praised her father.
It was Qian Fangxue who was a bit worried:
"But a perfectly healthy person suddenly falling seriously ill might arouse the Prince of Yu'an's suspicion."
"Of course I know that," Ye Pengcheng was speechless towards his wife. She was sometimes smart and sometimes stupid.
"The medicine has to be administered slowly. Three months is the best time. It won't arouse anyone's suspicion, the toxicity won't harm the root of her body, and even the doctors won't be able to detect it."
"Three months later, Ye Xi will only be a name to the outside world!"