Sensing the feigned fear in Song Zhiyu's words, the man forced a smug smile onto his contorted face. "My cousin is a high-ranking official in the court. He was recently promoted and is highly regarded by His Majesty."
In a little while, he will be adopted by the Marquis of Cheng'en and inherit the title of heir apparent. If you dare to harm me, he will certainly not let you off.
He became so carried away that he lost his composure and blurted out Shen Feng's plan.
As heavy as a mountain?
Song Zhiyu lazily lifted her eyelids, her smile enigmatic. "Shen Yuzhou isn't even dead yet, and Shen Rushan is already coveting the position of heir apparent. Could it be that Marquis Chengen tacitly approved of this as well?"
As she finished speaking, Song Zhiyu raised her voice slightly, attracting the attention of the people eating nearby.
Everyone wore expressions of anticipation, knowing that Shen Rushan was about to be adopted by the Marquis of Chengen, but they never expected that he had already coveted the position of heir apparent.
Marquis Chengen has four sons. Even if the eldest son, Shen Yuzhou, is crippled, there are still the second and third sons. It's impossible for an adopted son with no blood relation to him to inherit the position of heir.
This was unheard of in the Lintian Dynasty.
Although Chen Rushan is currently enjoying great influence in the court, the position of heir apparent is not a trivial matter; it cannot be granted so easily.
Ye Ming was embarrassed and spat on the ground. "Pah! Shen Yuzhou is nothing but a cripple with both legs broken. Does he deserve to be the heir of the Marquis of Chengen's mansion?"
Ru Shan possessed both talent and merit, far surpassing Shen Yuzhou, a cripple.
Ye Rou is his aunt, and Shen Rushan is his cousin, who is also the most successful person in their Ye family.
Others might not know, but he certainly did. Shen Rushan was a legitimate member of the Marquis's family, and it was most appropriate for him to inherit the position of heir.
Song Zhiyu raised an eyebrow slightly. "Is that so? Then I'll have to go back and ask the Marquis if the Chengen Marquis's Mansion has a precedent of requesting the title of heir apparent for an adopted son."
"What adopted son? He is clearly..." Ye Ming stopped himself in time. Shen Rushan's background was a secret that could not be told. He almost fell for the woman's trick.
Seeing that Ye Ming wasn't taking the bait, Song Zhiyu drawled out the last syllable and said in a joking tone, "You don't mean to say he's the Marquis's biological son, do you?"
Everyone in the capital knows the deep bond between Marquis Cheng'en and Shen Rushan, master and disciple. You, of all people, claim to be Shen Rushan's cousin, needlessly ruining their reputations. What good does that do you?
"When did I tarnish their reputations? Stop talking nonsense. In terms of talent and character, in what way is my cousin Rushan inferior to those legitimate sons of the Marquis's mansion?" Ye Ming was furious, but Song Zhiyu's lips could shut him up with a single word.
“It is a person’s virtue to know his own limitations. If he were the Marquis’s biological son, the position of heir would undoubtedly belong to him. It’s a pity he is not.” Song Zhiyu shook her head, her smiling eyes showing no trace of regret.
Seeing that the person before him seemed to know a great deal about the Chengen Marquis's residence, Ye Ming finally realized something was amiss. "Who exactly are you?"
"What, hasn't your own aunt ever mentioned me to you? That Cloud Dress she's wearing was given to her by me," Song Zhiyu retorted with a smile.
She caused Ye Rou such a huge loss at the auction; Ye Rou must hate her to death.
Upon hearing this, Ye Ming blinked his tiny, beady eyes. "You're Song Zhiyu!"
He glanced at Song Zhiyu with some disbelief. Wasn't this girl supposed to be a country bumpkin? She didn't look like one at all.
This extremely oppressive aura is comparable to that of the nobles in the capital.
"So it was you who made Auntie buy clothes worth several thousand taels of silver. What a small world!" Ye Ming's eyes blazed with anger. If it weren't for Song Zhiyu, the house where Ye Rou and her son lived would have been his after his cousin Shen Rushan inherited the Marquis's mansion.
Unfortunately, all his plans were ruined by Song Zhiyu, and he could only watch helplessly as the house he was about to get slipped away.
Now, it's truly a case of enemies meeting again, their eyes blazing with hatred.
Song Zhiyu shrugged helplessly, "Madam Ye is an elder after all. She likes that dress, and I can't argue with her. I have no choice but to reluctantly give it up."
How come in your mouth it's me who harmed her? You've said both the good and the bad.
As soon as she finished speaking, the onlookers couldn't help but nod and point at Ye Ming.
"Yes, it's not right for a junior to take things from an elder. How can this person be so unreasonable?"
"With a brother like that around, who would dare to deal with Madam Ye in the future? She would hold a grudge if anything went wrong."
"You wouldn't believe it, but Madam Ye made quite a fool of herself at the chrysanthemum appreciation banquet at the Prime Minister's residence last time..."
These whispers reached Ye Ming's ears, making him feel embarrassed.
Remembering Shen Rushan's instructions and warnings, Ye Ming had no choice but to suppress his anger for the time being, staring at Song Zhiyu with a sinister look, "You wait, I'll deal with you later."
He made a harsh statement, thinking he had regained both face and dignity, and then grabbed the dazed woman beside him and left.
As he passed Song Zhiyu, a malicious thought arose in his heart, his eyes hardened, and he tried to push her downstairs using the force of his forward lean.
Song Zhiyu was not favored in the Marquis's mansion. Even if he really hurt Song Zhiyu, Ye Rou and Shen Rushan would take the blame for him.
Seeing this, a sly glint flashed in Song Zhiyu's eyes. She gently turned her body to the side and, seemingly unintentionally, stuck out her shoe to trip Ye Ming, who was hurrying downstairs.
"ah!"
A shrill voice pierced the sky and echoed throughout the Drunken Immortal Pavilion. Ye Ming felt his foot slip, and his body uncontrollably leaned backward, tumbling down the stairs.
The woman he was holding was gently pulled behind him by Song Zhiyu, preventing her from tumbling down the stairs with him.
"Song Zhiyu, how dare you harm me?" Ye Ming struggled to his feet, his hand trembling as he pointed at Song Zhiyu.
He clearly felt someone trip him, and if he had fallen and gotten seriously injured, he would make Song Zhiyu pay dearly for it.
"Stop crying 'stop thief' like a thief. You'd better explain what you wanted to do to the daughter of the Chu family." Song Zhiyu rolled up the woman's sleeve, revealing her wrist, which had been pinched red. The bluish-red marks on her fair skin looked extremely horrifying.
"What? She's the daughter of the Grand Tutor? She's just a little fool..." Ye Ming was speechless for a moment, and his face suddenly turned pale.
He remembered that the only daughter of Grand Tutor Chu had fallen into the water three years ago and become mentally impaired.
The culprit is related to the Marquis of Chengen's mansion.
"It can't be that coincidental," Ye Ming thought to himself, swallowing hard. His right eyelid twitched wildly, and he had a bad feeling.
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