After everyone comforted Ye Jingming in the Wenhua Hall, the matter was considered closed.

But the emperor's purge of the inner palace had only just begun.

Punishing Consort Chen, the mastermind behind the rumors, was only the first step. Subsequently, all palace servants and concubines involved in spreading the rumors were punished to varying degrees.

However, the spies that Consort Chen had planted in the Eastern Palace, thanks to Ye Jingchen's promise, managed to leave the palace unscathed after explaining everything, which shocked many people.

However, after learning that they were able to leave the palace safely only because of Ye Jingchen's promise, many palace servants' impressions of Ye Jingchen changed overnight.

In this era where human life is worthless, the lives of servants are no different from those of pigs and dogs. Masters can do whatever they want with them, and no one really cares about the life or death of these servants.

However, His Highness the Crown Prince disregarded the numerous slanders leveled against him by those culprits, kept his promise, and released them from the palace. His magnanimity and broad-mindedness are truly admirable.

The lower one's social status, the more easily one is moved, even by the smallest bit of warmth and respect.

Unbeknownst to Ye Jingchen, he had already won the favor of many palace servants.

The upheaval in the inner palace naturally affected the court. The emperor, who had been busy finding fault with the old man, the Minister of Personnel, naturally did not miss this opportunity. He took the chance to remove many people from their faction and replace them with fresh blood.

After the rumors had completely subsided, on a very ordinary morning, Ye Jingyan was dragged to the East Palace by Ye Jingshu.

She herself is not a particularly patient person, but Ye Jingyan is the only person who can make her patiently plan for so long.

However, in the end, Ye Jingyan only wanted to stay in her small corner of Biyue Palace and didn't want to come out and see anyone.

So, one morning, Ye Jingshu, having lost all patience, led the strongest palace maids from Chaoyang Palace and stormed into Biyue Palace, dragging Ye Jingyan to the East Palace.

She finally understood that even if she was a bit domineering, her father wouldn't blame her for such a small matter, so why not use the most direct method to deal with Ye Jingyan?

Ye Jingyan cried the whole way from Biyue Palace to the East Palace, but she didn't dare to cry loudly, only sobbing silently.

When she arrived at the East Palace, her eyes were swollen from crying.

Ye Jingshu shoved a palm-sized bronze mirror directly into her face, deliberately trying to provoke her: "Second sister, come and see how you look now, you're such a mess! Even Jingyu is much prettier than you now!"

Ye Jingyu's lips twitched. Was it her fault that she wasn't good-looking? Royal sister, don't you think it's offensive to say that?

Looking at her swollen, red eyes in the mirror, Ye Jingyan burst into even more tears.

No young girl doesn't love beauty.

Even though Ye Jingyan often felt sorry for herself, she still cared a lot about her appearance, especially since there were unfamiliar faces in the East Palace, and even some men.

"Stop crying! Here, beauty is the most useless thing. No one will think more highly of you just because you're pretty!" Ye Jingshu said to her irritably.

However, as soon as she finished speaking, she saw Yun Shu sneakily glancing at Ye Jingyan, one glance after another.

"Yun Xiaopang, I didn't expect that you, who aren't very good-looking yourself, would have such a lecherous heart! Is my second sister pretty?" Ye Jingshu asked dangerously.

"No! I didn't! I was just curious because it was the first time I'd ever seen someone cry like that!" Yun Shu waved her hands repeatedly.

“I’m most afraid of people crying. No matter how beautiful she is, if she cries so much, I still won’t like her!” He added, as if afraid Ye Jingshu wouldn’t believe him.

Ye Jingyan: ......

She glared fiercely at the chubby boy who dared to complain about her tears. She hadn't even mocked him for being fat!

"Greetings, Second Princess!" Upon seeing Ye Jingyan, Wu Zemin and Gu Beichen both stepped forward and bowed respectfully. Just as Ye Jingshu had said, their gazes did not linger on Ye Jingyan for even a moment.

Ye Jingyan couldn't cry anymore.

On the day of the Spring Banquet, she was the focus of everyone's attention, even overshadowing the Empress. So why did everyone react so indifferently when they arrived at the East Palace?

"Second Princess, since you're already here, why don't you join us for a morning run? Eldest Sister, since Second Princess is new here, you and Third Sister should guide her today and make sure she experiences the charm of morning exercise," Ye Jingchen said to Ye Jingshu with a meaningful look.

"Second sister, your mother only told you that beautiful women are a source of trouble and that it's dangerous to be beautiful outside. Did she teach you any other ways to protect yourself besides hiding from people?" Ye Jingshu asked Ye Jingyan with a smile.

"What else does my elder sister want me to do?" Ye Jingyan asked in a terrified expression.

"You'll find out soon enough, but before we begin, let's do some warm-up exercises!" Ye Jingshu said with a sly laugh, pulling Ye Jingyan into their line.

"You absolutely must follow along with these movements, or don't blame your elder sister if you get leg cramps while running," Ye Jingshu said to Ye Jingyan.

Then Ye Jingyan saw everyone following the Crown Prince, who was standing at the front, and doing all sorts of strange movements, and they were all doing them very seriously.

The scene sent chills down Ye Jingyan's spine, making her even more frightened.

"Second sister, get moving!" Ye Jingshu urged.

"If you don't move now, you'll suffer later," she threatened with a smile.

Ye Jingyan was so frightened that she shuddered. While tears streamed down her face, she imitated her elder sister's movements, stretching her arms and kicking her legs.

Unexpectedly, there were even waist-twisting and backbend movements later on. Ye Jingyan really didn't want to follow along. It was too unrefined and improper.

After doing the so-called warm-up exercises intermittently, something even more unbelievable happened next: led by her brother, everyone started running.

Ye Jingyan was taught by Consort Wen from a young age that women should not show their teeth when they smile and should not show their feet when they walk. How could a girl run?

She instinctively wanted to escape from this place that she found strange in every way, but Ye Jingshu grabbed her hand.

"Third sister, hold her other hand. Make sure she runs today and gets rid of those bad habits!" Ye Jingshu said to Ye Jingyu.

Ye Jingyu didn't say anything, but obediently grabbed Ye Jingyan's other hand.

Then the two of them took Ye Jingyan with them and started running.

Ye Jingyan didn't want to run; she had never been so rude in her life. But her elder and younger sisters completely disregarded her wishes and kept dragging her along.

"Second sister, girls must learn to run. That way, if you encounter danger, at least you can run instead of standing still and waiting to die," Ye Jingshu said as she ran.