Chapter 87
When Tang Ming had deceived Xuan Rui into returning to the capital, Yan Pingshan had secretly passed on the news to Zhong Wan . And that could be considered thoroughly offending Xuan Rui . From then on, Steward Yan stayed in the estate belonging to Prince Qian An in the capital, waiting on the twins . He should have told them many past events .
Zhong Wan was very clear that the things Xuan Congxin had dreamed of were merely things she made up to console him . But because she looked seventy percent similar to Princess Consort Ning, and because she used the same tone that Princess Consort Ning had used when consoling him, Zhong Wan almost lost his manner in front of the two children .
He stared out the window in a daze . All of a sudden, he recalled something Yu She had said in the past .
He said, Guiyan, sometimes I truly don’t know who to hate .
Previously in Tang Ming’s rural manor, Zhong Wan had thrown up blood due to what Xuan Rui had said . And Zhong Wan had almost felt the same way he was feeling now .
In these many years, he had in fact committed many mistakes . This, Zhong Wan admitted to .
The proud and arrogant way of thinking of his youth had long since been grinded into dust . The current Zhong Wan could endure any type of humiliation .
However, occasionally he would become unreasonable . When the younger brother Zhong Wan had raised since young suspected him, he would want to explain himself; yet, he wouldn’t know what to say .
Because of the grand grace Prince Ning and Princess Consort Ning had given Zhong Wan in the past, even if Xuan Xui killed him, what could he say?
Zhong Wan clung to and thought over repeatedly the words Xuan Congxin had said just a while ago . However, he didn’t dare to keep them in his heart .
If Prince Ning and Princess Consort Ning were watching in heaven, and they saw how he tripped and fell, saw all the shameful things he had done these past years, would they really not be disappointed?
If they also discovered that he placed the enemy’s son in his heart, going from the north to the south, and the south to the north, and now even living together and being intimate, would they truly not reprimand him severely as a thankless wretch?
“And also…”
Xuan Congxin wiped her tears, composing her expression . “Mother also said…”
Xuan Yu’s shoulders trembled as he sobbed without end, interrupting Xuan Congxin twice . She grew impatient and agitated . “Are you done yet? Do you want to hear Mother’s words or not?!”
This frightened Xuan Yu into lowering his head, too scared to make a sound again .
Xuan Congxin coughed . And she switched back to Princess Consort Ning’s manner of speaking, precocious as she continued, “Mother also said not to always get angry at Yu She, not to be deliberately provocative, not to be willful, not to just leave without explaining anything . ”
Zhong Wan was rendered speechless .
The act Yu She had played in front of Xuan Congxin was very successful . Now, the more she thought of Yu She, the more pitiful she found him . The more she looked at Zhong Wan, the more fincky she found him .
Xuan Congxin followed her own heart, speaking lengthily with Princess Consort Ning’s manner of speaking, giving Zhong Wan a good lecture .
Zhong Wan was between laughter and tears, the melancholy in his heart completely disturbed .
He had Xuan Congxin and Xuan Yu stay for the noon meal . A long time had passed since the three had been like this, like they were in Prince Qian An’s estate, eating together as they chatted about their daily lives .
As Zhong Wan discussed with Xuan Congxin about what kind of teacher to hire for Xuan Yu, Steward Feng entered the room with an expression of panic . He quickly shot Zhong Wan a look, wanting to say something, yet hesitating .
Zhong Wan’s heart grew a bit gloomy . Not batting an eyelid, he said he had some matters to attend to, and had Xuan Yu and Xuan Congxin continue eating by themselves . Then he rose to his feet and left the room .
Zhong Wan followed Steward Feng, who had been waiting outside the room, to the courtyard . He frowned . “What is it? Did something happen in court? Or did Ziyou…”
“It’s nothing to do with the prince . ” Steward Feng shot a few looks at Zhong Wan’s room, expression one of urgency . “At first, I didn’t dare to inform Young Master of this . I wanted to wait until His Highness returned and ask for his intention . However, these two little masters are still in our estate . After they leave, I’m afraid once they’re outside, they’ll hear some news and something will happen to them . Right now, we need someone who has authority in this estate . ”
Itbcu Qjc ijeutfv lc rqlaf bo tlwrfio . “Aera ktja tjqqfcfv?”
Vafkjgv Mfcu rkjiibkfv . “Rfkr mjwf ogbw Hljc Cc . Ktf obgwfg Uglcmf Hljc Cc, Wejc Eel… Vbwfatlcu tjr tjqqfcfv ab tlw . ”
Kbvjs, atf mbega kjr yers . Ktfs wjvf j gjmxfa obg cb ifrr atjc obeg tbegr . Swqfgbg Jtbcujc ralii tjv rbwf fcfgus ja olgra . Dea ijafg bc, tf mbeiv cba fcvegf la jcs ibcufg . Ca atf fcv, tf tjv jii atf tlut-gjcxlcu wlclrafgr tjcv atf ybbxifar bo wjaafgr atja tjv sfa ab yf vlrmerrfv ab atf Jjylcfa . Lf tlwrfio gfaegcfv ab atf Pccfg Ujijmf ab gfra .
When he said to hand it to the Cabinet, what it really meant was to hand it to Yu She .
Recently, Emperor Chongan no longer just had Yu She “learn politics . ” Under Emperor Chongan’s instruction, the members of the Cabinet now did things oppositely: they would hand both the important and unimportant booklets to Yu She, and have him go over them first, before the old ministers would carefully look through them . If there were no issues, then they would directly approve them . If there were any objections, then they must discuss with Yu She .
Although Emperor Chongan did not outwardly express that he wanted Yu She to help him govern the country, the members of Xuan Qiong’s faction remained silent, resentfully throwing their sleeves as they left .
Yu She remained unmoved by both gain or loss . He did not seem proud of himself at all . Like usual, he had people prepare the booklets to bring back to the cabinet and for him go over .
On that day, Yu Mucheng had also attended court . After court dispersed, he left very slowly . He was two steps behind everyone, and stopped on the only path to Yu She .
From the start, Yu She pretended not to see him . As he brushed past Yu Mucheng, the latter gently said, “Ziyou . ”
Yu She stopped in his tracks . His apathetic gaze fell upon Yu Mucheng, hinting for him to spit it out .
Yu Mucheng said kindly, “It’s nothing . I saw that you’ve worked hard recently and wanted to advise you to take care of yourself . ”
If it were in the past, Yu She would certainly say a few unpleasant words to put Yu Mucheng on the spot . But now, he had even recognized Emperor Chongan as his father, so there was nothing that could nauseate him anymore .
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Expressionless, Yu She nodded, and without any more delay, he left .
Yu Mucheng watched as Yu She walked farther into the distance . Mumbled to himself, “‘There’s so much information that can be used against Ziyou . It’s good enough if you just randomly chose one…’” The same words he had said to Imperial Consort Yu .
In the beginning, Yu She had thought that Yu Mucheng had been acting out a play of a benevolent father and filial son in front of other people . It wasn’t until around six hours later that realization struck him .
“You…”
Yu She brought the little eunuch, who had come to pass on a message, to a desolate place . “What did you say?”
The little eunuch said with a bitter expression, “This slave doesn’t know the inside story, and only knows that our spies worked ceaselessly . One hour ago, the spies just entered the capital . They heard Your Highness did not return to the estate yet, and originally thought it wasn’t urgent . So they were waiting until Your Highness returned to inform you about the matters regarding Qian An . ”
There was no problem with that . Yu She frowned and asked, “So why did they suddenly rush you here to find me?!”
The little eunuch hurried to say, “The problem is the people who came from who knew where . They arrived at the Prince Qian An estate in the capital and our estate about six hours ahead of our own spies! Where did they come from?! Instead of waiting to talk to Your Highness, they report to just anyone! They even scared our spies!”
Anger rose in Yu She’s heart . “What did they say?!”
The little eunuch was very startled . He cried out, “They made a racket in both estates saying the former Prince Qian was ambushed and was already… dead . ”
All of a sudden, Yu She’s head pounded from a splitting headache .
Yu She had dispatched numerous spies to follow Xuan Rui back to Qian An . According to Yu She’s plan, those spies had to protect Xuan Rui and watch him attentively . If Yu Mucheng truly acted against Xuan Rui, the spies would protect Xuan Rui . If Yu Mucheng faked an act against Xuan Rui, then he’d take advantage of the situation and send people back to the capital and inform Yu She .
Yu She had his selfish motives .
He wasn’t sure that Yu Mucheng would act . If he didn’t, Yu She wanted to use Xuan Rui as bait to lure Yu Mucheng to something . And pretend as if nothing happened .
First, it was to avoid having Zhong Wan worry . Second…
Yu She was afraid Zhong Wan would not agree with his plan .
Originally, Yu She had a good plan . It would take time for the news of Xuan Rui suffering an ambush to reach the capital . And it would not be faster than his own spies . If he truly were ambushed, Yu She would still have time to explain things to Zhong Wan . Yu Mucheng would have merely captured Xuan Rui temporarily .
But now…
Yu She’s expression was unsightly to the max . “…They even deliberately went to inform those twins . ”
The little eunuch blurted, “Yes! We’re afraid that those two little masters would not understand anything and ask Young Master Zhong for an explanation! Previously, Young Master Zhong had guaranteed them His Highness would take care of escorting the former Prince Qian An back to his fief . Nothing would go wrong . Now that something happened, one would fear those two little masters would be unable to tell right from wrong and suspect Your Highness again…”
Yu She’s tone was ice-cold as he said, “Not a whiff of news has come from the capital, yet my people were well aware of what happened . Would anyone believe I’m not the culprit?”
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He gritted his teeth . Recently, he had been too complacent .
Yu Mucheng had been waiting for him .
Recently, things had been smooth for Yu She . How could Yu Mucheng take up such a laissez-fair attitude?
Yu She felt his heart beat irregularly . Following that, an immense wave of depression filled his heart at once . He clearly was trying to help overturn a past verdict for Prince Ning . Clearly did not want Zhong Wan to worry . So why did Zhong Wan and those twins have to suspect him for acting on Xuan Rui? Why?!
What did he do this all for?
Wild fantasies sprang up all around within his mind . It was difficult to control himself from hating everyone . Yu She knew he was falling into a bout of madness . He strived his hardest to compose himself . “L-let’s return first…”
Dusk was arriving . Once Yu She had returned to his estate, he did his utmost to keep himself from going crazy .
All of a sudden, fear struck his heart . Fear that, like in the past, Zhong Wan was no longer around .
Zhong Wan’s small courtyard was as silent as in the past .
Scared witless, Yu She rushed all the way there . As he pushed open the doors to Zhong Wan’s bedroom, even his hands were shaking .
Inside, Zhong Wan used his arm as a pillow, his upper body draped over the desk . He was asleep .
Yu She swayed a hint, the fire in his heart scattering in an instant, following along the bones of his four limbs until fully extinguished .
He hesitated, before taking a few steps forward, lightly touching Zhong Wan’s shoulder .
Slightly, Zhong Wan moved .
Zhong Wan opened his eyes . As soon as he saw the bloodshot eyes of Yu She, his heart fell . At once, he remained calm and collected as he asked, “You’ve returned?”
Yu She’s whole body was stretched taut . After hearing his words, he nodded in a stiff manner .
Seeing Yu She’s expression, one which spoke of being on guard for all possible dangers, Zhong Wan felt helpless and heartbroken . “Ziyou…”
But then he swallowed the words he had wanted to say . He stared intently at Yu She . “After suddenly receiving that kind of news, I didn’t suspect you at all . Why can’t you learn from me… and trust me more?”
Yu She fell into a daze . All of a sudden, he couldn’t react .
A sigh left Zhong Wan’s lips . “…What’s wrong with you? Why are you this careless? Fortunately, Congxin and Xuan Yu came to visit me today, and I blocked the people who tried to pass the news to them . Otherwise, if they made a huge uproar, how would you deal with it? When those two children feel anxious and don’t know what to do, and if by chance are tricked by others to bring this to the court, what’s to be done?”
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Yu She was still a bit out of it . He thought, if others wanted to make a huge fuss, then let them . What’s that got to do with me? I’ve done so many terrible things these past years, so what am I afraid of?
The only thing I’m afraid of is you misunderstanding me .
Zhong Wan did not want to upset Yu She . Slowly, he lifted his hand to hold Yu She’s . Said in a low voice, “You want to use Xuan Rui as bait, and take advantage of the situation to give him to Prince Yu . To make Prince Yu confident in himself that he can control this perfect puppet . This way, Prince Yu would strive his best to help Prince Ning reverse the verdict of his case, and then, in a perfectly legitimate way, push his puppet onto the throne, right?”
The pupils of Yu She trembled . He nodded, faint in his action .
“Even if Xuan Rui gets a bit hurt, you’ll be helping Prince Ning and Princess Consort Ning reverse the verdicts of their cases . ” Then, as Zhong Wan was unaware of it, his tone grew heavier as he said, “But isn’t it only natural that as a son, Xuan Rui would get a bit hurt for his parents?!”
Yu She was startled to the bone .
Zhong Wan was not one bit prepared . When he had first received news about Xuan Rui’s death, after a moment of shock, he sensed something was off and tried his best to keep calm . He captured those spies and hid the news from the twins, having them sit for longer . At the same time, he ordered people to quickly call Lin Si over . Then he told Lin Si if those twins learned of this news, it would be tremendously bad . He had Lin Si look after those twins and not let any of those evildoers babble nonsense to them .
With much difficulty, Zhong Wan swept clean Yu She’s mess . Then, mentally and physically drained, he laid his upper body on top of the desk and fell asleep .
Yu She had done so many things behind Zhong Wan’s back, so it’s impossible for Zhong Wan not to be angry . At this moment, after Zhong Wan had seen Yu She’s distrust in him, his fury was at its peak .
Zhong Wan was exhausted . “Until now, you still think I care about Xuan Rui more than you, right?”
Yu She was shocked by this sudden question and was unable to react . His eyes were bloodshot; he couldn’t even see Zhong Wan clearly . There were numerous things he wanted to say, yet were stuck in his throat . And he couldn’t even utter a word .
He clutched his hands into fists in self restraint, telling himself over and over again not to go crazy, not to go insane, not to hurt Guiyuan .
Originally, Zhong Wan had wanted to speak frankly about everything to Yu She, but now, looking at Yu She’s current appearance, it wouldn’t matter what he said . 。
Zhong Wan rose to his feet . “Enough . I don’t want to talk anymore . ”
Yu She’s entire body stiffened like an iron cast . He subconsciously took one step forward, one hand grasping a corner of the desk . He wanted to stop Zhong Wan from leaving, but also feared that if he tried to touch Zhong Wan, he would snap off Zhong Wan’s wrist .
But Zhong Wan did not leave .
He stood before Yu She and sighed . “It’s no use saying anything to people like you . It’s better to act instead…”
Zhong Wan pulled off the jade medallion hanging from Yu She’s waist and threw it aside in passing . Then he lightly undid Yu She’s belt .
Yu She was shocked silly, retreating half a step out of reflex . But Zhong Wan clung to him .
Zhong wan picked up a candlestick, and holding it upside down, he pressed the top with the flame onto the desk’s surface, putting it out, the whole room falling into darkness . 。
In the cover of darkness, Zhong Wan raised his head and kissed Yu She on the lips . Then, in a soft voice, he said, “Previously, you were the one who helped me . Today… I’ll give you a lot of care . ”
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