Chapter 49 [VIP]
Having suffered a setback at Xiao Chuan's hands, Chang Xuanke tossed and turned all night, unable to sleep. He knew that reporting Xiao Chuan's unjust actions to Zhao Tianhe would be the best way to teach Xiao Chuan a lesson, but as a gentleman, he disdained such petty behavior. So the next day, instead of going to the military governor's residence, he changed into a vermilion peacock-patterned official robe, wore a gold and jade cicada-shaped hat, and led his men to the military post where Xiao Chuan was on duty to review the troops.
“Ninth Brother was too reckless. Even if Chang Xuanke’s words were inappropriate, Chang Xuanke is the Inspector sent by His Majesty to Yizhou. How could Ninth Brother cut off Chang Xuanke’s attendant’s finger just because of a moment of anger?”
It wasn't just one person who was dissatisfied with Xiao Chuan's current position. As soon as Wu Liping spoke, someone immediately chimed in: "Originally, dealing with Chang Xuanke for a while would have been enough to get rid of him, but Commander Xiao's actions have instead given Chang Xuanke a handle and an excuse to interfere with the Yizhou troops."
"If the observer were to find out the extent of the military preparedness within Yizhou City, it would be a troublesome matter."
The Chang family's genealogy doesn't rank among the prominent families in the capital, but Chang Xuanke's elder sister is a favored concubine of the Emperor of Daxing.
Consort Chang has two sons. The two sons are not very old, one of them is still an infant drinking milk. However, Consort Chang is favored by the emperor. Since last year, rumors have been circulating in the capital that Emperor Daxing intends to abolish the crown prince and make the fifteenth prince born to Consort Chang the crown prince.
Even though the Daxing region is now divided into warlord states, with the military governors holding absolute power in each prefecture, as long as they do not openly express their rebellious intentions, each prefecture must remain obedient and act in accordance with the Daxing Emperor's orders.
At the beginning of the year, Emperor Daxing sent Chang Xuanke with 3,000 troops to inspect Jiannan. When the officials of Yizhou saw that Zhao Tianhe treated Chang Xuanke with courtesy, they thought that Zhao Tianhe was suffering from chronic diarrhea and had no son to succeed him. In recent years, his methods had become more and more mild, and they were afraid that he had lost his heroic ambitions.
At this moment, Xiao Chuan appeared to confront Chang Xuanke. Those who disliked Xiao Chuan used him as a target, while those who couldn't figure out Zhao Tianhe's intentions added fuel to the fire, trying to use Xiao Chuan to find out whether Zhao Tianhe intended to show weakness and loyalty to the court, or had other plans.
"Chua'er was indeed rash; let's see how he handles it afterward."
Zhao Tianhe kept his emotions hidden, but his words clearly indicated that Xiao Chuan was at fault.
Upon hearing this, Wu Liping's face lit up with joy, and he immediately said, "The most urgent task now is to get Ninth Brother to apologize to the Inspector General, so that the Inspector General has no reason to be angry. I just don't know if, given Ninth Brother's temper, he can put the big picture first and suppress his anger for a moment."
"Chang Xuanke's words weren't inappropriate, but they were disrespectful and insulting to Commander Xiao's wife. If we tolerate this, where is our manly spirit?!"
Hearing Wu Liping going further and further down the line, as if he were trying to force Xiao Chuan to bow down to Chang Xuanke, Yue Jin couldn't stand it anymore and spoke up in rebuttal.
"Arrogance and recklessness regardless of the occasion is called recklessness, what does it have to do with manly spirit! Third Brother comes from a poor family, he only has the courage of a man but no sense of the big picture. If we let him act recklessly, it will harm the entire Yizhou!"
Wu Liping's words provoked the anger of the military officers present. He spoke eloquently, but after suffering a defeat and losing his troops, he dug up his family history of having at least one generation of scholars, self-righteously classifying himself as a civil official, and boasting about it.
The two groups started arguing, but Zhao Tianhe, who was sitting high in the central hall, didn't care. He only reacted when the guards came to report that Chang Xuanke had suffered a loss at the training ground. He nodded and agreed to hold a reconciliation banquet for Chang Xuanke and Xiao Chuan.
At this moment, Chang Xuanke, covered in dust and dirt, was unaware that many officials in Yizhou were on his side and were praising his importance to Zhao Tianhe. He glared fiercely at Xiao Chuan. If he hadn't been thinking about the overall situation, he would have ordered the three thousand soldiers outside the city to break through and behead Xiao Chuan as a show of force.
"I am the imperial inspector appointed by His Majesty. Xiao Chui, how dare you refuse to cooperate with my investigation!"
Chang Xuanke led his entourage of soldiers today, intending to regain face from Xiao Chuan. However, Xiao Chuan had no idea that he had become so audacious. After acting rashly yesterday, he showed no remorse and his attitude became even worse.
He arrived with orders, but Xiao Chuan refused to even open the gates of the military camp for him, openly defying his order to review the troops.
Xiao Chuan's soldiers were all scoundrels; not only did they not bow to him, but they also used foul language to provoke the strong generals around him.
By the time he realized what was happening, the scene was in complete chaos. His troops were fighting with Xiao Chuan's soldiers, and he was caught in the crossfire, taking a few punches and kicks.
"When have I ever failed to cooperate with the Inspector General?"
Xiao Chuan stepped aside, revealing soldiers holding weapons. "If the Inspector wants to review the troops, just look."
"I want to march into the military compound to review the troops!"
Faced with Chang Xuanke's roar, Xiao Chuan raised his eyebrows slightly: "I have already said that Chang Chashi can do whatever he wants."
Is it that he doesn't want to do as he pleases?
Looking at the menacing soldiers in front of him, Chang Xuanke was certain that if he dared to take a step forward, they would attack him without holding back.
The throbbing wound on his waist reminded him that Xiao Chuan would show him some respect because of his status, while these lowly soldiers, whose minds were filled with nothing but straw, didn't care about the consequences of hurting him.
"Xiao Chua, you're doing very well!"
Chang Xuanke gritted his teeth, "I was just following orders, but you deliberately made things difficult for me. You think you're something special just because you were adopted by the governor? You're nothing but a dog of Governor Zhao!"
He stopped speaking before Xiao Xu could reply.
"You bunch of idiots, are you out of your minds? Do you even know who I am?!"
He was drawn into it, and at that moment, the soldiers' fists and feet were aimed directly at him.
Even with people trying to stop him, Chang Xuan still panicked. "I am the Imperial Inspector appointed by His Majesty, and the younger brother of the Imperial Concubine. If you harm me..."
"We don't care who you are. This is Yizhou territory. We are the Jiannan Army. Your insult to our general is the same as your insult to us!"
The man who spoke punched Chang Xuanke hard in the eye. Seeing him wince in pain, clutching his eye and howling for help, he sneered, "That spineless coward, he thinks he can get into our military unit and watch us train? Bah!"
Sticky liquid clung to his face, and it took Chang Xuanke a while to realize that the wetness on his face was the thick phlegm of the thugs. He had never been insulted like this before, and immediately burst into a wild howl: "Xiao Chua, how dare you insult me like this! You'll see if Governor Zhao can protect you. Even if you kneel down and lick the soles of my shoes from now on, I, Chang Xuanke, will not forgive you."
Xiao Chuan twitched the corner of his mouth and asked, "Is the Inspector holding his head so high because he's afraid his phlegm will fall too slowly and he won't be able to taste it?"
The cold sarcasm made Chang Xuanke realize how despicable he was now. He stopped uttering harsh words and instead covered his face, having his attendant escort him away.
Even though he ran incredibly fast, he still couldn't escape being hit hard on the buttocks by a pebble.
Chang Xuanke fell to the ground beneath Gao Ma. In the chaos around him, he couldn't see where Xiao Chuan was, but he was certain that Xiao Chuan was arrogantly enjoying his disgraceful state. The pebbles that flew at him must have been Xiao Chuan's doing.
For the first time in his life, he hated someone so much that he wished he could devour their flesh, sleep on their skin, and grind their bones to dust.
*
Xiao Chu's unrestrained and reckless behavior soon spread throughout Yizhou City.
Upon hearing of Xiao Chuan's rudeness towards Chang Xuanke, Wu Liping became even more certain that Xiao Chuan had lost his mind after marrying Yu Nu.
Previously, Xiao Chuan was taciturn and had never been heard to befriend or antagonize anyone.
He was like a cold, sharp blade; he was sharp when Zhao Tianhe used him, but dull and lifeless when he didn't.
All of Xiao Chuan's changes occurred after he married Yu Nu. No matter how beautiful she was, she was just a woman who could be replaced at will. However, Xiao Chuan repeatedly embarrassed him because of Yu Nu.
Thinking back to the day Xiao Chua came knocking on his door, and how he was afraid of causing trouble and could only call out his wife to scold and apologize, Wu Liping was so angry that he felt like his insides were burning.
After that day, he thought that Xiao Chuan's indulgence of Yu Nu's domineering behavior would eventually lead to his downfall because of a woman, and now it seems that he was right.
Not long after, he became Chang Xuanke's mortal enemy because of a moment of anger.
What is his background? What is Chang Xuanke's background? It's like an egg hitting a rock; they've lost their minds.
Wu Liping wasn't the only one who thought Xiao Chuan had gone mad; even Pan Shi, who knew the future, couldn't understand how Xiao Chuan had changed so much.
In her previous life, she was busy selecting talented individuals with the potential to become a hegemon and did not notice what Xiao Chuan looked like before he started his rebellion, but she remembered that Chang Xuanke had stayed in Yizhou for a long time.
Xiao Chuan even collaborated with Consort Chang, who was behind Chang Xuanke, through Chang Xuanke.
She remembered all of these things clearly, and the clearer she remembered them, the more she wanted to rush up to Mi Yao and scold her for being stupid.
She already knew that Mi Yao was a lucky person who had been given a second chance at life, just like her, but compared to her, Mi Yao was just a beautiful but useless person with good luck.
Mi Yao knew that Xiao Chuan would become a powerful figure in the future, so she only knew to stop harming the three children of the Xiao family, but otherwise she remained thoughtless.
Not only was she brainless, but she also managed to bewitch Xiao Chua to the point that he was oblivious to the world around him.
If she had a choice, Madam Pan would only want to see Mi Yao make a fool of herself, but she had bet on the wrong person in her previous life, and she was afraid that Mi Yao would use what she knew to abandon Xiao Chuan and choose someone else, and that something else would go wrong and ruin her luck in this life.
So she not only cursed Mi Yao for being stupid in her heart and was restless all day, but she also rushed to the Xiao residence to persuade Mi Yao to use her brain.
“Sister Yu, do you know how wrong your Ninth Brother has been for your sake? The Inspector General is the younger brother of the Imperial Concubine and an inspector personally dispatched by His Majesty to Yizhou. Even Father Emperor has to show him respect. Yet your Ninth Brother has offended the Inspector General because of you. Do you know how serious this is?”
No one saw Xiao Chua make a move in the conflict at the military camp, but it was useless for him not to, because it was all his subordinates who took action. Zhao Tianhe had already promised Chang Xuanke that he would give Chang Xuanke an explanation.
In this situation, if Xiao Chuan backs down, there is still a way to turn things around. However, if Xiao Chuan remains defiant, he will inevitably be punished by Zhao Tianhe in order to appease Chang Xuanke's anger.
How could this punishment not strain the relationship between father and son?
"Because your Ninth Brother is like a reckless fool now. If you were smart, you would know that you depend on your Ninth Brother for survival. If he loses Father's trust, what good will come of it for you?"
Madam Pan frowned deeply. If one didn't know better, they would think she was a compassionate bodhisattva who selflessly spread her mercy everywhere, leaving her own son in the Ma family and neglecting him, yet coming to the Xiao family to teach Mi Yao how to be a person.
Upon hearing that Madam Pan had sent a visiting card, Mi Yao knew it was no good. However, since Madam Pan had a visiting card from the governor's residence, she still had the gatekeeper let her in.
The two had barely met when, before Mi Yao could even speak, Madam Pan launched into a long lecture.
Seeing the anxiety in Pan's eyes, Mi Yao could understand why Pan was barking incessantly.
"Are you jealous of me?"
Pan was surprised that Mi Yao would come to such a foolish conclusion after listening to her for so long. Pan's face turned ugly: "Does Sister Yu think that there is only jealousy and comparison between women? Why do you have to think that I will compare with you? As a woman, I just want to help you."
“I don’t think there’s only jealousy and comparison between women, but you must only feel like you want to take my place.”
“Sister Yu, you’ve misunderstood. If I hated you, I would have watched you make a mistake that implicated Ninth Brother, and in the end, you would have been disliked by him. I wouldn’t have come to remind you to think about Ninth Brother. Offending Chang Xuanke is really not good for you. If you want a prosperous future, Sister Yu, go and apologize to Inspector Chang and try to smooth things over for Ninth Brother.”
If she didn't want Mi Yao to know that she was also reborn, she really wanted to scold the woman in front of her and teach her how stupid she was.
A woman who only knows how to be charming and coquettish is the most foolish woman. She has no ambition of her own and only wants to live off a man's temporary favor. She doesn't know that people's hearts are fickle and youth fades quickly. Sooner or later, a man's favor will disappear, and then even the most beautiful woman will only have a wrinkled face left.
Unfortunately, there are too few women as clear-headed and intelligent as her; the world is full of fools like Mi Yao who cannot be awakened.
"If you think that men are competitive and quarrelsome because of women, then you are just jealous of me."
Looking at Madam Pan's expression, Mi Yao covered her mouth and yawned lazily. "Madam Pan, you should know that just because you show a few expressions of 'I'm the only one who's sober while everyone else is drunk' doesn't mean you're smarter than others. I can tell at a glance that you're the kind of person who isn't particularly smart, but whose ambitions are sky-high and who thinks too much, so you deceive yourself into thinking you're different."
Since Pan insisted on coming to her and making things difficult, Mi Yao didn't hold back and gave her a comment.
"In reality, you are neither intelligent nor generous. You are just an ordinary, shallow, and wicked person whose mind is full of beautiful fantasies. When you see others not acting as you imagine, you become impotently furious."
Mi Yao slowly and deliberately fired cold arrows at Pan Shi. Only when she saw that Pan Shi's smile could not be maintained and her face was stiff like a stone did she find her more pleasing to the eye.
"Jealous, aren't you? I can easily become the source of trouble between men, turning Xiao Chua, whom you desperately desire and worship on your shrine, into a brainless fool for me."
As the last word fell, Mi Yao caught a glimpse of black in her peripheral vision. Looking up, she saw that it was indeed Xiao Chua with a cold and hard expression.
Following Mi Yao's gaze, Madam Pan looked back and was delighted to see Xiao Chuan.
Xiao Chuan stood outside the threshold, his expression calm, seemingly having overheard everything.
Regardless of whether he heard Mi Yao's arrogant and unreasonable words at the beginning, he definitely heard her last sentence.
Pan looked aggrieved and looked at Xiao Chuan with moist eyes: "Ninth Brother, don't be angry with Sister Yu. I didn't come here to cause discord between you two. I'm just worried that you might make a big mistake in a moment of impulse."
Seeing Xiao Chuan step across the threshold and head towards Mi Yao, Madam Pan sensed the murderous aura emanating from him and couldn't help but feel agitated, thinking that Xiao Chuan was about to attack Mi Yao.
He continued, "Ninth Brother has great ambitions. You must know how useful Chang Xuanke will be to you in the future. It would be a real shame to make enemies over trivial matters. Moreover, Ninth Brother's impulsiveness has inevitably disappointed Father..."
Mi Yao didn't recognize the name Chang Xuanke, but after hearing about Chang Xuanke's background, she remembered that there was such a character in the book.
The book does not include the part where Chang Xuanke is infatuated with her and tries to win her favor. Furthermore, Xiao Chuan had a brief collaboration with Chang Xuanke. The two were not friends, but they were not enemies who would fight to the death whenever they met.
She didn't take this to heart. Who can stop a peacock from displaying its plumage? It's their despicable nature for men to be controlled by Niu Zi. She's lucky she didn't vomit. Even if she went crazy, she wouldn't follow Pan's advice and blame herself for the mistakes.
Meeting Xiao Chuan's deep eyes, Mi Yao snorted and pouted slightly: "Xiao Lang, she bullied me. As soon as she came in, she scolded and berated me, treating your decisions as if you were being manipulated by me and had no choice in the matter, and treating you as a brainless idiot."
Seeing that Mi Yao could still act coquettishly and argue even after being caught in her shameful state by Xiao Chuan, Madam Pan couldn't help but admire her brainlessness.
There are many women who think they're clever, but Mi Yao is truly exceptional.
Just as Madam Pan was expecting Xiao Chuan to raise his hand and slap Mi Yao hard to shut her up, she saw Xiao Chuan standing next to Mi Yao, turning around and looking at her with cold eyes.
Pan's relaxed expression froze, unable to believe what she had read in Xiao Chu's eyes.
Has Xiao Chuan gone mad? There should be a limit to being obsessed with a woman's appearance. His obsession has gone to the point where he is completely different from the overlord of his previous life.
If there were a way, she would want Xiao Chuan to have the memories of his previous life just like her, so that he would know how much he hated Yu Nu in his previous life, and how he sliced Yu Nu into bones piece by piece.
"Ninth Brother..."
Pan cried out mournfully, “How can you wake up? I’m doing this for your own good. Yu is just like Bao Si who played with the feudal lords by lighting the beacon fires. She doesn’t love you and doesn’t have you in her heart. She just wants to use you to prove that her beauty is worth being fought over and pursued by all men.”
"My beauty is indeed worthy of all men's admiration."
Mi Yao slumped softly against Xiao Chuan, saying, "My wife's beauty is my glory."
“Unless ordered by Father, do not act under the pretext of the governor’s office. Pan, if you know what’s good for you, we are like adopted siblings who are only slightly affectionate when we meet. If you continue to criticize my actions so rudely, I despise all the clowns who get in my way.”
As soon as Madam Pan entered the gate of the Xiao residence, Mi Yao sent someone to fetch him.
She could be certain that Pan's arrival was because of him, and that it was up to him to resolve the matter, even without seeing Pan.
And listening to Pan's condescending concern, it was clear that it was indeed directed at him.
Pan's face turned deathly pale at Xiao Chu's indifference.
Even though she approached Xiao Chuan because she knew he would become the winner in the future, she was different from Mi Yao. She genuinely cared about Xiao Chuan and truly didn't want him to ruin himself for Mi Yao.
"Does our past relationship mean nothing? Are you angry with me because I chose Ma Songping? I was just angry at you for being so dense back then. I've always preferred you to him."
Unwilling to be the one who lost in Xiao Chuan's choice, Pan began to reminisce about the past as tears streamed down her face.
But I have never been attracted to you.
Pan's persistent pestering made Xiao Chuanhan's sharp eyebrows furrow with annoyance. "Just because you think I'm a blockhead doesn't mean I have no feelings for you."
Xiao Chuan's words reminded Pan Shi of how Xiao Chuan had become enemies with Chang Xuanke for Mi Yao's sake. She suddenly realized that she and Xiao Chuan hadn't missed each other; rather, Xiao Chuan had simply chosen her to follow Zhao Tianhe's wishes from beginning to end.
Back then, he felt neither excited nor regretful whether he married her or not.
No, that's not it!
Realizing that she meant nothing to Xiao Chuan, Madam Pan immediately dismissed the idea. The only difference between her and Mi Yao was a matter of luck. If she had married Xiao Chuan, she was confident that he would treat her the way he treated Mi Yao.
Her only mistake was the timing.
Seeing the infatuation rising on Pan's face again, Xiao Chuan suddenly realized Chang Xuanke's strengths. If it were Chang Xuanke, he would have drawn his sword right now instead of using words.
"Pu Qing, see the guest out."
"Please, Madam Pan."
Pu Qing was at her beck and call. He stretched out his arm and stared at Pan Shi's feet, as if he would carry her out of the Xiao residence if she didn't take a step immediately.
Once the flower hall was empty of people, Xiao Chuan lowered his eyes to look at Mi Yao, who had long since slipped out of his arms due to fatigue from standing and was now slumped in a chair, half asleep.
"Father will be hosting a banquet in a couple of days. You will come with me."
The tone of Xiao Chuan's voice when issuing the order was no different from his cold-hearted rejection of Madam Pan earlier.
As soon as Mi Yao nodded, her gaze was fixed on Xiao Chuan's tall and slender back.
Sensing the loneliness emanating from his back, Mi Yao blinked, suspecting that the banquet two days later was a trap.
His coldness towards Pan earlier was just to lull her into a false sense of security. He'd had enough and now that he'd come to his senses, he realized that his business partner was more important, and he wanted to give her to Chang Xuanke as an apology.
As Mi Yao was thinking, she saw Xiao Chuan, who had already stepped out of the door, suddenly turn around and his gaze crash into her unfocused eyes.
"Yu Miyao, to me you are indeed just a beautiful object that adds luster. I can have you, but I don't care if I don't have you."
His cold, arrogant expression and disdainful gaze completely dispelled Mi Yao's earlier terrifying suspicions.
The more you say, the more mistakes you make. Once the mystery is destroyed, arrogance becomes a protective shield for a man's fragile self-esteem.
Continue read on readnovelmtl.com
