The Duke's Pampered Darling is So Scheming

Chapter 76: Chapter 76: Let’s Go Together

”Medicine?”

Ye Yunfeng leaned over curiously, picked up the bottle to examine it, and looked utterly confused.

”Why would the Princely Heir send this? Sis is a doctor herself. Does she look like she needs a bottle of his medicine?”

Ye Jingyan: ”...”

He held his breath and calmed himself, trying his best to forget that his own brother had just asked such a question.

”Sis,” he said, turning his head to look at Ye Chutang, ”what should we do with... this?”

Ye Chutang took the medicine bottle, opened it, and took a look. A faint, bitter medicinal scent wafted out.

”The medicine itself isn’t bad,” she commented.

’Makes sense. He is a Young Master Heir, after all, and now that he’s back in the Capital City, he’s naturally generous with his gifts.’

”Let’s just use our own,” Ye Jingyan said after a moment of thought. ”I remember we still have several jars of ointment in the medicine chest we brought from Jiangling. They were all prepared by you, Sis. Should I go look for them?”

Hearing this, Ye Yunfeng nodded repeatedly. ”Exactly! Whatever he sent can’t be as good as yours, Sis!”

Ye Chutang didn’t really mind either way and was about to nod when she felt a small, warm, chubby hand tug at her.

Looking down, she saw Xiao Wu, her face full of concentration as she folded up Chutang’s sleeve.

Seeing the large, raw scrape that ran from Ye Chutang’s wrist to her elbow, Xiao Wu’s heart ached. She immediately took the small white jade bottle, scooped out a little of the contents with her tiny hand, and carefully applied it to Ye Chutang’s wound.

Her large, grape-black eyes didn’t blink, her focus absolute, as if she were performing the most important task in the world.

A cool sensation spread over her skin. Ye Chutang looked down at the whorl of hair on the little girl’s head, and her heart softened.

”This one is fine.”

’It’s just a scrape, anyway. It doesn’t make much difference which medicine I use. Since Xiao Wu is so worried, I’ll just let her be.’

Ye Jingyan looked like he wanted to say something, but in the end, he remained silent.

...

The dinner Ye Yunfeng made that evening was particularly lavish.

’His sister got hurt today, and she saved someone’s life. After such a busy day, of course she deserved a good meal!’

Ye Jingyan was in charge of serving the dishes, while Xiao Wu sat on a stool, diligently handing out chopsticks.

”Xiao Wu,” Ye Jingyan called to her quietly.

Xiao Wu looked up.

Ye Jingyan said seriously, ”From now on, you have to be careful about things given to you by outsiders. You can’t just accept everything, understand?”

Xiao Wu blinked.

Ye Jingyan reminded her, ”Some things might be bad for you. You can’t accept them.”

Xiao Wu thought for a moment, then made a few gestures with her small hands.

’Is Third Brother saying there’s something wrong with the medicine the Princely Heir sent today?’

’But Sis didn’t say anything when I put it on her. If there was a problem with the medicine, how could she not have noticed?’

Ye Jingyan shook his head. ”No, Third Brother isn’t saying the medicine is bad. It’s just that sometimes, the person giving the gift might have bad intentions. That’s why we must always be vigilant, understand?”

Xiao Wu looked confused.

’Third Brother, why are you badmouthing the Princely Heir?’

’Never mind the medicine, he also sent a chest of gold ingots today!’

’Where else could you find someone so kind?’

Ye Jingyan: ”...”

”Third Brother, go ask Sis to come eat!” Ye Yunfeng said, serving the last dish with a grin. ”All of today’s dishes are Sis’s favorites! Hey, what were you just telling Xiao Wu?”

Ye Jingyan: ”Nothing much. Just telling her to be more careful in the future. You can’t be too careful around people.”

Ye Yunfeng immediately nodded in fervent agreement. ”Exactly! Xiao Wu, you should listen to Third Brother! Especially when it comes to *those* people—hmph. Not everyone in this world is like the Princely Heir, who repays kindness with kindness after you help them!”

’In the past, Father helped Second Uncle’s family so much, but look what happened.’

’Pathetic!’

Ye Jingyan looked up at him.

Ye Yunfeng touched his own face. ”Third Brother, why are you looking at me like that? Is there something on my face?”

Ye Jingyan: ”...It’s nothing. I’m going to get Sis. Also, don’t go giving Xiao Wu bad ideas in the future.”

With that, he got up and left.

Ye Yunfeng and Xiao Wu stared at each other, equally bewildered.

’What bad ideas did I give her?’

...

Ye Shixian was feeling incredibly vexed. Just then, a servant informed her that Mrs. Gao was looking for her again, so she went to Mrs. Gao’s room.

The moment she entered, Mrs. Gao rushed over, grabbed her hand, and asked eagerly, ”How did it go, Xian’er? Did everything go smoothly at the Chao Hua Banquet today?”

Ye Shixian’s gaze swept over her mother’s face before quickly looking away.

Over the past few days, Mrs. Gao’s condition hadn’t improved; it had actually worsened.

Not only was her face covered in a red rash, but some spots had even begun to fester and scar.

Her once-fine face now looked truly frightful.

She pulled her hand away from Mrs. Gao’s grasp, walked irritably to the side to sit down, and recounted the day’s events.

”...I don’t know what kind of luck she has, but the Eldest Princess actually woke up!” Ye Shixian bit her lip. ”At this Chao Hua Banquet, she really stole the show!”

’Meanwhile, I was utterly humiliated!’

”If I had known this would happen, I never would have brought her with me!”

Ye Shixian was filled with regret, but it was obviously too late to say any of this now.

Mrs. Gao also never imagined things would take such an unexpected turn, and she grew anxious.

”How—how can this be?!”

’That Ye Chutang was born with such a face, and now she’s saved the Eldest Princess. Who will be able to control her in the future?!’

A knot of frustration tightened in Ye Shixian’s chest.

She wasn’t just annoyed that Ye Chutang had stolen the show today.

More importantly, after this incident, the Heir of Duke Dingbei’s attitude toward Ye Chutang was clearly different from how he treated others, and that...

Mrs. Gao paced back and forth a few times, but ultimately couldn’t think of a solution. She could only say, ”Forget it! Who knows if she can actually cure the Eldest Princess in the end? If anything happens to the Eldest Princess’s health later on, she’ll be the first to be blamed! By the way, have you gone to see Mingze today? Is he any better?”

Ye Shixian was in no mood to worry about Ye Mingze. ”Not yet,” she said impatiently. ”But I heard from the servants that he threw another tantrum all day and broke a lot of things.”

Ye Mingze was not one to sit still. Having been confined for a few days, he was itching to get out.

Mrs. Gao’s heart ached for him. ”We can’t let this go on! You need to talk to your father and get him to let your brother out! He was just frightened, it’s not like he’s actually sick!”

Ye Shixian didn’t particularly want to get involved. ”Father is determined to teach him a good lesson. What use would it be for me to try and persuade him?”

Mrs. Gao clapped her hands. ”Forget everything else, if this continues, his studies will be completely neglected!”

...

In the end, Ye Shixian went to see Ye Heng.

When presented with this reason, Ye Heng did indeed choose to compromise.

”Then have a servant accompany him! He is not allowed to go anywhere else except to and from his classes!”

Upon hearing the news, Ye Mingze finally calmed down. Early the next morning, he hastily packed his things to go to the Imperial College.

He had no interest in attending classes, but he couldn’t stand being in this house for another moment!

Unexpectedly, just as he walked into the courtyard, he ran into Ye Chutang.

”Mingze, are you off to your classes at the Imperial College?” Ye Chutang asked.

Ye Mingze huffed, adjusted his collar, and was about to walk away.

He had just taken one step when Ye Chutang called out to stop him.

A gentle and clear female voice drifted over—

”Mingze, aren’t you going to wait for Yan and Yun Feng to go with you?”