[{"data":1,"prerenderedAt":-1},["ShallowReactive",2],{"origin-the-duke-s-pampered-darling-is-so-scheming":3,"chapter-the-duke-s-pampered-darling-is-so-scheming-the-duke-s-pampered-darling-is-so-scheming-chapter-263":6},{"origin":4,"title":5},"english","The Duke's Pampered Darling is So Scheming",{"chapter":7,"nextChapterSlug":19,"prevChapterSlug":20,"totalChapters":21,"novelImage":22},{"id":8,"novel_id":9,"title":10,"slug":11,"index":12,"content":13,"wordcount":14,"created_at":15,"updated_at":15,"volume":16,"translator":17,"content_hash":18},1563185,2027,"Chapter 263: Out of Control","the-duke-s-pampered-darling-is-so-scheming-chapter-263",263,"\u003Cp>The Hidden Guard panicked and rushed to explain, \"Your Highness, I assure you! This was not my doing! The reports say it seems Han Tong suffered a sudden heart ailment. He was gone before a doctor could reach him...\"\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>CRASH—!\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>Xiao Chengxuan swept everything off the desk in a single motion, the pent-up frustration he’d felt all day finally reaching its peak.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>\"Useless fool!\"\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>’Of all the times for that Han Tong to die, he had to pick now. Even if I had a hundred mouths, I wouldn’t be able to explain my way out of this!’\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>’He betrayed me, put me in this predicament, and now he’s taken the easy way out!’\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>’And I don’t even know who to take this anger out on!’\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>The Hidden Guard lowered his head even further. \"Your Highness, please quell your anger!\"\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>’Quell my anger?’\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>’Easy for you to say!’\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>\"Han Tong has always been a cautious man. He would never have betrayed me so suddenly. There has to be something else going on here!\"\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>’But now he’s dead, and there’s no way to investigate!’\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>It was all too coincidental. Xiao Chengxuan couldn’t help but feel suspicious.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>\"A man who was perfectly healthy is just... gone. I’d like to see how Shen Yanchuan is going to explain this!\"\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>The Hidden Guard hesitated before lowering his voice. \"...Your Highness, the Heir of Duke Dingbei has been in his residence all day; he hasn’t stepped out. I heard the man was escorted to the Ministry of Justice last night. After Han Tong died, the first person to arrive on the scene was Lord Su Wei...\"\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>So, Han Tong’s death had absolutely nothing to do with Shen Yanchuan!\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>A throbbing pain shot through Xiao Chengxuan’s head.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>It felt as if things were imperceptibly slipping out of his control, a feeling that made him deeply uneasy.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>But he had just been reprimanded by his Imperial Father today. He was at the center of a storm, and anything he did would attract immense scrutiny.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>If anything else went wrong at a time like this, the consequences would be far more severe than just being summoned to the palace for a reprimand!\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>So, he had to endure.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>Xiao Chengxuan took a deep breath, forcing himself to calm down. \"Are you certain his death had nothing to do with anyone else?\" he asked coldly.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>The Hidden Guard replied respectfully, \"Rest assured, Your Highness. No one will find any evidence that there was anything unusual about his physical condition before he died.\"\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>’The man’s dead. There’s no use talking about it anymore. The most important thing now is to sever all connections.’\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>\"And what about Han Yao—\"\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>\"Since being locked up, Han Yao hasn’t revealed anything else. It seems what he spouted during his public outburst was everything he knew.\"\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>Only then did Xiao Chengxuan relax slightly.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>He waved his hand dismissively.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>\"Leave. For the time being, do not make any rash moves without my explicit command.\"\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>’At this stage, it’s best to lie low.’\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>\"Yes!\"\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>After the Hidden Guard departed, Xiao Chengxuan sat alone in the room for a long time, his turbulent emotions refusing to settle.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>’If Huo Yucheng’s case is really overturned, then I, as the one who handled it back then, will be the first to face the consequences!’\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>’Therefore—no matter what, Huo Yucheng’s guilt must be sealed! There can be no chance of exoneration!’\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>...\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>Su Pei’er drank the bitter medicine. A gentle warmth spread through her body, seeming to thaw even her icy hands and feet.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>Her young maid promptly handed her a piece of candied fruit.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>\"It’s all thanks to Doctor Ye! Your color looks so much better, Miss!\"\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>Su Pei’er held the sweet fruit in her mouth, her mind drifting for a moment.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>She had been through so much recently that she barely even noticed the bitterness of the medicine anymore. Still, she cherished the kind gesture.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>\"Dong’er, you’ve had to suffer because of me.\"\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>Dong’er’s eyes reddened, and she shook her head vehemently. \"What are you saying, Miss! If you hadn’t saved me from those human traffickers back then, I would have frozen to death on the street long ago! How could I possibly still be alive today?\"\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>A look of pity filled Su Pei’er’s eyes. Suddenly, she heard footsteps outside.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>She instinctively glanced toward the door, and in the next moment, it swung open.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>\"Miss Su, the case of the Han family father and son is now closed. It has nothing to do with you. You are free to leave.\"\u003C\u002Fp>",759,"2026-06-06T07:54:32.966Z",1,"novelbin.me","14c8e7acc8d6dc9ca2b181f3386338785f4ac4c39145a4e4be7718311d1b76c7","the-duke-s-pampered-darling-is-so-scheming-chapter-264","the-duke-s-pampered-darling-is-so-scheming-chapter-262",302,"https:\u002F\u002Fnovelzhen.com\u002Fimages\u002Fcovers\u002Fthe-duke-s-pampered-darling-is-so-scheming-cover.jpg"]