The next morning, after she washed her face and rinsed her mouth, Qing Mama came to the house and reported, "Eldest Miss, the horse-drawn carriage is ready. Lord Wan and Lord Bai responded earlier this morning saying that they would be punctual for your appointment. Will you be going over now?"

"Yes, I'll go now!" 

Ye Jiuge knew that Wan Ziyang and Bai Songling would arrive early. It wouldn't be polite for her to make them wait. She dressed in a mauve blind-st.i.tched tunic with a clove design and put on a matching curtain hat. She refused Qing Mama's company and went to the Yuwu Teahouse alone.

As she exited the carriage, she removed her curtain hat, successfully scaring off the shop a.s.sistant.

"Lady, we are a teahouse, not a medical center." You must be in the wrong place!

"That's right, I am here to drink tea." Ye Jiuge, whose face was swollen like a pig's, replied aggressively.

"I apologize, but our main hall has been reserved. I am afraid there are no other seats," the shop a.s.sistant refused her tactfully.

Ye Jiuge's face was too frightening. If she were to sit in the main hall, the other customers could not converse and enjoy their tea.

"It's fine. I reserved the Xueshan Private Room. Lead the way!" Although Ye Jiuge's goal was to show off her swollen pig face, the endless stares of the customers in the teahouse were making her impatient.

"The Xueshan Private Room has been reserved by the Ye Clan. Could it be that you are the Eldest Miss Ye?" 

The shop a.s.sistant gasped in astonishment. He almost blurted out "who hit you?" However, he knew his place and forcefully swallowed his tongue.

"You don't say? Can't you recognize me from the black scar on my face?" 

Although the shop a.s.sistant was inexperienced, indirectly, he had helped Ye Jiuge achieve her desired effect.

"I have eyes but failed to recognize Mt. Tai. Eldest Miss Ye, please forgive me! This way, please!" The shop a.s.sistant finally realized that the woman was indeed Ye Jiuge.

As Ye Jiuge followed the shop a.s.sistant to the second floor, she heard all kinds of talk behind her back:

"How did the Eldest Miss Ye get beaten up like this?"

"Who knows!"

"Oh, I heard that she visited the palace yesterday to see the Empress. Could it be?" 

The meaning behind these words was self-evident!

"It's hard to tell. Everyone knows that the Empress and Crown Prince dislike her."

"Not only the Empress and Crown Prince, but I also heard that her own father, Great Master Ye, has some complaints about her."

"Truly, this motherless child was born under an ill star!"

"No, she is unfortunate because she lost her grandfather…"

Ye Jiuge was most satisfied with the contents of these discussions. After entering the Xueshan Private Room, she ordered a pot of Longjing tea picked before the Grain Rain and a few plates of peanuts and broad beans. She ate with relish while enjoying the scenery outside the window.

Wan Ziyang and Bai Songling arrived at the Yuwu Teahouse in time to hear the customers in the main hall discussing Ye Jiuge. They were chatting about how the Empress, Crown Prince, and Ye Jiuge's Father had taken turns smacking her face with a shoe board. Her face was, at the moment, swollen like a pig's head. Those who had seen or heard about what had happened to Ye Jiuge grieved for her.

Wan Ziyang and Bai Songling were startled. Quickly, they entered the private room and saw the victim, who ought to be inconsolable, eating joyfully. She was helping herself to a mouthful of broad beans one minute then sipping tea the next. 

"Come, quickly, take a seat, take a seat!" Ye Jiuge smiled and welcomed them.

Her swollen pig face made her smile look uglier than her weeping face.

"Eldest Miss Ye, what is wrong with your face?" asked Bai Songling. When he saw her yesterday, Ye Jiuge had been fine. What could have happened in just one night?

"It's nothing. I accidentally made Father angry." Ye Jiuge sighed, revealing a hint of a sorrowful expression.

"Is it because of the Empress and Crown Prince?" Bai Songling frowned and asked. He had not expected Ye Yuxuan to be a good-for-nothing capable of behaving so viciously and mercilessly towards his eldest daughter.

"The Dongling Prince as well!" That was the main issue.

Bai Songling was silent. After a long time, he finally heaved a long sigh and said, "We have implicated you."

His words admitted the nature of his relations.h.i.+p with Dongfang Que.

"Big Brother Bai, what exactly is the nature of the relations.h.i.+p between you and the Dongling Prince?" Ye Jiuge asked.

"It's a long story." Clearly, Bai Songling did not want to explain further. He simply said, "Although my last name is Bai, I am not part of the Bai Clan. I came to know the Dongling Prince by coincidence. As such, I am helping him do something."

"I see!" 

Bai Songling's reply satisfied Ye Jiuge. After all, she could not expect Bai Songling to be so candid as to tell her stories about his ancestors and the past eight generations of his family.

Wan Ziyang silently took out a bottle of spiritual medicine for external use. He placed it near Ye Jiuge's hands and said, "Apply this!"

"There's no need. This injury may look scary, but it has already healed on the inside." Ye Jiuge pushed back the medicine and smiled. "Do you really think that I can't heal my own face?"

Bai Songling immediately understood Ye Jiuge's meaning. He shook his head helplessly and said, "Even if you want to deal with the Empress and Crown Prince, there's no need to ruin your own body!"

Ye Jiuge did not want to discuss the topic any further. She straightened her face and said solemnly, "Actually, I invited the two of you here to discuss the demonic poison in the Dongling Prince's body."

Bai Songling's heart jumped. He could not control himself and asked, "Have you found a way to help His Highness cure the poison?"

"That's right. I went back and took a careful look at the medical book that my grandfather left me and realized that the poison afflicting the Dongling Prince is the King Poison from the Ice Snow Spider King, a fifth stage demonic beast," Ye Jiuge said gravely.

"A King Poison?" Bai Songling gasped in shock.

Wan Ziyang's brow furrowed. The creases in his forehead were almost deep enough to trap and kill a fly. They all knew what a King Poison meant, and the mood became somber. 

"The two of you need not worry so much. There is actually a way to cure it. If you can find a fifth stage Fire Dragon Herb, I will be able to help His Highness configure an antidote," Ye Jiuge repeated Zi Shang's words.

"Fifth stage Fire Dragon Herb!" Bai Songling exclaimed. 

The agony on his face was evident. The best quality herbs currently found in the Lei Country belonged to the third stage. A fifth stage spiritual herb had not been heard of for many years. How were they supposed to find one? 

Ye Jiuge saw that the men's spirits were low and encouraged them. "If the Empress can find the King Poison of a fifth stage demonic beast, we can find the fifth stage Fire Dragon Herb!"

"Yes, you are right." Bai Songling instantly pulled himself together. He planned to return and inform Dongfang Que and the Bai Clan of this news.

In any case, the demonic poison was not life-threatening; they had time to hunt for the spiritual herb. Even if they could not find it for a year, they would continue searching for five. If five years still proved insufficient, they would search for another ten. Bai Songling refused to believe that they would never find it.

Since the matter regarding the spiritual herb could not be rushed, Ye Jiuge asked Wan Ziyang, "Big Brother Wan, I heard that you went to the Heyang County to investigate a homicide case. What is the situation?"

"Several girls have been found with their blood sucked dry in the Heyang County. But by the time I rushed there, their bodies had already been cremated. Even their skeletons could not be found." As he spoke, the expression on Wan Ziyang's handsome face darkened.