Chapter 482 Unrelated to Madness

Chapter 482: The Madness Isn't His Fault

"Miss usually paints and does some embroidery at home, and has me sell them on the street. She saved up all the money from the sales to use as Young Master He's betrothal gift."

"She thought that once Young Master He saved up enough money, she could marry the one she loved. But unexpectedly, an imperial decree of betrothal from the Emperor shattered our miss's beautiful dream."

"She didn't want to marry, so Madam Xu wouldn't let her see Young Master He. She even threatened our miss by holding Young Master He's life hostage, saying that if she didn't obediently marry Prince Ye, she would kill Young Master He and force our miss to collect his corpse."

"Our miss had no choice but to pretend to give in and agree to marry Prince Ye. But in reality, she and Young Master He had plotted an elopement plan together, hoping to find a chance to run away together."

"Usually, Madam Xu had people posted outside miss's room, so she couldn't leave the residence. Only on her wedding day could she leave openly, so they agreed in advance to elope that day."

"But in the end, the servants discovered our miss's escape plan. Consort Li sent people to drag her back, tie her up, and stuff her into the bridal sedan. I was right there with her at the time."

"After marrying into Prince Ye's residence, she was completely devastated, her mind consumed with worry over Young Master He's safety. She knew Young Master He was in Madam Xu's clutches and that Madam Xu might kill him at any moment. So on the second day after the wedding, our miss resolutely ran back, threatening to take her own life to beg Madam Xu to spare Young Master He."

By this point, Ming Xia was crying so hard she could barely speak. She choked out:

"I know our miss was in the wrong here, but I can assure the Princess that our miss never looked down on Prince Ye. The reason she was crying and screaming that night was purely because she was worried about Young Master He. She felt she had gotten him into trouble."

"On the contrary, our miss also thought Prince Ye was a great hero who defended the country. But what she truly wanted was never to chase power and wealth or become a princess. She simply wanted to be with the one she loved—just living a simple, plain life with him was enough for her."

After hearing all this, Pei Zhiyi felt a wave of mixed emotions.

She asked, "So you're saying your miss wasn't scared out of her wits by Prince Ye?"

Ming Xia stiffened slightly, looking like she wanted to say something but held back, clearly afraid to mention this matter.

Ji Yuntang said softly, "Don't be afraid. Just tell the truth. Maybe this Princess can save your miss's life."

Ming Xia looked up hopefully. "Really? Can the Princess really save our miss?"

Ji Yuntang said, "You've seen Prince Ye. If this Princess can cure even his illness, how could your miss's condition be more severe than his?"

Ji Yuntang's words undoubtedly gave Ming Xia hope.

She had long heard that Princess Ye was well-versed in the art of medicine and could cure all sorts of stubborn illnesses.

Perhaps she really could cure their miss.

With that thought, Ming Xia no longer concealed anything and spoke truthfully:

"I can stake my life on it—our miss's madness has nothing to do with Prince Ye."

"I remember very clearly that after the wedding ceremony, miss was locked in the bridal chamber by two maidservants. They locked the door from outside, wouldn't let her out, and even cursed that our miss wouldn't survive the night."

"According to what miss told me after she came out, Prince Ye wasn't even wearing his wedding attire that day. He was lying on the bed under a quilt, his face half-covered by his hair. She never got a good look at his face. Aside from the room being very cold when she entered, she felt no discomfort."

"When Prince Ye heard her crying, he comforted her and told her not to cry, to eat something first and rest on a couch for the night. The door wasn't opened from outside until the next day."

"Our miss said at the time that she was sorry to Prince Ye. Later, for some unknown reason, she went mad within three days of returning home. She spoke incoherently, and whenever anyone asked her anything, she would scream in terror, saying she was very afraid. She only acted somewhat normal after taking her medicine occasionally."

"At first, our master would hire doctors to treat miss. But later, after learning that the Empress had ordered Prince Ye and miss to divorce, he felt miss had disgraced him and refused to care for her anymore. Miss's daily care was all arranged by Madam Xu."

"Madam Xu treats our miss very poorly. Her daily mistreatment is the least of it—mainly, whenever she has pent-up anger with nowhere to vent, she comes to beat miss. Her two sons are the same, finding excuses to cause trouble for miss whenever they can."

"Miss's body is covered in bruises from their beatings. Because I pleaded for miss, I also took quite a few beatings. Now my leg is covered in bruises, and it's even hard for me to walk."

As Ming Xia said this, she rolled up her pant leg to show Ji Yuntang and Pei Zhiyi.

They looked and indeed saw her calf covered in bruises, along with many scars from whippings—old and new wounds all fused together.

Ming Xia cried, "What I have is nothing compared to miss. Her injuries are far more severe than mine. Moreover, Madam Xu has been lying—she hasn't sent anyone to buy medicine for miss for at least half a year. And even then, she wouldn't allow me to go out and buy medicine for miss."

Pei Zhiyi said indignantly, "This Xu and her two sons are absolutely despicable! How dare they mistreat the legitimate daughter of the household and even raise their hands against a woman."

"This young lady has always despised men who hit women. Allow me to go teach them a lesson."

Ji Yuntang grabbed her and said in a low voice, "Zhi Yi, wait. We should at least first figure out why Xu and Magistrate Zhong suddenly married Miss Zhong off to the Prince Ye's residence."

Logically speaking, if Zhong Xinyu's condition was truly severe, how could Xu and Magistrate Zhong possibly send her to the Prince Ye's residence?

Knowing she was on the verge of death, they still found an excuse to send her over for Luo Junhe to take responsibility. Why didn't they do anything earlier?

Not to mention, Xu used the trick of having a maidservant substitute the bride—that makes even less sense!

Wasn't she afraid of being exposed?

Ming Xia shook her head and said, "I don't know why either. I only know that this time, Madam Xu had me substitute for miss because miss was too ill to get into the bridal sedan."

"She thought that since I've spent so much time with miss and know her mannerisms, tone, and habits well, I could pass off with the Human Skin Mask."

Ming Xia paused, then suddenly remembered something else. She continued, "Oh, and today when I was putting on the wedding clothes, I overheard Madam Xu telling her maidservant to fetch a doctor and do whatever it took to keep our miss alive."

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