The Duke's Pampered Darling is So Scheming

Su Pei’er had just reached the courtyard gate when she heard those words, and her heart skipped a beat.

She composed herself and rushed forward. "Mr. Han!"

Han Yao was in a towering rage and didn’t hear her at all. He just kept staring daggers at Ye Heng and sneered, "You know damn well whether I’m spouting nonsense! If you wanted it to be a secret, you shouldn’t have done it in the first place! You think you can hide your filthy secrets forever?!"

Ye Heng’s face alternated between flushed and pale, a clear sign he had reached his breaking point.

"You’re insane! I think you’ve truly lost your mind! I tried to help you out of the goodness of my heart, and you throw it back in my face! Fine! Just fine! I’ll admit I was blind! From now on, our families will go their separate ways and have nothing more to do with each other!"

With that, he turned to leave, apparently unwilling to waste another second arguing with a madman.

But Han Yao had no intention of letting him just walk away.

"What’s wrong? Did I strike a nerve? Lashing out in shame, are we? Ye Heng, if your conscience is truly clear, I dare you to go to your older brother’s grave right now, point to the sky, and swear you’ve never done a single thing to betray him!"

Ye Heng froze.

At these words, the surrounding crowd began to exchange glances, their eyes filled with a mixture of veiled curiosity and excited gossip.

Han Yao accusing Ye Heng of murdering his own brother... If it was true, this was turning into quite a spectacle!

The stares felt like thorns in Ye Heng’s back.

’This was the kind of rumor he feared most. In the Capital City, tongues wagged freely. People would gossip about things that never happened as if they were truth, let alone in his case—’

’And that was to say nothing of Ye Chutang and her siblings being in the Capital City right now!’

The thought of her gentle, beautiful face sent an inexplicable chill down Ye Heng’s spine.

’He had learned over the past while that Ye Chutang was nowhere near as easy to handle as she appeared. If she were to hear any of this, there was no telling what kind of storm she would unleash!’

Without realizing it, a deep-seated wariness of Ye Chutang had taken root in his heart.

He didn’t turn around fully, just twisted his head back and said coldly, "An upright man doesn’t fear a crooked shadow. Say what you will, a thousand times or ten thousand times, but what I haven’t done, I haven’t done! You’d be better off using this time to figure out how to arrange your father’s funeral!"

The words were a massive provocation to Han Yao.

The blood rushed to his head. Without a second thought, he drew his sword and charged.

"Then let me send you on your way first!"

Su Pei’er cried out in alarm, "Mr. Han! No!"

But she was just a frail woman, and pregnant at that. How could she possibly stop a man who had lost all reason?

In the blink of an eye, Han Yao was already behind Ye Heng, thrusting his sword toward his heart.

Ye Heng dodged instantly, but the blade still sliced across his arm, and blood welled up at once.

Both startled and enraged, he barked at the guards behind him, "What are you gaping at? Han Yao’s lost his mind! He’s trying to commit murder! Subdue him!"

At his command, the men finally snapped out of their shock and swarmed Han Yao.

The Han Family servants were stunned by the scene and instinctively started to rush forward, but Ye Heng bellowed, "Your master has gone mad, are you going to follow suit?! If someone is killed here today, none of you will get away with it!"

His words made them hesitate.

For one, Han Tong was on his deathbed and the Han Family was on the verge of collapse. For another, Han Yao truly didn’t seem to be in his right mind. If he caused a disaster, they might get dragged down with him...

In that brief moment of hesitation, the men Ye Heng had brought with him completely surrounded Han Yao.

Han Yao was just a wastrel who only knew a life of indulgence; how could he possibly be a match for so many men? In moments, his sword was sent flying, and the rest of the men rushed in to pin him down.

Han Yao’s face was crimson with rage and humiliation. "Ye Heng! This is the Han Family residence! How dare you do this to me!"

Clutching the wound on his arm, Ye Heng’s eyes narrowed. "I’m doing this for your own good. You’re not thinking clearly right now. It would be a shame if you were to make an irreversible mistake."

Han Yao struggled even more violently, but with several men holding him down, what chance did he have?

Whether from sheer rage or something else, his eyes rolled back in his head, and he passed out.

"Mr. Han!"

Su Pei’er instantly panicked and rushed forward.

"Mr. Han, what’s wrong? Please, wake up!"

Seeing Han Yao’s ashen face and tightly shut eyes, Su Pei’er spun around furiously, her eyes red as she glared at Ye Heng. "What did you do to Mr. Han!"

’Ye Heng paid Su Pei’er no mind. She was nothing more than a common woman from a brothel. With the Han Family in turmoil, she was just driftwood, destined to be swept away.’

"He was merely overwrought and fainted." Only then did Ye Heng address the Han Family’s servants, his voice cold. "Aren’t you going to carry your master back inside and look after him properly?"

The servants finally came to their senses and hurried forward to pull Su Pei’er away.

Han Yao had indeed passed out completely. He was unnervingly still, and it did not look good.

A powerful sense of dread welled up inside Su Pei’er, and she suddenly let out a piercing shriek.

"You’re trying to kill Mr. Han, aren’t you! I’ll fight you to the death!"

"What nonsense—"

Ye Heng’s brow furrowed, but before he could finish his sentence, he saw Su Pei’er charge at him!

He was caught completely off guard. Already injured, he had no time to dodge. The next second, he watched as Su Pei’er threw herself directly onto the edge of his sword!

"My lady!"

A terrified scream from the young maid finally snapped Ye Heng back to his senses.

Su Pei’er had already collapsed in a heap. Her face was ashen, and a line of crimson slowly bloomed across her slender, pale neck.

Ye Heng’s heart gave a violent lurch.

’He had come here today for one reason: to corner Han Yao at home and make sure he didn’t go out running his mouth.’

’Everything had been going so smoothly. Who could have predicted that Su Pei’er would suddenly throw a wrench in the works!’

’If someone else died by his hand today, he’d be in serious trouble!’

"My lady!" the young maid cried, rushing to her side. "My lady, how could you be so foolish!"

Su Pei’er’s lips parted, but not a single word came out.

The young maid was frantic. She hastily wiped away her tears. "My lady! You have to hold on! I’ll go get Doctor Ye! She can save you! I know she can save you!"

Without another moment of hesitation, she scrambled to her feet and sprinted outside!

Seeing her run out, one of the men cautiously asked Ye Heng, "Sir, she—"

’Ye Heng cursed inwardly.’

’Of course he knew which Doctor Ye the maid was talking about! But under the circumstances, if he tried to stop her, there was no telling how many people would condemn him!’

’Su Pei’er absolutely could not be allowed to die by his sword today!’

"Go! Get a doctor here at once!"

...

Ye Chutang had only taken a few steps out of the shop when she suddenly felt someone’s eyes on her.

She glanced to the side and saw a middle-aged man in dark-colored robes.

He looked to be around forty, with a beard and a stern, dignified air.

’He looked somewhat familiar.’

Ye Chutang paused for a moment before speaking tentatively.

"Lord Su?"