"Fourth Sister, don't be afraid. Lord Wan Ziyang and Lord Bai Songling are from the Justice Department. They are my friends," Ye Jiuge soothed.

Ye Ruyi continued to tremble. She didn't dare raise her head and curled up into a small shrimp. Ye Ruyi's condition, reminded Wan Ziyang of something. A pained expression appeared on his handsome, sculpted face as he attempted to repress the thought. Bai Songling empathized with Wan Ziyang. He patted his friend's shoulder. Then, he said to Ye Jiuge, "Eldest Miss, we will go meet Great Master Ye now, so that he can come and take Fourth Miss home. Until then, I would like you to keep her company!"

"Alright!" Ye Jiuge had initially planned to entrust Ye Ruyi to Wan Ziyang and Bai Songling and return to her residence. But judging from Ye Ruyi's current condition, she would not be able to leave.

Ye Ruyi raised her small head and said timidly, "Eldest Miss, if you have matters to attend to, you should go back. I can do this alone."

She did not wish to burden Ye Jiuge. Still, her small hands could not help but tightly grip her sister's sleeve. 

"Even if I go now, I have nothing to do, so I am going to stay here and accompany you. Moreover, if things go smoothly, we should be able to go back in the afternoon," replied Ye Jiuge.

She patted Ye Ruyi's hand, and Ye Ruyi relaxed. Nevertheless, she remained nestled into her sister's side. Bai Songling and Wan Ziyang went to find Ye Yuxuan. Not long after their conversation, Ye Yuxuan discretely took servants with him to fetch Ye Ruyi and bring her home.

Back at the Ye Residence, Fifth Concubine had been released from the prison. As soon as Ye Ruyi returned and saw her mother, she wept on her shoulder. When mother and daughter finished crying, they did not return to the Qiushui Residence. Instead, they went back to the dilapidated quarters where they had lived before. They planned to shut themselves in and live in isolation.

Ye Ruyi still possessed her Spiritual Root, so no one would neglect her and her mother. Instead, an extra effort was made to spruce up the decrepit residence. Ye Yuxuan himself even wrote "Yaoguang Residence" on a plaque for their house. Anyone who read it would presume that Ye Yuxuan hoped that his daughter would grow up to be an accomplished individual.

At first, Ye Yuxuan had planned to a.s.sign a few maids from the main residence to serve them in the Yaoguang Residence, but Fifth Concubine declined his offer. After what had happened to Qiu Mama, it would be unseemly for Ye Yuxuan to pressure them into acquiescing to his demands. He could only raise the issue again later.

Fifth Concubine brought along the two maids, Qing Hu and Qing Liu, to the Yaoguang Residence. From then on, she never stepped out of the house, ceasing all contact with the outside world.

Meanwhile, at the Zilin Residence, Ye Jiuge was practicing a secret signal that was unique to the Ye Clan. After Ye Yu suppressed the wicked sensation in his body, he taught Ye Jiuge all of the Ye Clan's secret signals. The two of them decided on a location where they could communicate in case of an emergency. Then, Ye Yu moved out of the Zilin Residence. Ye Jiuge did not stop him. This was still the inner courtyard—an inappropriate place for a man.

At first, Ye Jiuge had wanted to inform Ye Yu that Su Junqing had sent his sister to someone as a gift. However, when she saw that he was at a crucial juncture in his cultivation, she feared that this news would make him too emotional and deviate him from the righteous path. She decided to wait to tell him until he had quelled the wicked sensation in his body. Only then would she ask him about the treasure map.

Just as Ye Jiuge was contemplating when she might use these secret signals, Qing Mama walked into the room, slightly worried, and said, "Eldest Miss, Qing Hu said that Fourth Miss is now fervently studying alchemy. Her personality has become eccentric. Not only that, but she is behaving abnormally. Qing Hu has not seen Fourth Miss smile once. Fifth Concubine is extremely concerned."

"Didn't you tell Fifth Concubine about Fourth Sister's condition?" Ye Jiuge had asked Qing Mama to hint to Fifth Concubine that, although Ye Ruyi's body had not been violated, psychologically, her daughter was severely traumatized. Fifth Concubine needed to understand.

"I told her, but it was useless. Right now, the atmosphere in the Yaoguang Residence is so depressing that it is making me despondent." Qing Mama's heart sorrowed for Fourth Miss. She was only a seven-year-old girl, but she had already experienced such hards.h.i.+p.

"It's fine. Fourth Sister is resilient. She will gradually heal from this." The incident's impact could not be mitigated merely by comforting words. They had to allow time to slowly alleviate Ye Ruyi's pain.

"By the way, Eldest Miss, Seventh Concubine has frequently been visiting the Yaoguang Residence lately. Do you think I should warn Fifth Concubine about her?" Qing Mama did not think that Seventh Concubine was a good person.

Ye Jiuge thought about it, then answered, "In that case, you should mention it to Fifth Concubine."

Seventh Concubine was cunning. It was likely that she did not harbor good intentions in approaching Fifth Concubine.

"Alright." Qing Mama resolved to have a good talk with Fifth Concubine later.

After Ye Jiuge tidied her practice books, she sat by the table and sipped tea. Then, she asked Qing Mama, "What has Ye Shanshan been up to recently?"

Ever since Su Yufeng had been sent to the ancestral shrine, Ye Yuxuan had declared publicly that Ye Shanshan was severely ill. He forbade anyone from visiting her. Even if the Su Clan sent someone over, they were refused at the entrance.

"I heard that the Crown Prince sent someone over yesterday to see her. Old Master claimed that Second Miss felt unwell and turned her down. He did not even accept his gifts. I wonder what Second Miss did that caused Old Master to be so angry with her," Qing Mama said, reveling in Ye Shanshan's misfortune.

What else? Obviously, Ye Yuxuan suspected that Su Yufeng and her daughter had helped the Crown Prince steal his medicinal pills!

A satisfied smirk appeared on Ye Jiuge's face. Su Yufeng and her daughter had no one but themselves to blame for being too close to the Crown Prince. It had been so easy for her to raise Ye Yuxuan's suspicions. She wondered when the Crown Prince would realize that Ye Yuxuan was in possession of his precious jade ornament. 

Meanwhile, in the main hall of the East Palace...

The Crown Prince sat in the seat of honor wearing a splendid vermillion embroidered robe. He was listening to a lovely palace maid at his feet report on her visit to the Ye Residence. "Crown Prince, I am incompetent. I was not able to meet the Ye Clan's Second Miss. The Ye Clan even returned the gifts."

"Did you inform them that I was the one who a.s.signed you to hand the gifts over to the Ye Clan's Second Miss?" The Crown Prince furrowed his eyebrows. A scowl appeared on his face.

The lovely palace maid lowered her head even further. She spoke softly, "I made that clear to Great Master Ye. However, Great Master Ye firmly refused to accept them. He also said… also said…"

Pa! The Crown Prince slammed the table with his fist. He raised his voice and shouted furiously, "What else did he say?"

The palace maid kneeled with a thud. With a trembling voice, she relayed what Ye Yuxuan had told her, "Great Master Ye said that men and women should not touch each other when giving and receiving an item. He would like to ask you to conduct yourself with dignity."

"D*mn that old imbecile!" The Crown Prince shook with anger.

Originally, Ye Yuxuan had wanted to gain the Crown Prince's favor. That was why he had asked his daughter to approach the Crown Prince on her own accord. Now, based on the way Ye Yuxuan was talking about it, it sounded as if the Crown Prince had been the one who sought Ye Shanshan's attention.

"Crown Prince, please quell your anger." The lovely palace maid lifted her fair, dainty face. Her luscious bosom peeked out from her clothes. Her eyes gleamed with tenderness, and her slim waist was as pliant as a willow branch.

The Crown Prince narrowed his thin eyes. Wrath and l.u.s.t consumed him. He pinned the palace maid roughly to the table and silenced her with his left hand. He ripped the lower half of her dress into pieces and shoved his c*ck into her. He did not hold back as he released his emotions.