“Hehe! Who was it that called my home a shabby place?” A ruddy-faced old man walked in from outside. His steps were steady and firm. Though a smile played at the corners of his mouth, an air of authority clung to him.
“Grandfather!” Su Rong hurried forward to greet him with a curtsey.
Su Zhengping nodded to Su Rong. His gaze settled on Ye Chu. He naturally knew who this young man was. Only today he had discussed him with the King, yet he had not expected Ye Chu to dare cause trouble in his own residence.
“Prime Minister, long time no see!” Ye Chu smiled. He was no stranger to this powerful figure in Yao City. Back when he had not yet been expelled from the Ye family, Ye Chu had seen him many times at the Marquis of Weiyuan’s residence. Only then Ye Chu had feared him greatly and kept as far away as possible whenever he appeared.
“You just called my home a shabby place?” Su Zhengping’s gaze sharpened as he stared straight at Ye Chu.
“Prime Minister, don’t look at me with those man-eating eyes! Calling this place shabby is already showing you respect! The grand Prime Minister of a nation, and you don’t even have jade chairs. Am I not allowed to complain a little?” Ye Chu shrugged indifferently.
The guards nearly cursed aloud. Jade chairs? Bloody hell, what kind of extravagance is that? As if jade costs nothing!
Su Zhengping could not help glancing at Ye Chu in surprise. He had not expected the youth to remain so calm and composed under his authority. There was no trace of the former weakness. It seemed the boy had truly changed.
“By your logic, you often sit on jade chairs?” Su Zhengping fixed his eyes on Ye Chu. “You’re quite familiar with Pang Shao, aren’t you? I smashed no fewer than ten of his jade chairs. Does that count as a shabby place too?”
Everyone, including Su Rong, curled their lips in disbelief. Who would believe such nonsense? Jade is so valuable. Who smashes it on a whim?
Only Su Zhengping fell silent for a moment. He studied Ye Chu for a while before saying, “Would you care to join me in the study for a chat?”
“An invitation from the Prime Minister? I couldn’t ask for more!” Ye Chu smiled. “After you, Prime Minister!”
Seeing her grandfather actually lead Ye Chu to the study, Su Rong felt a jolt of alarm. Surely Grandfather doesn’t plan to deal with Ye Chu in there? At that thought, she could not help looking at Ye Chu. Though the fellow was shameless and rotten, on second thought, the earlier incident wasn’t entirely his fault. If he hadn’t saved her, she might have fallen hard.
More importantly, though Ye Chu had been arrogant at times since his return, he had not gone around committing evil. With that in mind, Su Rong called out, “Grandfather!”
“What is it?” Su Zhengping turned, puzzled.
“I…” Su Rong started to speak, but caught Ye Chu smiling at her. It reminded her of his lewd behaviour. The words died in her throat. “Nothing!”
Su Zhengping thought no more of it. He dismissed the guards and led the way into the study. Ye Chu followed.
As the two disappeared, Zhang Su’er looked at Su Rong’s unnatural expression. “What’s wrong?”
“Ah! Nothing!” Su Rong shook her head quickly. Even her closest friend could not know what had just happened.
“That scoundrel went too far! He deliberately tripped you to take advantage!” Zhang Su’er fumed. “I thought he had changed, but he’s still the same scum!”
Su Rong shook her head. “The tripping wasn’t his fault. I tripped myself.”
“Hm?” Zhang Su’er looked at her in confusion. “Then why were you so angry? Because he took advantage while saving you? You’re overreacting! Ye Chu was saving you. How could he do it without touching you?”
Su Rong could only suffer in silence. It wasn’t the touching she minded. It was that the bastard had deliberately pressed that thing against her lower abdomen! The memory alone made her burn with anger.
…
Ye Chu had no idea what Su Rong was thinking. Once inside the study, he finally felt the pain at the back of his head. He touched it lightly and found a lump had formed.
“I used my body as a cushion for you, and you still hold a grudge! Truly, no good deed goes unpunished!” Ye Chu sighed. Yet his mind could not help replaying the sensation.
“I hear your calligraphy has improved greatly. Care to write a couple of pieces?” Su Zhengping entered the study, spread out paper on the desk, and addressed Ye Chu.
“When it comes to calligraphy, I’m really no good!” Ye Chu smiled and declined. “If you want a demonstration of bullying men and dominating women, though, I could manage that. I’ve certainly improved in those skills!”
Su Zhengping neither agreed nor disagreed. He picked up a brush and wrote several lines in one fluent motion on the spread paper.
“Seventeen years of mad song and wild dance, revelry among flowers, kisses under the moon…”
These lines were exactly what Ye Chu had inscribed at Dingwu Hall. Ye Chu instantly understood. The events at Dingwu Hall had reached the ears of Su Zhengping and the King.
“Three years ago you were utterly illiterate! I never expected that three years later you would achieve this. The poem itself isn’t much, but the handwriting is excellent! Especially defeating Ding Kaiwei. All of it has made us see you in a new light!” Su Zhengping looked at Ye Chu as he spoke.
“People always change! Before, I could commit evil relying on family status! Now expelled from the Ye family, with no family to lean on, I can only rely on myself!” Ye Chu smiled. “I’m used to a life of evil. Suddenly becoming a good boy would be unbearable! Only by gaining some ability can I continue bullying men and dominating women!”
At Ye Chu’s words, Su Zhengping smiled but offered no comment. Before meeting him, Su Zhengping had felt only disgust. Ye Chu’s past evils were so numerous that he had wanted to slap him to death.
Yet seeing Ye Chu’s current unrestrained manner, he suddenly found his disgust lessened considerably. Compared to the arrogant tyranny of three years ago, Ye Chu’s sharp edges had almost vanished.
“You’re close with Pang Shao?” Su Zhengping asked suddenly.
“As long as they’re fat, I’ve never been close with them!” Ye Chu shook his head in denial.
“No need to refuse so quickly!” Su Zhengping said. “I’ve heard about you from Su Rong too. Pang Shao treats you differently from others. It seems you two are quite close. If you help the kingdom with something, we can overlook the matter of damaging the imperial plaque!”
Ye Chu’s eyes twitched. He knew this was Su Zhengping’s true purpose in summoning him. Ye Chu now understood why Pang Shao refused to owe the King of Yao a favour. The other side truly wanted something from Pang Shao.
“What imperial plaque incident? I know nothing about it!” Ye Chu smiled at Su Zhengping.
“You know exactly what I mean! If you refuse, the palace will make trouble for you!” Su Zhengping said. “Think carefully about the consequences!”
Ye Chu suddenly laughed. He grabbed the brush from the desk and said to Su Zhengping, “Didn’t you want to see my handwriting? Then I’ll write something for you! Feel free to offer guidance, Prime Minister!”
With that, brush met paper in flowing strokes. On the pristine sheet, he left four bold characters: “I’ll see it through!”
Finishing, Ye Chu tossed the brush aside and smiled at Su Zhengping. “Prime Minister! I’ll take my leave!”
Su Zhengping stared at the four large characters. He had no mind to appreciate their quality. What shocked him was the arrogance Ye Chu displayed.
“I’ll see it through? He’s that confident facing the King’s pursuit?” Su Zhengping watched Ye Chu leave the study. His expression grew complicated. He had thought threats and incentives would be enough to sway Ye Chu, yet the result was this.
