Free Web NovelChapter 22: Chapter 22: Ye Lingyue’s Gradual Recovery
Ye Lingyue still possessed some keen senses despite her current weak physique. She found out that her senses were gradually getting better, as if she was recovering the previous aptitude she had on Shen Wuqing’s body.
"Eldest Brother seemed to be familiar with him..." Her voice grew quieter.
After years of pretending to like Qin Ruichen, she knew they had a good relationship. Alas, things had become like this.
Ye Lingrui was silent for a moment, and he actually took this chance to ruffle her hair. She swatted his hand away in annoyance, fixing her hair.
"When you were little, you two were playmates before, although it was a short time," Ye Lingrui explained.
Ye Lingyue’s pupils constricted. A flash of surprise crossed her eyes. "How close?"
"The Consort often invited Mother to the palace, and you two always played together..." He told her. His eyes seemed to hold other emotions that stopped her from asking further.
She began to wonder if the original owner wasn’t a fool from birth. There was an external force that had caused it.
"You two..." Ye Lingrui paused, "had a good relationship."
Seeing his face, Ye Lingyue couldn’t help but picture a wronged little Ye Lingrui looking at little Qin Ruichen in resentment for stealing his twin sister.
"Then, he must have found me slightly familiar," Ye Lingyue mumbled, heaving a sigh of relief.
Fortunately, it wasn’t because he recognized her as Shen Wuqing.
If he knew she was her, would he chase her to the exile destination just to hack her to pieces? She shook her head at the ridiculous thought.
However... it might have sounded exactly what he would do.
He never dared to do anything to her before because of the Grand General’s presence.
After the Shen family fell into ruins, the first and third branch were punished while Shen Jinzhi’s lineage, the second branch survived. All thanks to the Second Prince’s influence.
Ye Lanxi trudged to them, and the written characters on the ground turned indecipherable, distorted beyond recognition. He had thrown a small pebble at them.
Her fists hardened.
"What kind of chicken writing is that?" Holding his wounded hand, he snickered ruthlessly.
Ye Lingyue took a deep breath, and she looked up, grinning foolishly. She pointed to the ground. "Second Brother."
"What do you mean?" Ye Lanxi snorted.
Ye Lingrui gently explained. "Yue’er was drawing you..." then, he coughed. "She means it resembles you more now."
In an instant, Ye Lanxi’s face darkened, and he turned around and walked away angrily to return to the carriage.
Ye Lingyue’s eyes lit up, and she looked at her twin with more appreciation.
Meanwhile, Ye Lanxi couldn’t help glancing back at the twins after he was seated in the carriage, watching the pair of siblings’ harmonious interaction.
When lunch time passed, the exile party resumed their journey. The two imperial guards led their horses which had now calmed down without riding them.
Commander Leng Hai already made an estimation they needed to arrive in the exile destination in two months. He already decided that the convoy would stop once the sun became too hot.
His decision was proven to be wise, because less horses suffered from heatstroke after that. Even so, their speed also slowed down quite a bit.
"I will join the Third Brother." Ye Lingyue told Shen Jingyi who looked too happy to refuse her request.
A few days had passed since they encountered the funeral procession. Commander Leng Hai picked the route for a less populated road.
Because... It seemed that every time they countered common people, they would go crazy in anger, throwing rotten items at them.
Ye Lingyue jumped from the carriage and walked beside Ye Lingrui.
In a less populated area, people were more reserved. With less numbers, they were less courageous and didn’t dare to do anything at the exile party.
She guessed there must have been people who were determined to make them suffer, seeing that the news of Shen Wuqing’s death had spread so quickly.
The Second Prince’s Mansion definitely hid the fact that Shen Wuqing had poisoned their Princess Consort before. Otherwise, they wouldn’t have held such a grand funeral procession for her.
Ye Lingyue narrowed her eyes, sensing a conspiracy.
"Third Brother... why did more assassins surround you before?" She asked Ye Lingrui.
He blinked and put on a thoughtful expression. "Yue’er also noticed it? I wonder who wants to kill me."
Even though they were essentially prisoners now, they were still protected by the imperial decree. Killing them would risk the imperial family’s anger.
Seeing that the one who hired the assassins had decisively got rid of them, it seemed that the person was confident they could get rid of all the traces.
Gradually, the unease about the bad luck after encountering a funeral procession also subsided.
In the first and second week, everything went quite smoothly. All the Ye family members and servants had to eat coarse steamed bun or thin porridge every day.
"I am going to walk," Ye Lingyue told Shen Jingyi again, who was wearing a happy expression.
They didn’t suspect anything about her sudden fluency in language. It made her feel slightly weird at first until Ye Lingrui told her he had explained on her behalf.
"Yue’er is already familiar with the words of our language. She does recognize most words, and I just need to teach her a little to make her understand," Ye Lingrui told the second branch of the Ye family members on Ye Lingyue’s progress.
Other than that, her physique also gradually strengthened with so much exercise. Her senses enhanced along with her body’s strength.
When she threw things, her aim became more accurate.
At night, she loved it the most when she teased the imperial guards by throwing them small pebbles. These imperial guards would run away as though they were chased by a ghost.
After that, she could easily slip away to find some food in the night market or cook food by herself.
Unfortunately, ever since Ye Lanxi recovered, her chance was slim. This man had an extremely acute sense, and he would turn to her direction if she made the slightest noise.
It really drove her crazy.
The food from the guards really couldn’t whet her appetite for delicious food.
Ye Lingyue glared at Ye Lanxi when the man jogged beside her. She ran to Ye Lingrui’s side and grabbed his hand, swinging it around.
"How to get rid of that fierce guy?" She pursed her lips, looking like a kitten whose dinner was late for two minutes.
"Fierce guy?" Ye Lingrui raised his brows.
Her voice sounded a little muffled. "Second Brother."
"What did he do?" His voice had a tinge of curiosity.
Ye Lingyue coughed softly and shook her head. "Nothing. Just forget it."
Unexpectedly, the dinner for that night was a half steamed bun.
"Is this dinner not wrong?" Ye Lanxi protested at the guard delivering the food. He had to share one steamed bun with Ye Zhiqiu.
"Our food provision has dwindled now." The imperial guard snorted.
"But we need to walk all day tomorrow, do you think we can have the energy to walk with so little food?!" Ye Lanxi raised his voice.
Before he could get into a fight with the imperial guard, Ye Zhiqiu already grabbed him.
"Be thankful that you still get food." The imperial guard sneered. "Deal with it until we receive our next provision. Or do you want to eat all of the provisions and starve on the way now?"
The imperial guard left with brisk footsteps, turning to other family branches and the servants to distribute the dinner.
As expected, he also received resistance from the others, but the imperial guard didn’t seem to care. He quickly left to eat his own share, one full steamed bun.
Ye Lingyue narrowed her eyes when the imperial guard took the second steamed bun. She doubted the veracity of his words regarding dwindling provisions.
Not long after, someone from the main family visited.
Old Madam Ye.
"Chengde, do you still have some food here?" She asked, and soon, her eyes lit up when she saw one bun left in the basket.
"Let me take that one. Mingyuan is sick, so he needs to eat a lot to recover." Her slightly hunched figure reached out to the basket and snatched the last steamed bun.
