Chapter 21: Marrying a Man on the Spot

Ye Jingchuan looked at Ye Chutang, who was smiling gently, and felt a wave of fear rise in his heart.

Earlier, in a fit of anger, he had only considered his role as the head of the family and the imposing presence of the Ye clan.

He had overlooked the Ye family’s current situation.

Although he was unwilling to admit it, the future of the Ye family was now in the hands of the daughter standing before him!

“Truly worthy of being Wan Ning’s daughter, you’re quite something!”

It was his own carelessness; he had assumed that Ye Chutang, having been raised in the countryside for fifteen years, was completely useless.

But he had never imagined that she would be so calculating!

Ye Chutang smiled in response to Ye Jingchuan’s praise, “A child takes after their mother, of course I’m strong.”

She pushed her empty cup forward, signaling to Kong Ru, “Mrs. Ye, please pour me some tea.”

Kong Ru’s eyes widened, “What did you say?”

She, as the main wife, was supposed to pour tea for a younger one?

“Not willing?” Ye Jingchuan detected the warning in Ye Chutang’s words and looked at Kong Ru.

“Chutang has just returned home. As the mistress of the house, you should treat her with respect.”

Kong Ru was nearly furious.

Once, she had played with Tang Wan Ning as though she was in the palm of her hand.

Now, she was being dominated by her daughter!

But Ye Jingchuan’s words were not something she could ignore.

She forced a smile that was ugly but carried an undertone of affection, “Of course.”

With that, she reluctantly poured tea for Ye Chutang.

Outside in the yard, the group of people couldn’t clearly hear what was being said in the main hall, but they could see Kong Ru pouring tea for Ye Chutang.

Everyone stared in disbelief.

Especially Jin Zhi, who had been restrained by the guards.

She held back tears and silently screamed in her heart.

“Miss, do you see? Not only is the little miss alive, but she’s also doing well. The suffering you endured, the little miss will definitely avenge you!”

Inside the main hall, Ye Chutang watched as the tea was poured, picked up the cup, and spilled it on the ground, smashing it to pieces.

“Mother, drink some tea.”

Kong Ru immediately recalled the days when she was a concubine, when she had to pour tea for the merchants’ daughter, Tang Wan Ning.

Anger and humiliation flooded her heart.

She was about to lash out when Ye Jingchuan shot her a cold look, warning her to keep quiet.

Ye Jingchuan looked at Ye Chutang with growing regret.

On her very first day back, she had already stirred up trouble in the Shangshu Mansion!

“Chutang, what exactly do you want?”

Ye Chutang let go, and the cup fell to the floor, shattering.

“If no one offends me, I won’t offend them. If someone offends me, I’ll return it double. Ye Daren, do you understand?”

Ye Jingchuan understood the principle, but he didn’t understand Ye Chutang’s intentions.

“Can you explain further?”

“Those rumors were just a warning. If you don’t want the Ye family to disappear from the capital, stop making any evil plans against me.”

The old lady of the Ye family was so angry she almost laughed, “Who do you think you are?”

Although the Ye family didn’t have deep roots in the capital, who, other than the emperor and Lord De, could make a high-ranking official family disappear?

Ye Chutang smiled and said, “Killing the whole family isn’t that hard.”

The three Ye family members: “…”

This wicked daughter actually wanted to exterminate the Ye family!

Ye Jingchuan snorted coldly, “Don’t you fear that the first person to be poisoned will be you?”

“You can try and see who ends up dead in the end.”

Ye Chutang’s calmness made Ye Jingchuan’s heart shiver.

His intuition told him that he shouldn’t confront this crazy woman head-on.

He immediately decided to play the emotional card.

“Chutang, I know it was wrong to force you to marry in place of Ling’er. I’ve wronged you, but I had no choice. Ling’er… she…”

Ye Chutang guessed what Ye Jingchuan was about to say and immediately interrupted him.

“Are you going to say that Ye Anling has caught the eye of the crown prince and is likely to become the mother of the nation, helping the Ye family rise to greater heights?”

Her bold words nearly scared the three of them half to death.

Ye Jingchuan immediately shut the door to the main hall.

“Chutang, can you think before you speak? The emperor and empress are still alive. How can you talk about becoming the mother of the nation?”

If someone with malicious intent overheard this and it reached the emperor’s ears, it would bring disaster upon the Ye family!

Ye Chutang didn’t listen to Ye Jingchuan and continued speaking.

“It doesn’t matter if the crown prince likes Ye Anling, he still has to listen to the empress. The empress looks down on Ye Anling, which is why Lord De wants to marry her. As long as the empress is alive, Ye Anling will definitely marry Lord De.”

“You’re asking me to marry in her place? The only wedding I’ll have is with Lord De, and both of us will be taken by him.”

Marrying her would be for her beauty, and marrying Ye Anling would be for the empress. This wasn’t contradictory.

Kong Ru couldn’t wait to refute Ye Chutang.

“The empress just thinks the Ye family can’t give the crown prince much help, and wants to give the position of crown princess to the daughter of a military family. As long as Ling’er agrees to be a concubine, the empress won’t force her to marry Lord De!”

Ye Chutang smiled sarcastically, striking to the core.

“The premise for the empress making Ye Anling a concubine is that she’ll bring the dowry my mother left me into the crown prince’s mansion, right?”

She looked at Kong Ru’s suddenly changing face, striking where it hurt.

“If Ye Anling doesn’t have my mother’s dowry, do you think she can still become the crown prince’s concubine?”

The royal family was ruthless, always prioritizing benefits.

The crown prince might really like Ye Anling, but he definitely liked power more.

Kong Ru’s face darkened as she argued, “When your mother passed, she said that her dowry was to be shared among all the children!”

“So, does that mean my dowry is to be shared among all the children?”

Kong Ru: “…”

She couldn’t say “of course not,” because that would make her appear less generous than Tang Wan Ning.

She was reminded that her own dowry wasn’t as impressive as Tang Wan Ning’s, but she still agreed very easily.

“Of course!”

Ye Chutang immediately took advantage of the situation, “After dinner, send my share of the dowry to Ning Chu Courtyard.”

Kong Ru immediately refused, “The dowry will only be given to you after you’re married!”

“Fine, I’ll just go find a man tomorrow and marry him on the spot!”

Ye Jingchuan: “…”

“Chutang, don’t be ridiculous!”

Ye Chutang raised an eyebrow, “This is the best way to get rid of Lord De. How is it ridiculous?”

“You’re too naive. Once you provoke Lord De, even if you marry, you won’t escape.”

Unless the man she married was the emperor.

But the emperor was busy at Qingyun Temple.

Even if she had that intention, there was no way she could complete this before the homecoming banquet!

“So, Ye Daren, are you planning to sacrifice both legitimate daughters to ensure the Shangshu Mansion remains safe?”

Ye Jingchuan couldn’t deny it.

Had Ye Chutang not seen through his plan, he could have kept Ye Anling safe.

The Ye family could have used the dowry left by Tang Wan Ning to produce an empress.

But the marriage had been ruined by Ye Chutang!

Thinking of this, Ye Jingchuan’s anger became uncontrollable.

He coldly asked, “Who is your informant within the Shangshu Mansion?”

He couldn’t believe that Ye Chutang was so astute, returning to the Ye family and instantly understanding everything.

Someone must be helping her secretly!

Ye Chutang ignored Ye Jingchuan’s question and steered the conversation back.

“Ye Daren, to get back to the point, if you don’t want anything to happen to the Ye family at the homecoming banquet, you’ll agree to a few of my conditions.”

Ye Jingchuan was truly afraid of Ye Chutang causing trouble.

He rubbed his temples, “What are they?”

“First, at dinner, everyone must give me a greeting gift. It can’t be too shabby.”

“Second, after dinner, I want to see the list of Mrs. Ye’s dowry and the portion that belongs to me.”

“Third, tomorrow, you and Mrs. Ye must kneel in front of my mother’s grave and apologize.”

The moment Ye Chutang finished speaking, Ye Jingchuan and Kong Ru simultaneously rejected her.

“Impossible!”

To protect the Ye family, they could accept the first two conditions.

But the third one was out of the question!

“I’ll give you a night to think it over. Once you’ve decided, call me loudly.”

Ye Jingchuan didn’t quite understand what Ye Chutang meant, but he was too lazy to ask.

“Fine.”

He spoke to Ye Chutang just to buy some time.

Once she let her guard down, he would catch her in his trap, and she would become a dog that couldn’t resist!