Chapter 54
Chapter 54: Searching the Residence: The Secret Compartment Discovered
“Madame, your words are absurd. Of course, I was sound asleep in my residence during the night. If you and your daughter have nothing else to do but come over and slander me, forget it,” Ye Jiuge said coldly.
“Who is slandering you?” Ye Shanshan countered. However, when she saw Ye Jiuge’s raised palm, Ye Shanshan did not dare speak again.
“Jiuge, no matter what, the Crown Prince has already given orders for us to investigate. You should cooperate!” Su Yufeng gave the maid behind her a meaningful look and said, “Hurry up and enter.”
“Only I say who enters.” Ye Jiuge took a step forward. Qing Mama stood behind her and glared like a tigress watching her prey.
Immediately, the maids froze. The Eldest Miss’s viciousness was well-known throughout the Ye Residence.
Zhang Mama was just a step away from becoming a spiritual practitioner, but her spiritual root had been destroyed, so she had been sent to one of the properties to retire. They did not think they were stronger than Zhang Mama.
“It seems that nobody is willing to listen to me anymore.” Su Yufeng narrowed her eyes, and her cold gaze swept the maids behind her.
The maids protested silently. Madame was not to be trifled with either!
“If nobody is willing to enter, all of you shall be sold off,” Ye Shanshan shouted angrily.
In the past, nobody ever dared disobey her and her mother’s instructions. These lowly servants were bold to treat their words like the wind blowing past their ears.
The maids looked at each other. If they entered, they would die; if they retreated, they would also die! However, being beaten was better than being sold. They could only brace themselves as they began to walk forward, slowly.
Qing Mama’s hand glowed with a faint golden light. If these maids dared to enter the courtyard, she would throw all of them out immediately.
Just then, Ye Yuxuan’s voice rang out in the distance, “It’s not even daytime yet. What is the ruckus about?”
“Father!” Ye Shanshan immediately turned her head.
Ye Yuxuan walked briskly over. Gan Mama and the maids from the torture chamber, as well as Song Bai and a few guards, followed behind him.
Ye Jiuge raised her eyebrows. Needless to say, Su Yufeng and her daughter must have invited Ye Yuxuan over as their helper. Luckily, she had already placed the Crown Prince’s jade pendant in the secret compartment of Ye Yuxuan’s Elixir Production Room. Why was he still so calm?
Can it be that he has yet to discover that his elixirs are missing?
Ye Jiuge’s mind began to race. The current farce was an opportunity for her to divert the blame for the disappearance of Ye Yuxuan’s elixirs to Ye Shanshan and the Crown Prince.
By then, Ye Yuxuan had reached Ye Jiuge. His gaze swept over all present before he said in an imposing manner, “What is going on?”
“Father, Elder Sister has stolen the Crown Prince’s pendant, but she refuses to admit it,” Ye Shanshan rushed to say.
“Is that true?” Ye Yuxuan frowned and looked at Ye Jiuge.
Although he was asking her, his eyes betrayed that he already deemed Ye Jiuge guilty.
“If you want to condemn someone, don’t worry about the context. I only argued with the Crown Prince at the restaurant yesterday, and now he has accused me of stealing his jade pendant. I wonder what he will accuse me of stealing next,” Ye Jiuge said coldly.
“What argument? You clearly ganged up with Wan Ziyang to bully the Crown Prince and even beat him up badly,” Ye Shanshan growled indignantly.
However, her words just made the others feel that the Crown Prince was accusing Ye Jiuge for the sake of revenge.
“If you do not believe me, feel free to enter and check so that you can make it clear to the Crown Prince. You shouldn’t just look in my house; you should check everywhere in the Ye Residence. Father’s should not be let off either, in case you argue that I have stolen the thing but hidden it elsewhere. Oh, and make a larger fuss out of the matter, so that everyone knows that our Ye Clan has investigated its legitimate daughter as though she were a thief just because of something that the Crown Prince said.”
Every one of Ye Jiuge’s words was like a slap to Ye Yuxuan’s face. Immediately, his expression turned unpleasant.
“Old Master, please don’t be angry. It is a fact that Jiuge has attacked the Crown Prince, and the Crown Prince is still lying in bed, unable to get up. The Empress is very angry. By making inquiries, we will be cooling their temper,” Su Yufeng advised softly.
She had not taken the issue of the Crown Prince’s pendant to heart; she’d only wanted the opportunity to search Ye Jiuge’s house. The Crown Prince had never told anyone about the treasure map hidden within the jade pendant, so nobody took the matter of its missing too seriously.
After hesitating a short while, Ye Yuxuan said, “Fine, check. Gan Mama, bring someone with you and follow behind.”
“Yes.” Gan Mama promptly nodded.
“These maids are clumsy; I will do it personally.”
After speaking, Su Yufeng took the maids with her and headed for Ye Jiuge’s house. Ye Jiuge followed behind. Gan Mama and the rest could only check the other houses. Qing Mama was finally able to let out a soft sigh of relief as she followed beside Gan Mama.
Su Yufeng began checking Ye Jiuge’s house, hoping to discover Ye Ruyi’s whereabouts. Actually, she believed that Ye Jiuge would not have brought Ye Ruyi home; she was more likely to have left her outside the residence. Su Yufeng only wanted to check if Ye Jiuge had left her house during the night.
Su Yufeng reached out and touched Ye Jiuge’s bedding. It was icy cold and looked as though it had just been changed. With a faint smile, she asked, “Jiuge, why did you change your bedding after waking up?”
“How do you know that I did? Did you see me do it?” Ye Jiuge countered coldly.
Su Yufeng wanted to say something more, but Ye Yuxuan interrupted her impatiently, “Since you have checked, get out already.”
It isn’t possible that she wants to find something, is it? The Ye Clan cannot afford to lose face like this.
“Yes!”
Su Yufeng was already sure that Ye Jiuge had gone out at night and was not in the mood to stay in Ye Jiuge’s house any longer. Although she was not there when Ye Ruyi was kidnapped, she had to find a way to hide the evidence of her crime.
Unconvinced, Ye Shanshan followed Su Yufeng out of Ye Jiuge’s house then said, “Mother, there are other houses that have not been checked yet.”
“Fine, go and look!” Su Yufeng replied absent-mindedly.
Ye Shanshan brought some servants with her and headed for Qing Mama’s house.
Both Ye Jiuge’s and Qing Mama’s heartbeats began to race. They wanted to refuse but feared that it would raise suspicion. They could only steady themselves as they followed her in.
Ye Shanshan had purely wanted to vent her anger. She knocked randomly around in Qing Mama’s house. Gradually, she reached the place where Qing Mama had installed the secret compartment.
Qing Mama’s hands shook. She was about to rush forward and stop Ye Shanshan but was held back by Ye Jiuge.
It was too late.
“Hm?”
Ye Shanshan had some experience with secret compartments and immediately noticed something unusual about the back of the wooden wardrobe.
Her spirits surged. Ye Shanshan quickly pointed at the closet and exclaimed excitedly, “Alright, so it is hidden here.”