Ye Jiu arrived at Li Yuyue’s room. Li Yuyue was in the process of removing his armor. Wei Liang took the armor and, seeing the Ninth Princess enter, promptly bowed his head in a salute. Ye Jiu raised an index finger to her lips, signaling Wei Liang to keep silent. Understanding the gesture, Wei Liang quietly placed the armor aside and left. Ye Jiu moved extremely lightly. Li Yuyue went to the washstand, bent over, and began washing his face. His eyes tightly closed, he vigorously scrubbed his face but suddenly felt something odd in the room. He snapped his eyes open and saw from the corner of his eye a cotton towel being moved next to the copper basin, thinking to himself, "Wei Liang is getting the hang of it." He took the cotton towel and wiped his face forcefully. On a second look, how come the hand that had moved the towel was so small? Since when had Wei Liang’s hand become so tiny? His gaze followed the hand upward, and Li Yuyue’s eyes narrowed, "How did you get here?" "Princely Heir, I’ve thought it over, and it was wrong of me to argue earlier," said Ye Jiu, looking up at him. "I shouldn’t have suggested we consummate the marriage ahead of time." His face hadn’t turned red from scrubbing earlier, but at those words from Ye Jiu, his handsome face immediately blushed. He began coughing violently and couldn’t stop for a while. Ye Jiu quickly placed her hand on his back to help him catch his breath, "Princely Heir, what’s wrong with you?" They hadn’t really consummated anything, she just mentioned it, why was this man’s skin so thin? Li Yuyue, his face red, said in a deep voice, "Ye Jiu, I’m telling you, as a woman you should be modest. Such matters should not be carelessly spoken." Ye Jiu muttered, "I just thought if we had the reality of husband and wife, Father Emperor would have no choice but to marry me to you, and all problems would be smoothly resolved." "You’re thinking too simplistically. If the Emperor disagrees, I will be the one at fault in the end. As for you, not to mention your reputation being ruined, how would you live your life afterward?" Ye Jiu’s voice grew softer, "I was thinking Father Emperor dotes on me; maybe he would agree." Li Yuyue grasped her shoulder, looking deeply into her eyes, "Do you understand how the Emperor’s favor comes about? He has plenty of princesses under his knee, Ye Jiu, see clearly!" Ye Jiu nodded, "I understand now, Ah Yan also advised me earlier, saying that when your grandfather comes to the capital, he will decide for me." "Yan’er is back?" he asked. "Good, add a few more dishes for dinner!" Ye Jiu nodded, "I’ll instruct the kitchen about the extra dishes later. Princely Heir, about my suggestion of consummating our marriage early, I haven’t told Ah Yan or Sixth Brother, and you better not mention it." Li Yuyue glanced at her sideways, "Do you think I’m foolish? Ye Jiu, remember this, when I, the Princely Heir, say I am willing to marry you, it is true. In matters of consummation, the one who suffers is always the woman. Without a proper marriage, if I did that, I would be doing you wrong." Upon hearing this, Ye Jiu’s heart skipped a beat. She knew the man she fancied was a gentleman of integrity! By dinner time, Ye Yiheng arrived on time. Li Yuyue greeted him with a hearty laugh and invited him to take a seat. Ye Yiheng didn’t hesitate, lifting his robe to sit down and reaching for the wine jug, pouring one cup for Li Yuyue and then one for himself. "Your Highness, have you found all the necessary medicinal ingredients for your eyes?" Ye Yiheng removed the eye veil, "I can see now." "Good!" Li Yuyue slapped the table, "In the days you were absent, many ministers in court have petitioned the Emperor to clarify the selection of the next Crown Prince. Now that Your Highness can see again, shall we give them a slap in the face?" Ye Yiheng shook his head, "Yanyan’s idea is to wait until after our grand wedding before making the matter of my eyes public." "That’s also good," Li Yuyue raised his cup. Ye Yiheng also raised his, and the two clinked their cups and laughed heartily. The laughter spread out of the dining hall. Leng Yu Yan came with Ye Jiu, the two hearing laughter and asked in unison, "What is so happy about?" The two people in the dining room looked toward the doorway, Li Yuyue said, "Hurry and have dinner, Yan’er seems to have lost weight, you should eat more!" Leng Yu Yan smiled and took her seat, "It’s hard work studying, I will listen to my big brother and eat more." Ye Yiheng’s hand tightened around his wine cup, she had worked so hard to cure his eye disease and the poison in his body, so he silently picked up some food for her. Seeing this, Ye Jiu moved his own bowl toward Li Yuyue. Li Yuyue, not understanding, "Why?" Ye Jiu pursed his lips, hinting that he should learn from Sixth Brother. Only then did Li Yuyue belatedly help Ye Jiu get some food as well. After finishing dinner, Ye Yiheng stood up to take his leave, "There are still many affairs to attend to in the Eastern Palace, I must go ahead." Song Guo helped explain, "Commandery Princess, His Highness indeed has many important matters to deal with." Leng Yu Yan nodded, "I understand." Having been away from the capital for some time, there must be many affairs to handle, she naturally understood. That night, when Leng Yu Yan went to bed, she thought that sleeping alone might be more comfortable, but unexpectedly, she had a dream. In the dream, Ye Yiheng led his trusted aides to the Marquis Ningyuan’s Mansion. It was supposed to be the day for Leng Yu Yan to perform the three-day post-wedding visit, so the entire mansion gathered in the forecourt to welcome the Crown Prince and the Crown Princess Consort. However, they only waited for the arrival of Ye Yiheng and the trusted aides from the Eastern Palace. Ye Yiheng’s face was cold as he asked Leng Zong Fa, "Marquis, what were you thinking, giving Leng Yu Yan in marriage to me?" Leng Zong Fa trembled, "Your Highness is overthinking it, this humble official was simply following orders." "Following orders?" Ye Yiheng’s face was impassive, "You let the fifth daughter take her place in marriage to preserve the third daughter, who, I hear, is going to be Princess Liang. Marquis, you’ve played a good game!" Leng Zong Fa was shocked, the Crown Prince actually knew about Lai Manting not marrying him because she had caught the eye of Prince Liang. Seeing the Crown Prince coming with his trusted aides, although the blind Crown Prince was not favored, their appearance looked much more formidable than the Marquis Mansion’s guards, so he explained, "Your Highness, this humble official arranged the substitution with the Emperor’s consent." Ye Yiheng sneered and turned to leave abruptly. This action left Leng Zong Fa at a loss. That day, Ye Yiheng returned to the Eastern Palace, and he unusually didn’t make things difficult for Leng Yu Yan. However, in the following days, whenever he was slightly dissatisfied outside, he would come back to the Eastern Palace and vent his frustration on her. After enduring such days for several months, she had had enough. Escaping the Eastern Palace, escaping from a certain person, was her only obsession! One day, taking advantage of the dead of night, she moved a ladder, ready to climb it and leave the Eastern Palace. As long as she left this place, there would always be a place for her in the vast Tiancheng. However, just as she was about to climb over the wall, cries of catching a thief came from behind. The shouting was earth-shattering, and curiously turning her head, her vision went dark, and she was taken back to his bedroom. In his bedroom, she fearlessly admitted her desire to escape. Hearing her words, Ye Yiheng laughed, "Have you forgotten what I once said?" "Your Highness said, the only way to escape the Eastern Palace is to be carried out dead," Leng Yu Yan gritted her teeth, "I don’t want to die, I want to escape." Ye Yiheng tilted his head slightly and asked coldly, "So you are so unwilling to stay by my side?" Leng Yu Yan scoffed and shook her head, "Unwilling! Your Highness is blind and heart-blind, your body is icy cold, and your heart even colder to the bone, no one in the world can warm your body, let alone your heart. To tell you the truth, these past few months have felt like an eternity to me every single day!" As soon as her words fell, he advanced on her like a madman, violently tearing at her clothes...