Chapter 60
Chapter 60
Ye Piaoling said, “Well, to be honest, I actually had a bit of bad blood with the Heir and the Princess before… Our future family relationships would definitely be difficult to handle, so…”
“Bad blood? Then you should marry me all the more!”
Duke Anguo laughed heartily and waggled his brows as he tried to persuade her. “Think about it. Once you become the mistress of Duke Anguo’s Mansion, they’ll all have to call you Mother. Wouldn’t that feel incredibly satisfying?”
“…”
“When the time comes, you won’t need to go cultivate at the Tianwen Sect either. That stuff is terribly exhausting. You can just stay home and be my little sweetheart. Ah, you won’t have to do a thing every day, just enjoy a life of luxury… With me backing you up, you won’t have to fear anything. If anyone dares disrespect you, just watch how I deal with them!”
Ye Piaoling: “…”
To be honest, the terms he was offering were actually rather tempting.
They were just absurd to the point of insanity.
After Duke Anguo finished speaking, he anxiously turned to Ye Liaozhai and began discussing it with him. “Prime Minister Ye, why don’t we settle on a date today?”
Ye Liaozhai looked awkward. “Ah… Is-Isn’t that a little sudden?”
Duke Anguo said, “Of course not! A man has to be quick!”
Ye Liaozhai: “…”
There was no good way to respond to that.
Ye Liaozhai had always treated his daughter’s marriage as a long-term bargaining chip for profit. Duke Anguo already had one foot in the grave; if he ascended to the heavens in just a few years, this deal would be anything but worthwhile.
He didn’t want Duke Anguo as a son-in-law, but he didn’t dare reject him outright either, for fear of offending him.
After so many years drifting through the tides of officialdom, this was the first time Ye Liaozhai had encountered such a situation. For a moment, he had no idea what to do.
Just then, Ye Piaoling suddenly clutched her lower abdomen and began retching.
“Ah! I-blech…”
Duke Anguo and Ye Liaozhai were both shocked. “What’s wrong with you?”
Ye Piaoling raised her head, panting, her expression pained.
“It’s been several days already. No matter what I eat, I want to throw up. I keep feeling like there’s something moving in my belly!”
Duke Anguo and Ye Liaozhai both paled dramatically. “You-You couldn’t be…”
Ye Piaoling looked bashful. “Mm-hmm. Yes. Exactly what you’re thinking.”
“This…”
Duke Anguo flew into a rage and shot to his feet. Pointing at her stomach, he demanded, “Whose is it?”
Ye Piaoling said, “I-I don’t dare say…”
“Say it!” Duke Anguo, an old man suddenly burning with youthful fury, roared in anger. “Who dared defile you? I’ll tear him into ten thousand pieces!”
Ye Piaoling said, “It-It was the Regent King…”
“What?!”
Duke Anguo and Ye Liaozhai’s eyes widened at the same time.
“Is that true?” Ye Liaozhai hurriedly asked. “When did it happen?”
“About a month ago. One night, the Regent King summoned me to Chonghua Palace. Father should remember. I stayed at Chonghua Palace for two days then…”
Ye Piaoling covered her face, looking as if tears were about to fall, and sobbed,
“Counting the days, it must have been during those two nights!”
“…”
Ye Liaozhai and Duke Anguo were both stunned.
Ye Piaoling looked at Duke Anguo and said helplessly, “Royal Uncle, you said just now that you would tear the Regent King into ten thousand pieces, right?”
Duke Anguo: “…”
He only felt a wave of secondhand death-level embarrassment wash over him.
A moment later, Duke Anguo’s expression turned shocked. “Huh? When did I ever say such a thing?”
“Just now,” Ye Piaoling said. “If you don’t believe me, scroll back up and check…”
Duke Anguo flatly denied it. “Impossible! I have always held the Regent King in the highest esteem. How could I possibly say something like that? I never said it! Absolutely never!”
He refused to admit it no matter what.
“All right, then.” Ye Piaoling sighed, then touched her lower abdomen again, her face full of maternal affection. “I can accept Xiao Chengxu as my son. Then, Royal Uncle, can you accept this?”
Duke Anguo: “…”
Being cuckolded before they were even married was something Duke Anguo could not accept.
Of course, he also wouldn’t dare accept it.
Duke Anguo choked in silence for quite a long while before finally saying awkwardly, “Since this is the will of heaven, it seems it would be inconvenient for me to marry you.”
“All right, then.” Ye Piaoling nodded pitifully and said, “Also, I hope Duke Anguo can keep this matter a secret for me. If word gets out, I’m afraid it might implicate Your Grace…”
“Naturally,” Duke Anguo said, his expression ugly.
After all, this involved the Regent King. He would not dare speak recklessly.
He was thoroughly frustrated. This trip to the Prime Minister’s Mansion had been a complete waste…
Not only had he failed to get justice for Xiao Chengxu, he had failed to bring the beauty home as well.
Who asked Ye Piaoling to be carrying the Regent King’s flesh and blood? That was Di Xiulan. Who would dare offend him?
Duke Anguo rose awkwardly and gave Ye Liaozhai a cold sneer. “Prime Minister Ye, you truly raised yourself a fine daughter!”
With that, he stormed off in a fury.
Ye Liaozhai still had not recovered. He stood rooted to the spot like a stone statue.
Everyone knew the Regent King appeared refined and gentle on the outside, but was cold, aloof, and abstinent in truth. No one even dared fantasize about marrying him…
But now, he had actually been with Ye Piaoling…
Ye Liaozhai remained stunned for a long while before he finally moved. In a trembling voice, he asked, “Ling’er, Ling’er, are you really pregnant with the Regent King’s child?”
“What?” Ye Piaoling looked shocked. “When did I ever say I was pregnant with the Regent King’s child?”
Ye Liaozhai pointed shakily at her belly. “Didn’t you just say that on the night you went to Chonghua Palace, you and the Regent King…”
“What I meant was, I caught a chill during those two days at Chonghua Palace. After I came back, my stomach kept feeling unwell and never really recovered. These past two days, I’ve also been vomiting and having diarrhea a lot.”
Ye Piaoling explained to him, “So this is an upset stomach, not a pregnancy.”
Ye Liaozhai: “…”
Child, your father is very disappointed in you.
Ye Liaozhai felt as if his state of mind had taken a ride on a roller coaster. He was speechless for a long while before muttering, “So you deliberately let Duke Anguo misunderstand just to get rid of him…”
You made me celebrate for nothing too.
For a moment, I almost thought I could become the Regent King’s father-in-law!
…
Chonghua Palace.
Liang Yun hurried in to report. “My Lord, something terrible has happened!”
“What is it?”
“News from Duke Anguo’s Mansion. Duke Anguo went to the Prime Minister’s Mansion early this morning to demand an explanation for the injured Heir, but he ended up returning in a rage. After coming back, he drank himself into a stupor and said: the Ye Family’s Eldest Miss is already pregnant!”
Di Xiulan frowned. “What?”
Liang Yun said, “Duke Anguo said it himself. Miss Ye is already carrying a child…”
Liang Yun paused, then ventured cautiously, “My Lord, um… it couldn’t be yours, could it?”
“…”
Di Xiulan said nothing, his eyes dark and stormy.
One look at him, and Liang Yun knew it definitely was not his lord’s.
A moment later, Di Xiulan said in a deep voice, “Duke Anguo didn’t say whose it was?”
“No.” Liang Yun thought for a moment, then guessed, “Perhaps… Ximen Chunqiu’s?”
“The eldest son of the Ximen Family?”
“Yes. Ximen Chunqiu only became the Tianwen Sect’s Top Disciple with Miss Ye’s help, and I heard he has always treated Miss Ye very well… Recently, Miss Ye also partnered with him in business, running an apothecary and the Weapon Pavilion. They’ve been seeing even more of each other.”
After some analysis, Liang Yun reached a conclusion. “So if the child isn’t yours, My Lord, then it’s most likely Ximen Chunqiu’s!”
Di Xiulan listened, his expression growing even more sinister.
He turned and strode out.
“My Lord, where are you going?” Liang Yun quickly asked.
“Tianwen Sect.”
…
Tianwen Sect.
During cultivation class, an elder was teaching the disciples to sit in meditation and let their meridians absorb the spiritual energy of heaven and earth, transforming it into spiritual power, when a cultivator suddenly hurried over.
“The Regent King has arrived. He says he wants to inspect the disciples’ coursework.”
Everyone was startled when they heard this.
Then, in the next instant, they were overjoyed.
Aaaaah, the Regent King is actually coming in person to inspect us!
The young ladies hurriedly tidied their hair and clothes, while the male disciples lifted their chins and puffed out their chests, presenting their best looks and smiles.
Only Ye Piaoling was dumbstruck.
What was that man doing? Why had he suddenly lost his mind and come to Tianwen Sect??