Demon Emperor's Defiant Love
Chapter 107: Anger: Zi Shang's Murderous Intent

After Ye Jiuge finished her dinner, she sat down on a chair to think.

She thought about how she would dispel the poison from Imperial Consort Xi’s body and wondered if news of Elderly Lady Xu’s death had spread. She thought about the Gong Clan’s youngest son, who was afflicted with the eye disease…

Just then, Zhen Zhu carried in a cup of rose tea, freshly brewed. She said softly, “Eldest Miss, please have some tea.”

Although Qing Mama had recovered after eating the hemostasis pills, Ye Jiuge had instructed her to stay in bed to recuperate. As such, Zhen Zhu was serving her.

Ye Jiuge received the cup and sipped the rose tea. Then, she asked, “What are the Old Master and Madame doing?”

“I heard that the Old Master sent many guards to search for the corpses of the Su Clan’s guards. They have recovered five, but one is still missing. Madame is so worried that she has no appetite at all,” Zhen Zhu replied with a wide smile.

The servants from the Zilin Residence felt an unspeakable delight to hear that the people from the Shuimo Garden were having a hard time. The corners of Ye Jiuge’s lips curled into a satisfied smile. She’d wanted to create such an effect. She had thought that this would sufficiently damage the Su Clan’s reputation—and Ye Yuxuan’s. She did not know that Wan Ziyang had another surprise waiting for her.

Zhen Zhu then revealed another piece of information: “Oh, Eldest Miss, I heard this from a maid from the Cleaning Room. Recently, someone has been making a mess of the trash collected from our residence. Many of the maids responsible for sorting the trash have been reprimanded, and their monthly wages have even been slashed.”

Zhen Zhu was the child of a servant from the residence, and she was popular in the Cleaning Room. Even after becoming the highest-ranked maid in the Zilin Residence, Zhen Zhu often returned to visit her sisters. She did not put on airs, and people gladly told her anything she wanted to know. The Cleaning Room’s maids swept and cleaned the entire Ye Residence. They left their quarters early and returned late, and they frequently witnessed strange things. They often told Zhen Zhu about these things.

When Ye Jiuge heard this, she immediately thought of the person in the Ye Residence who was watching her. She wondered to herself, Is this person predicting my actions using the trash collected from the Zilin Residence?

Ye Jiuge pondered momentarily before instructing Zhen Zhu, “Go to the Cleaning Room and make some inquiries. Ask when the trash was sorted, and whether anyone else took part recently.”

“I understand.” Zhen Zhu nodded.

Qing Mama had told her that someone was watching the Zilin Residence. As such, she had intentionally been keeping an eye out for clues.

“You have done well. After this matter concludes, I will reward you handsomely.” Ye Jiuge felt that Zhen Zhu had an innate gift to become an intelligence official. It was a pity that she had no Spiritual Root; it would have been worthwhile to train her.

“Many thanks to you, Eldest Miss,” Zhen Zhu said and laughed merrily.

The reward was not what was most important to her. It was the Eldest Miss’s undisguised appreciation for her that made Zhen Zhu feel special.

“Alright. If there is nothing else, you may go!” Ye Jiuge determined the time of day by the color of the darkening sky outside the window. She decided to sneak out.

“Yes!” Zhen Zhu retreated tactfully.

Ye Jiuge changed into her nightclothes in the interior room. After carefully avoiding the residence’s patrolling guards, she secretly slipped into Ye Yuxuan’s study to search for the place where he had hidden his medical records.

Just then, Zi Shang’s lazy voice rang out: “The left corner!”

“You are finally awake?” Ye Jiuge immediately straightened her body.

“Yeah!”

Zi Shang had just woken up. He had been secretly reading Ye Jiuge’s memory through the Soul Contract to understand what had happened when he hadn’t been around. He provided Ye Jiuge with some directions after realizing that she was trying to replace Ye Yuxuan’s medical records.

Although Ye Jiuge had many questions for Zi Shang, she knew that now was not the right time to ask. Following Zi Shang’s instructions, she took a look in the left corner of the room. Sure enough, she found a secret compartment under one of the floor tiles.

Inside the compartment, there was a large brown notebook and a smaller, red booklet. The large notebook documented Ye Yuxuan’s connections. The small booklet, on the other hand, recorded his more prominent clients.

The medical record of the Gong’s Clan’s youngest son, Gong Baiyu, was among them. After reading the case carefully, Ye Jiuge found that Gong Baiyu’s illness was indeed strange. In fact, no cause of his disease had been found. Apart from not being able to see, he had no discomforts. His pulse was healthy and robust, and there had been no prior indications that something was wrong before his blindness set in. This kind of illness was the most difficult to treat.

Ye Yuxuan did not dare to prescribe medicine carelessly, and he had merely prescribed a series of pills to nourish Gong Baiyu’s eyes and liver. The liver governed the eyes. A problem with one’s eyes was usually related to the liver, and there was nothing wrong with Ye Yuxuan’s prescription. However, the liver corresponded to the wood element, but Gong Baiyu had an Earth Spiritual Root. Wood counteracted earth. By merely nourishing the liver, the wood element in Gong Baiyu’s body would become too vigorous and suppress his Spiritual Power.

Ye Yuxuan’s method was palliative. Sooner or later, Gong Baiyu would become crippled under his treatment.

However, Ye Jiuge could not think of a different treatment method. Furthermore, Ye Yuxuan was a fifth-grade Alchemist, whereas she was only second-grade. Even if she were to tell the Gong Clan that Ye Yuxuan had mistreated Gong Baiyu, she doubted that they would believe her.

She needed to work out a strategy carefully. It was a good thing that Ye Yuxuan had not dared to be abrupt with his treatment, and Gong Baiyu would be fine for a short while. This gave her plenty of time to think.

Ye Jiuge placed the booklet back in the secret compartment before stealthily returning to the Zilin Residence. Just as she was about to ask Zi Shang about the small bronze cauldron and the Black Fat Rat, she heard Zi Shang’s angry words: “That Su Clan’s old b*stard dared to treat you like this!”

It seemed that he had read her memory of how the Su Clan’s Old Master had relied on force to bully her. Adding to his fury was the fact that Dongfang Que had brought someone to help Ye Jiuge.

“What is the point of saying all this now?” Ye Jiuge rolled her eyes, showing her disdain for how Zi Shang was shutting the stable door after the horse had bolted.

“How can it be pointless?” Zi Shang’s voice was soft but filled with menace. The temperature in the entire residence dropped.

“What do you going to do?” A bad feeling rose in the depths of Ye Jiuge’s heart.

“Of course, I am going to avenge you.” Zi Shang’s tone was cold and emitted a murderous intent.

“The old man is a Spiritual Master; it won’t be easy to deal with him.” Ye Jiuge frowned. They were in the human race’s territory, and there would be trouble if Zi Shang were revealed.

“There is no need for you to worry!”

Immediately after Zi Shang spoke, Ye Jiuge felt a sting in the purple mark on her hand. She lifted her sleeves to take a look. The purple mark turned into a snake-shaped purple light and shot toward the Su Residence.

“Zi Shang, don’t do anything foolish!” Ye Jiuge yelled, flustered and exasperated.

The Su Clan’s Old Master was respected in the capital. If anything were to happen to him, the Su Clan would not be willing to take things lying down.

Ye Jiuge thought, What will I do if they begin to investigate me?!

“Don’t worry, I will not kill him,” Zi Shang said coolly.

“Then, what do you plan to do?” Ye Jiuge could not rest easily without knowing.

“You will know tomorrow,” Zi Shang said, and his voice gradually faded away as though he had gone into hibernation again.

Ye Jiuge almost vomited blood. She thought, This unreliable demonic snake! Why does he always cause trouble for me right before going to sleep?