Yin Jiuniang put away the shawl and said slowly, "You deserve to be beaten for daring to lie to His Majesty, disregarding imperial authority, and putting the General's Mansion in an unjust position."

Ye Wantang didn't ask that. "You're talking nonsense. Who are you? I don't know you. Who are you to me as an elder?"

Yin Jiuniang smoothed a strand of hair behind her ear and chuckled, "You've gone to great lengths to find me, yet you don't know who I am. How amusing."

"Are you Yin Jiuniang?"

The only woman Ye Wantang has been looking for recently is Yin Jiuniang, who is on good terms with Ye Jinghong.

The person just now called himself Shui Wuhen, and Ye Zhen called her master, so she didn't think of the two of them together.

No wonder Yin Jiuniang wrote to Shegu, asking her to take care of Ye Zhen; it turns out she was Ye Zhen's master.

Yin Jiuniang clicked her tongue and shook her head, "Your brain is really not even one ten-thousandth as good as your mother's."

Ye Wantang hated it most when people said she wasn't like Ye Jinghong. She was also spanked in public, and her body was in excruciating pain, yet she still felt a lump in her throat.

“You’re just an ordinary friend of my mother’s. How can you be my elder? You’re clearly hitting me on behalf of Ye Zhen.”

She cried out, "Your Majesty, my mother died in battle, and I have been alone for many years. Now this woman from the martial world dares to use torture on me in the palace. I beg Your Majesty to do justice for me!"

The Grand Princess also said, "Your Majesty, today we are discussing the important matter of the epidemic, but this woman has entered the palace to cause trouble and delay important national affairs. This is truly disrespectful."

According to the laws of the Great Abyss, the crime of great disrespect is punishable by exile for minor offenses and death by slow slicing for serious offenses.

On her way here, Yin Jiuniang had already heard from Xie Tingzhou's men about the Grand Princess's actions against Ye Zhen.

She smiled and bowed to the Grand Princess, but a cold glint flashed in her eyes.

"Princess Heyi burned her wedding dress in the flames and went to war alone. She was worried about the country and the people and cared about the common people. She should be as compassionate as the Buddha. How could she want to kill people so easily?"

"I have consulted His Majesty. Could it be that because I have stayed in Dongwu for several years, the Grand Princess now holds sway over our Great Yuan?"

With this serious accusation leveled against her, the Grand Princess's eyes flashed with murderous intent, but she knelt down and said, "Your Majesty, please forgive me. I had no such intention. I was only worried about the smallpox."

The emperor did not wake her.

The old princess has been acting too wildly lately; she definitely needs to be disciplined.

Xie Tingzhou stepped forward and said, “Your Majesty, I also received news today that there is smallpox in Wenzhou. Ye Zhen was successfully vaccinated at her residence, so I brought her to the palace to share Your Majesty’s worries.”

Ye Zhen also stepped forward, saying, "The method of smallpox inoculation was indeed learned by me from my aunt's notes, and I have already explained the procedure in detail to Chief Physician Feng."

The woman meticulously recorded in a book the various reactions of everyone in the household after smallpox vaccination, as well as the corresponding coping strategies.

She presented the booklet with both hands, and the emperor gestured for Chen Banjun to retrieve it.

"I knew it was you who stole Mother's notebook."

Ye Wantang hurriedly said, "Your Majesty, that was left to me by my mother, but Ye Zhen stole it."

"Ye Wantang, the manuscript was not stolen by me."

Ye Zhen said in a deep voice, "On the contrary, you keep saying that it was left to you by your aunt, but do you remember what was inside?"

Ye Wantang certainly didn't remember, otherwise how could she have failed?

Then Ye Zhen said, "Since it is an important thing left to you by your deceased mother, you should cherish it, read it frequently, and even memorize it. How could you not know what is on it?"

My aunt clearly recorded that using fresh smallpox pus for inoculation would result in the virus not being inactivated, leading to an extremely high mortality rate. This was a wrong method, and my aunt warned me with a red pen that it should never be tried.

But you used this method on a beggar, which shows that you did not read the notes carefully.

"This notebook came into my possession when I was ten years old. You accuse me of stealing it, where is your evidence?"

Ye Wantang was filled with hatred.

It turned out that Ye Jinghong had warned her against using this method. She was young and her memory was hazy. She only remembered Ye Jinghong repeating it many times, so she thought that was the smallpox inoculation technique.

The fact that things have turned out this way, and that we've lost all face, is all Ye Jinghong's fault.

She argued, "I am my mother's daughter. My mother said she would keep the notes for me. How could I give them to you?"

What evidence do you have to prove that it was a gift from your mother? It's clearly something you stole.

"Me!"

A lazy, slightly hoarse voice rang out, and Yin Jiuniang pointed to her own nose, "I am the witness."

Zhen'er was interested in military strategy, and Jinghong Shuxin taught her. I thought Jinghong Shuxin wasn't fast enough, so I made a trip myself and carried all her military books to the south. The handwritten notes were mixed in with them.

Upon realizing I had taken the wrong note, I intended to return it to Jinghong, but she said it was fate and gave the note to Zhen'er instead.

"impossible."

Ye Wantang refused to believe it.

Yin Jiuniang sneered, "You've been uneducated and incompetent since childhood, and you can't endure any hardship. Jinghong is willing to teach you, but you make all sorts of excuses to refuse."

I'm extremely disappointed. I'll leave the things with you, but who knows when you'll burn them or lose them.

"Giving it to Zhen'er can benefit all living beings; isn't it coming in handy now? Jinghong truly had foresight."

Ye Wantang was unwilling to accept defeat, so she looked at the Grand Princess, hoping she could speak on her behalf.

The Grand Princess's face darkened, but remembering the leverage Ye Wantang held over him, she still spoke up, "You are Ye Zhen's teacher, so naturally you will help Ye Zhen..."

"No, no."

Yin Jiuniang shook her finger, interrupting the old princess, "Besides being Ye Zhen's teacher, I am also the wife of the General's Mansion and Ye Wantang's elder."

She calmly took out a marriage certificate from her sleeve and presented it to the emperor.

"Your Majesty, back then, when I was holding a martial arts contest to choose a husband, Ye Jinghong disguised himself as a man, caught my embroidered ball, wrote down this marriage agreement, and even had it stamped by the government."

She smiled slowly, "So, according to the law, I am Ye Jinghong's wife, which means I am Ye Wantang's elder."

Now that Jinghong is gone, it is my duty to properly discipline her wayward children.

Yin Jiuniang gracefully walked up to the Grand Princess and said, "Your Highness, this is a family matter of the General's Mansion. Please do not interfere."

Hmph, how dare she bully her Zhen'er! If she dares to say another word, she'll expose her secrets and tear her skin off.

Everyone was speechless upon hearing this.

It is absurd for a woman to marry another woman, but a marriage stamped with the official seal is protected by law.

According to the marriage certificate, Yin Jiuniang is indeed Ye Wantang's elder.

Ye Zhen was also shocked and slightly opened her mouth. She only knew that her master and mother had a very good relationship, but her master had never told her about this matter.

Yin Jiuniang looked at her silly disciple, resisted the urge to rub her head, and tilted her head to blink gently.

Then, she looked at Xie Tingzhou, and their eyes met. Yin Jiuniang raised her chin.

Then she turned to the emperor and said, "Your Majesty, Wan Tang has deceived the emperor and disregarded human life. As an elder, I have no face to let her become a royal daughter-in-law. I beg Your Majesty to withdraw her marriage to the Crown Prince."

Wang Yushi and the Fang family, who had been watching from the sidelines, hurriedly chimed in, listing all of Ye Wantang's recent misdeeds and rebuking her for being unworthy of being the Crown Princess.

Xie Tingzhou also cupped his hands in greeting, "The Crown Prince has not returned for many years. Perhaps it is because he is unwilling to marry a woman like Ye Wantang that he dares not return."

If General Ye knew in the afterlife that his daughter had grown up to be like this, he would probably hope to cancel the marriage.

Upon hearing this, Ye Wantang felt as if the sky had fallen. She quickly signaled to the Grand Princess for help, otherwise she would drag Fu Jiang down to hell with her...