Ye Qingcheng frowned, "Your Highness, wasn't the cat demon already eliminated? How could I possibly be a cat demon?"
"But you are special," he said.
"Your Highness, this scene now, is it an illusion?"
After all, even the words he spoke were exactly the same as last time. If Ye Qingcheng remembered correctly, the next step would be for Xiao Wangye to grab her by the neck.
As expected, after a moment of silence, he grabbed her by the neck and coldly said, "You'd better hand over your tail to this king quickly, otherwise, I'll kill you right now."
Ye Qingcheng found it difficult to breathe. Gritting her teeth, she kicked Xiao Wangye in the groin. She had escaped like this last time and assumed it would be the same this time.
Xiao Wangye indeed cried out in pain, and his grip on her neck loosened slightly. Ye Qingcheng quickly pushed him away, her movements fluid and natural.
But this time, she did not choose to flee. Instead, she pinched her thigh hard, hoping the pain would jolt her awake from the illusion.
Ye Qingcheng opened her eyes. She was indeed slumped over the table, having fallen asleep again.
That whole experience was indeed the same illusion as the last time. Who was responsible, and for what reason, was she having such illusions twice in a row?
In an instant, relying on her intuition, Ye Qingcheng thought of Shangguan Hong.
Since he had said he was not mortal, such an ability would not be difficult for him. And he had also expressed his wish for her to leave Xiao Wangye. This would explain the content of the illusion.
It seemed Shangguan Hong had indeed tampered with her.
As Bi Xi turned to ashes, the Young Marquis of Dingyuan also vanished from the world.
Ye Qingcheng felt deeply remorseful for Bi Xi's departure, and at the same time, she had to constantly deal with Shangguan Hong, being wary of what he might do to her.
During this time, she also encountered another rather troublesome matter.
It was the trouble brought by Gu Pan'er, Gu Qingyuan's sister.
Gu Pan'er seemed to have a very close relationship with her brother. After investigating the details of her brother being apprehended and eliminated as a cat demon, she eventually found Ye Qingcheng.
One morning, Gu Pan'er stormily entered Ye Qingcheng's courtyard and angrily accused, "You woman, you killed my brother!"
Ye Qingcheng, not yet aware of her identity, frowned and looked at her, "Who is this madwoman you are?"
"I am not a madwoman!" Gu Pan'er retorted indignantly.
"Who would believe you? Guards! Get her out of here!" Ye Qingcheng ordered.
The servants who stepped forward to grab Gu Pan'er surrounded her tightly. Gu Pan'er resentfully said, "Who dares to touch me? I am the sister of the Young Marquis of Dingyuan!"
Upon hearing this, Ye Qingcheng was taken aback.
"You say you are Gu Qingyuan's sister? Gu Pan'er, is that correct?" she asked cautiously.
"It is I! What, you don't believe me? You killed my brother, and I know you want to kill me too. But my coming here is known to many. If I don't get out alive, then you'll be blamed for my death!" Gu Pan'er stated righteously.
Ye Qingcheng raised her hand and rubbed her temples, "I will not harm you. And your brother was not killed by me. I hope you can understand this."
After speaking, she waved to the servants, "You may all withdraw. There is nothing further."
"Yes." The servants quickly departed.
"Miss Gu Pan'er, your brother was not killed by me," Ye Qingcheng said with a serious expression.
"If not you, then who? My brother has always been very close to you. After meeting you, his temperament changed drastically, and he often did things he never would have done before," Gu Pan'er said.
"And what does that have to do with me?"
Ye Qingcheng simply could not tell this young girl that her brother had died long ago. She felt that the reason for her brother's drastic change in temperament was precisely because that person was no longer the original Gu Qingyuan.
Gu Pan'er said, "If it weren't for you, my brother wouldn't have changed so much!"
Just as Ye Qingcheng was about to defend herself, Gu Pan'er grabbed her arm and said, "Besides, everyone knows you were with my brother when he was captured. And the one originally thought to be the cat demon was clearly you."
Unexpectedly, Gu Pan'er's grip was quite strong.
Ye Qingcheng said, "So you suspect I am the cat demon and framed your brother?"
"Otherwise? Isn't it obvious?" Gu Pan'er asked.
"If it were as you say, and I am the cat demon who framed your brother to save myself, leading to his death. What would be my motive?" Ye Qingcheng asked.
"Of course, it would be to save yourself!" Gu Pan'er declared righteously.
Ye Qingcheng smiled, "In that case, since you discovered my identity, shouldn't I also kill you? That would be the most effective way to protect myself, wouldn't it?"
Gu Pan'er took a step back, "You can't kill me! Many people know that I came here. If I die here, you will also be suspected..."
"Don't you remember? If I could frame your brother as a cat demon, then framing you wouldn't be difficult at all, would it?" Ye Qingcheng said, smiling at her.
To think she dared to suspect her like this. It seemed she really needed to give this young girl a good scare.
Gu Pan'er was indeed frightened by her expression and words. She stumbled back several steps, her face instantly paling, "You, you, you can't do this."
"Why can't I do this?" Ye Qingcheng advanced step by step, speaking with a smile.
"Because, because..."
Gu Pan'er could not find a reason.
Finally, seeing her look of utter despair, Ye Qingcheng stopped.
She looked at Gu Pan'er in front of her and said, "I will not kill you, because I am not a cat demon. And your brother's death has nothing to do with me. I was just trying to scare you just now."
"You scared me?" Gu Pan'er frowned.
Ye Qingcheng nodded, "Yes."
"You're really not a demon?" Gu Pan'er looked at her with half-belief.
"I am not," Ye Qingcheng shook her head.
Gu Pan'er frowned and pondered for a moment, then sneered, "But even if you're not a demon, your involvement in my brother's death is undeniable!"
Ye Qingcheng lowered her eyes.
In fact, Gu Pan'er was not wrong. Gu Qingyuan, or rather Bi Xi's death, was directly linked to her.
If it weren't for her, Bi Xi would not have met such a fate. His greatest misfortune was encountering an unreliable young lady like herself, who only caused trouble.
Seeing Ye Qingcheng with her head down, Gu Pan'er felt a surge of extreme anger.
She truly did not understand what her brother had gone through, nor why he had met such an end for a woman as unremarkable as this.
Her brother's death had also brought a devastating impact upon the entire Gu family.