Chapter 11: Miss, Do Not Be Afraid—Come Back to My Residence with Me; the Third Prince Has Schemed Every Move

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Seeing Cao An’s legs trembling, Ye Xun steadied him and headed toward the cart. “Come, I’ll help you rest first.”

“No, absolutely not,” Cao An protested anxiously, waving his hands as if to break free. “Your Highness, you are a prince of noble birth, how could you stoop to help a lowly servant walk? I’m fine…”

He mustered all his strength to stand firm.

But Ye Xun had no intention of letting go.

“Enough,” he said.

“In my current wretched state, it’s no trouble to help you.”

With that, he disregarded Cao An’s protests and helped him onto the cart to rest.

What Ye Xun considered a mere gesture of kindness deeply moved Cao An.

He was just a minor eunuch; what merit did he have to be treated so by the prince?

In this era, social class was an impassable chasm that must not be crossed.

The status gap between Ye Xun and Cao An was as vast as heaven and earth.

Nearby, a woman who had sold herself to bury her father stood by the roadside, panic-stricken.

Earlier, Wangcai had frightened her terribly.

Now, her eyes still brimming with fear, she looked at Wangcai.

Ye Xun approached her calmly and asked, “Where do you plan to bury your father?”

Startled, she came to her senses and stammered, “Your Highness… I only need to give the money to the coffin shop’s owner over there, and he will arrange my father’s burial.”

“The rest of the silver will be sent back to the village for the villagers.”

Ye Xun raised an eyebrow in doubt. “Why is that?”

The woman hurriedly explained, “Your Highness, my father had a chronic illness and has relied on the help of villagers these past years. Now that he has passed, I have no attachments. I intend to sell myself to bury him and use part of the money to repay the villagers, fulfilling my father’s last wish.”

“That is why I asked for thirty taels.”

Hearing this, Ye Xun nodded slightly.

“Very well.”

“Do you need to return to the village?”

The money was earned by the woman selling herself; how she used it was her own affair.

She shook her head solemnly. “No. I don’t want to trouble the villagers.”

If what she said was true, those simple villagers surely wouldn’t accept money gained through her selling herself.

“Alright.” Ye Xun nodded again, taking silver from his pocket and placing it in her hand. “Go handle it.”

The woman accepted the silver, tears streaming down her cheeks. She then knelt and said, “Thank you, Your Highness. From now on, I will serve you with all my heart.”

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Ye Xun waved dismissively. “Rise. I will wait for you over there.”

Then, he led Wangcai toward the cart.

Though thirty taels was no small sum, it only strengthened Ye Xun’s resolve to take the woman with him.

Whether or not there was any ulterior motive for her beauty could wait.

The earlier incident with Liu Mingyuan had sounded a clear warning bell. From now on, the selection of people for the household had to be done carefully.

Otherwise, they might be infiltrated by those with ill intent.

At least this woman was pure of background.

About fifteen minutes later, two burly men arrived from the coffin shop to carry away the woman’s father’s corpse.

She watched as her father’s body was taken away, weeping bitterly.

Though she wished to bury her father herself, wearing mourning clothes and veil, she feared that once she returned to the village, she might never leave again.

She had heard of Ye Xun’s reputation.

She did not want to cause conflict between the villagers and the prince because of her.

In this era, the people did not fight the officials; being free from oppression was already a blessing.

After a while, the woman wiped her tears and turned to Ye Xun.

No matter what fate awaited her, she did not regret her decision.

Having buried her father and repaid the village, she was free of all attachments.

At the cart, she spoke softly, “Your Highness, I am Ling’er. The arrangements for my father’s funeral are settled. I am ready to follow you back to the mansion.”

Ye Xun composed himself and nodded slightly. “Let’s go. Time to return.”

Just then, Cao An jumped down from the cart. “Ling’er, you get in the cart with the prince. I’ll pull the cart with Wangcai.”

Ling’er shook her head repeatedly. “I… I can walk. Your Highness, please get in.”

Ye Xun replied, “Forget it. Let’s all walk; the distance to the Prince of Qin’s mansion isn’t far.”

With that, Ye Xun proceeded ahead on his own.

Cao An hurriedly took hold of Wangcai’s leash and pulled the cart along.

Ling’er carefully followed beside the cart.

Since Wangcai had just performed a great service, Ye Xun couldn’t bear to make him pull the cart.

Now, Wangcai was the top fighter of the Prince of Qin’s mansion, and Ye Xun relied on him for protection.

……

Meanwhile, not far from here, in a private room of a teahouse…

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Liu Mingyuan was still shaken, trembling as he recounted the earlier events to Ye Tao.

Upon hearing this, a cunning gleam flashed briefly in Ye Tao’s eyes before he spoke kindly, “Mingyuan, you’re not hurt, are you?”

He never expected that despite Liu Mingyuan’s verbal insults, Ye Xun hadn’t lifted a finger against him, only having Wangcai bite his two henchmen.

How he wished Wangcai had bitten Liu Mingyuan himself!

Then he could have avenged today’s humiliation.

But only the servants were bitten; it wasn’t enough to accuse Ye Xun formally.

At the same time, Ye Tao cursed Liu Mingyuan’s incompetence silently. He couldn’t even manage this simple task.

If not for some use he still had, Ye Tao would have kicked him out.

Liu Mingyuan hurriedly said, “Thank you for your concern, Your Highness. I’m fine, but from now on, the Prince of Qin will be wary.”

“Actually, I almost succeeded today, but that damned eunuch Cao An was detestable. He suddenly released the dog, and even pulled out the imperial token granted by His Majesty to that mad dog.”

“Otherwise, I would have forced the Prince of Qin to act.”

Liu Mingyuan embellished the story slightly, boosting his own cunning and bravery.

After all, being utterly defeated by Wangcai earlier was too humiliating.

“Oh?” Ye Tao feigned surprise, pondering, “That little eunuch Cao An is usually timid. He actually dared to release the dog?”

He had sent Liu Mingyuan to provoke them precisely because he knew Cao An’s cowardice.

Having followed Ye Xun closely before, he was familiar with Cao An’s character.

Normally, they would have frightened him into submission immediately.

But today, Cao An had shown unexpected bravery.

Mentioning Cao An, Liu Mingyuan’s face twisted with rage, his eyes bloodshot.

“At that moment, I had already forced the Prince of Qin to act.”

“If not for that scoundrel Cao An, my two men would never have been bitten!”

Though still fearful, he remained defiant, vowing eternal hatred against Cao An and Wangcai.

Liu Mingyuan despised them both.

Ye Tao felt the same.

If not for Wangcai’s presence today, Ye Xun would not have acted so brazenly.

But Wangcai carried the imperial gold token granted by Emperor Xia, so ordinary people dared not offend him—and besides, none could best him in a fight.

Then Liu Mingyuan said viciously, “Your Highness, this cannot be left as is. We must deal with Cao An and that mad dog…”

As he spoke, his eyes narrowed with killing intent, and his hand lightly traced his neck in a threatening gesture.