“Heh heh! Who was it that called this place a dump?” An old man with a ruddy complexion walked in from outside. His steps were very steady, and although 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 bow upon seeing the old man.
Su Zhengping nodded at Su Rong, then turned his gaze to Ye Chu. He naturally knew who this person was. He had even discussed him with the king earlier today, but he never expected the lad to dare come causing trouble at his own residence.
“Lord Chancellor, long time no see!” Ye Chu said with a smile. He was no stranger to this powerful man in Yao City. Back when he had not yet been expelled from the Ye family, Ye Chu had seen him several times at the Marquis of Weiyuan’s residence. At that time, though, Ye Chu had been terrified of him and would avoid him from as far away as possible.
“Were you the one who just called this place a dump?” Su Zhengping’s gaze was sharp as he stared straight at Ye Chu.
“Lord Chancellor, please don’t look at me with that man-eating stare! Calling this place a dump is actually giving you face! A grand chancellor of the kingdom, yet you don’t even have a single jade chair. Am I not allowed to complain a little?” Ye Chu shrugged carelessly.
The guards who heard this nearly swore out loud: Bloody hell, a chair made of jade? What kind of insane spending is that? Do you think jade grows on trees?
Su Zhengping could not help but glance at Ye Chu in surprise. He had not expected this young man to remain so calm and composed under his imposing presence. There was none of the former weakness at all. It seemed the boy really had changed!
“So according to you, you often sit on jade chairs?” Su Zhengping fixed his eyes on Ye Chu. “You know Pang Shao quite well, don’t you? I personally smashed no fewer than ten jade chairs in his house! Does that still count as a dump in your eyes?”
Everyone present, Su Rong included, could not help but twist their lips. Who on earth would believe that? Jade is so precious, how could anyone just smash it on a whim?
Only Su Zhengping fell silent for a moment. After staring at Ye Chu for a while, he said, “Would you be interested in having a chat with me in the study?”
“When the Lord Chancellor invites me, how could I possibly refuse?” Ye Chu smiled. “After you, my Lord.”
Seeing her grandfather actually leading Ye Chu towards the study, Su Rong felt a jolt of shock. She wondered whether Grandfather intended to deal with Ye Chu in there! At that thought, she could not help turning her gaze towards Ye Chu. Although this fellow was shameless and rotten, thinking about it properly, what happened just now could not entirely be blamed on him. If he had not saved her, she would probably have fallen quite badly!
Most importantly, although Ye Chu had been rather arrogant since his return this time, at least he had not gone around committing evil deeds everywhere! With that in mind, Su Rong could not help calling out, “Grandfather!”
“What is it?” Su Zhengping turned back in confusion.
“I…” Su Rong wanted to say something, but then she saw Ye Chu looking at her with a smile. That instantly reminded her of his lewd behaviour. The words that had risen to her lips were abruptly swallowed back. “Nothing!”
Su Zhengping did not think much of it. He waved the guards away, then led the way into the study, with Ye Chu following behind him.
Watching the two disappear, Zhang Su’er looked at Su Rong, whose expression was rather unnatural, and asked, “What is wrong?”
“Ah! Nothing!” Su Rong quickly shook her head. Even to her closest best friend, she could not reveal what had just happened!
“That bastard went too far! He deliberately tripped you just to take advantage!” Zhang Su’er said indignantly. “I thought he had changed for the better, but it turns out he is still complete scum!”
Su Rong shook her head. “The trip was not his fault. I tripped myself.”
“Hm?” Zhang Su’er looked at Su Rong in puzzlement. “Then why were you so angry? Because he took advantage of the contact? You are overreacting a bit, aren’t you? After all, Ye Chu was trying to save you. How could he save you without touching you?”
Su Rong felt bitter but could not speak. She was not angry about him touching her at all. What infuriated her was that the bastard had actually pressed himself against her lower abdomen! Thinking of it made her rage flare up again!
…
Ye Chu had no idea what Su Rong was thinking. After entering the study, he finally felt a pain at the back of his head. He gently touched it and discovered that the back of his head had swollen!
“I used my own body as a cushion for you, and you still hold a grudge against me! Truly, no good deed goes unpunished!” Ye Chu sighed. His mind, however, could not help recalling the sensation from earlier.
“I hear your calligraphy has improved greatly! What do you say, interested in writing a couple of lines?” After entering the study, Su Zhengping spread out the paper on the desk and spoke to Ye Chu.
“To be honest, my calligraphy is still nothing special!” Ye Chu smiled and declined. “If you want me to demonstrate bullying men and dominating women, though, I can certainly do that. I have made considerable progress in that area!”
Su Zhengping neither confirmed nor denied it. He picked up the brush and, in one fluid motion on the spread paper, wrote several lines.
“Laughing and dancing wildly for seventeen years, enjoying flowers by day and kissing the moon by night…”
These lines were exactly the ones Ye Chu had inscribed at the Dingwu Hall. Ye Chu instantly understood that the matter at Dingwu Hall had already reached the ears of both Su Zhengping and the king.
“Three years ago you were utterly illiterate. Who would have thought that three years later you would achieve such things? Although the poem itself is nothing remarkable, that one line of writing is truly excellent! Especially considering you had the strength to defeat Ding Kaiwei, all of this has made us look at you with new eyes!” Su Zhengping said as he looked at Ye Chu.
“People always change! In the past I could rely on family status to do evil. Now that I have been expelled from the Ye family, I can no longer depend on that. I can only rely on myself!” Ye Chu smiled faintly. “I was used to a life of rampant wickedness. Suddenly becoming a good boy would be unbearable! The only way is to gain some real ability so I can continue bullying men and dominating women!”
Hearing Ye Chu’s words, Su Zhengping smiled but made no comment. Before meeting Ye Chu, Su Zhengping had felt nothing but disgust towards him. The evil deeds Ye Chu had committed were so numerous that he had even wanted to slap him to death.
Yet seeing this unrestrained and wild attitude now, he suddenly found his disgust had lessened considerably. Compared to the arrogance and domineering manner of three years ago, Ye Chu’s sharp edges had almost completely vanished!
“Are you very familiar with Pang Shao?” Su Zhengping suddenly asked.
“As long as someone is fat, I have never been familiar with them!” Ye Chu shook his head in refusal.
“No need to refuse so quickly!” Su Zhengping said. “I have also heard about your affairs from Su Rong. Pang Shao treats you quite differently. It seems your relationship runs deep. If you can help the kingdom with one matter, we can overlook the fact that you damaged the imperial-bestowed plaque!”
Ye Chu’s eyelid twitched. He knew this was the real reason Su Zhengping had sought him out! He somewhat understood now why Pang Shao had been unwilling to owe the King of Yao a favour. It turned out the other side really did have designs on Pang Shao!
“Damaged an imperial-bestowed plaque? What are you talking about? I have no idea!” Ye Chu looked at Su Zhengping with a smile.
“You should understand what I mean! If you refuse, the palace will make trouble for you!” Su Zhengping said. “Think carefully about the consequences!”
Ye Chu suddenly burst out laughing. He snatched the brush lying on the desk and said to Su Zhengping, “Didn’t you want to see my writing? Then let me show you! Lord Chancellor, please offer your guidance!”
With that, Ye Chu’s hand moved like flowing water. On the pure white paper, he left four large characters: “Accompany you to the end!”
After finishing, Ye Chu tossed the brush aside and smiled at Su Zhengping. “Lord Chancellor! I take my leave!”
Su Zhengping stared at the four bold characters. He had no mind to appreciate their quality. What shocked him was the sheer audacity Ye Chu displayed.
“Accompany you to the end? Does he really have such confidence facing the king’s pursuit?” Su Zhengping watched Ye Chu walk out of the study, his own expression turning rather complicated. He had originally thought threats and promises would be enough to bring Ye Chu under control, yet this was the outcome he received.