Ye Jiuge's gaze was cold, as if a chilly breeze blew past.

Pang! Hong Liu kneeled immediately.

Ye Jiuge was preparing to interrogate the maid, when she overheard a few scoundrels

hiding in the crowd trying to add fuel to the fire.

"Rumors have mentioned that Ye Jiuge is arrogant and tyrannical. I can't believe that it

is really true. If she dares to abuse her maid in public, we can never imagine how cruel

she must be in private."

"That's right. I think…"

Before the scoundrel could finish speaking, he felt a pain in his waist as he collided with

the Ye residence's main door with a bang.

Ye Jiuge kicked each of them, one by one heaping the scoundrels into a pile.

Hong Liu widened her eyes and looked fearfully at Ye Jiuge, whose entire body was

radiating murderous energy.

Is this still the cowardly and extremely spineless Eldest Miss?

After Ye Jiuge finished dealing with the scoundrels, she turned her head to look at Hong

Liu and yelled, "Speak! Who was it that actually directed you to ruin my reputation?"

Her gaze blazed with the sharpness of a lightning bolt, and her aura, similarly, was like

a blade. She radiated with imposing terror, as if she were Princess Iron Fan, descended

to the mortal realms.

Hong Liu trembled all over with fear. She almost spat out the truth. However, she

thought about Second Miss's way of handling things and snapped out of it immediately.

Stubbornly, she wanted to lie and falsely incriminate Ye Jiuge.

At that moment, a pair of strange purple irises suddenly appeared inside Ye Jiuge's

pitch black eyes. They emanated a faint glow, similar to that of a demon hiding in the

dark of night.

Hong Liu looked at these irises, and her soul was immediately pulled in. She stared

blankly and opened her small lips. She couldn't help but speak the truth: "It was Second

Miss who commanded me to bring some people along to accuse you falsely. She was

the one who hired these scoundrels. She said that she wanted to completely sully your

reputation and spread your tainted name far and wide!"

There was an uproar in the crowd. The mastermind who had orchestrated all of this

was, unexpectedly, the Second Miss of the Ye clan. The truth was too scandalous!

As the public was sharing their opinions on the matter, the main door of the Ye

residence abruptly opened. A team of guards dragged the scoundrels and the kneeling

Hong Liu away from the entrance.

Then, a middle-aged man wearing a blue brocade robe emerged.

He had a handsome appearance—a high-bridged nose and an imposing look. This man

was Ye Jiuge's father, Ye Yuxuan.

He looked at his daughter, who had not returned home last night. He did not feel any

tenderness or relief; instead, he exploded loudly at Ye Jiuge, pointing his fingers at her

and shouting, "You—an evil, good-for-nothing daughter—have the gall to return!"

Ye Jiuge smiled coldly in her heart. In a situation where his daughter had not returned

for a night and then reappeared in such a miserable state, he had nothing to say other

than this?

Not only that, Ye Yuxuan had not appeared sooner, but at the exact moment when

Hong Liu was confessing the truth about Ye Shanshan having harmed her. Wasn't that

such a coincidence!

"Why haven't you come inside yet? Stop being a disgrace out here!"

Ye Yuxuan pointed to a small side entrance. It was the pa.s.sageway used by the

servants when they needed to exit and enter the Ye residence.

"Your daughter does not know how she is supposed to enter the residence. Father, why

don't you show me, since you once foisted yourself upon the Yun clan?" sneered Ye

Jiuge.

The penniless Ye Yuxuan had married into the Yun clan. His cultivated elixir knowledge

and skills had been entirely funded by the Ye clan's wealth—when she was born, Ye

Jiuge's surname had been Yun. Then, her grandfather had disappeared, and Ye

Yuxuan had used the opportunity to cajole Ye Jiuge's mother into changing the Yun

residence to the Ye residence and even asked her to change her surname.

But these name changes did not change the fact that everything that Ye Yuxuan

possessed belonged to the Yun clan! And Ye Jiuge was the only direct descendant of

the Ye clan.

"You are so shameless. You went out and fooled around the whole night. I do not know

what kind of improper man you have hooked up with that you now dare to return and

scheme after my a.s.sets!"

Ye Yuxuan's face was ashen, and his gaze was fierce, like he wanted to swallow Ye

Jiuge whole.

The thing that he detested most in life was when someone mentioned how he had

married into the Ye clan. Every time, he was forced to recall how inferior he had been

back when Ye Tianwei was able to step all over him.

"Ye Yuxuan, even if you are my father, not even you can slander me in such a malicious

manner. You keep mentioning that I have hooked up with an improper man. Shouldn't

you bring him forward?"

Ye Jiuge's beautiful gaze emanated a coercive light.

Her clothes were covered in blood, similar to a phoenix bathed in fire. The aura that was

bursting from her body was making the people around her palpitate uncontrollably.

Ye Yuxuan was completely silenced by Ye Jiuge's questions. He was simply defaming

her, so where was he going to find this improper man? At the same time, he was also

not going to allow this unfilial daughter to defy him!

Ye Yuxuan pointed his finger at Ye Jiuge and wanted to continue to insult her, but she

cut him off. "I, Ye Jiuge, have acted honorably. I am not like your 'good' daughter, Ye

Shanshan. Because she wanted to marry Dongfang Jianming, she stabbed me in the

back and pushed me down into the Wanzhang Depths!"

"What are you blathering on about? The Wanzhang Depths are bottomless. Even if a

Northern Goshawk fell in, it wouldn't be able to fly out of there. How is it possible that

you could climb out? You, unfilial daughter, have a mouth full of nonsense. You accuse

your younger sister falsely and defy your elders. You are truly disloyal, unfilial, and

immoral. Someone, bring out the punishment tools of our clan!"

Ye Yuxuan did not believe Ye Jiuge's lies at all. In that moment, he only had one

thought: to punish this unfilial daughter harshly in a cruel manner. He wanted to see

whether she would dare be so impudent again after this!

Ye Shanshan had predicted earlier that her father would punish Ye Jiuge. As she heard

his words, she immediately handed him the horse whip that they used for punishment in

the clan. This horse whip was woven from fine cowhide with tiny barbs on its surface.

Needless to say, not only women were unable to endure a flogging from that whip, but

strong men too.

Ye Yuxuan was just scaring Ye Jiuge. He did not plan to use it.

Ye Shanshan saw that her father was frozen with the horse whip in his hands, so she

tugged on his sleeve and begged pitifully, "Father, you should never ever hit elder

sister. Otherwise, when grandfather returns, you will be the one who is beaten!"

Ye Shanshan's words only provoked Ye Yuxuan's anger even further. Both of his eyes

were very red. To him, Ye Jiuge had become as repulsive as Yun Tianwei.

"Today, I want you, an evil sp.a.w.n, to know of who it is that really has all the authority in

the Ye clan!"

Ye Yuxuan did not hesitate as he raised the horse whip, ready to lash Ye Jiuge.

"Father, you should never be impulsive!"

Ye Shanshan's eyes were filled with tears as she pretended to stop him. On the

surface, that impression of a deep and profound sisterly bond was emotionally moving.

However, the private gaze she shot Ye Jiuge was full of glee.

Ye Jiuge, this is the consequence of defying me!

A glint of frostiness flitted past Ye Jiuge's eyes. With the speed of lightning, she yanked

Ye Shanshan forward and kicked her, forcing her to kneel right in front of her.

Ye Yuxuan's whip happened to land at that exact moment.

Pa!

The horse whip hit Ye Shanshan's body without any mercy.

The barbs on its surface tore her clothes with a ripping sound. Her soft, white shoulder

was exposed, and traces of blood, which gave the alluring impression of mistreatment,

caused the spectators' eyes to widen.

Ye Jiuge clapped her hands as she praised, "Father, you are truly wise. A person like

Ye Shanshan, who is disloyal, unfilial, and immoral, should be punished using the clan's

methods in public."

Ye Shanshan had never thought that the whip would land on her body.

She looked at Ye Jiuge in disbelief. This b*tch should die, who dares treat her like this!

"Wow, it is so white!" Someone in the crowd watching the scene mentioned lewdly.

Ye Shanshan could no longer endure the crowd's gaze, so she gathered her clothes

back together. Wa! She cried and ran inside covering her face.

Ye Yuxuan was not in any mood to care about Ye Shanshan's humiliation whatsoever.

He widened his eyes, looking at Ye Jiuge as if he had just spotted a ghost. "You—how

is it possible that you are using spiritual force?"