Chapter 1287: Chapter 1284: Situation Chapter 1287: Chapter 1284: Situation “Only after the pearl had secretly formed did the marriage come to fruition.”

“Doesn’t this make all the young misses feel as if it’s okay to willingly degrade themselves?” Ye Muyu’s brows furrowed lightly. “If the scholar had some abilities, then fine, but after getting married, he still relies on the young miss’s dowry for a living.”

“In the books, it ends with the scholar becoming the first place in the examination, to everyone’s joy, but what if, in reality, the scholar doesn’t succeed?”

“Such matters are a question of mutual consent. If you don’t choose wisely, even if the other party isn’t a poor scholar, whatever is bound to happen will still happen,” Chu Heng said, looking directly at the essence of the issue as if it was second nature to him.

Seeing that his wife was still unhappy and had even glared at him, he coughed lightly and said, “These are all written by frustrated scholars who have not achieved their goals. They are all imaginary, hopeful events, naturally biased and unrealistic.”

“It seems I don’t have to worry about you doing the wrong thing after reading these novels,” Ye Muyu feigned a light snort, but she was actually quite satisfied with his answer. After all, Chu Heng was far too intelligent compared to a fool. And who doesn’t like a wise person?

Indeed, one should not compare people to each other.

As Ye Muyu thought to herself, she couldn’t help but say, “Then, can we add a line on these novels stating that the story is fictional?”

“We can for the books in our bookstore,” Chu Heng thought she was speaking impulsively, and his reply wasn’t entirely committal.

“In fact, daughters of prominent families rarely read these novels, and even if they do, they wouldn’t take them seriously. They’re always surrounded by servant boys, and such things are not allowed to happen.”

“In truth, these cases mostly happen between rich merchants’ daughters and poor scholars.”

“A rich merchant is happy to have a marriage alliance with a well-learned man, as it could upgrade their family status,” he explained.

Ye Muyu concluded that she had been overthinking.

She yawned.

“Alright, I won’t disturb you any longer. I’ll lie down and rest for a bit.”

Having said that, Ye Muyu collapsed onto the couch and lay down with her eyes closed to rest.

Chu Heng could not help but smile helplessly, stretching his hand to cover her with a thin blanket.

After strolling for three days, it was time for Chu Lin to prepare to return home.

That day, while Ye Muyu was at the mansion sorting out the luggage for the trip back to her family with Madam Liu, she heard the news about Madam Tang.

“You mean, Madam Tang has been tortured?” Ye Muyu was somewhat surprised and instinctively lowered her voice to avoid worrying her elders. She found an excuse and stepped out of the front hall.

Su Mei was beside her, recounting the news she had gathered: “I’ve been inquiring for a long time without any news, but this message came from the Elder Princess’s Mansion.”

“They say the Elder Princess invited Madam Tang over and discreetly summoned a doctor to tend to her injuries.”

“How could we know something from the Elder Princess’s side?” Ye Muyu frowned. “Could it be that someone has discovered we are inquiring?”

“No, my lady, it was the Elder Princess herself who took the initiative to send the message,” Su Mei hurriedly explained. “The Elder Princess said Madam Tang sought her help, claiming she knows someone who could cure the Gu insect in the Young Prince’s body.”

“Did she approach the Elder Princess because Duke Zheng no longer trusts her?”

Ye Muyu found it very strange. Aside from whether Madam Tang herself truly regretted her actions, if Duke Zheng had learned of her abilities, he surely wouldn’t let her leave casually.

“It appears so.”

“Do you need me to continue investigating?”

“We do need to, but there’s no rush this time. We absolutely can’t let Duke Zheng find out.”

“We could actually advance by retreating, having people inquire both openly and covertly.”