Xiao Zhaoyan’s thin lips curled into a smile. Though his posture was lazy, his aura was overwhelming.
Feng Yi’s eyes were filled with shock. She hurriedly said, "I beg Your Highness to allow this servant to accompany my lady."
"What? Does Consort Chen distrust this Prince?"
"I wouldn't dare!"
Prince Yu was usually all smiles, but the methods he used to govern the Six Ministries made people tremble at the mere mention of them. At his question, Feng Yi’s heart rate quickened by several beats.
Ye Liujin turned around. "It’s fine. I will go in with the Prince. Wait for me here."
She gave a slight curtsy to Xiao Zhaoyan. "Thank you for your trouble, Your Highness."
The two walked side-by-side into Yu Wangfu. As the vermilion gates closed, only Feng Yi’s worried gaze remained behind them.
Ye Liujin was more than familiar with the layout of the manor. In comparison, she had spent more time living in Jianzhang Gong as the Empress Dowager, yet every blade of grass and every tree in Yu Wangfu seemed carved into her mind, impossible to erase.
"Did Xiao Cong really jump into Taiye Pond himself?"
The servants had already been dismissed, so Xiao Zhaoyan spoke without reservation.
"If I say yes, would Your Highness believe me?" Ye Liujin looked up at the man beside her.
His eyes were slightly curved, looking exceedingly handsome.
"I believe you."
Ye Liujin breathed a sigh of relief.
"But will His Majesty believe it?" Xiao Zhaoyan stopped in his tracks and turned to look at her with interest. "Although Xiao Cong is a bit foolish, he doesn't look like the type to jump in on his own. If His Majesty gives it some thought, he will suspect you."
"So what if he does?"
"What?" Xiao Zhaoyan was taken aback.
But he saw Ye Liujin smile. "Even if His Majesty thinks I did it, what of it? Who would believe that the Third Prince, a man of both literary and martial prowess, could be kicked into Taiye Pond by a girl raised in the inner chambers? Besides, it was Xiao Cong who forced me to break our engagement first…"
"He forced you to break the engagement?" Xiao Zhaoyan immediately caught the main point. His tone sharpened, and a flash of surprise crossed his eyes.
Ye Liujin’s words were cut short by him. She could only say helplessly, "…Yes."
"You are unwilling to break the engagement?" Xiao Zhaoyan frowned.
Ye Liujin swallowed. "…It's not that I'm unwilling."
"Then why did you kick him into the water?"
"I kicked him because… No, I didn't kick him!" Ye Liujin glared at Xiao Zhaoyan in annoyance and twitched her lips. "Your Highness, please just give me the medicinal herbs."
"No rush." Xiao Zhaoyan narrowed his eyes. He leaned down slightly, closing the distance between him and Ye Liujin. "In truth, you don't want to marry Xiao Cong, do you?"
"Your Highness!" Ye Liujin gritted her teeth. "This matter will be decided by my Aunt."
Xiao Zhaoyan raised an eyebrow. "Fine."
Fine? What did he mean by "fine"?
Ye Liujin clenched her fists, her expression somewhat agitated. "Yes, I don't want to marry Xiao Cong, because he…"
"What about him?" Xiao Zhaoyan didn't yield in the slightest. Instead, he took a step forward. His deep gaze was like a sharp sword blade, cornering Ye Liujin until she had no way to retreat.
"He is not my Aunt's son."
Since her rebirth, this dark secret had been like a mountain pressing down on her, making it hard to breathe. Now that she had said it aloud, she felt much more at ease.
The words that escaped her lips truly gave Xiao Zhaoyan a shock.
He pondered for a moment, his expression solemn.
“Miss Ye, this is no small matter. Muddling the royal bloodline is a capital offense. Even if your Ye Family is at the height of its power, it would be difficult to emerge unscathed.”
“As things stand, the only foolproof plan is indeed to kill Xiao Cong.”
“Seven-Star Leaf can save a life if used well, but it can take one if not. I will help you.”
Ye Liujin loosened her clenched fists, her eyes rimmed with red.
Shen Yanni was right; Xiao Zhaoyan had liked her since a very, very long time ago.
In her previous life, her Elder Brother died at the residence of the Duke of Shanguo, and her Aunt in the palace was barely able to protect herself.
She had met Xiao Zhaoyan in the Begonia Garden.
Back then, he had just returned from an inspection tour of Jiannan Circuit. She heard he had been severely injured.
“If you are willing to marry me and become my Princess Consort, I will go and beg His Majesty to bestow the marriage.”
He stood beneath a begonia tree, his face deathly pale and his figure gaunt.
“I am not willing. I am Xiao Cong’s fiancée.”
Ye Liujin had refused almost without thinking.
Emperor Liang already harbored a grudge against him; becoming involved with a daughter of the Ye Family would not have been a good thing for him.
Later, when she fled the capital, she heard he had married Shen Yanni.
When she was captured and brought back to the capital, Shen Yanni tried everything she could to save her, but she was ultimately no match for Rong Chan.
It wasn't until she entered the Prince’s manor and felt unable to face Shen Yanni that Shen Yanni came to find her in person, holding her and weeping.
“It’s good that you’re alright, it’s good that you’re alright. I’m useless; I couldn’t save you.”
“Thankfully, the Prince was constantly mediating behind the scenes. It’s truly wonderful that you managed to escape.”
Shen Yanni died during her first month as Empress.
Before she passed, she clutched Ye Liujin’s hand tightly.
“His Majesty likes you. He has always only liked you.”
“If you had agreed to marry him that year, he would have married you even at the cost of giving up the throne.”
“Your body was ruined and you couldn't conceive, yet he never favored any other woman. He even wanted to adopt a child from the imperial clan for you.”
Shen Yanni’s gaze gradually grew vacant, yet a smile touched her face.
“I’m leaving. I can finally go see him. He said he would take me to Longxi to live a life of freedom… In the next life, don't break your promise…”
Ye Liujin vaguely remembered that when her Elder Brother returned to the capital, he had told her Aunt that he intended to propose to the Shen family.
Fate always played tricks on people. She had only just learned of Xiao Zhaoyan’s feelings when he passed away due to a relapse of an old injury.
She led that adopted child, guarding the empire and governing Great Liang for him.
In the dead of night, she would always resent him. Why didn't he say anything? Why didn't he just tell her how much he liked her?
“You… don’t cry.”
Xiao Zhaoyan watched Ye Liujin as she suddenly began to sob, feeling somewhat at a loss.
“Things aren't that bad yet. As long as Xiao Cong dies, there will be no evidence left.”
Ye Liujin raised a hand to wipe away her tears, her eyes red.
“This matter wasn't a plot by my Aunt and the Ye Family. My Aunt was indeed pregnant back then, and Lady Rong happened to be pregnant at the same time.”
“His Majesty switched the son born to Lady Rong with my Aunt’s. All these years, my Aunt has been kept in the dark, raising someone else’s son.”
“Xiao Cong is His Majesty’s son, but he is not my Aunt’s son. His Majesty went through all this trouble for nothing more than the Ye Family’s two hundred thousand-strong army.”
Enduring humiliation for a greater purpose, only to overturn the situation in a single stroke.
So what if Emperor Liang believed she was the one who threw Xiao Cong into Taiye Pond?
The Ye Family was currently powerful; for the sake of his empire, he would not easily turn against them.
“What do you want me to do?”
Xiao Zhaoyan suppressed the urge to wipe away her tears, his throat bobbing as his voice grew slightly hoarse.
“What can I do to help you?”
Ye Liujin suddenly laughed.
He didn't ask her how she knew such an earth-shattering secret.
He didn't even verify whether it was true or not before believing her completely.
Shen Yanni said he had always liked her, but she hadn't known when his feelings for her had begun.
Looking at it now, it was likely even earlier than this.
“Xiao Zhaoyan,” Ye Liujin looked at him deeply, “Why are you helping me?”