I Became the Eye Candy: Four Bigshots Claimed to be My Dad?

Chapter 495: Why Don’t the Three of Us Share a Family Tree?

Ye Qianning had spent many days with it and grown used to its habits. She found she had little resistance to its fawning, and reached out to stroke its head.

White Spirit nuzzled her hand forcefully, then lay on the table and purred contentedly.

It loved the scent of the little girl.

"By the way, what’s the situation with the Gu family?" she asked.

"Yesterday, the Gu family brought over several cartloads of account books. Minister Qian and the Ministry of Revenue spent the entire morning counting but couldn’t even get through a tenth of them. In the afternoon, they had to borrow seven or eight more officials from the Ministry to help. As of today, they’ve only managed to tally a small portion. And that’s not even all of it—the ledgers for some of the Gu family’s other businesses haven’t even been brought over yet." Luo Wen had never seen so many account books in his entire life.

’He had to admire the Gu family. Their portfolio of businesses was truly mesmerizing.’

Ye Qianning clicked her tongue. ’As expected of Beili’s wealthiest family,’ she thought. ’Even their account books are measured by the cartload.’

At this rate, it would take at least a couple of weeks to figure out just how many assets the Gu family owned before they could be liquidated.

And so many pairs of eyes were watching, waiting to see the final tally of the Gu family’s fortune.

"Miss." Ying Yuan leaped into the courtyard.

"What happened?"

"They fell in. Even Prime Minister Gao, Old Master Zhan, and Madam Zhan fell in too."

"..."

Ye Qianning turned to look at Luo Wen. "Exactly how big was that pit you dug?"

"It’s ten feet wide at the opening. We just... accidentally dug it a bit too deep," Luo Wen said, rubbing his nose.

Ye Qianning stood up. "Are they all right?"

"They’ve been pulled out. Madam Zhan seems to have swallowed a few mouthfuls of water and has been taken back to her courtyard. Old Master Zhan and the others only swallowed a little water. The servants are now taking the Crown Prince of Xi Yan to the west wing."

"I’m going to check on my grandmother."

Madam Zhan was getting on in years. Even though she knew about the plan beforehand, the fall must have given her a terrible fright. Ye Qianning was very concerned.

"Aren’t you going to the west wing, Miss?"

"How can the mere Crown Prince of Xi Yan be more important than my grandmother? It doesn’t matter if I see him or not. Ying Yuan, you keep watch. Luo Wen, draw away anyone near the west wing."

’There are some spies in the General’s manor today, but not too many. It’s manageable.’

"I’ll go at once."

Ying Yuan and Luo Wen leaped away, leaving the courtyard.

Ye Qianning got up and headed for the guest quarters where Madam Zhan was staying. No sooner had she entered the courtyard than the butler arrived, rushing over with a physician.

"Miss." The butler looked up, saw her, and hurriedly bowed.

"I’m here with my grandmother. Have the physician wait in the main hall. If Prime Minister Gao or the Crown Prince feel unwell, you can have him see them then."

"Yes, Miss." The butler turned and led the physician back out of the courtyard.

Ye Qianning walked to the door and knocked.

"Who is it?" a maidservant asked from inside.

"It’s me."

"It’s Pangtuan! Quickly, open the door," came Madam Zhan’s voice.

"Please don’t move, Madam. I’ll go right now."

The maidservant tucked the blankets around Madam Zhan before getting up to open the door.

Ye Qianning entered the room and went straight to the bedside, her eyes filled with worry. "Grandmother, let me take your pulse."

"Don’t worry, it’s nothing serious."

Ye Qianning took her wrist. Her pulse was erratic, a sign the fright had not yet subsided. "Grandmother, have you been feeling any tightness in your chest recently?"

"Not at all. Your grandmother is in perfect health," Madam Zhan said with a smile.

Seeing that she didn’t want to talk about it, Ye Qianning didn’t press further and withdrew her hand. "I’ll write you a prescription. Take it for three days."

"Some ginger soup will be fine. Medicine is so bitter." Of all things, Madam Zhan dreaded drinking medicine the most.

"It’s not a bitter herbal brew, just a sweet tonic for your health."

Hearing this, Madam Zhan chuckled. "You get me."

Ye Qianning let go of her arm. "Grandmother, why did you fall in?"

"If the Crown Prince of Xi Yan has an ’accident’ in our manor, we’ll all be held responsible if it’s investigated. Your grandfather and I have already discussed this."

For a moment, Ye Qianning didn’t know what to say. The Zhan family had their own considerations, and she had been acting too unilaterally.

’My way of thinking transcends national boundaries, but in theirs, excessive dealings with a foreign royal family is a grave taboo.’

’Once Xi Fengying leaves Beili, she will inevitably seek revenge against the Beili Emperor. As citizens of Beili, no one would dare to hide her in their home at a time like this.’

’In fact, if anyone discovered her, they would be obligated to capture her and present her directly to the Beili Emperor.’

’Even though the Zhan family holds no love for the Imperial Family, they too would have captured Xi Fengying if they had found her.’

’Because of my unilateral decision, they are living on edge. The pressure of hiding someone like that is immense, and if Xi Fengying were to do something against Beili in the future, they would surely blame themselves.’

Ye Qianning had never liked imperial authority and knew exactly what kind of person the Beili Emperor was. She knew that a day would come when she’d have no other choice, and for her, building up favors was a way of securing a future path.

’This difference in mindset is the biggest problem. I can guess that there will be far more serious situations than this in the future, things that people from this era might not be able to bear.’

’But if I don’t do this... I can’t just sit back and quietly accept the authority of the throne.’

’Whether you’re a high or low official, a royal relative or a wealthy merchant, trying to live a quiet, ordinary life in the Capital City is a fool’s dream!’

At that moment, she felt deeply conflicted.

Madam Zhan was already showing symptoms of an irregular heartbeat and chest tightness from the fear and shock. If this continued, her condition could become very serious.

"What are you thinking about?" Madam Zhan asked, propping herself up.

Ye Qianning snapped out of her thoughts and shook her head with a smile. "I was just thinking about how to help you recuperate, Grandmother."

"My health is fine. Your grandfather is a decent physician himself, and he’s always making me drink tonics. I feel like I’m overdoing it sometimes."

"No wonder you look so young, Grandmother."

"Haha, you’re such a sweet-talker." Madam Zhan laughed, but her smile faded as something occurred to her. "Is the meeting between the Crown Prince of Xi Yan and Xi Fengying really not going to cause any trouble?"

"It’s fine. I expect Xi Fengying will be leaving the General’s manor in about three days."

"Really?"

"We can’t keep her hidden forever, can we? The Crown Prince of Xi Yan is resourceful; he’ll have a way to get her out of the city." Ye Qianning herself didn’t dare let Xi Fengying stay in the manor any longer.

"Good. It’s good that she’s leaving." Madam Zhan seemed to breathe a sigh of relief.

"Don’t worry, Grandmother. You’ve caught a chill, so you need to rest well for the next couple of days."

"I know, I know. You don’t need to fret over me. I’m not that fragile."

Ye Qianning smiled and stood up. "I’ll go prepare that prescription for you, Grandmother."

"There’s no hurry. The Crown Prince of Xi Yan is still here. You should have your people keep a close eye on things," Madam Zhan advised.

"I’ll go check on it now."

"Be vigilant."

"I will."

Ye Qianning agreed and walked out the door.

In the front hall, Zhan Yi and Prime Minister Gao had already changed into dry clothes. Prime Minister Gao, clearly still shaken, was trembling as he sat in a chair, sipping ginger tea.

"Why on earth is there such a massive pit in the General’s flower garden?" Prime Minister Gao cupped the teacup in both hands. Though it was the fifth month, he still felt a bone-deep chill.

"Ah, well... yesterday, Pangtuan decided she wanted a pond next to the flower garden. She had it half-dug and then changed her mind, so it was just left there temporarily. Who would have thought you’d go wandering into the garden?" Zhan Yi sighed with a click of his tongue.

"There are a few flowers in the General’s garden that I’ve never seen before. I was curious." Prime Minister Gao recalled how Zhan Yi had selflessly tried to grab him and felt a pang of gratitude. "Old Master Zhan, my apologies. If not for me, you, your wife, and the Crown Prince of Xi Yan would not have been dragged down as well."