Mei Yan was not flustered at all when he grabbed her by the neck.
The woman tilted her head to look at him. Although her breathing was suppressed, she felt as if she had the upper hand over Ye Jingcheng at this moment. "Your Highness, don't you forget what time it is now."
"You sent people to assassinate Prince Yu yesterday. If I were to die in the mansion for no reason today, do you think you could still live?"
Although he was already convicted of harming a prince, Prince Yu had not actually died.
Even for the sake of the deceased Empress, the Emperor would not truly kill him; at most, he would be demoted to a commoner.
However, if he were to be implicated in another murder case at this time, it would not be good.
"Mei Yan!" Ye Jingcheng said word by word, his intention to kill truly ignited.
He had always been the one to use others; when had anyone ever used him!
"Your Highness, Your Highness, you mustn't!" Luan Yi, hearing the commotion inside, rushed in to intervene.
He grabbed Ye Jingcheng's hand and rescued Mei Yan from his grasp.
Ye Jingcheng's eyes were bloodshot with hatred. "Get out of the way! Let this Prince kill this venomous woman!"
Luan Yi's face showed a hint of urgency and panic. "Your Highness, please calm down. The concubine has the status of a diplomatic marriage. You cannot do this."
He paused and then added, "A servant just came with a message saying that Eunuch Chang has entered the mansion to deliver an imperial decree and is asking for you!"
Ye Jingcheng's body stiffened abruptly, and he gritted his teeth tightly.
He gave Mei Yan a deep look. "You wait for me. If I survive this ordeal, I will never forgive you!"
Mei Yan coughed a couple of times, regaining her breath. "Your Highness always seems to like saying such things, but I'll be waiting!"
"You!" Ye Jingcheng wanted to step forward again but was stopped by Luan Yi.
Thinking of Eunuch Chang waiting outside, Ye Jingcheng could only suppress his anger for the moment and stepped out to greet him.
After Ye Jingcheng left, Mei Yan also put on her outer garment and followed.
Eunuch Chang was waiting for them in the main courtyard. Seeing the state of the Lian Prince's mansion after the fire, he couldn't help but sigh.
Before coming, he had only heard that the Lian Prince's mansion had burned down, but he hadn't expected it to be so severe.
"Eunuch Chang." Ye Jingcheng called out, coming from the back courtyard.
When Eunuch Chang saw him approaching and was about to read the imperial decree, he looked up and saw Mei Yan also walking over. He paused for a moment but said nothing.
"By the mandate of Heaven, the Emperor decrees: Prince Lian, for plotting against his brother and defying His Majesty, has committed great disrespect. He is hereby demoted to a commoner and forbidden to enter the capital forever. Respect this!"
Ye Jingcheng's forehead veins bulged. He didn't even have the thought of receiving the decree. "This is impossible! Father Emperor would not do this to me! This is absolutely impossible!"
He stood up, almost crying out in anguish, "I want to see the Emperor! I want to enter the palace!"
Being demoted to a commoner was one thing, but being forever forbidden to enter the capital was another.
If that were the case, let alone the throne, wouldn't he have to live a life of poverty and destitution from now on?!
Eunuch Chang's expression turned grim. "Prince Lian, whether you can enter the palace in the future, or whether you want to enter the palace, is entirely up to His Majesty. What you need to do now is to receive the decree."
Eunuch Chang usually spoke very respectfully to the princes and rarely showed such an expression.
At this moment, he looked at Ye Jingcheng coldly, exuding an oppressive aura.
Ye Jingcheng's imposing manner gradually weakened. Under that gaze, he lowered his head, knelt down again, and raised his hands.
"This humble subject receives the decree!" He gritted out these four words.
Eunuch Chang handed the imperial decree to him and then looked at Mei Yan.
Mei Yan stepped forward and bowed. "Eunuch, although His Highness has confessed, this matter has nothing to do with me. I believe it is not unreasonable for me to request an audience with His Majesty, is it?"
"This..." Eunuch Chang frowned, a hint of difficulty flashing across his face.
What the Princess of Southern Xinjiang said was also true. Moreover, regardless of anything else, her status was undeniable, and she could not be dealt with casually. It was indeed appropriate for His Majesty to handle her case.
"If that is the case, then the Princess shall accompany this old servant into the palace."
Eunuch Chang intentionally changed his address, which made Ye Jingcheng's expression even more somber.
Mei Yan nodded in acknowledgment and walked out of the mansion, following Eunuch Chang.
Ye Jingcheng called out to her, but she did not look back.
Meanwhile, Su Yunmo had been attending to Ye Jingyu all day.
The first day she was deceived by Ye Jingyu was due to her concern overriding her judgment, but Su Yunmo was not foolish. As time passed, she began to notice something was amiss.
If nothing else, she had already asked Ying Zhao. All those who died last night were Ye Jingcheng's men, and only a few servants in Prince Yu's mansion were injured, and not seriously.
This meant that Ye Jingyu had been prepared all along.
With such thorough preparation, and even the servants not being severely injured, how could he have been injured by a few good-for-nothings?
"You were faking it, weren't you?" Su Yunmo stood by the bed, her eyes narrowing dangerously.
Ye Jingyu, who was drinking medicine, paused. "I don't know what you're talking about."
A sharp glint flashed in Su Yunmo's eyes. She reached out towards him and clenched her fist suddenly.
*Crack!*
The bowl containing the medicine exploded.
Ye Jingyu, scalded by the medicine, gasped in pain.
But Su Yunmo was even more enraged. She said word by word, "Ye Jingyu! You tricked me!"
This man was protected by the Glazed Lock. Under normal circumstances, her abilities would have no effect on him, but now even the Glazed Lock was not protecting him!
Ye Jingyu's lips twitched. The pain from the scalding instantly subsided, and he felt a chill run from his head to his toes.
He turned to look at Su Yunmo, showing a sheepish smile for the first time. "It's not what you think. There's actually a reason for this. If I didn't do this, how could I have eliminated Ye Jingcheng?"
"Moreover, it was indeed he who made the first move. I was merely using his plan to my advantage."
"Using my plan to your advantage, is that it? Fine!" Su Yunmo raised her hand and threw the towel she was holding to wipe his hands onto his face. "You can use your own plan to your advantage!"
The little dumpling said this, turned around, and left, her retreating figure radiating indignation.
"Little one! Mo Mo!" Ye Jingyu got out of bed, wanting to chase after her.
Su Yunmo tried her best to move her little legs, walking away briskly, not even stopping when she bumped into Qian Xue at the door.
"Little miss, where are you going?"
"Back to the mansion!" These two words were spoken with a grinding of teeth.
Seeing her like this, Qian Xue couldn't help but guess what had happened. She shook her head helplessly and entered the room. "Master, are you alright?"
Didn't I say so earlier? Did you mess up?
Ye Jingyu had no time to chase after her now.
He leaned against the headboard, shook his head helplessly, and rubbed his temples. "Why is this girl getting more and more temperamental?"
It was just that recently she had been busy with all sorts of messy things and rarely met with him, so he had seized the opportunity to tease her.
Qian Xue guessed her master's thoughts and wanted to roll her eyes.
This wasn't teasing, Master; this was clearly fooling around!
The little miss stayed up all night yesterday because of this injury. It was no wonder she was angry when she suddenly found out she had been tricked.
"Don't worry, little miss is all talk and no action. She'll be fine soon."