Chapter 477 The Real and Fake Princess Ye

Chapter 477: The Real vs. Fake Princess Ye

At this moment, a knowledgeable man in the crowd said, "The Zhong family from the south of the city—so this gentleman and his wife must be Magistrate Zhong and Madam Zhong!"

"I know about this. Last year, Prince Ye was gravely ill, and the Emperor decreed that Miss Zhong should marry him to chase away his illness. Unexpectedly, on their wedding night, Miss Zhong was so frightened by Prince Ye's appearance that she burst into tears."

"She refused to stay in the same room as Prince Ye, insisting on annulling the marriage and returning home. At dawn the next day, she actually ran back home with her dowry maid in tow."

"Because of this, many in the capital said that Prince Ye was cursed to bring death to his wives—Miss Zhong was already the fourth princess he had married, and the previous three had either died soon after the wedding or hanged themselves on the very first night."

"After Miss Zhong returned home, her fate wasn't much better. I heard she went mad within a few days, sometimes lucid and sometimes delirious. Such a fine young woman, destroyed just like that!"

"Alas, what a pity."

As soon as he finished speaking, Magistrate Zhong jumped in.

"This young man is telling the truth. My daughter Xin Yu has been driven mad ever since she returned from the Prince Ye's residence. She said it was because Prince Ye scared her."

"After I brought my daughter home, I searched everywhere for renowned physicians to treat her, but it didn't do much good. After taking her medicine, she would be normal for a few hours, but by the next day, she'd go back to being crazy again."

"Especially recently, her condition suddenly got a lot worse, to the point where even medication can't keep it in check. Sometimes she doesn't even recognize me or my wife!"

"I've watched it happen, and it breaks my heart. But I'm just a small official with no real pull. I still have fifty or sixty mouths to feed at home, and Xin Yu's medical expenses are too heavy a burden for me to bear. That is why I came to see Prince Ye, hoping he would take responsibility for her."

Ji Yuntang listened to the whole story, a cold glint flickering in her eyes.

Just as she was about to step out, she heard a crisp, cold female voice coming from behind the crowd.

"Take responsibility? For what? Doesn't Magistrate Zhong know the Prince Ye's residence already has a princess?"

Everyone turned to look and discovered that the newcomer was Pei Zhiyi, the second daughter of the Dingyuan General's Mansion.

Today, she was not dressed in men's clothing but wore an emerald green gossamer dress that highlighted her slender waist. Her hair was swept up into a cloud bun, pinned with a jade hairpin shaped like an auspicious cloud. She looked elegant and dignified, positively glowing.

Before Magistrate Zhong could even speak, his wife Xu rushed forward.

"Who are you? My husband is seeking justice for our daughter—what's it to you? Where does a young girl like you get off butting in?"

"Besides, the position of Princess Ye should be Xin Yu's by right. If she hadn't been scared of Prince Ye and run home back then, there's no way Ji Yuntang would be sitting as the Princess Ye now!"

Pei Zhiyi sneered, holding back her urge to slap the woman, and asked bluntly:

"You just said yourself that she ran away because she was scared of Prince Ye. So why come knocking on his door now?"

"Surely you don't think the Prince Ye's residence is a place you can waltz in and out of whenever you feel like it?"

Xu snorted coldly, her attitude downright haughty.

"My daughter's illness was caused by Prince Ye—shouldn't he be held responsible for her?"

"He married my daughter, so he should support her for the rest of her life. Now that my daughter doesn't mind that he's a cripple, how could he possibly mind that she's lost her mind?"

"Perhaps it was my daughter's marriage that saved his life..."

Before Xu could finish her sentence, Pei Zhiyi kicked her, knocking her flat on her back.

She crashed into the middle of the crowd with a loud thud, sprawled out, a complete mess.

Pei Zhiyi said coldly, "You shameless woman! Putting your daughter on a pedestal is one thing, but daring to slander Prince Ye in public is another."

"Prince Ye's recovery was clearly thanks to the Princess Ye. Your daughter, a coward who was scared into tears by a man on her wedding night and wouldn't even step into the bridal chamber—how dare she expect Prince Ye to take responsibility for her?"

"Well spoken!" Another clear, magnetic male voice rang out from behind the crowd.

Pei Zhiyi turned to look and found that the newcomer was Luo Sinian.

Dressed in white robes, he strode over briskly. The sunlight softened his usually cold, handsome face, giving him a warm, almost otherworldly glow.

Pei Zhiyi's heart stuttered—it was her first time seeing Luo Sinian in white.

She hadn't expected him to look so dashing in it.

Seeing Luo Sinian look over at her, Pei Zhiyi quickly pretended not to notice him and turned her head away.

After turning away, she regretted it—wasn't that just protesting too much?

Luo Sinian didn't call her out. As he stepped forward, Magistrate Zhong dropped to his knees to pay his respects.

"This humble official greets Prince Chen. Might I ask what brings Prince Chen here?"

Luo Sinian glanced at him, his eyes going cold. He pulled a patrol camp badge from his belt.

"By the Emperor's order, starting today, I'm to lead troops to protect everyone in the Prince Ye's residence."

"So, isn't it only fitting that I appear here?"

Pei Zhiyi turned to the side and indeed saw a squad of patrol camp soldiers arriving, surrounding the Prince Ye's residence.

Magistrate Zhong's head drooped even lower. He knew that Luo Sinian and Luo Junhe were tight—if he intervened in this matter, it would be difficult to complete the task assigned by the Crown Prince!

Luo Sinian's gaze lingered on Magistrate Zhong for a moment, his demeanor haughty and dismissive.

"Everyone knows only part of the story, but perhaps not the full story."

"Back then, the Emperor decreed that my third brother marry Miss Zhong, the eldest daughter, as Princess Ye. But who would have thought that on her wedding day, Miss Zhong ran off with her sweetheart? It was Consort Li who sent people to capture Miss Zhong and stuff her back into the bridal sedan."

"I stood in for my third brother to fetch the bride and performed the wedding rites in his place. Throughout the ceremony, she cried the whole time. I never noticed any affection from Miss Zhong toward my third brother—only that her heart was completely wrapped up in her lover."

"The next day, Miss Zhong cried and begged to go home. When refused, she threatened to kill herself, using that to strong-arm my third brother into letting her go. He couldn't bear to see another innocent woman die because of him, so he released her."

"Afterward, my third brother took full responsibility for the matter, saying that Miss Zhong was innocent and that he was willing to give her a letter of divorce, so she could be with her lover."

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