Mad Queen Leaves the Palace

Originally, the written description of Ye Lanyi's imitation of Young Master Lan was not extensive; it was merely a few strokes of ink, probably less than a hundred words in total. However, who could have imagined that Ye Lanyi, in order to make her imitation indistinguishable from the real thing, would go to such lengths to impersonate Young Master Lan and write herself a whole stack of letters!

Every time she went out to sell those fake writing brushes, ink, paper, and inkstones, Ye Lanyi would unhesitatingly pull out the forged letters to show them to buyers in order to make them believe that these were genuine. It was precisely because of this practice that the description of this matter has been written in such great detail.

At that moment, Ye Zijian was staring intently at the list of names and compensation documents that Dingding had respectfully handed over. Suddenly, everything went black, his head buzzed, and it felt as if his entire world was collapsing. Then, unable to contain his anger and despair any longer, he roared at the top of his lungs, "What a tragedy! What sins has our Ye family committed to produce such a shameless and lawless wretch!"

It's important to understand that this compensation is no small sum. If the Ye family really grits their teeth and pays it off, then the Ye family will be completely finished! From then on, the Ye family's status in the martial arts world will probably plummet, and they may even never recover, heading towards the abyss of decline and ruin!

“Miss Xiao, I won’t say much about this list! But the imperial decree clearly stipulates that the compensation should go to Young Master Lan, not to His Majesty, and certainly not to you!” Ye Zijian, a seasoned businessman, was incredibly cunning! He secretly pondered, setting aside the fact that Young Master Lan was elusive and difficult to find, like a dragon appearing and disappearing without a trace. Even if he could find him, he could simply negotiate with him. If they couldn’t reach an agreement, he could then invoke the prestigious name of Consort Ye, and probably settle the matter a few hundred thousand taels of silver at most.

However, to Ye Zijian's utter surprise, the moment he finished speaking, he saw that Xiao Lan and her group were all staring at him as if he were an idiot. The contempt and mockery on their faces seemed to see right through him.

Just then, Luo You, who was standing to the side, finally couldn't hold back any longer and burst out laughing. The laughter sounded particularly abrupt in the already tense atmosphere, drawing the attention of everyone around him. Then, still laughing, Luo You said, "Patriarch Ye, look over there, Young Master Lan has already arrived, hasn't he?"

Upon hearing this, Ye Zijian shuddered, his face turning deathly pale. His eyes widened as he frantically looked in the direction Luo You was pointing. He muttered to himself, "What? He's here? Where is he? I don't see him..." At this moment, Ye Zijian's heart was filled with shock and confusion, like a turbulent storm. For a long time, there had been many rumors about this mysterious Young Master Lan, but almost no one had actually seen his face. Why, then, did this legendary figure appear here at this very moment? Was it really just a coincidence? Or was there more to the story? Countless thoughts flashed through Ye Zijian's mind, leaving him completely bewildered.

At this moment, everyone looked at Xiao Lan. Xiao Lan smiled, bowed to Ye Zijian, and said, "Patriarch Ye, I forgot to tell you, I am Xiao Lan." Then, looking around at the people, he said loudly, "I am Xiao Lan, also known as Young Master Lan. So now, can you take out the 1,305,000 taels of gold that you owe me?"

Upon hearing this, Ye Zijian seemed frozen in place, his mouth opening and closing, but he couldn't utter a single word for a long time. He inwardly groaned; he had originally planned to buy some time while the key figure, Young Master Lan, was absent. He hoped to use this opportunity to send someone to the palace to plead for help from Consort Ye. But who would have thought that such a commotion would erupt! And upon closer reflection, there seemed to be many suspicious points involved.

Especially Xiao Lan—Ye Zijian suddenly realized that Xiao Lan was only sixteen years old this year! And Young Master Lan's poetry collection had already been published two years ago. Based on the timeline, Xiao Lan was probably not even fourteen years old then! How could this be? How could she be Young Master Lan? Thinking of this, Ye Zijian frowned and fell into deep thought.

Just then, Madam Ye Yuan noticed her husband's unusual behavior. Seeing Ye Zijian muttering to himself, she became furious and shouted, "Young Master Lan published his poetry collection two years ago. At that time, Xiao Lan was probably not even fourteen years old, right? How could she possibly be Young Master Lan?"

Xiao Lan stared at Ye Yuanshi with an icy expression. Her beautiful and aloof face was now filled with majesty and disdain. She parted her red lips and said, word by word, "Xiao Lan? Hmph! How dare you, a commoner, call me Xiao Lan?" Every word was as chilling as ice, sending shivers down one's spine.

Hearing this, Yue Jiangchuan, who was standing to the side, also turned his gaze to the Ye family. He was tall and imposing, and his armor made him appear even more valiant. Facing Xiao Lan's question, he answered without hesitation: "Reporting to Miss, if anyone dares to disrespect the future princess consort, according to the law, the lightest punishment is a slap in the face, and the heaviest punishment is a whipping."

Xiao Lan nodded slightly, indicating her satisfaction. Then, she turned her icy gaze back to Ye Yuanshi, who now seemed like a lifeless corpse to her. Xiao Lan slowly spoke, "Considering you are, after all, Consort Ye's sister-in-law, I will show leniency and only punish you with twenty slaps to the face. However, you men, Commander Yue, are always too rough; I'm afraid you might hurt your delicate body. So, let my personal maid, Dingding, carry out this punishment." With that, she gently beckoned Dingding to her.

Just then, Ye Yuanshi seemed about to say something in her defense, but was glared at fiercely by Ye Zijian. His gaze was as fierce as a tiger's, instantly silencing Ye Yuanshi, who dared not utter another word. Helpless, she could only stare angrily at Xiao Lan, cursing inwardly.

Just then, Luo You turned slightly to the side and whispered to Yue Jiangchuan beside him, "Commander Yue, in my opinion, they've really angered Miss Xiao this time! But look at that little maid, she's so thin and frail, even if she hits someone, it probably won't hurt much, right?"

However, before he could finish speaking, he heard an unusually loud and crisp "snap" sound from the other side. The sudden sound was so loud, like a thunderclap from a clear sky, that it startled the unsuspecting Luo You, making him tremble all over.

Seeing this, Yue Jiangchuan, who had been silently observing everything from the sidelines, slowly spoke up: "Lord Luo, don't underestimate that little girl named Dingding. As far as I know, her martial arts skills are quite high! Even if two or three of your elite soldiers went into battle together, they probably wouldn't be able to defeat her alone."

Upon hearing this, Luo You was so surprised that his mouth dropped open. He smacked his lips and it took him a long time to come to his senses before he muttered to himself, "Oh my, I never expected that even a little maidservant by Miss Xiao's side would be so capable. How could Miss Xiao herself be so unfathomable... Truly, she is a woman who is just as capable as any man!"

Dingding moved with lightning speed, her palms flashing, and Ye Yuanshi received a full twenty resounding slaps to the face. When Dingding stopped and stood up, Ye Yuanshi's mouth was full of blood, her face was twisted beyond recognition, and she looked extremely miserable.

Ye Zijian, standing to the side, trembled with rage. He gritted his teeth and forced out a vicious sentence: "Miss Xiao, even if you are the Fifth Prince's consort, how can you so easily cover up the fact that you so wantonly beat my lady? Furthermore, you published your poetry collection before you even reached the age of fifteen, and now you claim to be an adult. This seems like impersonation! In my opinion, your Xiao family will have to pay a huge sum of compensation for this!"

Faced with Ye Zijian's accusations and threats, Xiao Lan remained calm. She smiled slightly and said slowly, "Patriarch Ye, you are mistaken. Age has never been the sole criterion for judging whether a person possesses talent. Back then, I was indeed not yet fourteen years old when I published my poetry collection, but that does not mean that my poems were fabricated. In fact, I have already successfully proven my strength and talent in the Golden Palace in front of His Majesty and many ministers. However, since Patriarch Ye still has doubts about this today, then I will prove it to everyone in public once again."

After speaking, Xiao Lan took light steps and slowly walked to the place where the soldiers were blocking her way. Then she raised her voice and called out to the crowd of onlookers, "Friends, does anyone here have Young Master Lan's poetry collection with them? If so, I would like to borrow it so that I can prove my innocence to everyone!"

At this moment, Ye Zijian's lips curled into a slight smile as he said softly, "Miss Xiao, if you want to prove anything by reciting poems, then there's no need for that. You should know that Young Master Lan is renowned far and wide; even the servants in my household can recite a few lines of his poems off the top of their heads!"

Upon hearing this, Xiao Lan didn't even turn her head, seemingly unconcerned about Ye Zijian's words. Just then, everyone saw a man carrying Young Master Lan's poetry collection, being led by soldiers on the perimeter towards the main gate of the Ye residence.

However, when presented with the poetry collection, Xiao Lan did not reach out to take it. Instead, she stared straight at the man and said softly, "Please turn to the last page of this poetry collection and look at the textured area in the lower right corner. Wet it with tea and make sure it is thoroughly soaked."

The man did as she was told. When the last page was soaked, Xiao Lan calmly removed the hairpin from her hair. She first breathed gently on the hairpin, and then the young man suddenly exclaimed in surprise, "Oh my, there's a seal! It's truly ingenious!" In a flash, before anyone could react, Xiao Lan swiftly took the poetry collection from the man and, holding the end of the hairpin, steadily stamped a seal onto the book. Then, she held the poetry collection high and proclaimed, "Everyone, please take a closer look. Are these two seals completely identical?"

Upon closer inspection, everyone realized that although the two seals appeared to be different colors at first glance, a closer look revealed that they were identical in subtle ways. The patterns, engravings, and materials of the seals were all indistinguishable. Thus, the truth was already obvious and no further explanation was needed.

At this moment, Xiao Lan turned to the young man with a smile and said softly, "I am deeply grateful for your righteous help today. To express my gratitude, I will definitely give you a copy when my next collection of poems is published. Please leave your name and seal with my maid later." After speaking, she gave a slight bow.

After the young master turned and left, Xiao Lan slowly turned her head, looked directly at Ye Zijian, and asked in a slow voice, "Patriarch Ye, things have come to this point. Do you have any other questions?" Although her words were polite and courteous, they also carried an undeniable air of authority.

Ye Zijian stood there silently, as if frozen in place, offering no response to Xiao Lan's question. Seeing this, Xiao Lan frowned slightly, a hint of displeasure flashing in her beautiful eyes. She raised her voice again, pressing, "Patriarch Ye, what do you mean? Do you really intend to defy the imperial decree? If you do not answer me, then I have no choice but to conclude that the Ye family is openly defying the Emperor's will and plotting a rebellion!" With that, she turned to the crowd behind her and declared loudly, "Guards! Immediately surround the Ye family compound and do not let anyone escape! Furthermore, quickly summon the Prefect of Xiwu Prefecture to guard this place in case of any unforeseen events. Also, have Commander Yue arrange for men to return to the capital immediately and report this matter to His Majesty, saying that the Ye family is preparing to defy the imperial decree and plot a rebellion!" At Xiao Lan's command, the numerous guards responded in unison and swiftly sprang into action.