Demon Emperor's Defiant Love

Su Yufeng realized that things had gone awry. She feared that Gong Xifan would persuade Ye Yuxuan, so she clutched her belly and cried, “Old Master, my stomach hurts.”

Ye Yuxuan collected his wits and promptly took her in his arms. Then, he bade farewell to Gong Xifan and Dongfang Que in a hurry.

“My wife is not feeling well. I shall not accompany you two. Please, make yourselves at home.” Having spoken, he supported Su Yufeng with his hands and walked away briskly. He looked like a defeated man fleeing.

It made Ye Jiuge incredibly cheerful to see Ye Yuxuan and Su Yufeng embarrassed. She approached Gong Xifan and Dongfang Que and bowed solemnly.

“Great Master Gong, Your Highness, thank you for the favor today. I will engrave it in my memory.”

Had they not stopped the Su Clan’s Old Master in time, she would have killed him in anger, and the Lightning Fire Needle would have been exposed to the public.

“Eldest Miss Ye, you need not be so courteous.” Gong Xifan held her up politely before he laughed and said straightforwardly, “In the olden days, I had the honor of receiving a pill produced by Great Master Yun. You can consider what I did today returning the favor.”

Ye Jiuge knew that Gong Xifan was being polite, but she still felt incredibly grateful to him.

“Eldest Miss Ye, Old Man Su is narrow-minded; he will seek revenge for the smallest grievance. I fear that he will not let you off. If you ever require the Gong Clan’s assistance, use this token to find us.”

Gong Xifan took out a palm-sized black token and handed it to Ye Jiuge. A mysterious eye was carved on it. Inside the eye, the word “Gong” was written in bold cursive calligraphy. On the Canglan Continent, the color black was revered. The token was obviously very precious. Ye Jiuge did not expect Gong Xifan to hand it to her. Her doubtful gaze landed immediately on Dongfang Que—after all, he was the one who had brought Gong Xifan here. Dongfang Que nodded, signaling to her that it was alright to accept the token.

After hesitating, Ye Jiuge received it and gave her thanks with a Fist and Palm Salute. “In that case, I thank Great Master Gong for this.”

“Eldest Miss Ye is too kind. Now, I have something else to attend to, so I shall take my leave,” Gong Xifan replied. Then, he gave a Fist and Palm Salute and disappeared with a flash.

“Your Highness?” Ye Jiuge looked toward Dongfang Que.

What is happening? He ought to give her an explanation!

“It’s inconvenient to speak here, Eldest Miss. Can you suggest another place?” Dongfang Que asked in a low voice.

“If Your Highness does not mind, why don’t we go to my residence!” Ye Jiuge replied. Qing Mama was hurt, so Ye Jiuge did not want to leave the Ye Residence.

“Sure!” Dongfang Que nodded.

Ye Jiuge wanted to support Qing Mama with her hands, but she was rejected.

“There’s no need, I can walk by myself,” Qing Mama said, leaning on Zhen Zhu’s body.

She is but a servant. How can she let the Eldest Miss lend an arm to support her? If news of it were to spread, people would think that their Zilin Residence was a place with no rules or established standards.

“Eldest Miss, please rest assured. I have the strength to support Qing Mama,” Zhen Zhu said.

Zhen Zhu was formerly a cleaning maid, so she was sturdy. Seeing Qing Mama’s insistence, Ye Jiuge did not force her.

When they returned to the Zilin Residence, Ye Jiuge insisted on diagnosing and treating Qing Mama. After she used some pills to stabilize Qing Mama’s condition, she went to see Dongfang Que.

Dongfang Que was deep in thought, standing under the red-flowered tree in Ye Jiuge’s courtyard. He did not even realize it when Ye Jiuge walked over to him.

“Your Highness, what are you thinking about?” Ye Jiuge poured the prince a fresh cup of hot tea.

Dongfang Que snapped out of his trance and saw Ye Jiuge, who appeared even more delicate and beautiful under the sunlight. He lowered his eyes and said, “Eldest Miss, aren’t you curious why the Gong Clan has expressed goodwill toward you?”

“Indeed.”

Ye Jiuge did not believe that the Gong Clan had a close friendship with her grandfather. Even if it were due to the pill they’d received, their relationship should have been built on money.

“It’s because I told them that you have superb medical skills. You are even capable of curing the demonic poison in my body and Imperial Consort Xi’s strange illness.” Dongfang Que lifted his head, looked apologetically at Ye Jiuge, and said, “I acted on my own initiative without your permission. Do you fault me?”

“You are trying to help me. Why would I blame you?” Ye Jiuge smiled and asked, “The Gong Clan has a patient in need?”

“Yes. The youngest son of the Gong Clan’s current head has an aptitude belonging to the violet class. Furthermore, he has inherited the Gong Clan’s purest Pupil Technique Bloodline and manifested the White Pupil Technique. However, a year ago, he was suddenly afflicted with an eye disease and is now blind in both eyes. The Gong Clan has sought the advice of Spiritual Doctors all over the world, but the problem persists,” Dongfang Que said slowly.

Ye Jiuge considered for a moment before replying, “I have not seen the Gong Clan’s young son’s eyes, and I cannot guarantee that I will be able to treat them.”

Blindness in both eyes could be complicated and challenging to treat, and Ye Jiuge would never boast about her capabilities.

“There’s no harm. The Gong Clan do not only attach importance to short-term benefits. You just have to forge a friendly relationship with them and put in a good word for them with Great Master Yun if you receive news of him in the future,” Dongfang Que said coolly.

The Gong Clan had not expected Ye Jiuge to be able to treat their young son’s eyes. They cared more about Yun Tianwei’s reputation. In recent years, they had wanted to seek him out through Ye Jiuge. However, the old Ye Jiuge had been useless, and there had been no point in working with her. As such, the Gong Clan had changed their minds and asked for Ye Yuxuan’s help producing pills instead. If Ye Jiuge had not revealed that she had received treasure intentionally left behind by her grandfather in the Wanzhang Depths, the Gong Clan would not have stepped in to help her.

“Alright!” Ye Jiuge did not dare say that the incident in the Wanzhang Depths was a lie and that she was still searching for her grandfather’s whereabouts.

However, taking a look at the boy’s disease to gain the Gong Clan’s goodwill wasn’t asking much. Although she would never compare her medical skills to her grandfather’s, she was undoubtedly more skilled than Ye Yuxuan.

“Gong Xifan is an outspoken and straightforward person, worthy of befriending. You need not worry,” Dongfang Que comforted Ye Jiuge, worried that she might have reservations.

“I thought that the Gong Clan had a good relationship with the Crown Prince,” Ye Jiuge said. After all, it was the Crown Prince who had pulled strings for Ye Yuxuan.

“The Crown Prince has a good relationship with every aristocratic family.” With his eyes lowered slightly, Dongfang Que spoke with a slight hint of ridicule.

The Crown Prince always maintained a high profile, and he had made an unnecessary fuss about this matter involving the Gong Clan. It was as though he feared that people would not know about his relationship with the Gong Clan. Ye Jiuge understood immediately: if the Crown Prince truly had a good friendship with the Gong Clan, he would have come over to the Ye Residence with Gong Xifan instead of Dongfang Que.

“It’s not early anymore. I shall take my leave.” Dongfang Que was a male outsider and it would be better if he did not stay too long in Ye Jiuge’s residence.

“I will see you out.”

Ye Jiuge rose, but Dongfang Que gestured with his hand and said, “There’s no need. You have many things to attend to here. I can see myself out.”

Thinking of Qing Mama’s injury, Ye Jiuge did not insist. Instead, she asked Zhen Zhu to escort Dongfang Que out.

Ye Jiuge returned to Qing Mama’s house. When she saw her, the trusty servant propped herself up.

“Eldest Miss, why didn’t you personally see off His Highness?” she asked hurriedly.

That would have been an excellent opportunity for them to spend some time together.