The chief eunuch, likely acting on the emperor’s orders, did not disclose the reason for summoning her.
Ye Shaohua couldn’t guess what it was.
But if Yu Wenjing was calling her out of the palace at this moment, it must be something significant.
Without even changing her clothes, she followed immediately.
Along the way, the chief eunuch regarded her with far more respect than before—though she paid no attention.
Qu Huashang, however, standing not far away, noticed it all too clearly.
Her expression darkened as she returned to her palace, where she found the Qu family’s matriarch waiting.
“Grandmother,” Qu Huashang said, her voice trembling with grievance the moment she saw her. “Has Grandfather found out what’s going on? Why was Ye Shaohua not only released but also moved to the Moonflower Palace? Has something changed?”
The old lady dismissed the servants before patting Qu Huashang’s head reassuringly. A sharp glint flashed in her aged eyes. “Your Majesty need not worry. After today, the Ye family will never rise again.”
Qu Huashang wanted to ask why, but seeing her grandmother’s confident demeanor, she relaxed.
At General Ye’s residence, the moment Ye Shaohua and Yu Wenjing stepped inside, they saw the general himself.
“Your Highness, are you alright?” General Ye first bowed to the emperor before turning to Ye Shaohua.
His eyes reddened at the sight of her gaunt figure.
Back then, if not for Yu Wenjing’s repeated pleas and sworn promises, he would never have married his most treasured daughter to such a heartless man.
His daughter had grown up coddled by the Ye family, never allowed to suffer even a scratch—except during martial training.
Yet she had taken wounds for Yu Wenjing, only to be thrown into a pitch-black prison!
How dare he?
How dare he!
General Ye gripped Ye Shaohua’s arm tightly—this was a debt he would make Yu Wenjing repay.
“General.” A folding fan gently pushed his hand away. When the general looked up, he met the striking face of Yu Wenshi. “Your daughter’s arm still bears unhealed wounds.”
Wounds? General Ye immediately released her, his expression darkening further.
He had much to say to Ye Shaohua, but now was not the time.
Yu Wenjing, embarrassed that Yu Wenshi had pointed out Ye Shaohua’s injuries, quickly changed the subject. “Prince Xian, why are you at the general’s residence?”
Yu Wenshi hesitated, his face grave. “While strolling with the Divine Physician, we heard wailing from the general’s estate. Upon inquiry, we learned that Young General Ye had been poisoned again. The imperial physicians were helpless, so I asked the Divine Physician to examine him, given our acquaintance.”
At the news of Ye Shaofeng’s poisoning, Ye Shaohua’s face paled. Even Yu Wenjing stiffened.
They hurried inside.
In Ye Shaofeng’s courtyard, eleven imperial physicians knelt in a row, kowtowing in apology. “Your Majesty, we are incompetent.”
Yu Wenjing’s expression turned thunderous. “Investigate! Summon the Chief Justice of the Supreme Court at once!”
He refused to believe Ye Shaofeng had been poisoned without reason.
From inside the room, after some indistinct words from the Divine Physician, a heart-wrenching sob erupted.
General Ye dug his nails into his palms. He wanted to weep more than anyone, but he couldn’t afford to collapse now.
Ye Shaohua recognized her sister-in-law’s voice.
The Divine Physician emerged, shaking his head at Yu Wenshi.
“Madam Ye, Young Madam, please accept my condolences,” he said gently as the two women followed him out, still pleading. “Young Madam, you appear to be nearly two months pregnant. For the child’s sake, you must take care of yourself and not grieve too deeply.”
Ye Shaohua watched as her sister-in-law instinctively clutched her stomach, her lifeless eyes flickering with confusion.
Madam Ye finally noticed Ye Shaohua and realized she had been imprisoned and stripped of her title. Having been away with the army for a year, this was her first time seeing her daughter since.
Warned by General Ye not to touch Ye Shaohua’s injuries, Madam Ye could only grasp her hand. No longer able to cry, she choked out two words: “Shaohua…”
The courtyard was thick with sorrow.
“Divine Physician,” Yu Wenjing implored, “is there truly no hope? Name any herb in this world, and I will scour the earth to find it!”
Though he had once considered wiping out the Ye family, he now understood—without them, his throne would crumble.
The Divine Physician, unfazed by the emperor’s presence, shook his head. “Not even Hua Tuo could save him now. Young General Ye’s vitality was already hanging by a thread, sustained only by medicine. That, I could treat. But someone laced his medicine with duanchangcao—a poison that would kill even a healthy man, let alone someone in his condition. Also, few know of this poison. Whoever accessed his medicine is likely the culprit, General Ye.”
The imperial physicians trembled, not daring to rise.
With the emperor’s current mood, they knew they’d be executed alongside Ye Shaofeng.
Yu Wenshi glanced at the Divine Physician, then at Ye Shaohua’s dazed figure in the courtyard.
His fingers clenched.
He knew the Divine Physician wasn’t lying. If even he couldn’t cure this, then—Yu Wenshi exhaled sharply—they were too late.
“I’m going to see my brother,” Ye Shaohua said, striding toward the room.
Her sister-in-law blocked her. “Shaohua, wait… Let Mother and me prepare him first. He always took pride in his dignity. He wouldn’t want you to see him like this.”
Ye Shaohua pressed her lips together, unmoved.
Yu Wenjing also looked at her, sympathy in his eyes. “Let your sister-in-law go first.”
The fact that someone had infiltrated the imperial physicians horrified him. If they could tamper with a general’s medicine, what stopped them from poisoning the emperor himself?
Yu Wenjing shuddered at the thought.
Ye Shaohua ignored everyone. She squeezed her sister-in-law’s hand and smirked coldly. “Don’t worry. Even if I die, I won’t let my brother. In one hour, I’ll return him to you—alive.”
Those behind this had acted because they saw Yu Wenjing’s reluctance to destroy the Ye family. So they took matters into their own hands, ensuring Ye Shaofeng’s death.
But little did they know—
Rules meant nothing to Ye Shaohua.
