Xie Changyu had thought that upon returning from the frontier, his father would petition the emperor to appoint him as the heir apparent.

Who knew that when he returned from three months of hardship on the frontier, Xie Qinglan would be back safe and sound, her leg healed. His mother, however, was punished with confinement, and the position of heir apparent that was within her grasp slipped away.

He was agitated, yet dared not confront Xie Qinglan directly. He also harbored a secret resentment towards Zhang for leaving a handle on Xie Qinglan. The next morning, he invited several of his cronies from the capital out for drinks.

As it turned out, someone got drunk and got into a fight with a group of people nearby. Xie Changyu, as the leader of the group, couldn't just stand by and watch, so he got into a fight with them, relying on the rudimentary skills he had learned in the military camp.

The other side outnumbered them and quickly overpowered them. One of them, in a moment of madness, grabbed a chair and smashed it down on Xie Changyu's leg.

Xie Changyu immediately screamed and fainted.

Seeing the blood seeping from Xie Changyu's leg, the group panicked and scattered like birds, each returning to their own homes. Xie Changyu's attendants hurriedly returned to their residences to fetch help, and they carried Xie Changyu home.

While Zhang was still kneeling in the ancestral hall, she heard that Xie Changyu had been brought back covered in blood. Ignoring the maid's attempts to stop her, she ran to Xie Changyu's courtyard. When she saw her son lying unconscious on the bed, his clothes covered in blood, she immediately fainted.

After examining Xie Changyu, the doctor stated that Xie's thigh bone was broken, and even after it heals, it will result in one leg being longer than the other, causing him to limp.

Most importantly, the injury was located in the groin area, which seemed to have cast a shadow over Xie Changyu's lower body. He was shocked to find that he seemed to be... unable to function.

Xie Changyu could not accept this result no matter what. His face contorted with rage, he grabbed the doctor's collar and threatened, "You quack! If you can't cure me, I'll kill you!"

The doctor was helpless and could only say, "Your injury is not there. Your erectile dysfunction is probably caused by psychological distress due to the severity of your leg injury. There is no cure for this; you just have to come to terms with it yourself. If you don't believe me, you can see another doctor."

The doctor, feeling threatened, looked displeased and stormed off.

The Marquis of Yongyi's mansion invited several renowned orthopedic surgeons, all of whom said that Xie Changyu's injuries were too severe, with his internal bones shattered into pieces, and even if they were set, he would not be able to fully recover.

"I heard that the heir of the Marquis of Yongyi in your household also had a leg ailment before, but it has now been cured. If we can find the doctor who treated his leg, perhaps there is a way to make your leg grow back properly, so that it won't be uneven in length," someone suggested.

Because her son had become like this, Zhang pleaded with Marquis Yongyi for mercy, and spent her days kneeling in the ancestral hall and taking care of her son. Marquis Yongyi softened his heart and temporarily relieved Zhang of her confinement.

Hearing the doctor say this, Zhang suddenly realized, "Yes, yes, go find Xie Qinglan. That itinerant doctor could even cure his leg, he can definitely cure Yu'er's leg too!"

She begged Marquis Yongyi to go to Tinglan Garden with her, and knelt down before Xie Qinglan as soon as they entered.

Xie Qinglan stepped aside, avoiding Zhang Shi.

"Your Highness, I was bewitched back then, which is why I sent people to follow you and try to harm you," Zhang cried. "You can punish me however you want, as long as you bring the itinerant doctor who treated your leg here, I promise I will never target you again!"

Ye Chaoxi: "...What? You'll continue to target us if we don't tell you the whereabouts of the quack doctor?"

"No, that's not what I meant..."

“I apologize, I was cruel, but Yu’er is your own brother, how could you watch him become a cripple? He’s not even married yet! How is he supposed to live?” Zhang wiped away her tears, crying and complaining.

The story of the itinerant doctor was just a fabrication. Even if there were such a person, Xie Qinglan would not tell them his whereabouts.

Xie Changyu, does he even deserve it?

He declined calmly, "Itinerant doctors are always on the move. We just happened to run into them. They cured my leg and then left. Where am I supposed to find them?"

"Besides, I've been blind for eleven years and unable to stand for more than two months due to my leg disability, yet I'm still alive and well, aren't I? Xie Changyu just walks in an unsightly way, how come he can't live?"

"If you can't live, then die."

"Zhuo Qing, see the guest out."

Marquis Yongyi and Lady Zhang returned empty-handed.

Marquis Yongyi knew this was asking the impossible. The itinerant doctor had saved his son by chance; the doctor's whereabouts were uncertain, and even if he went back to look for him, the doctor wouldn't be waiting in the same place. He could only instruct the doctors to do their best to treat Xie Changyu and to recruit renowned physicians to treat his leg and erectile dysfunction.

Zhang hated Xie Qinglan even more.

If he really wanted to find her, how could he not? Xie Qinglan just wouldn't step forward to save Yu'er! If Yu'er breaks her leg and suffers from a chronic condition, Xie Qinglan would be overjoyed!

She even suspected that Xie Qinglan had orchestrated this whole thing. How could his leg have healed while her son's leg was broken?

The older Zhang got, the more she felt that Xie Qinglan was responsible, and she was filled with resentment, but she could only suppress it for the time being.

The doctors invited by the manor were all driven away by Xie Changyu. Every day, Xie Changyu's irritable roars and the sound of things being smashed could be heard from Tianxiang Garden. Anyone who displeased him would be dragged away and beaten with a board. For a time, all the servants were trembling with fear, afraid of being punished.

The man who broke Xie Changyu's leg was the youngest son of the Vice Minister of Justice. The Vice Minister held a high position and was favored by the Emperor, who doted on his youngest son. Upon hearing of his son's misdeeds, the Vice Minister personally brought gifts to apologize, but absolutely refused to hand over his son. The Marquis's family couldn't do anything to the man's son and ultimately had to settle the matter with money.

Upon hearing the outcome, Ye Chaoxi glanced at the man practicing his sword.

She believed that Xie Qinglan was responsible for Xie Changyu's incident.

This chapter is not finished yet. Please click on the next page to continue reading the exciting content!