Chapter 82
Yu She turned his head to the side to quietly ask the person outside, “Why is he here?”
The family soldier following outside the horse carriage lowered his voice to say, “Young Master Zhong doesn’t have a fever today . After taking care of some official business for Heir at the estate, he felt bored, so said he was going to come pick Heir up . ”
Yu She lightly stated, “Nonsense . ”
Yu She was worried about waking Zhong Wan up . His voice was very soft . “None of you stopped him from leaving?”
The family soldier could only admit his mistake . He then asked if they should leave or not . Yu She sat in the horse carriage and carefully shook his head . “Not yet… Let him sleep a while longer . ”
The family soldier stood guard outside the horse carriage . Yu She fell into a daze in the carriage as he stared at Zhong Wan .
Almost half an hour later, Zhong Wan coughed twice and woke up .
Upon catching sight of Yu She, Zhong Wan instantly became alert . “You’ve come out?”
Yu She calmly asked, “Where’s the girl?”
Zhong Wan smiled . “I sent her back for you . ”
Yu She froze . “You sent her back?”
“What? So Heir didn’t actually want to send her back?” Zhong Wan chuckled . “Well, too late . I’ve already apologized to the emperor for you . ”
Zhong Wan rubbed his shoulders . “That person didn’t even get brought out . I got lucky today too . I wanted to come pick you up, so got here a bit early . When I got here, I coincidentally saw some people coming out of the palace, saying that they wanted to move your horse carriage inside to load someone on . I figured out what was going on and asked about it . Just as well, those two eunuchs both recognized me and were willing to send a message for me . So as you can see… I made a trip into the palace and sorted everything out for you . ”
Yu She glanced at Zhong Wan with slight disapproval . Zhong Wan comforted him by saying, “It wasn’t such a big deal . The empress just suddenly had an idea and wanted to give you someone . She was probably trying to ingratiate herself to the emperor . ”
For a moment, Yu She paused . Then he said, “It might’ve been Imperial Consort Yu’s idea, just to upset me . ”
Zhong Wan thought about it and nodded . “That’s possible too . ”
Yu She still couldn’t rest at ease . “What did you say? Did the emperor make things difficult for you? What about the others? Did they say anything to you?”
“He didn’t make things difficult for me,” Zhong Wan replied easily . “The emperor’s not an idiot . He probably also realized that someone was purposefully setting you up . He’s only willing to do easy business . Upon seeing that you were truly against this, he didn’t say anything else . ”
Yu She scanned Zhong Wan up and down . “He really didn’t make things difficult for you?”
Zhong Wan slightly leaned in Yu She’s direction . He lowered his voice as he said, “If you’re worried, how about double checking for yourself? See if there are any injuries on my body . ”
Yu She twisted his body to avoid Zhong Wan . “Quit playing around . ”
Zhong Wan chuckled . He obediently returned to his seat and said, “Relax . I know that you only know how to go head-to-head with the emperor . This was just a trivial matter . I blocked it for you and didn’t offend the emperor while doing so . If you were the one taking care of this, you probably would’ve caused another big fuss, right?”
Yu She fell silent .
Zhong Wan cocked an eyebrow . “I told you a long time ago: leave these things to me . I’ll deal with them nicely and neatly . ”
Yu She had to admit that this was true . Zhong Wan was much more thorough than he was when it came to these matters . He was also less aggressive .
Zhong Wan looked outside . “Are we still not leaving?”
Yu She ordered the family soldiers to start heading back . He grabbed Zhong Wan’s hand and said, “Could it be that you’ve dealt with similar instances in the past for Xuan Rui too? You act so experienced . ”
Yu She had only offhandedly asked this question in order to take a prod at Xuan Rui in passing . He didn’t believe that anyone in Qian An would forcefully stuff anybody into Xuan Rui’s bedroom .
Unexpectedly, Zhong Wan’s smile froze on his face after hearing this .
Yu She was in disbelief . “It really happened before?”
Itbcu Qjc ijeutfv cfgnberis .
Te Vtf rmboofv . “Qtlmt ojwlis kjr rb yilcv? Kb ulnf atflg qfgofmais olcf vjeutafg ab tlw . ”
“Rb wjaafg tbk erfifrr tf lr, tf kjr ralii ja ifjra j qglcmf bo atf rfmbcv gjcx ja atf alwf . Ktfgf kbeiv jikjsr yf qfbqif agslcu ab oijaafg tlw . ” Itbcu Qjc ifjcfv jujlcra atf klcvbk bo atf mjggljuf . Coafg yglfo atbeuta, tf rjlv, “Lbkfnfg, la gfjiis kjrc’a obg tlw . Pa kjr…”
Yu She waited for Zhong Wan to continue speaking .
Zhong Wan pondered a bit and said with slight embarrassment, “It was for me . ”
Yu She’s expression instantly changed .
Yu She honestly didn’t know if Zhong Wan had ever had anyone in his bedroom these past few years .
He narrowed his eyes . “When did this happen?”
Zhong Wan shook his head . “It was a long time ago . Let’s not mention it anymore . ”
Yu She’s expression was normal, but he was already very displeased in his heart . How could he not mention it?!
“It’s not like I touched her,” said Zhong Wan . “Does Heir still want to fuss over this matter?”
Then Zhong Wan whispered, “Or are you jealous? Heir, whether or not I’m a virgin… don’t you know better than anyone?”
A flame ignited in Yu She’s heart . He wasn’t fooled by Zhong Wan at all; he refused to allow Zhong Wan to stick so close to him . He squeezed Zhong Wan’s chin and simply stated, “Speak . ”
Zhong Wan felt regretful . Everything had been going well . Why had he brought up this topic?
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Zhong Wan thought about it and answered, “How many years ago was this… I forgot . Anyways, it happened many years ago .
“I had just recovered from my great illness,” Zhong Wan slowly started . “Our estate was holding a rare banquet . They said it was to help me get rid of my bad luck . ”
“That day, I got over a lot of things, so was in a pretty good mood too . Though I still hadn’t fully recovered, I drank quite a lot . ”
Yu She’s voice was low . “Were you drunk?”
Yu She remembered very clearly that Zhong Wan could hold his alcohol fairly well . It was hard to get him completely drunk .
“Half drunk, I guess,” Zhong Wan answered after thinking about it . “I wobbled while walking and needed someone to hold me up, but I was still of relatively clear mind . ”
Yu She asked, “And then?”
“And then… I originally wanted to say a few things to Xuan Rui . But every time I opened my mouth, he coaxed me into drinking more alcohol . I thought, ‘Just as well . We’re all men . What’s there to say? It’s all in the alcohol . ’
“In the end, we drank until the latter half of the night . I honestly couldn’t drink any more alcohol . Thus, I told someone to help me over to my own courtyard . ”
Zhong Wan had stumbled into his own courtyard, taken a gulp of water, and prepared to pass out on his bed . Unexpectedly, when he drew back the door curtain of the bedroom, he saw a rather good-looking girl sitting on his bed .
Zhong Wan had practically sobered up on the spot .
The girl was extremely shy . She hadn’t known if she was supposed to be standing or sitting . She nervously looked at Zhong Wan .
Zhong Wan felt dizzy . He held himself up with the doorframe and asked lowly, “The prince told you to come?”
The girl nodded in a timid manner .
At the time, Zhong Wan hadn’t even been twenty . He had still looked like a youth . The girl didn’t know whether to call him “young master” or “master . ” She softly said, “Prince said… that I’m here to apologize for him . ”
Upon hearing this, Zhong Wan had suddenly bent over and guffawed . He had laughed for a very long time; the girl had thought that he had gone crazy .
After laughing for long enough, Zhong Wan wiped his face and placed his hands together as he politely saluted at the girl . “Sleep well, my lady . I’ll send you back to where you came from tomorrow . ”
The girl nervously asked, “Where are you going?”
“Me?” Zhong Wan drunkenly waved his hands around . “I’m going to… I’m going to admire the moon . ”
After saying this, Zhong Wan had exited the room . He shut the door tightly behind him and stumbled out of his own courtyard . He made his way into the garden and sat on the handrail of the hallway while leaning against the hallway pillars . All night, he sat there, humming a tune that others couldn’t decipher .
Yu She’s brows were furrowed tightly together . “You spent the night outside?”
“Even if I hadn’t touched her, if I had slept in the same courtyard as her overnight, her reputation would’ve been ruined . ” Zhong Wan sighed . “Was there a need for that? It wasn’t like I liked her . Why would I ruin her reputation? The next day, I sent her home . She was from a village-dwelling family who didn’t mind about these things . Later on, she married a good person . ”
Yu She fell silent for a moment . He asked, “This was the apology Xuan Rui gave you after that imperial doctor poisoned you?”
Zhong Wan sighed . He obviously didn’t want to talk about this anymore .
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Yu She gazed at Zhong Wan, but couldn’t keep the hatred in his heart down no matter what .
Yu She asked, “You never told me in the past about how Xuan Rui apologized to you after your run-in with death . That was all he did? He thought that giving you a woman would be enough to pretend like nothing had happened?”
Zhong Wan fell silent for a moment before saying, “I originally wanted to clear things up with him . At the time, I thought that he had matured too, that there were many things I could now share with him . Otherwise, we would have knots in our hearts later on . But Xuan Rui avoided this topic a lot . He didn’t want to talk about it at all .
“He did all of that for naught too . ” Zhong Wan glanced at Yu She . In the blink of an eye, the disappointment in his gaze had already disappeared . Zhong Wan told Yu She quietly, tone slightly teasing, “I don’t like girls anyways . ”
Yu She looked at Zhong Wan in silence . He knew very well in his heart that Zhong Wan was only lightening the mood .
The Zhong Wan back then had slept in the garden of the estate, taking the sky as his canopy and the earth as his mattress . Who knew how disappointed and depressed he had felt in his heart .
His younger brother, who he had treated in an honest and sincere manner, had stuffed a woman into his room after he had almost died, hoping this would keep his mouth shut and allow him to forget the mishaps of the past . He wanted him to continue risking his life for Prince Qian An’s estate .
A heart full of passion had ultimately been fed to a dog .
Yu She had long since planned out Xuan Rui’s future in his heart . Upon thinking of this, he instantly changed his plan .
He absolutely couldn’t treat that thing too well .
“I said I didn’t want to mention it . ” Zhong Wan pulled out a wax paper package from his breast pocket and excitedly presented this treasure to Yu She . “Look at what this is . ”
Yu She lowered his head and looked down . “…Jujube cake?”
The cake was intricately made—it didn’t seem like something that could be made by a street vendor . Yu She asked, “Where did you buy this?”
“It’s what the emperor treated me to just now . ” Yu She carefully broke off a piece . “I worried that it would get cold, so kept it in my chest all this time . Try it . ”
Yu She was in disbelief . “How did you bring out… the refreshments the emperor gave you to eat?”
Zhong Wan replied innocently, “I asked him for some . It tasted good to me, so I wanted you to try some too . ”
Zhong Wan had probably eaten a lot of cake himself . His words were so sweet it was like they had been dipped in honey . He was scared that the family soldiers would start laughing at him upon hearing this, so very quietly said, “I don’t know what’s wrong with me either . When I see or taste good things, you’re the first person I think of . ”
Yu She lowered his gaze . The corners of his lips quirked up uncontrollably .
He honestly couldn’t imagine how Zhong Wan had nonchalantly asked Emperor Chongan for cake after rejecting a concubine in his stead .
Zhong Wan was probably the only person who could both eat food in the palace and bring food out of the palace .
“Try it . ” Zhong Wan fed Yu She . “It’s still warm . ”
Yu She lowered his head and ate the cake . As expected, it was very sweet .
Yu She mumbled around a mouthful of cake, “It’s so hot . Did you get burned?”
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Zhong Wan uncaringly shook his head . Yu She didn’t believe him . He personally shifted part of Zhong Wan’s collar away . When he saw the slight red mark on the other’s chest, he furrowed his brows .
“This was just to make you happy, you know?” Zhong Wan fixed his collar . “Oh right . Let’s make a deal . Over the next few days, Xuan Jing might come looking for me, wanting to cause trouble . Can Heir help me block him?”
“You’re scared of him?” Yu She didn’t take this to heart . “How did you offend him?”
Zhong Wan explained bitterly, “It was originally out of good intentions . I left the estate early, so decided to go see him first . I could also ask about Lin Si . Unexpectedly…”
Yu She lifted his gaze . “Unexpectedly what?”
Zhong Wan sighed . “Unexpectedly… when I left his estate, I accidentally broke one of his possessions . ”
Yu She apathetically said, “Tell him to get an appraisal for it . I’ll compensate him with ten times the object’s worth . ”
Zhong Wan’s expression was strange . A pause later, he carefully stated, “It was a liuli cup . ”
Yu She furrowed his brows . He suddenly felt like that sounded a bit familiar .
Zhong Wan confessed, “The one that took him over a month to piece back together… It really wasn’t my fault! His servant is still just a child . He’s very clumsy and seems really timid too . While entering the inner room to bring tea, he tripped over the doorstep . All I did was help him keep his balance . I hadn’t expected that my sleeve would just so happen to brush against the damned object…”
Yu She: “…”
Zhong Wan said with a bitter expression, “He said he’s going to kill me . ”
Yu She actually felt a bit sympathetic towards Xuan Jing . However, the fact that Zhong Wan had snuck out some refreshments from the palace for him was honestly too endearing . As of now, Yu She’s entire heart had already gone soft . He was no longer principled . He nodded with difficulty . “Yes, it wasn’t your fault . It was that liuli cup’s own fault . ”
Yu She even placated Zhong Wan by saying, “It’s a good thing you found something to busy him with . Otherwise, he might get uncomfortably bored and come looking for me to cause trouble . ”
After he had mentioned this, Zhong Wan’s heart hurt even more . Pained, he asked, “Do you know what he told me during my visit this time?”
Yu She gazed at Zhong Wan .
“Can you believe it?” Zhong Wan was in utter disbelief . “These days, Xuan Jing is very diligently investigating whether Xuan Qiong’s near-drowning incident at the palace last time was because he had jumped in himself or because you had pushed him in . ”
Yu She: “…”
The more he thought about it, the more pained Zhong Wan felt . “He secretly told me that figuring this out would mean he might be able to understand a lot more things . ”
Yu She got out with difficulty, “Can’t Lin Si remind him that we’ve already started fighting for the position of crown prince now?”
“Lin Si hasn’t even seen him yet!” Zhong Wan felt incredibly worried . “Say, why do you think Xuan Jing is so unlucky? When we all attended classes together in the early years, he couldn’t keep up . Now, we’re fighting for the position of crown prince, but he still can’t keep up . But that’s fine too . Everyone else can fight each other and he can fight himself . And his fight with himself is very exciting… Even to this day, he’s still worried that you or Xuan Qiong will use that liuli cup to ruin him . He thinks you two might go tattle on him to the emperor, saying that he ruined a gift from the emperor!”
Yu She expressionlessly shook his head . “I’m not bored enough to do that . ”
Zhong Wan wrung his wrists in despair . “It’s been half a year: a whole six months . Nobody has reminded him, nobody has disrupted him . He’s still hung up over his liuli cup…”
Yu She was speechless . He reluctantly promised, “Fine . You owe him one . I promise… as long as he doesn’t try to harm me in the future, I won’t try to harm him either . ”
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