Chapter 66
Today is Laba Festival, and with Shen Fan's return and Shen Yao's birthday, it should be a good day.
However, the saying "extreme joy begets sorrow" is no exaggeration.
The Duke of Xin's mansion sent a message saying that Xu Xuan had beaten Zhao Lian for no reason, and Zhao Lian was now seriously injured and unable to get out of bed. They demanded an explanation from Master Shen.
Before he could go to visit him, Wang Zhen, the commander of the Embroidered Uniform Guard, also sent someone over to inquire why Xu Xuan had beaten someone. The original plan was to have Zhao Lian steal the roster, but now the man was beaten half to death, which could be described as dying before the mission was accomplished.
Master Shen was furious, so angry that he smashed the bowl of Laba porridge he was drinking from. "What are we going to drink? Now we'll all be starving!"
He went straight to Shen Yao and asked, "Has Xu Xuan gone mad? How could he have hit Zhao Lian?"
Shen Yao was completely unaware that Xu Xuan had assaulted Zhao Lian, but she wasn't surprised when she heard about it. Coincidentally, Shen Fan was also there, and the two exchanged a knowing glance.
Shen Fan gently shook his head.
It seems we still need to keep it a secret.
Shen Yao understood and raised her eyes, saying, "Father, please don't be angry. I don't know about this either."
"Don't know? You're Xu Xuan's wife, how could you not know?" Master Shen grew increasingly impatient, and stopped letting Shen Yao eat her porridge, urging her to go out immediately, "Go find Xu Xuan right now and bring him back to me."
The vermilion gate slammed shut with a bang, her nose almost hitting it. "Hey, this isn't fair! They won't even let us eat!"
What bad luck!
Shen Yao had no choice but to go find Deng Yan.
Unexpectedly, Xu Xuan wasn't at the Deng family's house at all. "Ziwei went out yesterday and hasn't come back," Deng Yan said.
Shen Yao looked around the house and confirmed that no one lived there; Xu Xuan was not there.
Since he's not staying at the Deng family's house, he must have gone back to the Xu family's house.
Both of them thought so.
Shen Yao then prepared to take her leave.
In that instant, Deng Yan also realized something. He immediately thought of what he had seen at the Xu family that day, and his heart felt heavy. He felt disgusted by the incident, let alone Xu Xuan.
So he said, "Ziwei is my good friend. Now that you're home, I'll go visit you too."
His voice was firm, and his gaze was sharp.
Shen Yao felt that he might know something, but the two of them could not be considered friends and could not be completely honest with each other.
She initially wanted to refuse, but then she thought that Xu Xuan would be in a terrible mood after discovering Liu Ru's betrayal, and having another person would help share the burden, so she agreed to go with him.
On the way, Shen Yao asked him, "How long have you known Xu Xuan?"
In Shen Yao's view, Xu Xuan had very few friends, or even none at all, but Deng Yan was different; Xu Xuan's feelings for him were quite unusual.
That kind of trust that comes from within is very rare for people like them who have been in officialdom for a long time.
Deng Yan glanced at Shen Yao and began to reminisce, "He should have known me for a while longer than you have."
It was a springtime, when the grass was growing and the birds were singing, and the willows along the dike were swaying in the breeze.
He was painting by the pond, but no matter how he wielded the brush, he couldn't incorporate the weeping willows across the pond into the painting. Just as he was getting anxious, Xu Xuan appeared.
Dressed in a blue robe, he stood beneath a weeping willow, reciting a book in hand. The dappled sunlight of spring cast shadows on his rugged face, giving him an air of refined and aloof nobility in every gesture.
The willows swayed gently, and the man stood tall and straight. At that moment, inspiration struck, and he painted Xu Xuan into the picture and presented it to him.
That's how the two met and gradually became friends.
From my school days to my current career in government.
The time wasn't too long, nor too short...
*
When Xu Xuan woke up, the sun had already moved westward.
The slanting sunlight pierced through the window frame, illuminating the tiny dust particles floating in the air.
It's strange that sunlight can so easily make things invisible to the human eye visible.
He held out his palm to a beam of light and saw dust floating between his fingers. So dirty.
I never knew the air was so dirty.
Why didn't I notice this before?
Xu Xuan smiled bitterly.
Upon seeing Xu Xuan wake up, the shopkeeper strode over.
This drunkard drank so much last night but didn't have much money on him, so his attitude wasn't very friendly. "Young master, now that you're awake, please settle your bill quickly."
Xu Xuan was taken aback, only then realizing that the table he was lying on was covered with wine jugs.
Clearly, this is a tavern, and he came here to drown his sorrows.
Xu Xuan hurriedly looked down and rummaged through his pockets. The shopkeeper, seeing this, immediately became furious and sneered, "Stop looking, you don't have any money on you."
He had already touched her last night.
Xu Xuan was immediately embarrassed, so he stood up, cupped his hands and apologized, "I'm sorry, shopkeeper, I forgot to take the money when I came out. Could you wait for me and I'll go back and get it?"
Seeing that the shopkeeper's face had become even more unpleasant, he quickly came up with another idea: "Or you could send someone to go with me."
The shopkeeper's face was still grim. "Young master, none of the methods you suggested are suitable. I think we should use the jade pendant at your waist."
You pawn the jade pendant, go home to get the money—it's that simple.
The jade pendant was a gift from Liu Ru, and in the past, he would never have used it as collateral. But now, when the shopkeeper brought it up, he felt surprisingly calm. Perhaps there was a moment of heartache, but it quickly dissipated.
Xu Xuan calmly removed the jade pendant.
Stepping out of the restaurant, I found the streets bustling with people and traffic, and the air filled with the faint aroma of meat. I realized I was starving, but I had no money, so I had no choice but to go home.
*
Finally, the three met at the Xu family home.
Xu's father had gone to the government office and had not yet returned; only Xu's mother was at home, but she was worshipping Buddha. Not wanting to disturb them, they sat in the main hall.
He was simply sitting there.
Shen Yao wanted to ask something, but with Deng Yan present, she certainly couldn't reveal such a scandal; Deng Yan also wanted to speak to Xu Xuan alone, but because Shen Yao was there, he couldn't speak either.
As for Xu Xuan, he was initially surprised to see the two of them come specifically to find him, but his mood quickly returned to normal. Now the three of them sat quietly, all remaining silent.
The pot of Biluochun tea had been brewed several times, and the flavor was so weak it couldn't be weaker. Finally, Shen Yao couldn't sit still any longer and stood up, saying, "Xu Xuan, today is Laba Festival. I came to ask... has the porridge been cooked yet?"
Okay, she admits the problem is indeed terrible.
As soon as the words left his mouth, he regretted them immediately and wished he could slap himself.
She stole a glance at Xu Xuan and met his surprised gaze.
Startled, he quickly averted his gaze and turned his head away, pretending to admire the calligraphy and paintings by famous people hanging on the wall.
Xu Xuan looked up and stared at her for a while. Then he called a maid over and ordered, "Heat up the porridge I made today and bring it over. Someone is hungry."
Shen Yao quickly turned around to look at him.
No way, she didn't come here for porridge!
Xu Xuan glanced at her and said, "The porridge is cold. We'll drink it later."
Shen Yao rubbed her temples, suddenly feeling a headache.
Wasting time like this, how could she possibly keep her appointment with Wei Luo tonight? So she simply grabbed Xu Xuan's sleeve and dragged him out for questioning.
Shen Yao asked him, "You hit Zhao Lian last night, didn't you?"
The words were very direct, and because the tone was urgent, it sounded like an interrogation of a criminal.
Xu Xuan frowned and involuntarily looked away.
He didn't want to look Shen Yao in the eye.
But I still had to respond, only instead of answering, I asked, "Since you already know, why ask again?"
There was no anger as expected; instead, there was a calm.
Shen Yao was somewhat surprised. She didn't press too hard, but just sighed slightly and said, "I won't ask what happened between you, but you beat up Zhao Lian. My father told me to take you back for questioning."
After finishing her sentence in one breath, Shen Yao looked up and stared at his face. She was so close that she could almost see the stubble on his chin.
My gaze moved down to his Adam's apple, which was bobbing incessantly.
Shen Yao blinked and then looked up, her eyes meeting his across the distance.
Xu Xuan lowered her eyes and sneered, "So you came here to kidnap me?"
There was a defiant spirit in his voice.
Shen Yao shook her head. "Of course not. If you don't want to go, no one can force you. It's just that this matter is neither a big deal nor a small one. After all, Zhao Lian is the heir of the Duke's mansion, and his life is very precious. You have to give a reason."
He earnestly and patiently advised him.
Xu Xuan watched coldly, unmoved and unwilling to speak. What explanation was there for this matter?
Just as he was about to turn and leave, he suddenly realized that Shen Yao had said so much, but hadn't asked about the most important reason, only asking for an explanation.
In a flash, he realized that Liu Ru might have known about it all along, but she just didn't tell him, leaving him in the dark like a fool.
No, "foolish" is an understatement; it's more like she's laughing at him. Wasn't her divorce from him all for this day, this moment?
Hatred suddenly surged like a tidal wave, engulfing one's reason.
Xu Xuan locked his gaze on her beautiful face again, slowly approaching her, his eyes like knives. "You knew about Liu Ru all along, didn't you? You all knew, but you just didn't tell me, right?"
Xu Xuan was tall, and as he approached, Shen Yao was completely enveloped in his shadow.
The absolute dominance of the man's physique made Shen Yao feel very uncomfortable.
He approached step by step, and she retreated step by step.
Shen Yao looked up at him, pursed her lips, and said, "I told you, I'm not interested in your affairs. I only came to invite you back to the Shen family, that's all."
"Ha, sophistry. Shen Yao, do you know that you always purse your lips when you lie?"
"What?" She quickly lowered her head, biting her lip, her eyes darting around.
Seeing this, Xu Xuan laughed again, "Not only does he like to purse his lips, but he also likes to roll his eyes."
That's a very careful observation.
Oh, by the way, Xu Xuan was originally an official in the Ministry of Justice. He was naturally better at reading people than the average person, and his ability to disguise himself was also first-rate.
In his presence, she was practically invisible.
Shen Yao simply raised her eyes to look him directly in the eye—no, she should say glared at him—and asked again, "Are you going back or not?"
"...I won't reply."
This time the answer was very straightforward.
Shen Yao nodded and said, "Okay, I'll go back by myself."
He left without saying goodbye, without even going to Deng Yan's place.
Deng Yan waited in the hall for a long time, but the two did not return. So he went out to check and found that they were arguing again.
He suddenly had a headache.
After Shen Yao's figure disappeared behind the red walls, he went to call Xu Xuan, "Why are you angry with her?"
Deng Yan's thoughts have changed. He used to dislike Shen Yao, but after learning about Liu Ru's incident, he thinks Shen Yao is not bad, at least she is a good match for Xu Xuan.
Now, he sincerely hopes that the two can reconcile.
"Ziwei, what can't be said between husband and wife? Give her a chance, and you can start over."
What are you trying to say?
Xu Xuan controlled her volume when she spoke, trying to make herself sound like a person with normal emotions.
He didn't want to show his vulnerable or crazy side in front of Deng Yan.
People always care about their image.
Deng Yan knew this all along, but as a friend, he couldn't bear to see him in such a sorry state, so he gritted his teeth and said, "I know about Liu Ru."
Xu Xuan looked at him incredulously.
At this moment, dignity seemed to be completely shattered and ground into dust.
His lips trembled, and the voice was forced out from his throat, "You actually knew that too?"
"Hmm. Isn't it just those trivial matters between men and women?" Deng Yan felt a little guilty and lowered his head slightly before saying, "She's just a concubine, not a wife, so don't take it too seriously."
“No, she is not a concubine.” Xu Xuan interrupted him almost roaringly, “In my heart, she is my wife.”
His emotions became so intense that they bordered on madness.
Deng Yan felt a pang of pain in her heart and couldn't help but blurt out, "But that person is your father, what can you do?"
...
The words just came out so naturally, on an ordinary winter afternoon, without any warning, and without any logic.
For a moment, Xu Xuan stared at him blankly, and it took him a long time to regain his senses. He asked, "What did you say? What about my father? What does this have to do with my father?"
For a moment, a certain idea flashed through her mind, but Xu Xuan immediately dismissed it.
Impossible, absolutely impossible! Something must have gone wrong!
So he stared intently at Deng Yan, as if he were looking at a dead man, and said, "Speak clearly."
But is this matter clearly explained?
Deng Yan kept questioning himself, finally closing his eyes gently and gritting his teeth as he said, "Ziwei, I know some things are hard for you to accept, but I saw it with my own eyes. Your father... he..."
I still can't continue.
It's hard to talk about.
"No, I don't believe it."
Xu Xuan's voice was unusually calm, were it not for his bloodshot eyes, or his muttering as he backed away.
In the end, Xu Xuan made a run for his life and fled.
Continue read on readnovelmtl.com
