Chapter 14
The next day, Zhong Wan left the side courtyard with Yu She .
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In the carriage, Yu She drew back the curtains to look outside . Then, he glanced back at Zhong Wan . Uncertainty filled his eyes .
Zhong Wan stared at Yu She, suspicious . “What? Are you feeling regretful? You… don’t want to break off the engagement anymore?”
Yu She shook his head . “I don’t regret breaking off the engagement . ”
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Yu She gazed at Zhong Wan . He looked like he didn’t know how to phrase what he wanted to say . “But I suddenly regret bringing you out with me . ”
This was clearly a situation that could be resolved by simply saying something to the Princess . Why was he going about in such a big circle and getting this person to act out a scene?
Zhong Wan held back his laughter . “I told you, I definitely won’t make you lose face . It’ll just cost you some money . But you don’t care about that, so what are you scared of?”
“I’m not scared of losing face . I just think…” Yu She hesitated . He bargained with Zhong Wan, “Do I really have to say that?”
Zhong Wan nodded . “Of course . Don’t tell me you can’t even remember one line? It’s just one phrase . I’ll give you a look, and you’ll say it . Can you remember that?”
Yu She ground his teeth together and nodded .
The horse carriage stopped outside Qi Zhenxuan’s store . The two of them got out .
“What a rare customer . If I had known you would be coming, I would’ve opened our storage up in advance and readied a few precious items to send directly to Young Prince’s estate . How dare I make Young Prince come to the store? This… hahaha, this is too rushed . Simply outrageous, outrageous . ” The shop owner hurriedly rushed downstairs to bow to Yu She . He personally greeted the two of them and said, “Young Prince, is… there something you want to look at?”
Yu She turned to Zhong Wan . “I don’t want to look at anything . He does . ”
The owner immediately addressed Zhong Wan .
But Zhong Wan didn’t speak . He glanced left and right, slowly trying to drag the time out .
After half an hour, the young master of Duke Wenguo’s estate arrived .
That’s who they were waiting for .
Young Duke Wenguo had ordered some decorations from here a few days ago and was picking them up today . He hadn’t expected for Yu She to be here too . He didn’t dare to pick up his order anymore, hurriedly rushing forward to greet the other .
Zhong Wan pretended not to see anything . He didn’t bow or speak, continuing to look around .
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Qi Zhenxuan was still ingratiatingly telling him, “Look at this tea set . Though it’s not from a famous kiln, take a detailed look at this glaze . Isn’t it smooth? Now look at this coloration . What a pure plum green . This…”
“Destroy it . ” Zhong Wan put the small tea cup in his hand back onto the shelf and wiped his hands with a silk handkerchief . He lightly said, “I don’t like green . ”
Yu She: “…”
Young Duke Wenguo: “…”
The shop owner thought that he had heard wrong . He laughed dryly, “Young Master, you… what did you just say?”
Zhong Wan impatiently replied, “I said, I don’t like green . Can’t stand the color . ”
The shop owner practically couldn’t find his own tongue . He stuttered, “Don’t-don’t like… huh?”
Itbcu Qjc ujhfv ja atf rtbq bkcfg jcv mjgfoeiis rjlv, “Rbybvs . Jjc wjxf wf ibbx ja atlr mbibg . Fcvfgrajcv?”
Tbecu Gexf Qfcueb ibbxfv ab Te Vtf lc afggbg . Te Vtf obgmfv tlwrfio ab gfwjlc rlifca .
Itbcu Qjc rmjccfv atf qgfmlber jgalojmar rtfio yfobgf tlw . “Cii atf ugffc bcfr, vfragbs jii bo atfw . ”
The shop owner was scared to death . He half-kneeled and looked to Yu She in a silent plea for help .
Yu She nodded . “As he wishes . ”
The servants they had brought with them from Prince Yu’s estate stepped forward and very quickly picked out all the green articles from the shelf . They wrapped them inside a cloth and started smashing them .
Young Duke Wenguo listened to the sounds of ceramic breaking and broke into a cold sweat .
Zhong Wan turned his head and looked at a carved wooden tiger on a different shelf . He narrowed his eyes and looked at the shop owner in disbelief . He questioned, “I don’t like tigers . Didn’t you know?”
The shop owner’s voice was shaking . “This… I really didn’t know!”
“Well you do now . ” Zhong Wan waved his hand . “Burn it . ”
The shop owner stared with wide eyes as Yu She’s servants removed the tiger from the shelf and took it away .
Young Duke Wenguo couldn’t help panicking in his heart as he stood beside Yu She . His little sister’s zodiac animal was a tiger!
It was fine that Young Prince Yu had a . But to indulge him to this extent… that was a big problem .
Young Duke Wenguo turned his head to look at Yu She, only to see the corner of Young Prince Yu’s lips twitch as if he were about to break into a smile . Though his expression was a bit strange, it didn’t look like he intended to stop the other at all .
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Then in the future… after his little sister got married to Yu She, if this Young Master Zhong said he didn’t like her, would his little sister also get burned?!
Zhong Wan destroyed everything related to tigers in the shop and nodded . “Now it’s slightly easier on the eyes . ”
“Remember this . I, the Young Master, was born in the year of the horse . ” Zhong Wan’s tone was calm . “In the future, everything in this shop that’s related to horses must put on a red cape . Understand?”
The shop owner trembled . He couldn’t help twisting to look at Yu She .
This was about it .
Zhong Wan gave Yu She a look, signalling for him to say the last line .
Zhong Wan was scared that Yu She would forget his lines, so arranged a very simple one for him . It was simply, “Are you done or not yet?”
Then, Zhong Wan would throw a tantrum and make a fuss . The two of them would act out a flirtatious couple in love and disgust Young Duke Wenguo until he went away . Everything would be considered complete after this .
Yu She’s lips moved .
The shop owner felt slight anticipation . He hurriedly and eagerly stared at Yu She .
Yu She put his tea cup down and said, “Then… put red capes over all of them . ”
Zhong Wan immediately started coughing vigorously .
Young Duke Wenguo had completely lost it . He didn’t even dare to pick up his ornaments before running away in fear .
Half an hour later, all forty-something horse decorations of different sizes and materials in Qi Zhenxuan’s shop had bright red capes tied around their necks . They looked quite impressive and very alert .
Zhong Wan couldn’t bear to see this . He made the excuse of being tired and left the shop .
After getting into the horse carriage, Zhong Wan felt a headache coming on . He cried out, “What’s wrong with you?!”
Yu She rubbed his lips together . “I… didn’t remember . ”
“You can’t even remember one sentence!” Zhong Wan had a breakdown . “I don’t care . In a few days, no matter what excuse you come up with, you need to make the shop remove all those red capes! They’re already unlucky enough as is!”
Yu She said, “I will compensate for the items that have been destroyed . He’ll be able to sell so many things all at once . This can’t be considered unlucky . ”
“Meeting a crazy person isn’t considered unlucky?” Zhong Wan remembered the words he had just spoken and felt an itch coming on . He gasped and said, “I really… lost all my ancestors’ faces . ”
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But thinking of Young Duke Wenguo’s expression just now, Zhong Wan laughed and said, “He’s definitely going to want to break off the engagement after going home . When the time comes around, all you need to do is go with the flow and agree . At most, Princess will blame me . She won’t say anything else . ”
Yu She nodded .
The two of them then headed to Prince Ning’s estate .
This was what Yu She had promised Zhong Wan last night .
Yu She didn’t accompany Zhong Wan . He stayed in the horse carriage to wait . An hour later, Zhong Wan exited Prince Ning’s estate . He was in a daze and looked like he didn’t have much energy .
“You…”
Yu She felt that he should comfort him a bit at this time, but didn’t know what to say .
Yu She pondered a bit and didn’t bring up Prince Ning or those young children . Instead, he asked, “I heard… you were raised by Princess Consort Ning?”
Zhong Wan paused for a second, then nodded with a smile . “Yes . When I arrived at the Prince’s estate, I was only three years old . Originally, I was being taken care of by a nanny who had come with me from the Zhong estate, but my nanny was old so had bad eyesight . She couldn’t really tell colors apart anymore, so made me lots of pink, purple, and red clothes…”
“In the first few years Princess Consort joined the estate, she didn’t have any children . At the time, Prince took me in as his adopted son . Nanny was scared that I would annoy Princess Consort, so kept me in my room all day . ”
“But back then I was too playful and disobedient, so often snuck out to play . Poor Nanny was already half blind, but still had to make her way out every day to try and find me . And she didn’t dare to yell loudly for fear of disturbing the princess consort . She could only lower her voice and call me by my childhood name…”
“One day, I think I ran into the inner courtyard . This caused Nanny great panic . She screwed up the courage and entered the inner courtyard, trembling . When she finally found me after much difficulty, we coincidentally ran into Princess Consort . ”
Yu She furrowed his brows . “And then?”
“Princess Consort noticed that I had mud all over my face and was wearing garments for girls, so didn’t even realize who I was . She thought I was a young female servant . After figuring everything out, she told Nanny to bring me back . A day passed… then Princess Consort told us to move into the inner courtyard .
“Princess Consort said, if she didn’t have any children and took in one to raise, she would eventually have one . We didn’t know if it was true or not, but Nanny and I started living in Princess Consort’s courtyard after that . Princess Consort was generous when interacting with people, so was very kind to me . She personally taught and raised me until I was ten, then sent me to stay in my own little courtyard . Nanny was too old and Princess Consort said she couldn’t take care of me anymore . She kept Nanny in her courtyard and provided for her . ”
Yu She listened quietly . After, he said, “I saw Princess Consort Ning a few times in the past . She was a kind person . ”
Yu She lifted his gaze to look at Zhong Wan . He thought to himself, if not for your elders’ tender care and indulgence, it would be impossible to raise someone with your temperament .
“Yeah . ” There was surprisingly no grief on Zhong Wan’s face . “She was such a good person, but unfortunately wasn’t in good health . When she was giving birth to the two of them, she…”
Zhong Wan didn’t continue speaking .
Yu She knew, even though he didn’t say . Princess Consort Ning had passed away due to birthing complications when having the twins .
“You…” Yu She didn’t want Zhong Wan to feel sad, so switched topics . “You just said that your nanny called you by your childhood name while looking for you in the estate?”
Zhong Wan lifted his head and made a noise of acknowledgment . He didn’t know why Yu She suddenly was paying attention to these things . He dryly said, “Ye… yes . ”
Yu She paused for a moment, then asked, “What’s your childhood name?”
Zhong Wan looked at Yu She, alert . “Why are you asking me that?”
Yu She also didn’t know why he was suddenly curious . He awkwardly replied, “I’m just… asking . ”
“My childhood name… only my dad, mom, nanny, and the princess consort have called me by it . Even Prince didn’t use it . ” Zhong Wan stared at Yu She, still somewhat suspicious . “If you know it and call me by it, wouldn’t that make you my elder? Why do you have such evil intentions?!”
Young Yu She really wanted to tell Zhong Wan that elders weren’t the only ones who could use childhood names . But if he said this, the situation would probably be even stranger .
Yu She’s expression became more and more unnatural . In the end, he simply decided not to speak .
Zhong Wan very annoyingly asked to test the waters, “Then you tell me what your childhood name is first!”
Yu She shook his head . “I don’t have one . ”
Zhong Wan didn’t believe this . “How could it be possible that you don’t have one? Then when you were very tiny, what did Princess and them call you?”
Yu She replied, “Just by my name . ”
Zhong Wan didn’t believe this at all . He thought that Yu She was purposefully avoiding telling him . “Then I don’t have a childhood name either . I was lying just now . ”
Young Yu She took things to heart too easily . He said, “But earlier, you said you did…”
“Later on, I asked him several more times, but he didn’t say…” Yu She gazed at the little ceramic horse with a red cape tied around its neck that was in his room . He muttered, “Why didn’t he tell me even though I asked?”
Steward Feng burst into laughter . “Back then, Young Master Zhong could’ve been considered practically an adult . Of course he wouldn’t want to listen to anyone calling him by his childhood name . How embarrassing . ”
“But I just want to know . ” Yu She gently tapped the porcelain horse’s head . “I want to see him cry, I want to call him by his childhood name… I want to make him cry while calling his childhood name . ”
Steward Feng shook . He thought to himself, this year, Zhong Wan is already twenty-something, but you still want to call him by his childhood name . What kind of strange interest is that?
“Last time I couldn’t get him to cry… It seems a bit difficult . ” Yu She placed the storybook in his hand over to the side and spoke to himself, “Then I’ll just ask for his childhood name first . That dog that can’t bark . Recently, has he done anything significant?”
Steward Feng shook his head . “I haven’t heard anything . ”
“Find a way to make him cause a commotion . ” Yu She cocked an eyebrow and smiled . He sinisterly said, “Use the mute to force him . Force him to tell me what his childhood name is . From now on, I’m going to call him using his childhood name…”
Steward Feng could only agree, “Yes . ”