Chapter 18: Chapter 18: He was Framed
The Ye family members were startled, and Ye Lingrui hurriedly kicked the cup away and dragged his twin sister from the hot water pooling beneath her feet.
Alas, Ye Lingyue’s right foot was already burned by the water, as red as boiled shrimp even under the dimly lit oil lamp.
"Yue’er..." Shen Jingyi turned to her daughter worriedly, wanting to go to her side, but Ye Lingrui shook his head. "I will take care of her bruise, Mother."
Meanwhile, Ye Lingyue’s face had turned deathly pale.
Ye Zhiqiu’s confession kept repeating in her head like a broken record.
[System? System, come out, you broken thing!] She yelled angrily in her mind.
Because she had married the Second Prince as a secondary Princess Consort, she was considered a member of the imperial family. But...
She needed an explanation!
Why did it become Ye Zhiqiu who had killed her? To put it in another way, does that mean she was one of the causes that drove the Ye family to exile?!
[System, don’t dare to hide!]
Even the scolding in her mind gradually turned into a voice filled with frustration.
With so many people in the Second Prince Mansion who hated her, how could it be Ye Zhiqiu? Moreover, the Second Prince, Qin Ruichen and Shen Jinzhi should have hated her.
Shouldn’t they feel thankful if someone got rid of Shen Wuqing?
Even though other crimes were enough to strip the Ye family out of their status, without the Second Prince Mansion pushing to pin the blame of murdering a member of the imperial family tag on them, the Ye family wouldn’t have been exiled.
They could still stay in the Capital even as commoners!
Ye Lingyue really couldn’t understand it!
She quickly snapped out of her thoughts. Ye Lingrui had put her right food in a wooden bucket filled with cool water. The stinging pain also gradually subsided.
A few pairs of eyes were still on her, so she looked up and grinned foolishly, secretly nudging Ye Lingrui, her spokesman, hoping he caught her intention.
"Yue’er is fine. I will find some medicinal herbs to make medicinal paste for her foot later," Ye Lingrui explained, and then motioned to Ye Zhiqiu, "Eldest Brother... you should continue so that we can figure out our situation better."
Ye Lingyue’s eyes lit up, and she sent Ye Lingrui an appreciative look.
For a moment, she almost thought they were really a pair of twins, seeing that he understood her so much. It was as if they shared a telephatic connection!
The attention was back to Ye Zhiqiu again. Everyone was slightly relieved after they heard Ye Lingrui’s words.
"Shen Wuqing?" Ye Chengde frowned imperceptibly upon hearing her name.
Ye Lingyue tilted her head slightly, taking in everyone’s expression. She wanted to see what they thought of Shen Wuqing. After all, she didn’t build her persona as a villainess for nothing.
"How could that happen?" Ye Lanxi’s eyes were full of scrutiny as he stared at his eldest brother. "What’s going on between–"
A gentle slap from Shen Jingyi shut him up.
He pursed his lips and looked away. Oops, he almost couldn’t control his mouth again.
"I don’t have any relationship with her, Lan’er, don’t make up stories in your mind." Ye Zhiqiu was rather speechless at his second brother.
Ye Lingyue was slightly surprised. The reaction of the Ye family members was rather normal. They only showed disapproval to Shen Wuqing, but not dislike or even hatred.
There was even a flash of pity in Shen Jingyi’s eyes.
At this moment, Ye Lingyue suddenly remembered Shen Jingyi’s identity. The adopted daughter of the previous family head of the Shen family.
In other words, she was Shen Wuqing’s aunt.
Even though... the relationship between her and Shen Wuqing’s father was rather lukewarm. Considering that the Grand General spent most of his time on the border, it wasn’t that surprising.
Ye Lingyue could count how many times Shen Jingyi visited the Grand General’s mansion with one finger.
"Then, did Shen Wuqing really..." Ye Chengde didn’t continue his words.
During her last moment as the Minister of Rites, he only heard from the imperial guards and eunuch sending him an imperial decree that his family was stripped of status and exiled.
They also mention Shen Wuqing’s name, and didn’t bother to elaborate further when he asked them. Hence, he didn’t want to say anything to his wife and other children until he confirmed the details.
Ye Zhiqiu shook his head. He also didn’t know.
"How could they pin the blame on you, Eldest Brother?" Ye Lanxi asked.
"I was in the Second Prince’s Mansion..." Ye Zhiqiu paused. "He invited several young officials in his faction to take a look at his horses."
"A young official offered me and other officials to try feeding the horses. We did feed them." Ye Zhiqiu frowned and he shook his head in confusion. "I don’t know how it became poisoning Shen Wuqing."
Ye Lanxi couldn’t resist cracking a joke in such a serious atmosphere. "Did the Second Prince Mansion get it wrong? They also have a horse named Shen Wuqing in their stable."
Ye Lingyue’s fists couldn’t help but harden.
Even until now, the System still hadn’t responded to her. Ye Lanxi’s mocking words just add to her annoyance.
She became quite restless.
Ye Chengde shook his head. He made a conclusion. "Since the Second Prince Mansion really went to such a length against our family, it seemed that Shen Wuqing really died."
’But why?’ Ye Lingyue couldn’t help but question it in her heart.
Qin Ruichen hated her, and Shen Jinzhi also disliked her.
Then, a thought crossed her mind.
Did the Second Prince Mansion want to use Shen Wuqing to bring down the Ye family? After all, it was like killing two birds with one stone.
She just didn’t understand why Qin Ruichen would target the Ye family, someone in his own faction. It was unlikely for the Ye family to go against them even if their Madam was related to the Shen family.
After all, the Shen family’s downfall wasn’t caused by him.
The more she thought about it, the more confused she became. She started getting headaches.
Ye Lingyue also was sure she didn’t see Ye Zhiqiu even until the last moment of her breath. Or... did she see it wrong?
Her mind settled on the hallucinogen powder in her pocket. If she had access to such powerful powder, the Second Prince Mansion could get it too, right?
She glanced at the injured Ye Zhiqiu with some pity. The only explanation available was that... both she and Ye Zhiqiu were under the hallucinogen effect when the poisoning happened.
Alas, now that they were on their way to exile, there was no way they could conduct their own investigation and clear the family’s names.
Ye Lingyue sighed. Anyway, it didn’t matter much where she lived. As long as she got enough drink and food, as well as a comfy bed, she would be content.
Since the original body’s owner was a fool, she could take advantage of it and lived like a salted fish while waiting for the System to reappear and provide explanation.
The next day, the exile party encountered a funeral procession.
Ye Lingyue froze when she saw familiar people from the Second Prince Mansion.
