In the evening, just as Su Pei’er finished her fetus-preserving dicine, she heard a commotion outside the door.
She turned her head to look and saw a familiar figure, imdiately rising to greet him.
"Mr. Han, you’re finally ba—oh my, what happened to your face?" Su Pei’er’s delicate eyebrows furrowed, her expression filled with worry.
Han Yao, who had been perfectly fine when he left that morning, now had one side of his face swollen, with blood seeping from the corner of his mouth. It was obvious he had been beaten.
Han Yao turned his head away, feeling a sense of sha. He wouldn’t let her touch him.
"It’s nothing. Just a slap from that old bastard, Ye Heng."
Su Pei’er shot a look at her young maid. "Quick, go get so ice and a cloth."
The young maid acknowledged the order, quickly withdrew, and closed the door.
Once she confird there was no one else in the room, Su Pei’er sat down beside Han Yao and said with heartfelt concern, "Mr. Han, didn’t you go to ask for his help? It would be one thing if he refused, but why did he resort to violence?"
Han Yao licked the corner of his lip and sneered. "He didn’t want to help, but I told him he had to! As long as we can get Father out, what does one slap matter?"
"Really?" Su Pei’er was both shocked and delighted. "He actually agreed?"
Han Yao snorted.
"Why else do you think I ca back so late?"
The Han Family was being watched, making it difficult for him to co and go. It had taken a great deal of effort to get to the Ye Family’s residence today, so of course he couldn’t leave empty-handed.
"That old coot tried to throw out at first. But then I saw Ye Jingyan and his brother happened to be there, so I threatened him with what happened between him and his own older brother all those years ago. Just as I expected, he got scared. After the two brothers left, he ca to talk to privately and finally gave in."
A cold glint flashed in Han Yao’s eyes. "He wants to wash his hands of this completely? Dream on!"
Su Pei’er paused, stunned. "Him and... his older brother?"
Han Yao answered instinctively, "Of course, it was about how he backstabbed his older brother—"
He stopped mid-sentence, finally realizing he had said too much. He frowned and changed the subject.
"In any case, I have this leverage over him, so he has to do what I say!"
Su Pei’er still looked a little lost, as if she hadn’t quite understood. But she was perceptive and tactful; knowing Han Yao didn’t want to continue, she didn’t press him.
KNOCK KNOCK.
The young maid returned. "Miss, I’ve brought everything."
Su Pei’er waved her away to prepare a al, then wrapped the ice in the cloth herself. She gently applied it to the swollen part of Han Yao’s face, her voice soft and tender.
"Mr. Han, you are a man of great vision, so I know your plans are sound. Pei’er asks for nothing more than for you to be safe and for things to go smoothly."
Han Yao was taken aback by her words and looked at the woman before him anew.
Seeing her demure, gentle, and attentive manner, his heart was moved.
He had seen the fickleness of human nature recently, and in the end, the one who stayed by his side through thick and thin was Su Pei’er, the very woman he had once looked down upon the most.
Deeply touched, his previous anger and resentnt toward Su Pei’er completely vanished. He took her hand and vowed solemnly:
"Pei’er, you’re the one who’s best to ! Don’t you worry. Once all of this is over, I will marry you in a grand wedding procession!"
Su Pei’er smiled. "As long as I can be with Mr. Han, nothing else matters."
As she spoke, she discreetly withdrew her hand and gently urged him, "You’ve had a long day, Mr. Han. You should eat first. Since Lord Ye has agreed to help, I’m sure Lord Han will return safely very soon."
...
"Father, are you really going to help the Han Family?" Ye Shixian had been waiting outside for a long ti. As soon as she saw Han Yao leave, she rushed into the study. "He’s in a dangerous situation. Aren’t you just asking for trouble?"
Ye Heng sat there, his face grim.
"I have my own plans for this matter. You don’t need to concern yourself with it."
Ye Shixian twisted her handkerchief, recalling Han Yao’s smug and triumphant expression as he left. She felt a deep sense of unease.
She glanced around before asking hesitantly, "Father, did he threaten you?"
The re ntion of it filled Ye Heng with rage.
He had been so careful to keep those matters hidden back then, and very few people knew. He never expected that shaless Han Tong would actually tell his own son, who was now using it to blackmail him directly!
"For now, we’ll just keep him stable. Later... there are plenty of ways to deal with him!"
Hearing this, Ye Shixian finally breathed a sigh of relief.
Their situation was troubleso enough as it was. Adding a crazed Han Yao to the mix was unthinkable.
Still, thinking back on the day’s events, Ye Shixian felt a lingering bitterness.
"That Han Yao really knows how to pick his monts. He could have co at any ti, but he just had to choose when Ye Jingyan and the others were here! If not for that, you wouldn’t have handed over all those things so easily!"
So many properties and shops, all taken away in one fell swoop. Who wouldn’t be heartbroken?
However, a strange, cold smile appeared on Ye Heng’s face.
"Do they think that getting all these things back ans everything is fine and dandy? There’s no such thing as a free lunch in this world!"
Ye Shixian was taken aback. "Father, you an..."
"Don’t worry about them. They’ll have plenty of trouble to deal with in the days to co."
From the mont Ye Chutang first ca to demand them, he had already started making preparations. Now that they were mostly complete, there was nothing to worry about.
The more important matter now was the Han Family... He had already promised Han Yao he would help, and he couldn’t delay for too long.
After all, no one knew when Han Yao might snap and decide to take everyone down with him.
Ye Heng thought for a good while before looking up at Ye Shixian.
"By the way, Xian’er, have you been in contact with Murong Ye these past few days?"
...
Early the next morning, Ye Chutang dropped Xiao Wu off at the Long Princess Mansion. Without lingering, she then personally drove a carriage toward the city outskirts.
The August heat was at its peak. Though it was only the Si hour, the air was already stifling and humid.
By the ti Ye Chutang arrived at the foot of the rolling mountains, a fine sheen of sweat had already beaded on her forehead.
She stopped and looked up.
Peak after peak rose into the sky, covered in dense green foliage. Occasionally, a bird would take flight from the forest and soar past.
Even before ascending, she could feel a rare sense of peace and tranquility.
Ye Chutang parked the carriage at the foot of the mountain, lifted the hem of her skirt, and began to walk up the stone steps.
...
The mountain forest was shady, and a cool breeze made it much more comfortable.
As Ye Chutang walked upward, she took in the surrounding scenery.
There was a famous temple on Wulan Mountain that usually saw a lot of incense offerings. Perhaps because it was too hot today, and it wasn’t the first or fifteenth of the lunar month, Ye Chutang didn’t encounter anyone on her way up.
On the mountain path, stone steps stretched upward, flanked by lush shrubbery.
Ye Chutang ascended at a steady, unhurried pace. Wisps of white mountain mist would occasionally drift by, only to quickly dissipate amidst the crisp chirping of birds.
Ti passed. After about an hour, Ye Chutang’s eyelid twitched slightly.
She stopped in her tracks and looked ahead.
—From here, she had finally entered the landscape that had appeared in her dream.
The once-hazy images from her dream overlapped with the scene before her, gradually taking on vivid colors.
Ye Chutang cast her gaze toward a certain spot on the mountainside.
’Shen Yanchuan... He should be here by now, right?’
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