The people outside the window had all left. The wind at night was truly cold, so she shivered as she closed the window and returned to her bed.
The inside of the quilt was ice-cold, and no matter how she tried, she couldn't warm it up. The chill made it impossible for her to sleep.
She tossed and turned on the bed in frustration, curling herself into a ball. But as soon as she closed her eyes, her mind was filled with the man's furious words, tormenting her and leaving her restless.
Bastard!
All night long, Ye Luan thought through all her possible escape routes. It wasn't until the latter half of the night that she finally felt so exhausted that she fell asleep.
The next day.
Ye Luan woke up early.
Fu Dai brought in a basin of water. After washing up, Granny Fang also came with food from the kitchen.
"Miss, His Highness yesterday--"
As Ye Luan ate, she watched the hesitant looks on their faces and smiled faintly, "Don't worry, he didn't bully me."
"Right, I need to go out and buy some things later.嬷嬷, you stay behind. Go to the storeroom and get the steward to give you fabric. Tell the embroiderers in the embroidery room to re-embroider a wedding dress."
When Granny Fang was cleaning, she had discovered that the wedding dress had been torn into pieces. She sighed silently in her heart.
"Miss—you have such a hard life."
Ye Luan furrowed her brows and smiled, "There are so many people in the world with hard lives. What is mine compared to them?"
"Miss, then I'll accompany you."
"Alright."
After eating, Ye Luan took her silver and went out.
As she walked through the garden, she heard some lazy maids whispering behind the rockery.
"Did you hear? Something happened at Moon Garden yesterday. When the Second Miss was carried back, the doctor said she was dislocated and fractured all over."
"Ah, is the Eldest Miss that cruel? Won't the Master do anything?"
"The Master wasn't in the mansion yesterday. He only returned this morning. I heard from my cousin who was on duty in the study that the Master was apparently beaten. His entire face is swollen like a pig's head."
Another, older voice chimed in, "What do you little wenches know? The Master offended someone."
"I heard that he knelt in the courtyard all night, slapping himself all night. His hands are beyond recognition, so swollen."
Ye Luan lowered her gaze and left quietly.
Seeing that Ye Luan had left, Fu Dai quickly trotted up, smiling brightly.
"Miss, you really did wonderfully. The Second Miss has been throwing her weight around in the mansion for so many years. Finally, someone dealt with her."
Ye Luan chuckled and patted her head.
No one stopped her when she left the mansion. Ye Luan circled the streets for several laps and found a deserted-looking pharmacy. She bought some ordinary medicinal herbs.
There were Fuzi, Sheyang, Chongcao Mu, Gouwen, and so on.
She then went to the blacksmith shop and bought a small furnace cauldron. She and Fu Dai wandered outside, ate a bowl of wontons, and then returned to the mansion.
For the next few days, Ye Luan was busy fiddling with herbs in her room, and no one came to trouble her. However, she heard that all the servants who had seen Xiao Chizhan in her room that day had been silenced.
Throughout the entire mansion, people were in a state of panic.
Ye Luan played with the Plum Blossom Needles on her wrist, her expression calm.
She destroyed all the residue from the herbs she had refined in her room. She then took a small bottle of prepared pills and hid it in her embrace. Under the cover of darkness, she headed towards Qingge.
Qingge was Ye Xue's courtyard, not far from the main residence, with several guards at the entrance.
Ye Luan crouched down and moved through the covered walkway, directly leaping onto the roof beams. She jumped into the bamboo forest in the backyard and quietly climbed to the window.
"Your Highness, you're so wicked—"
"Don't tease me, hehehe, it tickles so much."
Through the paper window, Ye Luan saw the scene of licentious laughter inside.
She covered her mouth in surprise.
The Third Prince?!
When did these two get together? No wonder Ye Xue kept saying she wanted to marry the Third Prince as his consort. So they had already been secretly involved.
She was truly a fool. The Third Prince was just playing around, but she had taken it seriously.
How laughable!
"Your Highness, you don't know, the Prince of Dingbei caused a huge scene in the mansion a few days ago for my eldest sister. If it weren't for the divine doctor you sent, you wouldn't be seeing me now."
"Oh? What do you want to do?"
Ye Xue, leaning on the man, said viciously, "If my eldest sister is still alive, I won't be able to marry Your Highness. During the Qiqiao Festival, when there are many people and eyes are everywhere, I will trick my eldest sister into leaving the mansion."
As she spoke, she made a throat-slitting motion.
"Next, it will be up to Your Highness."
Ye Luan listened to the sounds from inside with a cold laugh.
"Hahaha, you little rascal, you're quite ruthless."
The Third Prince, his face full of lustful desire, continued his movements. "If you kill Ye Luan through my hands, and my cousin finds out and causes trouble for me, wouldn't that be more loss than gain?"
"Oh, Your Highness, the Prince of Dingbei is just toying with that贱人, he won't cause trouble for you over such a trivial matter."
Inside, weak sounds could be heard intermittently.
Ye Luan glanced at the porcelain bottle in her hand, her gaze gradually becoming fierce. She took out a packet of powder from her embrace and poured it directly into the bottle.
Originally, she had planned to torment her slowly.
But now, she had changed her mind.
Ye Xue had always wanted to kill her. She absolutely could not leave any future trouble or give Ye Xue a chance to recover.
She wanted to kill her with one blow!
Ye Luan coldly held the poison in her hand and waited quietly for them to finish. After hearing the sound of them getting out of bed, she immediately hid herself.
The Third Prince, fully dressed, left.
In the inner chamber.
Ye Xue lay on the four-poster bed, looking at her smooth, jade-like body covered in red marks. She curled her lips into a slight smile.
As long as she killed Ye Luan and successfully married into the Third Prince's mansion, she would be able to escape her current awkward status in the future.
In the future, all the glory and wealth would belong to her.
No one could snatch it from her.
Suddenly, a murderous intent surged. An extremely fine silver needle, carrying the cold wind, shot out with a swish.
Ye Xue felt a sharp pain in her neck and looked at the person who had suddenly appeared in shock.
"You—"
Ah—
She lost her voice.
Why couldn't she speak?
A chill surged uncontrollably from Ye Xue's heart. She was both furious and terrified. How could this bitch be here? How did she get in?
"Second Sister, don't look at me with that kind of gaze, I'm so scared."
Bitch.
This bitch.
Ye Xue's eyes were filled with venomous hatred. She didn't believe that this bitch would dare to kill her.
She didn't believe it.
Didn't believe it.
Ye Luan calmly lifted the floral curtain, sat by the bedside, took out the green porcelain bottle, and shook it with a smile.
"If you die, don't blame me."
Ye Xue was forced to open her mouth, and the poisonous liquid flowed inch by inch down her throat and into her body. She struggled to crawl towards the door.
This vicious bitch had actually dared to drug and harm her.
She wanted to tell her father, tell her mother, and kill this bitch.
"Ah—"
Ye Luan grabbed her arm and threw her onto the bed, looking at her coldly, as if looking at a dead person.
"Don't blame me, I'm just following a principle: a life for a life."
A life for a life?!
Ye Xue was greatly alarmed. She—she wasn't Ye Luan.
A gnawing pain spread through her belly, but her throat was sealed, and she couldn't utter a single word.
Her eyes were filled with crimson blood. Hatred and murderous intent filled her mind.
Ye Luan looked down at the woman struggling in pain without the slightest bit of pity.
'Stop struggling, just obediently go meet the King of Hell.'