Chapter 108: Reluctant to Let Her Die

The Emperor initially thought that his plan of arranging a marriage and using poison to force Ye Chutang to obey would be simple.

However, he lost four shadow guards, and yet didn’t accomplish anything.

Instead, it was Ye Jingchuan, that fool, who got poisoned!

He wanted to teach Ye Chutang a lesson, and also poison her.

How dare she use the drum to threaten the Emperor—she must be punished!

“De Gonggong, prepare some tea and snacks to reward Miss Ye later.”

De Gonggong understood the Emperor’s hint.

“Yes, Your Majesty.”

Ye Jingchuan had already guessed that the Emperor would act against Ye Chutang. Upon hearing this, a look of joy appeared on his face.

A noble title was within reach!

He pretended to explain on her behalf.

“Your Majesty, my daughter had some misunderstandings with the Duke of the County. Yesterday, when the Prince of An’s residence was attacked, she thought it was intentional on the Prince’s part, which caused this whole incident.”

The Prince of An knew that the situation had escalated and would only worsen his own position.

He agreed, saying, “It was the Prince of An’s poor hospitality that led to Miss Ye’s misunderstanding. Please do not blame her, Your Majesty.”

The Emperor naturally wouldn’t care too much about a pawn—after all, she was still useful.

But a lesson had to be given, or else everyone would think they could accuse the Emperor and drum up complaints.

At that moment, a high-pitched voice from outside the Golden Luan Hall came.

“Miss Ye requests to meet!”

The Emperor looked at De Gonggong. “The matter of state isn’t settled yet. Let Miss Ye wait outside the hall.”

De Gonggong complied and left the Golden Luan Hall.

“Miss Ye, the Emperor is still handling state affairs. Please wait here.”

It was already noon, the sun was high, and the heat was unbearable.

Ye Chutang walked from the palace gates, already drenched in sweat.

She knew the Emperor was deliberately trying to intimidate her by making her stand in the sun.

“I am ready to be summoned by the Emperor at any time.”

She then walked to a shaded corridor under the eaves of the Golden Luan Hall and sat down.

Ye Chutang looked at De Gonggong, who seemed shocked, and raised an eyebrow.

“The Emperor didn’t say that I should stand out in the sun as punishment, did he?”

She was the victim, and even if the Emperor had that thought, he wouldn’t openly say it.

De Gonggong looked at Ye Chutang, who had no concern for her image, and his mind immediately recalled her bad habits—like her dislike for bathing and changing clothes, and her habit of scratching her feet—disgusted, he turned his eyes away.

“Your Majesty is benevolent, Miss Ye, you worry too much.”

He then entered the Golden Luan Hall and quietly told the Emperor about Ye Chutang hiding under the eaves to avoid the heat.

The Emperor hadn’t expected Ye Chutang to be so cunning. He subconsciously muttered.

“Just like her mother, crafty!”

Back then, Tang Wanning was the most beautiful woman in the capital. The Tang family was also the richest in Jiangnan, and countless men were infatuated with her.

Not only did the Prince of An wish to take her as a concubine, but the Emperor also thought of making her his consort.

Who didn’t like a beautiful, valuable vase?

However, her heart only belonged to Ye Jingchuan. She rejected all advances, both subtle and overt, and used the support of her family to win the people’s hearts, making it impossible for anyone to forcibly take her.

The Emperor thought that Ye Chutang would follow the same path as her mother.

But she was even more capable than Tang Wanning.

In less than a month, she had made the Emperor unable to act against her freely!

Since he hadn’t been able to intimidate her, it was pointless to waste any more time.

The Emperor told De Gonggong, “Summon her in.”

De Gonggong flicked his white whisk, “Summon Ye Chutang to meet!”

Upon hearing this, Ye Chutang stood up, adjusted her clothes, and walked confidently into the Golden Luan Hall.

She was the first woman from an official family to enter the Golden Luan Hall since the Emperor took the throne.

“Your servant greets the Emperor. Long live the Emperor!”

She didn’t kneel but instead deeply bowed, performing a scholar’s salute. The Emperor sat high on his dragon throne, gazing down at Ye Chutang.

“Rise, lift your head.”

Ye Chutang stood up and looked at the Emperor.

The Emperor’s heart fluttered for a moment, momentarily distracted by her breathtaking beauty. His gaze deepened.

A woman who could fight and also understood medicine—a great beauty like this, he felt reluctant to see her die.

“I hear from Minister Ye that you wish to make a complaint?”

“Yes, Your Majesty!”

Ye Chutang saw the desire in the Emperor’s eyes and felt disgusted.

She recounted the unusual circumstances after entering the Prince of An’s residence yesterday, and the assassination attempt.

“Your Majesty, it’s not that I am petty or suspicious, but from the moment I entered the Prince of An’s residence, everything seemed off, especially the huge iron cage in the guest room and the ten or so top assassins. How will the Prince of An explain that?”

She didn’t wait for the Prince of An to make excuses and added.

“I could even draw portraits of those assassins. With these images, it won’t be hard to track down their identities.”

She was speaking directly to the Emperor.

Although those four shadow guards rarely appeared in public, they couldn’t have been completely unknown.

Once the portraits were made public, the Emperor would be involved in the assassination attempt.

The Emperor was a man who cared deeply about his reputation. He would never let something like this slide.

Therefore, the blame for the Emperor’s failure would fall on the Prince of An!

The Emperor’s heart skipped a beat, but he did not immediately respond. Instead, he recalled the Prince of An’s words from yesterday.

“Ye Chutang, you say the Prince of An wants to kill you. Then tell me, how did you escape from so many skilled killers?”

Ye Chutang knew the Emperor suspected she was somehow connected to the “Ghost Thief.”

She calmly met his oppressive gaze.

“I don’t know, Your Majesty. At that time, I, Prince Chen, and Young Master Qin were being attacked. Our lives hung by a thread when suddenly the ground trembled, as if the earth itself was turning. Then I fainted and woke up in my own boudoir.”

“Later, I heard from the officials of the Dali Temple that the ‘Ghost Thief’ had emptied the entire Prince of An’s residence and even set it on fire.”

After hearing this, the Emperor’s pressure became more intense.

“So, you were saved by the ‘Ghost Thief.’ Why did he save you? Are you in league with him?”

Ye Chutang ignored the pressure, standing tall and composed.

“I don’t know the ‘Ghost Thief,’ and I don’t know why he saved me. My guess is that the ‘Ghost Thief’ thought the Prince of An was of the same kind as Zhang Tianshi, so he saved the person they wanted to kill and emptied the Prince’s residence.”

Ye Jingchuan didn’t want the Shandong Minister’s house and the “Ghost Thief” to be linked and cause the Emperor to look down on them.

He quickly spoke up. “Your Majesty, ‘Ghost Thief’ first stole from my daughter’s Ningchu Courtyard. She couldn’t possibly be in league with him. Her being saved by the ‘Ghost Thief’ was purely an accident.”

Suddenly, someone spoke.

“Perhaps it’s the thief crying ‘catch the thief.’ That way, no one will suspect anything.”

Ye Chutang immediately locked onto the official who spoke.

“So, what you mean is, the ‘Ghost Thief’ is working with De Gonggong, the Emperor, and the Prince of An?”

The official, frightened, immediately stepped forward and knelt before the Emperor.

“Your Majesty, I didn’t mean that at all!”

Ye Chutang smiled mischievously.

“Then are you targeting me?”

“Miss Ye, you worry too much. I was just speculating based on the situation.”

“Oh, well, I have a guess too. Perhaps the ‘Ghost Thief’ is working for you, since he didn’t steal from your residence.”

The official immediately retorted, “There are plenty of officials whose residences were not stolen!”

Ye Chutang smirked, her lips curling in mockery.

“Same words, I’ll return them to you. Please, sir, don’t speak without thinking, casually slandering others.”

The official was left speechless.

“Miss Ye is right. I was too hasty.”

The Emperor watched Ye Chutang, who was quick-witted and unflinching, and believed that she was not involved with the “Ghost Thief.”

The “Ghost Thief” only appeared after Qi Yanzhou took the capital, so it was highly likely he was Qi Yanzhou’s person!

After coming to this conclusion, the Emperor’s resolve to eliminate the Qi family only grew stronger.

The Emperor then turned his gaze to the Prince of An.

“Prince of An, Miss Ye has been in and out of your residence constantly. How do you explain that?”