ith a smile and asked, "Lily, is the jade pendant I gave you some days ago still there" Ye Li was surprised and suddenly remembered what Mo Xiuyao meant. She lowered her head, took out a jade pendant...335. Deserved Tyrannical Domineering

"Second sister, are you going to leave like this after all these years"

The figure of Ye Yue at the door froze instantly and turned around with a pale face, looking back at the expressionless black-clad guards standing outside. She looked up at Princess Ding who was sitting in her seat with a mild smile and said weakly, "Third sister, it's been so long." Indeed, more than nine years had passed since their last meeting. The young girl Ye Yue used to look down upon now stood as the formidable Crown Princess of Ding Kingdom that could handle anything at any time.

Even if they only compared in terms of appearance, the beauty that once made Ye Yue proud paled in comparison next to Princess Ding's unique and alluring presence. Princess Ding may not be the most beautiful woman in this world but she was definitely the one with the most captivating aura and charisma. Her poised grace and elegant calmness went beyond what any other stunning beauty could possess, along with a strength and sharpness that even men couldn't match. These completely contradictory qualities wouldn't usually appear together on one person, but because of them, Princess Ding stood out from every single woman in the world. No wonder Mo Jingli still couldn't get over her or forgive Mo Xiuyao for what happened.

The Crown Prince is truly lucky and has great taste. Many people had said this before. Even Ye Yue, who was arrogant, could not deny that her half-sister had indeed made the proud Ding Kingdom Crown Prince bend to her will.

Princess Ding's calmness and poise earned a faint praise from Princess Ning. "How have you been these years, Second sister"

Ye Yue lowered her gaze and said with a mild smile, "What does it matter if I’m well or not I’ve just barely survived."

While Ye Yue observed Princess Ding, she was also being examined in return. No wonder the person that Ding Kingdom arranged to stay at Ye Manor didn't recognize her. Not only did Ye Yue rarely go out and interact with others, but even now her appearance had changed so much that it would be difficult for anyone else to associate her with the dazzling and charming Concubine Yi of years past. Over these many years, Ye Yue's looks had undergone significant changes too. She used to have a pretty and alluring face, while now she was still beautiful but more delicate and gentle. If Ye Yue before was a peach blossom, then she is currently like osmanthus—less dazzling at first glance yet leaving an impression upon closer scrutiny. If it weren't for prior knowledge, people who knew Ye Yue might just think of her as someone resembling her.

"Since you’re barely surviving, why not go ahead and die" Mo Xiuyao said casually from beside Princess Ning. Even though his words were平淡得近乎冇有感情，卻讓人感受到無儘的殺意。

Ye Yue paled at the remark; in Licheng City, she feared no one more than Mo Xiuyao. If it was Princess Ding, she might still be able to argue her way out of trouble with words, but facing Mo Xiuyao, there was nothing she could do. If possible, Ye Yue really didn't want to confront Mo Xiuyao and Princess Ning again or have any ties with the Ding Kingdom at all. But perhaps from the moment she arrived in Licheng City, her fate had been sealed to face this moment.

Not just Ye Yue, even Ye Wenhua, Lady Old Mother Ye, and Madam Wang’s faces paled too. Madam Wang held back her fear and stood in front of Ye Yue, saying, "Your Highness, what is the meaning of this... Yuezhu is a daughter of the Ye family, can she not be here"

Mo Xiuyao held Princess Ning's hand with one hand and lightly tapped the red wooden railing with the other. This left everyone present on tenterhooks. After a moment, Mo Xiuyao said calmly, "It seems that Lady Ye has forgotten what your daughter did to Ah Li nine years ago" Madam Ye trembled slightly, “That was such a long time ago... besides, isn’t everything fine now”

Mo Xiuyao's handsome eyes narrowed in anger and he laughed coldly, "You’re right… since that’s the case. Let this Prince cut Yuezhu once; if she survives, then we can consider her past actions against Ah Li as forgiven."

Hearing this, Madam Ye nearly screamed out of fear, while Ye Yue was biting down hard on her teeth and unable to speak. If Ding Kingdom Crown Prince wanted to kill someone, wouldn't a single cut be enough Ye Yue wasn’t any kind of martial arts expert; in fact, she had never been capable of even restraining a chicken with her bare hands. In terms of strength, she couldn’t compare to Princess Li Tianxiang or Concubine Guifei who were both renowned for their literary and military prowess.

"Ling'er," Lady Old Mother Ye frowned and said, "What happened back then was indeed Yuezhu’s fault; but she too had been forced by others. She has suffered much over the years—can’t we just put it behind us" Princess Ning turned her head and looked at Lady Old Mother Ye with a smile that wasn't quite a smile. Despite claiming to plead for mercy, her tone was more commanding than anything else, as if she were issuing an order from an elder to a junior. Even though Lady Old Mother Ye was indeed an elder in relation to Princess Ning, she had forgotten that Princess Ning was no longer someone who could be commanded by her long ago. "Grandmother," said Princess Ning, "Back then Second Sister almost killed me. Although you’ve always favored Second Sister more, shouldn’t a grandmother’s heart also have some fairness"

Lady Old Mother Ye froze; she knew very well that she had been partial but believed it was justified. Compared to her daughter who spent most of her childhood between the Xu Family and Lady Xu, Yuezhu grew up entirely under her care. Since Yuezhu looked good, was smart, and made her happy with her words, why shouldn't she have favored her It was just that this was the first time anyone had ever spoken so openly about it. Her furrowed brows wrinkled further as she said sternly, "I know you’ve been wronged, but now there’s only your sisters left in the Ye Family—can’t you be more magnanimous"

Princess Ning blinked and couldn't help laughing inwardly. Could Lady Old Mother Ye really think she was complaining about not being favored Looking up at Mo Xiuyao, he raised an eyebrow; that was exactly what she meant.

Ye Lvyi smiled and asked leisurely, "Grandmother, if I let my second sister go, what do you plan to do with her"

Before Ye Laofei could speak, Ye Wenhua said sternly, "Your father will build a Buddhist temple in the estate; she will live there eating vegetarian food and chanting scriptures for the rest of her life."

"Nonsense!" Ye Laofei's expression darkened as she glared at Ye Wenhua. She had put so much effort into convincing Ye Lvyi to let things be, not simply because another idle person would be added to the estate with an extra Buddhist temple.

Ye Lvyi raised her eyebrows and smiled at Ye Wenhua as she asked, "Then what does Grandmother mean"

Ye Laofei said, raising her eyes, "Since you and Prince Ding don't welcome us, I plan to go to Jiangnan with Ying'er. Since you are sisters with Yueer, let her come along."

"Father, do you also think so" Ye Lvyi asked Ye Wenhua calmly. She didn’t believe that Ye Wenhua didn’t know the relationship between Prince Ding’s manor and Mo Jingli. If he chose to leave too, it would mean that he was planning to become enemies with Prince Ding’s manor as well. Then she wouldn't be polite anymore.

"No." Ye Wenhua shook his head and said, "I won’t leave Li City; neither will Ye Rong. I only wish to watch my son marry and have children safely."

Ye Lvyi was very satisfied with Ye Wenhua’s choice. Even though she didn't like him, he was still her biological father. She wasn’t that heartless as to not care about filial piety. No matter what happened in this life, twenty years of military service had made her world view quite upright. As long as Ye Wenhua did nothing that would harm Prince Ding’s manor, she wouldn't find it difficult to provide for him and make sure he was stable during his old age. Of course, only this much.

Although Ye Lvyi was satisfied, others couldn’t be. Ye Family Lady and Ye Laofei glared furiously at Ye Wenhua as they screamed.

This time, instead of compromising in front of his wife and father as he usually did, Ye Wenhua’s will was unusually firm; no matter how much Ye Laofei yelled, she couldn’t make him speak. Ye Wenhua, who had been involved in politics for half a lifetime, was far more sensitive than Ye Laofei or even Ye Yue. As soon as he compromised and showed that he wanted to leave with them, it would surely be the end of their family. He believed that Ye Lvyi wouldn’t kill him out of filial piety, but Mo Xiuyao’s ruthlessness was well-known.

Mosiyao seemed bored by the scene before him and sat up as he said with a faint smile, "Ye Laofei… do you know that Prince Ding’s manor has an old grudge against Great Chu"

Ye Laofei was stunned; she couldn’t understand what Mo Xiuyao meant.

Mosiyao said casually, "Since Ye Family settled in Li City, they are now part of Prince Ding’s manor. Now you tell me that you plan to take this man who once tried to assassinate my beloved concubine with you to the south to rely on Prince Li’s manor. Am I right to think that… you’re planning to rebel" Ye Laofei widened her eyes in shock and couldn’t understand how these things were related to rebellion. However, she knew what a serious crime it was.

"How can this be considered treason We are not part of Prince Ding’s manor!" yelled Family Lady Wang.

Mosiyao curled his lips into a smile and said, "Not part of Prince Ding’s Manor Then you must belong to Mo Jingli. In that case… I can treat all of you as spies. How about it For Ye Lvyi's sake, I will let you choose the way to die."

This time, both Ye Laofei and Family Lady Wang were truly afraid; they trembled at Mosiyao’s handsome but inscrutable face, saying, "No… no…"

Yue stood back as she fell into the chair behind her無力地跌倒在身後的椅子上。她終究還是太小看了定王府的能力了。所有的一切都算計得妥妥噹噹，她躲過了戰亂，跟著王氏來到了璃城，見到了墨景黎也如願地說動了墨景黎。然而卻冇想到就敗在這臨門一腳上了。終究，她也隻是個手無縛雞之力的弱女子。再怎麼智計百出冇有足夠的籌碼，對上定王府這樣的龐然大物也是不堪一擊的。而顯然，葉玥就是那種冇有足夠籌碼的人。她手中的籌碼除了對墨景黎有用，在彆人看來都不過是雞肋罷了。

Mosiyao stood up and walked slowly to Ye Yue's side. He lifted her chin, looking down at her from above for a moment before saying calmly, "You are the first one who dared to hurt Ye Lvyi. I… always remember you."

But Ye Yue didn’t feel any joy upon hearing this; she shivered and was clearly scared.

Ye Yue had managed to avoid the Empress Dowager's massacre, as well as Prince Ding’s investigation. She came all the way from the capital to her family’s home in southwestern Great Chu and lived safely for many years. Naturally, it wasn’t easy to scare someone like that. Calming herself down, Ye Yue tried to sound calm as she said to Mosiyao, "Your Highness, regarding the matter with my third sister… The Empress Dowager forced me into it. I was also under duress and hope Your Highness will forgive me. If given another chance, even if I were a beggar or an outcast, I would repay your kindness of sparing my life."

"Forced you" Mo Xiuyao sneered and threw Ye Yue’s chin away with disgust. "Do you think that I would let that old hag off Your Highness does not care if you were forced or not; anyone who hurts Ye Lvyi deserves death, even if someone forced you to do it as well. Why didn’t you die then If you had died back then, maybe I could have avenged you and made your son the emperor."

Ye Yue had met many unreasonable people but never one who asked so naturally, “Why didn't you die” It took her a moment to regain her senses before she said in trembling voice, "Your Highness means… the Empress Dowager forced me to kill my third sister, and I should have killed myself"

"That's right." Mo Xiuyao nodded with satisfaction. “All of you can die; only Ye Lvyi is off limits. Anyone who dares hurt her will regret being alive. You’ve lived long enough already.”

"Madwoman!" Ye Yue trembled and glanced sideways at Ye Li who was sitting by her side, saying with a bitter smile, "Third Sister, are you really not afraid of following such a madwoman"

Moshou Yao's face darkened as a ruthless look flashed in his eyes. He raised his hand to slap Ye Yue on the head but stopped when Ye Li reached out and grabbed his wrist, pulling it back so that their hands were clasped together. Looking at Ye Yue’s shocked expression, Ye Li smiled faintly, "Why should I be afraid I believe if there is anyone in this world who would never harm me, then he must be the one. Don’t you think it’s a very happy thing to have such a person by your side"

"Happy" Ye Yue stared blankly at the two people standing side-by-side before her. A look of confusion flashed through her eyes. Once she looked back, she realized that in this lifetime, she had never experienced what happiness was like. The only happy days she ever had were when she was a young girl before entering the palace and after Lady Xu’s death and Lady Wang’s rise to prominence; but even then, she was still just an illegitimate daughter of the Ye family. Such a period of time lasted for no more than two or three years. Once she entered the palace, everywhere was like walking on thin ice—where could happiness be found Mo Jingqi had never loved her and naturally, she did not love him either. Therefore, she could not understand what kind of happiness Ye Li was talking about. But seeing their tightly clasped hands, she felt an intense sense of envy and loneliness.

"Second Sister, tell me, what did you exchange with Mo Jingli" Ye Li asked softly.

Ye Yue closed her eyes and said nothing. Ye Li didn’t get angry but smiled lightly, "Second Sister, I don't want to torture you. With your frail constitution, you might not be able to withstand it." Ye Yue replied coldly, "What’s the difference whether I can endure or not Does Duke Ding really plan to spare me" Moshou Yao laughed and said, "No, but… I seem to remember that back then when they inspected the body, someone reported that the child who died in the fire might not be Fifth Prince. Hmm"

Ye Yue’s face finally turned ugly; “Moshou Yao, you dare!”

"Is there anything this king dares not do in this world" Moshou Yao asked. "You’re very clever and didn’t bring that child to Li City. How much does he resemble Mo Jingqi However, you weren’t smart enough because you brought him to the Northwest."

Ye Yue’s face turned pale as she gritted her teeth and said, “I will say… The Emperor gave Mo Jingli a certain kind of medicine back then. I have the antidote…”

Moshou Yao frowned. "Antidote Isn’t it said that there is no antidote" Back then, he had also asked Shen Yang to study this medicine. Shen Yang took one look at it and casually threw it away, saying there was no cure.

Ye Yue replied, “There’s nothing in the world without a cure, even Your Royal Highness’ extremely toxic poison has been cured.”

"You know quite a lot," Moshou Yao raised his eyebrows. If this woman hadn’t crossed him to such an extent, he wouldn’t mind giving her some praise. Ye Yue ignored him and continued: “That medicine is said to have no cure because the toxic ingredients and antidotes both come from the same plant, which cannot be replaced. That means that even if you extract a similar drug, it can only solve the poison extracted from the same plant. So each dose of poison and its corresponding antidote are unique. The antidote for Mo Jingli’s medicine is in my possession.”

"If this is true, then no wonder Mo Jingli dared to act under my nose." Moshou Yao raised his eyebrows with a smile. To Mo Jingli, even if Ye Yue was of no other use, as long as there was this one thing, he would do everything possible to take her away. After all, having no children could be said to be the greatest hidden pain and weakness for Mo Jingli besides the throne. "Where is the medicine" Moshou Yao asked.

Ye Yue gritted her teeth, and Moshou Yao calmly replied: “I don’t need that medicine, I just need Mo Jingli not to get it. You said… Will killing you right now achieve anything”

In the face of such an opponent, there was no way but endless retreats. Ye Yue finally reluctantly took out a conspicuous hairpin from her head and threw it into Moshou Yao’s hand. He tossed it casually to Qin Feng by the door, saying, “Take this to Shen Yang for inspection.”

After losing almost all of her cards, Ye Yue seemed much more relaxed. She sat heavily on a chair and looked at Moshou Yao, saying, "I have nothing left to say. What else do you want"

Moshou Yao still wanted to say something when the guard outside reported: “Your Royal Highness, Madam, Li Wang has arrived.”

Moshou Yao leaned on Ye Li’s shoulder and chuckled softly: "Indeed, it seems we hit Mo Jingli's sore spot. He came in time."

Ye Li gave him a helpless look—was gloating over someone else's misfortune really right

Mosixiao had laughed enough and pulled Ye Li's hand, turning back to say to Ye Wenhua: "Father-in-law" Ye Wenhua never heard Mosixiao call him father-in-law in his life, but he now felt that it would have been better if he never did. With a nervous heart, he stepped forward, and Mosixiao said, "Temporarily entrust the matter of Ye Yue to you. If anything goes wrong… none of your family will live."

"Yes... I understand. I won't let them act recklessly," Ye Wenhua agreed with almost a note of joy in his voice. He had not expected a good outcome today, thinking that Ye Yue was doomed to die. Unexpectedly, Mosixiao actually loosened up and he immediately accepted it. After all, Ye Yue was still his daughter.

Mosixiao nodded contentedly and pulled Ye Li away.

In the study, until all guards outside left, Ye Laofei and others could finally catch their breaths.

Wang Shi pulled at Ye Wenhua's sleeve with a sob, "Sir, what are we going to do now" Ye Wenhua had a solemn look on his face. He stared at the crying Wang Shi for a long time, and before she thought he would say something, he gave her a hard slap that even more fiercely than before. Wang Shi's head bumped directly into the side of the desk, blood flowing out immediately.

"Sir!"

"Father!"

"Hua'er, what are you doing" All three were terrified and cried out in alarm. Ye Wenhua glared at Wang Shi with a sinister look in his eyes, "Stay quietly in your own room for me. If you dare to go out even half a step again, take the divorce decree yourself and leave."

"Sir..." Wang Shi was terrified into dumbness, forgetting even her sobs. After Ye Wenhua said that, he ignored her and looked at Ye Yue beside him. "You too, if you don't want to die, then don’t be clever on your own. Don't drag the entire Ye family down with your actions." Ye Yue lowered his gaze, gripping tightly within his sleeves. "Father, I understand."

"It's best that you do," said Ye Wenhua solemnly.

"Hua'er..." Ye Laofei frowned and said unhappily at her son’s strict actions. Before she could finish speaking, Ye Wenhua sternly said: "Mother, do you really want to see the Ye family cut off from descendants before being satisfied" Ye Laofei was shocked and said, "How can that be You are Liye's birth father; how can she dare..."

Ye Wenhua bitterly smiled and said, "Perhaps Liye wouldn't, but when did the Prince of Ding ever truly treat me as his father-in-law Mother doesn’t know how many people he killed in these years Or do you think he couldn't bring himself to"

Ye Laofei was silent. Not to mention the number of people Mosixiao had killed on battlefields, just for Ye Li alone... Thinking about this much made her shudder involuntarily.

Mosixiao snorted coldly and ignored Ye Laofei who wanted to say something but hesitated, turning around with a sweep of his sleeve.

Ye Li and Mosixiao left the study and proceeded towards the front hall. Ye Li asked curiously: "How are you planning on dealing with Ye Yue" It wasn't that she didn't trust Mosixiao; it was just that letting her go so easily seemed unlike his character at all. Mosixiao looked down, a gentle smile in his eyes as he gazed at Ye Li, "Out of gratitude for entertaining this King once, I'll let her have two days of happiness."

"Ye Yue doesn’t seem like someone who would accept fate," she recalled the time when she had managed to escape death even from within the palace. She wouldn't be surprised if something went wrong now as well. Furthermore, Ye Yue was a smart person; it's impossible for her not to guess that Mosixiao wouldn't really let her go.

Mosixiao smiled faintly: "I'm afraid she will just accept fate. Back then... didn't she want to burn Ah Li alive If she dies like this, she'll be too lucky. Ah Li doesn’t need to pay any attention to her; come with this King and play around with Mo Jingli," he said before not giving Ye Li the time to think about it, pulling at her hand as they raced towards the front yard.

Both Zhuo Jing and Wei Lin behind them shivered involuntarily. They exchanged a glance, wondering if their lord really planned on burning Ye Yue alive If this was true, then even they would feel pity for her; it would have been better to just be killed by the King than go through such torment. Also, what about playing around with Mo Jingli... did their lord mean the Prince of Li or his pet dog from a foreign countryard. Mo Xiuyao frowned and said, "Tell them to hurry up; don't disturb the Duchess’s rest." Mo Hua replied, "Your Excellency, please rest assured that the sound won’t reach the Duchess's courtyard." T...