Chapter 77: CH 68

After eating dinner, Zhong Wan relayed in detail the events that had transpired when he had seen Xuan Jing today. He asked, “What will Prince Yu do?”

Yu She was silent for a moment. 

Then Yu She shook his head. “I can’t guess.

“Since young, I’ve never been able to guess what he was thinking,” Yu She said. “Thus, I’ve taken the initiative to become the chess piece that keeps him in check for the emperor, continuously aggravating the relationship between him and the emperor… At the end of the day, if the emperor makes Xuan Qiong the crown prince, that’s the same as making Prince Yu the crown prince. One of the major reasons the emperor indulges me so much is because he knows I won’t become a puppet for Prince Yu.”

Zhong Wan asked, “Say… Do you think he knows about how Xuan Qiong is colluding with the Beidi tribes?”

Yu She shook his head. “Most likely not.” 

Zhong Wan paused for a moment. He couldn’t help laughing.

A hint of amusement flashed through Yu She’s eyes.

“The news was leaked from Princess Royal Anguo’s estate. It’s hard to tell if it was actually purposeful or not,” Zhong Wan said. “Heir, are you going to go see the princess royal?”

“Naturally,” Yu She said. “Tomorrow.”

Zhong Wan asked, “I’ll go with you?”

“Don’t. The issue of taking a concubine…” It was rare for Yu She to be in the wrong. “She’ll likely blame you. Don’t go searching for torment.”

Zhong Wan purposefully asked, “Would you watch the princess hit me and not do anything?”

“No,” Yu She answered. “But I can’t cover her mouth to stop her from yelling at you. There’s no room for discussion about this matter, okay? Stay home by yourself tomorrow.” 

With no other option, Zhong Wan nodded. “Oh right. I’ll have to trouble Heir to tell your family soldiers to be more accommodating if Lin Si comes looking for me in the next few days. Don’t stop him again. I have official business to discuss with him.”

Yu She reflexively furrowed his brows. He was slightly unwilling.

Zhong Wan was curious. “Heir… There’s something I find very strange. Why do you hate Lin Si?”

Yu She lowered his gaze and sipped his tea. He didn’t respond. 

“He’s just a mute. He can’t annoy you. Objectively speaking…” said Zhong Wan. “He’s a good and honest person. I honestly can’t understand why anyone would dislike him.”

Yu She scoffed. He asked Zhong Wan in return, “Aside from wanting to see him to give him a few tasks, do you also want to see him so you can help speak up for Xuan Jing?”

Zhong Wan froze. How did Yu She know about that?!

Yu She continued, “If I haven’t guessed wrong again… did he and Xuan Jing have an argument? The two of them are on bad terms now?” 

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Zhong Wan couldn’t help laughing. “I never asked you: how do you know about the two of them?”

Yu She answered indifferently, “I guessed long ago.” 

“How long ago?” Zhong Wan was shocked. “Even I only found out a few months ago.”

Yu She said, “Several years ago.”

Still astonished, Zhong Wan said, “Lin Si already… So long ago? What a conscience he must have. At the time, in his letters to Qian An, he often said that he couldn’t stop worrying about me, to the point that he had no appetite at all. He said that he spent days without eating, and I really believed him. I feared that he wouldn’t rest at ease, so fooled him by saying that I was in great health. Turns out he had already fucked Xuan Jing early on? Then why did he keep acting in front of me a few months ago?!”

“Fucked…” Yu She couldn’t really get the words out of his mouth. He glanced at Zhong Wan and said instead, “I’m unsure if they’ve reached that step yet, but there’s definitely been something up between the two of them since long ago. Otherwise, previously…” 

Yu She wasn’t very interested in speaking about this topic. He handed Zhong Wan’s medicine to him. Zhong Wan was itching with curiosity. “What happened previously?”

Yu She was exasperated. “You want to hear?’

Zhong Wan furiously nodded. Yu She said, “Eat your medicine first.”

With no other choice, Zhong Wan ate the medicine pill. He incessantly urged, “Tell me…” 

Yu She narrowed his eyes in thought. “Four years ago? Xuan Jing’s mother, Imperial Consort Shu, visited his estate… and taught Lin Si a lesson.”

Zhong Wan’s expression changed. Yu She, quite unbothered, said, “She wasn’t ruthless. Besides, everything was only a misunderstanding.”

“That period of time… It had been nearing Imperial Consort Shu’s birthday. It was a whole birthday. Xuan Jing prepared a banquet at his own estate, determined to hold a grand celebration. Imperial Consort Shu arrived at his estate a day early and instantly spotted Lin Si.”

“Lin Si was wearing the clothes of a servant, but was freely walking in and out of the inner courtyard. He also had an ancient jade pendant on, which seemed out of place. Imperial Consort Shu noticed him and found him strange, so asked about him. Upon finding out that he was a criminal who had been lowered to the slave rank, she felt even more surprised. 

“Imperial Consort Shu thought that he had fooled his way into the inner courtyard to steal, thus ordered people to search his room. As expected, she found much silver and gold. He was a slave who didn’t even earn a monthly wage. How could he have money? Imperial Consort Shu assumed that he was definitely a thief. Additionally, Lin Si was a mute who only knew how to sign. Who could understand him?

“He couldn’t explain, so got tied up. Originally, this wasn’t a big deal at all. Which family didn’t have a petty thief or two among their staff? Imperial Consort Shu was still celebrating her birthday, which meant she didn’t want to punish him too harshly. Thus, she ordered someone to beat him… twenty-something times?”

Zhong Wan furrowed his brows. “And then?”

“And then Xuan Jing returned and saw this. At the time, they were actually almost done beating Lin Si.” Yu She’s expression was apathetic. “But upon seeing Lin Si sprawled out on the ground, getting hit, Xuan Jing roared into the sky and asked the Heavens who dared to hit Lin Si. After finding out that Imperial Consort Shu was the one who had ordered the punishment, he howled and said, ‘Consort Mother, if you want to beat him to death, you’ll need to beat me to death first.’” 

Zhong Wan: “…”

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Zhong Wan facepalmed. Xuan Jing, the idiot…

Yu She’s face was blank. “Even I was shocked, not to mention Imperial Consort Shu.”

Zhong Wan got out with difficulty, “And then?” 

“And then nothing,” Yu She said. “Imperial Consort Shu was greatly frightened, temporarily unable to react. Xuan Jing believed that Imperial Consort Shu intended to beat Lin Si to death and became extremely agitated. He charged forward to block the the other from the paddle. Lin Si flipped over and covered Xuan Jing with his own body; because of this interlude, Lin Si got beaten several extra times.”

Zhong Wan tried to hold his laughter back. He didn’t feel sorry for the other at all.

“Imperial Consort Shu was quite confused. She had wanted to celebrate her birthday happily, but almost beat her own son. Originally, she didn’t feel suspicious at all. However, she felt that something was off after witnessing this incident. She interrogated the two of them for a long time… Yet, there probably hadn’t been anything going on between the two of them at that time. They only had a relationship that was slightly more intimate than usual. After asking them and the servants at the estate, Imperial Consort Shu didn’t manage to get any results. Thus, this matter came to an end.”

Yu She added, “Later on, Xuan Jing worried that something else would happen to Lin Si, so never gave him anything valuable again.” 

Yu She stared at the candle flame while blanked out. A light sigh left his lips. “There’s an old walnut tree in Xuan Jing’s courtyard… The walnuts it bears are of pretty good quality. Xuan Jing never dared to give Lin Si silver or gold again; instead, he gifted the other walnuts from his yard as a replacement. If Lin Si wants something or wants to buy something, he can exchange the little walnuts with Xuan Jing to get what he wants.

“Later on, I visited Xuan Jing’s estate for a banquet again,” Yu She said. “I once personally witnessed him secretly picking the walnuts off the tree and stuffing them into Lin Si’s sleeves. That expression… I’m unsure if they understood clearly, but I certainly did.”

Zhong Wan thought about that scene. Disregarding the fact that Xuan Jing was an idiot, that scene was practically one out of a painting. Faint amusement appeared in Zhong Wan’s eyes. “That’s not right either. Even if Xuan Jing’s stupid, why are you only mad at Lin Si?”

“I’m not only mad at him. I’m jealous of the both of them.” 

The smile disappeared from Yu She’s face. Coldly, he stated, “How come, under similar circumstances, the two of them never separated? And they even managed to live such a fruitful life. Instead, I…”

Zhong Wan’s heart twinged with pain.

“If you hadn’t left, I would definitely have treated you better than how Xuan Jing treats Lin Si…”

Yu She glanced at Zhong Wan. He didn’t continue his sentence. 

Seven years had passed. Thinking back now, those years were definitely scars that would never heal.

Zhong Wan hadn’t completely recovered yet. His body was frail and he got tired easily. After dinner, he yawned incessantly. He had forced himself to stay alert to listen to Yu She talk for so long. Now, he was already fighting to keep his eyes open. Upon noticing that Yu She was a bit displeased, he wanted to continue talking with Yu She. However, Yu She stood up and said, “Sleep. I shouldn’t have allowed you to leave today.”

“I’m fine, just a little tired.” Zhong Wan rubbed his eyes. “Because of me, you always have to sleep early these days too.”

Yu She asked in response, “Who told you that I’m going to accompany you to sleep?” 

Zhong Wan froze, awkward. “You… Are you not sleeping with me?”

Yu She replied, “I still have something to do. You sleep by yourself first.”

Zhong Wan couldn’t really relax. He forced the sleepiness away as he asked, “Are you going to the study again?”

Yu She burst into laughter. Without waiting for Yu She to explain, Zhong Wan tried to scare him, “Do you know what it means at other estates when the master of the estate doesn’t sleep in his own bedroom?” 

Yu She honestly didn’t know about these things. He furrowed his brows and gazed at Zhong Wan. Zhong Wan said, bluffing, “It means that we’ve gotten into an argument! A couple got into an argument and the husband feared getting killed in the middle of the night by his own wife! Thus, he slept in the study!”

Yu She was dumbstruck.

Zhong Wan’s expression was serious. “That’s the truth. Besides, if there were elderly people on your estate who noticed that a young couple weren’t sleeping together, they’d even come over and ask about it, then coax us to reconcile. We have unfortunate lives. There aren’t any seniors who are capable of keeping us in line, but you can’t overindulge yourself by casually sleeping in the study because of this, right?”

Yu She was bewildered. What did this have to do with anything? 

Zhong Wan’s argument was very logical. “Another situation where the master of the estate sleeps in the study is when he’s secretly meeting a mistress. However, based on the situation on your estate, who do you think would be suitable for you to be secretly meeting? Those nannies? That little maid who’s just barely reached the height of my waist? Or your family soldiers who are all the size of small mountains? Perhaps Steward Feng? If these rumors got out, do you think they would be very flattering?”

Yu She: “…”

Zhong Wan pitied himself greatly. “Besides, if you act in this manner, you’re making things very difficult for me. If you sleep in the study, all the people on your estate will think that you don’t like me anymore. After enough time, they’ll no longer be so dedicated to taking care of me. Consequently, they’ll give me old clothes to wear and leftovers to eat. Finally, they’ll kick me out to sleep in the woodshed. Thus, I’ll only be able to pound rice while singing…”

Yu She calmly stated, “Keep making things up.” 

Zhong Wan shut up, embarrassed.

Yu She furrowed his brows. “You sleep first. I’ll be back soon.”

Yu She headed to the study. He ordered someone to summon the family soldier who had left the estate with Zhong Wan today.

The family soldier carefully relayed what Zhong Wan had done and said today in detail to Yu She. He didn’t leave anything out. 

After hearing that Zhong Wan had hesitated about whether or not he should see Xuan Rui, Yu She froze. The family soldier said, “The former Prince Qian An’s younger sister sent someone to bring gifts to our estate several times already. Each time, she also sent a messenger, saying that she wants to see Young Master Zhong. Young Master Zhong does reply to her letters, but has never gone out to see her. Additionally, there wasn’t much business to attend to after heading out today. This subordinate specially asked Young Master Zhong if he wanted to visit his own estate for a bit. Young Master Zhong said that there was no need.”

The family soldier continued, “But Young Master Zhong’s expression had clearly been hesitant.”

Yu She lowered his gaze. “He still feels like he’s disappointed Prince Ning.”

The family soldier didn’t understand these things. “Then how come he hasn’t discussed these matters with Heir?” 

“He’s worried that I’ll be troubled, so refuses to mention these things to me,” Yu She said in a deep voice, eyes closed. “Instead, he fears that I’ll be unhappy and always jokes around with me, disregarding his own emotions…”

The family soldier could faintly sense that his master currently intended on joining the fight for crown prince. He lowly persuaded, tone awkward, “How is this difficult? If Heir fulfills your goals in the future, then you can give that little young master a prince of the first rank title and name him Prince Ning again. Then, you can give the young miss a princess of the third rank title. As such, Young Master Zhong will have absolutely repaid Prince Ning!”

Yu She felt tempted. “…That’s one way to do it.”

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