Chapter 167 The Noble Young Master of a Marquis's Family (Part Six): The Noble Young Master's Revenge and Love Story...
He Sichuan stared intently at the two figures, one in front of the other, not far ahead, his back teeth almost grinding to powder.
He had long admired his cousin Sun Yiyao, but alas, the king's dream was unrequited by the goddess. His cousin Yao had always been polite and respectful to him, showing no romantic feelings whatsoever.
Three months ago, his cousin Yao got engaged to Young Master Song of the Marquis of Weiwu's mansion. With the wedding date drawing ever closer, he gradually let go of his obsession, thinking that as long as the man was of good character and his cousin found a good husband, he would be content. But what is this now?
This young master Song not only redeemed the prostitute from the brothel, but also brazenly took her away. Where does that leave Cousin Yao's face? He wants to see where this scoundrel plans to put this prostitute!
Song Ce led Man'er to an empty courtyard on Heshun Street. He had someone set up this courtyard a few days ago, and now it came in handy. He went forward and unlocked the gate, only to find Man'er standing at the door, her face pale, her fingers twisting the hem of her clothes, looking extremely nervous.
"Come in, this will be your home from now on."
Hearing this, Man'er lowered her head and followed him into the courtyard. Although small, it was fully equipped, indicating it had been cleaned beforehand; it was impeccably tidy. Suddenly, her eyes welled up with tears: "Young Master...why are you so kind to me?"
She knew perfectly well what disease she had. The other women in the brothel would cover their mouths and noses with handkerchiefs and walk around her when they saw her, afraid of catching her venereal disease. Only this stranger, a young man, not only did not despise her, but was also willing to spend money to redeem her.
Song Ce smiled and said calmly, "It's nothing. If you trust me, I'll treat you."
Man'er looked terrified, backed away, waved her hand, and choked out, "Young master, you don't know, this illness of mine... is incurable, I'm afraid I can only wait to die. My lowly body is unclean, don't dirty your hands."
"It's alright, sit down and put your hands here."
Seeing that Man'er was hesitant to come over, Song Ce sighed and said, "I'm saving you today not entirely out of pity, but also out of selfishness. To tell you the truth, I... have an old friend's sister who unfortunately contracted this disease and tries to kill herself at home every day. I can't bear to see her demean herself and take her own life at such a young age, so I thought of treating her. But she doesn't believe me, so I had no choice but to resort to this. Miss Man'er, are you willing to help me?"
Upon hearing that she could help her benefactor, Man'er immediately stepped forward and gently placed her wrist on the pulse pillow.
"Then I will trouble you, young master."
Thank you.
After Song Ce took Man'er's pulse, he confirmed that she had only recently fallen ill, and all her symptoms were in the "early stages," meaning that a complete cure was only a matter of time.
"Miss Man'er, please stay here and rest assured. Someone will come to deliver your medicine tomorrow."
"Young master, my illness..."
Seeing Man'er's anxious expression, Song Ce said gently, "Don't worry, I'm 90% sure you'll get better in the future."
Upon hearing this, Man'er's eyes immediately reddened, and she took three steps back to kowtow to her benefactor in gratitude, but Song Ce stopped her in time.
“You don’t have to do that. Let’s just consider it as each of us getting what we need, shall we?” With that, Song Ce took out ten taels of silver and the key from his sleeve pocket, placed them on the table, and left.
As dusk fell, the warm yellow sunset gradually enveloped the capital. He Sichuan hid behind a big tree and waited for half an hour before Song Ce leisurely emerged from the small courtyard.
After watching Song Ce walk away, He Sichuan gritted his teeth and glanced at the gate of the courtyard. Just then, Na Man'er came over to close the gate and bumped into him.
"Young master, what's wrong...?"
Before Man'er could finish her question, He Sichuan reacted and immediately bowed to her, "May I ask, young lady, is this the Cui family residence on Xuanyang Street?"
Upon hearing this, Man'er shook her head and kindly pointed out the way: "Young master, you have gone to the wrong place. This is Heshun Street. Xuanyang Street is to go north, it's the street opposite Qinghe Hall."
He Sichuan remained expressionless and bowed again: "Thank you for your kind words, young lady. I apologize for disturbing you."
Man'er quickly returned the greeting: "You're too kind, young master."
After He Sichuan left, he couldn't sleep all night and went to the Rongguo Duke's Mansion early the next morning.
Today, the Duke of Rongguo was not at his residence. After the steward invited He Sichuan into the flower hall, he hurriedly sent a servant to Xiaoyu Courtyard to invite the second young master, Sun Yiheng, to come and properly entertain him.
"Brother Chuan, you've come so early in the morning, is there something urgent?" Sun Yiheng asked earnestly, having a maid serve He Sichuan warm tea.
"Cousin Heng, is Cousin Yao's fiancé definitely the young master Song from the Marquis of Weiwu's mansion?"
Seeing He Sichuan's serious expression, Sun Yiheng nodded: "It is indeed him."
“Cousin Heng, do you know,” He Sichuan’s voice turned somber, “that Cousin Yao’s fiancé redeemed a prostitute at the Cangchun Pavilion yesterday! And secretly settled her in a small courtyard on Heshun Street!”
"What did you say?" Sun Yiheng suddenly stood up. "Brother Chuan, are you sure it's him? You're not mistaken?"
"No mistake! It's definitely him! Not only me, but also Young Master Qin and Young Master Ma saw it with their own eyes yesterday!"
Sun Yiheng couldn't help but speak up: "When I saw him a few days ago, he was indeed a man of clear eyes and virtuous character. How could he..."
Before Sun Yiheng could finish speaking, He Sichuan interrupted, "Cousin Heng, do you suspect me of making things up? This concerns Cousin Yao's lifelong happiness, how could I fabricate something out of thin air and distort the truth? If you don't believe me, I can take you to Heshun Street to see for yourself!"
"this……"
“Cousin Heng! This scoundrel is completely shameless. Just send someone to the Hidden Spring Pavilion to inquire about him! How can Cousin Yao face the consequences of such a heinous act? I bet he had an affair with that prostitute a long time ago, which is why he spent a fortune to redeem her and secretly placed her outside the mansion as his mistress! Even if he truly cared about Cousin Yao, he should be as virtuous as I am, instead of doing such a despicable and shameful thing!”
Sun Yiheng frowned and beckoned to the steward waiting outside to arrange for two reliable people to go to Cangchun Tower to investigate the situation.
The two sat silently facing each other in the flower hall for about half an hour before the servants who had gone out to gather information returned.
"Second Young Master, what Young Master Chuan said is true; it did happen yesterday, but..."
"But what?"
"The girl that Young Master Song paid to redeem has recently contracted syphilis and probably won't live much longer."
He Sichuan: "..."
Sun Yiheng: "..."
He Sichuan's face turned ashen instantly, and the teacup in his hand almost slipped from his grasp.
Seeing Sun Yiheng's shocked expression, He Sichuan couldn't help but say disdainfully, "Hmph! This Song Ce is really no good! Knowing that the woman had a sexually transmitted disease, he still dared to redeem her. He has no shame!"
“Brother Chuan.” Sun Yiheng took a deep breath, trying to calm his anger. “This matter is of great importance, and you must not make a fuss about it. Here’s what we’ll do: you go back first, and I will handle this matter myself.”
Seeing his pale face, He Sichuan didn't say anything more and could only bow and take his leave. No sooner had he left than Sun Yiheng went straight to his sister Sun Yiyao's Green Jade Courtyard.
At this moment, Sun Yiyao was staring blankly at an unfinished painting in her room, while Qiuyi carefully served her. She secretly glanced at the girl's face, opened her mouth as if to say something, but ultimately swallowed the words, "The person in this painting looks somewhat like Young Master Song."
Well, the young lady will be marrying Young Master Song in three months, so I'd better not say anything more. As Qiu Yi was lost in thought, she heard hurried footsteps coming from outside the courtyard.
She rose and went into the courtyard to greet him, only to see Sun Yiheng approaching with a somber expression. Qiu Yi, quick-witted, hurriedly called out, "This servant greets the Second Young Master."
"Is your daughter here?" Sun Yiheng asked.
"Young Master, the young lady is in the small study!" He then opened the curtain and invited Sun Yiheng inside.
Upon hearing Qiu Yi's voice, Sun Yiyao hastily put the painting behind her. Seeing Sun Yiheng enter, she quickly stood up with a smile: "Brother, what brings you here?"
Looking at his younger sister's gentle and serene face, Sun Yiheng hesitated, unsure how to begin. After a long pause, he finally gritted his teeth and said, "Ayao, you...you...would you like to go for a walk?"
No, he hasn't thoroughly investigated this matter yet, and he can't just say it out loud and upset his sister.
Sun Yiyao was taken aback for a moment, then her face lit up with joy: "Brother, is it really okay? I... I won't cause you any trouble, will I?"
"No, no." Sun Yiheng sighed and said, "The Qixi Festival and the Thousand Lanterns Festival are just a few days away. You're always cooped up at home. This year, how about your brother takes you out of the manor to see the lanterns on Zhuque Street?"
Sun Yiyao's eyes brightened slightly. She couldn't remember the last time she had gone out and had a good time. Ever since she came of age, her mother had always told her that a young lady should be gentle and quiet, so apart from going to the temple to burn incense and worship, she rarely even visited her maternal grandparents' home. Now, hearing that her brother was going to take her to see the lanterns on Zhuque Street, she was naturally delighted.
Zhuque Street was the liveliest place in the entire capital, with vendors selling sugar paintings, making lanterns, and solving lantern riddles... She could almost smell the sweet aroma of sugar paintings floating in the air.
"Brother, can I really go?" Sun Yiyao asked again, her voice still full of excitement: "It's just that Mother's place..."
"Don't worry, little sister, your brother will talk to Mother." Sun Yiheng interrupted her and said with a smile, "Just have Qiuyi find you some light clothes, and your brother will come to pick you up on that day."
Qiu Yi listened from the side, her heart filled with joy. She hurriedly replied, "You can leave this matter to me, Second Young Master, please rest assured."
Sun Yiheng nodded, said a few more words to his sister, and then took his leave.
...
At this time, at the Marquis of Weiwu's residence.
Mo Yu strode into the courtyard and whispered to Song Ce, who was fiddling with something, "Young Master, Yueying has returned and says she has something to ask of you."
Song Ce stopped what he was doing and nodded slightly. "Let him in."
"Yes, young master."
Song Ce washed his hands in a wooden basin and had just picked up a cloth to dry them when Yueying quickly walked over and bowed to him.
Yueying was a bodyguard he had specifically placed beside Sun Qing'er, mainly to keep a close eye on her every move. Looking at Yueying's plain and unremarkable face, Song Ce smiled slightly, "Speak, what is it?"
"Reporting to Young Master, I learned some news at the Rongguo Duke's Mansion today that Sun Yiheng already knows about your trip to Cangchun Tower to redeem Man'er. However, he did not tell Miss Sun, only saying that he would take her out of the mansion to play on the Qixi Festival. Sun Qing'er has not made any unusual moves recently, just staying obediently in her room embroidering purses, and has not even left the courtyard."
Song Ce was taken aback, then smiled and said, "Very good, I understand, you may go."
"yes."
Moon Shadow responded and then left.
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Author's Note: I'm hopelessly addicted to shovels [please] I'll try my best to write more chapters to build up my reserves [crying emoji]
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