46. Dispute
"oh?"
Xuanyuan Sui scoffed, "I'll just take Young Master Su back. Madam Yun, please stay out of my business."
Yun Zhihe also chuckled. The female guards behind Xuanyuan Sui were staring at him covetously, looking like a fox borrowing the power of a tiger to bully others.
"Even if I take care of this trivial matter today, what does it matter?"
Her voice was clear and she looked towards Xuanyuan Sui.
“…I don’t know what’s good for me.”
Xuanyuan Sui snorted coldly, and the fake smile on his face disappeared.
Su Zheng was a little scared. He grabbed Yun Zhihe's sleeve with his fingertips and pursed his lips.
"Sister Yun... there are so many of them, don't, don't fight with them..."
Yun Zhihe reached behind him and held his hand, conveying warmth.
Ah Zhi's face was cold as she stood aside, looking at the guards. The atmosphere was cold for a moment.
"Yun Zhihe, hand Su Zheng over to me, and get out of here right now. Don't think you can challenge me just because you hold a small position."
Xuanyuan Sui said a little impatiently.
"A small official position? Madam Xuanyuan has not changed at all, still looking so ignorant."
"How can a fourth-rank official in the imperial court be considered to be unable to challenge you?"
"Besides, Madam Xuanyuan, you've probably long forgotten what you were taught in school: propriety, righteousness, integrity, and shame. To harass a decent man in the dead of night is truly like a wild...dog that has never been enlightened."
Her voice was soft, as if she was laughing, but it was particularly harsh.
"you--!"
Xuanyuan Sui didn't expect her words to be so offensive.
"Come on!"
Xuanyuan Sui was furious. She gritted her teeth and gasped for breath. She roared and ordered the guards behind her to rush forward.
They were just two people, a master and a servant. How could they have the guts to challenge her?! They were truly reckless!
Su Zheng was so anxious that he cried out, and wanted to run away by pulling Yun Zhihe, but was stopped by Yun Zhihe with a calm expression.
In a flash, Azhi grabbed one person's arm and kicked him viciously. With a "bang", one person flew out and hit another person.
"ah--"
Azhi was very skilled in martial arts and had great boxing and kicking skills. He had knocked down several guards using his hands and feet.
Su Zheng was also stunned, with a tear stuck in his eyes, his eyes were full of tears.
"Waste! Waste!"
Xuanyuan Sui was also a little stunned. Seeing his men retreating step by step, he immediately started shouting and cursing.
Azhi seemed to be at ease under the siege of several people, and in the chaos, he even kicked Xuanyuan Sui.
The knocked-off scabbard and sword made a tinkling sound, which was particularly pleasant to the ears. Mixed with shouts and cries of pain, the place was extremely lively for a moment.
Azhi was born in the underworld. Her family was saved by Yun Qianli. When her father and mother heard about the tragedy of the Yun family, they sent their daughter to be a servant to repay the life-saving grace. She has been a maid of Yun Zhihe since she was a child.
Although they are servants, they are like sisters and grew up together. There is no distance between master and servant.
“Ahhh——”
With a loud cry of pain, Azhi knocked down the last man. For a moment, only Xuanyuan Sui was left standing on the field, trembling with fear.
How one person can stop many people.
Only then did Xuanyuan Sui start to feel a little scared.
She pursed her lips, still looking arrogant.
"You're lucky today! I've raised a bunch of losers. You won't be so lucky tomorrow." She turned her head and called out in a hoarse voice, "Let's go—!"
The guards fell to the ground, wailing in pain.
Xuanyuan Sui was a little flustered. She saw Azhi picking up people one by one and pressing the sleeping button, making them faint.
Yun Zhihe moved at this time, walked over slowly and smiled at her.
"Madam Xuanyuan, are you so afraid of the strong and bullying the weak? You want to leave after offending someone?"
Her words were aggressive, sounding like those of a villain. She squatted down and looked at Xuanyuan Sui who was kicked to the ground by Azhi.
He looked down from above, his eyes were deep, his voice was low, and there was a hint of sneer in it.
"You...you shouldn't go too far! My aunt is the Queen Mother, and the current emperor is my cousin! Who do you think you are?! If you dare to touch me again today, you'll lose your head tomorrow!"
"oh?"
Yun Zhihe raised his eyebrows and said lightly, then narrowed his eyes, "Of course I know your identity."
"It's just that Madam Xuanyuan is of noble birth, and it's rare to see her in such a state of desolation. Naturally, I have to admire her..."
Xuanyuan Sui looked at the depth in her eyes in the moonlight, and felt a little flustered.
"You, what do you want to do?!"
Yun Zhihe stood up and quickly gave orders to Azhi.
"Azhi, beat me until I can't speak anymore!"
"You, you don't want to live anymore?!"
Xuanyuan Sui exclaimed in surprise. He really didn't know she was so bold. He was about to stand up and curse in panic, but was held down by Azhi again.
Ah Zhi smiled happily, showing her white teeth, and picked up a handkerchief, "Mrs. Xuanyuan, look, I was afraid that you would scream too loudly, so I blocked your voice."
"Well, well—"
Su Zheng pulled Yun Zhihe's clothes, pursed his lips, and looked at Xuanyuan Sui who was being beaten by Azhi.
"Yun, Sister Yun... let her go, she will never let go..." Su Zheng's eyes were red, "I, I don't want you to be retaliated against."
Yun Zhihe reached out and rubbed his head, soothing him softly, "No need, I have my own plans."
"I'll take you back later, don't cry."
Su Zheng was a little worried, but still nodded, tears streaming down his face. He looked pitiful and carefully reached out to hold her hand.
The boy's hands were warm and soft, with slender fingers.
He was simple-minded and didn't know the difference between men and women. This would cause misunderstanding, so she reached out and gently pulled his hand away.
Su Zheng was touched for a moment, pursed his lips, reached out and grabbed her sleeve, and moved closer to her hand.
Yun Zhihe sighed, and seeing that his brows were red and he looked extremely aggrieved, he let him pull him.
"Mm--"
The sound of collisions could be heard, each time causing extreme pain. Xuanyuan Sui was covered in wounds and had apparently fainted.
Azhi was sweating profusely. She took a long breath, turned to look at Yun Zhihe, winked at her and smiled.
"Miss, the fight is over..."
He looked at Xuanyuan Sui, who was lying on the ground covered with wounds, with satisfaction, and then seemed to remember something and exclaimed.
"Aren't we finished then?!"
Ah Zhi has never been a smart person and only obeys Yun Zhihe's orders. At this moment, she suddenly remembered that Xuanyuan Sui's status was too prominent, and even if Yun Zhihe took any action, it would be uncertain.
“…Not yet.”
Yun Zhihe straightened his sleeves and let Su Zheng hide in the carriage again. He smiled at him under Su Zheng's worried gaze.
Yun Zhihe first looked at the dress she was wearing, then raised her eyes to look at Azhi, her eyes like the hazy moonlight, and her voice was clear.
Lips lifted slightly, words spoken without mercy.
"Now, hit me."
...?
Azhi was stunned.
"Miss, are you serious?"
She hesitated for a moment, and only after confirming again and again did she grit her teeth and punch him.
“Hmm…”
Yun Zhihe concealed his pain.
Her jade-white face immediately turned purple, looking particularly horrifying, with a slight trace of blood seeping from the corner of her lips.
His expression remained calm, and he was still looking at Azhi, as if asking why he didn't throw the next punch.
Azhi felt a little distressed.
"Let's wait for His Majesty to blame us. This self-torture trick isn't a good idea... I, I can't bring myself to do it..."
Yun Zhihe shook his head and explained to her, "It's not just that. This is a different kind of self-torture. The current situation is turbulent, so just fight."
Azhi gritted his teeth and punched him anyway.
"Uh-huh—"
For a moment, Yun Zhihe also felt stars in her eyes. She was in a trance for a moment and stopped Azhi's actions.
There's no need to use too much real gunfire, as long as it looks tragic on the surface.
Yun Zhihe rubbed his forehead, his steps feeling a little weak, and walked towards the carriage. A group of people in the alley were unconscious.
As soon as Su Zheng got on the carriage, he saw Yun Zhihe's miserable condition and tears started to flow out, one drop after another. With trembling fingertips, he was about to apply medicine to her, but was coaxed and stopped by Yun Zhihe.
"Wuwuwuwu... Yun, Sister Yun... It's all my fault, Zhengzheng..."
He was heartbroken and began to cry softly. The whole road was filled with crying sounds. The carriage continued to move. After Yun Zhihe repeatedly assured him that nothing was wrong, he fell asleep sobbing because he was tired of crying.
Her little face was red with traces of tears, and her hair was stuck to her face, messy yet beautiful.
"clank!"
When he arrived at the gate of the Su Mansion, Su Lin had obviously been waiting anxiously for a long time, and only breathed a sigh of relief when he saw someone coming.
She got on the carriage and carefully carried Su Zheng down. Then, in the moonlight, she saw that Yun Zhihe's face was covered in blue and purple, which was extremely horrifying and frightened her.
Azhi said to her.
"Madam Su, Young Master Su was harassed by Xuanyuan Sui on the way, and my young lady had a fight with her."
Su Lin was a little stunned, then quickly thanked, "Thank you, Madam Yun, for your help!"
"I'll return first, but Zheng Zheng hasn't been seen for a long time. I sent people to look for him, but there's no trace of him... It was truly a close call. Thank you, Madam Yun, for saving my life!"
"Xuanyuan Sui has been pestering Zheng Zheng for a long time, but I never thought..." Su Lin pursed her lips, "She is so bold... actually..."
She suppressed the emotions in her eyes and bowed to Yun Zhihe, "I will come to visit you with gifts some other day. Thank you very much."
Yun Zhihe paused and asked softly.
"Madam Su, are you unwilling?"
Su Lin stopped walking and turned to look at her with a cold expression.
Yun Zhihe did not respond to her gaze, but just spoke to her softly and slowly.
"Madam Su, the time is ripe. Thunder is coming. Tomorrow... will also be a good time."
Yun Zhihe's voice was soft and hoarse, and every word lingered in Su Lin's heart.
Su Lin bit her lower lip and was about to say something when Yun Zhihe's carriage had already left. The sound of the carriage wheels was extremely crisp in the silent night.
She murmured these words, already understanding, but her eyes were dark and unclear.
Since Prime Minister Wen was dismissed, the Xuanyuan family has been in its heyday, acting arbitrarily and recklessly. The two factions are fighting each other, and the court is also in turmoil. Today she is corrupt and accepting bribes, and tomorrow she is insulting the imperial power.
And her mother... corruption and bribery, having her legs broken by the mob, was an inevitable result of party disputes.
Especially in recent days, the Xuanyuan clan has been expanding, and most of the people in the court are surnamed Xuanyuan. There is even a Xuanyuan Sui who acts willfully and recklessly in the capital all day long, and is extremely dissolute, and his reputation has been ruined.
The oppression of the poor families had already caused an angry backlash. In addition, Queen Mother Cheng intended to give an official position to the playboy Xuanyuan Sui in the capital, which made the old ministers sigh and the court was in turmoil.
And just now... Yun Zhihe was beaten like that.
No, maybe she did it on purpose, okay... let's have a thunderstorm.
A fourth-rank official was beaten by Xuanyuan Danku and molested the young master of a noble family. In addition... the memorial Yun Zhihe had submitted to Xuanyuan Ying before was enough to cause a storm and turmoil.
Since returning, Yun Zhihe has understood the current situation, conducted careful investigations, and found clues from the memorials submitted by local authorities.
Most of the fake memorials were written by members of the Xuanyuan clan, and some were written by Queen Mother Cheng. Some loopholes could also be seen in the treasury account books.
The entire country has been corrupted by the Xuanyuan clan.
It is really ridiculous that Xuanyuan Ying and the Xuanyuan family are of the same clan and blood, but they are fighting with weapons and competing secretly. Xuanyuan Ying should be imprisoned on the throne and the country's resources should be plundered by them.
They rely on each other, yet fight each other.
...It's a sigh.
Yun Zhihe closed his eyes and thought of Xuanyuan Ying's helplessness and tiredness today.
As she said, she has grown up.
…She can hold up the sky for him.
Then let's see if tomorrow's storm is severe. She will take advantage of the situation and move her chess pieces according to the wind.
I had been thinking of looking for an opportunity after a few days, but when I went out I saw Xuanyuan Sui entangled with Su Zheng. It would be a pity not to take advantage of such a favorable opportunity.
There is no need to worry about Xuanyuan Sui clarifying the matter. She herself has no reputation. Even if everyone knows that she was not the one who beat Yun Zhihe, they will turn a blind eye and insist that Xuanyuan Sui is the one who is blamed and criticize the Xuanyuan clan.
Even if Cheng Guomu and Xuanyuan Sui were innocent, there would be no way to defend themselves.
Yun Zhihe rubbed the swollen and painful corners of his eyes.
She wasn't beaten badly, she just got punched twice in the face by Azhi just to make it look good.
The carriage swayed slowly to the Yun Mansion. The road was slow and the Yun Mansion was quiet with no lights. In order not to wake up Uncle Wang, she entered through the back door, but she never expected that there was still a faint light in one of the rooms.
Subtle and warm.
This is... Qingzhu's house.
The window paper outlines a tall and graceful shadow, sitting at the desk and writing, the candlelight flickering.
Perhaps he saw the shadow outside the window and paused. The two of them confronted each other across the window for a long time. Yun Zhihe watched him slowly raise his hand and pull out his hairpin, looking defensive.
Only then did he realize that he had mistaken the shadow outside the door for a thief, and he said softly.
"Qingzhu, it's me."
Qingzhu's shadow paused, and he opened the window carefully. He breathed a sigh of relief when he saw Yun Zhihe's figure. Then he saw the injuries on Yun Zhihe's face and exclaimed in surprise.
"Mrs. Yun! What's that look on your face?!"
Yun Zhihe was quickly pulled into the house by him, and he found the ointment and was about to apply it on her face. Yun Zhihe knew that the wound on her face was a bit scary, so she repeatedly assured Qingzhu that she was fine before stopping her.
Qingzhu pursed her lips. She was wearing thin clothes, which looked particularly cold and white under the candlelight at night. The corners of her eyes were slightly red, revealing worry.
"Madam Yun, if it's inconvenient for you to ask, then don't ask... Qingzhu is overstepping the bounds."
He lowered his eyes, put away the ointment, and pursed his lips, looking a little unhappy.
The candlelight added a touch of color to his cold, pale face. In order to ease the embarrassment, Yun Zhihe saw the piles of books on the desk and the rice paper with unfinished words on it.
"Master Qingzhu still has the elegance of studying?"
Qingzhu packed up the medicine box and nodded slightly. Although his room was small, it was decorated in a very elegant style. It did not look like the boudoir of a brothel man, but more like the room of a young man from a wealthy family.
Yun Zhihe became interested, walked forward, looked at the poetry and books he was reading, and murmured to himself.
"...'Ancient Sage Essays'?"
"This book is obscure and difficult to understand. Scholars often rely on annotations to understand it... and your copy... has no annotations."
She was a little surprised, then turned to smile at him, "Mr. Qingzhu's knowledge is admirable."
Yun Zhihe's literary nature could not be changed, and he preferred the atmosphere of scholars who shared a mutual understanding.
Qingzhu paused, walked forward, closed the book, and lowered his eyes.
"When I was young, my sister's mother taught me to read and write. I only read some biographies of famous people. I am stupid and have little knowledge. Madam Yun, please don't laugh at me."
It is rare to find someone who teaches boys how to read and write, and it can be seen that Qingzhu's mother and elder sister truly love him.
Yun Zhihe looked at the rice paper he had just written on, and paused after taking a look.
'Clouds come and go, old friends are idle, flowers fall...'
This seems to be...a poem she wrote in her early years.
Qingzhu noticed her gaze and hurriedly covered the rice paper, saying, "I saw Madam Yun's poetry collection on the street, so I bought it. I was impressed by the poems and copied them in my free time..."
Yun Zhihe nodded, "Master Qingzhu's handwriting is neat and elegant, the brushstrokes are well-crafted, and the writing is full of spirit."
Qingzhu paused, lowered his head to put away the book and rice paper, and spoke in a hoarse voice after a long time.
"My mother taught me calligraphy when I was young, and I learned the brushwork from her. Unfortunately, I was naughty and ignorant when I was little, only caring about playing around and neglecting my studies. When I wanted to learn again... things had changed."
She seemed to have brought back some sad memories for him.
Yun Zhihe was about to speak to comfort him when she heard him sneer again. She covered her lips slightly, and her smile was gentle and beautiful.
"It's rare to see Madam Yun in such a state of distress. I'm a little surprised."
Yun Zhihe then remembered that her face was covered with bruises and she no longer looked like an immortal.
She looked at Qingzhu's curved eyes and couldn't help but chuckle, but her wound was affected and her expression became stiff.
Qingzhu's brows were tender and her eyes were clear, and she heard him whispering again.
"I thought... Madam Yun was just the moon in the distant clouds."
“…Nowadays, people are much more approachable.”
It gave him an illusion.
Like... he could catch her.
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