The Duke's Pampered Darling is So Scheming

Chapter 123: Chapter 123: One Day to Get Out

Ye Heng’s heart clenched. He forced a smile and said, ”Your Highness jests. I am Chutang’s biological second uncle. Of course I am concerned for her.”

”Is that so? My eyes must be failing me, as I haven’t seen the slightest hint of it,” the Eldest Princess said flatly. ”Otherwise, why would you have ’carefully selected’ Han Yao for her?”

Ye Heng was speechless.

’Even an idiot could tell the Eldest Princess is displeased with me!’

”Your Highness, I only just learned of the incident at Feiyue Lake myself. I never imagined that Han Yao would... would cause such trouble!” Ye Heng kept his head bowed, his eyes fixed on the floor. He felt the Eldest Princess’s gaze like a physical weight on his shoulders, making it impossible to look up. ”He solemnly swore that he was devoted to Chutang. Who would have thought—”

”Han Yao is promiscuous by nature. Lord Ye should have known that long ago, so why the change in tune now?” The Eldest Princess sounded as if she had heard a joke. ”Not long ago, Lord Ye, you were insisting that Han Yao, as the son of Han Tong, was someone you watched grow up—the ideal husband you had meticulously chosen for Chutang.”

The Eldest Princess’s tone was calm, but Ye Heng broke out in a cold sweat. ”He... he...”

The Eldest Princess leaned back in her chair, her expression impassive, radiating authority without any hint of anger.

”The engagement isn’t even official yet, and he already dares to bring a pregnant girl from a brothel back to his home. If Chutang actually marries into that family, who knows how the Han Family will walk all over and bully her!”

Wiping the sweat from his forehead with a trembling hand, Ye Heng said, ”Th-that would never happen! Han Yao was indeed in the wrong this time, but even if he were the boldest man alive, he wouldn’t dare betray Chutang!”

The Eldest Princess’s lips curved into a slight smile.

”Why wouldn’t he dare? I think he’s plenty daring! Chutang has no parents to lean on and no older brother to rely on, just a few young siblings at her side. Once she’s married, if she suffers any grievance, she won’t even have anyone to turn to. Isn’t that precisely what Han Yao is counting on, which is why he acts so arrogantly?”

Ye Heng swallowed hard, then raised his head abruptly and vowed, ”If he dares to treat Chutang poorly, I will be the first to make him pay!”

”You?” The Eldest Princess dabbed the corner of her mouth with a handkerchief, her eyes glinting with ridicule. ”Weren’t you the one who personally picked Han Yao for her?”

’If it weren’t for him, Ye Chutang would never have been dragged into this mess!’

”What’s more, I heard that after that woman found Han Yao, he refused to acknowledge her or their child. He saw her bleeding and on the verge of death, yet showed no concern whatsoever. If Chutang hadn’t intervened, the woman and her unborn baby would have likely become vengeful spirits by now. A man who acts like that has no backbone or sense of responsibility!”

The Eldest Princess’s gaze turned cold.

”Ye Heng, this is the ’fine match’ you arranged for your own niece!”

THUD—!

Ye Heng dropped straight to his knees.

”Your Highness, I was thoughtless this time! I beg for your forgiveness!”

Ye Shixian hadn’t thought the matter was very serious at first. Only now did she realize just how fiercely protective the Eldest Princess was of Ye Chutang.

’No wonder Father was so nervous on the way here...’

Ye Shixian’s gaze shifted to Ye Chutang, who was sitting quietly with a placid expression. A flame of anger instantly ignited within her.

’If it weren’t for Ye Chutang, would my father be kneeling here right now, begging the Eldest Princess for mercy?’

’And yet Ye Chutang looks completely unconcerned!’

”Cousin,” Ye Shixian said, suppressing her anger. ”Father did all this for you. Who could have guessed that Han Yao would have this sort of trouble? Besides, he was just having some fun with those other women. He hasn’t gone out carousing since he met you, and his feelings for you are real. Why don’t you forgive him this time? Give him a month to sort all of this out.”

Ye Chutang raised an eyebrow. ”A month?”

”Yes, just one month.” Seeing her cousin respond, Ye Shixian thought she had been swayed. ”If his intentions are true, he’ll naturally get everything settled—”

Ye Chutang became pensive. ”That Su Pei’er is just a helpless woman, and pregnant, too. Her life must be very difficult. I’m not sure I understand what you mean by ’getting it settled.’”

”Naturally, it’s—” Ye Shixian began, but then she caught a glimpse of the Eldest Princess’s impassive face from the corner of her eye. Her heart skipped a beat, and she quickly swallowed her words. ”That’s for the Han Family to deal with. You needn’t concern yourself, Cousin.”

Everyone present knew full well what ”dealing with it” entailed. There were only a few outcomes: either the baby would be gone, or Su Pei’er would be gone.

The Han Family was, after all, a respectable family of scholar-officials. If the mother of their first grandchild came from a brothel, they would be laughed at for years to come.

The gentlest solution would probably be to send Su Pei’er away to a private estate, only bringing the child back to the family once it was older.

But even that would be a tremendous humiliation for both the Han Family and the woman who would eventually marry into it.

The Eldest Princess glanced at Ye Shixian. ”I’m surprised that Second Miss Ye, still an unmarried maiden, is so knowledgeable about the affairs of the rear courtyard.”

Ye Shixian’s face turned pale.

She had grown up at her mother’s side and was certainly no stranger to such matters. If Mrs. Gao didn’t have a few tricks up her sleeve, she never would have held the position of Madam Ye for so many years.

In the early years, Ye Heng had taken concubines, but they all met untimely ends not long after entering the mansion.

Ye Shixian was long used to such things, but in a moment of impulse, she had forgotten this was the Long Princess Mansion and had spoken so brazenly in front of everyone!

Ye Shixian hastily defended herself. ”Your Highness, I... I meant nothing by it! I was only thinking that a good match is hard to find—”

The Eldest Princess cut her off impatiently. ”If you think it’s such a shame, why don’t you marry Han Yao yourself?”

Startled, Ye Shixian swallowed the rest of her words.

’Me, marry Han Yao? How is that even possible!’

Ye Heng turned and snapped at her, ”This is not your place to speak!”

Ye Shixian quickly knelt as well. ”I misspoke! Please forgive me, Your Highness!”

The room fell silent, the air seeming to congeal around them.

Finally, the Eldest Princess said, ”I am tired. You may all leave.”

Ye Heng felt a wave of relief.

’It sounds like the Eldest Princess doesn’t intend to pursue this any further today.’

He immediately acknowledged her command and rose to take his leave.

But after taking just one step, he noticed Ye Chutang hadn’t moved.

”Chutang? We should be going,” he reminded her.

Before Ye Chutang could speak, the Eldest Princess said, ”Go back? Back where?”

Ye Heng grew uneasy. ”T-to the Ye Mansion, of course...”

The Eldest Princess adopted a look of sudden realization.

”Oh, that’s right. You should be heading back. However, she will be staying at the Long Princess Mansion tonight. I will send her home after you have moved out.”

She glanced at the sky outside and said flatly,

”I’ll give you one day. That should be enough, shouldn’t it? She has important matters to attend to when she returns tomorrow, so don’t cause any delays.”