Upon hearing the words "old hag," Ye Wenzhou could no longer contain himself and raised his voice.
"Enough!"
Princess Duanmin paused, and then, to everyone's surprise, slapped him across the face.
The elders were so surprised that they all stood up.
Ye Wenzhou was stunned.
Princess Duanmin looked at the man, her eyes filled with unconcealed sorrow. "The most hateful one is you, Ye Wenzhou. You indulged your mother in suppressing me and humiliating me, constantly using filial piety to bind me and make me endure. I endured for twenty years, and what did I get in return? Only her increasing demands and aggravation. A man half-buried in the yellow earth, still thinking about holding onto some power. Just because I was married to your father despite our unequal social status, and was treated coldly by your grandmother, she blamed all these grievances on me. In the end, isn't it all because of you men who pretend to be deaf and dumb?"
The clan elders couldn't stand it anymore.
"Your Highness, you've gone too far. They are your elders, after all. How can you be so arrogant and disrespectful?"
Princess Duanmin doesn't even want her son anymore, so why would she be afraid of their mere warnings and threats?
“If the old man is not satisfied, we will go to the palace and ask His Majesty to judge.” Her eyes revealed a ruthless glint. “Anyway, I have nothing to lose. I am not the one who ruined the Ye family’s reputation, and I did not raise this rebellious son. When the time comes, I will expose all the disgusting things that Li has done and see if your Ye family will still have any dignity. At worst, I will ask His Majesty to grant a divorce.”
Ye Wenzhou's expression suddenly changed.
"What nonsense are you talking about? Jia Yan and the others are your children too, you..."
"Don't forget, my surname is also Xiao."
Princess Duanmin interrupted him coldly, "His Majesty is, after all, my cousin. If we tear off the mask of civility, who do you think His Majesty will side with?"
Ye Wenzhou choked up.
The clan elders were also quite frightened by her resolute decision.
Emperor Hongde showed no mercy to powerful families, let alone the Ye family. Princess Duanmin was right. She was, after all, a member of the imperial family. In the past, she was the only one who could tolerate it. Otherwise, if things got out of hand, even for the sake of the imperial family's reputation, Emperor Hongde would not have given the Ye family a good ending.
Ye Jiayao was terrified. He immediately abandoned his pretentious thoughts, knelt down before her, grabbed her skirt, and cried, "Mother, I know I was wrong. I was wrong before, I didn't understand your good intentions. From now on, I will definitely be filial to you and never make you angry again. Mother, please save me, please save me..."
Blood ties cannot be easily severed.
Even though Princess Duanmin had already lost all affection for this son, seeing him like this still caused her heart to ache.
But she will not soften her heart again.
"It's just removing you from the family register, not asking you to pay with your life. You're much luckier than your grandmother."
Ye Jiayao felt as if he had fallen into an ice cave.
What does it mean to be removed from the family genealogy?
From then on, he would no longer enjoy everything the Ye family had given him, and being removed from the family genealogy meant that he had committed a serious offense, had a stain on his record, could not participate in the imperial examinations, and had no future.
A pampered young master, once living a life of luxury, was reduced to a commoner.
What's the difference between that and being dead?
Ye Jiayao trembled all over, tears still streaming down his face. "Mother, are you really so heartless? I was also born after you carried me for ten months..."
Princess Duanmin suddenly laughed.
"Yes, I carried you for ten months and gave birth to a heartless, ungrateful wretch. I was blind before, thinking you were corrupted by Madam Li, that's why you're so cold-hearted, even cruel to your own husband. But my son, don't you know how Lan Ying died? Madam Li spent her whole life scheming for power within the inner quarters, how could she bear to part with Lan Ying's eyes? You're so eloquent, you must have hinted at it to her quite a bit, right?"
Ye Jiayao let go in alarm and almost fell to the ground.
Princess Duanmin understood his reaction and became even more terrified. "You are only eighteen years old and already have your first child. Your first reaction is not to be happy, but to cry to your grandmother about how to end this. Ask your father what he felt when I was pregnant with you."
Ye Wenzhou fell silent.
This was something he hadn't expected, and it shocked him.
The eldest son usually appeared gentle, humble, kind, and polite, but behind the scenes he was actually so ruthless.
The elders' expressions also changed.
"Jiayao, is what your mother said true?"
Ye Jiayao was struck dumb, turning around and kneeling to plead his innocence, "I didn't! I just wanted Grandmother to send Lan Ying away. She's been by my side for ten years, how could I bear to take her life..."
Princess Duanmin scoffed.
"She became a ghost after she died and never knew she was pregnant. You two, grandfather and granddaughter, are truly depraved. I should bring Lan Ying's ghost back and see if you dare to distort the truth and twist right and wrong in front of her."
Ye Jiayao's face turned pale and he began to tremble again.
He still can't forget what happened that night.
Princess Duanmin's words served as a reminder to everyone.
Lan Ying hasn't been reincarnated yet.
If the Ye family's final handling of the two murderers does not satisfy her, then the entire Ye family may be implicated.
The elders exchanged glances and made a decision.
“The ancestral hall was opened and the family genealogy was drawn up. From then on, Ye Jiayao was no longer a member of the Ye family.”
Ye Jiayao opened his eyes wide and looked at Ye Wenzhou again.
"Father!"
Ye Wenzhou moved his lips, still wanting to plead for mercy.
The eldest clan leader frowned and said, "You are the head of the Ye family; you should consider the bigger picture."
Ye Wenzhou had no choice but to shut up.
Seeing his last hope shattered, Ye Jiayao felt as if struck by lightning, his vision went black, and he fainted.
That evening, he was hastily sent out of the capital by a horse-drawn carriage.
When Madam Ye, who was under house arrest, learned of this, she smashed the medicine bowl.
Her grandson's act of pushing her out to shield her from the knife that night deeply chilled her heart, but the final outcome of the Ye family's actions terrified her even more.
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