Helian Ye was a smart man; he only hesitated for a moment before realizing what was happening.

“I didn’t do what happened at Zhilan Pavilion; it was my elder brother who did it.”

He explained.

"I only heard about this after I fled to Dae Hee."

Xiao Qingyin scoffed: "What's the difference between what your elder brother did and what you did? This matter is essentially your Northern Gold using tricks and schemes to plunder the wealth of our Great Xi."

Helian Ye gave a wry smile.

"What you said makes sense, but my older brother and I are really not on the same side. He can't wait to get rid of me."

"This time I suffered a fatal wound. If it weren't for Doctor Xiao's miraculous healing skills, I would be dead."

Xiao Qingyin remained indifferent.

"Who knows if this is a ruse by your Helian clan?"

"Maybe you're not satisfied with swindling 20 million taels and want to try again."

Helian Ye sighed.

"If you don't believe me, just give me the Truth Pill or something, and see if what I'm saying is true."

He had visited Da Xi and had been keeping an eye on Da Xi's activities ever since he returned to China. He was quite aware of Xiao Qingyin's abilities.

Xiao Qingyin put away the scalpel and said slowly, "Since that's the case, then explain what happened between you and your brothers."

"It's a long story."

Helian Ye gazed wistfully at the top of the tent.

"It all started with my mother..."

His mother was of commoner origin and had a childhood sweetheart. The two agreed to get married after the sweetheart passed the imperial examination.

Unexpectedly, when her childhood sweetheart went to the capital to take the imperial examination, she met the emperor on his southern tour on the street and was taken back to the palace, becoming one of his many concubines.

She refused to yield even unto death, but the emperor threatened her with the promise of a childhood sweetheart, leaving her no choice but to comply.

Not long after entering the palace, she became pregnant.

At that time, his childhood sweetheart passed the imperial examination and married a new woman.

She had no business and just drifted along.

He was born with a strange illness, but she didn't care much about it. She just carefully concealed it and didn't let others know.

As he grew older and his talents became apparent, some people began to target him and his mother.

The one who struck the hardest was the mother of that eldest brother.

She poisoned their food.

It was a hot summer day, and he had no appetite and didn't eat.

The Empress Dowager ate it all by herself.

And that was it.

He was left to fight alone in the palace surrounded by wolves.

He secretly revealed his strange illness and stopped paying attention to his studies. Gradually, fewer people were targeting him.

When the emperor learned of his strange illness, perhaps feeling that having such a son had damaged his reputation, he forbade anyone to publicize it.

She no longer paid any attention to him.

He grew up in the palace like a wild grass that no one cared for or paid attention to.

After leaving the palace and establishing his own residence, the most important task he received was to lead a delegation to Da Xi to welcome the princess who was to be married off.

Da Xi gave him a surprise.

He obtained a formula from Xiao Qingyin to control the strange disease, and from then on, as long as he persisted in taking the medicine, he could become a normal person.

This gave him great encouragement.

After returning to China, when he was once again bullied and ridiculed by his brothers, something called ambition arose in his heart.

He was no longer content with merely existing.

So he found a way to be transferred to the border and became a general guarding the frontier.

The border region was desolate, without even a decent geisha house, which his brothers disdained.

He was very happy.

Border troops are still troops, and it's always better to be a general with military power than to be an idle prince in the capital.

Moreover, since the mountains are high and the emperor is far away, no one knows what arrangements he has made here.

As long as he accumulates enough power, he will eventually return to the capital.

But he never expected that his elder brother, who was almost demonically intelligent, would actually set his sights on the gold and silver of Da Xi, and used the Princess Consort of Ping to set up a scam, swindling tens of millions of taels of silver from her.

The silver hidden inside honeycomb briquettes, transported from Daxi to Beijin, went unnoticed by anyone.

Honeycomb briquettes are a specialty of Da Xi, but not in Bei Jin. Many wealthy people in Bei Jin are willing to pay a high price to buy them as a way to keep warm, distinguishing them from ordinary people.

However, honeycomb briquettes are needed to pass through the border town he is stationed in after crossing the border.

His elder brother, fearing something might happen, sent a large number of people to the border town.

Over time, the fact that his strange illness had been cured became known to the public.

His elder brother, who always preferred to kill rather than let go, immediately arranged for an assassination after discovering the secret.

His bodyguards have thwarted countless assassination attempts.

His true strength was thus exposed.

This led to even more frenzied assassinations.

Despite meticulous planning, a single oversight led to their eventual success.

He was too badly injured to be treated by the doctors in the border town, so they had to risk coming to the capital of Da Xi to seek Xiao Qingyin's help.

His elder brother's men relentlessly pursued him, forcing him and his subordinates to repeatedly change their identities and routes.

They arrived after a very dangerous journey.

He was forced to hide nearby after discovering that someone was lying in ambush outside the city.

"After hiding, we ended up in this village."

He forced a smile.

He subconsciously looked at Mengzhu, and felt a dull pain in the back of his head.

Meng Zhu snorted coldly: "Why are you looking at me? You showed up in my room in the middle of the night. I've already been merciful enough by not beating you to death."

Helian Ye nodded obediently: "You are right, young lady. I was rude. Please forgive me."

Meng Zhu remained silent, which was taken as acceptance of his apology.

Xiao Qingyin tapped her hand lightly twice on the side table: "Now that you're saved, how do you plan to pay for the medical treatment?"

A hint of appreciation flashed in Helian Ye's eyes.

"Talking to Doctor Xiao is so easy."

He chuckled softly.

My dear reader, there's more to this chapter! Please click the next page to continue reading—even more exciting content awaits!