The Duke's Pampered Darling is So Scheming

Chapter 539: Chapter 539: Thousand Layers of Snow

’So mysterious?’

Ye Chutang rose and walked to the wooden box. It wasn’t locked, secured only by a gilded bronze clasp that was simple and elegant, yet exuded an air of nobility.

The box itself was already exceptionally precious; who knew what lay inside...

CLICK.

Ye Chutang unfastened the bronze clasp and opened the box.

In an instant, a wave of cold air washed over her.

A solid block of ice, as clear and pure as glass, lay quietly inside.

Ye Chutang’s eyes widened slightly.

’Why would Shen Yanchuan send me a block of ice... Wait!’

Her gaze sharpened as she noticed something seemed to be frozen in the center of the ice block.

It was light and delicate, with soft tendrils.

”This is...”

’It’s a flower?!’

Ye Chutang glanced back at Shen Yanchuan, then, as if suddenly remembering something, she looked down again at the flower frozen in the ice.

The flower was a pristine, jade-like white, its petals layered upon one another. In the center was a crimson stamen, strikingly vibrant and vivid.

Ye Chutang murmured in disbelief, ”...Thousand Layers of Snow?”

She immediately closed the lid and turned to ask, ”How do you have this?”

Shen Yanchuan’s smile widened. ”I knew you would recognize it.”

Of course Ye Chutang knew!

Thousand Layers of Snow was an incredibly precious medicinal herb that grew only in the crevices of rocks on snow-capped mountain peaks, making it extremely difficult to find.

It was named ”Thousand Layers of Snow” because it was perennially covered in thick snow, and its snow-white petals were layered manifold.

Its medicinal properties were extraordinary. Even someone on their last breath could be brought back from the brink of death with it.

However, not only was Thousand Layers of Snow incredibly difficult to harvest, but it also wilted rapidly once its stem was broken, drastically reducing its medicinal potency. This made it exceedingly rare.

It had practically become an object of legend.

Ye Chutang never imagined that the wooden box contained such a ”grand gift”!

”Ke Yizhang said your cold-qi malady is a chronic ailment that has, over the years, damaged your constitution. Thousand Layers of Snow grows in the extreme cold but is scorching hot in nature. If used as medicine, it might have a miraculous effect on your condition.”

Shen Yanchuan’s expression softened.

”Fortunately, this one was found on Kuya Mountain. After it was picked, it was encased in freezing water to form ice, then rushed a thousand li back to the Capital City by the fastest horse. Luckily, the weather has been cold recently, so it didn’t melt at all along the way.”

Ye Chutang drew a sharp breath.

He recounted it in just a few, understated words, but she understood how much hardship the journey must have entailed!

Kuya Mountain was far away, near the Northwest border, a land of rolling mountain ranges, overlapping peaks, and perpetual snow.

Ascending it was already incredibly difficult, let alone finding a single herb amid the boundless white snow.

And to bring it back from so far away, completely intact... The difficulty was immense!

For this one flower, this single herb, how much manpower and resources must have been expended!

’And he just... gave it to her?’

In her peripheral vision, Ye Chutang caught sight of his black cloak and could almost smell the scent of the cold wind clinging to it.

Her eyelid twitched.

”So, when the Princely Heir went out today, it was for this?”

Shen Yanchuan nodded. ”I had actually received a carrier pigeon message earlier saying it would reach the Capital City today. But there have been many matters in the capital recently, and with the Wazhen Mission about to arrive, city defenses have been tightened considerably. I was worried about delays, so I went out of the city to receive it myself.”

A lazy smile touched his thin lips.

”Fortunately, there were no delays.”

Ye Chutang was speechless for a long time.

She wanted to say something, but her chest felt tight, stuffy and sour with emotion.

Shen Yanchuan watched her, his smile gradually fading. ”What is it? Is there a problem with the flower?”

”No.”

Ye Chutang shook her head. Her fingertips still felt the biting cold from the ice, yet it was as if an intense heat was beginning to burn from within it.

The searing heat threatened to spread from her fingertips to the bottom of her heart.

She paused.

”So that’s why Mr. Ke hasn’t been in the Capital City recently. He was busy with this matter.”

She hadn’t seen him in a long time, but she hadn’t given it much thought. How could she have guessed it was for this?

Shen Yanchuan hummed in agreement. ”He said he found this method after searching through countless ancient texts and insisted on trying it, no matter what.”

They both knew perfectly well who was the one so insistent on trying.

Ye Chutang was quiet for a long while before she looked up at Shen Yanchuan.

Their eyes met.

She asked softly, ”What if this doesn’t work either?”

Shen Yanchuan didn’t seem troubled by the question. He said directly, ”Then we’ll find another way.”

Ye Chutang’s brow furrowed slightly. ”But wouldn’t that be a waste of too much effort?”

Shen Yanchuan’s tone was calm and perfectly natural.

”When it comes to you, no amount is too much. The word ’waste’ doesn’t apply.”

Ye Chutang was suddenly at a loss for words.

She had never met anyone like him.

Someone who would spare no expense and exhaust all efforts for the slimmest of possibilities.

And yet he called it ”a humble gift.”

”Princely Heir, for such profound kindness, I’m afraid I can never repay you—”

”I don’t want your repayment.” Shen Yanchuan simply gazed at her, his deep, abyss-like phoenix eyes burning with a searing, utterly frank intensity.

”You should know what I want.”

Ye Chutang’s eyelashes fluttered once. The pad of her finger unintentionally brushed across the wooden box.

The room fell silent. An ambiguous, heated current seemed to form, surging in the quiet space.

A thousand thoughts flashed through Ye Chutang’s mind.

’The many events of the past, the many burdens of the future.’

She knew, of course, what Shen Yanchuan wanted.

From Jiangling to the Capital City, through all his protection, even a fool could understand his feelings.

But...

The truth was, Ye Chutang had never considered this question.

Ever since she had been reborn in this identity, ever since she had experienced that bloody, storm-wracked snowy day three years ago, she had already decided. She would raise Yan, A Feng, and Xiao Wu, and then she would be free to live the life she wanted.

There was never any room for another person in that plan.

But now, she suddenly realized she was beginning to waver.

Seeing that Ye Chutang didn’t reply for a long time, Shen Yanchuan felt no disappointment.

On the contrary, he detected the hesitation hidden within her silence.

He had never expected Ye Chutang to agree immediately. Today, to have earned this ”hesitation” from her was, for him, already an extremely rare prize.

Shen Yanchuan’s heart relaxed slightly, and he discreetly flexed his tense knuckles.

He said,

”You don’t have to give me an answer now. If you haven’t thought it through, I can wait.”

Just then, a faint sound came from outside.

Shen Yanchuan and Ye Chutang both looked outside at the same time, just in time to see Lian Zhou approaching quickly.

”Master.” He stopped outside the door, his expression grim. ”There’s trouble at the Ministry of Justice.”

Shen Yanchuan’s sharp brows knitted together. ”What is it?”

Lian Zhou said, ”Those Southern Hu Blade Men all died suddenly. The Ministry of Justice Prison has already locked down the news. For now, their bodies have been secretly preserved, pending an autopsy.”

Ye Chutang’s heart skipped a beat.

’Those Southern Hu Blade Men are all dead! And of all times, it had to be now!?’

Shen Yanchuan’s voice was icy. ”Have you found out who did it?”