Chapter 16
Yu She stood up and walked over to where Lin Si had been kneeling . He looked down at the water stains that hadn’t dried yet . He stared for a long time .
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Previously, to get this childhood name, Yu She had spent a lot of effort . Back then, he hadn’t known how to threaten people; he only knew how to bribe them . But Zhong Wan was someone who yielded to force, not softer approaches . No matter how many times he asked, Zhong Wan would find a way out of answering . For a long time, Yu She had believed that he would never get to know the other’s childhood name, at least not in this lifetime .
He had never expected that the mute, Lin Si, would have so little backbone .
“Do you think he…” Yu She seemed to be muttering to himself, “Knows that Zhong Wan once swore that he would rather die than tell me this?”
Steward Feng laughed dryly . “Probably not?”
Lin Si obviously didn’t know .
After leaving Prince Yu’s estate, Lin Si had originally been planning on visiting Zhong Wan . But after brief thought, he felt that there was actually no need .
Though Yu She had caused such a large commotion, he had only asked about a childhood name .
Besides, Zhong Wan himself had said, “Don’t come find me unless the situation is extremely important . ”
How could this be considered important?
Yu She wasn’t reasonable at all . He hadn’t bothered making things clear at the start . Instead, he had directly pressed him into the ground . He couldn’t even make any hand signs . Yu She had been taking advantage of the fact that he was mute . If he could have spoken, he could’ve been let out two hours ago .
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Lin Si didn’t feel remorseful at all . Should he have gone through a round of torture over Zhong Wan’s childhood name? Wouldn’t that make him crazy?
Lin Si rubbed his sore shoulders and continued on his stroll .
In the side courtyard of Prince Yu’s estate, Yu She continued muttering those two words under his breath . A long time later, he suddenly asked, “Speaking of, Xuan Jin’s going to die?”
Xuan Jin, Emperor Chongan’s third son .
Steward Feng kept his head down . “Yes . I’ve heard that he’s barely hanging on . In the next two or three months, who knows if he’ll…”
Steward Feng lowered his voice . “The Ministry of Rites has already started preparing . ”
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Yu She’s expression was cold . He didn’t appear sorrowful at all .
“Princess Royal entered the palace a few days ago to visit . Apparently Consort Xian has cried so much that her eyes have almost become blind . Consort Xian has had a tough life . After raising a child for thirty-something years, the white-haired person is sending off the black-haired person . Third Highness hasn’t even left behind any offspring… Ey, Consort Xian said that if Third Highness passes away, she refuses to keep living too,” steward Feng sighed . “Princess Royal spent a long time trying to talk her out of it . But it appears that… it was a failure . ”
“Not bad . ” Yu She’s expression was normal . “Hasn’t she kept him around for thirty-something years already? Among the Emperor’s sons, he has been fated to have the longest life . ”
“Hey!” Steward Feng furrowed his brows . “What are you saying, Heir!”
“Just the truth . ”
Yu She sat on his low couch again, leaning against the pillow and staring out the window . A long time later, he said, “Of the others, the oldest is only twenty three… isn’t that less than him?”
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“Heir!” Steward Feng was truly agitated . “How come you can’t control yourself when talking about these things!”
Yu She started laughing lowly .
Steward Feng glared at Yu She harshly, then poured a hot cup of tea for the other .
Yu She grabbed the teacup and slowly said, “I heard… that woman . Before she died, she kept cursing and shrieking . It lasted a whole day and night . ”
Steward Feng wished that he could shut Yu She up . “Drink some tea first . ”
Yu She lowered his head to take a sip . He drawled out, “On the day the gates to Hell were to open, she screamed like that for an entire day and night . It must have been quite terrifying? Say, do you think they were scared?”
Steward Feng took two quick breaths . He didn’t respond .
Yu She purposefully asked him . “Do you know what curse she cast?”
Steward Feng looked at Yu She in plea . “Don’t… don’t say anymore!”
Yu She smiled and nodded . “Alright . You don’t want to hear anymore, so I won’t say anymore . ”
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Yu She slowly erased the amusement from his face . He stated, “Go rest . I’m tired and want to take a brief nap . ”
Steward Feng agreed somewhat disbelievingly . Before he left, he lit a calming incense for Yu She .
Yu She closed his eyes . Soon after, he really did fall asleep .
In his dreams, Yu She saw that woman again for the nth time .
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The woman was dressed in red . She sat on the bed, cradling an infant in her right arm; her left was latched onto the bed curtains . She cried and screamed with all her might .
“…Your words were sweet but hid knives . You’ve committed all the sins in the world . You’ve tricked me into becoming this way!”
“I curse you to be alone your whole life!”
“I curse you to lose all your relatives while still alive, to not have anyone to pay respects to you in death, to die without offspring! You will never be able to keep a single son!!!”
The infant in the woman’s embrace sobbed in fear . The woman lowered her head to glance at the child in her arms . Her hands trembled . She both laughed and cried, acting terrifyingly out of control .
“Haha… and there’s you… and there’s you, you young evil bastard…”
The woman suddenly lifted the child above her head with blood-red eyes, then harshly threw it onto the ground…
Yu She seemed to be able to feel that heart-piercing pain in his dream . His eyebrows furrowed together tightly . Cold sweat dripped from his forehead .
The infant fell on the ground . In that moment, it stopped making any noise, as if it had stopped breathing . The woman became temporarily dazed before lunging at the ground wildly . She snatched the infant up and closely examined it . In her mouth, she kept repeating, “To die without offspring, to die without offspring…”
Yu She’s long fingers dug into the soft cushion . His fingertips were white . A long time later, he finally managed to escape from his nightmare .
Yu She was faint and covered in cold sweat . His breaths were rugged . He looked outside the window, dazed . Half an hour later, it seemed that he finally realized that everything that had just happened was only a dream .
Yu She harshly pinched the spot in between his brows and closed his eyes once more . Perhaps due to the calming incense, he fell asleep again only moments later .
The nightmare from before actually continued .
In his dream, the woman clad in red gently cradled the infant in her arms, as if she were holding onto a precious treasure . She gently rocked it, tears streaming down her face . “Child… mother’s good child… don’t die, don’t die…”
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That infant was fortunate, as it was somehow still alive . It choked, then started bawling again .
The woman was first overjoyed, but horror quickly replaced this as she stared at the infant in her arms . Her cracked nails and fingertips gently trembled and slowly sank into the infant’s thin neck .
Rushed footsteps sounded from outside the room . The woman went crazy, instantly digging her fingers in deeper…
“Ke…”
Yu She suddenly sat up . Like a person on the verge of drowning, he coughed for a long time .
Yu She stood up and drank half a cup of cold tea before his expression slightly improved .
“Heh…”
Yu She laughed coldly . He wasn’t going to sleep anymore .
With this spare time, he would much rather consider how to trick Zhong Wan into coming over so he could use his childhood name to… tease him .
Prince Qian An’s estate . A completely clueless Zhong Wan pitifully had to deal with the trio of Xuan Rui, Xuan Yu, and Xuan Congxin while reading .
These three siblings had most likely had a discussion about something . Now that they were all gathered here, it appeared that they wanted to set the record completely straight .
Xuan Congxin believed that since she was the only female of Prince Qian An’s estate, it was her duty to be responsible for family matters . Thus, she didn’t feel awkward asking about issues of marriage at all . She continuously asked many questions . “Does……her family have a clean reputation?”
Zhong Wan nodded, blindly answering, “It’s clean, clean . ”
Xuan Congxin inquired in a roundabout manner, “Is her family of high status?”
Zhong Wan muttered, “Well they’re not of low status…”
Xuan Congxin paused for a moment, then carefully stated, “They won’t make you marry into the family, right?”
Zhong Wan choked and waved his hands .
Xuang Congxin relaxed . Now, she only hoped that her new little sister-in-law would be able to marry into the family sooner so she could have a friend .
Xuan Congxin questioned once more, “Can she help take care of family matters?”
Zhong Wan was uncertain . “Most likely… but he probably won’t need to? When the prince marries Princess Consort Qian An, the princess consort will be the one taking care of things . They won’t ever be his responsibility . ”
Xuan Yu was still the most concerned about when Zhong Wan could return to Qian An . “Then when can you confirm a wedding date?”
Zhong Wan hesitated . “This… probably won’t be able to be done . ”
Xuan Congxin furrowed her brows . “Why?”
Zhong Wan laughed . “He might not even be willing…”
Xuan Rui was shocked . “Someone of her age and stature… with someone like you asking for her hand in marriage, she would be unwilling? What could she be displeased about?! Were you too stingy with the bride price? There’s no need for that; though our estate has fallen from glory, we haven’t reached the point of not being able to provide a good enough bride prince . Don’t be so careful about your spendings . It’ll make her family look down on you . ”
“It’s unrelated to the bride price…” Zhong Wan laughed bitterly . He flipped a page and casually said, “He probably thinks I’m too short . ”
The three of them all took sharp inhales .
“How could she be like that?” Xuan Congxin couldn’t help criticizing . “She managed to grow so tall by herself . It’s not like we force fed her! She thinks you’re too short? Then what kind of person does she want to find? How many are out there that are taller than you? Not that I’m being strict, but with her stature, if she finds someone even taller, their kids in the future are going to be giants . When their family walks out on the street, they’ll be a whole head taller than everyone around them . That’s too eye-catching . ”
Xuan Rui thought about it and said with worry, “That won’t do . According to her ideology, women can only find husbands taller than themselves . Then, your kids will pass these genes on generation after generation . They’ll get taller and taller, to the point of being abnormal . In the future, anyone from the Zhong family will easily be able to reach ten Chi . How attention-grabbing…”
Xuan Yu stated with horror, “Then wouldn’t you be creating a new species of human? Right! Like the kind in ‘The Classics of Mountains and Seas’! The really, really big ones! Ku kua…”
Xuan Congxin rolled her eyes at Xuan Yu who couldn’t remember his lessons . “Kuafu Chases the Sun . ”
Xuan Yu slapped his leg . “That! Kuafu! Could it be that she wants her grandsons to chase the sun!”
Xuan Congxin added, “Try to talk some sense into her . What good came out of chasing the sun?”
Xuan Rui furrowed his brows . “We’re discussing a joyous occasion . Don’t say those unlucky things!”
Zhong Wan: “…”
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Zhong Wan put down the “Classic of the Great Wilderness: East” in his hands and exhaled deeply .
What… sins had caused such evil consequences!