Tigers and leopards?

Chickens and dogs?

"Hmph! Su Muxi, don't be too smug! The First Prince has made great contributions in the army, so why would he be willing to marry an ugly woman like you, especially a divorcee! He's probably just using you as a shield. Only by marrying a woman like you can the Emperor feel at ease!"

Su Muxi had thought of this afterward, so she wasn't surprised when she heard Qiao Ziming's words.

"Your Highness, there's no need to keep emphasizing that I'm ugly, of low status, and a second wife. We're already divorced, so you don't need to worry about me in the future. You should hurry up and lie down; I have things to do after the acupuncture."

As she spoke, she handed the painkillers she had prepared to Qiao Ziming.

Qiao Ziming looked at Su Muxi's slender fingers and instantly thought of the touch on his lips yesterday, and blushed slightly.

But after hearing what Su Muxi said, her face, which had just felt a little hot, instantly turned cold again.

"What are you going to do? Are you going to find the First Prince?"

Su Muxi raised her eyes and looked at Qiao Ziming's peach blossom eyes with a strange expression.

"You're acting strange today. Are you feeling jealous because someone else wants me, or do you feel resentful because Prince Yong'an is better than you in every way?"

Qiao Ziming looked embarrassed and too ashamed to speak, so he could only turn over forcefully and turn his back to Su Muxi.

"Hurry up and administer the acupuncture. I'm just giving you a friendly reminder. If you don't listen, you'll regret it later. Don't come crying to me for help!"

Su Muxi squeezed the painkiller pill in her hand and said with a half-smile, "Me begging you while crying? I think you should be begging me while crying!"

Qiao Ziming's intermittent wails echoed throughout the courtyard once more, but this time no servant dared to approach and discuss it.

Meanwhile, Qiao Xiuyuan finally found Ye Zeyu at Sanliting outside the city after wandering around for a while.

Qiao Xiuyuan's eyes darkened slightly as he looked at the two glasses of wine on the stone table.

It seems Ye Zeyu knew he was coming and deliberately made things difficult for him!

"Prince Yong'an is in high spirits, actually coming here to drink. This old minister has been looking for you!"

Ye Ziyu's expression was obscured by his mask, but the curve of his lips revealed his good mood.

“The Marquis of Anyang is indeed getting old. Look at how he’s panting. He should sit down and rest for a while.”

Qiao Xiuyuan's breath hitched, and a slight blush rose on his refined face.

It wasn't from causing trouble, it was from being angry!

“Your Highness, let’s speak frankly. I hope you can annul your engagement with Xi’er. Xi’er is my daughter-in-law. She only divorced my son due to some misunderstandings. She will soon remarry into the Marquis’s mansion. I hope Your Highness can grant this wish and not steal another man’s wife!”

Upon hearing Qiao Xiuyuan's words, Ye Zeyu's smile widened.

He picked up his wine glass and sipped it slowly, not in a hurry to speak.

This usually shrewd and calculating person has become so impatient.

Sure enough, Su Muxi was special to Qiao Xiuyuan, that old fox.

After finishing his drink, Ye Ziyu slowly spoke, his black gold mask gleaming with a slightly eerie dark light in the afterglow of the setting sun.

"Lord Anyang, you are mistaken. Miss Su is currently a free woman, so how can you say that I stole someone else's wife? Miss Su saved the Empress Dowager before, and the Empress Dowager has long intended to marry her to me. If you want to talk about it, it should be the heir of the Marquis of Anyang who stole my wife!"

Upon hearing this, Qiao Xiuyuan clenched his fists, a murderous glint flashing in his eyes.

Then Ye Zeyu said quietly, "If the Marquis insists, I am not the kind of unreasonable person. However, the Marquis should at least show some sincerity. I will not do something that results in losing both my wife and my army."

Qiao Xiuyuan knew what Ye Zeyu wanted, but he wouldn't give it to him!

"As I said before, the Ministry of War's archives caught fire three years ago, and the letters from that time have long been destroyed. If Your Highness doesn't trust me, you can simply ask anyone for information. I was in Prince Yu's army back then, and I hope more than anyone that the claim that Prince Yu plotted a rebellion was unfounded. But Prince Yu did indeed collude with the enemy, Northern Yan, which is an indisputable fact. Now that nineteen years have passed, why should Your Highness continue to dwell on this matter?"

"Bang!"

Ye Ziyu slammed the wine glass in his hand to the ground. Although his expression was not visible, he exuded a terrifying chill.

"Since Your Excellency is not being sincere, there is no point in saying more! On the fifteenth of next month, the day of my wedding with Miss Su, Your Excellency should remember to come and have a drink at our wedding."

"Xiao Ce, see the guest out!"

Qiao Xiuyuan said nothing more, but looked deeply at Ye Zeyu before turning and leaving.

After everyone left, Xiao Ce hesitated before speaking, "Master, the Ministry of War's archives did indeed catch fire back then. Perhaps Qiao Xiuyuan was telling the truth..."

Ye Ziyu had been by Prince Yu's side since he was a child, and to him, Prince Yu was like his own father.

Although he was only seven years old nineteen years ago, he firmly believed that his uncle, Prince Yu, was not the kind of person who would collude with the enemy, betray the country, or rebel.

Even with the Empress Dowager's protection, he was still ambushed several times after being brought back to the palace for three years.

It's better to die on the battlefield than to be assassinated in the palace.

So he returned to the Xuanwu Army in the northern frontier, where he trained himself and never gave up investigating the truth behind the Prince Yu's rebellion.

Yu Wang's uncle always taught him to be loyal to the country. How could such a person possibly betray the country and rebel?

So he has been secretly investigating all these years.

Those letters from back then, accusing him of treason and collusion with the enemy, were key. But just when he finally gained his own power, the Ministry of War's archives caught fire, and those letters were burned to ashes.

How could there be such a coincidence in the world?

Therefore, that fire must have been caused by human intervention!

The Empress is petty, narrow-minded, and ruthless. If you are her dog and don't have a backup plan, you will be silenced sooner or later.

Qiao Xiuyuan was able to rise from a soldier to the position of Minister of War, so he could not possibly be a simple-minded person. Therefore, he believed that Qiao Xiuyuan must have kept the letter from back then as a way to protect himself.

Whether Qiao Xiuyuan's words are true or not, we'll find out in time. We've already waited so long, a few more days won't make a difference.

After Ye Zeyu finished speaking, he picked up the wine pot, tilted his head back, and took a big gulp of wine, his posture both elegant and casual.

Upon hearing this, Xiao Ce hesitated for a moment before asking in a low voice, "If the Marquis of Anyang doesn't produce the letter, does Your Majesty really intend to marry that Su Muxi as your princess?"

"Why not? It's just a woman, after all. Do you think I'd be short of a pair of chopsticks? Besides, Su Muxi is a very sensible woman. Marrying a wife like her will save me a lot of trouble."

Xiao Ce really wanted to say that Su Muxi was too ugly. Wouldn't it be annoying to look at such a wife every day?

But seeing that his master showed no disdain for Su Muxi, and even seemed to appreciate her, he wisely kept quiet.

I just hope that Marquis Anyang can compromise soon and hand over the letters from back then, so that his master won't have to marry an ugly woman like Su Muxi.

By the time Ye Zeyu finished drinking the entire pot of wine, it was already getting dark.

"Let's go, it's time to go to Xunfang Tower."

As he spoke, he stood up, his tall figure blocking out the remaining rays of the setting sun. Coupled with his cool voice, he didn't look like someone going to a brothel to seek pleasure.