Translator: Nyoi-Bo Studio  Editor: Nyoi-Bo Studio

Ye Jiuge looked up and saw the familiar Crown Prince, Dongfang Jianming, arrive with a team of guards.

“Crown Prince, you've arrived just in time.” Ye Shanshan's spirits rose. She complained promptly, “Eldest Sister is bullying the Gong Clan's Third Miss, and she has even destroyed someone else's shop.”

“Ye Jiuge, do you think that this is your Ye Residence? How dare you commit such a violent act here.”

The Crown Prince glared darkly at Ye Jiuge, who had restored her looks. Her beautiful face caused him to hate her even more.

“Neither is this Your Highness's East Palace.” Ye Jiuge remained calm and composed.

“You are trying to twist words and force logic. Come, arrest this woman who is creating a disturbance.” The Crown Prince immediately gave an order to the guards he'd brought along.

Hua Die and Yu Die immediately stood nervously in front of Ye Jiuge.

“Your Highness, I am here to partic.i.p.ate in the Pill Production Tournament. Don't you think that you are too biased to arrest me without distinguis.h.i.+ng between right and wrong?” Ye Jiuge raised her eyebrows and asked.

“The facts are obvious, and evidence of your crime is conclusive. There is no use trying to quibble.” The Crown Prince gave a hand signal in an imposing manner, then said, “Arrest Ye Jiuge. If she resists, don't hold back.”

“Eldest Sister.” Ye Ruyi held onto Ye Jiuge's sleeve tightly. Her tiny face paled with fear.

“Don't worry. Although the Crown Prince is muddied in the head, there are still sensible people in Medicine Refinery City,” Ye Jiuge comforted her calmly.

“Eldest Sister, how dare you say that the Crown Prince is muddied in the head! I will report this to Father when I am back so that he can punish you.” Ye Shanshan wanted to continue to frame Ye Jiuge, but she was startled by Ye Jiuge's cold gaze.

“Ye Shanshan, if I were you, I would keep my mouth shut. Otherwise, you may not get the chance to open it again in the future.” Although Ye Jiuge's tone was indifferent, Ye Shanshan knew that she was not joking.

Her phobia of being beaten flooded into Ye Shanshan's mind, and she involuntarily hid behind the Crown Prince.

“Ye Jiuge. How dare you bully the small and weak in front of me. You have no respect for the royal family at all!” the Crown Prince barked.

“All of you are either representing the Gong Clan or the royal family. Someone who didn't know better might think that the Emperor suddenly died and that there's n.o.body left in the Gong Clan,” Ye Jiuge sneered.

“How dare you!”

“Impudent!”

The Gong Clan's Third Miss and the Crown Prince flew into a violent rage at the same time. They wanted nothing more than to capture Ye Jiuge.

At that moment, the sound of orderly footsteps came from a distance. The patrolling soldiers in the Medicine Refinery City had received news of the incident.

The man who led the soldiers wore a dark red jersey. His handsome face was profound, as if engraved by a knife, and he had a grim appearance. It was Wan Ziyang.

“See, a sensible person has arrived,” Ye Jiuge smiled and said.

“Lord Wan, Ye Jiuge has committed a violent act and attempted to rob someone. You are not thinking of harboring her, are you?” the Crown Prince said coldly.

“Yes. Lord Wan, I witnessed it,” Ye Shanshan said, hiding behind the Crown Prince.

Wan Ziyang gazed coldly at the Crown Prince and Ye Shanshan before he turned and asked Ye Jiuge, “What happened?”

“I was just shopping with my younger sister when the Gong Clan's Third Miss came inside to insult me. She also destroyed the store…”

Before Ye Jiuge could finish speaking, the Gong Clan's Third Miss denied it angrily: “I did not. Obviously, you were trying to rob me. You were the one who damaged the store.”

“This store was destroyed by someone with a Wind Spiritual Root. Lord Wan, you can send someone to investigate,” Ye Jiuge said coolly.

“Investigate!” Wan Ziyang ordered.

The soldiers began to search systematically in the rubble. Soon, they found a beam that had been severed by a Wind Elemental Spiritual Power. The sliced surface was still pale green.

“Sir, this little store was indeed destroyed by a Wind Elemental Spiritual Power,” a tall and skinny soldier reported.

“I have a Lightning Spiritual Root. I wonder what is the element of the Gong Clan's Third Miss's Spiritual Root?” Ye Jiuge looked at the Gong Clan's Third Miss maliciously.

She thought to herself, Some people try to distort the truth deliberately and frame others, and yet they are unaware that they have blundered.

“So what if I have a Wind Spiritual Root? It is such a shabby store, and I can compensate him easily. However, how do you plan to settle the fact that you have injured me?” The Gong Clan's Third Miss remained arrogant and despotic.

The people around them began to discuss spiritedly, even without Ye Jiuge saying anything.

“This woman from the Gong Clan is so overbearing. So what if she is from a rich and powerful family?”

“Indeed. How dare she be so arrogant in our Medicine Refinery City? In their Baimu City, wouldn't they be the overlords?”

“And that Ye Shanshan. She must have a vicious heart to act against her sisters to help an outsider.”

“The Crown Prince is also muddled if he is so captivated by her beauty. He has gone so far as to harbor the culprit. If he were to manage the Pill Production Tournament, I think that there'd be no need for us to compete in it…”

Hearing the spirited discussions of the people around them, the Gong Clan's Third Miss's face changed. Her eyes, which were watching Ye Jiuge, revealed her desire to tear Ye Jiuge into pieces.

“n.o.body is allowed to cause a disturbance in the Medicine Refinery City. Your Highness, you don't wish for news of this matter to reach the Emperor's ears, do you?” Wan Ziyang stared coldly at the Crown Prince.

The Pill Production Tournament was no small matter, and any problems would not be tolerated. Even the Crown Prince would not dare mess around.

The Crown Prince did not dare say anything. He glared viciously at Ye Jiuge before speaking softly to the Gong Clan's Third Miss.

The Gong Clan's Third Miss was clearly unwilling to accept it. However, no matter how unbridled she may have been, she was still in the Dongfang Clan's territory. She had to show the Crown Prince some respect.

“You'll pay for this!” the Gong Clan's Third Miss threw out some harsh words before leaving in a rage.

Ye Shanshan hurriedly followed behind her. Her fawning over the Gong Clan's Third Miss was extremely disdainful.

“Shameless.” Ye Ruyi stared at Ye Shanshan's retreating figure with contempt. She did not wish to admit that Ye Shanshan was her Second Sister.

“That's enough.” Ye Jiuge patted Ye Ruyi's shoulders.

It would only make them the subject of ridicule if they had a catfight with Ye Shanshan. They could deal with her once they returned home.

Ye Ruyi bit her lip and said no more.

Just then, the dazed old man finally recovered from his shock. When he saw his collapsed little store, he immediately let out a miserable shriek, “My store!”

That was when Ye Jiuge remembered an important question. “Where's my brick?”

“Eldest Sister.” Ye Ruyi pulled Ye Jiuge's sleeve and then touched her embroidered backpack.

It looked full and bulging—the bulge was the shape and size of a piece of brick.

“You are so clever.” Ye Jiuge patted Ye Ruyi's head in reward.

Ye Ruyi gave a grin. She thought: This thing is worth five thousand gold taels. Obviously, I had to keep it safe.

“Captain Pan, stay here and help this elderly man make an inventory. Compensate him the full amount,” Ye Jiuge instructed.

Although the unexpected misfortune had been caused by the Gong Clan's Third Miss, Ye Jiuge felt that she should still compensate the old man for the brick.

“Yes.” Captain Pan nodded respectfully.

As a guard, he had failed in his obligations when he did not prevent the Eldest Miss from being attacked by the Gong Clan's Third Miss. As such, he had to atone for his mistake through meritorious acts.

“Let me accompany you to the Medicine Refinery Building,” Wan Ziyang said to Ye Jiuge.

“Will that delay you?” Ye Jiuge looked at the soldiers behind him.

“Nope.” Wan Ziyang was an imperial envoy, and he could do his inspection job from anywhere.

“Then, let's go!” Ye Jiuge and Wan Ziyang led the way.

Considerately, Ye Ruyi stood behind with Hua Die, Yu Die, and the rest, so that Ye Jiuge could interact alone with Wan Ziyang.

“What is the Gong Clan's Third Miss' background?” Ye Jiuge asked Wan Ziyang softly when she saw that n.o.body was near them.