The Duke's Pampered Darling is So Scheming

Chapter 554: Chapter 554: Awang

Lian Zhou immediately replied, "Yes, sir!"

Fan Chengzhuo looked like he wanted to say something but held his tongue, ultimately giving up in frustration.

Shen Yanchuan seemed to have no interest in staying either and turned to leave.

...

Outside the gates of the Ministry of Justice.

A carriage was parked quietly at the mouth of the alley.

Ye Chutang handed the black cloak back to Shen Yanchuan.

Shen Yanchuan raised his eyebrows and smiled.

"Thank you."

Xiao Wu, sitting in the carriage, tilted her head, lost in thought.

’The Young Master looks so happy! That cloak must be really important to him! It was a good thing we came!’

Ye Chutang shook her head, her words a double entendre. "The Princely Heir has shown me such deep affection. A small favor like this is nothing."

Shen Yanchuan’s gaze fell upon her face, studying it closely.

There had been too many prying eyes earlier, and he hadn’t had a chance to ask.

"That gift... did you like it?"

Ye Chutang chuckled and nodded. "A gift from the Princely Heir is one I naturally like very much."

The weight in Shen Yanchuan’s heart was finally lifted.

"That’s good."

The two of them suddenly fell silent at the same time, as if enveloped in an invisible aura that no one else could approach.

In the quiet, a subtle mix of intimacy and awkwardness began to grow.

Ye Chutang cleared her throat. "We’ll be heading back, then. There’s no need for you to see us off, Princely Heir."

Shen Yanchuan didn’t speak.

Ye Chutang tilted her head slightly. "Princely Heir?"

Shen Yanchuan looked at her and suddenly let out a soft laugh.

"I’m very happy you could come tonight."

Ye Chutang’s eyelashes trembled.

Even the deep darkness of the night could not hide the passion in Shen Yanchuan’s eyes.

His feelings were clear as day.

WHOOSH—BOOM!

Ye Chutang turned her head to see a brilliant, magnificent firework bloom in the pitch-black night sky.

It was followed by a second, and then a third.

Countless splendid colors burst forth one after another, a dazzlingly passionate display.

A deep, elegant voice came from behind her—

"Happy birthday."

For a moment, Ye Chutang was lost in a daze.

She remained quiet for a long time.

Sensing something was wrong, Shen Yanchuan was about to ask when he heard Ye Chutang say softly,

"On my birthdays, my father used to do this too."

Shen Yanchuan froze.

Ye Chutang seemed to be lost in distant memories.

"He always said that a daughter should be doted on. So my older brother, Yan, and A Feng never got this. Only I received special treatment on my birthday."

She tilted her head and smiled, her gaze falling on Xiao Wu, who was watching the fireworks with her head thrown back, her face full of joy.

"Later, there was Xiao Wu too, but she was too young to remember any of it."

By the time she was old enough to form memories, everything had already turned to dust.

Even Ye Chutang herself was beginning to forget those scenes.

Shen Yanchuan’s lips moved slightly.

Ye Chutang rarely spoke of her past. Everyone knew that she had spent three years wandering destitute with her younger siblings before returning to the Capital City, where she successfully reclaimed everything that was originally theirs.

Here in the Capital City, she was thriving.

Anyone who saw her couldn’t help but be impressed, finding her story extraordinary.

But no one knew what she had truly endured during those three years.

After a moment, Shen Yanchuan said,

"Lord Ye was an upright and incorruptible man. The fact he would do this for you shows how much he doted on you."

Ye Chutang suddenly turned back to look at him.

"Shen Yanchuan."

Shen Yanchuan met her gaze. The fireworks reflected in her eyes, making them shine like stars.

He felt as if a soft feather had gently brushed against a corner of his heart, and his voice softened unconsciously.

"Yes?"

"I’ll tell you a secret."

Ye Chutang smiled, her eyes curving into crescents.

"My parents and my older brother used to call me by my nickname."

"Awang."

...

「Dingbei Marquis Mansion.」

Yun Cheng stood in the courtyard, looking thoughtfully toward the study.

Just as Lian Zhou returned, Yun Cheng immediately waved him over.

Lian Zhou walked over, looking baffled. "What’s wrong?"

Yun Cheng quickly gestured for him to lower his voice, then jutted his chin toward the study.

"Did anything else happen at the Ministry of Justice today?"

Lian Zhou was completely bewildered. "No! Didn’t I already tell you everything when I got back?"

Yun Cheng stroked his chin. "That can’t be right..."

Lian Zhou was confused. "What can’t be right?"

He looked around; everything was the same as always. Why was Yun Cheng reacting this way?

Yun Cheng lowered his voice. "The Master isn’t asleep yet."

"..." Lian Zhou was speechless. "Isn’t that perfectly normal?"

’It’s not like there’s a rule against the Master staying up late, is there?’

Yun Cheng gave him a cryptic look and reminded him, "But the Master hasn’t gone to interrogate those assassins either."

"That’s not—"

Lian Zhou paused, then belatedly, it dawned on him.

’That’s right!’

According to the Master’s usual habits, with tonight’s events concluded, he would either be resting or interrogating the prisoners through the night.

’But right now, he was doing neither?’

Lian Zhou also crossed his arms and fell into deep thought. "Then why is that?"

"Isn’t that what I’m asking you?"

Yun Cheng was exasperated.

"You were the first one there, and you came back with him. How could you not know?"

Lian Zhou felt he had a point and began to wrack his brain.

"Could he be wondering who sent those assassins? No, he’d usually just go and ask them directly. He wouldn’t need to think about it for this long. Then... is he handling some other business?"

Yun Cheng looked at the pitch-black study and slowly raised an eyebrow. "You really think so?"

Lian Zhou: "...I guess not."

There wasn’t even a candle lit, and the room was completely silent. If not for the sound of the Master’s breathing, which was different from when he was asleep, they would have really thought he was already resting.

"So the Master is just sitting alone in the study, not doing anything, and not sleeping." Yun Cheng couldn’t figure it out for the life of him. "It’s been many years since the Master has been like this, right?"

Lian Zhou thought for a moment, then nodded.

He replayed the scenes from the Ministry of Justice over and over in his mind until inspiration struck. "Right! The Master was originally going to escort Second Miss Ye back to the Ye Mansion. He even showed her the fireworks he’d prepared. I saw from a distance that Second Miss Ye seemed quite happy. But then I don’t know what she said to the Master..."

"So the Master didn’t escort her?" Yun Cheng asked skeptically.

"That’s not it." Lian Zhou shook his head. "He followed the Ye Family’s carriage and only came back after watching her enter the mansion."

Yun Cheng wore an I-knew-it expression. "I figured as much... So after he came back, he went straight into the study and hasn’t come out. And he’s been up this whole time. It couldn’t be that Second Miss Ye said something harsh, could it?"

"That can’t be, right?"

Lian Zhou found it unlikely.

"Does rejecting someone count as harsh?"

For once, Yun Cheng looked utterly shocked. "What?! She rejec— How could that be? Tonight, she risked her life and limb charging into the Ministry of Justice Prison to save the Master!"

"I was just giving a hypothetical." Lian Zhou quickly waved his hands. "What else could it be? It couldn’t be that Second Miss Ye accepted, and the Master is too happy to sleep—"

Lian Zhou suddenly snapped his mouth shut.

Yun Cheng leaned back in shock.

The two of them stared at each other as the air grew even quieter.

An indifferent voice suddenly drifted coolly from the study, shattering the silence.

"If you two feel you have too much free time, you can go interrogate them together."

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