Ye Pei was not wrong—officials could not miss court without reason. Even if one reported illness, the palace would immediately send someone to check, always needing to know what illness the official had and whether they truly needed to take leave.
The person who came took one look at the situation in the Ye household, felt the pulse, and confirmed that Ye Pei would not be able to attend court today.
Today was a special day. Two imperial physicians came one after another, carefully checked the pulses, each prescribed several doses of medicine, and then hurriedly left.
Ye Xiren struggled to sit up, her voice weak: “How is it?”
Xue Chan quickly brought over the prepared medicine and carefully fed it to her. “Second Miss, drink the medicine first. Madam and the eldest young master are fine now—the poison has been neutralized. They just need to rest properly. You and the master were poisoned the most severely, especially the master, who is still asleep. The imperial physician said he won’t wake until at least tonight and needs to take two doses of medicine…”
Seeing Ye Xiren frown, she explained further:
“The imperial physician said it was only Datura flower seeds, and the dosage wasn’t large. Once the poison is neutralized, it won’t harm the master’s health. He’s just sleeping now, and the imperial physician said it’s best not to wake him—it will aid his recovery…”
Ye Xiren sneered.
She was the one who had poisoned him, so naturally she knew the extent.
“Tell Uncle Jiang that since he’s already taken leave and can’t attend court, let Father rest well. Whatever you do, don’t wake him. Let him sleep until tomorrow,” Ye Xiren murmured.
Wasn’t the evidence supposed to arrive on the fourth day of the third month?
Then wait until tomorrow to wake him.
Ye Xiren drank the medicine, lay back down dizzily, and tugged at Xue Chan’s sleeve to instruct her: “Have someone go out and inquire about today’s peace negotiations… If nothing can be learned outside, go find Uncle Jiang and my brother. They know Father’s old friends and might be able to gather some news…”
After saying this, Ye Xiren sank into darkness.
Ye Pei was an extremely cautious man. He had been frequently absent from home these past two days, so she hadn’t had a chance to make him fall for the trap. She could only go to the kitchen and add the poison to the breakfast Ye Pei would eat today. Except for Grandmother, who had her own separate kitchen, the entire family ate that breakfast and were all poisoned together.
She had to control the dosage. Since she ate breakfast with Ye Pei, she was more severely poisoned.
But compared to being dragged to Caishikou for beheading, as long as she could survive, this suffering was nothing.
“I don’t know who could be so wicked as to dare poison the Minister’s household…” Xue Chan’s voice gradually faded away.
The “wicked” person was now sleeping, and because she was alive, she slept very peacefully.
If he couldn’t attend court, how could he take the blame?
Evening.
“Miss, Miss! The master has woken up. He’s angry right now and is calling for you to go over!” Xue Chan gently shook Ye Xiren, waking her.
Ye Xiren woke groggily.
She had had a good dream. In it, Ye Pei slept until the next day before waking up. The peace negotiations had already concluded, Bei Yan and Daliang had signed the treaty, Bei Yan had returned to the grasslands, and the northern territories were returned to their Daliang.
Those who had been displaced had homes again. In the alleys of Wenlin Fang, there were no longer homeless people. Grain prices fell, everyone had enough to eat, no one had to sell their children or exchange children to eat, there was no need for war, no conscription, no one died on the battlefield… The world was at peace, and there were no more wars.
Ye Xiren’s gaze gradually cleared. She glanced at the sky—it was completely dark outside. Ye Pei had indeed slept until evening.
Had the calamity passed?
“Help me get dressed,” she said, relatively calm.
After changing clothes, having some pastries, and rinsing her mouth, Ye Xiren slowly made her way to the main courtyard. Inside, chaos reigned—Madam Liao’s anxious voice drifted in and out, mingling with Ye Changming’s constant attempts to soothe.
"Father, it’s already too late for you to go now. First, take your medicine and rest properly. The imperial physician said you won’t be fully detoxified until tomorrow. Going to the palace now won’t accomplish anything. Please wait until tomorrow," Ye Changming urged.
"Tomorrow will be too late!"
Ye Pei’s voice was weak, filled with urgency and anger as he suppressed his fury to ask, "Changming, have you heard any news? What’s the situation right now? How are the peace talks going?"
Having slept all day at home, he knew nothing of what was happening outside.
Ye Changming shook his head, his brow furrowed tightly. "It’s still unclear. No news has come out. Uncle and the others are all at the palace, and the palace gates haven’t opened yet."
At this hour, the palace gates still hadn’t opened?!
"This is bad!" Ye Pei’s face paled drastically, and he cried out urgently, "Take me to the palace at once!"
It was at this moment that Ye Xiren walked in.
For the first time, Ye Pei lost his temper with her. A teacup shattered at her feet as his hoarse voice roared in fury, "Ye Xiren! Do you have any idea what you’ve done?!"
The moment he woke up, he had guessed—the poison had been administered by his own daughter.
Ye Xiren halted her steps and looked up at him, perfectly lucid. "I know. I was saving the Ye family, saving Grandmother, saving Mother and Brother, saving myself."
Knowing full well that Ye Pei intended to send them to their deaths, what was wrong with her trying to stop him?
Ye Pei stared at her, his breathing ragged. After a moment, he flung his sleeve aside and ordered, "Prepare the carriage!" He needed to leave for the palace immediately.
A servant acknowledged the order and hurried out.
Madam Liao’s face was etched with worry as she sighed deeply. "What is all this? Why has our family been struck by so many misfortunes lately? May heaven protect us and bring swift peace…"
Ye Pei had already stepped out of the main courtyard.
Just then, someone stumbled in from outside. Jiang Sui, his face pale, was carrying another guard covered in blood as he rushed forward, startling everyone in the room.
What had happened?!
"Master! Something terrible has happened!" Jiang Sui shouted.
"What’s happened?" Ye Pei looked at the guard and recognized him, his body trembling. "Yun Shun? What’s happened to you? Where’s Zheng Wen Jue?"
The newcomer was the personal attendant of Zheng Wen Jue, the Prefect of Southern Capital. Just by looking at his condition, it was clear they had encountered trouble, and the situation was dire.
Ye Xiren’s heart skipped a beat.
Yun Shun’s face was streaked with tears, his body bearing wounds. His legs gave way, and he collapsed to the floor, his voice choked with sobs:
"Lord Ye! Our master is gone!
"During the peace talks today, Chizhan Lan Ce was willing to return Beidu and retreat to the Sixteen Prefectures, but Bei Yan had two non-negotiable demands: first, execute General Yan, who holds a grudge against them; second, Daliang must pay annual tribute to Bei Yan.
"After lengthy debates in court, their demands were ultimately accepted. Prime Minister Jiang spent several hours negotiating the details with Chizhan Lan Ce, and both sides signed the Peace Treaty."
Hearing this, Ye Pei’s pupils contracted, his body swaying as if on the verge of collapse.
General Yan was dead!
"What happened next?" he pressed urgently.
If the peace talks had truly gone smoothly, Yun Shun wouldn’t be in this state, and Zheng Wen Jue, the Prefect of Southern Capital, wouldn’t be dead.
“At noon, General Yan was beheaded. His Majesty ordered that his body be properly collected. Just now, Lord Bai, the Chief Minister of the Dali Temple, discovered that General Yan’s head was missing from the coffin and immediately reported it to His Majesty. The palace is in turmoil! The Northern Yan Delegation has joined forces with the Imperial City Department in a rebellion, attempting to surround and kill His Majesty and the court officials!”
Yun Shun cried out in anguish:
“Those Northern Yan people wanted to seal off the news, fearing that the lord would summon the Nandu Prefecture forces, so they killed him first! Before he died, the lord handed me his token and ordered us to take a team to close the city gates and retrieve General Yan. But we were pursued and attacked by Lu Qian and the Northern Yan people, and we couldn’t catch up!”
Lu Qian led his men and the Northern Yan forces in hunting them down. Before Yun Shun and his group even reached the city gates, they had been killed until only he remained. If he hadn’t encountered Jiang Sui, he wouldn’t have survived.
But now, the city gates were still not sealed, and those Northern Yan people transporting the head away had not been caught!
Ye Pei’s vision went dark.
“Father!” Ye Xiren and Ye Changming rushed forward simultaneously.
Ye Pei was helped onto the bed, while Madam Liao frantically ordered someone to fetch medicine and water. The entire Ye Residence descended into chaos.
Ye Xiren stood frozen in place.
She looked at the disorder inside the room, then at Yun Shun, who was barely clinging to life, before finally shifting her gaze toward the main gate. Through the half-open door, she could hear screams, footsteps, and the sound of weeping outside…
Nandu was in chaos.
“General Yan… is dead?”
Ye Changming leaned on his crutch, looking at Jiang Sui in disbelief:
“The Northern Yan people have rebelled, attempting to surround and kill His Majesty and the court officials? But this is Nandu—how many people could they possibly have? Does Chizhan Lan Ce not want to live?!”
How could this be?
Chizhan Lan Ce was the Northern Yan Crown Prince, the grand strategist of the entire Northern Yan. It was precisely because he personally came to Nandu that the court believed in Northern Yan’s sincerity for peace talks. Even though they were part of the War Faction, they dared not act rashly against the Northern Yan Delegation. How could things suddenly turn out like this?
General Yan…
How could he have been killed?!
Yun Shun held the token, his voice urgent. “Lord Ye, you must think of something quickly!”
“Quickly, gather men immediately. Yun Shun, go notify the Nandu Prefecture and summon another team to the city gates. Seal off Nandu at once—do not let them send General Yan’s… head out!”
As he spoke, his body swayed unsteadily, his vision darkening.
Ye Changming supported him, his eyes sharpening as he continued giving orders: “Pang Jin, take Yun Shun and the token to seal the city gates immediately. Uncle Jiang, Shou Yin, find Lord Xu at the city gates and have him send men to pursue them! Those Northern Yan people can’t have gone far, but they must have reinforcements. We must catch up before they meet and retrieve the head!”
This was Nandu—the Imperial Guard would soon regain control and capture all the Northern Yan people. But the problem was that the Northern Yan people only needed this brief window of time. Once they sent General Yan’s head out, their goal would be achieved.
If General Yan’s head reached Huai’an Qu, where the Yanjia Army was stationed…
With the court having executed General Yan, one could only imagine what would happen in Huai’an Qu!
“Yes!”
Jiang Sui and the others acknowledged the orders and turned to leave.
“Tonight, no one will leave.” Lu Qian’s icy voice echoed from a distance.
He walked in from outside, covered in blood, the sword in his hand still dripping, his face splattered with unwashed bloodstains—a terrifying sight.
And beside him stood another person. Others might not recognize him, but Ye Xiren had seen him before.
That day when the carriages collided, the driver of Chizhan Lan Ce's carriage was Mole, a man from Bei Yan.
"Lord Ye, we meet again."
Lu Qian gripped his sword, narrowing his eyes as he looked at Ye Xiren, smiling faintly: "Second Miss Ye, it's been a long time."
Author's Note:
QAQ Don't scold Xixi…
She needs to figure out the situation first!!