Mad Queen Leaves the Palace

Yan Jingtian gazed silently at Yan Moyan before him, slowly shaking his head and sighing inwardly. He knew his younger brother was extremely pure and kind-hearted; if they had lived in an ordinary official's family, perhaps there wouldn't have been much of a problem. However, fate had other plans, and they had been born into the treacherous and power-hungry royal family.

Thinking of this, Yan Jingtian couldn't help but sigh again, shaking his head helplessly. He knew all too well that in this deep palace, someone as naive as Yan Moyan would find it difficult to protect himself. Well, since he couldn't change the situation, he could only put in more effort to look after him. Having made up his mind, Yan Jingtian composed himself slightly, turned to look at Yan Moyan, and said gently, "Since you're so eager to come here, pack your things and move over as soon as possible. That way, I can feel more at ease."

Just as Xiao Lan had said goodbye to Yan Jingtian and Lin Yuxuan and stepped aside, Ye Yuandong approached, fanning himself with a folding fan. "Sister Xiao, what a coincidence that we meet again." Xiao Lan thought to herself, if this counts as fate, then wouldn't she be even more destined to meet all the students and teachers in the academy? Ye Yuandong's ability to lie through his teeth is truly remarkable; how come she never noticed this ability in her past life? However, this man had been at odds with her in her past life, and being a member of the Ye family, she should stay as far away as possible. So she said calmly, "Fellow student Ye, you jest. Since we've entered the academy together, please address me as fellow student. Besides, my mother only gave birth to my brother and me, so I dare not accept being called 'sister' by fellow student Ye. Please be careful with your words and actions to avoid any unnecessary misunderstandings." As she spoke, she called to Dingding, preparing to return to Lan Yue Residence. Unexpectedly, she was stopped by Ye Yuandong as soon as she took a step. To avoid physical contact with Ye Yuandong, Xiao Lan had no choice but to stop herself from taking another step. Then, with an angry look on his face, he asked, "Young Master Ye, what is the meaning of this?"

Suddenly, Ye Yuandong began to stammer, not expecting this situation. Just moments before, seeing Xiao Lan turn to leave, he had instinctively reached out to stop her. But now, facing her directly, he was at a loss for words.

Ye Yuandong had originally intended to invite Xiao Lan to live with him and his cousin, but seeing the scene before him, he hesitated. He felt that making the request now might be inappropriate and could even displease Xiao Lan. After much deliberation, Ye Yuandong slowly lowered his outstretched hand, smiled awkwardly, and said softly, "It's alright. I'm sorry for rudeness." After saying this, he stood quietly, looking at Xiao Lan with a complicated expression, inwardly regretting his outburst.

Xiao Lan didn't want to get entangled with him any longer. Just as she was about to leave, she heard a woman's voice: "How is this possible? Why isn't my name on the list?" Xiao Lan slowly turned around, and there she was—Luo Yuanyuan! Her face was full of anger, her cheeks flushed red like ripe apples. At that moment, she was storming towards the door, looking like an enraged little lion.

Xiao Lan pondered to himself, knowing Luo Yuanyuan as he did, that her hasty departure was most likely to be to find the teacher. Thinking this, Xiao Lan couldn't help but shake his head slightly, sighing inwardly, "What an impatient young girl!" At the same time, he silently lamented, "What a pity, after today, this girl will be 'offline' from my story, and I'm afraid I'll never see her again."

However, things took an unexpected turn for Xiao Lan. Not long after, Luo Yuanyuan returned with another girl. This girl wore a pink dress, her figure graceful and ethereal, as beautiful and delicate as a peach blossom in spring. She had a beautiful face and snow-white skin, as smooth and delicate as jade; especially her large, watery eyes, which seemed to flow with autumn waves, full of affection, making her appear exceptionally pitiful and endearing, inspiring feelings of tenderness in anyone who looked at her.

Unfortunately, this gentle and graceful woman was the very culprit who caused Xiao Lan, a transmigrator from modern society, to suffer a crushing defeat in her past life. Back then, she meticulously plotted schemes and intrigues, leading to Xiao Lan's miscarriage and the loss of her child, and causing Yan Linfeng to lose all hope in Xiao Lan. This series of blows nearly drove Xiao Lan to the brink of despair. Even now, recalling those painful experiences remains vivid in her mind, like a sharp dagger piercing Xiao Lan's heart.

However, these past events were no longer important to Xiao Lan now. What surprised him was that, according to his memories from his previous life, Luo Yuanyuan and Ye Lanyi should have only gradually become acquainted and started dating after attending classes at the academy for two months. But now, seeing how close they were, their relationship seemed already quite good, which was truly puzzling. Could it be that his rebirth had caused something to change? Xiao Lan frowned slightly, lost in thought…

Luo Yuanyuan pulled Ye Lanyi to the list and said anxiously, "Lanyi, look quickly, why isn't my name on it? Didn't that Young Master Lan accept..." Before she could finish her sentence, Ye Lanyi interrupted her, "Shut up!" Perhaps realizing she was being too loud, Ye Lanyi quickly whispered something else. Xiao Lan was too far away to hear, but Lin Yuxuan heard it clearly. The niece of Consort Ye clearly said, "If you don't want to bring disaster upon the Vice Minister's mansion, then stop shouting outside."

This is interesting. Li Wei and I had previously heard Xiao Lan say that the letter Luo Yuanyuan had was fake. Yet, despite taking the Inner Academy entrance exam with everyone else, she wasn't on the list. Everyone who took the exam was qualified for admission, so how could she not be on the list? There must be something fishy going on. Crucially, it seems the recommendation letter Luo Yuanyuan has is somehow connected to Ye Lanyi. He glanced at Yan Jingtian to make sure he had heard too, and then the two walked towards Xiao Lan.

Actually, Lin Yuxuan had already reported to Yan Jingtian about their previous discussion with Xiao Lan and Li Wei about exposing Luo Yuanyuan. However, the Vice Minister of War was, after all, a third-rank official, and the Great Xia had been constantly at war, with the Ministry of War holding the highest position among the Six Ministries. Although there hadn't been any battles since His Majesty ascended the throne, the Great Xia's tradition of valuing military generals hadn't changed. Therefore, even the Crown Prince wouldn't dare offend the Ministry of War without solid evidence. Moreover, even if this matter were true, it was Luo Yuanyuan's affair and might not necessarily affect her father. So, the initial plan between Yan Jingtian and Lin Yuxuan was for Li Wei to expose everything, while the Crown Prince and Lin Yuxuan remained completely uninvolved. However, now that Li Wei hadn't exposed Luo Yuanyuan, her name hadn't appeared on the list, clearly indicating that the truth had come out.

Lin Yuxuan narrowed his eyes slightly and turned his gaze to Xiao Lan again. A radiant smile bloomed on her beautiful face, and her eyes were fixed on Ye Lanyi and Luo Yuanyuan at the top of the list, clearly waiting to see a good show.

Xiao Lan knew perfectly well that Lin Yuxuan was now suspicious of her. However, she had already reached an agreement with Master Tan that she absolutely could not let anyone know her identity as the whistleblower. After all, if this matter were exposed, given the Luo family's power, she would certainly face a brutal retaliation. Therefore, no matter what, as long as she gritted her teeth and refused to admit it, even if Lin Yuxuan was shrewd, he would have no chance of uncovering the truth. Thinking of this, the corners of Xiao Lan's mouth couldn't help but curl up slightly, revealing a hint of barely perceptible smugness.

Ye Lanyi pulled Luo Yuanyuan to a secluded spot and said, "Yuanyuan, don't panic. We can go ask the teacher what happened." After saying that, she looked at Luo Yuanyuan and, seeing that her expression had calmed down a bit, continued, "Yuanyuan, we don't know what's going on right now, so let's not panic."

Luo Yuanyuan paused for a moment and said to Ye Lanyi, "I just went to see the teacher, but he said it was an order from the dean, and he didn't know the specifics."

Ye Lanyi thought for a moment. Logically speaking, impersonating Young Master Lan shouldn't be exposed. In her previous life, Young Master Lan wrote a letter of recommendation for Xiao Lan, but less than a year after enrolling, Young Master Lan, who was supposed to publish his second poetry collection, failed to appear as promised. In her previous life, she had suspected whether Xiao Lan's letter of recommendation was genuine, always feeling that Young Master Lan was either living in seclusion or already dead. Otherwise, given Young Master Lan's popularity in her previous life, he should have appeared at least once. Therefore, the first thing she did upon waking up in this life was to imitate Young Master Lan and write a letter of recommendation. If it clashed with Xiao Lan's, Xiao Lan would be severely punished, if not killed. However, she didn't do this herself. Instead, she found her former follower, Luo Yuanyuan. Relying on the title of the most favored niece of the Imperial Concubine, she befriended Luo Yuanyuan beforehand. She then had someone impersonate Young Master Lan and deliver a letter to Luo Yuanyuan, making her pay ten thousand taels for a forged letter of recommendation. Firstly, it's almost the Imperial Concubine's birthday, and the Ye family gave me five thousand taels of silver. However, the jewelry the Imperial Concubine has recently taken a liking to costs around ten thousand taels each. I'm also short of money, and getting back some by annoying Xiao Lan is a win-win situation. However, Luo Yuanyuan isn't on the list this time. It's possible the academy received two recommendation letters, and Xiao Lan did well on the exam. Perhaps that's why the academy headmaster didn't put Luo Yuanyuan's name on the list. But as long as I prove Xiao Lan's letter is fake, Xiao Lan is finished. What a talented woman of the capital—she'll be mine from now on. If Xiao Lan doesn't participate in next month's poetry competition, I can use Xiao Lan's poem from my past life to win first place. As for Luo Yuanyuan accidentally being exposed, I can only accept my bad luck. Anyway, this whole thing was arranged by people in Xiwu Prefecture, and now it's impossible to find anything.

So she said to Luo Yuanyuan, "Yuanyuan, why don't you go see the dean and see what's going on?" Luo Yuanyuan had been flustered and had dragged her good friend Ye Lanyi along, but now that she thought about it, she really should go see the dean and ask him. So she took Ye Lanyi's hand and said, "Lanyi, why don't you come with me?" She even shook Ye Lanyi's arm as she spoke. Ye Lanyi suppressed her disgust and forced a smile, saying, "Yuanyuan, you know my aunt's status. She always tells us to be careful with our words and actions to avoid being slandered by malicious people. I'm a student of the academy now, so it's really inappropriate for me to go to the dean's study with you." She even put on an apologetic expression as she spoke. Hearing this, Luo Yuanyuan thought to herself, "What kind of 'Imperial Concubine's niece' is she? In the end, she's just a coward. After receiving Young Master Ye's message, I thought we were friends and even asked her if she wanted to buy a letter of recommendation together. Ye Lanyi refused outright then. Now she says she's afraid it'll be bad to go to the dean with me." It's all because they're afraid of being seen and gossiped about. Sure enough, those from merchant families, even if they rise to high positions, will never become phoenixes. So, without wasting any more words with Ye Lanyi, he simply let go of her hand and said, "Lanyi, I'll go find the dean and ask what's going on. I'll tell you later." With that, he strode towards the dean's study.