However, it doesn't matter if they don't say it now, because she is certain that this matter will eventually be related to her, and who knows, she might actually be the one who did it.
Ye Zirong was someone who looked like an angel on the outside, but actually had a heart more vicious than anyone else's. Simply put, she had the face of an angel and the heart of a devil.
Ye Zirong walked up to Mei Lan, who was still kneeling on the ground, and looked down at her. Her face was as clear as a mirror, and her eyes were as cold as water.
"Meilan, do you know that spreading such rumors is a crime punishable by death?"
Meilan shuddered in fright, her body trembling uncontrollably again, her head repeatedly hitting the ground.
"Even if you gave me a thousand or ten thousand lives, I wouldn't dare do such a thing. No matter how foolish or reckless I am, I wouldn't joke about such a serious matter, much less spread rumors. My lowly life may be worthless, but I still have elderly parents and young children at home. They rely on my monthly salary from my service in the palace to support them. I hope the Third Princess will understand..."
After a pause, Mei Lan looked up and secretly glanced at Ye Xiaowei. Ye Xiaowei remained calm and composed, still drinking hot tea and watching everything with a cold eye.
Mei Lan quickly lowered her head again: "Besides hearing about this, I also heard about something else, which is..."
☆、039 A Plan to Turn the Tide
Impatientness had already appeared on Ye Zirong's usually calm and collected face. She frowned and said:
"Meilan, this matter is of utmost importance. Stop playing coy here. If you continue to withhold information, I will surely take your dog's life!"
Mei Lan turned pale with fright and prostrated herself on the ground:
"This servant dares not, please spare my life, Third Princess! This servant said..."
She paused slightly, stealing a glance at Ye Xiaowei, but quickly lowered her head again.
After a pause, as if summoning all his courage, with the air of someone being forced into battle at knifepoint, he steeled himself and said:
"I heard earlier that the Imperial Noble Consort and the Emperor and Empress had a quarrel, but they only argued for a few words and then went their separate ways. Actually, it was nothing. It's just that... that evening, the Emperor and Empress ordered someone to send pastries to the Imperial Noble Consort. After eating them, the Imperial Noble Consort felt unwell that night. At the time, we thought it was just a cold, but when the imperial physician came to examine her, he couldn't find anything wrong. If it wasn't witchcraft, how else could we explain it?"
"Outrageous! According to you, the Imperial Noble Consort's illness is caused by the Empress's pastries? In short, the Empress was upset because of a few words with the Imperial Noble Consort, so she wanted to use witchcraft to frame him? How dare you utter such absurd words? Aren't you afraid of bringing disaster upon your entire family by speaking recklessly without any evidence!"
The third brother sternly rebuked Mei Lan.
Mei Lan trembled uncontrollably with fear: "Even if I had ten times the courage, I wouldn't dare spread these rumors, much less mention the Emperor and Empress..."
Ye Ziyu glared angrily at Ye Xiaowei, who remained calm and composed.
"Your Highness, what do you have to say?"
It turned out that this group of people, singing in unison and even colluding with their own palace maids, were putting on such a good show in front of her.
This group of people not only wanted to deal with her, but they actually dared to point their finger at her father, thinking that because her father usually lived in Fengning Palace and did not care about worldly affairs, he was easy to bully.
Even if her father agreed to let these ignorant juniors bully him, Ye Xiaowei would not be happy. Did they really want to turn the world upside down?
"This matter concerns the Imperial Noble Consort and the Empress, both of whom are our elders. Although I am the Crown Princess of the Eastern Palace, I have no authority to handle this matter. It would be better to report it to the Empress Dowager!"
Ye Ziyu's eyes lit up, her face beaming with joy. It seemed that everything was proceeding according to their original plan. If this matter were reported to Emperor Mingde, the matter would only escalate. Their ultimate goal was to get the matter to Emperor Mingde and have him handle it.
Because, in Fengyu, only Emperor Mingde has the power to deal with the Emperor and Empress. If the Emperor and Empress are overthrown, Ye Xiaowei, the Crown Princess, will naturally lose her backing and will also lose Emperor Mingde's favor. In that case, it will be easy to overthrow her!
She obeys the third prince in everything now, but only to endure humiliation and wait until the crown princess is overthrown before dealing with her.
In this way, the position of Crown Princess naturally fell into her hands, and she was naturally the only choice to become the emperor of Fengyu in the future.
Thinking of these things, she couldn't hide her joy, and her eyes became even brighter. It was as if she had become the supreme ruler of this phoenix feather, the new emperor revered and worshipped by the world.
Ye Zirong was slightly surprised. She hadn't expected Ye Xiaowei to agree so quickly; it was truly beyond her expectations.
It is said that after the Crown Princess woke up from her serious illness last time, she changed completely, becoming profound and wise. Ordinary people could not fathom her thoughts at all. But seeing her today, she does not seem as powerful as the rumors say. Moreover, in her opinion, the Crown Princess in front of her seems to be no different from that eldest princess Ye Ziyu. They are both incredibly stupid.
The enemy's stupidity was undoubtedly a great stroke of luck for us, so we didn't think much of it.
This matter was told by Ye Ziyu's maid, Meilan, and it was the Crown Princess who suggested that Emperor Mingde know about it. This matter seemed to have no essential connection with her. Even if problems arose later, the eldest princess and the Crown Princess would take the blame. She only needed to stand still and watch the show.
Ye Zirong lowered her head and said, "I will follow Your Highness's arrangements!"
Each of the three had their own thoughts, so they went to find Emperor Mingde. Emperor Mingde had just finished discussing state affairs with his ministers and was resting in his palace.
When the three princes arrived together, Zisang, the lady-in-waiting of Emperor Mingde, dared not be negligent in the slightest and hurriedly bowed and stepped forward.
"This servant greets Your Highness the Crown Princess, the First Princess, and the Third Princess..."
Ye Xiaowei smiled and reached out to help him up: "Lord Zi, there's no need for such formality, please rise!"
Zi Sang looked flustered and hurriedly said, "Your Highness, please just call me Zi Sang. I am not worthy of being called 'Your Highness'!"
"Lady Zi is a lady-in-waiting to the Empress Dowager, so it is only right that I address her as 'Lady Zi.' By the way, is the Empress Dowager in the palace now?"
"Your Highness, the Emperor has just finished discussing state affairs with his ministers and is currently resting in a side hall." After a pause, he continued:
"Your Highnesses have come together; is it because you have important matters to discuss with the Emperor?"
Ye Ziyu was about to speak when Ye Zirong tugged at her sleeve, signaling her to calm down. Ye Ziyu turned her head away somewhat angrily.
Ye Xiaowei smiled amiably and said casually, "It's alright. Since Mother Empress is resting, we will go to the side hall to wait!"
Zi Sang then led the group to a side hall to wait, and ordered a palace maid to bring tea and pastries for the three of them to enjoy.
"This servant will go and attend to His Majesty first. If His Majesty wakes up, this servant will then inform the princes. This servant takes her leave!"
The three sat down in order. Ye Xiaowei and Ye Zirong remained calm and composed throughout, sipping their tea with ease. However, the eldest brother, Ye Ziyu, was not as composed as his two younger sisters.
After drinking a cup of hot tea and eating a few pieces of pastry, he grew impatient and began to complain:
"The Queen Mother's nap is just a short rest, why does it take so long? This is really troublesome!"
Ye Zirong frowned, while Ye Xiaowei picked up her teacup and took a small sip.
"Your Majesty has so many national affairs to handle, and with the recent natural and man-made disasters, people everywhere are suffering. After all, Your Majesty is only a mortal; it's perfectly normal for you to get tired and need rest. I have been weak since childhood and have been plagued by illness for a long time, so I cannot share any of the burden with Your Majesty. My eldest sister is too simple-minded to handle politics, and my third sister is still too young to share the burden with Your Majesty. As a result, all the heavy responsibilities fall on Your Majesty's shoulders alone. Even a body of iron needs rest, let alone Your Majesty, who is only made of flesh and blood!"
After saying that, she put down her teacup, a half-smile on her face, but her eyes held a chilling edge that instilled a sense of fear and dread in one's heart.
"You can say those things to our faces, but don't say them in front of others. After all, she is our mother, the ruler of a country. Serving a ruler is like serving a tiger. Be careful what you say!"
Having waited so long, she was already impatient and had been holding back her anger at the third brother. Now, Ye Xiaowei was saying that she was still the eldest princess and the older sister, so how could she let these two younger sisters take turns bullying her?
His heart was filled with resentment, which turned into a raging fire that burned ever brighter, and he suddenly stood up.
☆、040 Fear arises
"What did I say, Second Prince? Don't think that just because you're the Crown Princess, I'm afraid of you. There's an order of seniority, isn't there? Usually, because you're the Crown Princess, I always obey you and follow your lead. But this time, I really can't stand you lecturing me like an elder. To put it bluntly, if anyone should be teaching, it should be me, the elder sister, educating you, not you, the younger sister!"
Ye Xiaowei did not get angry because of Ye Ziyu's words. On the contrary, she smiled at Ye Ziyu.
"Oh dear~ I never expected that my words would cause such a misunderstanding, Eldest Princess. What a blunder. If Eldest Princess did not like hearing what I just said, I will take it all back."
Ye Ziyu was still a little scared, after all, the other party was the Crown Princess, and her words just now were somewhat disrespectful.
But now, after hearing Ye Xiaowei say this, his heart, which had been hanging in suspense, finally settled down, and he became bolder and bolder.
She was being rather presumptuous: "Hmph~ Once words are spoken, they are like water poured out; there's no way to take them back. Doesn't even the Crown Princess know this basic common sense?"
Ye Zirong watched coldly from the sidelines, not interrupting. It seemed she intended to watch the two of them fight until they were both injured, so she could reap the benefits.
Ye Ziyu is an idiot, but that doesn't mean Ye Xiaowei is. She's young and already knows how to reap the benefits without so much. Ye Xiaowei is older than her, so there's no way she could understand.
Ye Zirong wanted to be the final victor, but she was determined not to let her evil scheme succeed!
Ye Xiaowei continued to smile quietly, but the smile appeared unusually eerie and chilling, and her cold gaze was terrifying no matter how you looked at it.
Ye Ziyu, who had been quite smug just moments before, felt her heart race. An overwhelming fear, like a vine taking root in her heart, grew rapidly around her heart until it completely enveloped her.
All I could see was the slightly upturned corner of his mouth, opening and closing:
"If my words just now displeased you, my elder sister, I apologize. However, I must also advise you that this is the Qiankun Palace, and the Empress is currently resting here. If you were to fly into a rage because of my words and disturb the Empress's peaceful sleep, you would know the consequences in your heart!"
Ye Ziyu's heart suddenly tightened, her face stiffened and her eyes widened as she stared at Ye Xiaowei. It was as if the woman in front of her was not her royal sister, but rather a ruthless demon. That fear came from the bottom of her heart and was revealed on her face, causing her whole body to tremble involuntarily.
That bloodthirsty, icy gaze lingered for only a moment. Ye Ziyu wanted to see it more clearly, but when he looked again, Ye Xiaowei had returned to her usual gentle smile. In her clear, bright eyes, there was only the purity of a young girl; there was no longer anything terrifying about her.
Ye Ziyu was still shaken, but she couldn't help but wonder to herself if she had misread it.
Ye Xiaowei used both soft and hard tactics, coercion and enticement, and without making a sound, she had already made Ye Ziyu break out in a cold sweat, feel fear, and even become unsteady on his feet.
Ye Zirong naturally saw all of this. She was slightly shocked, but she was still unwilling to admit defeat. She gritted her teeth and clenched her fists.
In this harem, having one intelligent princess like her is enough, and she firmly believes that Ye Xiaowei is just taking advantage of her different status and superiority to threaten people.
She was already playing that trick of smiling while hiding a knife, secretly intimidating people, before she was ten years old.
He immediately said, "Elder sister, Her Highness the Crown Princess is absolutely right. We must not disturb Mother's peaceful cultivation. Let's wait a little longer!"
"Hmph!" Ye Ziyu knew she couldn't possibly defeat Ye Xiaowei. Regardless of whether that terrifying look she had just received came from Ye Xiaowei, what she said was undeniably true. Moreover, since the third brother had spoken up, she didn't want to anger Emperor Mingde at this time and leave a bad impression on him.
After snorting, Ye Ziyu sat down angrily.
After the commotion, the three of them fell silent and sat quietly. Occasionally, the faint sound of teacups clinking could be heard, but there were no other noises.
The eldest sister, Ye Ziyu, is a restless person. Now, making her shut her mouth and sit motionless like a piece of wood almost suffocated her.
She would sip tea, eat a pastry, or chat with the maids beside her, but the maids dared not chat with her casually unless they had a hundred heads to be chopped off at will.
The question-and-answer session was quite mechanical and cautious. After a while, Ye Ziyu became impatient and scolded a few of the palace maids, which finally calmed things down for a while.
As for Ye Xiaowei, she sat quietly in the chair, her expression calm and composed, without joy or sorrow, her gaze serene, completely like a transcendent immortal, as if she had seen through the mundane world and could achieve a calm and indifferent state of mind.
The third sister, Ye Zirong, sat quietly to the side, her head bowed and eyes downcast, displaying the image of a gentle and serene little woman, yet hiding an ambition more ruthless than anyone else's.
Her expression appeared calm, but she was actually deep in thought. Occasionally, she would look up and glance at Ye Xiaowei, who always smiled gently at her. Her doubts deepened, and she unconsciously frowned slightly.
To be honest, even she couldn't figure out what Ye Xiaowei was thinking, nor did she know what kind of ability she had. But one thing was certain: her smile, seemingly harmless, was truly chilling!
As Ye Zirong looked at her for what seemed like the umpteenth time, she finally couldn't help but smile and say:
"Third Princess, is there something on my face?"
As she spoke, she reached out to touch him. Ye Zirong was startled and quickly came to her senses. Realizing that she had momentarily lost her composure, she hurriedly stood up, bowed, and said:
"Your Majesty, my sister was impolite and lost her composure, offending Her Highness the Crown Princess. Please punish her!"