The Duke's Pampered Darling is So Scheming

Chapter 127: Chapter 127: Don’t Move

Xu Rongqing had been busy the past two days and was surprised so much had happened in such a short time.

So today, he took the day off and came straight over.

Wild rumors were flying around, so he headed straight for the Ye Mansion to find out what was really going on.

He was surprised to run into the carriage from the Dingbei Marquis Mansion, but he was even more surprised to find Ye Chutang inside.

The scene of Ye Chutang getting into the carriage with Shen Yanchuan and leaving together surfaced in his mind. Now, seeing the two of them together again, his heart sank slightly.

”Chutang, you and the Princely Heir...”

Ye Chutang explained gently, ”Xiao Wu and I spent the night at the Long Princess Mansion. The Princely Heir happened to be there this morning, and since I remembered I had things to take care of here, I troubled him to give us a ride back.”

Xu Rongqing breathed a sigh of relief. ”I see.”

’He had been worried that Ye Heng and the others might try to harm her. Thankfully, the Eldest Princess was looking out for her and had even sent Shen Yanchuan to escort her personally. This way, no one would dare touch her, even after she returned to the Ye Mansion.’

’But...’

”Chutang, things must be quite chaotic at the Ye Mansion right now. If what you have to do isn’t urgent, maybe you should go back later?”

’Ye Heng had people moving out all night. With so many people rushing around, it must be a total mess.’

”Or, you could come back with me to rest for a bit. Once things here are more or less settled, then—”

”Doctor Ye is rushing back because what she has to do is extremely important and cannot be delayed.” A cool, deep voice suddenly interjected. ”And as it happens, it has something to do with Mr. Xu.”

Xu Rongqing froze, looking at Ye Chutang with a questioning expression.

Ye Chutang: ”...”

’She had planned to use returning an umbrella as an excuse to go back and check on Ye Heng. She never expected to run into Xu Rongqing here, and to top it off, Shen Yanchuan just had to say that.’

’Now she really had no choice.’

Ye Chutang quickly concealed the emotion in her eyes, the corners of her lips curling slightly. ”Yes.”

Shen Yanchuan retracted his gaze and took out two plates of dried fruits and pastries from a drawer.

Xiao Wu’s eyes instantly lit up.

’They were all her favorites!’

Shen Yanchuan noticed her reaction, his brow slightly raised. ”Want some?”

Xiao Wu immediately shuffled over to Shen Yanchuan’s side.

’It smells so good! They must be fresh from the oven!’

Shen Yanchuan picked up a sesame crisp and moved to feed it to Xiao Wu. ”This one is quite good. Have a taste?”

Xiao Wu immediately leaned forward, just about to eat it—

”Xiao Wu.”

Ye Chutang’s light, calm voice instantly froze Xiao Wu in place.

She gave the crispy, sweet sesame crisp one last look and reluctantly turned her head away.

Only then did Ye Chutang look at Shen Yanchuan again. ”Princely Heir, Xiao Wu already had a big breakfast at the Princess Mansion. Besides, she’s young, and too much sugar isn’t good for her.”

Shen Yanchuan nodded lightly. ”I was inconsiderate.”

Ye Chutang lowered her gaze to the snacks on the plate and said casually, ”I thought you didn’t like these kinds of things, Princely Heir?”

Shen Yanchuan’s brow twitched. He looked up at her, seemingly a little surprised that she would know that.

Ye Chutang also felt it was a little strange for her to say that, so she added an explanation: ”I heard the Eldest Princess mention it before.”

’After all, it was rare to find a man so picky and high-maintenance.’

The corner of Shen Yanchuan’s lip seemed to curve, and he put the things away.

”Alright.”

Ye Chutang was confused.

’Alright? What did he mean, ”alright”? What was alright?’

’But with Xu Rongqing still here, it wasn’t a good time to ask.’

And she absolutely had to go back to the Ye residence.

She turned her head towards Xu Rongqing and said, ”If you don’t mind, Mr. Xu, you can come with us.”

...

The carriage arrived at Liuwan Lane, and from a distance, they could see a crowd of people gathered outside the Ye Mansion, watching the spectacle.

Someone in the crowd was the first to notice them and cried out in surprise, ”The carriage from the Dingbei Marquis Mansion!”

The crowd automatically parted to make a path, and all eyes turned to them.

Finally, the carriage stopped in front of the Ye Mansion.

Two other carriages were parked there, and servants were bustling in and out, busy loading things onto them.

Ye Chutang alighted from the carriage.

The steward guarding the door saw her and was so stunned he started to stammer, ”Y-You— Why are you back!?”

Everyone knew that the Ye Family’s sudden, great misfortune was all because of Ye Chutang. Who would have thought she would actually show up at a time like this!

Ye Chutang helped Xiao Wu down from the carriage, took her hand, and stood before the gate with her back straight.

She lifted her chin slightly and smiled faintly.

”This has always been my home. Why can’t I come back?”

...

”What!? Ye Chutang is back!?”

Ye Shixian’s head snapped up, her face a mask of astonishment.

But then she seemed to realize something. She clenched her handkerchief tightly and gritted her teeth. ”She just couldn’t wait to come and laugh at us!”

The steward wiped his sweat and explained, ”Eldest Miss, she- she said she came back to get something. It seems she borrowed something from Mr. Xu before and wants to find it today to return it. And Mr. Xu is here too...”

Ye Shixian sneered, ”That’s just a nice-sounding excuse! Go tell her we haven’t finished packing yet, and that she should come back later!”

’Seeing Ye Chutang for even a second longer was agonizing!’

The steward looked troubled. ”B-but... she is a young lady of the Ye Family, after all. How could a servant like me dare to stop her... And besides Mr. Xu, the Heir of Duke Dingbei is with her too! This- this...”

’She certainly knows how to find powerful backers!’

’And in a situation like this, isn’t she worried *he’ll* be disgusted by the sight of it all?’

But she couldn’t say any of this out loud. Ye Shixian knew perfectly well that none of them could actually stop Ye Chutang.

She turned and headed outside.

”Where’s Father? Is he still in the study?”

...

KNOCK KNOCK!

The urgent knocking startled Ye Heng.

He quickly closed and locked the box, let out a long breath, and only then went to open the door. Seeing it was Ye Shixian, he furrowed his brow and asked, ”What is it?”

Ye Shixian’s chest burned with frustration.

”Father, what were you so busy with just now? I knocked several times.”

Ye Heng’s eyes darted away.

”Oh, it’s nothing. I was just organizing some things and didn’t hear you.”

Ye Shixian didn’t think much of it and just quickly told him about the situation outside.

”What are we supposed to do now?”

Ye Heng’s face darkened.

’When had he ever suffered such a humiliation? And now, all because of a mere Ye Chutang...’

”If she wants to see us become a laughingstock, then let her watch!” Ye Heng called two servants in. ”Move everything out of here too!”

The servants quickly came forward, lifted a box, and started to walk out.

As they reached the courtyard, a small figure suddenly rushed over and bumped right into one of the servant’s legs.

The servant inexplicably felt his leg go soft, and then his entire body went slack.

CRASH!

The box they were carrying fell heavily to the ground, and its contents all rolled out uncontrollably.

Ye Heng saw this scene from inside the room and was instantly alarmed.

’The things inside that box were—’

Without thinking, he immediately rushed out the door, intending to pick up the items.

However, just as he had one foot out the door, a slender and graceful figure had already arrived before him.

She bent down, and her slender, pale hand casually picked up a book.

Ye Heng’s heart instantly leaped into his throat!

”Don’t move!”