Yu Si shook his head and said, "The villagers in Dongli Town said that the Lady Jiang died in the flood."
"What did you say?! Dead?!" Xiao Yixuan suddenly stood up, his face icy cold.
How could she be dead?
Wasn't it rumored outside that Jiang Mian was the lucky star, and that Lady Ye had deliberately snatched her from someone else back then?!
If she was a lucky star, how could she have so easily lost her life in the flood?!
"After you arrived in Dongli Town, how did you find out that Jiang Mian was dead? Tell me everything exactly as it happened!" Xiao Yixuan immediately said.
Yu Si didn't dare to hide anything and told him all he had seen and heard after arriving in Dongli Town. The more Xiao Yixuan listened, the colder his face became. "It's not right."
Yu Si's heart skipped a beat. "Your Highness, w-where is it not right?"
"All the able - bodied men in Dongli Town, including those from Huichun Hall, are dead. The ones who survived are all the old, the weak, the disabled, and children. This doesn't make sense." Xiao Yixuan said quickly. "They must still be alive. They're just hiding and don't want to be recruited into the Cangzhou Army."
Now, every place was recruiting troops. Dongli Town wasn't far from Tianyuan County, so this news must have reached there too.
"As for Jiang Mian, she must still be alive." Xiao Yixuan was certain. "It was because she was still alive that she found Ling'an Temple, learned about the Ye family stealing the child back then, and forced Abbot Huaihai to tell all the inside stories and then commit suicide by taking poison."
Xiao Yixuan squinted his eyes.
Even if Jiang Mian wasn't in Dongli Town, the villagers there must know where she was. It seemed that he had to go to Dongli Town himself to find out the truth.
After dismissing Yu Si, Meng Zhao, who had been waiting outside, walked into the room and whispered in Xiao Yixuan's ear,
"Your Highness, the Princess has finally agreed to talk. She said she wants to see you."
Xiao Yixuan straightened his sleeves, took Meng Zhao with him, and came to a locked side - room in the backyard. He asked the guards outside the door to unlock it. When he pushed the door open, the room was filled with red, and there was Ye Wanxing, looking haggard and in tears.
Ye Wanxing was even still wearing a bright red wedding dress. She looked up at Xiao Yixuan, her eyes flickering slightly. Choking with sobs, she called out, "Your Highness."
Seeing this face again, Xiao Yixuan no longer had the patience and tenderness as before. He walked into the room expressionlessly and coldly looked at Ye Wanxing, who was crying like a pear blossom in the rain.
"I'm willing to see you because you're my cousin and the properly - wedded Crown Princess. But Xing'er, you should know that my patience is limited. If you keep trying to deceive me, don't blame me for being ruthless and taking the lives of your Ye family."
Ye Wanxing threw herself at his feet, grabbed his sleeve with her hand, and cried, "I've thought it through. This time, I really have. I'm willing to tell Your Highness everything. Please, Your Highness, spare the Ye family and my parents' lives."
It all started two days ago.
Xiao Tianye had won the support of the military governors in the south of the Yangtze River. He established another Great Sheng Dynasty with Cangzhou City as its capital. He made Xiao Yixuan the Crown Prince and gave Tianyuan County and Lingfeng Ferry to Xiao Yixuan to manage.
Xiao Tianye had long issued an imperial edict to arrange the marriage between Xiao Yixuan and Ye Wanxing. Since Xiao Yixuan had become the Crown Prince, the two should get married. The wedding was held in Tianyuan County.
On the wedding day, Tianyuan County was extremely lively. However, while Xiao Yixuan was entertaining the military officers, Meng Zhao walked through the drinking and feasting guards with a solemn face. He came to Xiao Yixuan and brought him an unbelievable piece of news.
Now, the teahouses and restaurants in Tianyuan County were all talking about the scandal of Ye Ping'an, the former magistrate of Cangzhou and now the chief minister of the Southern Sheng Dynasty.
It was said that when Lady Ye gave birth to a child in Ling'an Temple, she didn't accidentally swap the babies in a hurry. Instead, seeing that the child born to another woman had a better fate than her own, she became greedy. She stuffed a dead cat into the woman's hands as a dead baby, driving the woman crazy, and then left with the two children.
This scandal was personally told by Abbot Huaihai of Ling'an Temple in front of many believers.
It was also Abbot Huaihai who had divined the fates of the two children back then and changed the birth date of Lady Ye's child.
After learning this, Xiao Yixuan was first shocked, and then his shock turned into anger.
He wasn't fighting for Jiang Mian's injustice. He was angry that the Ye family had dared to deceive him and Concubine Feng with this matter!
If he and his mother hadn't known from Lady Ye that the Ye family had given birth to a little lucky star, how could they have promoted and favored the Ye family everywhere, and how could he have married Ye Wanxing!
The two had just gotten married in front of all the villagers in the city and all the military officers. If others found out this news at this time, it would only damage his reputation.
He ordered Meng Zhao to suppress the rumors in the city. Forcing a smile, he saw off the guests and immediately returned to their bridal chamber to question Ye Wanxing.
How dare Ye Wanxing tell the truth? She firmly insisted that Abbot Huaihai was deliberately framing and slandering them and refused to admit Lady Ye's intention of swapping the children back then.
But Xiao Yixuan had ways to torture Ye Wanxing. He had her locked in the room and ignored her. Every day, the only thing she got was water.
On the other hand, he summoned Yu Si and told him to immediately count the troops and go to Dongli Town to find out Jiang Mian's whereabouts.
What he wanted was never the daughter of the Ye family.
It was a lucky star who could help him and enable him to ascend to the supreme throne.
He was determined to have Jiang Mian.
But who would have thought that when Yu Si arrived in Dongli Town, he got the news that Jiang Mian was dead.
He didn't believe that Jiang Mian was really dead. Even if she was, he had to see her body.
Crouching down, Xiao Yixuan reached out and stroked Ye Wanxing's obviously pale and haggard face. His tone was much softer than before. "Xing'er, you've become my concubine. There's still some affection between us. As long as you're obedient, I'll naturally let you enjoy the glory and wealth of being the Crown Princess."
Ye Wanxing bit her lower lip and said, "The rumors outside are, indeed... true."
"Actually, I didn't know about it at first. I was raised outside the manor by my mother since I was a child. She often came to see me and brought me many, many gifts. She always sighed in front of me. I knew she was my mother, but I couldn't call her that."
"I cried countless times because of this and even tried to escape from the manor. But I was discovered and called back before I could run far."
"This incident alarmed my mother. She rushed to the manor overnight and told me about swapping the fates in Ling'an Temple back then. Only then did I know that she didn't abandon me but was doing it for my own good. From then on, I stayed in the manor peacefully and never caused any trouble again."
"To make others believe that I had grown up in Dongli Town since I was a child, I deliberately tanned myself very dark and even carried firewood for a year. Sure enough, at the age of sixteen, I waited for the Ye Mansion's carriage. My mother and elder brother came to pick me up personally."