Chapter 84 Who is truly loyal: Shen Wanqing's anger came swiftly and without warning. She traveled from the main courtyard back to the east courtyard, having received word of the situation…

Shen Wanqing's anger came swiftly and without warning. All the way from the main courtyard back to the east courtyard, the maids and servants who had heard the news fell silent and lowered their heads, afraid of being implicated at this moment.

Even when Yu Lang entered the room, he tiptoed in, putting on a completely submissive act, as if to say, "I'll play the submissive role and not take it out on you."

On the contrary, Shen Wanqing, who had calmed down, felt that she had overreacted and was now somewhat embarrassed. She had treated everyone in the room like her subordinates and hadn't been able to stop herself.

"Who are you trying to impress with this weird look? Me, of course."

“Grandma is talking to me? How dare I? Grandma is getting a divorce. Who do I think I am to act strangely towards Grandma?”

Yu Lang put on a humble demeanor, but her words were dripping with sarcasm. The other woman finally realized what was happening; why was she dragging her into the argument? Did she think she was some easy target?

"It's so sour, so incredibly sour."

"Hmph! (╯^╰)!"

On the way back from the main courtyard, Yulang had enough time to find out exactly what had happened. After listening, he realized that his aunt was really unreliable.

People say that one generation plants the trees so that another can enjoy the shade, but she's trying to uproot the whole tree and take it all away. No wonder her grandmother is angry.

"Grandma, stop rambling. You know perfectly well what I'm humming."

"I just said those things in a moment of anger, I never intended to actually divorce the old man."

Young Master Yu's nasal base is exceptionally well-formed; any more would be too high, and any less would be too low. It's just that his facial features, combined with this nasal base and bridge, make his face handsome yet not overly deep-set.

Because of her beautiful face, even if she was being a bit affected at this moment, she still looked good in Shen Wanqing's eyes.

"Oh, so Grandma is really planning to do this?"

Yu Lang wasn't stupid. His grandmother might have some genuine affection for him, but that was about it. If things went smoothly between them, that was fine, but if he or the family constantly caused her trouble, she would definitely find a way to leave him. This woman was ruthless, far more ruthless than he was.

"No, I've already explained it to you, why are you still like this? Lord Yu, you're a real man, a real man can't be petty."

Shen Wanqing sensed something was amiss; Yu Lang seemed genuinely unhappy. Relationships are the most difficult things to handle; it's not good to treat someone's serious feelings as a joke.

"Does my lord feel that my mention of divorce hurt you, or are you resentful that I was too heartless towards your aunt, and are you using this as an excuse to make trouble for me?"

"Don't be sarcastic. What do you mean by 'adult' or 'not adult'? We've been married for so long, when have I ever heard you call me that?"

Yu Lang raised his hand and touched the goosebumps on his arm. He was both fascinated and afraid to look at Shen Wanqing's deliberately tilted body and speaking to him in a pretentious tone. He knew all too well that if he didn't take the opportunity to back down now, he would soon lose all face.

"I know you don't care about me."

"What do you mean, 'either me or me'?" Now it was Shen Wanqing's turn to feel a chill run down her spine. Life is hard enough as it is, but it's even rarer to find someone like Shen Wanqing, whose soul has wandered for hundreds of years without dissipating and is still alive.

When it comes to love, Shen Wanqing's first thought is of the love stories she read every week when she was still in school, which she would pay to rent books from.

Looking back now that I'm older, it all seems so melodramatic and childish, but it was that unwavering determination that made love so special to Shen Wanqing, a woman who was already incredibly shrewd and worldly-wise.

If she were to say that she had that kind of love for Yu Lang, Shen Wanqing would never say such a thing, even if she were to cover her conscience and keep it from being exposed. But to say that she had no feelings for her husband of a year was certainly not an exaggeration.

Hearing Yu Lang say that he didn't have feelings for her, Shen Wanqing instinctively wanted to refute him, but she didn't know how to say it.

If I say something too harsh, I'm afraid of hurting his feelings. If I try to fool him with a joke, I feel like I'm making someone who wasn't angry before get angry, and I end up turning a small thing into a big one.

"No matter how upset I am, it has nothing to do with my aunt's matter."

Yu Lang raised his hand to stop Shen Wanqing from saying what she had been holding back for so long. It was better that she didn't say it; she certainly wouldn't want to hear it anyway. He felt better knowing she wasn't lying to him right now.

“We’ve already made quite a fuss about my aunt’s marriage. Now that you’ve done this, it’s actually a good thing. It’ll help calm things down for the old lady and the Dong’e family. Otherwise, they might get too carried away and fall down.”

When Fu Xuan got married, Tongjia wanted to give her youngest daughter the best of everything. If she didn't have enough herself, she would ask Shen Wanqing and Yu Lang for it. It wasn't a big deal; she could just consider it money spent to buy a good reputation.

But every time this old lady got something, she would brag about it to the relatives and friends who came to the house. Yu Lang understood what she was thinking. First, she wanted to save face for herself and Shen Wanqing in front of others. Second, she wanted to tell outsiders that she, the old lady, still had a status in this family and could get whatever she wanted from her grandson and granddaughter-in-law.

With their schemes laid bare, neither Yu Lang nor Shen Wanqing would say much about her petty thoughts. However, as their good reputations spread further, the Dong'e family couldn't help but hear the rumors.

Fu Xuan wasn't one to know her limits, a fact Yu Lang understood better than Shen Wanqing. Sometimes, it wasn't enough for someone to have no ill intentions; they had to do things that didn't harm anyone else. They still didn't know the true nature of the Dong E family and Dong E Decheng, so it was better to pour cold water on them now.

"Jiyun's outburst is a good opportunity to see how the Dong'e family reacts. It would be best if they quietly completed the marriage and returned to Jingzhou, so that they could still maintain contact as in-laws in the future. If they are also tactless, then my aunt might really never come back."

Yu Lang wasn't truly naive; every step he took since entering Yuqing Palace had been difficult. Although Fu Xuan's matter was small, it set an example for the Hesheli family and outsiders, warning them not to underestimate themselves and Shen Wanqing.

They are capable and willing to help their clansmen live a better life. But if they have any improper thoughts, even their own aunt, Yulang, can harden her heart and ignore them. So what kind of people are you outsiders?

"It's good that the old man understands this principle. Recently, more and more people have been asking us for favors and trying to get through to us."

With Fang Liang blocking my way, ordinary people can't get through the second gate to block me. It's different for you outside; you can't possibly turn away all those people from the Ministry of Rites and the Imperial Household Department.

Even without this incident, I was going to find another excuse to cause trouble, but who knew my aunt would just happen to walk in. She certainly has good taste, immediately taking a liking to Fang Liang. So many things in the East Courtyard this year have been handled by Fang Liang. Doesn't she know how difficult it was for me to cultivate someone like him? What right does she have to ask? She shouldn't have even asked."

Regardless of whether she still cared about Yu Lang, Shen Wanqing became much more natural when talking about her family. Yu Lang also stopped dwelling on what he had said and simply leaned against the pillow.

She didn't know when he reached out and hooked his hand around Shen Wanqing's finger. The rustling sound grew more and more crooked. By the time Shen Wanqing noticed, he was already lying on the daybed, with her hand under his head and her eyes closed, pretending to be asleep. He didn't care how awkward or uncomfortable her position with her hand outstretched and her waist turned to the side was.

"How childish you are."

"No childishness. I'm tired and want to sleep. Please do as you please, Madam."

"Let go of me! What do you mean 'do whatever I want'? Where can I go if you don't let go?"

Shen Wanqing was so angry at Yu Lang's shameless behavior that she almost rolled her eyes to the sky, but she didn't pull her hand back. Instead, she lay down next to Yu Lang.

In the summer, Shen Wanqing spent her own money to replace all the paper windows in the east courtyard with glass, a sum that pained her somewhat. But now, as the evening sunlight streamed through the windows onto the two of them, the anger she felt in the main courtyard finally dissipated.

When the two were alone in a room, the maids and servants in the east courtyard would always keep their distance. Because whether they were arguing or just getting along, their bickering always ended up in bed.

The quietness today was unusual. Chunqian and Biyun waited in the corner room until it got dark but didn't hear any noise from next door. They quietly pushed the door open to check and found the two people in the next room sleeping soundly with their heads touching.

Shen Wanqing's outburst of temper couldn't be hidden, nor did she intend to. On the contrary, Madam Tongjia explained to everyone she met that the incident that day wasn't her granddaughter-in-law's fault, but rather that Fuxuan, that good-for-nothing, couldn't even speak properly, which caused such a huge misunderstanding.

Those who were scolded said so themselves, so others naturally didn't care. People who were related to the Hesheli family treated it as a joke. Anyway, Grandma Shen didn't make things difficult for them. As long as you, Tongjia Shi, could handle it, just keep it to yourself. Everyone could see what was really going on.

Only the Dong E family, who had traveled all the way from Jingzhou to the capital, were sobered up by this bucket of cold water. It seemed that the relationship between the bride they were going to marry and her nephew and niece-in-law wasn't as good as rumored.

Fortunately, Dong E Decheng remained relatively calm about the situation. After all, Yu Lang had prepared such a large dowry for his aunt. He knew where Fu Xuan's dowry fields were in Jingzhou; frankly, the Dong E family didn't have such good paddy fields in Jingzhou.

And those two shops, the rent for each one would be no less than a hundred taels a year. This is Jingzhou, not the capital. Two hundred taels a year just from the shops is no small sum.

With such a dowry, even if Fuxuan marries at the age of twenty, her in-laws won't find fault with her. The Hesheli family has done a great job in this regard.

As for the family's private schemes about getting Yulang to introduce him to the Crown Prince, and ideally staying in the capital instead of returning to Jingzhou, Decheng just listened to them and let them go. If he took these fantasies seriously, the marriage might turn into an enmity.

When the Dong E family arrived in the capital, they had hoped to leverage Yu Lang's influence to make some moves, but Shen Wanqing's words had made them behave themselves. When the news reached Yuqing Palace, the focus was solely on Yu Lang.

"Did Yulang really say that?"

"Your Highness, how could I dare to spread false rumors about Lord Yu? It's true, Lord Yu himself said he wanted to marry into the family of Madam Shen."

"That bastard really dares to say anything; everyone outside knows about this now?"

"Everyone talks about it as a joke. They all say that Lord Yu is very successful outside, but he doesn't manage his household very well. How can an aunt ask her nephew's wife for this and that? It's shameful that she has the nerve to do that."

"This can't be blamed on him and Shen. They are the younger generation, and the old lady and the madam are the two highest authority in the family. This aunt is already quite old and still unmarried. It's not easy to please either side. If they do well, it's their duty; if they don't, it's their incompetence. Let these onlookers say whether it's good or bad."

Yu Lang hasn't been to the palace these past few days, but everyone knows he was summoned to the Qing Palace that day. Although everyone knows that Yu Lang's habit is that he won't submit a request to be seen in the palace unless it's something important after he leaves the palace on duty, it's still not right for him to leave without any news.

The Crown Prince didn't say anything, but the eunuchs who served him closely could tell. They couldn't force the Crown Prince to act as his servants, but they could at least go out and find out what was going on and tell their master, so that he would know that Yu Lang hadn't had an easy time outside the palace these past few days.

To everyone's surprise, the Crown Prince, who was practicing calligraphy, initially found these words amusing, but his laughter quickly faded as the conversation progressed. What the Crown Prince said left He Yuzhu feeling uneasy; it wasn't about Yu Lang and Shen Shi, it was clearly about the Crown Prince himself.

In such a vast world, with the Emperor, Empress Dowager, concubines and their brothers, imperial relatives, noble families, and powerful clans, he, as the Crown Prince, has to consider everyone. If he does well, it's only right, since he is the Crown Prince and the heir apparent. If he does poorly, not only will his own life be in danger, but the entire Yuqing Palace, including Yu Lang and his guards, will also suffer.

Feeling a sense of shared sorrow, Yinreng pondered for a moment before instructing He Yuzhu: "Give the order that no one in Yuqing Palace should treat this as a joke anymore. This afternoon, when Wang Tan comes over, tell him to be careful. If any censors use this as a pretext in the next few days, find a way to suppress it."

The censors of the Censorate not only supervised and impeached officials in the government, but also had to keep an eye on the private affairs of officials' families. If there were discord among brothers, marital discord, unfilial sons, or unkind mothers, the censors could submit memorials to impeach them.

Yu Lang is at the height of his power this year. He is a first-class guard at Yuqing Palace. Many matters concerning the Crown Prince's wedding ceremony and the Imperial Household Department have to go through his hands. When officials arrive at Yuqing Palace, the first thing they ask is whether Lord Yu is on duty today.

Even Lingpu had previously jokingly complained to others that Yulang was the only one who was truly favored by the Crown Prince, and that he, as the wet nurse, had long been sidelined.

"This servant obeys the decree." He Yuzhu knew, of course, that the Crown Prince currently valued and preferred Yulang more, and he, Delin, and Gao Laixi were all happy to see this happen.

Soetu was too arrogant; even his servants, Algishan and Gerfen, acted like emperors when they entered the palace. Lingpu, being the wet nurse, also wielded considerable power, and he didn't take the eunuchs of Yuqing Palace seriously at all.

However, Yu Lang, who had risen to prominence and quickly gained a foothold in front of the Crown Prince, was more to their liking. They couldn't wait for Yu Lang to gain more power and tear a piece of flesh from Suo'etu and Lingpu. The fiercer they fought in front of the Crown Prince, the more useful the eunuchs became in front of him.

Some people just can't stand being talked about. In the study of Yuqing Palace, they were talking about Yulang when a eunuch came outside to announce that it was Suo'etu who was requesting an audience with the Crown Prince.

Yinreng instinctively wanted to say no, he could guess why Suo'etu had come to the palace today. Ever since Yulang became a first-class guard and was in charge of all the affairs of his wedding, Suo'etu had been like a cat whose tail had been stepped on, always looking for trouble with Yulang.

But since it was Suo'etu after all, and Yinreng still needed him for many things, he hesitated again and again before finally letting him in.

The plan was to preemptively get Suo'etu to say something else, so he wouldn't keep staring at Yulang. But Suo'etu, despite his age, reacted quickly. He knelt down and kowtowed as soon as he entered, silencing Yinreng from saying what he was about to say. Then, he immediately launched into a scathing complaint against Yulang.

“Your Highness, it’s not that I’m jealous of that brat Yulang, but he’s really disloyal to you. The day he was summoned to the Qianqing Palace to see His Majesty, he reported to His Majesty every single word about who Your Highness met and what Your Highness said.”

How can your personal guards not be our own people? Keeping someone like this by your side, I hope Your Highness will reconsider..."

Suo'etu truly believed that there should be no mouthpieces from the Qianqing Palace in front of the Crown Prince. Even if there were, they should be loyal to the Crown Prince. Even if they went to the Qianqing Palace to report back, they should be discreet and report back to the Crown Prince as soon as possible afterward. Yu Lang's act of taking matters into his own hands was disloyal to the Crown Prince.

Unfortunately, before he could finish speaking, the spine of the book that Yinreng threw at him broke off.

"Song'etu, explain yourself clearly what you mean by disloyalty to me. Who are you referring to as 'we'? Whose son am I, and whose crown prince am I? You're talking to me about loyalty? What right do you have to say that!"