The Duke's Pampered Darling is So Scheming

The carriage came to an abrupt stop.

"Second Miss, what is it?"

Ye Chutang lifted the curtain again and peered outside, her eyes fixed.

Those men were walking in a hurry.

Perhaps because they were rushing, a hand drooped out from inside the straw mat.

Ye Chutang’s pupils contracted!

It was indeed a woman’s hand, but the fingers were coarse, and there were two chilblains on the back of it.

’This is absolutely not the hand of a pampered princess!’

One of the men cursed under his breath, "Hurry up! What are you doing?! If we’re delayed, you’ll all be sorry when we get back!"

The others quickly wrapped the straw mat tighter, but they couldn’t help but complain in low voices.

"...We’re so unlucky! To be sent to do a job like this! What a bad omen!"

"Exactly! It would be one thing if this was some commoner, but it had to be a Princ— When she was alive, we never benefited from her, and now that she’s dead, she’s still causing us trouble!"

"Alright, that’s enough out of you! If someone hears you, you’d better watch your neck!"

As they spoke, the men hurried away and disappeared around the corner.

"Second Miss, a-are we still heading back?" The carriage driver, confused, had to ask again.

Ye Chutang came back to her senses. She lowered her gaze and thought quietly for a moment.

"We are."

"Right away."

The driver cracked his whip, and the carriage started forward again.

But Ye Chutang’s mood was no longer as calm as before.

From what the palace servants had said, the person being carried out was indeed Xiao Lansi. But Ye Chutang had personally examined her "corpse" not long ago. She was more certain than anyone that the body in that straw mat was absolutely not the real Xiao Lansi!

’Then where on earth is Xiao Lansi’s body?’

’Or perhaps...’

’She’s not dead at all!?’

The moment this thought surfaced in Ye Chutang’s mind, her brows furrowed.

Although she hadn’t performed an autopsy on Xiao Lansi, her on-site examination had been meticulous.

Xiao Lansi’s heartbeat and breathing had both stopped. No matter how one looked at it, she seemed to be dead.

’But... if that’s really the case, why would these palace servants be carrying out a fake corpse?’

Emperor Muwu had issued an imperial decree, explicitly ordering them to dispose of Xiao Lansi’s body by throwing it out.

’Who could be so audacious as to pull off a switch like this!?’

Countless theories flashed through Ye Chutang’s mind.

A small, warm, and soft hand suddenly rested on hers.

Ye Chutang looked up and was met with Xiao Wu’s confused and worried expression.

’Big Sis, what’s wrong?’

Ye Chutang gave her a reassuring smile and patted her little hand in return.

"Don’t worry, I’m fine. I just realized something isn’t quite what I thought it was..."

Suddenly, she froze. She looked down at their overlapping hands, and a flash of insight struck her!

’That’s it!’

’Xiao Lansi’s body was still warm back then!’

At first, Ye Chutang hadn’t paid it any mind, assuming it was simply because Xiao Lansi had just died. But thinking back on it now, she was struck by a second possibility!

Ye Chutang’s mind raced.

’Returning to the Imperial Palace now would probably be too late.’

’If Xiao Lansi truly faked her death, she must have already found a safe place to hide. Even if I went back to search, how difficult would it be to find one person in the vast Imperial Palace?’

’For Xiao Lansi to pull this off, it’s obvious she had an accomplice inside the palace helping her.’

’Going back now would only alert the enemy.’

Ye Chutang suppressed the thoughts swirling in her mind.

’The best thing to do now is...’

’...play along!’