“Does Young General Ye believe that achieving military merits gives him the right to spout utter nonsense?”
Ye Changlin stepped in front of Ye Jinmo, fixed his eyes upon Grand Preceptor Chen, and said with a smile, “Grand Preceptor Chen, it seems that Lord Zhang is unable to preside over today’s matter after all. Since that is the case, let you and me enter the palace together to audience the Emperor, and let His Majesty make the final judgment.”
Grand Preceptor Chen knew very well that if this matter escalated to the Emperor’s presence, it would bring absolutely no benefit to their Chen family.
He had no desire to go.
However, Grand Preceptor Chen was also well aware that paper cannot wrap fire; since this matter had already snowballed to such a grand scale, the Emperor would find out sooner or later.
As the Emperor’s former imperial tutor, if he relied on his seniority to put on an act of old age and shed a few tears in front of the Emperor, he might just be able to save Chen’s life.
Grand Preceptor Chen flicked his sleeve, “Into the palace it is! Does this old man have any reason to fear you!”
Ye Changlin let out another chuckle, extending his hand, “Grand Preceptor Chen, after you!”
At this moment, as Grand Preceptor Chen looked at the smile on Ye Changlin’s face, his heart began to beat like a drum. Why did Ye Changlin’s smile feel so eerie and sinister?
“Since both Lords plan to enter the palace to audience the Emperor, this Prince shall accompany you into the palace as well.”
A clear, cold voice rang out.
The crowd retreated to both sides to form a path as a man dressed in a white cloud-patterned brocade robe strode inside.
The man’s facial features looked like the finest piece of art carved by the hands of a celestial deity himself, looking so exquisitely handsome that one could not tear their eyes away.
Yet, a clear and cold aura enveloped his entire being, causing people to feel seven parts awe and three parts fear.
The moment Ye Chuchu saw the man walk in, her eyes glued themselves to his body, sparkling like shining stars.
[Holy crap, everything below the chest is nothing but legs—he must be exactly the kind of man people talk about!]
[This is way too good-looking, like a male demon straight out of a painting.]
[Hehe, this young lady is about to drool…]
Zha Zha: [Little Chuchu, this is the Second Prince who was almost poisoned to death just now.]
Ye Chuchu: [Oh, so he is the Second Prince! Thank goodness, thank goodness he wasn’t poisoned to death.]
[Otherwise, it would be a tragic waste of such a beautiful man.]
Zha Zha: [Yup, yup! Little Chuchu, so you actually like this type. What a pity, though…]
Everyone pricked up their ears, dying to hear what the invisible Zha Zha meant by “what a pity.”
But there are always one or two annoying fellows who come out to stir up trouble.
The moment Grand Preceptor Chen and Chen saw the Second Prince arrive, they hurriedly saluted, “This old official (this subject daughter) greets the Second Prince.”
At this moment, the Second Prince, Yun Songming, fixed his gaze upon Ye Chuchu’s face, his eyes swirling with a complex tapestry of emotions, shock, and bewilderment.
Just earlier, he had indeed been poisoned, and it was only by relying on his powerful internal energy to force out a portion of the toxin that he managed to rush over to the Court of Judicial Review.
Standing outside, he had heard Ye Chuchu’s inner voice word for word, without missing a single syllable.
The case of the missing young girls, which he had been unable to solve for over a year, was actually the handiwork of Grand Preceptor Chen!
If what the Third Young Mistress of the Ye family’s inner voice said was completely true…
He had already dispatched Wufeng to the Grand Preceptor’s residence to see if there truly were corpses of young girls beneath that peach blossom tree!
Ye Chuchu: [Zha Zha, the Second Prince is looking at me! He hasn’t taken a fancy to me, has he?]
Zha Zha: [Little Chuchu possesses a countenance capable of eclipsing the moon and putting flowers to shame, looking more delicate than blossoms, just like a goddess descending from the nine heavens. Anyone would lose their heart to you!]
[Well said! This young lady absolutely loves to hear that.]
Ye Changlin: …
How can this girl’s skin be so thick?
Looking at the Second Prince’s expression, he too was capable of hearing Chuchu’s inner voice.
He truly didn’t know how many days his head would manage to stay on his neck.
Ye Jinmo: …Little sister, well, she really is good-looking!
The Second Prince awkwardly averted his gaze, crossing his hands behind his back.
Earlier when he was outside, he had already wanted to question Ye Chuchu, but he was nearly choked to death by a fierce ghost.
Capable of being heard, but not to be questioned—he knew this rule.
Yun Songming took a deep look at Grand Preceptor Chen and said, “Let us enter the palace!”
Grand Preceptor Chen looked at the heavy-faced, clear, and proud Second Prince, letting out a cold snort in his heart.
In any case, this fellow had already been poisoned and wouldn’t live much longer, so he would endure him just a bit more.
“Then let us enter the palace,” Grand Preceptor Chen said.
“After you, Second Prince!”
Yun Songming turned around, his long legs taking a stride forward.
Ye Chuchu: [Oh dear, Zha Zha, this Grand Preceptor Chen is about to leave. No, I can’t let him just walk away like this.]
[His pants haven’t been pulled down yet.]
Zha Zha: [Little Chuchu, hurry and rush over, pretend to inadvertently step on this beast’s pant cuff.]
[His pants aren’t tied tightly; they can definitely be dragged down.]
Ye Chuchu: [Alright, alright!]
Yun Songming, who was walking ahead, paused his footsteps.
Ye Changlin: You rebellious daughter, you must not!
But he could only scream in his heart.
Ye Jinmo: Little sister, don’t move, let me do it!
Zhang Ting, the bailiffs on the side, and everyone outside held their breath, extending their necks one after another, their eyes flashing with expectant and excited light.
With a curl of a smile on her lips, Ye Chuchu lifted her skirt, took a stride forward, inhaled a breath, and sprinted…
But before she could take more than a few steps, her foot stepped on some small object, causing her balance to destabilize as she pitched forward.
Ye Chuchu: [Ah… help… my face is going to crash into the ground…]
However, the mental image of her cheek intimately kissing the earth did not manifest.
Ye Chuchu plunged straight into an embrace filled with the scent of sandalwood.
[So fragrant!]
Narrowing her eyes, she raised her hand and stroked the chest her face was resting against.
[So firm! I really want to rip his clothes open to see if he has an eight-pack of abs.]
Zha Zha: [Little Chuchu, that’s not quite appropriate. Flirting with a prince is a crime punishable by beheading.]
Ye Chuchu: [Oh, alright then!]
She lifted her head, meeting the Second Prince’s face that was beautiful beyond mortal standards. His pale face actually revealed a subtle, faint trace of crimson at this moment.
The Second Prince placed his hand on her waist, guiding her through a turn. At the same time, Grand Preceptor Chen beside them let out a sharp cry of alarm.
It was all because when the Second Prince turned around while holding Ye Chuchu, he had somehow brushed against Grand Preceptor Chen’s pants.
The pants dropped straight to the ground!
The eyes of the crowd were simply too busy!
Just a moment ago they were admiring a hero saving a beauty, and at this exact instant, they could not wait to look in unison toward Grand Preceptor Chen’s lower half, terrified of missing any splendid detail.
Ye Chuchu was currently leaning against the Second Prince. Although her nose throbbed with a sour pain from the collision, she had no intention of missing such a golden opportunity.
However!
Just as her head lifted, a pair of hands came down to cover her eyes.
A blanket of pitch black, carrying the icy coolness of a man’s palm.
“Ah…”
The panicked, furious roar of Grand Preceptor Chen echoed by her ears.
Anxiously, Ye Chuchu slapped the man’s hand away and scrambled up from his body, only to see that Grand Preceptor Chen had already hitched his pants back up and was running through the crowd like a madman.
“Hahaha…”
The crowd erupted into roaring laughter.
Ye Chuchu bit her lip: [Ah, ah, ah… how infuriating! I actually didn’t get to see it.]
[I heard it’s very small, but just how small is it!]
[What a mindless fool of a Second Prince! Why did he have to cover this young lady’s eyes?]
[Zha Zha, did you see it just now?]
Zha Zha: [Little Chuchu, you are my eyes. If you can’t see it, I can’t see it either.]
Ye Chuchu clutched her chest, looking thoroughly heartbroken and filled with grief.
[Zha Zha, give me a description, just how small is it?]