Zhu Yu – Chapter 159

Fan Changyu remembered that when they returned to the mansion, it was a clear day after the snow. When she woke up and opened the window, she saw it was snowing again outside.

Having slept well, she felt refreshed, except for some soreness in her body.

She was also a bit hungry.

Fan Changyu went to the familiar chest to find her clothes, but after searching to the bottom, she found only outer robes and no matching undergarments.

The scattered bed curtains were lifted by a well-defined arm, covered in light red scratches from the arm to the shoulder, with a faint bite mark visible on the shoulder. The man’s voice, still husky from just waking up, had a low, mellow rasp: “Won’t you sleep a bit more?”

Fan Changyu answered honestly: “I’m hungry.”

Xie Zheng seemed to chuckle softly. He got up, putting on his clothes. The muscles on his waist and abdomen were clearly defined, and there were even more light red scratches on his sturdy back and shoulders. His armor had been stained almost entirely with others’ blood, and the worst injury on his body was just the skinned flesh on his left palm.

As memories of the previous chaos flooded back, Fan Changyu lowered her head, not daring to look further. She only heard him say: “I’ll have someone bring food.”

Fan Changyu then asked: “Do you have any other clothes for me here?”

Xie Zheng turned his head to look at her.

Fan Changyu said: “There are only outer robes in that chest.”

Her previously soaked undergarments from falling into the water could have been worn in a pinch, but this time, all her clothes were thoroughly soaked in blood. Fan Changyu couldn’t even make do with them. What she was wearing now was borrowed from him.

Xie Zheng said: “I haven’t prepared any yet. Wear mine for now, and I’ll have someone bring a set for you later.”

Fan Changyu didn’t notice anything amiss. After thinking for a moment, she realized this was the only option and nodded.

Efficient servants quickly set up the meal in the outer room. After a simple wash-up, Fan Changyu ate three bowls before stopping.

The snowy day was gloomy, making it hard to tell the time. After the meal, Fan Changyu looked at the hourglass in Xie Zheng’s room and frowned: “It’s not past noon yet?”

When they had returned from the palace, it was already the Hour of Chen (7-9 AM). He had then carried on wildly for a while, and Fan Changyu felt she had slept for quite a long time. Had only two hours passed?

Xie Zheng, who was drinking tea, heard her question and suddenly coughed lightly, covering his mouth with his hand. His handsome face unusually showed a hint of awkwardness: “It’s the second day of the month now.”

Fan Changyu stared with her clear, large eyes for two breaths before reacting. Her face instantly darkened.

It wasn’t just two hours that had passed; a whole day and night had gone by!

With the Li and Wei factions suppressed, the young emperor missing, and numerous matters to attend to, how could he sit here so calmly?

Xie Shiyi, carrying a stack of documents, came to find Xie Zheng. Before reaching the door, he heard a series of loud crashes from inside. He steeled himself and said: “Master, Mr. Gong Sun says these memorials need your review.”

“I understand. Just leave them at the door,” came the clear voice from inside, though the breath sounded a bit unsteady.

Xie Shiyi, his ears bright red, put down the documents and left.

Inside the room, Xie Zheng was pinned to the ground by Fan Changyu, her legs locking his neck. Looking at her slightly open collar, he said with slightly heavy breathing: “Ancestor, if you’ve vented your anger, please get up. If you don’t get up soon, we won’t be getting up at all today.”

Fan Changyu, her face and ears red, pressed down on him even harder, glaring: “Stop talking nonsense!”

Xie Zheng grabbed one of her feet with his uninjured hand and suddenly exerted force. Fan Changyu felt a whirl of dizziness as she was pinned back down.

A hand explored into her wide-open collar, gripping not too gently. This time, Fan Changyu’s face truly felt hot enough to steam. She struggled more fiercely, angrily scolding: “You… scoundrel!”

Xie Zheng’s breathing was already irregular. He lowered his head slightly to look at her, his eyes pitch black: “Haven’t we done even more scoundrelly things?”

“You!” Fan Changyu was speechless. Truly at his mercy now, she learned to strategically show weakness: “I… I’m still sore.”

Her clear, large eyes darted towards the outside of the room: “Um… Shiyi is also looking for you. With so many matters in court, aren’t you going to review them?”

Her timid yet unwilling-to-admit-defeat appearance was truly endearing. Xie Zheng felt an itch from his teeth. He held her chin and thoroughly kissed her from inside to out before finally releasing her.

Gaining freedom, Fan Changyu immediately tightened her clothes and sat far away, seeming both annoyed and embarrassed. She said: “I don’t want to wear your clothes anymore. I want my own.”

Xie Zheng reached out his long arm and pulled her back, burying his face in the crook of her neck and laughing softly: “Alright, whatever you say.”

His breath on her neck was a bit ticklish. Fan Changyu expressionlessly pushed his face away a bit, lowering her eyes, her lips pressed tightly together, inexplicably feeling a bit stuffy.

He said he’d do whatever she wanted, but clearly, she was the one being bullied!

When Xie Zheng took the memorials Xie Shiyi had left at the door and went inside to read them carefully, Fan Changyu had already found a large sword from the armory and was practicing martial arts in the courtyard.

Fine snow fell steadily. She wielded the large sword in the courtyard, her movements creating gusts of wind. With each chop and slash, her eyes contained a fierce aura, as if she was cutting down some unknown person in the falling snow.

Xie Zheng watched for a while, propping his chin on his hand, a faint smile appearing in his eyes. He lowered his gaze to continue reading the memorials in his hand.

When he came to one of them, he raised an eyebrow slightly: “The Lingnan Military Governor has come to the capital at this critical moment?”

Fan Changyu, who had just finished a set of sword techniques, turned her head, leaning on the long sword, and asked: “Is it Wei Yan’s backup plan?”

Xie Zheng shook his head: “The scouts say he came to the capital alone.”

Just then, Xie Shiyi hurriedly entered the courtyard to report: “Master, Madam Wei requests an audience.”

Xie Zheng’s eyes narrowed slightly, and he only said: “Please escort her to the front hall.”

Soon after, Xie Zheng brought Fan Changyu to the front hall.

Madam Wei was dressed in mourning clothes. Upon seeing Xie Zheng, she knelt without a word.

Fan Changyu didn’t know Xie Zheng’s state of mind, but she was indeed startled by Madam Wei’s sudden action. By the time she came to her senses, Xie Zheng had already reached out to help her up: “Aunt, what are you doing?”

Madam Wei refused to rise, her face extremely pale. She forced a smile and said: “My Lord, please don’t address me like this. This humble woman doesn’t deserve it.”

Xie Zheng’s eyes darkened: “Regardless of what Wei Yan has done, I still consider you my aunt.”

But Madam Wei shook her head, her expression somewhat sorrowful: “This humble woman truly doesn’t deserve to be called aunt by My Lord. I only survived in the Wei household for over twenty years and raised Xuan because of the Prime Minister’s protection…”

Fan Changyu sensed something unusual, and Xie Zheng slowly asked: “What do you mean by this?”

Madam Wei revealed the hidden truth with a sigh: “This humble woman was originally just a concubine-born daughter from a small family, never worthy of the Prime Minister in this life. My family arranged for me to be a second wife to a sixth-rank official, whose son was several years older than me… I was unwilling and privately pledged myself to a guard in the family. He joined the army to save money to marry me. When the official came to propose, I was already three months pregnant. When my family found out, they wanted to take me to abort the child. I ran away to the military camp to find Xuan’s father, but who knew he had died in battle…”

At this point, Madam Wei’s eyes were almost numb, yet clear tears still fell from the corners. She smiled bitterly: “At that time, I truly felt all hope was lost. My family had chased me to the military camp, saying they would take me back to be drowned in a pig cage to give the official’s family an explanation. I thought, since death was inevitable, I might as well end my life and join Xuan’s father.

I was about to throw myself against a pillar when someone stopped me. The Prime Minister claimed the child in my womb as his own, saying he would come to propose soon. He also suppressed the incident of that day, and to this day, few people know about it. The Prime Minister said that Xuan’s father was one of his subordinates, and he had never intended to marry again in this life, but his family was pressuring him. It just so happened that I was pregnant and had nowhere to go, so this was a solution that benefited both parties.”

“Wei Xuan is not Wei Yan’s son?” Xie Zheng’s eyes were filled with complex emotions.

“No, he’s not.” Madam Wei shook her head: “The Prime Minister is a man who observes propriety. Over these years, he would only come to my chambers for a meal during festivals to prevent Xuan from being looked down upon by the household.”

She looked at Xie Zheng with a sorrowful expression: “This humble woman has come today to beg My Lord. I am just a woman and don’t know much about what the Prime Minister has done, but he has shown great kindness to me and Xuan. This great favor, I can only try my best to repay. I beg My Lord, for the sake of Xuan taking that knife for you, please spare the Prime Minister’s life!”

Fan Changyu was extremely surprised, not expecting there to be so many hidden truths in the marriage between Madam Wei and Wei Yan.

The hand with which Xie Zheng was helping Madam Wei up loosened its grip. His eyes showed no emotion as he only asked: “Wei Yan… didn’t marry because of Consort Su?”

Madam Wei shook her head and said: “This, I do not know. But given the Prime Minister’s personality, if he truly had a relationship with Consort Su, I don’t believe he could have done something like burning Consort Su and her unborn child to death.”

Hearing this, even though Fan Changyu hated Wei Yan to the bone, she also began to find it suspicious.

Qi Min had said that Wei Yan had orchestrated the Jinzhou incident, killing the Crown Prince and the Sixteenth Prince, for the sake of Consort Su and the child in her womb.

Wei Yan had no children of his own. If he was later able to purge the palace, force the old emperor off the throne, and support a young child with no foundation to ascend the throne, with such capabilities, why would he need to burn Consort Su to death?

She looked at Xie Zheng, who said to Madam Wei: “Wei Yan’s crimes will be investigated thoroughly and announced to the world before any judgment is made. Madam, please return home for now.”

Having said this much, Madam Wei couldn’t press further. She kowtowed once and retreated sorrowfully.

Fan Changyu then said: “Now that Wei Yan has been apprehended, I’ll take some people to search his mansion to see if we can find anything.”

Xie Zheng said: “Gong Sun has already led a search. Wei Yan is cautious in his actions. Having decided to force the emperor’s abdication, he was prepared for military defeat. Any incriminating letters have been thoroughly burned. Nothing can be found.”

At this point, he paused slightly and looked at Fan Changyu: “The teacher has been held at his mansion since entering the capital. He has now been brought back to the Xie residence. You can go see him later.”

Fan Changyu was both surprised and delighted: “Foster Father has been found?”

Xie Zheng nodded.

Fan Changyu then said: “Then I’ll go see Foster Father now.”

Xie Zheng called someone to escort Fan Changyu. As soon as she entered the courtyard, she heard Chang Ning’s voice slamming the table: “I want Elder Sister!”

“Your Elder Sister has gone to suppress the rebellion.” It was an old but still vigorous voice: “You little one, don’t cause trouble. Are you intentionally helping that boy disrupt this old man’s game?”

Fan Changyu quickly walked to the door and called out: “Ning’er.”

Chang Ning, who had her entire chin resting on the chessboard, turned her head almost instantly. Not even bothering to put on her shoes, she ran towards Fan Changyu in her silk stockings with open arms: “Elder Sister, hug!”

Fan Changyu picked up Chang Ning with one arm and looked at Grand Tutor Tao, who still looked skinny but seemed to have suffered no hardship at all. The sadness she had been preparing all the way suddenly got stuck, and in the end, she only called out dryly: “Foster Father.”

Grand Tutor Tao, holding a chess piece, gave a faint “mm” and glanced at Fan Changyu, saying: “I hear the girl has reached the third rank. You’ve made quite some progress.”

Fan Changyu felt she should be modest and replied: “It’s all thanks to Foster Father’s good teaching.”

Unexpectedly, Grand Tutor Tao lightly raised an eyelid, “This old man didn’t teach you much. It was that boy who taught you, wasn’t it?”

Perhaps due to the guilt of having slept for a day and a night, Fan Changyu blushed from her face to the tips of her ears. Her neck was probably red too, but because there were too many marks, she had worn a rabbit fur scarf to cover it.

Grand Tutor Tao knew this honest girl had a thin skin. Thinking about her straightforward nature and how she would inevitably suffer at the hands of that slick boy in the future, he couldn’t help but bristle his mustache and glare: “So what if he taught you? What are you embarrassed about? Not to mention that he’ll have to marry you from this old man’s house with a grand procession in the future, but he’s also your senior brother, so teaching you is only natural!”

Upon hearing Grand Tutor Tao’s lecture, Fan Changyu instinctively sat up straight and responded firmly: “Foster Father’s instruction is correct!”

Grand Tutor Tao was finally satisfied and softened his tone: “Come, sit down and play a game of chess with your Foster Father.”

Yu Bao’er, who had been forced to play chess for most of the day, let out an almost inaudible sigh of relief and quickly made room for Fan Changyu: “Please, Aunt Changyu.”

Fan Changyu: “…”

As she wracked her brain thinking about where to place her next move, Grand Tutor Tao casually asked her about the situation in the capital: “The Li family has fallen, and that old fox from the Wei family has also reached this point. Do you know what that boy plans to do next?”

Fan Changyu nodded. She was about to place a white piece but suddenly raised her head and asked: “Grand Tutor, may I ask you some questions about Wei Yan?”

Grand Tutor Tao slightly raised his wrinkled eyelids: “Are you asking for yourself, or on behalf of that boy?”

Fan Changyu said: “I’m asking for the truth from seventeen years ago.”

Grand Tutor Tao then smiled: “You… you…”

He put the chess piece back in the basket, poured a cup of tea from the small red clay stove, took a sip, and then looked at the flying snow outside the window: “That rascal, he’s probably gone to see Wei Yan in prison by now.”

Fan Changyu remained silent. She had sensed earlier that Xie Zheng seemed to want to see Wei Yan alone, which was why she had suggested coming to see Grand Tutor Tao when Xie Zheng mentioned he was at the mansion, giving him time to meet Wei Yan privately.

Grand Tutor Tao slowly remarked, “Wei Yan has no children of his own, but that rascal he raised at his knee—he’s grown up to be exactly like Wei Yan in his youth. Once he’s set his mind on something, not even ten oxen could drag him back…”