As the last rays of sunset faded, Ye Lisheng ordered a grand banquet to be prepared. No one touched their chopsticks, all waiting for Yanran to arrive so they could begin eating together.
The sound of whips cracking echoed from Consort Li's elegant garden, where a fierce-looking old woman was brandishing a whip.
The person who was hit was thin and had disheveled hair, as if he had been grabbed and pulled.
Her face was deathly pale, and the handprint was clearly visible. Upon closer inspection, it turned out to be Yanran.
She crawled into a corner, hugging herself and trembling, her innocent eyes fixed on Consort Li.
Consort Li spat on the ground and said viciously, "You lowly wretch, you dare to seduce my son and become a phoenix!"
The old woman chimed in, "Your Highness, she's from the Apricot Blossom Pavilion, she's got a lot of tricks up her sleeve!"
"She might be a used-up woman!"
"Pah!" With that, he splashed the scalding tea in his cup all over Yanran's face.
The scalding tea made her let out a painful whimper.
"Your Majesty, please investigate thoroughly. Yanran had no intention of seducing the Prince!"
"So it was the Eighth Prince who seduced you?"
Her words left Yanran speechless.
"No...no, we are mutually in love!"
Consort Li seemed to have heard the biggest joke in the world: "Mutual affection?"
"If the Eighth Prince were a poor commoner, would you still be in love with him?"
"Yes!" she blurted out with a firm look in her eyes.
“You are a lowly person from Xinghualou, while the Eighth Prince is the sun hanging high in the sky. You are as lowly as the mud. What can you do to help him if you are with him?”
"I..." Tears streamed down my face like a burst dam.
She wanted to refute her, but couldn't find a reason; what was worse, she even thought she was right.
"But...but I love him!"
This was the first time she had boldly expressed her love in front of others.
Unexpectedly, these words enraged Consort Li.
"What do you even know about love? Do you even know what you'll be facing in the future?"
"Granny Du!"
"This old servant is here!"
Consort Li curled her lips into a sinister smile and gave her a look. Du Mama immediately knew what she was about to do.
Granny Du beckoned to the palace maids behind her, and they all swarmed around Yanran with ill intent.
Like a wounded rabbit, she kept retreating until she was cornered with nowhere left to go.
What are you trying to do?
She cried out in her heart, "Your Highness, save me!"
"Grab her hand!"
"Ah!" Yanran's miserable scream echoed throughout the entire elegant garden.
"Hold her legs down!"
"Swish!" The sound of tearing cloth rang out, and Yanran struggled desperately but to no avail.
"Help!"
"Please, please let me go!" she pleaded again and again, but received no pity or salvation from anyone.
Ye Xuanling called out from the side, "Everyone, please wait a little longer, Yanran will be here soon!"
He said that, but deep down he was terribly worried.
"Your Highness!" his guard suddenly called from outside the door.
Ye Xuanling's eyes lit up, and she jumped up excitedly, saying, "They're here!"
He strode out, only to find that the person he longed for was not behind the guard.
"Where's Yanran?!"
The guard, Dongfang, avoided his gaze, not daring to look at him; he immediately sensed something bad was about to happen.
"I'm asking you, where is Yanran!"
"Your Highness, Miss Yanran has been summoned to the palace by Her Majesty!"
Ye Xuanling's heart skipped a beat, and she called out in a panic, "Sixth Brother!"
Ye Lisheng patted his shoulder: "It's alright, I'll accompany you to the palace!"
Ye Lisheng and Ye Xuanling each rode a horse towards the palace. Because I was worried about Yanran, I begged Ye Lisheng to take me with him into the palace.
The empty room reeked of decay, and several rats scurried about.
Yanran huddled to one side, her face streaked with tears, looking utterly heartbroken.
Her snow-white body was crisscrossed with wounds, barely covered by any clothing.
Granny Du took all her clothes and threw them away. As she left, she said with a look of disgust, "You little slut, let's see what you can use to seduce the prince now!"
"Your Majesty!"
Du Mama bowed respectfully to Consort Li.
"How about it?"
"It's still a virgin!"
Just when Yanran thought it was over, a nightmare was about to begin.
With a loud "bang!", like the final pronouncement of death, the door was pushed open.
Yanran painfully opened her eyes and saw several men.
She screamed in fright, "Get out! What are you doing?"
She looked pitiful, but it did nothing to help.
Upon entering the elegant garden, a suffocating feeling immediately arose. It was as if she knew Ye Xuanling would arrive, and she had been waiting there for a long time.
"Mother, where is Yanran?" he asked.
Consort Li coldly asked, "Where are your rules?"
"Tell me where Yanran is first, Mother. I will apologize to you after I find her!"
"I just want you to see her true colors!"
"ah!"
Just then, a mournful sound echoed through the sky.
It's Yanran.
Ye Xuanling was the first to react and ran towards the source of the sound, her steps somewhat unsteady.
Ye Xuanling located the house from which the sound was coming and kicked it open.
Time stood still for a moment.
"Your Highness..."
He swiftly took off his robe and covered Yanran with it.
He held her tightly in his eyes, while Yanran, like a rag doll, stared blankly, tears streaming down her face.
He glared at the men and said coldly, "Chop them up and feed them to the dogs!"
"Yes, Your Highness!"
"Your Highness, spare us! It was the Empress who ordered us to do this!"
"Your Highness, spare my life!"
After a while, when Consort Li saw him holding Yanran, she hurriedly asked, "Don't you understand my good intentions?"
"All my mother has shown me is the constant hurting of the person I love most!"
"Your mother is doing all this for your own good!"
"I think I'm doing this for your own good!"
"You and she will never have a future together!"
"I don't believe it, I'll just have to try!"
Consort Li was feeling somewhat powerless; watching his departing figure, tears suddenly streamed down her face.
"Granny, did I do something wrong?"
"Your Majesty, you are not wrong. You did all this for the good of the Eighth Prince!"
Ye Lisheng naturally wanted to see his mother when he entered the palace. Firstly, to introduce me to her, and secondly, because some things had happened recently and he was worried about her.
Seeing the three large characters "Yu Huan Palace" filled me with a sense of trepidation.
"Ye Lisheng, let's go check on Yanran first!"
"She's being taken care of by Lao Ba, we'll go see her later!"
"I……"
Seeing that I took a few steps back, he knew what I was thinking, so he joked, "Even an ugly daughter-in-law has to meet her in-laws sooner or later!"
"Ye Lisheng!" My voice suddenly rose several decibels.
"With me here, what are you afraid of!"
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