Chapter 43
Xuan Congxin thought to herself, the influential people in the capital all appear sanctimonious, but their hearts are the opposite . In private, they do all sorts of filthy things . She didn’t forget to make use of every second and every inch, saying, “Although the capital is flourishing, what kind of people are they? After you marry Kuafu, return to Qian An . So that you won’t learn their bad habits and fight with others . ”
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Realization struck her . “Don’t copy what they do after seeing it . How could you beat Kuafu in a fight?”
Zhong Wan didn’t know whether to laugh or cry . “First, let’s not talk about me . This matter is definitely a rumor . He’s not that kind of person…”
Xuan Congxin turned to him, bewildered . “Just now, you kept giving excuses for Young Prince Yu . Do you know him?”
A smile graced his lips . “I know him . ”
Xuan Congxin thought for a moment . And then she understood . “You knew him when you were young, right? Have you guys spoken before? Do you know him well?”
Zhong Wan lowered his head, looking at his left hand . For a short while, he felt regretful .
If he weren’t in Xuan Congxin’s presence, he feared he would have accidentally revealed the truth .
He and Yu She didn’t just know each other .
“We’re not very close . He’s the apple of the emperor and Princess Royal Anguo’s eyes . People like us dare not be close to him . ” A smile appeared on his lips . “Enough . Go take a rest . I still have some matters to attend to . ”
After Xuan Congxin returned to her courtyard, Zhong Wan looked at his left hand . He didn’t dare to think of things he shouldn’t be thinking . Forced himself to calm .
The rumor about someone climbing over the wall to a residence in the middle of the night, and picking up and hitting another person, was probably referring to himself . However, these things happened merely two days ago . How could they have spread so much and so quickly?
There was definitely someone at the back adding fuel to fire .
Yu She’s subordinates were willing to die for him . No matter what it was, as long as Yu She ordered them, they would fulfill it to the best of their ability . Would these kinds of people gossip about Yu She?
And it was even such outlandish gossip .
Since that was the case, besides the families that didn’t care about reputation and pushed out their daughters, which good family would give their daughter to Yu She?
A few days ago, Yu She had been discussing his marriage . And now, such a thing occurred . The person who did this had a bad heart, unwilling to let Yu She’s marriage run smoothly . Who could it be?
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Not many people would know that someone jumped over the wall in the middle of the night to teach him a lesson . Yet this news was spread so quickly . It was evident that many spies had been inserted into Yu She’s residence .
Zhong Wan sucked in a breath, from his eyes a flash of light . It didn’t matter if that was true . First, he had to take care of those things .
Zhong Wan called for someone and gave them some instructions . Then he said, “After you’ve finished this task, tell him to return to Qian An and stay there . ”
After he killed the rumor, Zhong Wan noticed that it was still early . Not wanting to waste time, he prepared to meet with Tang Ming again .
Last time, Zhong Wan had been both upset and indignant . There were many things he didn’t get cleared up . Although he didn’t trust Tang Ming completely, this shixiong of his was aware of a lot of things . Zhong Wan wanted to understand clearly the events of the past . Now, the best method was to meet with Tang Ming .
Zhong Wan had someone prepare a carriage . Unexpectedly, Lin Si was in the stable feeding the horses . Hearing that Zhong Wan needed a carriage, Lin Si personally led a horse to the carriage to hook it up . He made his way to the outer courtyard and gestured to Zhong Wan, “Where are you going?”
“Out of the city . ” Zhong Wan looked at Lin Si’s servant get-up and couldn’t refrain from laughing . “You’re supposed to hide and rest here, so why are you working as a stable boy? Change your clothes . I’ll leave myself . ”
Lin Si drew his brows together . Pointed to the sky . Then he spread his hand wide, his fingers pointing to the ground . After that, he pointed to Zhong Wan . He brought his hands in front of him facing up, then flipped them to face down . Then he raised one hand and pointed outside . All that meant, “the weather is poor outside . It would probably rain later . Why are you leaving the city?”
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Lin Si gestured, “You can’t even stand being tossed around right now . What would happen if you get sick again? Just leave it to me . ”
He’d be able to see Yu She tomorrow . Zhong Wan indeed did not want to fall ill again . After a moment of thought, he said, “Enough . I’ll write a letter . Deliver it to someone for me and bring me their response . Don’t let the letters fall in another’s hands in between . ”
Zhong Wan returned to his residence, wrote the letter, and handed it to Lin Si . Lin Si did not hook up his horse to the carriage, slipping the letter into his breast pocket . Then he left, pulling the horse along .
The next day, a few old eunuchs arrived at the side courtyard of Prince Yu’s estate from the palace . A divider screen separated them from Yu She as they “rebuked” Yu She in a soft voice .
On the other side of the divider screen, Yu She sat on his desk reading his books, not the slightest bit affected .
Fourth Prince Xuan Jing, Fifth Prince Xuan Qiong, and the recently-passed-away Third Prince Xuan Jin had all received Emperor Chongan’s rebuke before . When the princes made mistakes or were punished to house arrest, it would be these same old eunuchs that came to them every day, representing Emperor Chongan to lecture them . And the princes would tremble in fear . Only Yu She was different .
In the past, Yu She had even fallen asleep during one of these lectures .
In these past few years, these old eunuchs had done such things often . They were so used to it, they wouldn’t even blink if they saw it . After the old eunuch spoke for so long that he ran out of saliva, he said, “May Heir control you subordinates, so that such a baseless rumor would not spread and make His Majesty unhappy . ”
Yu She flipped a page in his book . Tone neutral, he said, “How do you people know it’s a baseless rumor? What if I have this kind of kink?”
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The old eunuch said, “W-what kink?”
“It already spread through like wildfire outside . You really haven’t heard it?” Yu She raised his head from his book, expressionless . “I like to torment the people in my inner chamber . Like to see them cry . Like to hear them scream in pain . A few have died from my actions… You people really didn’t know?”
“Aiyah, aiyah, what nonsense is your honored self going on about?!” Then the old eunuch persuaded with patience, “It’s other people that are framing you . How could His Majesty not be able to tell?”
Yu She sneered . “No one framed me . I’m this kind of person… You people don’t need to blame my subordinates . Just blaming me is enough . ”
The old eunuch stared at Yu She, pain in his heart . “His Majesty also knows you’ve been wronged . As a matter of fact, he only had us come here to say a few light words . But Fifth Prince directly received an oral decree from His Majesty, ordering Fifth Prince to reflect on his action in house arrest!”
Not a word left Yu She’s lips .
He placed the book on the desk . Frowned . “What does this have to do with Xuan Qiong?”
The old eunuch sighed . His helpless gaze fell upon Yu She . “Your grievance is greater . Does your honored self know where these unbearable rumors came from?”
In a daze, Yu She replied, “Yes . ” It came from my estate . I was the one who ordered for it to spread .
The old eunuchs shared a look . And then sighed again . One of them said, “Then why is your honored self still trying to absolve Fifth Prince?! No wonder His Majesty dotes on you the most . Heir suffers losses because you are too honest and considerate . Too sincere!”
The honest and considerate Yu She looked at the old eunuch with a gaze full of malice . “Just what happened?”
“Those rumors had come from Fifth Prince’s estate!” Another sigh came from the old eunuch . “A few days ago, wasn’t Princess Royal Anguo trying to discuss Heir’s marriage? Fifth Prince still held a grudge for the time you two argued, still unhappy about it . So he had someone spread such unbearable rumors every day . We even have material evidence . However… that person is no longer alive . ”
The old eunuch glanced at Yu She profoundly . “Fifth Prince was so anxious that he grew furious . He said that someone had bought out the servants in his estate to frame him and he must find out who they are . But that person who spread the rumors was already dead . Think about it, how could a living person just die like that?”
For a moment, Yu She did not know what to say .
This matter… truly had nothing to do with Xuan Qiong .
“Recently, Fifth Prince has been muddle-headed, acting out repeatedly . Originally, His Majesty was unhappy these past two days . As such, he punished Fifth Prince . But it’s unclear why . In passing, His Majesty instructed us to say a couple words to Heir, to just make a show of it . ” The old eunuch lightly chuckled . “Heir has been wronged . ”
But Yu She did not feel wronged at the slightest .
He had nothing much to say anymore, waving . “Yes, yes I know . ”
After the old eunuchs left the room, Steward Feng stuffed pouches of money into their hands . He was so thoughtful that he escorted them all the way outside . Following that, he turned around and returned to Yu She’s side . Baffled, he asked, “This…”
Yu She looked up . “Did you do this?”
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“I’m innocent . Other than the matters concerning Young Master Zhong, this old slave had never acted on my own!” refuted Steward Feng in an instant . “How could this old slave decide on my own to scheme against Fifth Prince for Heir? This old slave doesn’t have the ability to do such a huge thing . ”
Steward Feng added, “It’s not just this old slave . Even the family soldiers wouldn’t dare to do such a thing . In order to spread these rumors, we thought of ways for two days until our heads hurt . And we also used all sorts of careful methods, which cannot see the light of day, to spread those rumors . We’re already hard-pressed . Under these circumstances, how could we spread other rumors placing the blame on Fifth Prince? Even if we could, without Heir’s consent, no one would dare to . ”
Incredulous, Yu She said, “Then who was it? Who’s doing all this from the shadows?! I had the rumors spread myself, so why is this person doing this?”
“This old slave finds this person very clever . ” After a moment of thought, Steward Feng said, “To achieve much with little effort, and not wasting any energy, this person was able to dump all the dirty water onto Fifth Prince . Their methods are also clean, and they cannot even be found, making Fifth Prince unable to explain anything and only shoulder the blame . Moreover… they even slightly washed Heir clean of the matter of your fetishes . There are no disadvantages for us here . ”
Yu She frowned . “Do I need him to wash me clean? This… Could this be the same person who accused Xuan Qiong of hiding the people of the Royal Mausoleum?”
Steward Feng did not quite understand his words . “Who are the people of the Royal Mausoleum?”
Impatience filled Yu She’s face . “Nothing . ”
Steward Feng changed out Yu She’s tea . Smiled . “It doesn’t matter who he is . It’s good as long as he can help Heir . Indeed… If one carefully thinks about this matter, we should have placed all traces of what we have done on someone else, killing two birds with one stone . This person took one step more than us . They are thorough with their actions . ”
Yu She received the tea cup from Steward Feng . Said in a low voice, “It’s not one step . It’s two . ”
Steward Feng stared blankly . “What else did they do?”
With indifference, Yu She said, “If you were the emperor and learned of this news, would you think I went mad or would you think Xuan Qiong was trying to harm me?”
Embarrassed, Steward Feng laughed dryly, unable to respond .
“You’d doubt, right? It’s true that Xuan Qiong bears a grudge against me, and it’s true that I don’t care about any repercussions once I go mad . It’s also true that there are people who would like using me to do their dirty work . ” Then, dropping an octave, he said, “However, when it’s all said and done, this matter isn’t anything important . It’s unnecessary to look into it . The best case scenario is if Xuan Qiong admits to this . First… the emperor thinks it’s very possible that Xuan Qiong did this . Second, if Xuan Qiong is known as the person who spread these rumors, then in the future…
“Then in the future, when my marriage is being discussed, and it seems like other people would throw a fuss about my bad habit, then I can use Xuan Qiong to shut them up…”
Yu She turned to face Steward Feng . “From the start, the emperor doesn’t care if I actually have this bad habit . He also doesn’t care if Xuang Qiong actually harmed me . ”
Shock crashed into Steward Feng like a tidal wave . “At least… At least it seems His Majesty is even more biased toward Heir, striving his best to protect Heir’s reputation . ”
Yu She said impassively, “Perhaps . ”
He drank a sip of tea . He was still angry . “Just who keeps interfering with my affairs?!”
Steward Feng smiled bitterly . “How could we know right now? Heir, don’t be impatient… As long as they don’t harm you, it’s fine . ”
Uncomfortable, Yu She said, “His methods are too careful . It really makes people agitated . ”
“Heir has always been swift and decisive in handling things, though a little… too rough . ” Steward Feng smiled . “It’s hard to avoid having people say your honored self is too unrestrained . It’s great to have someone so thorough by your side, since they complement you . Like what happened today . They placed the blame on Fifth Prince in passing . How great . ”
Yu She sneered . “I just want it to be quiet . I don’t want anyone trying to discuss marriage with me again . This time… he could be considered unlucky . ”
He blinked . All of a sudden, rage roared in his heart . “Just what kind of person have I been dealing with today? Just what day is it now? He hasn’t come?! Is he not coming again? Or did he get sick again? Or did he…”
At that moment, a headache . “Pastries…”
“Shen Shi has just arrived! Shen Shi has just arrived!” said Steward Feng, hurrying to coax him . “It’s still early, Heir . What else do we need to prepare?”
Yu She rubbed at the center of his brows . Thought for a moment, before ordering in a soft voice, “Go… Prepare a bit of medicine for injuries . ”
Steward Feng’s hand trembled, almost dropping the teacup .
Steward Feng collected the teacup, not batting an eyelid as he advised, “Heir, Young Master Zhong’s body is not healthy . ”
Yu She averted his gaze . “These past few years… who knows how he destroyed himself . ”
“Rumors are rumors . Heir, you’ve always been…” Steward Feng had nothing else to say . There also wasn’t anything he could say about Yu She “always being” a certain way . He had attended to Yu She for many years, yet didn’t know if he was gentle or not . However, he felt… that Yu She truly might be a person who used violence .
Switching topics, Steward Feng said, “In short, take your time . What you two have is eternal . Don’t be in such a hurry . ”
For the first time, Yu She did not refute the “eternal” of Steward Feng . Furrowing his brows, he said, “What such a hurry?"
With not very good intentions, Steward Feng flashed Yu She a smile full of tacit and mutual understanding .
All of a sudden, realization struck Yu She . Sullen, he said, “I haven’t touched him!”
Not understanding why Yu She was angry again, Steward Feng rushed to say, “Yes, yes, this old slave has one more thing to say . Young Master Zhong’s body is not in good health, and would be unable to bear those things—”
“He won’t be able to bear it?” Yu She laughed in spite of himself, angered to the point of choking in anger . “He’s the one who keeps provoking me! As I stood next to the princess, he sized me up from head to toe again and again! If I were a young lady, I would have scolded him! Who looks at men like that? Shameless! When I left, he went searching for me, asking if he could… if he could…”
Yu She turned his head and said resentfully, “I can’t say his words aloud . ”
Steward Feng had no clue what had happened during the fifth seven-day set . Yu She had scared him so much that his heart thrashed against his chest . “Calm your anger, calm your anger . Young Master Zhong will arrive in a little while, so Heir can admonish him then…”