Ye Qingtang paused for a moment and then said:
"Father, think carefully.
I was originally of a gentle nature.
If I had a spiritual root before, my strength would naturally not be weak, and others would not dare to contradict me.
But now that I have lost my spiritual root, if I insist on marrying into the Duan family and provoke their dislike, and without the strength to rely on, wouldn't I be subjected to bullying? Although what Young Master Duan said is harsh, it is indeed spoken with genuine concern for me."
Ye Qingtang's tone was calm, without a hint of anger, as if she truly believed Duan Tianrao's high-sounding words.
Ye Ling was truly dumbfounded.
He never expected Ye Qingtang to say such a thing.
When Ye Qingtang's spiritual root was revealed, it was the Duan family who came to propose marriage.
Now that Tangtang has just lost her spiritual root, they turned against her, accusing his daughter of being ugly and shameless, as if it was their Ye family who insisted on clinging to the Duan family.
For Ye Qingtang's words, Duan Tianrao smiled slightly, very satisfied with Ye Qingtang's self-awareness.
Ye Xun, on the side, was secretly complacent, thinking that Ye Qingtang knew the situation.
Ye Ling's face remained ugly.
Seeing that Ye Ling was silent for a long time, Duan Tianrao continued:
"It's rare for Tangtang to be so sensible.
Uncle Ye, in a few days, it will be the time when the families of Lin City gather for the sacrificial ceremony to heaven.
As the heir of the Duan family, my fiancée may also go on stage to turn the Heavenly Wheel.
The Heavenly Wheel can only be turned by those above the fifth level of innate strength.
With Tangtang's current situation, do you think she can turn the Heavenly Wheel?" Duan Tianrao said:
"If she can't turn it, wouldn't it be a loss of face for my Duan family under the scrutiny of everyone?"
"Get out of here," Ye Ling suddenly slapped the table and pointed to the main gate of the Ye family, shouting at Duan Tianrao.
Enough, he no longer wanted this jerk here, humiliating his daughter.
His daughter, Ye Ling, would not allow the Duan family to insult her like this.
Duan Tianrao frowned slightly, looking at Ye Ling's anger, and did not wish to say anything more.
"Uncle Ye, think this matter through on your own.
Regardless of whether you agree or not, I will announce the annulment of the engagement during the sacrificial ceremony in a few days," Duan Tianrao said perfunctorily, offering a brief salute before turning and leaving.
"Take all your things back, our Ye family doesn't need these broken things," Ye Ling said.
Duan Tianrao curled his lips, signaling his attendants to take the items away, and then he left the front hall.
Ye Xun hurriedly followed, saying to Ye Ling, "Father, the Ye family must not lose face, I will see off Young Master Duan."
Without waiting for Ye Ling to speak, Ye Xun went after him.
Ye Ling, seeing Ye Xun's eagerness to go forward, looked angrily at Ye Qingtang, who had not spoken a word, and said, "This Ye Xun, can she really tell the difference between what's important and what's not? Duan Tianrao insulted you so much today, and she still wants to see him off."
Ye Qingtang nonchalantly peeled an orange by herself.
"Father, if Ye Xun wants to see him off, let her be."
Ye Xun doesn't know the difference between what's important and what's not?
That's really a joke.
Looking across the entire Lin City, there are probably not many people smarter than Ye Xun.
Ye Ling probably doesn't know that Ye Xun and Duan Tianrao have been secretly colluding for a long time.
The news of her broken spiritual root was probably told to Duan Tianrao by Ye Xun, otherwise, why would Duan Tianrao come to break off the engagement so early?
Although Ye Xun is an adopted daughter of the Ye family, her ability to read people's expressions is at the top level.
She is not willing to be an adopted daughter of the Ye family at all, even though the Ye family has never treated her poorly.
Ye Xun is probably already discussing with Duan Tianrao.
Remembering her previous life, Duan Tianrao had just broken off the engagement with her, and a few days later, on the day when the noble families of Lin City gathered to pray for blessings, he publicly announced that he was going to marry Ye Xun.
In her previous life, she was also present at the scene.
At that time, within Lin City, everyone was discussing the scandal of Ye Qingtang being jilted by Duan Tianrao.
Under immense pressure, Ye Qingtang went there in the hope of changing Duan Tianrao's mind.
However, she ended up witnessing the "happy event" between Duan Tianrao and Ye Xun, and she herself became the object of ridicule.
Ye Xun was cunning and astute.
In her previous life, she not only became the matriarch of the Duan family but also aligned herself with the Great Elder early on, using her intelligence to become Ye You's right-hand person in the future.
Ye Qingtang suspected that the slow-acting poison in Ye Ling's food in her previous life might have been secretly administered by Ye Xun.
After all, Ye Xun had been well-hidden in the Ye family, and Ye Qingtang never suspected her until the incident between Ye Xun and Duan Tianrao occurred.
Ye Ling even treated Ye Xun as if she were her own daughter, taking good care of her.
The reason why Ye Qingtang was lured to a secluded place by the Great Elder and Ye You to have her spiritual root taken away was because Ye Xun had invited her out but stood her up, wasn't it?
Now that she thinks about it, Ye Xun must have been a venomous snake placed by the Great Elder beside Ye Qingtang.
"Tangtang, I'm sorry for you.
I shouldn't have agreed to the marriage proposal from the Duan family back then," Ye Ling sighed heavily.
"But it's also good that way.
In a few days, during the sacrificial ceremony to heaven, you won't need to go to the altar and turn the Heaven-Turning Wheel."
Ye Ling also had a layer of concern.
With Ye Qingtang's current strength, she was afraid that she might not be able to turn the Heaven-Turning Wheel.
Now that the engagement with the Duan family had been erased, their Ye family didn't need Ye Qingtang to personally go on stage to avoid being ridiculed later.
Heaven-Turning Wheel
Ye Qingtang's eyebrows twitched slightly.
Just now, Tian Rao was certain that she couldn't turn the Heavenly Wheel, wasn't he?
This sacrifice to the heavens, it seems she must go.
So what if she doesn't have spiritual roots? She's going to make Tian Rao and everyone in Lin City see clearly whether she can turn it or not.
Ye Qingtang concealed these thoughts in her heart and shook her head with a smile, "As long as my father is here, I won't feel wronged."
What Tian Rao, she didn't take him to heart at all.
As long as Ye Ling was well, she didn't care about Tian Rao's life or death.
"Foolish child, your father can't accompany you for a lifetime, you will eventually have to get married," Ye Ling touched Ye Qingtang's hair with a heartache.
In recent years, his health had been deteriorating, and if not for that, the Great Elder would not have been able to control the Ye family.
Ye Ling didn't know when he would have to let go of everything, and what he worried about the most was Ye Qingtang's safety.
Ye Qingtang knew Ye Ling's worries.
It was a pity that in her previous life, she was still sad and pained because of Tian Rao's matters, and didn't notice Ye Ling's abnormalities at all.
It was not until the Great Elder secretly sent someone to assassinate Ye Ling and pinned the blame on the Second Elder who had just come out of seclusion that Ye Qingtang realized that the Ye family was no longer the Ye family in her memory.
Ye You had taken her top-grade spiritual roots and had been favored by the head of the Chao Zong, Yun Xiao Zong, and was accepted as a disciple.
The Great Elder was also personally escorting Ye You to Yun Xiao Zong.
Before the Great Elder returned, there was still some time, and Ye Qingtang must prepare everything during this time.
Once the Great Elder returns, it is the real time for battle.
Ye Qingtang estimated the time.
In her previous life, the Great Elder returned half a month later, and at that time, the Second Elder, who had always supported Ye Ling and loved Ye Qingtang, was also about to come out of seclusion.
The Second Elder was the strongest in the Ye family.
With him around, the First Elder dared not make a move to kill Ye Ling and Ye Qingtang.
In her previous life, the First Elder assassinated Ye Ling and pinned the blame on the Second Elder, thus eliminating him as well.
Consequently, Ye Qingtang lost her two biggest supporters in the Ye family.
Had she not escaped in time, she would have been killed by the First Elder in Lin City.
All the hardships she faced in her previous life began with the return of the First Elder.
In this life, Ye Qingtang would never repeat the same mistakes.
She would protect both her father and her second uncle, and she would repay the grudges from her past life a hundredfold.
With these thoughts in mind, Ye Qingtang's mood darkened.
"Father, could you have someone buy some medicinal herbs for me?" Ye Qingtang suddenly asked.
"Sure, just write down what you need, and I'll have someone go and buy them," Ye Ling replied.
At this moment, he would try his best to fulfill any request from Ye Qingtang, hoping that she wouldn't be too heartbroken over the matter with Duan Tianrao.
Ye Qingtang nodded and immediately wrote down a long list of medicinal herbs to hand over to Ye Ling.
Ye Qingtang's top priority now was to cure the chronic poison in Ye Ling's body.
Ye Ling's strength was not actually inferior to the First Elder's, and was even slightly higher.
However, over the years, the First Elder had been poisoning Ye Ling's food, causing his health to deteriorate and his strength to diminish.
Otherwise, in the previous life, the First Elder would not have succeeded in assassinating him.
Only by eliminating the residual toxins can her father regain his true strength.
If he recovers to his peak, even if the elder has any ulterior motives, he would not be a match for her father.
In her previous life, Ye Qingtang, despite losing her spiritual root, did not sink into despair.
Whether it was forging, array techniques, or alchemy, she practiced everything that could help her become stronger.
The ancient medical prescriptions, she had long memorized them by heart, and as for other divine elixirs, she could easily pick them up.
The toxins in her father's body, at most, could be completely cleared in ten days.
Ye Ling quickly had the purchased medicinal herbs brought back to the Ye family.
Once Ye Qingtang confirmed that all the medicinal herbs had been bought, she dove into her room to prepare the antidote.
Ye Ling was originally worried whether Ye Qingtang had recovered from the blow of being jilted by Duan Tianrao, but seeing his daughter actually locked herself up with a pile of medicinal herbs, Ye Ling couldn't help but feel puzzled.
When did this little girl become fascinated with messing around with medicinal herbs?
He hadn't noticed at all.
Ye Ling was full of doubts.
However, Ye Qingtang had already begun to prepare.
These medicinal herbs were not unfamiliar to Ye Qingtang.
She skillfully processed and categorized them, and to an unknowing observer, she could have been mistaken for a disguised divine physician.
Once the preparations were almost complete, Ye Qingtang wiped the sweat from her forehead.
As she looked up, she saw her delicate yet incomplete face reflected in a copper mirror.
Subconsciously, she raised her hand and touched the large red birthmark on her cheek, a smile involuntarily tugging at the corner of her mouth.
She casually picked a few herbs from the pile, mixed and adjusted them.
As a pot of pitch-black medicinal juice appeared in front of Ye Qingtang, she sniffed the smell and wrinkled her brow at the pungent odor.
The birthmark on her face had a long history.
In her previous life, she had always thought it was innate, only to find out later that it was caused by a special medicinal property.
The medicine would not harm one's body in the slightest, but it would cause some damage to one's appearance.
Since the Great Elder dared to poison Ye Ling, the head of the family, he naturally would not go easy on her.
It is estimated that this strange medicine was given to her when she was young.
If it were not for Ye Qingtang learning a lot of medical skills in the previous life, she might not have noticed this.
Now, the bowl of soup medicine in her hand is the antidote to eliminate the effect of that medicine.
In the previous life, Ye Qingtang was extremely inferior because of the birthmark on her face and did not want to show her face in front of others.
In this life, although Ye Qingtang no longer cares about the beauty or ugliness of her appearance, she also does not want to let the inexplicable effect of the medicine remain in her body.
Ye Qingtang took a deep breath and poured the bowl of nauseating medicine juice into her throat in one go.
The extremely bitter taste spread in her taste buds in an instant, almost making Ye Qingtang cry out of bitterness.
"In this life, I don't want to drink it again," Ye Qingtang wiped away the medicine residue from the corner of her mouth, frowning and said.
As the medicine juice was drunk, Ye Qingtang only felt a burning pain at the place where the birthmark was on her face.
She immediately rushed to the bronze mirror and watched the changes on her face in the mirror.
The large red birthmark, in front of Ye Qingtang's eyes, gradually faded and disappeared on the snow-white skin.
Without the cover of the birthmark, Ye Qingtang's appearance seemed to have undergone a drastic change.
The once ugly woman in the mirror became extremely beautiful at this moment, and her delicate facial features became more and more attractive under the support of the snow-white skin.
"It's much more pleasing to the eye like this," Ye Qingtang touched her normal face and a smile rose at the corner of her mouth.
With her faint smile, the woman in the mirror was so beautiful that one couldn't tear their gaze away.
Ye Qingtang admired her reflection for a moment, then packed up her things and immersed herself in the bathtub, washing away the fatigue of the day.
The cool water slowly covered her skin, the penetrating chill making her more aware of the fact that she had been reborn.
Ye Qingtang herself didn't know why she hadn't died.
At this moment, as she calmed down, her mind couldn't help but echo the past life, echoing the moment when she stood on Lingyun Peak and crushed her heart.
In her previous life, Ye Qingtang didn't know at first that the heart in her body was the heart of the Demon Emperor.
She only felt that her heart was different from ordinary people and would often spread a kind of evil aura.
At that time, Ye Qingtang never touched this power and could only try to suppress it as much as possible, but those people still judged her as evil.
"The heart of the Demon Emperor, everyone wants you.
If you are as powerful as rumored, then lend me your strength," Ye Qingtang leaned back against the edge of the tub, her eyes, dampened by the water vapor, showing a coldness like stars.
As long as she could avenge and send her enemies to hell one by one, what did it matter if she shed her human skin and joined the evil?
When she finished speaking, the heart that had been beating steadily suddenly twitched, a black mist emerged from the heart of the Demon Emperor, pouring directly into Ye Qingtang's body, and the heart-wrenching pain instantly spread throughout her body, rushing to her lower abdomen.
The place where the spiritual root had been, after the spiritual root was dug out, had always been as cold as brewing cold water.
The emptiness after the spiritual root was taken away, Ye Qingtang knew better than anyone.