Chapter 61 Chapter 61 Ah Xu Ah Xu, you still miss her...
Under Nan Xu's questioning gaze, Duan Wenpei took her in his arms and stepped into the gate of the Earl's Mansion, leaving the eunuch who was delivering the message behind him.
Nan Xu looked at him in disbelief, "You really don't want to enter the palace?"
"No."
He said it so lightly that Nan Xu almost thought he was answering about the weather today.
"Why?"
She actually wanted to ask him what he wanted to do, but the words changed direction when they came to her lips.
Duan Wenpei tightened his grip around his shoulders, looking at the servants passing by in the corridor. He said jokingly, "Don't worry, Madam. Even if I were to do something else, I would definitely not bring trouble to you, and certainly not to the Yong'an Marquisate either."
Nan Xu didn't say anything, but clenched his hands into fists in his sleeves.
She didn't actually think that.
But she is even stranger like this.
She shrank her shoulders, leaned down and stepped out of his arms, said "OK" briefly, and turned to run towards the backyard.
Duan Wenpei looked at her hurriedly walking away, and for the first time, a hint of loneliness welled up in his eyes.
*
Li Junji was stopped outside the hall by Guo Huai.
Seeing Li Junji's miserable appearance, Guo Huai felt a little sorry for him, so he waved and asked someone to bring a chair for Li Junji to sit on.
Li Junji naturally did not dare to be arrogant and quickly said no.
He paced back and forth, frequently glancing toward the closed palace door. Finally, unable to resist, he asked Guo Huai, "Chief Steward Guo, when will His Majesty be willing to see me?"
Guo Huai put his hands behind his back and whispered, "Wait."
"What are you waiting for?" Guo Huai was puzzled.
"Wei Yangbo."
Li Junji frowned. What was he waiting for?
There were some mistakes in the Shu affairs, but it was not because he was not doing his best. It was just that the Zhao family had been running the business for generations, and it was impossible for a Right Censor-in-Chief like him to investigate it thoroughly.
He knew that Duan Wenpei had advised the government to withdraw from Shu and start the investigation from Kyoto. When he heard the news, he laughed at Duan Wenpei in front of his officials, saying that he was frightened by the Zhao family. Could it be that he knew about it and held a grudge against him, so he planned today's incident?
In the snow-covered courtyard of the Li Mansion, Madam Li told Li Zhan everything that happened today from beginning to end. After she finished, she looked at her son who was lying on the couch recovering from his injuries with expectant eyes.
Li Zhan hadn't had a good night's sleep since returning from the suburbs that night. Taking advantage of the good weather today, he finally managed to take a nap, but was woken up by his mother. He rubbed his swollen and aching forehead absentmindedly and said slowly, "I'm afraid my father has been plotted against. Coming to the capital without being summoned is a serious crime. We kept it a secret from outsiders, and His Majesty turned a blind eye. But now that there's such a commotion in the street, I'm afraid His Majesty will have to give an explanation, otherwise..."
He looked listless, and as he spoke he laid back on the soft pillow, the rest of his words mumbling between his lips.
Mrs. Li waited in vain, and anxiously pulled him, "Ah Zhan, what else can we do? Speak!"
The already loose collar was pulled out of shape. Li Zhan closed his eyes and explained to Madam Li without any hesitation, "Even if Your Majesty wanted to help the Li family, I'm afraid you would be powerless."
Madam Li's voice suddenly rose several degrees. "What do you mean by 'willing but powerless'? Your father said that as long as you marry the princess and meet Princess Jingyi's requirements, even if we poke a hole in the sky, there will be someone to hold it up for us."
As she spoke, she looked at Li Zhan, who was lying on the bed with his head tilted inwards. Her eyes changed several times as she complained, "It's all your fault. If you hadn't offended the princess, I wouldn't have written to ask your father to come back. Your father must have been extremely worried, so he fell for someone else's trick. It's all your fault!"
She cried like a child who had not grown up, and even punched Li Zhan a few times. Li Zhan was already seriously injured and had not recovered yet, so he could not withstand her punches.
The maids and servants nearby hurried over to dissuade them.
"Madam, the young master's health is of paramount importance. Let's talk carefully about what we have to say. Don't be impatient."
"Madam, even if you smash our young master to death, it will be useless. Please listen to what the young master has to say first."
After pulling and persuading for a long time, Mrs. Li was finally appeased. Everyone breathed a sigh of relief, except Li Zhan on the bed who didn't say a word.
Just when everyone thought the matter had ended there, Li Zhan suddenly said sarcastically, "Mother always blames me."
"When I was little, I blamed myself for not being as good at writing as others. When I grew up, I blamed myself for not being as clever as my brothers. Later, I blamed myself for not being able to win Ah Xu's heart. Finally, I blamed myself for being so sentimental and unable to let go of Ah Xu."
"Mother, aren't these what you expect?"
The mixture of indifference and sadness in his eyes made it hard to look at him.
"They say there's no mother in the world who doesn't love her children. Now I know. My mother loves me, too, but she values her own wealth and glory even more! Times have changed. It's not that I'm doing a bad job, but that nothing I do can satisfy my mother's greed!"
"You! Bastard!"
Madam Li was a refined woman. Her hand, raised high in anger, remained there. "Li Zhan, there's no scholar in the world who would dare speak to his own mother like that! You speak so lightly, but haven't the wealth and glory I aspire to benefit you? Your food, clothing, and access to the finest schools—aren't they all provided by the Li family?"
"A Xu, A Xu, you still can't forget her! If it weren't for her, you wouldn't have ended up in this mess with the princess! And your father wouldn't be in this predicament!" She turned her gaze, as if she had found an outlet to vent her anger. She picked up a Ruyi-shaped jade pendant that was carefully wrapped in a brocade handkerchief beside the couch, and threw it hard to the ground regardless of Li Zhan's attempts to stop her.
With a "snap", the jade pendant broke into pieces, and the four big words of affection engraved on the back were broken into pieces without shape.
Li Zhan ignored the pain on his back, knelt on the ground barefoot, and frantically tried to pick up the things. Unfortunately, some parts had been broken into pieces, and no matter how hard he tried to pick them up and piece them together, he could not put together a complete "Endless Love".
The wound on his back opened again, and fresh blood soaked through his thin shirt. Li Zhan rushed out as if he could not feel the pain. Everyone was horrified and tried to stop him, but they could only hear Li Zhan's unconscious words "A Xu".
His mad look frightened Madam Li. Her lips trembled and she asked the servants to knock Li Zhan unconscious. Looking at her son whose face was as pale as paper, she woke up from her dream and asked someone to call a doctor immediately.
For a moment, the snow-covered courtyard was in chaos. Mrs. Li sat in a daze under the corridor, watching the doctor coming in and out, feeling a little lost.
A maid showed her the bloody jade pendant fragments that had been taken from Li Zhan and asked her what to do with them. Madam Li stared at these things closely, and some thoughts flashed through her mind like lightning.
"Go, give Madam Weiyang a letter and tell her I want to see her."
*
Not being able to invite anyone, the eunuch rushed into the palace to report, but all he got was a whisk from Guo Huai.
"Since Lord Bo is unwilling to come, you can go and invite him again and say that Lord Li is waiting outside the palace. Your Majesty will see Lord Li when Lord Bo arrives."
The eunuch glanced at Li Junji, who had a bad look on his face, and walked away hesitantly.
When the eunuch went to Wei Yangbo's mansion for the second time, he had not seen Duan Wenpei yet, but first saw Nan Xu who was accompanied by Liu Hui out of the mansion.
Nan Xu greeted him hurriedly upon seeing him, "Does the palace have another message for Master?"
Although the eunuch was dissatisfied, he did not dare to neglect it. He hurriedly repeated Guo Huai's words and asked Nan Xu where he was going, intentionally or unintentionally.
Nan Xu sensed a hidden meaning behind this, and hurriedly asked Liu Hui to bring the eunuch inside to answer the question. Before leaving, she smiled and said, "To be honest, my lady from the Yin family invited me to visit her at her mansion."
The eunuch knew that Nan Xu and Yin Ruizhu were good friends, so he didn't investigate further. He just leaned over and said, "Madam, take care," and then followed Liu Hui into the Bo's mansion.
Nan Xu watched the two figures disappear in front of the door before getting on the carriage without looking back.
The carriage moved slowly forward, and Nan Xu's heart was shaking with it.
Chunya did not come out with them because she had to deal with affairs in the mansion. Only Yuxiang looked at Nanxu with a thoughtful look on her face, not knowing how to comfort her. He lifted the curtain of the carriage and looked around boredly.
"Hey, Madam, isn't that Jin Hui from the Li Mansion?"
Nan Xu didn't know who Jin Hui was, so she asked her, "Which Li Mansion?"
Yuxiang said, "It's Young Master Li's family." Fearing Nanxu still didn't understand, she added, "Young Master Li, the son-in-law of the emperor, and the Li family."
Nan Xu leaned forward and glanced at the young man, who was a servant she didn't recognize very often. Judging from his attire, he did look like someone from the Li family.
She withdrew her gaze and sat up straight, secretly laughing at Yuxiang's fuss.
Kyoto City is so small that it is normal to meet people from the Li Mansion.
As she thought this, her mind returned to Duan Wenpei's entry into the palace, and naturally she did not hear Yuxiang's mutterings.
"He used to come to the Marquis' Mansion all the time to deliver letters to you, Madam. However, those letters were taken by the servants at the back door, so it's normal that Madam has never seen him.
"Hey, Madam, look at the direction he's heading. It's our Earl's Mansion."
She looked at Nan Xu in surprise, and was greeted by Nan Xu's absent-minded slap on the head.
"What do you mean by our uncle's mansion? It hasn't been long and it's already ours. Be careful, or Yu Ming will wake up and hear you, or she will not forgive you."
Yuxiang shrank his neck, and the relaxed look on his face turned melancholy. "As long as Yuming can wake up, I will do anything..."
*
In the Jingyuan study, Duan Wenpei was sitting at the table opening some letters from Shu. A servant came in and reported that he saw Liu Hui coming with the eunuch from before.
Duan Wenpei paused, collected the letters on the table and put them in the drawer, then picked up a collection of poems on the table and began to read.
This was the scene the eunuch saw when he came in.
A handsome young man in a black casual suit with wide sleeves was leaning casually in the middle, flipping through the book in his hand with ease. The sunlight shone on him through the window screen, like gilded dots on an ink-colored scroll.
If one ignores his occasionally sharp eyes and bold aura, the eunuchs would really think that he was a noble young man who was idle at home.
"Master, Manager Guo has something to tell you."
Duan Wenpei heard the voice and then looked up and glanced casually.
"What are you talking about?"
The eunuch repeated it again, staring at him intently.
Duan Wenpei turned the page and asked calmly, as if he had just remembered what he had said, "Did Chief Steward Guo say that, or did His Majesty say that?"
The eunuch was a little confused.
Liu Hui smiled and explained, "The emperor's will is hard to predict. If it's His Majesty's order, Lord Earl will naturally obey. But if it's what Chief Steward Guo said, I wonder if there's a deeper meaning behind it."
The eunuch still didn't understand, "What's the deep meaning?"
Liu Hui smiled and continued to guide, "Has Lord Li come to the capital without being summoned?"
The eunuch nodded.
Such a big thing has already spread everywhere.
"Will His Majesty be angry about this?"
The eunuch thought about it and continued to nod.
Liu Hui's smile deepened. "That's it. You said that Steward Guo said that His Majesty would only summon Lord Li after Lord Bo entered the palace. Does that mean that the later Lord Bo entered the palace, the longer Lord Li would have to wait outside the palace? Would that help ease His Majesty's anger?"
The eunuch thought about it again this time. Although it felt strange, it seemed to make sense.
"But... if Lord Bo delays entering the palace, won't that make Your Majesty wait in vain?"
Liu Hui leaned forward and led the eunuch out. As they walked, he pulled a purse from his sleeve and stuffed it into the eunuch's hand. "These words were said by General Manager Guo. You haven't even seen His Majesty, so how can we guess what His Majesty's intentions are?"
"But..." The purse was quite heavy, and the eunuch's face just showed some joy, but he quickly suppressed it.
Liu Hui smiled and said, "So, I have to trouble the eunuchs to make another trip to ask the emperor's will, so that you can obey his orders."
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