Chapter 12  : Exchanging blows: An entertaining show

Ye Jiuge was extremely satisfied with Fifth Concubine’s vicious attitude. She would not be able to face Ye Yuxuan and Su Yufeng alone. She needed to recruit more people to assist her. Recruiting the Fifth Concubine and Fourth Sister was only the beginning. Soon, Su Yufeng and Ye Shanshan would be weeping.

Meanwhile, at the Shuimo Garden…

Su Yufeng was holding a porcelain cup and sipping her tea leisurely.

Ye Shanshan sat beside her and asked Zhi Hua impatiently, “Have you made the arrangements?”

“To answer your question: Everything is in order. Tomorrow morning, someone will personally ensure that the Fifth Concubine will invite Eldest Miss to her residence,” Zhi Hua replied respectfully.

“Great!” Ye Shanshan nodded with relish. Then, she smiled and said to Su Yufeng, “I was always curious why you spared the Fifth Concubine and the sickly Fourth Sister and let them be. Now, I see that it was for the sake of dealing with Ye Jiuge.”

“That’s right. Being betrayed by someone you trust is truly the most painful feeling.” Su Yufeng smiled lightly.

Actually, the pawn she had wanted to use most was Qing Mama. It was a pity that Qing Mama’s personality was so unyielding. Nor did she have any sons or daughters, so it was not easy to find information to use against her. Therefore, Su Yufeng had to settle for the second-best alternative: The Fifth Concubine.

“Mother, you really are incredible!” Ye Shanshan looked at her mother with reverence. She would never reach a level where she would be capable of thinking ahead like this.

“Is this considered impressive?” Su Yufeng smiled, then asked Zhi Hua, “Have you found the person I asked for?”

“To answer your question, yes. He is a woodcutter living near the Wanzhang Depths. Currently, he is lodging at the Tongfu Inn,” Zhi Hua replied.

“You’ve done well. You may go.” Su Yufeng put down her teacup.

Zhi Hua bowed and retreated.

“Mother, why do you need a woodcutter?” Ye Shanshan asked in astonishment.

“Foolish girl! I want him to be Ye Jiuge’s adulterous partner, of course!” Without a man, how could she establish that Ye Jiuge had committed the crime of plotting against Ye Ruyi’s life to hide her affair?

“Can we trust this woodcutter? What will we do if he reneges at the last minute?” Ye Shanshan was slightly concerned. With falsified evidence, there was always a discrepancy.

“Foolish girl, dead men tell no tales,” said Su Yufeng meaningfully.

Ye Shanshan immediately understood her. She smiled and said, “Mother, you are right. It seems that, this time, Ye Jiuge will definitely not be able to turn the tables.”

Scheming to murder her own sister and poisoning her were crimes punishable by death. With the addition of adultery, Ye Shanshan could already foresee an outcome in which Ye Jiuge would be treated with utter disdain.

“You should pick up more of these tactics from me. Don’t fixate on insignificant matters all day. Remember, you are the future Crown Princess Consort, and, one day, you will be the empress!” Su Yufeng patted her daughter’s hand and said, “It is late now, you should return to your residence and rest.”

“I don’t want to. I want to sleep here tonight. When morning comes, let’s go together to see that b*tch, Ye Jiuge, suffer,” Ye Shanshan said cutely, clinging to Su Yufeng.

“I really can’t refuse you.” Su Yufeng tapped her daughter’s forehead and agreed.

When morning arrived, Ye Shanshan and Su Yufeng waited in the residence for the show to begin. However, all they saw was Ye Yuxuan storming in with a livid expression.

“Old Master, who has made you so furious this early in the morning?” Su Yufeng asked, feeling odd.

She had not received any news from Zhi Hua, and it was too early for the Fifth Concubine to have already ratted out Ye Jiuge.

“You have the nerve to ask?” Ye Yuxuan glared at Su Yufeng in a fierce manner. He scolded, “I know that you dislike the Seventh Concubine, but you cannot mistreat her like this.”

“Old Master, I do not understand what you mean. When did I treat the Seventh Concubine badly?” Su Yufeng could not make sense of the situation.

“If you did not want to make her suffer, then why was she inflicted with False Dream?” Ye Yuxuan looked at Su Yufeng as if he wanted to swallow her alive.

Su Yufeng denied it immediately, “I didn’t do it.”

Although she hated that fox, Seventh Concubine, she would definitely not resort to such an underhanded tactic to deal with her.

“I already went to look into the matter at the Seventh Concubine’s residence. The evidence is solid and indisputable. You still dare to argue with me?” Ye Yuxuan did not believe Su Yufeng’s claim in the slightest.

There was only one bottle of False Dream in the entire Ye Residence, and it was the one he had personally handed to Su Yufeng last night.

“Old master, we have been husband and wife for a few decades now, so don’t tell me that you still don’t understand me?” Su Yufeng’s eyes reddened as she sobbed, “Even if I wanted to harm the Seventh Concubine, I would not use False Dream. Wouldn’t that incriminate me?”

Ye Yuxuan furrowed his brows. He had to admit that Su Yufeng was right: She was not that stupid. But, if not her, then who?

Su Yufeng shared his doubt. She had only obtained False Dream last night, and the Seventh Concubine was poisoned this morning. Someone wanted to frame her.

Who possessed such a remarkable ability to foresee the future and would use it to land her in hot water?

Despite much thought, Su Yufeng was perplexed. Just then, Zhi Hua walked in hurriedly and reported, “Old Master, Madame, Eldest Miss has arrived with the Fifth Concubine. They were causing a fuss outside. They said that they needed the Old Master to redress an injustice.”

Su Yufeng sobered up at once. “Ask them to wait in the outer hall.”

The fact that the Seventh Concubine had been inflicted with False Dream was now an insignificant matter. Right now, the most important thing was to deal with Ye Jiuge and obtain the Purple Lightning Wood as well as the other treasures in her possession.

Zhi Hua did not reply immediately. Instead, she looked at Su Yufeng with slight apprehension. She really wanted to inform Madame that there was something fishy going on with the Eldest Miss and Fifth Concubine.

However, the Old Master was standing in front of Madame, so she did not dare to speak. She could only signal secretly to the Second Miss at her side with a few meaningful glances.

Unfortunately, Ye Shanshan was unable to grasp Zhi Hua’s intentions. Instead, she chided her with displeasure, “Why are you still here idling? Why haven’t you taken us there yet?”

“Okay.” Zhi Hua had no choice but to turn around and walk out.

“Old Master, we will discuss the Seventh Concubine later. For now, let us first see to the Fifth Concubine!” Su Yufeng spoke gently.

“Hmph!” Ye Yuxuan’s anger did not subside. He harrumphed coldly and walked out. Su Yufeng and Ye Shanshan quickly tailed along.

The Fifth Concubine was standing in the Main Hall. She was wearing a well-worn lotus-colored dress. Her eyes were as swollen as peaches. She looked extremely thin and pale.

Ye Jiuge wore a faded green dress. Her face was expressionless as she looked at Ye Yuxuan, Su Yufeng, and Ye Shanshan as they entered. When she thought about how this trio had conspired to harm her, she felt beyond disgusted. However, the main character of today’s show was the Fifth Concubine. For now, that’s all she could tolerate.

“Fifth Concubine, since you have brought Ye Jiuge here, do you have any matters to discuss with me?” Ye Yuxuan lifted his robe as he sat on his seat, prepared to hear the Fifth Concubine’s grievance about how Ye Jiuge was plotting her sister’s death.

Unexpectedly, the Fifth Concubine did not even react to his question. Instead, she flew at Su Yufeng like a deranged tiger and screamed her lungs out. “Su Yufeng, since you dared to hurt my daughter, I am going to fight you with all my life.”

Su Yufeng never expected the Fifth Concubine to have the courage to attack her. Since she was caught off guard, the Fifth Concubine’s long nails violently clawed her face. Immediately, a few streaks of blood oozed from her delicate cheeks.

Su Yufeng had been Madame Ye for many years, so no one had ever dared lay a finger on her before. It was incredulous that the one who had assaulted her was the Fifth Concubine, whom she looked down on most.

In her fury, Su Yufeng lost her mind. She disregarded Ye Yuxuan’s presence at her side and raised her hand to smack the Fifth Concubine on the chest.