Chapter 039

Zhan Yue was filled with chill, and there was a heroic air between his brows. At this moment, the lightness of the moonlight did not soften the lines on his face, but made the edges and corners of his fair face appear more profound and distinct.

Zhang's breathing suddenly became heavy under Zhan Yue's coercion. She forced a smile on her face and said timidly, "Of course, whoever is guilty will be accused."

Zhan Yue smiled calmly, his lips slightly tilted upwards. His expression was calm and even, and although there was still a hint of coldness in his eyes, his thin lips, which seemed to be half-smiled, seemed to no longer care about the offense in Zhang's tone.

Yingchun had been standing behind Zhang. When she saw Fourth Master acting like this, she thought he was really going to "laugh it off" and she felt relieved.

But Liu Qi, who was following Zhan Yue, suddenly rushed up, as if he wanted to show Zhang some of his power.

Yingchun was shocked. Before she could even scream, Zhan Yue stopped her and called out softly, "Liu Qi."

Liu Qi shouted with red eyes: "Sir."

"She insulted the lady." Liu Qi had been with Zhan Yue since childhood. She knew how he felt about his mother and that he would not lay hands on women.

But Liu Qi could not bear the humiliation of his master and the death of his minister.

Zhan Yueyi shouted in a low voice: "Back off."

Liu Qi said unconvincedly: "Sir!"

"Stand back." Zhan Yue repeated it calmly without changing his expression.

Liu Qi clenched his fists, glanced at Zhang and Yingchun, his eyes bursting with undisguised anger. Yingchun even believed that if the Fourth Master hadn't been there to calm him down, Liu Qi might have really done something.

Zhang, on the other hand, saw that Zhan Yue and Liu Qi were just making a lot of noise but doing little, so she couldn't help but smile and said, "You are sensible."

Zhan Yue gave her a meaningful look and said indifferently, "Don't misunderstand me."

He casually took off his grey fur coat and threw it to Liu Qi who was leaving.

A small piece of snow-white collar was revealed from Zhan Yue's neck, making his face look even more like jade.

Zhan Yue's eyes were full of light, dark and clear. "I heard that your nephew Zhang Wenchang just passed the imperial examination."

"Yes." Zhang didn't understand why he suddenly mentioned this, but since it was a happy occasion, she agreed.

Zhan Yue chuckled softly: "As I recall, Madam's family has more than one nephew, right?"

"Marquis Cheng'en seems to be working hard for Zhang Wenwu these days," he stared at her closely, his tone slow and cold, "Marquis Cheng'en seems to want Zhang Wenwu to join the Jinwu Guard."

Zhang pursed her lips and immediately understood what Zhan Yue meant.

Zhan Yue smiled and said, "Madam, please tell the Marquis."

He moved slightly forward, closer to Zhang. He was tall, so Zhang and Yingchun instinctively took a step back.

Zhan Yue's face was pale, and under the moonlight, it looked particularly cold and desolate. He said without blinking, "Just say that as long as I am here, I will never be able to let him have his wish."

Zhan Yue's tone was very gentle, and Zhang's hair stood up immediately. Her pupils shrank sharply: "You dare to cover the sky with one hand like this, aren't you afraid--"

"I dare." Zhan Yue interrupted her abruptly and said calmly, "I'm not afraid."

He emphasized the words "dare" and "not afraid" so much that they almost hit Zhang's heart directly.

Zhang took a deep breath and didn't wait for her to speak. Zhan Yue paused for a moment, smiled and said, "Madam, you haven't forgotten Mother Li, have you?"

Zhang's back stiffened: "What do you want to say!"

Zhan Yue's eyes intentionally or unintentionally swept towards Zhang, and his expression was back to normal: "Next time, it will not only be the Marquis of Cheng'en, and not only your nephew from your mother's side. The same thing will happen to Ying'er."

"You!" Zhang's only son is her lifeblood. How could she bear such a threat!

She pushed Yingchun away and looked deeply into Zhan Yue's eyes: "Brother Ying is the eldest grandson. If you dare to do anything to him, the Duke and the old lady will not let you go."

When Zhang said this, her voice was sharp and it was obvious that she was extremely angry.

Zhan Yue didn't notice it, he smiled faintly, nodded slightly and said: "You are wrong."

"Whether I dare or not, it's not about me, it's about you."

His voice was clear and gentle, as if he was a very gentle boy, as if he had never done anything threatening.

"I don't want to be hostile to Ying Ge'er, but you can't touch my bottom line."

Zhan Yue smiled and said, "If you dare to speak ill of my mother again, you can see whether I dare or not."

Zhan Yue spoke the last few words very softly, but the coldness in his eyes almost penetrated directly into Zhang's bones.

There was a moment of silence.

Zhang looked at Zhan Yue with hatred, but Zhan Yue did not give in at all.

After a while, Zhan Yue's cold voice vaguely echoed in Zhang and Yingchun's ears again -

"The princess has a bad temper. She and Madam will become sisters-in-law in the future. Please bear with her."

After saying this, Zhan Yue no longer looked at them, but took Liu Qi with him, walked straight into the courtyard of Old Lady Wen.

He came quietly, but left with a bang.

Yingchun could imagine that the lady must be in a very bad mood at the moment. She did not dare to speak for a moment, let alone get close to Zhang.

Until Zhang said, "Let's go back!"

Yingchun lowered her head and said, "Yes."

Unexpectedly, the next day, Lady Wen brought Zhang into her own courtyard again.

This time, except for Mama Sheng and Yingchun who followed Zhang, there was no extra maid in the main hall. A bad premonition just lingered in Zhang's mind, and before she could think about it carefully, Wen Lao Madam slapped Zhang in the face.

Zhang didn't even have time to react. The right side of her face was immediately swollen and red. After a while, she came to her senses.

"Are you feeling uncomfortable?" Old Lady Wen asked slowly.

Zhang gritted her teeth and replied, "It's uncomfortable."

"It's good to feel uncomfortable." Wen Lao Taijun raised her eyebrows, her face full of stern majesty, "I tell you, it's not only the slaps on the face that count, the slaps on the heart count as well."

"Who are you scolding when you say 'bitch'?" The old lady Wen's voice suddenly rose, and she scolded, "In your heart, Fu Shiyu is a bitch, and the Duke is nothing, huh?"

Zhang didn't expect that the old lady knew what happened last night so quickly, and her face was very bad. But after all, she was in the wrong, and the old lady had accumulated so much prestige over the years.

Zhang accepted it without saying a word.

"Some old things are in the past." Mrs. Wen sighed deeply and turned the Buddhist beads in her hand. "I won't pursue it with you."

Old Lady Wen looked at Zhang quietly and paused, "But I'm not dead yet. Don't be restless all day and disturb the family."

This is too powerful a statement.

Even though Zhang was unwilling to accept it, she still lowered her head and said, "Yes."

"Are you not convinced?" Old Lady Wen saw through Zhang at a glance. She said, "Yanqing threatened you with Ying'er, and I gave him a lesson as well. I also punished him by making him copy Buddhist scriptures ten times."

"That's a bit biased. You treat him the same way." Old Lady Wen glanced at her face and asked, "Are you convinced?"

Zhang lowered her head, hiding the resentment in her eyes, and said, "I accept it."

When Lady Wen saw that her cheeks were about to swell, she did not keep her any longer and sent Yingchun to take Zhang back to the courtyard.

After returning to the courtyard, Yingchun quickly peeled a freshly-cooked egg and applied it to Zhang's face. As she applied it, she sighed, "The eldest son will come to pay his respects tomorrow. What should I say to him when he sees Madam like this?"

Zhang still had hatred in her eyes. She said coldly, "Tell the truth!"

Yingchun was able to enter the mansion as Zhang's dowry, so she was smart and scheming. When she heard that the lady wanted to continue to investigate, she hesitated for a moment and said hurriedly: "The old lady has already intervened in this matter. Besides, the eldest son and the fourth master are uncle and nephew after all. In the future, they may be able to help each other. Why continue to get involved..."

Zhang turned to look at Yingchun, and a mocking laugh escaped from her throat. She said coldly, "Help each other? Look at the look on Fourth Master's face yesterday. Did he have the slightest intention of helping the eldest master?"

"Since he is shameless first, why should I be so timid in front of anyone? I might as well break off relations with him." Zhang's face was gloomy. As she spoke, she couldn't help but get furious again. She pushed Yingchun's hand away and gently rubbed her cheeks with the egg in her hand.

Yingchun shook her head and said slowly, "Madam, if the Qile Marquis's Mansion knew that there was discord in our house, I'm afraid they would not be willing to marry their daughter here easily. The eldest son is about to get married, and it would not be beneficial for us to cause trouble at this time."

At any time, just bringing up Zhan Shaoying can calm Zhang's mind down the fastest.

Zhang narrowed her eyes and used her sharp nails to cut a crack on the thin egg white in an instant.

Her face was pale, and her breathing changed between heavy and light several times. Zhang's eyes were still scary. She smashed the egg on the table, half of her face was swollen, and compromised: "These few days, I will pretend to be sick."

Although Zhang looked uneasy, she finally listened to the advice. Yingchun finally breathed a sigh of relief and nodded, "Yes."

A cold smile appeared on Zhang's face, her face was mottled and distorted, and her tone was as sharp as a venomous snake: "From now on, our relationship with Zhan Yanqing has officially begun."

Although there was some "karma" behind the humiliation, she would not let it go given her temper. Yingchun had been with her for many years and understood her temper, so she had no choice but to bring another fresh boiled egg and rubbed Zhang's face while lowering her eyelids.

Meanwhile, Kong had been treating Zhao Youze's eyes for a month. During this period, Zhao Youze naturally lived in Fengyang Pavilion more often.

After dinner that evening, Nanny Zheng suddenly came.

Since Su Yu and the others had grown up, Madam Zheng began to delegate power. Now that Han Zhu was punished, it was because Su Yu was the one Jia Shan trusted the most, and Madam Zheng also trusted Su Yu. Unless she encountered confidential issues, she would hardly ask about the affairs of Fengyang Pavilion one by one.

Jiashan saw that Madam Zheng was sweating a little, so he personally poured her a cup of tea and said jokingly, "Madam, why are you running so fast? There are no mice chasing you."

Nanny Zheng obviously had no intention of joking with Jiashan. The wrinkles between her eyelids were very deep. She lowered her voice and asked, "Your Highness, have you been worrying about the Fourth Prince recently?"

Nanny Zheng's words were vague, but how could Jiashan not understand?

She said calmly, "Yes."

"I don't know what the result will be yet. I thought you were old, so I didn't tell you yet." Jiashan saw that Zheng's face turned pale, and couldn't help asking, "But what's wrong?"

Madam Zheng's eyes were dim. She pursed her cracked lips, shook her head and said, "No."

"I am just a little nervous." Nanny Zheng said softly.

Madam Zheng was the wet nurse of Jiashan and Zhao Youze, and watched them grow up. She treated them as if they were her own children. Now that Zhao Youze's eyes were touched by the hope of restoration, it was understandable that Madam Zheng was nervous.

Jiashan smiled and said, "It's not the critical moment for treatment yet, so you don't have to worry about it all the time. I kept it a secret from you because I was afraid of this happening."

Madam Zheng nodded slightly, but her eyes were still heavy. She pondered for a moment and sighed slowly, "If the queen were still alive, I wonder what she would think when she saw how much the princess cared about the fourth prince."

"The Queen Mother will be happy." Jiashan said with a curved lip, "Yuan Kang's eyes have always been a source of regret for the Queen Mother. She will be very happy to know that Yuan Kang can see this world."

Nanny Zheng's pupils were dark. Thinking of the late empress, she lowered her head and drank a sip of hot tea with mixed feelings. She felt extremely depressed for a moment.

After Madam Zheng left, Jiashan welcomed another "rare guest". Actually, he was not a rare guest, after all, Master Zhan had done such "sneak-peeks" in front of the princess quite often.

Jiashan heard the noise in the outer room and went out wearing a red fox fur coat. Suyu was almost frightened by Zhanyue. Fortunately, she was always calm and did not shout for help.

Seeing the princess coming out, Su Yu hurriedly said, "I'll make some tea."

Seeing Zhan Yue, and thinking of what Princess Ruyang had said before she left, Jia Shan couldn't scold him, nor could she feel sorry for him. Her eyelashes trembled slightly, and she resisted the urge to scold him, and asked softly, "What's the matter?"

Zhan Yue raised his long eyebrows in surprise and handed over a long piece of paper in his hand. He smiled and said, "The betrothal gift list is out. I want to show it to you first."

Jiashan said "Oh" and tried to take it, but Zhan Yue pressed the other half with his fingertips, as if he was not sure whether to give it or not.

Jiashan couldn't help but raise his eyes, stared at him and asked, "Aren't you going to show it to me?"

Zhan Yue looked at her with his round eyes, and saw that her cheeks were soft and there was not a trace of anger on her face, which made him even more puzzled.

Zhan Yue lowered his voice and asked calmly, "I came here at night, and the princess didn't think I was rude. Don't you want to say a few words to me?"