All the people were unable to understand why Yun Ruo Xue would scream out loud all of a sudden without any reason, especially with her whole body was trembling. Both of her hands were hugging her body tightly, her feet retreating a few steps back out of fear and trepidation, as if extremely afraid of getting in touch with people. Even her eyes looked deathly still, yet her eyes were begging for mercy and her mouth was mumbling "No… no… don't come near me……"
Afterwhich they saw Yun Ruo Xue running directly back inside the old temple, as if she was hiding from the current situation.
That old Mama understood the look in Yun Xuan Zhi's eyes when she exchanged meaningful glances with Yun Xuan Zhi. She followed Yun Ruo Xue into the broken temple, she found the trembling body of Yun Ruo Xue under the incense burner table. Then she gently and softly pacified her extremely tensed up behavior, Yun Ruo Xue thought it was her mother hugging her in her arms and slowly leading her out of the doorway.
Seeing Yun Ruo Xue's situation, Yun Xuan Zhi came to understand what sort of bitter experience she had been through. Seeing her extremely afraid of the crowd, he immediately waved his hand gesturing those guards who had come to escort out of the way. Then he just stood there waiting for the old Mama to bring Yun Ruo Xue out.
But although on the surface Yun Xuan Zhi looked calm, but internally the anger had already rushed forth in his heart. When did his own daughter suffer this dishonor? Even if Yun Ruo Xue had such kind of mother like Su Qing, she was still the er xiaojie of Yun xiang fu. If he let her get bullied, how could he show his face anywhere? If this incident was to spread out, not only would it be difficult for Yun Ruo Xue to stand on her feet in the future, but also he will have no face to be an official of the royal court as he had lost his reputation to the greatest extent.
Such hatred in Yun Xuan Zhi's heart made him wanted to seize the suspect and kill him right away!
"Xiang Ye!" This time Steard Zhao went in front and looked at him shrewdly. How could he not notice that Yun Xuan Zhi was retraining his own emotions and keeping his cool?
But all the people who had been parents who saw their own daughter suffer from such a thing will all be unable to endure such kind of unpleasant matter, let alone Yun Xuan Zhi being the Prime Minister of the Right.
"Why did you come here?" Steward Zhao approached without consulting anyone made Yun Xuan Zhi's furious eyes shot a glance at him like a cold arrow. His face looked vicious which made Steward Zhao's heart tense up. His reply become more cautious.
"Xiang Ye, it was da xiaojie who instructed nucai to deliver the er xiaojie master to Chen Wang Fu!" Steward Zhao tried hard to emphasize his innocence on this matter, especially when he saw Yun Xuan Zhi's expression which looked like he would never let go of this matter easily, Steward Zhao felt like it would be safer for himself to pass all the suspicions onto Yun Qian Meng.
But after hearing his words, Yun Xuan Zhi's facial and eyes expressions did not contain even the slightest bit of transformation, on the contrary he just looked at Steward Zhao suspiciously then said these words with sarcasm "So you mean to say that Meng'er had caused other people to destroy Xue'er?
"This…… Nucai wouldn't dare!" Steward Zhao miscalculated Yun Xuan Zhi's love for Yun Ruo Xue, and now his protective heart towards Yun Qian Meng was also contrary to what he expected.
Yun Xuan Zhi had definitely broken all his ties with Su Family, then why would he still treat Su Qing's daughter this well? Clearly Yun Xuan Zhi was only taking advantage of Yun Qian Meng for gains, then why would he protect her like this?
This made Steward Zhao's heart feel instantly confused. But presently Yun Xuan Zhi still had yet to catch those who had violated Yun Ruo Xue. In addition to the occurrence of this major incident, they would all choose to endure silently and would not wantonly announce it to the public. Thus this made Zhao De felt somehow panicky yet he quickly pacified himself, after which he quietly retreated back beside Guard Liu and did not make another sound.
But his words had already shook Yun Xuan Zhi's heart at this moment, After all, these two daughters being unsuited to each other was a fact. In addition to Yun Qian Meng's relationship with Su Fu, even if Yun Qian Meng didn't do it, no one would ever believe it.
But now that Yun Qian Meng was already married, based on Chu Fei Yang's power and strategy, eliminating Yun Ruo Xue would be just as simple as pinching an ant. Why would he risk the danger of arousing people's suspicions, wasting all their efforts to put on such act. As a result, Yun Xuan Zhi was more likely to believe Yun Qian Meng's innocence. On the contrary, Steward Zhao, who suddenly appeared beside him to inform him of this matter made him feel puzzled. When was a steward allowed to criticize family matters of of Xiang Fu.
Thinking up to this point, the cold rays in Yun Xuan Zhi's eyes directly shot out piercing towards Zhao De standing some distance away, causing Steward Zhao's heart to immediately tense up. He lowered his head, not daring to speak anything further.
"Xiangye, nubi will assist er xiaojie to get onto the horse carriage." During this time, Yun Ruo Xue was being assisted out again. There was no other man around apart from Yun Xuan Zhi this time, so Yun Ruo Xue's mood seemed to ease down a little bit. But when she was facing Yun Xuan Zhi, her eyes were still filled with fear and hatred, subconsciously wanted to get away from Yun Xuan Zhi. The resentfulness in her eyes looked as if she wanted to kill all the people in front of her.
A perfect daughter being unexpectedly turned into such state, it would be impossible for him not to feel distressed. In any case Yun Xuan Zhi had seen Yun Ruo Xue grew up with his own eyes, at first he had thought that she would marry into a family better than Yun Qian Meng's. Who would have thought that everything had turned upside down. Perhaps Yun Ruo Xue would be spending the rest of her life in xiangfu!
Thinking about this, the murderous spirit suddenly rushed forth to his heart. He wanted to find the person who had destroyed her, and cut his body into a thousand pieces!
All the people watched as Yun Ruo Xue went inside the horse carriage, then they slowly approached beside it, and with a slow pace walked towards the direction of xiangfu.
And at this moment, Yun Ruo Xue seemed to only recognize the Mama beside her, aside from being accompanied by her, once any other person approached her she would hug her head and screech. Subsequently her body would tremble then she would cower down in a corner. This Mama who had treated her gently was the only one who had gained her heart, even if she was sitting inside the horse carriage she was still grabbing that Mama's arms tightly, with a nervous expression in her face she wouldn't allow Mama to take a single step away from her.
The accelerating speed of the group was extremely slow, seemed to be afraid of startling all the plants. Hence by the time that the er xiaojie had reached the gates of Xiang Fu, one hour had already gone by.
All the people retreated out of the way again, allowing Yun Ruo Xue to walk from the horse carriage with ease, after which they allowed Yun Ruo Xue to sit inside the palanquin which was already prepared in advance then lifting it up, they all went inside the Xiang Fu.
"Xiangye, nubi had allowed an experienced Mama to make necessary preparation in order to carefully examine er xioajie." Liu Han Yu who had been waiting by the doorway showed up just in time and considerately explained the things she prepared.
Yun Xuan Zhi nodded his head in a haze, after which he stepped inside Yun Xiang Fu's main gate striding with big steps with angry expression all over his face. Guard Liu and Steward Zhao followed closely behind him.
"What was really going on? Why would Xue'er show up in a filthy place like that? How did you handle things, Zhao De? Even if you wanted to send Xue'er over to Chen Wang Fu, you should have assigned people to protect her!" The moment Yun Xuan Zhi stepped inside his room, that anger which was concealed deep within for a long time instantly erupted out, pointing at Guard Liu and Steward Zhao he reproached loudly.
Guard Liu himself knew very well that he had neglected his duty on this matter. Feeling ashamed as he knelt down and did not try to defend himself. Although he did not like Yun Ruo Xue on ordinary days, she was still the er xiaojie of Xiang Fu. Now that this happened to her, it must be equivalent to her complete defeat and falling from grace. For any woman, losing her chastity is the most terrible thing. Consequently, regarding this matter Guard Liu would not have any complaints even if he was to be punished by Yun Xuan Zhi.
And Zhao De was feeling uneasy, this time seeing Yun Xuan Zhi made his pledge to search for the suspect, he got so scared that the palm of his hand continuously produced a layer of cold swea. He immediately spoke to shift the blame to other people, "Please calm down, xiangye. It was due to the laziness of the servants as they only send the er xiaojie to the doorway of Chen Wang Fu yet without seeing the er xiaojie go in, they returned back too soon. Nucai will punish regarding this! Xiangye, you must calm down."
"Calm down? How can benxiang calm down? With this major incident, what close to you want benxiang to shelve his face in? How can benxiang have my footing inside the Imperial Court? Zhao De, you are already an experienced member of Xiang Fu, you usually handle things cautiously, how could you commit such careless mistake? What if your own daughter had experienced such thing, would you be able to calm down yourself too?" Yun Xuan Zhi was extremely angry as he picked up an ink stone from the desk then smashed it to the ground beside Steward Zhao, frightening Steward Zhao as he lifted up his trembling arm continuously wiping off the beads of cold sweat that continuously came out from his head.
"Xiangye, please give me a chance to atone for my mistake, I will certainly find the suspect!" Guard Liu who had remained quiet for a long time suddenly spoke.
Although he was habitually silent, yet he was not stupid not to notice Steward Zhao's extremely nervous behavior while he was having a conversation with Yun Xuan Zhi, which was unlike his usual way of handling things with all his heart and being fairly calm. He could not help but feel suspicious, as a result he immediately spoke to beg Yun Xuan Zhi.
Seeing Guard Liu's face being completely solemn and respectful, Yun Xuan Zhi slightly nodded his head. While at this moment, a caretaker who was normally assigned in the front yard to receive guests, stood outside the door of the room and said, "Xiangye, the Chief Magistrate of the Capital, Governor Qian, is now in the guest room waiting for you to go over there."
"Governor Qian? Why did he come again?" Though feeling confused in his heart, Yun Xuan Zhi still managed to build up his courage to ask.
"Nucai has no idea." Why would Governor Qian inform an ordinary caretaker like him regarding the purpose of his visit?
"Got it, you may take your leave!" Yun Xuan Zhi's voice resounded from within the room, the caretaker immediately retreated out of the courtyard. At this moment Yun Xuan Zhi waved his hand gesturing Guard Liu to go out and investigate on the matter concerning Yun Ruo Xue, while he brought Steward Zhao with him to the guest room.
Before stepping inside the guest room, the Chief Magistrate had already stood up and approached in front of Yun Xuan Zhi. After saluting, Yun Xuan Zhi discovered that Governor Qian's eyes glanced around the area behind his back.
"What brings you here, Governor Qian? Could it be that my younger brother has been sentenced?" Seeing the Chief Magistrate paid his second visit today, Yun Xuan Zhi asked out of his curiosity.
At this moment, Yun Xuan Zhi had already put away his anger. He seemed to be calm and composed, causing people unable to feel that something had happened in Xiang Fu earlier.
Governor Qian's eyes was focused somewhere, afterwhich he cupped his hands facing Yun Xuan Zhi then he spoke, "Regarding the case of Yun Xuan Mo, I had already assigned people to make necessary arrangements. But this time I came due to other concerns. Xiang Ye, please instruct Steward Zhao to come inside."
The Chief Magistrate was in a serious face as if he was judging a case, Yun Xuan Zhi knew that Zhao De must have done something wrong, his face remained expressionless for a moment, in an instant his face went gloomy, then facing Steward Zhao who was waiting outside, using a cold voice he said "Come in, Steward Zhao!"
Zhao De did not expect that the Chief Magistrate would come here at this moment to look for him. He was quite nervous. His mind was constantly guessing whether or not Yun Xuan Zhi had already discovered something, then intended to let the Chief Magistrate come and interrogate him.
He wasn't able to focus his mind, while he was coming inside, he carelessly slipped in the doorway, then tumbled and fell to the ground. Staggering along a few steps, he managed to balance himself, yet he had already caused Yun Xuan Zhi to lose his face, also making Yun Xuan Zhi feel suspicious, not being able to understand why Zhao De would behave boldly. During the ordinary days he was usually being cautious, but today he kept on making mistakes as if being afraid of certain things.
"Not to know of what concern do you summon me for, Governor?" This time Zhao De was feeling uneasy as he would not even dare to look Governor Qian directly in the eyes, he just asked while lowering down his head.
"Steward Zhao, does this jade ornament belonged to Mister Zhao?" Yet Governor Qian actually took out a piece of jade ornament worn by men on their waists as he placed it in front of him in order for him to distinguish it.
Zhao De glanced at it and he knew that it was the jade ornament worn by his eldest son, and he nodded his head "This indeed belongs to my son! But not to know why is it in Governor Qian's hand right now?"
While asking this question Zhao De's mind was constantly asking himself, could it be that his useless son got himself into trouble again? But now it had alarmed the Chief Magistrate of the Capital, perhaps it was a big trouble!
Thinking about this, Zhao De's expression looked more nervous.
And Yun Xuan Zhi who was standing in a corner was staring at Steward Zhao's facial expression. He became increasingly more suspicious.
"Since this belonged to your son, then Steward Zhao, please follow me to Jing Zhao Fu to claim Mister Zhao! Today at noon time, Mister Zhao happened to have an argument with another person in a brothel, yet he fell down from the third floor and was dead on the spot!" Governor Qian spoke indifferently while he handed over the jade ornament to Zhao De.
But as for Zhao De it was like a thunder from the clear sky. The jade ornament clasped in his hands suddenly slid down onto the carpet, eyes filled with disbelief. He abruptly grabbed Governor Qian's arm then asked again, "Governor, aren't you mistaken? That shouldn't be my son, my son is at home during this moment……"
But after saying these words, even Zhao De himself somehow could not believe his eldest would patiently stay at home.
But he never expected his own son to die without any reason, with his death so sudden that he simply could not believe why a person who was perfectly all right would just die like that?
"Mister Zhao was fighting over a woman in a brothel with another man, while they were fighting he accidentally fell down from the third floor!" Seeing Zhao De unable to accept the pain of losing his child, Governor Qian spoke again to explain the matter.
"Not to know, who was the man who had done such vicious thing to my son, please state the name explicitly, Governor!" Zhao De was holding back the pain of losing his son in his heart with his face filled with tears. Although his eldest son was ignorant and incompetent, but now his son had died dubiously, he would like to seek justice for his son.
After speaking, Zhao De immediately knelt down before Yun Xuan Zhi knocking his head violently on the floor for three times, with a grieved expression he said, "Xiangye, nucai has been loyal to the Xiang Fu all these years, now that my son had died so strangely. Nucai hopes that xiangye will be able to help nucai seek justice!"
While speaking, Zhao De started to cry out loudly.
Yun Xuan Zhi wrinkled his brows. In his heart he was blaming Zhao De for being unable to determine the severity of the situation. He knew very well that there were other major things happening inside Xiang Fu, yet he had begged him in front of the Chief Magistrate to help him seek justice for his useless son, that was truly ridiculous!
But in front of Governor Qian, Yun Xuan Zhi simply knitted his brows and asked, "Governor Qian, do you have any information regarding that outrageous man who had dared to commit crime under the eyes of the people in the crowd?"
After Yun Xuan Zhi spoke, Governor Qian's expression became awkward, he muttered for a while then eventually slowly spoke "It was the young master of Han Guo Gong Fu, Yuan Qing Zhou!"
This Yuan Qing Zhou was a man who liked to frequented brothels. There wasn't a brothel he hadn't been to or a lovely girl he hadn't corrupted. Furthermore, he had a distinguished family background, with Chen Wang Fu and Han Guo Gong Fu as his support, he was more flagrant because he was secure in the knowledge of his backing. He became known as the captial's little overlord.
Zhao De's son was a pervert who was fond of female charms. During ordinary days he would make frequent his visits to the brothel, in addition to his father being the major steward of the Xiang Fu of the Right, it made him use his position to bully others. All they he would be seeking women in the brothels, bidding for a prostitute was something he did very often, nothing like this ever happened before!.
Knowing his own son had already turned into a corpse, Zhao De's heart was extremely sorrowful. He wished he could seize the murderer and kill him and cut off his flesh!
Yet he suddenly learned from Governor Qian that the opposing party was actually the influential Yuan Qing Zhou. For a moment Zhao De's face turned deathly pale, his facial expression became helpless as he stared closely at Yun Xuan Zhi hoping that he would be able to help him.
But upon hearing Yuan Qing Zhou's name this time, Yun Xuan Zhi helplessly knitted his brows, his eyes angrily glared at Zhao De blaming Zhao De for not properly disciplining his own son. Now that it had involved Yun Xiang Fu, Yun Xuan Zhi's heart was slightly angered in addition to the incident concerning Yun Ruo Xue. Suddenly with a hard face he immediately said, "You may go with Governor Qian to the official place of Chief Magistrate to claim ownership of the corpse, later on we shall continue to discuss things when you get back!"
This incident was not that big, but it wasn't small either. If one were to play the incident lightly, it was merely because of the jealousy between the patrons because of women in the brothel that led to the accident loss of a person's life. If one were to make the issue a, it was a war between the two factions within the Imperial Court.
As a result, to prevent it from turning into a worse situation, Governor Qian had personally run towards Yun Xiang Fu to ascertain Yun Xuan Zhi's approach towards this matter.
However during this time, Yun Xuan Zhi remained emotionless. His current mood was difficult to predict, Governor Qian frowned inwardly, yet he could only follow Yun Xuan Zhi's advice leading Steward Zhao as they left in advance.
After Governor Qian bid his farewell to him, Yun Xuan Zhi's face suddenly went gloomy and cold. He was still pondering deep within his heart regarding this matter, as he stood up and walked towards the direction of Qi Luo Yuan.
On his way, Yun Xuan Zhi continued to think through the matter determining how he should speak about it. Unconsciously he had arrived at Qi Luo Yuan and during this time Yun Qian Meng had just woken up from her afternoon nap and was being compelled by Chu Fei Yang to drink a bowl of ginseng soup that was held in her hands. They saw Yun Xuan Zhi walk in while being preoccupied with the things in his mind.
Seizing the opportunity, Yun Qian Meng put down the bowl of ginseng soup, slowly stood up and inquired, "Father, what brings you here?"
Chu Fei Yang just discreetly glared at Yun Qian Meng. Afterwhich he pulled her to sit down, then putting that bowl of ginseng soup which she had taken just one sip back in front of her, using a meaningful glance gesturing her to obediently finish it all.
Yun Xuan Zhi thought about Yun Qian Meng's married life, then he was reminded of his second daughter, giving rise to the depressed feeling in his heart. He was wondering if he himself had never spoiled Ruo Xue like that, perhaps such kind of thing would never happen today.
His eyes shifted from Yun Qian Meng to Chu Fei Yang, then he told everything that had happened earlier, observing Chu Fei Yang's facial expression.
"How do you want this matter to be handled, Yun Xiang? Based on what benxiang knows, the eldest son of Steward Zhao was an ignorant and incompetent person. During ordinary days, aside from gambling, he would visit brothels. If Yun Xiang was to help such kind of person, won't you be afraid of being sneered at by those people in the capital? They would criticize Yun Xiang for being unable to manage his own family matters well, a son of a servant committing such kind of mistake yet actually needing their own master to cover up. Indirectly involving Meng'er! Of course, if Yun Xiang would like to consider the friendship between the master and servant, you might as well step in, but in the future Meng'er wouldn't be able to visit Yun Xiang Fu anymore, so as to avoid causing harm to her reputation!" Chu Fei Yang's words clearly implied that Yun Xuan Zhi had considered the friendship between master and servant yet neglected his own daughter. It would be impossible for Yun Xuan Zhi to pretend not to know anything, but he certainly understood the interrelated things in this matter, even if he did not look further into it, he already knew what he should do next.
"Earlier you mentioned about the discomfort of younger sister, what happened to her? Is it suitable for us to visit her right now?" Yun Qian Meng pushed the ginseng soup back to Chu Fei Yang without his noticing, lifting up her handkerchief she wiped the corner of her mouth, after which with a simple smile, her interrogation had successfully shifted Yun Xuan Zhi's attention.
Hearing Yun Qian Meng mention Yun Ruo Xue, Yun Xuan Zhi's heart was greatly confused. His anxiety as a father was suddenly exposed in his face, those knitted brows had concealed up so much anger, but in front of Chu Fei Yang still knew to control it. Plus refusing to let Chu Fei Yang know about this matter, he simply responded "The child throwing her tantrums is a usual thing for me. Both of you should take your lunch, don't get hungry!"
Yun Qian Meng slightly nodded her head when she heard his response, yet she also saw Guard Liu arrived, waiting for Yun Xuan Zhi outside the side hall.
Moreover Yun Xuan Zhi did not allow him to come inside, instead he chose to personally walk outside to hear the reports from Guard Liu. After which he took a belt from Guard Liu's hand then gestured for him to leave.
When he returned back to the hall, he saw Yun Qian Meng was staring at him in confusion. Yun Xuan Zhi was slightly distracted. His face turned deathly pale, yet he forcibly managed to squeeze out a smile on his face and he said in a gentle voice, "Daddy has some matters to attend to, you shall properly take your rest inside Qi Luo Yuan."
After which he was about to turn around and leave, but Chu Fei Yang stood up at this moment and with a shallow smile as he said. "We have caused a lot trouble for disturbing you almost half of the day, it is also time for me and Meng'er to return home."
After speaking, Chu Fei Yang instructed Xi Lin, who was standing outside, to prepare the horse carriage. Yun Xuan Zhi did not have the mood to stay any longer, nodding his head towards them, he allowed another caretaker to escort Yun Qian Meng and Chu Fei Yang out of Xiang Fu.
Translated by: cristina Edited by: ChocolateMorn