Upon hearing this news, Ye Wanmian's emotions fluctuated violently. She couldn't help but cough. Qiu Yi's eyes were red as she patted Ye Wanmian on the back. Suppressing her anger, she said,
"Master is really going too far. Even if the young lady is not of the Ye family's blood, she has been raised for sixteen years. Even if she made a mistake at the Spring Banquet, there's no need to be so heartless, is there?"
"I did nothing wrong!" Ye Wanmian interrupted her, tightly gripping her wrist. "Qiu Yi, I didn't write a love letter to His Highness the Crown Prince. Don't you even believe me?"
Qiu Yi sighed. "I've been with the young lady since childhood. Of course I believe you. But now outside..."
She carefully glanced at Ye Wanmian. "The things that happened at the Spring Banquet have spread everywhere outside. They've described in great detail how the young lady tried to seduce His Highness the Crown Prince. At this point, what's the use of only me believing?"
Ye Wanmian's face turned pale, and her figure swayed unsteadily.
Right. What was the use of only her and Qiu Yi believing?
It all started because of His Highness the Crown Prince. Unless His Highness clarified it himself and proved that what happened that day was all a misunderstanding, otherwise, all that awaited her would be a deluge of accusations!
But was His Highness someone she could easily meet?
Suddenly, there was a commotion outside. Before the master and servant could react, the half - closed door was pushed open. The person who came in looked at Ye Wanmian with surprise on their face.
"Sister, you're finally awake!"
Ye Wanxing's eyes were filled with tears. She ran towards Ye Wanmian and grabbed her arm.
"Why is sister's hand so cold? Oh, her forehead is still so hot. Qiu Yi, did you give sister the medicine just now?"
Qiu Yi replied stiffly, "The young lady just woke up. There wasn't time to give her the medicine yet."
Ye Wanxing picked up the medicine bowl that Qiu Yi had placed aside and handed her the jade pendant on her body. "I'll take care of sister. You take my jade pendant and go to the kitchen to get some food for sister."
Qiu Yi looked at Ye Wanmian and Ye Wanxing worriedly, then had no choice but to leave.
The spoon clinked against the porcelain bowl clearly. Ye Wanxing raised her hand and brought the medicine to Ye Wanmian's lips. "Sister, why are you so stubborn? You know Father's temper. Just lower your head and apologize to him. He'll calm down after being angry for a few days."
"Look at your face. The mark of Father's slap is still there. It shows how angry Father was that day."
Ye Wanmian looked at Ye Wanxing, who was sitting beside her, with her head down, stirring the medicine bowl. She coldly asked,
"Did you come to see me just to say these things?"
Ye Wanxing bit her lower lip and advised, "Sister, just give in to Father."
"Heh." Ye Wanmian let out a soft laugh.
The love letter written to His Highness the Crown Prince at the Spring Banquet did have exactly the same handwriting as hers, even the habitual connected strokes were identical. This was the "iron - clad evidence" that proved she had tried to curry favor with the Crown Prince.
But she dared to swear with her life that it wasn't written by her.
It was obvious that someone was framing her. She had suspected Ye Wanxing, but when Ye Wanxing was first recognized and brought back to the Ye Mansion, she had made a lot of jokes because she was illiterate. Not to mention writing. So it was absolutely impossible for Ye Wanxing to have imitated her handwriting.
But...
She could never get close to Ye Wanxing. She always felt that there was something strange in the other's gaze when looking at her.
"I will never admit to something I didn't do," Ye Wanmian said calmly.
"Sister, why are you so stubborn?" Ye Wanxing looked really anxious for her. "Do you know that Father and Mother are planning to..."
Realizing that she had accidentally let something slip, Ye Wanxing quickly stopped talking.
"What are they planning to do?" Ye Wanmian frowned. "Finish what you were saying."
Ye Wanxing bit her lower lip, then bent down and whispered in Ye Wanmian's ear, "Yesterday when I went to Mother's room, I accidentally heard Father and Mother discussing a marriage for you, sister.
"I heard that the man is a colleague of Father's. He's a military commander in Xuanzhou in the northern desert. His wife died three years ago. She was beaten to death by him when he was drunk.
"Father also said that he's already made an agreement with them. He'll marry you off within ten days. In this way, he can quell the rumors in the capital and make His Highness the Crown Prince feel at ease with the Ye family!"
A colleague of Father's?! He beat his wife to death when drunk?
Was she going to be his second wife?
Ye Wanmian's fingertips instantly turned icy cold. Her chest ached, and she lunged towards the edge of the couch and spat out a mouthful of fresh blood.
"Ah, sister, you're spitting blood!" Ye Wanxing exclaimed. Just then, Qiu Yi walked into the room with a tray in her hand. Seeing this, she was greatly shocked. She rushed forward to support Ye Wanmian and called her name while crying.
Ye Wanmian was already ill. After this blow, she fainted again.
When she regained consciousness, she felt that she was trapped in a small sedan chair. She was wearing a fiery - red wedding dress. A rope tied her tightly, making it impossible for her to move. There was also a handkerchief stuffed in her mouth, making it difficult for her to make a sound.
Outside came the deafening sounds of suona horns and gongs and drums. The sedan chair jolted up and down, taking Ye Wanmian towards an unknown distance.
Only then did Ye Wanmian confirm that what Ye Wanxing had said was actually true.
Her parents, who had loved her in the past, in order to quell the anger of His Highness the Crown Prince and show their attitude to the Eastern Palace, had taken advantage of her illness, tied her up, stuffed her into the sedan chair, and were going to send her to Xuanzhou to get married!
Intense despair and hatred filled her heart. Tears welled up in her eyes and streamed down her face.
Was this her fate?
...
Xiao Jingcheng was woken up by a series of suppressed and painful sobs.
"I did nothing wrong. Why doesn't anyone believe me?"
"No, I don't want to. I don't want to get married..."
"I don't want to marry him..."
"So, so painful. It hurts so much..."
He opened his eyes and saw the girl with her back to him. She was crying so hard that her whole body was trembling. Those broken sobs tugged at his chest, making him feel a strange tightness there.
He knew that she was having a nightmare. He just didn't know what she had dreamed about that made her cry so sadly.
With a scream of "Ah", the girl trembled violently and woke up from the nightmare. Only then did the sobs stop.
Xiao Jingcheng was hesitating whether to go forward to check the situation when Ye Wanmian propped herself up and sat up. Perhaps the movement was a bit too violent. The hair that was loosely coiled on her head fell from the top and spread out behind her. With a look of innocence, she turned her head and looked at the yellow dog beside her.
Xiao Jingcheng's heart skipped a beat. He looked at the girl in front of him in disbelief.
It had only been one night, but that small face, no bigger than a palm, had changed. It was no longer sallow as he had seen before. Her skin was fair and clean. There were no freckles, not even a mole.
She had just cried, so her eye sockets were still moist. There were still tears on her cheeks that hadn't been wiped away. The hair that had spread out behind her was as black as a waterfall.
Clearly, she was a beauty, unparalleled in her elegance and so pitiful that one couldn't help but feel sorry for her!