The Crown Prince's heart thumped when he heard the Empress's words. He glanced at her cautiously before replying, "I heard that she has been recuperating at home."

"From what injury?" asked the Empress curiously.

As she resided in the Harem, she was not well-informed. The people around her did not dare mention the rumors spreading in the streets. She was still unaware that Ye Jiuge had framed her.

"Ye Jiuge was beaten by Ye Yuxuan after she returned to her residence from the palace. I heard that she was so badly beaten that her face swelled up like a pig's head. It is likely that she will be disfigured." 

The Crown Prince had been gleeful when he first heard about the incident.

Since Ye Jiuge's face was already scarred, now that she's been beaten so badly that her head resembles a swollen pig's, will she still have enough self-respect to see anyone?

"Idiot!" The Empress's delicate facial features distorted. It was apparent that she was outraged.

Ye Jiuge was beaten immediately after leaving the palace. Wouldn't that signal to everyone that the Empress was unhappy with Ye Jiuge?

The Crown Prince said nothing. The rumors outside were nasty at the moment, and he was trying to suppress the fire. He had not dared tell the Empress anything.

The Empress soon curbed her anger. She instructed the Crown Prince, "Forget it, handle these things later. The Alchemy Convention will be taking place soon; remember to start making preparations."

"Yes." The Crown Prince nodded respectfully, but he felt strange.

The Alchemy Convention was held annually. Those who performed brilliantly were usually the descendants of aristocratic families, so there was nothing much to prepare. However, since the Empress had instructed him, he could only do as commanded. 

"I am getting tired. You may go!" 

After the Empress dismissed the Crown Prince, she closed her eyes and began to contemplate while sitting on her phoenix chair. Night slowly fell, and darkness engulfed the majestic palace. Without the Empress's orders, the palace maids would not enter to light the lamps.

Elderly Lady Xu silently appeared in front of the Empress. She still smelled faintly of blood.

"Has the matter been handled?" asked the Empress. With her eyes closed, she gently ma.s.saged her temples.

"Your Majesty, please rest a.s.sured. Those talkative palace maids have been dealt with," Elderly Lady Xu answered respectfully.

Her old, cloudy eyes still glowed with a faint red light. This meant that Elderly Lady Xu had yet to withdraw from the state in which she practiced her Black Magic.

"By the way, Ye Jiuge is just a Beginner Spiritual Pract.i.tioner. How could she have injured you? Does she carry some treasures on her?" The Empress opened her eyes slightly.

After being tricked by Ye Jiuge, Elderly Lady Xu had immediately gone into a spiritual retreat at the Jinxiu Palace. The Empress had been forced to wait to ask her about what had happened.

"Although the d*mned girl has not attained an advanced level of cultivation, she practices the conventional Lightning Spiritual Power. She is also cunning and an expert in poisons. I was not paying attention and fell for it," Elderly Lady Xu said with hatred. "However, the d*mned girl doesn't seem to be that capable. Had the Emperor not appeared suddenly, I am confident that I could have killed her on the spot."

"Does that mean that the d*mned girl did not have any treasure on her?" the Empress asked.

"No, I did not find any treasure on her," Elderly Lady Xu answered truthfully.

The Empress's thin eyebrows knitted in a slight frown. She had witnessed the situation that day: Ye Jiuge had seemed like an arrow at the end of its flight. If she possessed anything that could have saved her life, she would not have kept it hidden.

 Perhaps the d*mned girl is fated to live. 

Elderly Lady Xu now spoke of another matter, "By the way, Your Majesty, my superior sent me a message saying that he has left the Heyang County. He should arrive in the capital a few days before the Alchemy Convention."

"Okay. I will ask the Crown Prince to receive him when the moment comes. Oh, and ask him to exercise restraint and not make trouble over nothing," the Empress warned. In recent years, she had helped clean up their messes too many times.

"Yes, I will try my best to pa.s.s on your message." 

Elderly Lady Xu bowed. Her superior was not someone to be trifled with, and he would likely treat her words like nonsense. 

Forget it, she is only responsible for conveying the Empress's message. He can do whatever he wishes.

"If there is nothing else, you may go." The Empress gestured with her hand.

"Yes!" Elderly Lady Xu slowly retreated, her form disappearing into the darkness.

At that very moment, Ye Jiuge was sitting in front of her dressing table. She studied the scar on her face in the mirror and frowned as if her resentment were deeply ingrained. As the clotted blood on her face dissolved, unexpectedly, the black scar also began to peel off. Near her forehead, she could already see a patch of smooth, white skin. She examined the disappearing black scar and guessed that her original looks would be restored once the injury on her face healed.

Blast! This is not what she wants.

"Zi Shang, explain yourself honestly. What have you done to me?" Ye Jiuge asked solemnly.

"Nothing!" Zi Shang replied lazily. He had merely found the black scar on Ye Jiuge's face offensive to the eye and accidentally knocked it off.

"Hmph, don't lie to me. You must want to turn me into a woman of unmatched beauty. When those lascivious men pounce on me, you will blame me and find an excuse to punish me." Ye Jiuge suspected that this perverted snake was addicted to punis.h.i.+ng her and was deliberately laying a trap.

"Little Jiuge is so clever. Why don't we change punishment methods next time?" Zi Shang's low and alluring voice tickled like a feather sweeping past the tips of her ears, making her shudder involuntarily.

"Sure, my a*s." Ye Jiuge had a sharp tongue but a soft heart. Although she had felt very comfortable at the end of her previous punishment, the process had been agonizing—she did not want to experience it again.

"Then it is pleasantly agreed." Zi Shang ignored Ye Jiuge's refusal and expressed that, next time, he would satisfy her even more.

Pervert! Ye Jiuge scorned him fiercely in her heart. 

Just then, Qing Mama knocked on the door. She said jubilantly, "Eldest Miss, Lord Bai Songling has sent a card inviting you to the Bingxue Private Room in the Yuwu Teahouse for a gathering this afternoon."

Qing Mama knew that the Eldest Miss was charismatic. The Crown Prince was a dirty dog and must be blind not to see her goodness.

"Okay." Ye Jiuge took the charcoal pencil on the table and colored in the smooth white skin revealed on her forehead. Then, she changed her clothes and put on her curtain hat before leaving the residence.

This time, she did not remove her curtain hat when she entered the teahouse. The shop a.s.sistant who received her had probably received instructions, and he immediately brought her to the Bingxue Private Room.

Ye Jiuge saw that, in addition to Bai Songling, Dongfang Que was also present, sitting in his wheelchair. He wore a pale green blind-st.i.tched robe, and his hair had been fastened in his crown. He looked handsome and other-worldly. His sullen eyes brightened immediately when he saw Ye Jiuge enter. His attractive and outstanding face dazzled as if bathed in bright light.

"This fellow must have fallen for you." With a single glance, Zi Shang saw into Dongfang Que's mind.

D*mn snake! He'd also said that Wan Ziyang had taken a s.h.i.+ne to her. He must be sick!

Ye Jiuge mentally rolled her eyes at Zi Shang before waving h.e.l.lo to Dongfang Que as usual. "I did not expect Your Highness to be here. Is this a coincidence?"

"No, I intentionally instructed Bai Songling to ask you out." It was not appropriate for Dongfang Que to invite Ye Jiuge, so he'd had no choice but to ask Bai Songling for help.