The Duke's Pampered Darling is So Scheming-Chapter 146: Auspicious for Offering Incense on the Mountain
Fengling Lane, the Ye Family residence.
After saying his piece, Ye Heng made a move to head for the study, but Ye Yunfeng showed no sign of letting go.
Ye Jingyan said, "There’s no rush. After all, the items are just sitting there. I’m sure Second Uncle has kept them safe. Why don’t we let Mr. Han finish what he was saying?"
’These two brothers are dead set on not letting this go!’
Ye Heng’s mind raced. He knew this matter wouldn’t be resolved so easily. His gaze shifted, and his cold, heavy eyes locked onto Han Yao.
A moment later, he abruptly released his grip.
"Fine! If you insist on hearing it, then let him speak! Han Yao, if you have a grievance, spit it all out and let everyone here be the judge! But remember this: a man must take responsibility for his words. Every word you say today will be heard clearly by everyone present. If you dare spout nonsense, you’ll be the one in trouble in the end!"
Ye Heng narrowed his eyes, his voice low and laced with a warning.
"Your father can barely save himself right now. He can’t clean up your messes like he used to."
Han Yao’s eyelid twitched.
He met Ye Heng’s gaze, and the torrent of rage that had filled his chest subsided considerably, allowing his reason to return.
Ye Yunfeng’s gaze shifted between the two men, and he discreetly tightened his grip.
"Second Uncle is right. The only one who can save your father now is you. So, you must seize every opportunity, understand? You just mentioned my father—what exactly were you going to say?"
The pain in his shoulder snapped Han Yao back to his senses.
He collected himself. His expression was still fierce, but his eyes darted around. "It’s nothing. I just think that when your father ran into trouble back then, everyone avoided him like the plague, afraid of getting dragged down. But Ye Heng is your father’s own brother, yet from beginning to end, he never once pleaded on his behalf! To think I actually expected such a heartless and disloyal man to help my father... It’s laughable!"
The weight on Ye Heng’s heart finally lifted, and he breathed a long sigh of relief internally.
Ye Yunfeng narrowed his eyes. "That’s it?"
’Anyone could find that out with a few inquiries. We siblings lived through it ourselves. We were all young back then. Even our sister was only fourteen, and with her weak constitution, she rarely left the inner quarters and knew little of outside affairs. It was only after the accident that our sister was forced to take on the burden of providing for the family. She began to investigate and piece together clues from that time, and that’s when we learned Ye Heng had chosen to protect himself. Even so, we never really resented Ye Heng for it. He had his own wife and children to protect, after all. He once said that as long as he remained in the Capital City, he might be able to help Ye Zheng on his return. We just never expected to run into trouble on the road before we even reached Wuzhou.’
’After all that, this is all Han Yao had to say?’
Han Yao’s eyes flickered. He shot a sidelong glance at Ye Heng and sneered, "Back then, my father specifically asked him if they should submit a joint petition to beg Your Majesty for mercy, and your dear Second Uncle refused!"
Ye Jingyan’s brow furrowed almost imperceptibly.
’It could be seen as a big deal, or a small one. To put it bluntly, it just meant Ye Heng disregarded brotherly bonds and was selfish. But Ye Zheng’s situation was dire at the time. Even if Ye Heng chose to draw a line in the sand with him, it could hardly be considered a heinous crime. In short, Han Yao’s accusation was toothless.’
Ye Jingyan glanced at the two of them, knowing in his heart that they wouldn’t get anything more out of them today.
"It’s all in the past; there’s nothing more to say. Didn’t Second Uncle mention the items are in the study? If you would, please—"
Ye Yunfeng, still not satisfied, knitted his sharp brows. "Third Brother?"
"Our sister and Xiao Wu are waiting for us at home." Ye Jingyan gave him a meaningful look. Realizing his brother had a plan, Ye Yunfeng didn’t insist further and gave Han Yao a shove.
Han Yao stumbled a couple of steps before regaining his footing.
Freed from Ye Yunfeng’s grasp, he relaxed considerably, though his face was still a little pale.
Ye Yunfeng raised an eyebrow, his gaze sweeping over the two of them. He let out a soft sneer and turned to leave.
’What an idiot. To still choose to side with Ye Heng at a time like this... Is he not afraid of dragging his entire family down with him?!’
He kicked a loose stone on the ground, sending it flying.
"Hurry it up, will you? My sister and Xiao Wu are waiting for us to get home for dinner!"
...
With her chin in her hands, Xiao Wu watched Ye Chutang place the *Spring Sun Mountain Record* into a hidden compartment behind a bookshelf. She still couldn’t figure it out: all that money... who on earth did Ye Heng give it to?
’This was just from one business. What about... the other shops? And the income from the farmlands? Where did all that go? You didn’t need to do the math to know it must have been an enormous sum!’
Ye Chutang walked over and gently pinched her small cheek.
"If you can’t figure it out, don’t dwell on it for now. ’A goose leaves a trace wherever it flies’—we’ll find out in the end." She glanced outside. "Besides, if all goes according to plan, after today, all these shops and farmlands will be returned to us. We’ll have a clear view of the income from now on."
Xiao Wu’s eyes instantly lit up.
’That’s right! With all this, they’d have money! Their sister had never let them want for food or necessities over the past few years, but that was all money their sister had painstakingly swind—no, earned. This was different! More importantly, once this was all settled, they wouldn’t have to deal with Ye Heng’s side of the family anymore. Killing several birds with one stone!’
"Sister!"
Just as she was thinking this, Ye Yunfeng’s voice came from outside.
Xiao Wu turned her head and, sure enough, saw her third and fourth brothers returning together. Her fourth brother was holding a wooden box.
Ye Chutang closed the transcribed account book, a smile playing on her lips. "You’re back early."
The two brothers entered the room. Ye Jingyan glanced at the full spread of food already prepared on the table and, guessing what it meant, said, "We were afraid you’d be waiting long, Sister, so we just grabbed the items and came right back."
Ye Chutang asked, "Did you get everything back?"
Ye Yunfeng eagerly stepped forward, placed the wooden box on the table, and opened it himself.
"Of course! With Third Brother there in person, how could he dare to delay any longer? And Sister, you’ll never guess—Han Yao showed up today, too!"
Ye Chutang raised an eyebrow. "Oh?"
"If it weren’t for him, we’d probably still be stuck there! That Ye Heng got really flustered when he saw him, afraid he’d say something he shouldn’t. He just handed over this dozen or so deeds and titles and shooed us out." Ye Yunfeng shrugged. "I was hoping he’d drop some bombshell, but he chickened out in the end."
Ye Chutang picked up the stack of documents and flipped through them, page by page. Hearing Ye Yunfeng’s account, she wasn’t surprised. "That man has courage but no strategy. A few words of instigation were enough to make him lose his head and rush straight to the Ye Family, thinking he could threaten Ye Heng. A pity. ’The older the ginger, the spicier it is.’ He’s no match for Ye Heng."
’If Ye Heng couldn’t even handle a single Han Yao, he never would have clawed his way to his current position in just three short years.’
Ye Jingyan mulled it over for a moment before asking, "Sister, what’s our next move—"
"Don’t worry about him." Ye Chutang folded the documents and put them away, her expression gentle and her tone calm. "Tomorrow is the tenth day of the month. A good day to go up the mountain and offer incense."
