Chapter 154 – Brain Full of Maggots

The emperor was like a man who had just downed a miracle tonic—instantly energized and radiant.

As he made his way to the imperial study, he told Eunuch De, “Summon the Office of Astronomy.”

The wedding needed to happen as soon as possible, to avoid any unforeseen changes.

When he bestowed the marriage, he would settle the wedding date on the spot.

Once in the imperial study, the emperor turned to Ye Jingchuan and said, “Minister Ye, return to your residence at once and bring Ye Chutang into the palace.”

“This humble servant obeys.”

Ye Jingchuan had just turned to leave when the emperor remembered something.

“Minister Ye, leave Ye Chutang’s birth date and time.”

They needed it to choose an auspicious date.

After handing over Ye Chutang’s birth information, Ye Jingchuan cheerfully left the palace.

As he boarded his carriage, he said with satisfaction, “I’ve tolerated that wretched girl for so long—finally, things are coming together.”

He could practically see the marquis title waving at him.

But his joy only lasted until he arrived home—then it vanished completely.

Ye Jingchuan saw that constables from the Ministry of Justice had arrested Ye Siyin.

Ye Siyin was struggling frantically, her clothes disheveled.

“Let me go! You’ve got the wrong person! I didn’t spread the rumor about Ye Chutang being pregnant!”

The constable snorted coldly, “What do you take the Ministry of Justice for? You think we’d arrest someone from an official’s household without solid evidence? You’re not the only one—Miss Zhao is already in jail too!”

Ye Siyin’s face turned ghostly pale at those words. She no longer had the strength to resist.

How could this happen?

Zhao Simin was at least the legitimate daughter of a noble family, yet she ended up in prison just for saying a few vague things?

Ye Jingchuan, having overheard the conversation, was too ashamed to even get off the carriage.

How did he end up with such a pack of fools? Can’t go a day without digging their own graves?

In a daze, Ye Siyin caught sight of the carriage from the Minister’s residence.

Not wanting to be taken away, she shouted loudly, “Father! Save me!”

But the carriage curtain never lifted, and the constables dragged the unwilling Ye Siyin away.

Of course Ye Jingchuan wouldn’t offend Ye Chutang just to save a clueless illegitimate daughter.

Thank goodness the pregnancy rumor was fake. If it had been real, the marriage between Ye Chutang and Prince Chen would’ve been ruined—and so would his shot at becoming a marquis.

Once the constables were out of sight, Ye Jingchuan finally stepped down from the carriage.

Some bystanders nearby were watching the commotion, pointing and gossiping about the Minister’s residence.

“In just a couple of days, the official wife died, the heir’s in prison, and now even the illegitimate daughter’s been arrested. That place is cursed!”

“Cursed? More like deserved! You reap what you sow.”

“Exactly. Miss Ye is such a good person, yet they all tried to harm and bully her. Animals, the lot of them.”

“I’m just curious—why hasn’t the family put up mourning banners since the main wife died?”

Ye Jingchuan swept his gaze around, eyes full of warning.

The gossipers took the hint and quickly dispersed.

As soon as he entered the estate, the steward came up and asked, “Master, how should we handle Madam’s body?”

The weather was hot, and even with ice preservation, the body was starting to smell.

Ye Jingchuan was immediately overwhelmed. “I still need to go back to the palace. We’ll deal with it when I return.”

With that, he hurried toward Ningchu Courtyard.

Ye Chutang was lounging on a chaise, gazing out at the blue sky and clouds, thinking about exile.

The northwest was cold most of the year. She’d need to prepare plenty of warm clothing, blankets, and food.

“Historically, cotton was introduced from the Western Regions long ago—why doesn’t Beichen have it?”

Though this dynasty wasn’t recorded in any books, its territory resembled that of China, and its development was roughly equivalent to the Song or Ming era.

In Beichen today, the rich used animal furs and silk to stay warm, while the poor made do with reed fluff and rough hemp.

Those in the middle usually relied on kapok.

Though kapok was light and soft, it lacked the warmth and fluffiness of cotton—and it wasn’t cheap either.

“I’ve got it. First thing I’ll do in the northwest is grow Xinjiang’s long-staple cotton!”

Back in the apocalypse, Ye Chutang had lucked out and cleared out a seed warehouse.

There were all sorts of seeds—packed into several large metal boxes.

A place remained poor and backward only because it lacked a viable economy. “Building infrastructure in the northwest and playing queen of my own land doesn’t sound bad.”

Just as she finished speaking, Ye Jingchuan entered Ningchu Courtyard.

He had rushed so fast he was drenched in sweat and panting heavily.

“Chuer, His Majesty has summoned you to the palace.”

Ye Chutang lazily waved him over. “Father, over here.”

Ye Jingchuan quickly approached the window. “No dawdling. Get up and get dressed.”

“I’m not marrying the emperor. Why should I doll up for him?”

“Even so, you need to go. Hurry up.”

Ye Chutang remained lounging. “Why is His Majesty summoning me?”

Her calm demeanor made Ye Jingchuan anxious beyond belief.

“It’s an urgent summons. Stop dragging your feet—we’ll talk on the way.”

Ye Chutang already knew why the emperor had called for her. She got up and left her room without delay.

Following Ye Jingchuan, she left the mansion and got into the carriage bound for the palace.

“Father, you were in such a rush to request a royal marriage. Aren’t you afraid Prince Chen might get suspicious?”

Ye Jingchuan had been so elated he’d completely forgotten about that.

“Chuer, if you’re capable of making Prince Chen agree to marry you, then surely you can also ease his doubts, right?”

Ye Chutang didn’t respond. She wanted to keep him guessing and on edge.

She asked instead, “The emperor summoned me not just to grant the decree, right? He wants to discuss wiping out the Qi family? When will he give me the antidote?”

“As long as you help him eliminate his greatest threat, you’ll not only get the antidote, but he’ll also make you a Noble Consort.”

Ye Chutang laughed softly.

“What’s there to be happy about? The emperor’s impotent. Becoming Noble Consort just means being a living widow.”

Ye Jingchuan was so startled he reached out to cover her mouth, but she dodged him.

“Are you crazy? Don’t ever say that again!”

After scolding her, he tried to reassure her. “The emperor has invited Divine Physician Xue for treatment. He’ll recover soon. If you can bear him a son, he might become emperor one day!”

Ye Chutang really wanted to cut open Ye Jingchuan’s skull and see if his brain had been hollowed out by maggots.

What kind of ridiculous dream was he trying to sell her?

She rolled her eyes. “It’s broad daylight—save your dreams for nighttime.”

Before long, the carriage reached the palace gates.

Eager to see Ye Chutang as soon as possible, the emperor had even sent a palanquin to meet her there.

The father and daughter were quickly carried to the Hall of Diligent Governance.

The emperor handed Ye Chutang the draft of the imperial marriage edict.

“I had the Office of Astronomy compare your birth date and Prince Chen’s. Five days from now is an auspicious day.”

Ye Chutang glanced at the edict—it practically showered her and Qi Yanzhou with praises, claiming their compatibility was perfect.

“Your Majesty, such a rushed wedding is bound to make Prince Chen suspicious.”

Of course the emperor knew Qi Yanzhou would suspect something—but he didn’t want to wait any longer.

“Miss Ye, if you could get Prince Chen to agree to marry you in such a short time, then surely you can ease his doubts too.”

Ye Chutang lowered her eyes to hide the disgust she felt toward the emperor’s grotesque expression.

“I will do my best, Your Majesty. But surely you didn’t summon me just to receive a decree?”

“You should already understand the real reason I want you to marry Prince Chen.”

“I understand. Prince Chen harbors dangerous ambitions. Your Majesty wishes to eliminate the treacherous and restore order to the court.”

Those words were music to the emperor’s ears.

For a moment, he felt like someone had finally recognized his greatness.

Still, he didn’t fully trust Ye Chutang, so he gave an order.

“Raise your head.”

Ye Chutang lifted her head and calmly met his eyes, letting him stare her down.

“Miss Ye, you’ve been spending quite a bit of time with Prince Chen lately. Have you developed feelings for him?”

“I value my life. I only want to be a Noble Consort.”

“As expected of someone I personally chose—brave and ambitious.”

The emperor smiled and motioned for her to sit.

“I have a plan to execute the entire Chen royal household—but I’ll need your cooperation.”

“Please, Your Majesty, speak.”