After the imperial decree of arranged marriage was issued, Lin Jingxian was in such a panic, especially after receiving a letter from Crown Prince Ye Zheng, which shockingly instructed her to submit herself to Ye Qiu, filling her with sha and indignation.
After several days of anxiety, she finally found an opportunity to et with Ye Zheng.
Seeing the man she thought of day and night, Lin Jingxian rushed over with excitent, but the person catching her had a sowhat complicated expression.
"Jingxian," Ye Zheng whispered in her ear, "Our ti today is limited."
Upon hearing this, Lin Jingxian’s body stiffened slightly, but she quickly regained her composure and gave him a gentle smile.
"Your Highness, is what you wrote in that letter true?" After hesitating for a short while, she uttered tremblingly.
Ye Zheng tightened the hand by his side and then looked at her seriously: "Jingxian, I know you must be heartbroken, but I really have no other way now. Do you realize how tightly Consort Hui is pressing us? If—and I an if—you can find another way to lay hands on Fifth Brother’s wealth in a short ti, I would definitely not wish to involve you with him."
After listening to him, Lin Jingxian felt as if her heart had turned to ash, staring intently at Ye Zheng: "Are you really so heartless?"
Ye Zheng felt uncomfortable under her gaze and blurted out impulsively, "How am I heartless? After being married to Fifth Brother for so many years, haven’t you served him even once?"
Hearing him say this, Lin Jingxian stared in disbelief, her tears streaming down uncontrollably.
"I’m sorry, I’m sorry." Ye Zheng also regretted his words imdiately after they slipped out and quickly held Lin Jingxian, apologizing to her.
"Jingxian, I didn’t an it that way, it’s just the pressure has been too much lately, as you know. If I don’t ascend to that position, death is all that awaits . Do you really want our child to always regard Fifth Brother as their Father? I can’t accept this!"
Lin Jingxian closed her eyes and said nothing; she knew that so things had changed once Ye Zheng had spoken and taken action, yet she still had to help him nonetheless.
"What if—just if—Ye Qiu suddenly died?" Lin Jingxian asked softly.
"What did you say?" Ye Zheng widened his eyes in shock.
Lin Jingxian looked straight at him, as if unaware of how exceptionally treasonous her words were: "If Ye Qiu died, his assets would naturally belong to and Ming’er. Then we could do as we please with them, not only free from others’ judgnt but I could also maintain my innocence."
"You’re mad, he’s my Fifth Brother," Ye Zheng took a deep breath.
"So what?" Lin Jingxian snorted coldly, "Was it not Your Highness who once said that those who seek greatness should not sweat the small stuff? Ye Qiu is not even born of the sa Empress Mother as you, Your Highness; would you really grieve his passing?"
"But?" Ye Zheng hesitated for a mont, "Let think about it."
Lin Jingxian looked at him quietly, pressing the matter: "Your Highness, we don’t have much ti."
"Then tell , what should we do?" Ye Zheng finally hardened his heart and asked her.
Lin Jingxian’s eyes flickered and she lowered her head slightly: "Ye Qiu often frequents pleasure establishnts, and it’s very common to have disputes there. What if he accidentally got seriously hurt during one of these disputes?"
"You’re suggesting?" Ye Zheng pondered the feasibility of Lin Jingxian’s plan and after a mont his eyes shone with a special brightness, "I understand. You go back and wait for the news."
"Then Jingxian will await Your Highness’s good news at the residence," Lin Jingxian smiled, already planning that after the death of Ye Qiu, she would take the opportunity to send that whelp Ye Heng to Western Heaven. As for the two concubines who had not yet entered the residence, with no offspring, what turmoil could they possibly create?
After Lin Jingxian returned to her residence, the person following her also went to Ye Qiu’s courtyard: "Prince, the Princess Consort went to see the Crown Prince, but your subordinate is incompetent and couldn’t hear what they said."
"Don’t bla yourself, the people around the Crown Prince are Hidden Guards carefully arranged by Father Emperor. You all chose not to expose your whereabouts, which was the correct decision." Ye Qiu finished his practice, having reached the final level of the Level 8 Body Forging Technique, and his whole body was drenched with sweat.
On this day, as he usually wandered through those entertainnt houses, he distinctly felt that the atmosphere around him was sowhat different; with just a slight focus of his mind, he knew that two of the servants were new cors, and they were also practitioners, constantly monitoring his movents.
Ye Qiu’s smile deepened, he decided to hold off on taking action, wanting to see what the person behind this was really up to.
"Fifth Young Master has arrived." The Housekeeper approached with a face full of obsequious laughter, "It’s been a while since you ca to see Hong Ying, she has been looking forward to it with great eagerness."
"Been busy with things lately." Ye Qiu said nonchalantly and then sprawled out casually as he sat down, "Is Hong Ying performing today?"
"How could she not perform when Fifth Young Master has a request?" The housekeeper stood by with a smile, "Look, the stage here was prepared long ago."
Ye Qiu glanced up and saw that the stage in the middle had already been set with layers of thin gauze, and a graceful woman sat in the center, with a guqin placed before her.
As soon as she appeared, the entire Fengyue Building broke into applause, exclaiming "Bravo!"
Soon, the lodious sound of the guqin flowed incessantly, enchanting and intoxicating the audience.
As the top act of the establishnt, Hong Ying normally only perford one song in public. Other tis, as long as Ye Qiu was there, she would accompany him, and today was no exception.
However, when Hong Ying retreated from the stage, a guest in a private room beca displeased: "What does this an? I spent one thousand silver taels just to see Miss Hong Ying, and she only plays one song and leaves?"
With soone taking the lead, the rest of the custors also started making a fuss: "Exactly, Miss Hong Ying, please play another."
"This..." The housekeeper, hearing the noise outside, looked at Ye Qiu with difficulty.
"It’s fine, let Hong Ying co up, go handle it, Mom." Ye Qiu curled the corner of his mouth into a smile. The old housekeeper was montarily dazed, Hong Ying was the top act she looked after, her beauty not inferior to that of a wealthy patron’s daughter, but compared with this Master, she was truly a world apart.
The housekeeper thought she could handle the clamoring guest, but did not expect that he was a newly arrived brash young master from the capital; the more others tried to stop him today, the more he insisted on being served by Miss Hong Ying, and his commotion had reached right outside Ye Qiu’s private room.
"Bang!" The door to the private room was violently kicked open, and Ye Qiu’s eyes narrowed.
"How dare you!" Little Lu scolded, standing in front of Ye Qiu to shield him.
"Who’s this lackey daring to block my way?" The young master attempted a kick at Little Lu, putting his full force into it; had Ye Qiu not quickly pulled him out of the way, Little Lu might have suffered a serious punishnt today.
But the young master’s kick missed, and he nearly fell due to his off-balance, turning red-faced, his glare towards Ye Qiu growing even more hostile.
"Beat him up for ," he commanded viciously.
"Young Master, you mustn’t!" The housekeeper yelled.
"Shut up." This ti the young master’s kick firmly connected, and the housekeeper’s plump body rolled far away.
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