Chapter 186 - Broken Ties

“Eldest Sister, congratulations on your acquittal. I am happy for you.” When Ye Shanshan saw that she was about to land herself in hot water, she stepped forward immediately and tried to hold Ye Jiuge’s hand.

However, Ye Jiuge dodged her, and said emotionlessly, “You were singing a different tune earlier!”

“Eldest Sister, are you still angry at me for that?” Ye Shanshan had a hurt expression. She held back her tears as she said, “I was so concerned about you that rumors misled me. That is my fault. Eldest Sister, if you still hold a grudge against me, then you can beat me up to vent your anger. I will not complain!”

“Jiuge, your younger sister was worried that you’d strayed from the right path.” Ye Yuxuan carried himself with the imposing air of a father as he said, “Although you’ve managed to clear your name this time, if you had not acted so recklessly, you would not have fallen so easily into the Black Magic Practitioner’s trap. You should take this as a lesson and be more careful in the future.”

“Great Master Ye, you are right. I will engrave your advice in my heart.” Ye Jiuge looked directly into Ye Yuxuan’s eyes as she slowly uttered every word.

When Ye Yuxuan heard ‘Great Master Ye,’ he frowned instantly.

Although he hated Ye Jiuge, Ye Jiuge had embarrassed him greatly by speaking against him that day in such a setting.

Therefore, Ye Yuxuan put on a stern face as he spoke, “This time, I have wronged you. I was mistaken. Don’t tell me that you are still holding onto your resentment toward me?”

“Eldest Sister, we are a family. Blood is thicker than water. Father did this for your good. He was concerned that you had strayed onto the wrong path, so he came here in a hurry. Actually, you are always in his thoughts.” Ye Shanshan’s eyes were slightly red, as if she were extremely saddened by Ye Jiuge’s actions.

“There is no need to talk about this further. Great Master Ye is always a man of his word. He always fulfills his promises. Since he has already posted notices far and wide announcing that he has disowned me, there is no need for him to force himself to repair our relationship. From now on, we shall go our separate ways. Whether Ye Jiuge is dead or alive is no longer any of your business.”

Although Ye Jiuge’s indifferent voice was soft, everyone heard her clearly.

The observers were silent. They stared at Ye Yuxuan with sadistic pleasure.

It served him right. He could not distinguish right from wrong. Not only that, but he had distorted the truth deliberately and acted cold and ruthless towards his daughter. He had let her down.

Ye Yuxuan was ashen. He had never been so humiliated in his life.

He wished that he could slap her before dragging this recalcitrant daughter back to the Ye Residence to discipline her properly.

Pity this was only a fantasy.

Ye Jiuge did not care what Ye Yuxuan was thinking about. She turned to Dongfang Yao and said, “Great Master Dongfang, I have some matters regarding Black Magic that I want to discuss with you. Why don’t we head over to the Medicine Refinery Complex?”

“Sure!” Dongfang Yao nodded. With disdain, he eyed Ye Yuxuan, whose face was as black as the bottom of a frying pan, before walking off with Ye Jiuge and the others.

Ouyang Sen, Xia Chenfeng, and Hu Lin quickly followed them.

In the blink of an eye, only the Crown Prince, Su Junqing, Ye Yuxuan, and Ye Shanshan were left at the scene.

“Father, Eldest Sister is being too heartless. How can she cut her ties with us just like that? We are family!” Ye Shanshan was anxious and dejected. In reality, she wanted to take this opportunity to pull the wool over Ye Yuxuan’s eyes.

However, Ye Yuxuan had an angry face. He glared at her and scolded, “You are so incompetent. You never accomplish anything, but you ruin everything.”

After he finished speaking, he flung his sleeves before leaving.

While Ye Shanshan wanted to chase after him, she felt that it was too shameful. She stopped walking and looked at the Crown Prince with hurt.

She’d written a letter egging on her father to sever the connections between the Ye Clan and Ye Jiuge was because the Crown Prince has instructed her to do so.

The Crown Prince’s face was completely red. He did not notice Ye Shanshan’s expression.

His ears were filled with the voice of the public condemning him for being so useless.

He could not understand at all. They had clearly driven Ye Jiuge into a corner, so how could she turn her situation around so easily?

“Crown Prince, let us return now!” Su Junqing said gravely. “At such a time, we must keep our cool.”

“Let’s leave!” The Crown Prince turned around and led his men back to the Medicine Refinery Complex.

Ye Shanshan quickly followed the Crown Prince back to the Ascending Skies Pavilion at the Medicine Refinery Complex.

At first, she wanted to discuss with the Crown Prince what to do next.

She’d never expected the Crown Prince to disregard her completely. He went to the study with Su Junqing, and even asked someone to guard the entrance and forbade her from entering.

Ye Shanshan currently felt ashamed, angry, and resentful.

The Crown Prince was her ideal partner, while Su Junqing was her cousin.

These two were the men whom she held dearest in her heart, so they should be very close to her. However, they’d decided to exclude her. They made her feel like they did not trust her at all.

Unfortunately for her, she did not have the courage to barge into the study and make a huge fuss. She could only leave feeling aggrieved.

The Crown Prince threw a tantrum in the study. He pointed at Su Junqing as he berated him, “Su Junqing, how did you execute your plans? Did you not tell me that Ye Jiuge would be screwed this time? Instead, she’s now become a hero for eradicating the Black Magic Practitioners. My Imperial Uncle sees her in a new light. On the other hand, I have become a laughingstock, the biggest joke in the Lei Kingdom.”

“Crown Prince, please quell your anger. Ye Jiuge has merely cleared her name. This will not affect our overall plan. Our preparations in the Capital are almost complete. The throne will be yours. Why should you waste your thoughts on Ye Jiuge?” Su Junqing advised him calmly.

The Crown Prince’s eyes brightened as he questioned Su Junqing immediately for more information, “Really? Everything in the Capital is almost in order?”

“That’s right. After the dust has settled in Medicine Refinery City, you will become the next emperor of the Lei Kingdom,” Su Junqing replied unhesitatingly.

“Great, great, great! As long as you serve me well, I will not give you less than you deserve.” The Crown Prince patted Su Junqing’s shoulder excitedly, and his face was full of complacency.

“Your Highness, I am extremely thankful that you have recognized my worth. Now, I shall go and do some work.” Su Junqing smiled obsequiously.

“Go ahead!” Feeling pleased, the Crown Prince waved him away.

Su Junqing bowed deferentially before returning to his room.

Immediately, his extremely confident face became uneasy.

He took out a Communication Talisman and sent a message: “Senior, Brother Jiang is dead. When you hear this message, please reply immediately.”

After he burnt the Communication Talisman, he was still worried. While pacing around the room, he thought things over. Then, he used an ointment and transformed his appearance into that of a middle-aged man with a clean and handsome face. After that, he went to the Medicine Refinery Hall with a demeanor suggesting that he was familiar with the area. He told the guard at the entrance that he wanted to meet Zhang Peng.

The guard looked Su Junqing up and down warily then asked, “May I ask who you are?”

“I am his father.” Su Junqing smiled in a relaxed manner.

The guard immediately complied. “So, you are Uncle Zhang. Please wait a moment. I shall ask him to come now.”

Zhang Peng was the third most influential person in the Medicine Refinery Complex. His position was right below Li Zijun’s.

After a short moment, a handsome young man clad in white walked in. When he saw Su Junqing, he spoke welcomingly, “Father, how did you find the time to see me?”

“I was just passing by, so I thought I’d visit you,” Su Junqing replied benevolently.

“Father, come here and have a seat.” Zhang Peng brought Su Junqing to a secluded place before asking him in a low voice, “Right now, the situation is so tense. Why have you come to see me?”