Chapter 382: Consort Yuan’s Heart
"Your Gu family is a complete mess. If my disciple goes there, she’ll be devoured, with not even her bones left." Dean Chen knew the Gu family well enough: too many people, not enough unity.
"The main branch is desperate for a girl. If one actually appears, the jealousy alone would be enough to burn her alive."
"Don’t you go scaring the little girl. As long as I’m around, who in the Gu family would dare touch her?" The old man held onto Ye Qianning, refusing to let go.
"Let’s not even talk about the impending marriage between Gu Yuan and Prime Minister Gao’s daughter. Let’s talk about Gu Shuo—he was removed from your family registry. If you take Pangtuan back, her status will be completely illegitimate. Do you want the child to have people cursing her behind her back?"
The old man, who had been puffing his chest out just a moment ago, fell silent at these words. The marriage alliance between the Gu family and the Gao family was set in stone. His head throbbed just thinking about the character of Prime Minister Gao’s daughter.
’The Gu family has too many branches. It’s high time they were pruned, with everyone sent back to their respective places.’
’I’m getting old, too. It’s time to lay down this burden.’
"Little one, Great-Grandpa will come back for you in a while."
Ye Qianning nodded. ’The Gu family is indeed a mess. Dozens of direct descendants, all staring at the family business. Even though the Gu family is a commercial giant, with that many people...’
"Great-Grandpa, you’re getting on in years. You shouldn’t be overworking yourself. Wealth is just a worldly possession. Please don’t let it harm your health or upset you."
"I know, Great-Grandpa knows. Don’t you worry." The old man felt immense frustration when he thought about the mess that was the Gu family, but his mood lifted whenever he saw this girl.
’It must be true that when you get old, you just love having children around.’
「Night fell.」
After dinner, Ye Qianning entered her personal space. She had plundered quite a lot from Consort Yuan’s chambers today. The gold, silver, and other valuables added up to a huge sum of money.
The numerous jars and bottles contained a vast array of elixirs, most of which were poisons. A tiny dose of the mixed toxins was enough to kill a person without leaving a trace of the cause.
Many Concubines in the harem had died under mysterious circumstances. Even the Empress herself carried latent poisons in her body. The effects weren’t noticeable at first, but the symptoms would become obvious after six or seven years.
Her liver and kidneys would fail, and not even a miracle from the gods could save her.
’Consort Yuan wants to monopolize the entire harem. Her ambition is truly immense. The drug she tried to give me last time also requires long-term consumption.’
’She’ll probably start inviting me to the palace frequently. I’m so young; if I get addicted, I won’t even live to be an adult.’
’With a heart that cruel, it’s hard to believe the clever Beili Emperor is unaware of it.’
’Or perhaps the Beili Emperor is fully aware and even relies on Consort Yuan’s methods. Sometimes, it takes a ruthless woman to get big things done.’
’A ruthless person is bound to associate with other ruthless people. Birds of a feather flock together, after all. It makes perfect sense.’
Ye Qianning opened the vials one by one, able to identify them just by holding them to her nose for a sniff. Even the poisons were made from precious and extremely rare medicinal herbs.
There were boxes upon boxes of top-grade medicinal herbs. A fleeceflower root that was several thousand years old—even the ones growing in her personal space hadn’t reached that age, yet Consort Yuan had several of them.
CREAK.
The sound of a door opening rang out.
"How did you fall asleep slumped over the table?" Xiang Minghou gently lifted her into his arms and carried her around the screen.
The moment her small frame touched the bed, Ye Qianning’s eyes fluttered open. "Dad, you’re back."
Xiang Minghou laid her down on the bed and tucked her in. "Pangtuan, Dad has to leave for a while. You be a good girl, and when the academy opens, go to the mountain with Dean Chen."
"You left me in the Imperial Garden today, Dad," Ye Qianning said, disgruntled.
"It was an emergency. I had someone notify the Dean to come get you, didn’t I?"
Ye Qianning’s small hands clutched the quilt.
"Go back to sleep."
"Dad, are you leaving again?"
"Yes. The army is already waiting outside the city gates. I couldn’t leave without coming back to see you one last time. I don’t know when I’ll be back from this trip, but I’ll write to you." Xiang Minghou was deeply reluctant to part with her.
