Chapter 21 Three Months of Confinement
Soon, Zhou was brought over, along with an old woman with gray hair—said to be the midwife who delivered her baby years ago.
Upon seeing Madam Zhou, the midwife knelt down with a thud: "Madam, I am so sorry, but I can no longer hide what happened back then!"
She recounted in detail the truth that Zhou had become pregnant out of wedlock, returned to her hometown, and lied to Minister Ye that she was carrying his child. She even produced the jade pendant engraved with Zhou's childhood name—the hush money Zhou had given her back then.
The ladies present were all dumbfounded and stared at Ye Jingshu.
Ye Jingshu's face turned deathly pale. She pointed at the midwife and screamed, "You're lying! I don't know you! You were bribed by Ye Wanning!"
“Whether I’m lying or not, you can find out by asking your mother,” the midwife said.
All eyes were on Zhou.
Zhou was trembling all over, and after a long while, her lips trembled and she couldn't utter a word. Finally, everything went black and she fainted.
With witnesses and physical evidence, what more is there to say?
Ye Jingshu was completely dumbfounded. She collapsed to the ground, her eyes vacant.
The ladies who had just sympathized with her now looked at her with disdain and mockery, as if needles were pricking her.
Ye Wanning felt no emotion upon seeing her disheveled appearance. This was all she deserved. How Ye Jingshu had treated her in her past life, she was simply repaying in kind in this life.
After Ye Jingshu's true identity was exposed, the political climate in the capital completely changed.
Those who had previously mocked Ye Wanning are now busy currying favor with her. After all, everyone knows that Ye Wanning is not only the rightful second young lady of the Marquis's mansion, but also has a close relationship with Prime Minister Pei.
Ye Jingshu was stripped of her privileges as a young lady and expelled from the Marquis's mansion. It is said that on the day she was driven out, she cried bitterly and cursed Ye Wanning with many nasty words along the way. In the end, she was dragged away by two rough old women.
Zhou's situation was even worse. She was locked in the woodshed and given only a bowl of swill a day. Her treatment was worse than that of the servants in the mansion.
After hearing the news, Ye Chengjing remained silent for a long time before finally saying to Ye Wanning, "From now on, you only have me as your brother."
Ye Wanning knew he must be feeling terrible. After all, she was his sister whom he had doted on for over a decade; it would be hard for anyone to accept that she wasn't his biological sister. But she didn't try to comfort him; some pain had to be endured alone.
That day, Ye Wanning was looking at the newly arrived rouge in the rouge shop when the shopkeeper rushed in: "Miss, something terrible has happened! The Third Prince has sent people, saying that the rouge we sell contains prohibited substances, and he wants to shut down the shop!"
Ye Wanning frowned. The Third Prince? Why would he suddenly cause her trouble?
"Let them in."
Soon, several people in official robes walked in. The one in the lead was a middle-aged man with a pointed mouth and monkey-like face, who was the chief clerk of the Third Prince's residence.
"Miss Ye, we are ordered to seal up your shop. Please cooperate." The steward smiled insincerely, his eyes full of contempt.
"May I ask, Chief Secretary, what forbidden items do I use in my shop?" Ye Wanning asked neither humbly nor arrogantly.
"Hmph, still playing dumb?" The chief secretary pulled out a rouge box from his robes. "The rose ointment inside uses rouge insects, a tribute from the Western Regions. That's something only the ladies of the palace can use. You, a young lady from a marquis's household, dare to use it?"
Ye Wanning sneered inwardly; this was deliberately provoking trouble. Cochineal worms were a good thing, but not a forbidden substance; many shops in the capital used them. It was just that she had used them too much, which had aroused the envy of some people.
"Your Excellency is mistaken. These rouge insects were purchased by the old manager of Ci'an Hall through me. They have proper customs clearance certificates. You can check them if you don't believe me," Ye Wanning said.
"Investigate? I think you're just trying to stall for time!" The Chief Secretary ignored her explanation and waved to his men, ordering, "Search!"
Just then, a cold voice came from outside the door: "Who dares to touch Ning's things?"
Everyone looked in the direction of the voice and saw Pei Zhi, dressed in a dark blue official robe, walking in surrounded by a group of guards. His face was expressionless, and his eyes were as cold as ice.
The chief secretary's legs went weak: "Prime Minister Pei... Prime Minister Pei, what brings you here?"
Pei Zhi ignored him and walked straight to Ye Wanning's side, his gaze sweeping over the officials: "Who sent you?"
The chief secretary exclaimed "Ah!" but dared not respond, stammering, "It's...it's His Highness the Third Prince..." He was so frightened that he dared not raise his head.
“The Third Prince?” Pei Zhi sneered. “He seems to have forgotten that merchants in the capital region are under the jurisdiction of the Ministry of Revenue. Does he need a prince to interfere?” He said to the guards behind him, “Take these people away and send them to the Ministry of Justice. Say they falsely claimed to be acting on the prince’s orders and disrupting market order.”
"Yes!" The guards did not hesitate and went up to tie up the officials.
Pei Zhi looked at the terrified Chief Secretary: "And you too."
The chief clerk was terrified: "Prime Minister Pei, spare our lives! We were just following orders!"
Pei Zhi completely ignored him and turned to Ye Wanning, asking, "Are you alright?"
"I'm fine, thank you, Lord Pei." Ye Wanning shook her head, feeling somewhat puzzled. She hadn't expected Pei Zhi to arrive so quickly, even shielding her from the Third Prince's men who came to seal off her shop. Wasn't this blatantly going against the Third Prince?
"It's nothing, not worth mentioning." Pei Zhi remained noncommittal, as if he had merely done a casual favor. "If your shop needs anything else, just let me know."
Looking into his deep pupils, Ye Wanning felt a strange flutter in her heart and looked away, saying, "Thank you, Lord Pei, but it's no need."
Pei Zhi smiled, said no more, and turned to the shopkeeper, saying, "Keep a close eye on the shop. If anyone dares to cause trouble again, just say it was my order."
The shopkeeper quickly bowed and agreed.
Pei Zhi didn't look back, but turned and left.
Watching his retreating figure, Ye Wanning felt a mix of emotions. What was Pei Zhi's purpose?
"Miss, Prime Minister Pei is such a nice man!" Chun Tao leaned closer, a swooning smile on her face. "He's handsome and capable; those officials were terrified like lambs!"
Ye Wanning didn't speak, but she couldn't shake off that strange feeling in her heart.
Back at the manor that evening, Ye Wanning had barely sat down when Ye Chengjing arrived, his face beaming with joy: "Ningning, did you know? After Prime Minister Pei sent those men of the Third Prince to the Ministry of Justice, quite a few things were discovered!"
"Oh? What is it?"
"They admitted that the rumors about your affair with Prime Minister Pei were instigated by the Third Prince!" Ye Chengjing said. "And the time Li Laohu kidnapped you was also related to the Third Prince. He wanted to use this opportunity to hinder our Marquis's mansion and get Father's support!"
Ye Wanning was not surprised. The Third Prince was known for his ruthlessness and would stop at nothing to achieve his goals.
"And now?"
"Now that Father Emperor knows, he gave the Third Prince a severe scolding and confined him for three months!" Ye Chengjing's eyes crinkled with laughter. "This time, we owe a great debt to Prime Minister Pei. If he hadn't detained him, we would never have uncovered so much."
Ye Wanning nodded, feeling more grateful to Pei Zhi. Regardless of his motives, he had indeed helped her this time.
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