Damn it
Chapter 36: Great Disappointment
The little emperor, who had just turned one month old, was laid flat on the dragon throne, marking his ascension to the throne.
Peng Zuoyong was granted the title of prince and appointed as regent. Together with him, there were several trusted regent ministers to prevent him from monopolizing absolute power.
"Since you are doing this in the name of protecting the master, even if you are pretending, you have to act like it."
"What Yan Xiu said is true. I know everything."
Liang Yanxiu filled his tea cup and said, "You have an outsider ruling the imperial court. Aren't you afraid of being criticized by future generations? Did Doctor Peng agree with you?"
When people come, his heart softens. Whether Peng Xun agrees or not, Peng Zuoyan will do it.
"Life is but a few short decades. Since I have already rebelled, I will not care about the reputation I will leave behind."
Peng Zuoyang said with disdain, not at all shy about killing too many people, "Besides, I'm just an editor. If you have a tough heart, come and fight with the executioner's knife."
"What are your plans at court?"
"Xishan, I believe in your hard work and determination, but the affairs of the court are state affairs. Our brotherhood can only take a backseat to our country. So, don't let me regret helping you in the future."
Peng Zuoyan patted his shoulder without any blame and promised, "If I change my mind, I won't blame you if you kill me."
Except for the time when he went to the palace to settle matters and was unable to spare time, Peng Zuoyong has been staying at home recently. All matters must be submitted in the memorial for approval.
As soon as he relaxed, Peng Xun fell ill.
"Who are the people who have come into the mansion recently? Are they invited by the old man?"
Chang Er, walking behind the two who were strolling after dinner, replied, "My dear husband invited me here. He said I was an old servant who used to serve at home, and he wanted to come over to say hello."
"Master, there are still servants who used to be with Madam Hu. Don't you want to go and take a look?"
Peng Zuoyan stopped walking, intending to do so, and said to Yi Huan, "Ah Huan, you go back first. I'll go see the old man."
The old maid with white hair had a kind face and said respectfully, "Greetings, Master."
"Well, let's go."
Old Lady Cong casually raised her eyes, uttered a strange "hmm" sound, and took a few steps back to ask the eldest son, "Who is that girl?"
"She is the eldest son's wife."
“It really looks like it.”
Peng Zuoyan noticed her whispering and asked, "Like what?"
"She looks like Aunt Deng from your former courtyard, but maybe it's just a coincidence. There are so many people who look like her in this world. Aunt Deng is long gone, so how could she appear in the mansion again?"
Peng Zuoyuan glanced at Yi Huan's departing back, and remembered the old man's mistaken address when they first met in the mansion. A look of contemplation appeared in his eyes.
Peng Xun's courtyard was deep and old. Peng Zuoyuan said a few words and then left the master bedroom, looking at the scroll by the window.
The lady under the pear tree is bright and charming, and her eyes, which seem to be speaking but not quite speaking, are weak yet endearing.
Peng Zuoyan compared Yi Huan's facial features in his mind and suppressed his uneasiness. Since there was no evidence, he had to confirm it carefully.
After everyone inside had left, Peng Zuoyuan unfolded the scroll and asked, "How similar is this painting to your Aunt Deng?"
"Five points."
Thinking of his beloved, Peng Xun's face showed sadness. "There's someone more like her in Jinjin Courtyard. I'm afraid I can't hold it back, so I don't dare to recall her. Maybe I'm going to die soon, and I should recognize her face again."
"Please go and get the painting back for me. I want to see her face one last time."
So hypocritical.
Peng Zuoyan looked down at him calmly, feeling heartbroken. It was too late to mend the situation.
He said that he felt guilty towards his mother, but he also kept Deng in his heart and mind all the time. His wife had been tortured by her for many years, but Peng Xun suddenly realized that he should not have provoked the Hu family from the beginning and cut off the relationship between the two families.
A scroll that was 80% similar to the painting was placed on the desk. Peng Zuo'an's heart suddenly jumped. Yi Huan was stubborn, and Deng in the painting was too gentle. However, the shadow of Yi Huan could still be seen in Deng's eyebrows and eyes. The similarities between the two were exactly the same, which made him alert.
"Go and investigate what happened to Aunt Deng. Go to Guanghan County and find out every detail of Yi Huan's life for me!"
The investigation was quick, and the chief came to report.
"Ugly woman? When did she appear? When was the child born?"
The chief answered them one by one, stepped forward and unfolded them, saying, "This is a portrait based on the oral accounts of the county residents. It is nine-tenths like."
Although the person in the small statue is wearing a headscarf, covering half of her face, this is Deng Jin. She did not die in the accidental fire. She left Peng's mansion with her face burned, lived in seclusion under a false name, and was even pregnant when she was killed.
Peng Zuoyan easily pieced together the timeline. Aunt Deng was the ugly woman, and Yi Huan was the biological daughter of Aunt Deng and the old man. They were actually close relatives!
He closed his eyes with anger, angrily threw the ruler at hand, his chest heaving.
"Get out."
After venting their anger, the situation gradually calmed down. Chang Yi was ordered to come in and saw that there were still burnt ashes in front of the hall, with only two blackened columns left.
Peng Zuo'er's face was sullen, and he gave a cold and ruthless order: "Kill everyone who knows this. The ugly woman is still an ugly woman. Deng Jin died in the Peng Mansion a long time ago."
Pointing at the only intact painting, Peng Zuoyan walked out as if exhausted, looking somewhat dejected.
"Send the painting in Aunt Deng's courtyard to the old man."
The courtyard was quiet in the afternoon. Because Yi Huan was taking a nap, the servants in the courtyard tried not to do anything for fear of waking up their master.
Yi Huan suddenly felt uneasy and opened his eyes abruptly, saying in shock, "Ah, who are you?"
The man was wearing a black scarf and holding a big knife at his neck in his big hand.
"Shut up and behave yourself, or I'll kill you right now."
"Okay, I'll shut up."
Yi Huan was carried out by him, and another person came over the wall, carrying the same big knife stained with blood, and a round, bulging thing tied in a cloth strip across his body, and there was a sound of porcelain when it collided.
"Did you get the stuff?"
"Well, Peng the thief has already rushed over here."
Yi Huan could sense the anger of the people behind him, and he said angrily, "You and I, brothers, will definitely inflict pain on that bastard today, so that he can experience the pain of having his heart torn apart."
"Peng thief! Stop!"
Peng Zuoyuan observed the distance between the two men, extended his hand and told the others to wait and see, saying, "What do you want? Money, profit, I will satisfy you."
The man sneered and said unkindly, "We want to see your choice. Fourth brother, you speak."
"Your Highness, the Regent Prince, everyone knows that you had a mother, Hu Shi. Now, on your left is your deceased mother's soul, and on your right is your beloved wife. We are all looking forward to your choice."
Peng Zuoyang understood that they were two desperate men who dared to come to his house and threaten him. He felt that he had lived too long.
"Ahuan, don't be afraid."
The third man in black didn't allow him to hesitate, pressing the blade close to him and demanding, "Traitor, if you don't make a choice, this woman will be killed and her ashes scattered."
"Okay, I choose."
Peng Zuoyao held the bow behind his back with his left hand, and took advantage of the misalignment to place the feathered arrows from the basket on his back with his right hand. As he held the bow, he said, "This king chooses Yi Huan. If you release the man, you can do whatever you want with the small jar."
"Haha, Third Brother, did you hear that? You're truly a traitor. You sacrificed your mother to save your wife. You don't value filial piety, you don't respect the Holy Emperor. You deserve heaven's punishment!"
The third brother raised his knife as if to kill Yi Huan, but Peng Zuoyang shot an arrow quickly and accurately. After the knife fell to the ground, the head with a feather arrow stuck in the forehead was bleeding profusely.
"Third brother!"
He was the only one left, Xiao Si cursed angrily, holding the urn in both hands and was about to smash it to the ground.
Peng Zuoyang shot another arrow, killing the man instantly. The green jar fell in the air. Yi Huan's thoughts flashed through his mind in slow motion, and his body rushed forward faster than he could make the decision.
"hiss."
There were bloody holes in the clothes at his elbows and knees. Yi Huan held the ashes in his hands, and his body was burning, painful and numb.
"Madam, please get up quickly. Are you okay?" Yun Hu helped Yi Huan up and carefully checked her condition.
"Oh, are you hurt?"
Peng Zuoyan took control of the situation. "Now that the people have been taken care of, go get the doctor."
As he got closer, Peng Zuoyan looked at Yi Huan, who was being helped up, in surprise. He didn't expect that she would risk her own injury to protect Hu's ashes.
"you?"
"It's for the deceased, it has nothing to do with you."
"I thank Ah Huan on behalf of my mother for her kindness." Peng Zuoyuan said as he bent down, looking humble and flattering.
Yi Huan refused his offer and said, "If your ashes were scattered and shattered, I would actually applaud."
Peng Zuoyan deliberately confused her and said jokingly, "A hundred years from now, you and I will be burned together. What's the difference between you and me?"
After the wound was healed, Peng Zuoyuan took her to return Hu's ashes to their place in the secret compartment of the ancestral hall in the mansion.
Yi Huan sat on the mat and waited, with his back to the ancestors of the Peng family.
After Peng Zuoyao finished his work, he turned around and said in a long conversation, "As for the old man and his men's affairs, today is a good time, so I'll tell you about it."
"I don't want to hear it."
"The old man is not loyal. He found a concubine after he got a wife. There is chaos all day long." Speaking of Aunt Deng, Peng Zuoyuan could no longer speak from the perspective of a bystander and glanced at her carefully.
"Aren't you curious?"
Yi Huan showed no interest at all and said casually, "If you want to talk, just say it."
Peng Xun and Aunt Deng knew each other before he married Hu Shi. They were in love with each other and had an ambiguous relationship.
However, Peng Xun married the daughter of the Hu family, and Deng Jin cut off all contact between the two, which made him very sad.
Later, when the Deng family encountered trouble, Peng Xun took her in as a concubine. After she entered the mansion, he took good care of her. Later, she became pregnant with a son, Peng Pang, and Aunt Deng accepted this situation.
The internal fighting among wives and concubines became more intense after Aunt Deng gave birth to a son. Aunt Deng wanted to make plans for the child. Being a bastard was always shameful, so she had thoughts that she shouldn't have had, and coveted things that did not belong to her status.
At that time, Peng Pang was three years old. Hu brought the child to her own courtyard, saying that she would raise him for a few days.
Hu's original intention of taking Peng Peng away was to make Aunt Deng anxious about the child and to give in to her, but something went wrong unexpectedly.
The servants who were serving him dozed off and were not paying attention, and Hu Shi did not take care of the child herself. Peng Peng developed a fever in the middle of the night and suffocated to death.
Deng Jin regarded his own child as his lifeblood, and came to the door with the child's body.
"Madam, if I hadn't coveted your position, would my son have survived? Madam, I shouldn't have monopolized my husband. I forgot my duty as a concubine and had thoughts that I shouldn't have. I will pay for it with my own life. Please return my child to me! If you want to appease me, you can use a hundred tricks on me. I have a life to live. If you don't want to get your hands dirty, I can do it for you. I only ask you to spare Wulang's life. Please have pity on me as a concubine and pity me for waking up late. Please save my child."
Aunt Deng knelt down to hold Hu's hand, and said frantically, "Madam, I was wrong. Ben'er is only three years old, and he needs me to coax him to sleep every night. He is afraid of thunder and his mother's absence. Madam, please have pity on me. I will not argue anymore. Please give Ben'er back to me."
"Aunt Deng, it's my fault. I'm sorry."
Hu also looked haggard, and was talking about compensation and raising her rank.
Aunt Deng looked into her arms and suddenly exclaimed, "Hello, you're awake. Mommy will go out and play with you, okay? Okay, come on, give me your hand. I'll hold your hand from now on and never let you go."
The maid was horrified to see her talking to a corpse. She shrank back and said, "Madam, is Aunt Deng crazy?"
"Follow and take care of him. Go to the study to see how Father and Lang Jun are discussing."
"I'm sorry, Han'er. I shouldn't have argued with you. If I had just been a concubine and wanted nothing more than to raise you, you would still be alive, calling me mother, and I could have made you happy. I shouldn't have asked for anything else. I should have hoped that Han'er would grow up safely and happily. What's more important than growing up safely? I realized it too late, Han'er, I was wrong."
Aunt Deng tripped over the stairs and fell to the ground, holding Peng Pang tightly in her arms.
The back of her hand was scratched, and she touched the cold face in her arms with her clean palm. Aunt Deng seemed not to feel any pain, and her eyes were full of Peng Peng in her arms. She called out in a sharp voice, longing for a miracle, "Peng Peng, please forgive me, please wake up, Peng Peng, my Peng Peng!"
Someone from the Hu family came and talked with Peng Xun for an entire afternoon, and in the end, Peng Xun chose to let the matter go with caution.
"Jinjin, we will have children. It's my fault that we are not destined to have children."
He compromised.
But Deng Jin was unwilling to do so. He could not get any so-called justice by making trouble with Hu Shi and Peng Xun.
Peng Xun took advantage of her being drowsy due to Chinese medicine and took the child away for burial. Aunt Deng was completely disappointed and acted a little crazy. Deng Jin lived in the side courtyard for four years. Later, there was an accidental fire. Deng Jin didn't know that she was pregnant at the time, and she escaped from the house with the help of the fire.
God helped her. When the fire was out, a corpse was picked out from it. Therefore, everyone thought that Aunt Deng from the Peng Mansion had died in the fire long ago.
Peng Xun's feelings towards Hu Shi were mixed with a hint of true feelings, and his feelings towards Aunt Deng were mixed with a hint of false feelings.
But Hu demanded emotional loyalty, and when Peng Xun couldn't do that, she closed the door to the courtyard and ignored him. Aunt Deng didn't understand why Peng Xun's love couldn't last, nor did she understand why, as a father, he repeatedly asked his children to compromise.
Peng Zuoyuan stopped the subsequent development in time and insisted on the fact that Deng Jin was dead.
After saying so much, his mouth felt dry. He then continued, "Ah Huan, if it was you and my child, I could try to be a good father."
"You have a really big face."
Peng Zuoyao stood up and wiped Hu's tablet, then said from the side, "Now that you are my wife, it's not too much to kowtow to my mother, right?"
"I'm not, I don't."
Peng Zuoyan softened his voice, half coaxing, half arguing, "Ah Huan, you've met my mother and saved her, but you haven't kowtowed to her yet, so she can't recognize you."
After all, the dead are the most important. In front of the other person's tablet, Yi Huan took a step back and said, "I can burn incense for her, but I won't kowtow to her."
"That's fine. We still have plenty of time. I won't force you."
Peng Zuoyan glanced at Deng Jin's tablet, looked at it coldly, and snorted in disdain.
Aunt Deng, you can see clearly in heaven that Yi Huan was forced. If we die one day, you are not allowed to blame her. All the mistakes are my fault, no one else can blame her.
Looking around the entire ancestral hall, Peng Zuoyang is even more protective of it. And you, too, if anyone dares to make trouble or object, I will burn this ancestral hall down.
So what if we are related by blood? Yi Huan was raised at home since she was a child and named Peng Huan. As long as I like her, she is mine.
If you want to scold or kill me, come at me alone.
I, Peng Zuoyang, am not afraid at all.
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