Free Web NovelChapter 1288: Chapter 1277: Illegitimate Son
At the end of December, just as Ye Sihui was anxiously waiting for news of defeat, a message arrived that their Daru Dynasty had won a great victory.
It was said that Ye Qiu and a General surnamed Zhou had single-handedly infiltrated, directly crippling nearly half of the enemy’s combat power, estimating that it would take ten years to recover. Upon hearing the news, the Emperor joyfully decreed a general amnesty for the empire and waived a year’s agriculture tax.
How is this possible?
Ye Sihui was so shocked that she couldn’t close her mouth, unable to come to her senses for a long time. She kept asking herself, what on earth is going on?
Clearly, in the previous life, it ended in a great defeat. Why is it a great victory in this life? If not for the poignant memories of the previous life, she would have doubted whether she had remembered it incorrectly.
Where exactly did it go wrong? If there’s only one difference, it’s merely that Ye Qiu is on the battlefield in this life. Does he alone really have such formidable power?
Indeed, since he ran away from home and enlisted alone, he never relied on any family power and was granted the title of Second-class Marquis; she shouldn’t have underestimated him!
But is it her fault? In the previous life, this illegitimate brother was always in poor health, later neither joined the army nor took the imperial exam, remaining obscure for a lifetime. In this life, could she not ignore him?
What caused the transformation in him in this life?
Ye Sihui pressed her lips tightly because upon tracing the source, she found that it was herself. Ever since she was reborn and swapped her marriage with Zhong Jing’s, Ye Qiu has become different.
In the previous life, he was indifferent because he thought Prince An was a good husband. In this life, seeing Ye Jing betrothed to Prince Kang, he couldn’t sit still, trying to protect Ye Jing through his career, right?
It must be like this; apart from this, Ye Sihui couldn’t think of any reason.
But isn’t she his sister too? Since he was willing to change in this life, why was he indifferent in the last life when she married Prince Kang?
Even though Ye Qiu and Ye Jing are siblings from the same mother, Ye Sihui still couldn’t understand; she is his legitimate sister from the same father too! Is she just not worth his effort?
Thinking of the sufferings she endured in her past life, and how she was fed poison by her biological mother in the end, she couldn’t understand; even Ye Jing, a concubine daughter, had someone who cared for her, but what about her?
Father treated her as a tool for trading power, mother had deep-rooted favoritism towards sons over daughters, and her brother’s lack of ambition; how could she let go of these?
She, an honorable legitimate daughter, lived even worse than a concubine daughter; is it because Heaven saw her suffering too much and let her be reborn?
Since no one loves her, she will love herself well; she doesn’t care about family ties anymore, only her son is her ultimate reliance!
"Rui, you must strive hard in the future!"
Rui was almost three years old, clearly at an age where he should be innocent and playful, yet he was forced to read books every day, his little face showing a maturity not fitting for his age.
"Mother, I will try hard; Father praised me today." He looked at Ye Sihui and said brightly.
"Good, our Rui is really sensible; you will become a great person in the future, you must work even harder." Ye Sihui’s eyes sparkled with excitement as she grabbed Rui’s arm and said enthusiastically.
"But Mother, brothers are all playing in the garden, and I want to go too." Rui hesitantly pleaded.
"No." Ye Sihui rejected firmly, "Rui, you can’t go out to play, those people will harm you, I am your mother, everything I do is for your good, please be obedient and don’t let me worry, okay?"
Rui pursed his lips and lowered his head, saying softly: "Okay, Rui will listen to Mother."
Upon hearing this, Ye Sihui touched his head and smiled: "Really mother’s good son, go read, I will test you later."
The only thing she’s grateful to Ye Qiu for is letting her realize the importance of her son; as long as her son is promising, naturally people will support him in the future. She just needs to wait now, wait for her husband to ascend the throne.
But she always feels uneasy because now the war situation has changed, the Emperor not only didn’t vomit blood from anger, but he became more spirited, so can Prince An be established as Crown Prince as in the previous life?
Ye Sihui doesn’t know because she can’t tell anyone about her past life, nor does she have the ability to change anyone. If her elder brother had decisively supported Prince An, with his current war achievements, wouldn’t she be at ease?
While Ye Sihui was lost in thought, a celebration banquet was held in the palace; since Ye Qiu couldn’t come back, Ye Sheng was invited to the palace, and this was the first time he was so close to the Emperor.
Everyone knew that the victory was mostly due to Ye Qiu, so waves of people surrounded him with praises, making him very pleased.
Seeing him so complacent, the ministers were all deeply envious, why couldn’t they have such a son? Why was it Ye Sheng specifically?
Everyone present knew Ye Sheng’s character; back then, he traded the marriage of his two daughters to climb the ranks, nearly selling them directly! It was said that Ye Qiu joining the army was entirely his own doing, without any support from Ye Sheng.
But strangely enough, such a person gave birth to such an outstanding son, truly regrettable!
"Can’t stand it?" a Minister whispered.
"Can you stand it? Look at him with all his smugness." That person sneered disdainfully.
"How about we teach him a lesson?"
"How to teach? He is now the favored minister’s father."
"The Emperor favors his son, not him, what about us..."
Ye Sheng drank until he was in high spirits, unaware of the impending disaster, thinking life couldn’t be more complete, but if the Emperor’s reward were for him, it would be even better.
The next day, the elderly eunuch hurriedly paced outside Yangxin Hall, once again asking the little eunuch: "The Emperor hasn’t woken up yet?"
"No, the Emperor drank a lot yesterday, probably won’t wake up for a while, Eunuch An, what’s the urgency?"
"Oh, what else could it be? It concerns Marquis Ye."
"Isn’t Marquis Ye at the border? He was praised by the Emperor just yesterday, now that the barbarians have their Primordial Energy severely damaged, what could be the matter?"
"It’s caused by Mr. Ye, if not handled timely, Marquis Ye might face execution!"
"So serious? What exactly did Mr. Ye do?"
The little eunuch spoke loudly, waking the Emperor inside the hall: "What’s the commotion outside? How unseemly!"
The elderly eunuch nearly tumbled as he rushed inside, kowtowing in panic: "Your Majesty, something major happened, today rumors are rampant outside the palace claiming that Marquis Ye has colluded with the barbarians, saying you’ve been deceived!"
"Nonsense! Who’s spreading this? Quickly, assist me in getting dressed!"
