Chapter 8: Overhearing a Big Secret

After entering the Minister’s Residence, they passed the screen wall, walked through the covered corridor, and arrived at the main hall in the front courtyard.

Ye Jingchuan was seated at the head of the hall, with Kong Ru and Ye Chutang seated below him.

Housekeeper Chen immediately served tea to the three of them.

Knowing the master had something to say, he led the maids and servants out of the hall.

Ye Jingchuan picked up a purple clay teacup, used the lid to skim off the floating tea leaves, and asked Kong Ru:

“Is Chuer’s courtyard ready? Have all the necessary furnishings been purchased? Are the servants assigned to her smart and attentive?”

Kong Ru replied, “The Ningchu Courtyard where Chuer will stay has already been prepared. All the furnishings are of top quality. As for the maids and servants, I thought it best to let Chuer choose them herself.”

“As expected of you, Madam, always so thoughtful. Take Chuer to settle in her courtyard. Give her twenty taels of silver, and let Ling’er take her out for a walk—to buy some rouge, powder, jewelry, and clothes.”

“Yes, Master.”

“Make sure dinner is especially lavish tonight. Everyone must attend—Chuer needs to get to know everyone.”

“Understood, Master.”

Ye Jingchuan took a sip of tea and looked toward Ye Chutang, who was casually glancing around the room.

“Chuer, if there’s anything you need, just let Madam know. As long as it’s not too outrageous, she’ll take care of it.”

Ye Chutang smiled. “Then I won’t hold back.”

As soon as he heard that, Ye Jingchuan felt a headache coming on.

Here comes another expense.

He put down his teacup and added, “Starting tomorrow, you should start learning proper etiquette. The homecoming banquet in three days will be filled with officials and their families. Don’t embarrass the Ye family.”

Ye Chutang grinned. “As long as the gifts they bring are generous enough, I’ll be all smiles.”

Ye Jingchuan: “……”

“Accepting gifts means giving return gifts. The presents belong to the Ye family, not you personally.”

“Oh, I see. Alright then.”

Ye Chutang’s agreeable response surprised Ye Jingchuan and even pleased him a little.

But the next words she said shattered that brief moment of joy.

“The homecoming banquet in three days… it’s bound to be quite the spectacle.”

Ye Jingchuan’s scalp tingled the moment he heard that.

He didn’t want to lose face in front of his colleagues, and he didn’t want Eunuch De to find fault with Ye Chutang either.

“Chuer, the gifts can go to you, but don’t stir up trouble at the banquet. You’re not a child anymore—leave a good impression, and we might be able to arrange a good marriage for you.”

“As long as I get the gifts, I’ll behave. But as for marriage, I’ll make my own decisions. Don’t try to play matchmaker behind my back.”

Kong Ru, watching Ye Chutang openly challenge Ye Jingchuan, sneered inwardly.

Think we’re scared of you?

Just wait. When you end up in Eunuch De’s bed at the banquet, you’ll be crying your eyes out!

After venting inwardly, she smiled and said, “But of course.”

Ye Chutang could tell something was off from how accommodating the two were being. She figured the homecoming banquet would come with a “big surprise.”

“Come on, let’s go check out my courtyard.”

Just before leaving, she reminded Ye Jingchuan, “Lord Ye, don’t forget the twenty thousand taels.”

That made Kong Ru freeze mid-step. “Twenty thousand taels? What twenty thousand taels?”

Ye Jingchuan didn’t answer her. He just waved his hand. “Take Chuer to her courtyard and help her settle in.”

Kong Ru didn’t dare argue and bowed. “Yes, Master.”

With that, she led Ye Chutang toward the Ningchu Courtyard.

Two personal maids followed behind.

Along the way, the servants appeared respectful to Ye Chutang on the surface, but as soon as she passed, they whispered and pointed behind her back.

“She’s got the face of a fox—definitely not someone who’ll bring peace to this house.”

“If she were well-behaved, there wouldn’t be so many scandalous rumors about her.”

“If it weren’t for Second Miss, how could the Master possibly have brought her back…”

Ye Chutang had sharp ears. When she caught wind of the two maids speaking so crudely, she immediately used her light-footed skills to double back—ready to kill a chicken to scare the monkeys.

But instead, she stumbled upon a big secret.

Looking at the two maids frozen in fear after being caught, she smiled broadly, teeth showing.

“I was just getting to the juicy part. Why’d you stop talking?”

So the real reason they brought her back was because of Ye Anling. And it had something to do with marriage?

Could it be… Ye Anling didn’t want to marry, and they wanted her to take her place?

While she was deep in thought, the two frightened maids dropped to their knees like quail.

“You must’ve misheard, Miss. We didn’t say anything.”

These two served in the old madam’s courtyard, fairly favored and privy to some secrets.

But they were usually tight-lipped—just gossiping between themselves. Who would’ve thought they’d be overheard by the person they were talking about!

Ye Chutang grabbed both their chins with her hands, smile disappearing, eyes sharp and dangerous.

“You saying my ears don’t work?”

“We wouldn’t dare!”

“Wouldn’t dare? You sound like you do it all the time!”

The maid’s jaw felt like it was about to shatter under her grip. Tears welled up from the pain.

“Please spare us, Miss! We won’t ever do it again!”

Ye Chutang sneered. “If apologies worked, what would be the point of laws and rules?”

As she spoke, her grip tightened.

“What were you about to say earlier? If you don’t tell the truth, I’ll have you sold to the lowest kind of brothel.”

The maids turned pale from the pain, trembling all over from fear.

But they still didn’t dare confess—after all, their indenture contracts were held by the Madam. If they betrayed Second Miss, they’d suffer a fate worse than the brothel.

Ye Chutang’s hands slid up to their slender necks, tightening little by little.

“Actually, I changed my mind. With mouths as dirty as yours, you don’t deserve to live.”

Unable to breathe, the maids’ faces turned from red to purple, their eyes bulging in terror.

That moment of impending death brought out their strongest survival instincts.

“I… I’ll talk…”

Ye Chutang loosened her grip with satisfaction. “You only get one chance to speak. Use it wisely.”

One of the maids coughed violently as she said, “Second Miss was…”

Just as the truth was about to come out, Kong Ru’s personal maid came running up, drenched in sweat.

“Miss, why did you suddenly run back? Did these two offend you somehow?”

Kong Ru rushed up right after, hairpins nearly falling out from how fast she had been running.

“Chuer, if the maids upset you, just have the housekeeper punish them. There’s no need for you to get your hands dirty.”

That was close!

If she’d come any later, the entire plan in three days would have gone up in smoke.

Ye Chutang knew the maids wouldn’t dare speak the truth now that Kong Ru was here.

She let them go, then turned to look at Kong Ru wiping her sweat with a handkerchief, curling her lips in a cold smirk.

“If these lowly servants can’t follow the rules, I have no choice but to enforce them myself.”

“Oh, by the way, Madam, they said Lord Ye brought me back… to take Ye Anling’s place in a marriage.”

That was the last thing Kong Ru ever expected to hear.

Her hand jerked violently, wiping off some of her makeup with the handkerchief.

“N-no such thing!”

Hadn’t those damned maids kept their mouths shut?

How did this wretched girl find out?

Absolutely cannot admit it!

“Chuer, don’t listen to their nonsense. Ling’er isn’t even engaged yet—where would a substitution come from?”

The two maids, coughing and gasping for breath, quickly denied Ye Chutang’s “accusation.”

“Madam, please believe us—we never said such a thing. The young miss is falsely accusing us!”

“Miss, please don’t slander Second Miss or ruin her reputation.”

Kong Ru didn’t feel relieved by their denial.

Because whether the maids let something slip or not, Ye Chutang had already guessed why she was brought back.

Furious, she glared at the two maids. “How dare you accuse the young miss! Slap yourselves thirty times!”

“Yes, Madam!”

The maids knew if they didn’t punish themselves harshly, they’d never survive after slandering a mistress.

The sound of loud slaps echoed through the air, one after another.

Kong Ru looked at Ye Chutang and assured her, “Chuer, rest assured—there’s no such thing as a substitution. At the homecoming banquet, you’ll get to meet the finest young gentlemen in the capital. If you fancy anyone, I’ll ask your father to arrange the match.”

Ye Chutang caught the flicker of guilt in both Kong Ru and the maids’ eyes, and adjusted her earlier guess.

Most likely, someone powerful had taken a liking to Ye Anling.

But Ye Anling wasn’t interested, and the marriage couldn’t be refused—so they were plotting to make her take her place.

She didn’t respond to Kong Ru’s promise. Instead, her gaze fell on the two maids still slapping themselves.

“Madam, don’t you think your punishment for these two is a little too light?”

Kong Ru immediately understood that Ye Chutang wanted to make an example of them.

And that suited her just fine—she’d been wanting to deal with those two old madam’s pets anyway.

So she went along with it.

“Chuer, how would you like to deal with them?”