Ye Gengxin turned around and looked over, unable to hide his shame. “Nephew…”
Although Wei Guangzheng was only a Junior Vice Minister of the Court of Judicial Review, a fourth-rank official, and his son Wei Yonghuai had yet to earn any official distinction, Madam Wei had been sworn sisters with his late wife. The Wei Family and Ye Family had known one another thoroughly through their many years of association, and even if his daughter married down into the Wei Family, she certainly would not be mistreated there.
Moreover, he greatly admired Wei Yonghuai. Not only was the young man handsome, he was also well-read and exceptionally talented. Barring any unforeseen circumstances, he was certain to pass the imperial examinations and enter government service in the future. With the support of both the Wei and Ye Families, his rise to prominence would be only a matter of time.
With such a promising man as her husband, how could he possibly be inferior to a crippled, disfigured Prince?
Looking at the fury on Wei Yonghuai’s face, Ye Shishu remained completely calm. Though her eyes rested on Wei Yonghuai, they showed not the slightest ripple when they met his furious gaze. She merely said coldly, “Young Master Wei, it wasn’t only you who saw what happened today. Every guest who came to my General’s Residence saw it as well. I have had skin-to-skin contact with Prince Cheng. Even if Prince Cheng refuses to take responsibility for me, I can no longer marry you.”
As she said this, she was still sprawled on Prince Cheng, holding him in her arms.
Wei Yonghuai was clearly provoked. He strode forward, seized her arm, and dragged her off Prince Cheng. Then he gripped both her shoulders and stared at her in anguish as he demanded, “Shuer, do you know what you’re saying? We grew up together. We were childhood sweethearts, innocent and carefree together. Do you know how precious that kind of affection is? Not only that, our betrothal was arranged by your mother and mine while your mother was still alive. If we call off the engagement, how could your mother rest in peace beneath the Nine Springs? Even if you don’t care about any of that, what about my sincere feelings for you? Are you going to turn a blind eye to those as well?”
To everyone else, his agitation appeared to be a sincere display of deep feeling. From his perspective, given such an unexpected turn of events, anyone would have found it impossible to accept.
Yet Ye Shishu was not moved in the slightest. Instead, after hearing his forceful questioning, the chill in her heart only grew more intense.
The man before her—how earnest he looked, how deeply in love, how wounded…
But in her previous life, bowl after bowl of slow-acting poison had been fed to her by his own hand. He had been so vicious, so poisonous, so utterly heartless!
Two years…
Two whole years…
From their wedding night until she died with her eyes unable to close, he had poisoned her every day without a single interruption…
What kind of merciless heart did it take to commit such cruelty?!
Heaven had taken pity on her and allowed her to live a second life. Could it really be so she could repeat the same tragic path?
She glanced back at her father, whose face was full of shame because she wanted to break off the engagement. Her heart felt as though it were being crushed beneath a thousand-kilogram boulder, leaving her unable to breathe.
How could she make Father believe that Wei Yonghuai had already engaged in an illicit relationship with his sworn younger sister and secretly fathered a child with her?
How could she make Father believe that Wei Yonghuai wanted to marry her so he could inherit her mother’s lavish dowry as a matter of course and obtain the full support of the Ye Family?
She knew that, under the current circumstances, there was no way to make Father believe Wei Yonghuai was a false-hearted, treacherous, utterly inhuman beast. The only thing she could do now was use Prince Cheng to free herself from the engagement…
She pulled Wei Yonghuai’s hands from her shoulders and walked up to Ye Gengxin. With reddened eyes, she said, “Father, Prince Cheng has already held and touched my body. If you and the Wei Family believe this will not affect my reputation, then I have nothing more to say. I will leave myself to your arrangements. However, I have no face to meet the world again. Once I have fulfilled Mother’s final wish, I will go to the Yellow Springs myself to accompany her.”
If Ye Gengxin had still wanted to persuade his daughter to honor the engagement, the moment he heard her final sentence, terror seized his heart. He hurriedly grabbed her arm and said, “Shuer, let’s talk this through. Everything can be discussed. Don’t do anything foolish!”
Seeing that he truly could not bear to watch her take her own life, Ye Shishu felt more confident.
However, before she could secretly rejoice, Wei Yonghuai’s parents, Wei Guangzheng and Madam Wei, walked in. Both husband and wife wore grim expressions, and it was obvious that they were suppressing their anger as they looked at the father and daughter.
They went straight to the bedside and first saluted Prince Cheng. Then they turned to face Ye Gengxin. Madam Wei spoke first. “General, we all witnessed what happened today. Shuer entered the water to save Prince Cheng because she was eager to rescue him. Not only Shuer—even anyone in the residence would have been unable to stand by and do nothing. So long as Prince Cheng could be guaranteed safety, even if someone had to sacrifice their life, that would be his good fortune. Our Wei Family is not unreasonable. We could never despise Shuer simply because she saved Prince Cheng. On the contrary, Shuer risked her life to protect him. Such benevolence and righteousness would make marrying her an honor for our Wei Family.”
With his mother’s words behind him, Wei Yonghuai instantly regained his fighting spirit. He hurried forward and addressed Ye Gengxin with resolute conviction. “General, my mother has spoken precisely what I wanted to say. Regardless of how others judge this matter, Shuer’s selfless character is worthy of our Wei Family’s respect! I, Wei Yonghuai, swear that in this life I will only treat Shuer with even greater love. If I ever show her the slightest contempt, may I be struck by heaven’s thunder and meet an untimely death!”
With her head lowered, no one saw how deathly pale Ye Shishu’s face had become.
It was true that Madam Ge had been her mother’s close friend from her maiden days. But only someone who had already died once, like Ye Shishu, could know what Madam Ge truly had in mind!
Her mother had been born into an imperial merchant family, and the dowry she had brought upon marriage had stretched for several li. What had Madam Ge wanted when she became sworn sisters with her mother?
From the fact that, during the two years after she married into the Wei Family and was poisoned, Madam Ge had visited her only a handful of times, it was clear that her sisterly affection for her mother had all been false!
Perhaps Madam Ge was panicking now precisely because her mother had once said that she would leave her dowry to Ye Shishu.
The entire family was scheming for the dowry her mother had left her!
Following the same course of events as in her previous life, although she had never consummated the marriage with Wei Yonghuai, Luo Lixian’s child had been adopted into her name and become her legitimate heir. After her death, none of the things she left behind could return to the Ye Family. They would all be inherited by the bastard child born to Luo Lixian and Wei Yonghuai!
“Shuer.” Madam Ge seized her hand and declared earnestly and urgently, “Don’t worry. Our Wei Family will never let you suffer. Will you trust Aunt Ge? The marriage between you and Huaier is no child’s play. It is a testament to the sisterly bond between your mother and me, as well as the hopes our two families have shared for so many years. Just marry Huaier properly and leave the other matters alone. No matter who says anything about you behind your back, I’ll tear that person’s mouth apart even if it costs me my life!”
Wei Guangzheng also assured Ye Gengxin, “Brother Ye, with the friendship between our two families spanning more than twenty years, do you still not trust us? Today, I swear by the ancestors of the Wei Family that once Shuer marries into our family, anyone who dares show her the slightest disrespect will be disrespecting the Wei Family. Even if Huaier dares to let Shuer suffer the slightest grievance, I will cast him out of the family without mercy!”
Several groups of guests stood outside the door. Though none of them poked their heads inside, every one of them had their ears pricked up, listening to the movements in the room.
And precisely because the Wei Family had dared to make such declarations in front of the officials of the imperial court, Ye Gengxin abandoned the idea of breaking off the engagement.
Seeing that he was about to be persuaded by the Wei Family, Ye Shishu’s heart turned utterly cold.
If even the “loss of chastity” she had staged today could not allow her to break off her engagement with Wei Yonghuai, then what meaning was there in being reborn?
No!
She refused to resign herself to fate!
Even if she had to end her own life, she would never take another step into the Wei Family!
If Father insisted on making her marry Wei Yonghuai, she would simply leave home!
“Cough!”
Just as Wei Guangzheng and Madam Ge finished stating their positions and waited for Ye Gengxin’s response, a low cough came from the bed.
Everyone turned to look at him in unison.
Ignoring Prince Cheng’s ugly, frightening face, they saw only his pair of black eyes glaring at them with intense displeasure. His icy voice spilled from his cold, rigid lips.
“Does no one care about this Prince’s purity? Third Miss Ye touched this Prince. Shouldn’t Third Miss Ye give this Prince an explanation?”