Chapter 6: The Prince is a Woman 6

He had been restraining himself all along, but now that he saw the person in front of him, Ye Ji felt all his previous restraint vanish into thin air.

He sat on the throne, his gaze deep as he looked down at the person below, his face as cold as the moon.

Jiang Changtong caught a glimpse of this by chance and assumed that the arrogant heir to the Prince of Ning’s estate had angered this young emperor. Thinking that the Prince of Ning’s estate would soon be finished, he felt particularly excited.

How could Jiang Changtong know that Ye Ji was merely frustrated that his emotions were being influenced by someone he had barely met, and he wanted to take a good look at what exactly was going on with this person.

Yet, the more he looked, the more he couldn't control the wild urge to bind this person to his side.

It wasn't just the Prince of Ning who had gone mad; he feared he was close to it as well.

He shifted his gaze away, as if he didn't care for anything in the world, but in reality, he dared not look at the person below any longer, fearing he might lose his composure.

A-Zhen raised her eyes and met the gaze of the person above. She did not miss his inadvertent movement of shifting his eyes elsewhere, as if he were restraining something. It was exactly the same as before; not a single thing had changed.

She lowered her head, her brows curving into a smile.

"Your Majesty, the reason I beat the third young master of the Marquis's estate is simply because he struck my elder sister first. When I went to visit my second sister earlier, she had been lying in bed for two months, thin as a skeleton. The female physician in the residence examined her and found two of her ribs had been broken. If I had arrived any later, I fear it wouldn't be long before I heard the news of my second sister's passing. With my own sister suffering such torture, how could I be at peace if I didn't do something?"

Ye Ji glanced sideways at the furious Jiang Changtong, thinking only that this old dog was shameless. Look, it was clear that the people from the Marquis's estate had provoked the other party first.

With Ning Zhen causing such a scene, it had effectively cut off any possibility of an alliance with the Marquis of Angui's estate.

Could it be that this person truly had no intention of rebelling in secret?

Jiang Changtong was not having it and immediately said loudly, "Your Majesty, that was originally a matter between my third son and his wife. Isn't it normal for a husband and wife to have their tiffs? There is an old saying that a couple's quarrels are settled before the night is through. It is simply that some people are meddling too much. I beg Your Majesty to uphold justice for me."

Ye Ji tapped his fingers on the armrest, a hint of dark amusement flashing in his eyes. "Come to think of it, you are all one family. Your third son beat his wife, and the Heir of Ning, unable to stand by, stood up for his sister—that is understandable. It is normal for a family to have some friction; even if bones are broken, the tendons remain connected."

If the person above weren't the Emperor, Jiang Changtong might have jumped up. Who was family with this brat?

His third son had lost half his life; who wanted to be "connected by tendons" with Ning Zhen!

If he could, he would love to beat the other party until he was half-paralyzed and bedridden for the rest of his life.

"Your Majesty, the Heir of Ning was too ruthless. The physician said my third son will have to lie in bed for at least three to five months. I implore Your Majesty to uphold justice for me."

A-Zhen said with a completely serious face, "Marquis of Angui, my second sister also has to lie in bed for several more months." After she finished, she bowed. "I ask Your Majesty to uphold justice."

Ye Ji’s eyes darkened, and he forced himself to steady his pounding heart.

This person had asked him to uphold justice; how could he sit idly by?

He pressed his lips together. Why was he thinking like this?

As an emperor, when someone appeared who influenced his emotions in every way, in the past, even if he didn't kill them, he would have completely controlled them or driven them far away. Of course, apart from this person named Ning Zhen, no one had ever made him feel this way.

Reason told him he should find a way to eliminate this hidden danger.

But he didn't even dare to entertain that thought. Just the mere idea of this vibrant person suddenly losing their breath or never being seen again made his breathing difficult, and his heart, in particular, ached to the point of suffocation.

Ye Ji lowered his eyes, his voice as cold as a frozen spring: "Do you both truly want me to decide this?"

Hearing them both answer in the affirmative, and no longer specifically looking at the person who influenced his emotions, Ye Ji leaned back casually against the dragon throne and glanced forward: "Very well."

"The Marquis of Angui says the Heir of Ning broke the third young master's ribs, and the Heir of Ning admits to this. Is that correct?"

A-Zhen replied: "Yes."

Jiang Changtong was somewhat nervous and excited. He couldn't gauge the attitude of the young emperor above, but he believed this was a family matter. Even if his third son had hit someone, he had hit his own wife.

The one in the wrong should be the Ning family's brat.

Even if he couldn't do anything to the Ning brat this time, since the other party was in the wrong, he would have to obediently send Lady Ning back and provide the Marquis's estate with some compensation; otherwise, this matter would not be over. The Ning brat cared deeply about Lady Ning; as long as he had her in his grasp, he wasn't afraid of not being able to manipulate the other party.

Even if the Ning brat had some ability, he was not the Prince of Ning. The Prince of Ning had lost his mind, and the Prince of Ning's estate was no longer what it once was.

Once he returned, he would have plenty of ways to teach that brat a lesson.

"Marquis of Angui, the Heir of Ning says your third son beat his wife, Lady Ning. Is that correct?" Ye Ji asked.

Jiang Changtong didn't want to admit it, but he had to: "Yes. Actually, it was just some minor friction between husband and wife. Life goes on as usual; they usually get along quite well. Living together is a lifelong affair; how can there not be some conflict? My third son has a carefree personality and is a bit clumsy. He just couldn't control himself in a moment of emotional agitation..."

"Your Majesty, Jiang Weiming didn't just hit my second sister once. He has been hitting her since they were married. My second sister often adds new injuries before the old ones have healed." A-Zhen interrupted Jiang Changtong, her gaze fixed on him. "Marquis of Angui, it is easy to have bad luck when telling lies that go against your conscience."

She had only beaten Jiang Weiming once so far, and of course, she couldn't just let it go at that. For now, she was just bringing Ning Yumei home to give her a stable environment.

As for Jiang Weiming, once he was mostly recovered, she would beat him again.

However many times he had hit Ning Yumei and whatever injuries he had caused, she would return them twofold to him, ensuring the client was satisfied.

If his attitude was poor, she would return it threefold.

If it was still poor, tenfold!

Until the debt was paid, he wouldn't even be allowed to die.

"Heir of Ning, empty words are not good." Jiang Changtong naturally would not admit that Jiang Weiming often beat his wife.

If he really admitted it, while others couldn't interfere in private matters, bringing it out into the open would be disadvantageous for his Marquis's estate.

"Your Majesty, I have evidence." A-Zhen was waiting for exactly this. She had long anticipated that with Jiang Changtong's personality, he would come to the palace to complain, and she had already collected all the evidence and witnesses.

Perhaps due to the era, Jiang Changtong didn't think a husband beating his wife was anything; he probably didn't think many people would care even if he beat her to death. Such evidence and witnesses were easy to find.

Noticing the gaze of the person above on her, A-Zhen raised her eyes. He was distracted again.

He was the Emperor, after all—was it okay to be so distracted?

"Your Majesty," she called out.

Ye Ji came to his senses, hiding the discomfort in his eyes. No one could tell that he had been so attracted by the righteous look of the person below that he had forgotten everything around him, right?

He was the Son of Heaven; surely no one would dare stare at his face to analyze him.

Ye Ji felt calm inside and said in a flat tone: "Where are the Heir of Ning's evidence and witnesses?"