Chapter 94
Chapter 94
The boy furrowed his brows. “What did you say? Say that again!”
Seeing this, the old servant behind him hurried forward and bowed to Ye Piaoling. His worldly eyes were filled with humility. “My lady, my young master has taken a liking to this book. We are willing to pay ten times the price for it. Might you be willing to part with it?”
Ye Piaoling thought to herself, This old servant isn’t bad. He’s a hundred times better than that spoiled brat of a young master…
“Why waste words on her?” the boy snapped impatiently. He glared at Ye Piaoling. “Hey, what did you just call me?”
Originally, Ye Piaoling had no intention of fighting someone in the street over a smutty little book, but since the boy’s attitude was so awful, she simply reached out and snatched the picture book back.
“Hand it over, you landlord’s idiot son.”
“You-”
The boy flew into a rage and struck at her with his palm.
Ye Piaoling’s figure blurred, and in a flash, she circled behind him.
The boy hurriedly turned around.
Smack!
The storybook came down right on his forehead with brutal force.
The old servant beside him went pale. “…”
The boy let out a muffled grunt and covered his reddened forehead.
“Unreasonable, bad-tempered, terrible movement technique, and you like throwing the first punch,” Ye Piaoling said with a smile. “An idiot son like you needs a good beating from society. No need to thank me.”
With that, she tucked the smutty book away and strode off.
The boy glared at her retreating back, gnashing his teeth. “Where did that unruly commoner even come from…”
The old servant lowered his voice. “Your Majesty, are you all right?”
The Young Emperor said hatefully, “That damned woman. We will have her executed by a thousand cuts!”
The old eunuch hastily said, “Your Majesty, you are in disguise today on an incognito inspection. She does not know your identity…”
Xiao Changye said, “We don’t care whether she knows or not. She dared lay hands on Us, so We want her life!”
The old eunuch said, “This old servant recognizes her. She is Ye Piaoling, the legitimate daughter of the Prime Minister’s Mansion. She is also an Immortal Pulse bearer. Your Majesty, please think twice.”
Dali had three Immortal Pulse bearers, known as the three great geniuses of the imperial capital: Ye Piaoling, the legitimate daughter of the Prime Minister’s Mansion; Princess Hua Wuhuang; and the last one, the current Young Emperor, Xiao Changye.
Xiao Changye sneered. “Even if she is an Immortal Pulse bearer, We will not let her off.”
The old eunuch hesitated for a moment, then added, “She has a rather close relationship with the Regent King and may enter and leave Chonghua Palace at will.”
“A rather close relationship?” Xiao Changye frowned. “What sort of relationship?”
“This… this old servant cannot say for certain. But she has spent the night in Chonghua Palace before. More than once.”
Xiao Changye said, “So what you mean is, she is Master’s woman?”
The old eunuch said, “Perhaps.”
Xiao Changye was stunned for a long while after hearing that.
Then he sneered and said, “Master really must be sick in the head to take a fancy to a woman like that.”
The old eunuch said, “Then, for the Regent King’s sake…”
“Heh. Do you truly think We fear Master?”
Xiao Changye cut him off coldly, then smiled with arrogant disdain. “But since she is Master’s woman, that proves she is a woman. We do not stoop to quarreling with women. We shall let her go for now.”
The old eunuch: “…”
Your Majesty, what a graceful way to climb down from the ledge!
The old eunuch was speechless for a moment, then quickly smiled and said, “Your Majesty is wise!”
Xiao Changye narrowed his eyes. “But she dared hit Our forehead with a storybook. We must vent this anger somehow. We’ll take it out on her father, then. Ye Liaozhai, that old fox, has been irritating Us for quite some time anyway…”
At court the next morning…
No matter what Ye Liaozhai said, it was wrong. Not only did the Emperor give him a thorough scolding, he nearly had him dismissed from office and exiled.
Ye Liaozhai: ???
He had absolutely no idea what he had done wrong…
Ye Liaozhai was utterly baffled. He could clearly tell that His Majesty was in a foul mood today and was deliberately venting it on him!
Ye Liaozhai could not figure out how he had offended this temperamental Emperor.
As he was leaving, he quietly asked the old eunuch at the Emperor’s side, “I feel His Majesty seems displeased the moment he sees me. Might I ask what I have done wrong?”
The old eunuch thought for a moment, then still gave him a hint. “The prime minister has failed to teach his children properly.”
Ye Liaozhai: “…?”
Ye Liaozhai wanted to ask more, but the old eunuch had already turned and left.
Ye Liaozhai’s head was still full of question marks. How could his children have provoked the Emperor?
After returning to the manor, he immediately began investigating. Upon asking around, he learned that yesterday, Ye Xiangxiang had followed Princess Xiao and her group to tour the imperial garden.
Only then did Ye Liaozhai solve the case: Ye Xiangxiang must have behaved improperly in the palace and unintentionally offended His Majesty!
His daughter had caused trouble, yet he, her father, had been made to take the blame. Ye Liaozhai was furious and immediately gave Ye Xiangxiang a harsh scolding.
Ye Xiangxiang looked utterly aggrieved from being scolded.
She had indeed gone to the palace, but she had done nothing at all. She had not even seen the Emperor’s shadow!
Ye Liaozhai scolded, “Why did you go to the palace for no reason?”
Ye Xiangxiang mumbled, “It was Princess Anguo. She said she would take us to the imperial garden. I didn’t dare refuse…”
“That Xiao Mei is no good either. Stay away from her from now on!”
Ye Liaozhai snapped, “Your elder sister Ling’er is also in the Tianwen Sect. Instead of staying with your own sister, you insisted on following Xiao Mei. Fool!”
Ye Xiangxiang lowered her head in grievance.
She had not wanted to follow Xiao Mei either. Xiao Mei had forced her to go along, and she had not dared disobey.
After scolding Ye Xiangxiang, Ye Liaozhai still felt uneasy. Then he thought of his youngest son, Ye Tianbao.
Ye Tianbao was pampered and unruly by nature. After being raised by the other concubines, he had improved somewhat, but he was still far from sensible. Since His Majesty believed he had failed to teach his children properly…
Ye Liaozhai simply summoned Ye Tianbao as well and gave him a ferocious dressing-down too.
And just like that, Ye Tianbao was scolded for no reason whatsoever.
The entire little brat was stunned. “???”
After blowing up at Ye Tianbao, Ye Liaozhai stormed back to his room. These children of his were truly more disappointing than the last!
Fortunately, there was still Ye Piaoling…
Thinking of Ye Piaoling, Ye Liaozhai finally felt a little comforted.
She possessed an Immortal Pulse and knew how to make money… Ye Liaozhai sighed. If only her younger siblings could be as worry-free as she was, he would not have been publicly scolded by His Majesty!
In her room, Ye Piaoling furiously threw Secret Arts of the Bedchamber for Men and Women onto the floor.
“Liars! Unscrupulous merchants! The cover is this yellow, the title is this fascinating… and what the hell is this content?!”