Chapter 22 Why not have her?
Wei Zhang didn't even know when he had dismounted.
Xue Lanyi didn't have time to think about anything else; all she knew was that Wei Zhang had appeared, and her crisis was over.
Her eyes welled up with tears in an instant. She hugged his waist tightly, her lips trembling as she murmured in his arms, "Someone wants to kill me, someone wants to kill me!"
She was only up to Wei Zhang's shoulder in height, and her narrow and slender figure was obscured by Wei Zhang, making her look like a little girl snuggling in her lover's arms.
Looking down from Wei Zhang's angle, he could see that her long eyelashes were wet, as if she was deliberately wiping the water mist onto Wei Zhang's clothes.
Wei Zhang frowned, his face filled with suspicion. "What are you doing here?"
Didn't you run away with someone? What's your intention in suddenly turning back?
Xue Lanyi, failing to discern Wei Zhang's intentions, frantically pointed into the depths of the dense forest, exclaiming, "Someone is trying to kidnap me and harm you!"
“Southwest, assassin, chopsticks!” She was still in shock, her words incoherent.
But Wei Zhang understood and solemnly gave a look to the guards behind him.
The guards drew their swords and followed the route pointed out by Xue Lanyi, and Wei Zhang also wanted to follow.
If what Xue Lanyi said is true, we can follow the clues and catch the remnants of the former crown prince today.
Wei Zhang naturally wanted to personally supervise the battle.
Xue Lanyi grabbed his sleeve, "Don't go, there's a trap!"
She was already covered in wounds and didn't want Wei Zhang to suffer the same fate.
Her pair of clear, watery eyes were filled with worry, as pure as crystal.
"It's dangerous, don't go, don't go..."
Her voice grew weaker and weaker, her head spinning from blood loss, yet she instinctively clung tightly to Wei Zhang's sleeve.
Wei Zhang stared at her clenched, pale fingers for a moment, stunned.
This kind of unwavering determination was completely foreign to him.
So unfamiliar that he never remembered anyone holding his hand so tightly before.
He tried to pull open his sleeve.
Her hand clung to him, refusing to let go, as she stubbornly murmured to herself.
Finally, she exhausted her last bit of strength, and her hand snapped loose.
A large hand caught her falling hand.
Wei Zhang lifted her up by the waist, looking at her constantly opening and closing lips: "Alright, we won't go."
There was a hint of tenderness in her voice that she herself was unaware of.
Xue Lanyi then stopped murmuring, and her brow relaxed in her unconscious state.
...
The next morning, in the courtyard of Chong'an Hall.
"The former crown prince's faction, who were hiding in the Great Wilderness Mountains, have been wiped out in one fell swoop. It's a pity that the former crown prince and your brother escaped."
Shen Jinglan sat on the stone bench under the peach tree, sighing with regret.
Earlier, he and Wei Xuan had tried to cross the Yellow River but failed, and Wei Xuan fled.
He then rushed to Dahuang Mountain to meet up with Wei Zhang. Fortunately, with Xue Lanyi's guidance, they successfully found the twenty-three members of the former crown prince's faction who were hiding in Dahuang Mountain.
Unfortunately, these former Crown Prince supporters, unaware of the spur-of-the-moment decision to kill Xue Lanyi, did not take her to see the Crown Prince at all.
Therefore, Shen Jinglan was unable to follow the clues to find the Crown Prince.
"How can His Majesty rest easy until these treacherous officials are completely eliminated?" Shen Jinglan slammed his fist on the table.
Across from him, Wei Zhang remained calm and collected, poking at the red-scaled fish in the glass bottle with a stalk of dry grass.
The tremor startled his fish.
He looked up and pushed a stack of documents to Shen Jinglan, "What's the rush? There are bound to be some spineless cowards among the twenty-three."
These twenty-three people must have served the Crown Prince closely for many years, and they knew his whereabouts very well.
Then all we need to do is pry them open.
As for how to pry them out, Wei Zhang had already thoroughly investigated the identities, backgrounds, wives, children, and parents of these people.
As long as a person has ties, there is no opening that cannot be pried open.
"If none of them get it, there's always their older brother..."
Wei Xuan is the mainstay of the former Crown Prince's faction. As long as he is bound, the Crown Prince's faction will naturally collapse.
Wei Zhang pondered for a moment, "If I take a concubine tomorrow, he will surely walk right into my trap."
"You still want to take Zhao Yang as a concubine?" Shen Jinglan asked incredulously.
Back then, when they were hunting down remnants of the reform movement, they unexpectedly found Zhaoyang by the lake, mistaking her for someone else.
Wei Zhang cleverly accepted her as his childhood sweetheart and kept Zhao Yang by his side, subtly influencing her to believe that Wei Zhang was the one she loved.
The purpose was to use her loyalty to lure out the remaining rebels.
Then we'll eliminate them all at once.
Now that the great undertaking is about to succeed, Zhaoyang is no longer of any use.
Shen Jinglan looked at Wei Zhang suspiciously, "You took her in to purge the rebels, or do you really want her?"
"Why not take her?" Wei Zhang did not deny it.
Xue Lanyi made a very good point: Who says fish bait can't be used to amuse ornamental fish?
He now finds this fish very interesting and thinks it would be a waste to kill it.
"No!" Shen Jinglan retorted, "If we keep her alive, she might regain her memories when she sees old friends in the future, which would be a threat to Dayong and His Majesty!"
"Then kill everyone who can restore her memories." Wei Zhang uttered the last three words leisurely.
Not wanting to argue with him any further, she picked up the glass bottle and got up to leave.
Shen Jinglan also stood up abruptly, "Don't forget that Princess Zhaoyang is also one of the traitors! If you keep her, you are harboring a traitor and disobeying the Emperor!"
Wei Zhang, who had already headed towards his bedroom, turned his head and slightly curved his lips, half of his face dappled with tree shadows. "What princess?"
Right now, and in the future, the only one alive is his concubine, Xue Lanyi.
He strolled away, no longer paying attention to Shen Jinglan's clichéd tales of loyalty to the emperor.
Pushing open the dormitory door, the noise disappeared.
Xue Lanyi was leaning against the couch, drinking her medicine.
The beaded curtains in the inner room swayed gently in the breeze, refracting light spots that surrounded her.
Like fireflies filling the sky, an indescribable tranquility.
Wei Zhang removed his cloak and entered through the curtain.
Xue Lanyi immediately lay down, turning her back to him and pulling the blanket over her head.
Wei Zhang stood awkwardly by the bed.
"The young lady has taken the medicine and is feeling much better, but..."
Grandma Liu quickly came to the rescue, secretly pointing to her earlobe.
In that critical moment, Xue Lanyi naturally prioritized his life.
But now, upon closer reflection, thinking about the matter between Wei Zhang and Yuan Yi, I still feel uneasy.
Wei Zhang raised his hand to dismiss the servants, then lifted his robe and sat down on the edge of the couch.
Xue Lanyi ignored him, inexplicably displaying some of her girlish temperament.
However, Wei Zhang was in a relatively good mood today and patiently said, "Yuan Yi's heart is despicable. I have already sent her to where she should go."
Xue Lanyi still didn't want to speak.
Wei Zhang sighed, "You should know what's in those South Sea pearl earrings she's wearing, why make a fuss?"
Xue Lanyi heard Granny Liu give a general account, saying that it was being said that Wei Zhang had followed Yuan Yi to the Great Wilderness Mountain and unearthed a group of treacherous officials.
Therefore, the earrings that Wei Zhang gave to Yuan Yi must have contained powder for tracking purposes.
The hungry wolf was bloodthirsty by nature. If Wei Zhang hadn't given Xue Lanyi cedar powder beforehand, she would have died alongside the assassin long ago.
This is a power struggle within the imperial court, and there's always a reason behind it.
Xue Lanyi was not an unreasonable person. She threw back the covers and sat up, asking, "Will the young master still marry her?"
Wei Zhang thought she wasn't the type to ask such a silly question, and chuckled softly.
Xue Lanyi then asked the question she really wanted to ask in a muffled voice, "So... will you get married?"
"nature."
Being at the center of power, he couldn't possibly manage both internal and external affairs forever, so he naturally had to marry and take charge of the household.
He didn't hide it from her.
Xue Lanyi actually knew the answer, but when she heard him say it himself, she couldn't help but show disappointment on her face.
What are they expecting? Who in this world would give up a title, give up a promising future, to marry a convicted slave?
She said "Oh," and her long eyelashes drooped.
Wei Zhang pinched her chin.
Xue Lanyi turned her head away.
Wei Zhang tightened his grip on his fingertips. "There's no suitable candidate right now, so why think about things that haven't happened yet?"
Yes, Xue Lanyi's path was too narrow; she could only take things one step at a time.
She bit her lip. "Is it because you only like me right now that you don't have anyone you like?"
Wei Zhang's eyes flickered slightly.
I have never seen a woman ask such a direct question.
"Stop saying such nonsensical things." He withdrew his hand.
Xue Lanyi grasped his hand in return.
This issue is very important to Xue Lanyi.
If he is destined not to marry her, then she needs to know his exact feelings.
"Yun Jian, I just want to hear you say it yourself: you like me."
Actually, she could sense that he liked her, but for some reason he just wouldn't say it.
He seemed to resist vows, and even more so, he resisted opening his heart to others.
Even as she gazed intently at him, he remained silent.
After a long while, he stood up and said, "Come with me."
He straightened his robes and then remembered that the doctor had told Xue Lanyi to take good care of her injuries and that it would be best if she did not get out of bed today.
He bent down, picked her up, and sat her down at the desk.
A red paper book of concubines was laid out on the table.
As always, the document was densely covered with phrases like "A marriage certificate, a hundred years of commitment," and "Having pledged our lives to each other, our bond will last forever."
It shouldn't have been written by him; a meticulous person like him wouldn't write a marriage contract for a concubine.
It was probably written by one of the clan elders, but he signed it, and the empty space on the left was for Xue Lanyi's signature.
"The ceremony for taking a concubine last time wasn't finished. I plan to complete it tomorrow. What do you think?"
He still didn't directly address Xue Lanyi's question, but he rarely sought her opinion.
Perhaps this letter from the concubine reflects his attitude.
Xue Lanyi didn't hear what she wanted to hear. After a moment of contemplation, she pointed to the last line: "A concubine must serve her master by his side for life."
"I can sign the concubine's contract, but I'd like to make some changes here..."
She observed his expression: "I think I should change it to: If one day you change your mind, I may leave on my own. You must return my indenture, and from then on we will part ways amicably, with no further contact between us, and I will have no regrets. Is that alright?"
After the incident with Yuan Yi, Xue Lanyi also saw her own heart clearly.
She could stay by Wei Zhang's side without caring about status, but only if there was no one else around Wei Zhang and if Wei Zhang was devoted to her wholeheartedly.
She couldn't bear the thought of sharing a husband with another man.
She thought Wei Zhang would refute her.
But Wei Zhang didn't, and simply replied with a faint "Okay".
For Wei Zhang, too many entanglements were simply a burden.
Now that she wants to be with him, he also thinks it's nice to have her around to keep him company, so they stay together.
If she loses interest in the future, and he also grows weary, he will not force her to stay.
He neither needs nor likes to waste extra energy.
Wei Zhang picked up his brush and revised the concubine's letter, then brought the brush and ink closer and placed it beside her.
Once this concubine's letter passes through the government, every word and sentence is protected by the laws of Dayong.
Currently, this is Xue Lanyi's best option.
When you like each other, stay together; when you have different thoughts, cut ties completely.
She was able to get her household registration and indenture back, which wasn't bad.
Xue Lanyi twitched her lips and picked up her pen, suspending her wrist.
My arm is injured and shaking so badly that I can't put pen to paper.
Wei Zhang took her hand and guided her to write her name stroke by stroke.
He wasn't wearing a fox fur coat, only a thin cloak. Xue Lanyi sat sideways on his lap, clearly feeling the strong power of his arms.
The warm sunlight streamed through the window and shone on them as they took up a brush and began to copy the character "漪" (yī).
Birds sing and flowers bloom outside the window; life is peaceful and serene.
At least for now, they are like countless ordinary couples, seeking pleasure in their bedroom.
If only things could stay like this without anyone bothering me.
Xue Lanyi's thoughts slowly drifted away from the tip of her pen, and she glanced sideways at his smooth jawline.
"Yun Jian, why did the eldest young master and those assassins plot against you?" she suddenly asked before finishing her last stroke.
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