The Empress asked him, "Do you know that the person who killed the bandits was Ye Qingxue, the eldest daughter of the Marquis's family? And the person who saved Princess Rongqing was also Ye Qingxue?"
"What!" Prince Ding was completely stunned and subconsciously retorted, "That's impossible! She had a secret rendezvous with Pan Heng all night, how could she possibly kill the bandits and save Princess Rongqing? She's just a brainless and uncouth woman who grew up in a manor, she doesn't have that kind of ability!"
The Queen was not surprised by his reaction, because she had initially disbelieved it as well, but it was the truth.
"Wei Jingtong's embezzlement has also been discovered. Today, the Emperor secretly sent people to Jingzhou to dig out all of his manor in Jingzhou and the stolen goods hidden in the cave."
The emperor handled this matter discreetly and swiftly; her spies received no information before the emperor had already completed the task.
She had recently gone to the imperial study to deliver soup to the emperor, who was in a bad mood, and that's why he told her about it.
They probably figured Wei Jingtong couldn't escape, so they figured it wouldn't hurt to tell her, which is why she learned about it before the Prince of Ding.
Prince Ding's face turned ashen. The stolen goods that Wei Jingtong had embezzled were all intended to be used to secretly raise a private army, but they had actually been discovered and dug up.
"Mother, please don't tell me that Ye Qingxue was the one who reported this to Father!"
The Empress closed her eyes, finding it hard to accept the outcome, just like Prince Ding. But she had no choice but to say, "Yes, it was she who brought up Wei Jingtong's embezzlement to the Emperor's attention."
"She even found out where Wei Jingtong hid his stolen goods and women. The soldiers sent by the emperor found the stolen goods without any effort. So, Wei Jingtong is completely finished. The Wei family may have already been searched and he will soon be sent to prison."
The Queen spoke very slowly.
"When he was alive, Marquis Zhongyong was a man of great integrity, truly 'one man can hold the pass against ten thousand!'"
"Ye Qingxue is his biological daughter, and he has his blood flowing through her veins, so it's not surprising that she has such talent!"
Ye Qingxue ruined their plans. Although the Empress was reluctant to describe Ye Qingxue in this way, she also wanted Prince Ding to see the truth and understand Ye Qingxue's capabilities.
Prince Ding was horrified. His face turned pale, even his lips were white. He kept backing away until he reached the chair. He touched the armrest of the chair and slowly sat down.
I wanted to pour myself a cup of tea to calm down, but I knocked over the teapot, and the cup rolled to the ground, spilling porcelain shards and tea everywhere, making a complete mess.
Prince Ding didn't bother to tidy up, but looked at the Empress: "Mother, Wei Jingtong is one of our people. His whole family has been imprisoned. Will this implicate us?"
The Empress stepped forward and stroked his head to comfort him: "My son, don't be afraid. Wei Jingtong has a young son who is only five years old this year. As long as we promise him that we will help him rescue his son and save him from beheading or exile, and leave a continuation of the Wei family line, he will not betray us."
"Good, good, Mother is so thoughtful!" Prince Ding wiped the sweat from his forehead, then frowned again, remembering something else.
"Mother, it is said that Ye Qingxue had a secret rendezvous with the eldest son of the Pan family last night. I was furious, thinking that she had humiliated me and trampled on the royal family's reputation. So this evening, I went to the Marquis's residence with my aunt, the Princess, and broke off my engagement with Ye Qingxue!"
"The annulment letter has been written, and in order to let the outside world know that I sincerely want to repay the Marquis Zhongyong's life-saving grace in the past, I have turned to marry the second young lady of the Ye family, after all, she is also the Marquis Zhongyong's biological daughter."
"But now that Ye Qingxue has brought down Wei Jingtong, she has made a great contribution to the Emperor. She is also the daughter whom the Marquis of Zhongyong once requested the Emperor to marry. What should I do if the Emperor finds out that I have broken off the engagement and blames me for it?"
The Empress originally looked down on Ye Qingxue and hoped that Ye Yabing could become the Princess Consort of Ding. After hearing the story of Ding's background, she was able to understand him.
But she couldn't help feeling pain and regret in her heart—if only she hadn't broken off the engagement.
Even if Prince Ding really did come to break off the engagement, but didn't bring the Princess and didn't write a letter of annulment, it would still be manageable.
If we go back and say that Prince Ding made such an absurd decision in a fit of anger, and now that he knows the truth, he feels very sorry for Ye Qingxue, and if we argue a bit more, we can still save the marriage.
But now, the eldest princess is a witness, and the annulment letter is physical evidence. Even if Prince Ding regrets his actions and apologizes, it will be difficult to turn the tide if Ye Qingxue does not forgive him.
...Oh right, they could get Ye Qingxue to forgive them and not hold the annulment of the engagement against them!
"My son, listen to your mother. Go and apologize to Ye Qingxue. Tell her that you were unaware of the truth and hurt her. You are ashamed and beg for her forgiveness."
"She grew up in the countryside, was abandoned by her parents, and was abandoned by her family. If you treat her even slightly well, she will forgive you and make up with you again."
"Moreover, she has had a hard life since childhood. If she could become your Princess Consort, she would be overjoyed and would not refuse!"
Prince Ding felt that the Empress's words made a lot of sense, and his panic subsided considerably. "Your subject will not go to see Father Emperor now, but will go directly to Ye Qingxue!"
Just as Prince Ding was about to leave, he remembered Ye Yabing again: "Mother, after I broke off my engagement with Ye Qingxue, I immediately asked to marry the second daughter of the Ye family and even made a betrothal contract. If I marry Ye Qingxue by imperial decree, what will happen to the second daughter?"
Ye Yabing was the one he truly loved. The thought of marrying Ye Qingxue instead of Ye Yabing sent a pang of pain through his heart.
Her face was so beautiful, her eyes so bright; she was only suited to smiling, not to crying.
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