The Royal Hot Springs Villa only bustled with activity during winter; ordinarily, it was merely guarded by imperial sentinels. Each month, palace maids and eunuchs were dispatched to clean the estate.
The villa was vast, with over twenty hot spring courtyards of varying sizes, requiring several days to clean thoroughly. The maids and eunuchs would stay overnight during this time.
As fate would have it, Ye Chutang happened upon them.
Four maids chatted and laughed as they carried cleaning tools toward the largest hot spring pool.
"Did you know there’ll be quite the spectacle at Princess An’s birthday banquet?"
"Surely Prince An doesn’t plan to scheme against Prince Chen and force him to become Princess Anping’s husband?"
"No, guess again."
"Don’t tell me Prince An intends to rebel that day?"
"Don’t be absurd! Even if Prince An had the ambition, he wouldn’t dare."
"Then what is it? Stop keeping us in suspense—just tell us!"
The young maid lowered her voice conspiratorially. "It involves the eldest daughter of Minister Ye."
It was upon hearing this that Ye Chutang decided to stay.
She hid behind a rockery in the southwestern corner, straining to eavesdrop.
"You mean that Eldest Miss Ye who grew up in the countryside but is so brilliantly talented that a single piece of her calligraphy sells for ten taels of gold?"
"Exactly! Want to know what’s going to happen to her at Princess An’s birthday celebration?"
"Of course! Out with it already!"
The maid extended her hand. "This information didn’t come cheap. Pay up if you want to hear it."
"You little miser, I knew you’d ask for silver. Fine, here."
The three maids each dropped small silver pieces into her waiting palm.
"Now can you tell us?"
"Listen well. The Emperor ordered Prince An to arrange for Prince Chen and Eldest Miss Ye to be caught in a compromising situation, so he can force them into marriage."
Ye Chutang: "..."
Why was that wretched Emperor so determined to pair her with Prince Chen?
Even her scoundrel of a father had urged her to marry him.
Those two old schemers definitely had ulterior motives!
One maid asked curiously, "But why?"
"Because Prince Chen has repeatedly refused the Emperor’s marriage proposals, angering him. The Emperor wants to teach him a lesson."
The Emperor had tried to arrange a marriage between Prince Chen and the eldest daughter of the Minister of Revenue, only to be refused.
So now he’d orchestrate a scenario where Prince Chen would beg for the marriage himself!
The reasoning sounded plausible, but Ye Chutang didn’t believe a word of it.
Though the Emperor was a fool, he wasn’t so shallow as to force her and Prince Chen together without deeper intentions.
Realizing she’d been gone too long and that the maids likely knew no more, Ye Chutang slipped back to her chambers unnoticed.
Not long after her return, Dan’er knocked on her door.
"Eldest Miss, dinner is ready."
"Very well."
Ye Chutang retrieved a bag of sweet corn kernels from her spatial storage, discarded the plastic packaging, wrapped them in coarse cloth, and stepped out.
"Go ahead to the dining hall," she told the waiting servants. "I’ll prepare a sweet soup first."
Dan’er immediately offered, "This servant will stoke the fire for you."
"Good."
While Dan’er fed firewood into the stove, Ye Chutang secretly replaced the well water with spiritual spring water.
She mixed the water starch, whisked the eggs, and once the spiritual water boiled, added the corn kernels.
After seasoning with sugar and thickening the soup, she swirled in the egg ribbons.
"Done. Let’s eat."
Dan’er gaped at the fresh corn kernels in the millet soup.
"Eldest Miss, the corn was only just planted. Where did you get fresh kernels?"
Ye Chutang lied smoothly, "I bought them in the market. This tiny bit cost me five taels."
Dan’er was too stunned to speak.
With luck, one could indeed find off-season produce at such exorbitant prices.
Ye Chutang urged, "Everyone’s waiting. To the dining hall."
Dan’er snapped out of it. "Yes, Eldest Miss."
The fragrant millet soup, infused with spiritual water, had Jun’er salivating the moment it was set on the table.
"Jun’er, I made this especially for you. Have an extra bowl."
Jun’er’s eyes welled with tears as he choked out, "Thank you, Eldest Sister."
Ye Chutang playfully tapped his nose.
"Crying over food? How embarrassing."
Jun’er hastily swallowed his tears. "Jun’er is happy. Jun’er won’t cry."
"Good boy. Now eat."
After dinner, Ye Chutang asked, "Shuang’er hasn’t returned all day?"
Dan’er, clearing the table, shook her head. "No. Her injuries are severe, so she works slowly. She’s probably still scrubbing the chamber pots."
She felt no pity—Shuang’er had brought this upon herself.
"Then leave her be."
Ye Chutang took Jun’er for an evening stroll, deliberately heading toward the Glazed Courtyard.
The closer they got, the louder Kong Ru’s hoarse screams became.
Jun’er froze in terror, recalling his own agony when he’d been force-fed medicine—too weak to even cry out.
Ye Chutang knelt before him.
"If you think Eldest Sister is wrong, I’ll go heal your mother."
"She’s not my mother."
Ye Chutang dismissed this as the words of a child traumatized by Kong Ru’s abuse.
"Eldest Sister is good. Everything she does is right."
Jun’er declared this firmly, then clenched his tiny fists and marched toward the Glazed Courtyard, dragging Ye Chutang along.
He needed to prove his bravery—that he didn’t care about his mother’s suffering.
Satisfied, Ye Chutang turned them back.
"Too noisy. Let’s go."
Back in the Tranquil Dawn Courtyard, she administered acupuncture to Jun’er.
Since his health had improved, she inserted the needles deeper for greater effect.
Jun’er trembled violently, drenched in cold sweat, but bit his lip and endured silently.
Le’er’s heart ached, but she never doubted Ye Chutang’s intentions.
After the session, Jun’er collapsed onto the bed, gasping.
Ye Chutang put away the needles. "Drink your medicine while it’s hot."
Then she retired to her chambers to bathe and rest.
At midnight, Ye Chutang tunneled underground to the national treasury.
Adjacent to the palace, the treasury was enormous, with towering walls and heavy security—guards stationed every few steps.
It housed not just gold and treasures, but also essential supplies: grain, textiles, metals—preparations for potential disasters or war.
Ye Chutang didn’t enter recklessly. First, she used her earth-based powers to sense the interior.
Unexpectedly, even the storage rooms were heavily guarded.
"Seems the Emperor learned his lesson after being robbed. Now he’s taking precautions."
A direct assault was impossible, and there was no time for an elaborate scheme.
She grinned. "If I can’t rob the treasury, the Emperor’s private vault will do just fine!"
