Qi Feng, upon receiving Duan Huaijin’s command, coincidentally encountered Ye Xia as he was going out, and his eyes instantly took on an especially pitiful look.
Ye Xia failed to comprehend the profound aning behind his gaze, entered with confusion, and then saw the furiously shaking Duan Huaijin and the three kneeling servants. Not understanding the situation, she felt a spark of joy, thinking that Ye Qiu must have offended the Prince.
"Prince, what has happened? Did my younger sister make another mistake?" she asked, feigning magnanimity, "My sister has been spoiled since she was young and does have a bit of a temper. I hope the Prince will not take offense."
Duan Huaijin looked at her as she once again disparaged Ye Qiu, and the anger in his eyes smoldered.
His gaze at this mont was extrely frightening; Ye Xia was thunderstruck and unconsciously stepped back, swallowing hard as she said, "Prince, what’s wrong with you?"
"You say Ye Qiu has been spoiled since she was young?" Duan Huaijin’s piercing gaze swept over her, "You say Ye Qiu has a temper?"
Ye Xia sensed that sothing was amiss with the current situation but did not want to contradict what she had just said, lest all her previous lies be exposed, right?
So, after so consideration she said, "Prince, I am dull-witted, has sothing happened?"
"I? Whose concubine did you say you are?" Duan Huaijin looked at her mockingly, wishing he could tear her to pieces at this very mont. If it were not for her constant deception, if she had not been continually obstructing, perhaps there would not have been so many misunderstandings between him and Qiu’er, perhaps Qiu’er would not be dead now.
Hearing him ask this, Ye Xia’s face turned deathly white. She was already the Princess Consort, and her identity had already been restored. Why did the Prince say this? Or did he know sothing? Was it Ye Qiu? Had she revealed the entire truth? How dare she? How could she do this? She is her own elder sister!
Ye Xia’s mind was in turmoil. Even if Ye Qiu had spoken, what then? Wasn’t she the one the Prince loved the most? How could everything change overnight? What was happening that she was unaware of?
"Prince, what’s wrong with you? What happened? Or did I do sothing to upset you? If you don’t speak, how can I explain to you?" Ye Xia said plaintively yet with a tone of grievance.
"Don’t you know what you’ve done?" Duan Huaijin could no longer suppress the fury in his heart and lashed out with a fierce kick to Ye Xia’s midriff.
Ye Xia, caught off guard and without the courage to dodge, took the kick squarely and fell to the ground in a sorry state, coughing violently with a trickle of blood at the corner of her mouth.
"Prince, I don’t understand what I did wrong to make you so angry? Second sister, you just watch suffer without explaining?" Ye Xia spoke sorrowfully, looking toward the bed, but from her angle she could only see the side of Ye Qiu’s face and didn’t realize that the person was already gone.
"You have the audacity to call for Ye Qiu, hoping she might plead for you? You might as well go down to Hell and ask!" Duan Huaijin, murderous intent rising, clutched at Ye Xia’s throat.
The veins on the back of his hand stood out, clearly exerting a lot of strength. Ye Xia’s eyes rolled back as her hands and feet flailed weakly; with a bit more force from Duan Huaijin at this mont, she would likely die right there and then.
The wet nurse watched, heart pounding with fear. She had not expected Duan Huaijin to be so rciless. Even though Ye Xia had been horrible to the young mistress, she had never wronged Prince Li. Don’t tell her Prince Li was now seeking revenge for his deep love for the young mistress. If he truly loved her, he wouldn’t have ignored her in the first place.
"Please reconsider, Your Highness. Even if you strangle the Eldest Lady to death now, it won’t bring the young lady back," the wet nurse said in an exceptionally cold tone.
Duan Huaijin turned to question the wet nurse with a chilling look, "She indirectly caused the death of your Princess Consort, and yet you still do not seek revenge for her?"
Princess Consort? Who is he referring to? Is it Ye Qiu? She is just an imposter; why should she deserve everything that originally belonged to her? Thinking of this, Ye Xia regained so strength and managed to break free from the slightly loosened grip of Duan Huaijin.
"The Eldest Lady is not the only one responsible for the young lady’s death. Prince, you are one of the culprits as well. Do you also intend to take your own life afterwards?" the wet nurse mocked coldly.
"You..." Duan Huaijin glared at her furiously with a darkened face, then tried to defend himself with a feeble reason, "I was unaware of this before; I was deceived by others. Otherwise, I would never have let the Princess Consort endure such suffering."
The wet nurse did not speak anymore, and Ye Xia, who overheard, was greatly shocked. Ye Qiu is dead? Her younger sister is actually dead? How did it happen so suddenly? Wasn’t she always well?
She then rembered the words of Doctor Liu, which echoed in her mind—Ye Qiu had been frail since birth, and it was already a miracle that she lived to co of age. Even if she had managed to survive the first fifteen years, at most, she would only have one or two more years to live. And now, it seed about two years had passed.
Despite having been aware that she had been subjected to a private punishnt, when it all really happened, Ye Xia was still sowhat bewildered and lancholic. She could not describe how she felt inside, nor knew what expression to make.
Seeing that she showed no sorrowful emotions upon learning of Ye Qiu’s death, Duan Huaijin’s disdain for her deepened even further.
He should have known long ago—whatever favor Ye Qiu received in the Ye Residence, whatever longing she had for glory and wealth, in truth, it was Ye Xia who always possessed those things. It was her who was favored; it was she who coveted wealth and power. Ye Qiu was rely a tool and a substitute for her. When Ye Xia did not want to suffer in the Northwest, she sent Ye Qiu in her stead. And when she learned of his power and influence, she wanted to switch back.
He hated that he had unwittingly beco Ye Xia’s accomplice, hurting Ye Qiu’s heart and losing his own true love.
"You are Qiu’er’s own sister. Since she didn’t expose you while she was alive, then I won’t take your life so swiftly. I will tornt you slowly, making your entire life a living hell, letting you witness imnse power and wealth but never able to enjoy it," Duan Huaijin said, seeking revenge.
The wet nurse still wore a poker face, only the young Shao Yao and Furong felt happy for their young lady. Even though their young lady had gone, at least the Prince was avenging her.
What’s the best revenge for the Eldest Lady, who covets power and wealth the most? It’s to let her desire them all her life and never obtain them.
In the end, the wet nurse failed to stop Duan Huaijin from taking Ye Qiu’s body away, and she couldn’t even keep any of her young lady’s belongings in the end.
Furong and Shao Yao eventually left with their indentures and the silver notes that Ye Qiu had given them, but only the wet nurse remained in that manor, cleaning the room where Ye Qiu once lived every day, keeping it spotless.
Ye Qiu, who had reincarnated in Little Golden Crow’s body, would occasionally visit to check on her, and only after making sure she was doing well would she leave to finish the things she hadn’t completed in her lifeti.
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