The Duke's Pampered Darling is So Scheming

A shrill, venomous voice cut through the clamor of the main street, instantly drawing the attention of many onlookers.

After a brief, dead silence, someone recognized her.

"Isn’t that Ye Shixian? What is she doing?"

"It sounds like she’s saying something about her mother... That’s right! I heard her mother hanged herself last night!"

"Really?! But if that’s true, why isn’t she busy with her mother’s funeral arrangements? What’s she doing here?"

"Didn’t you see? That’s the Ye Family’s carriage! The one inside is none other than Second Miss Ye!"

The crowd murmured amongst themselves, a growing suspicion dawning on them as they watched the scene unfold.

"This... Could it be that the death of Ye Shixian’s mother has something to do with Ye Chutang?"

Everyone knew the two branches of the family had a nasty falling-out, but no one could have imagined it would now lead to a death!

This was not going to be easy to resolve!

Ye Chutang ignored the various stares from the crowd. The moment she saw Ye Shixian, she knew this was trouble. The unease that had stirred in her upon hearing of Mrs. Gao’s suicide finally found its answer.

’There was something fishy about Mrs. Gao’s death, and it was aimed straight at her!’

Ye Chutang’s brow furrowed slightly. In a tense voice, she said, "I don’t know what you’re talking about."

Ye Shixian glared at her, her eyes full of resentment. "If you hadn’t pushed her too far, why would my mother have been so humiliated that she’d hang herself!"

She suddenly raised a hand, pointing at Ye Chutang, and shrieked, "Wasn’t tearing my family apart enough for you? Did you have to see us utterly ruined and dead before you’d be satisfied?!"

As her voice fell, hot tears streamed down her face, making her look all the more pitiful to the onlookers.

At that, someone recalled a previous incident and said in a low voice, "I remember now. Half a month ago, Mrs. Gao was indeed publicly humiliated by Ye Chutang. It was right when Ye Chutang had just returned to the capital, in front of Yunlai Tavern. She was incredibly rude to Mrs. Gao and even had someone drag her away—"

Someone else couldn’t stand it and couldn’t help but interject, "But it was clearly Mrs. Gao who went to her shop to cause trouble first! How can you say she was deliberately humiliated? Besides, the one who had Mrs. Gao taken away was Murong Ye’s servant. What does that have to do with Second Miss Ye?"

The person who had spoken first seemed to lose his nerve for a moment, then changed his tune. "Right and wrong... how could outsiders like us possibly know the details? But no matter what, Mrs. Gao is dead now! A life has been lost!"

Ye Chutang’s eyes narrowed slightly.

"I only just learned of Second Aunt’s passing and was about to pay a visit to inquire what happened. Yet here you are, blocking my way and claiming I was the one who harmed her? I’d like to ask, what does this have to do with me?"

Ye Shixian was so furious she laughed. "How dare you even ask that? You knew my mother had suffered a great blow and was mentally unwell, yet you deliberately provoked her with your words in front of everyone. Weren’t you just trying to drive her to a dead end?!"

With Ye Heng exiled and Ye Mingze dead by violence, only Mrs. Gao was left for her to depend on. Now, for something like this to happen... anyone in her shoes would find it hard to bear.

Many in the crowd began to look at Ye Shixian with pity and sympathy, while their feelings toward Ye Chutang soured to disgust.

’They’re family, with the same blood in their veins. Why push someone into such a desperate corner? Why try to utterly destroy them!’

Ye Chutang’s expression remained unchanged.

For Ye Shixian to dare to cause a scene in public and sling mud at her, she must have come prepared.

Sure enough, the next moment, Ye Shixian pulled a blood-stained silk cloth from her sleeve.

"This is the blood letter my mother wrote before she died! Every word is crystal clear! It was you, Ye Chutang, who forced her to her death!"

Ye Shixian held up the blood letter, her face streaked with tears, and cried out in bitter grief,

"Ye Chutang! You dare to do it, but you don’t dare to admit it?!"

The appearance of this blood letter sent the scene into an immediate uproar!

Mrs. Gao had actually left behind such an accusation!

In that case, even if Ye Chutang were to jump into the Yellow River, she couldn’t wash herself clean!

Ye Chutang, of course, realized this as well.

But she showed no fear. She simply stared fixedly at Ye Shixian and asked, word by word:

"This blood letter... was it truly written by Second Aunt herself?"

Ye Shixian felt that those eyes were quiet and cold, like a vortex that could swallow everything.

Her heart skipped a beat, the hand holding the blood letter began to tremble slightly, and a cold sweat broke out on her back.

"Of course it was!" Ye Shixian secretly gritted her teeth. "My mother wrote it with her life. How could it be fake!"

Her words didn’t actually have much logic. After all, with only a few words on the blood letter, smeared and crimson, it was impossible to make out the handwriting. Anyone could have claimed to have written it.

But with Ye Shixian making such a public accusation, one that involved her mother’s life, no one would naturally stop to ponder whether it was real or fake.

After all, where in the world was there a child so heartless as to use their own parent as a sacrifice?

Therefore, no matter what Ye Shixian said now, the crowd would believe it to be true.

What’s more, Mrs. Gao and Ye Chutang did indeed have a long-standing feud!

Ye Shixian seemed to be overcome by her grief. She swayed, and Shaoyao, at her side, quickly supported her, crying, "Miss! Miss! You must hold on! The madam is already gone. Now you’re the only one left who can get justice for her!"

Her words were sincere, perfectly playing the part of a loyal servant.

Ye Shixian leaned half-against her shoulder, looking haggard and as if she might collapse, seemingly at the very peak of her sorrow.

"Ye Chutang, it doesn’t matter if you bully me, but you can’t kill my mother!"

With those words, it was as if she had cemented Ye Chutang’s status as the true culprit who had taken her mother’s life.

More and more people crowded around, blocking the main street until it was impassable.

The carriage seemed to be trapped in an invisible cage, unable to advance or retreat.

Just as Ye Shixian seemed about to faint from excessive grief, someone in the crowd suddenly shouted:

"A life for a life!"

...

Outside the gates of the Imperial College, Ye Jingyan was saying goodbye to Qiao Zimo.

"Brother Zimo, you go on ahead. I’ll wait here for A Feng."

Qiao Zimo waved his hand dismissively. "It’s no problem! I’m free anyway, so I’ll just wait with you!"

If he went home, he would just be nagged to do his homework. He would rather stay with the two brothers. Not to mention Ye Yunfeng, his parents would be thrilled if he just said he was asking Ye Jingyan for academic guidance.

Ye Jingyan didn’t pay him any mind and simply nodded.

Qiao Zimo couldn’t help but look back and ask curiously, "But what kind of question did he go to ask the Lord Master that’s taking him so long?"

Ye Jingyan smiled. "He’s always had a lot of strange and curious ideas."

True enough. Qiao Zimo then remembered the matter of the autumn hunt and said excitedly, "I heard from my father that the autumn hunt is a huge affair! For you guys to be able to go this time, that’s—"

"Jingyan!"

A hurried voice suddenly called out. The two of them turned their heads to look and saw a classmate, who had left school just before them, rushing back.

"Jingyan! This is bad!"

Ye Jingyan’s heart sank. "What’s wrong?"

The person braced his hands on his knees, panting heavily.

"Y-You... you have to go see! Something’s happened to your sister!"