Chapter 69 Wow, that's amazing... Yu Tan...
"Young master, the Marquis urgently needs your assistance." Changming urged hurriedly from outside the door, "The Marquis is almost at the courtyard."
She got up to leave, but Yu He'an stopped her with his hand, "Yaoyao, wait."
Yu Tan panicked: "Brother, Father is here! Please make way and let me pass..."
"Where are you going? Didn't you just say you'd honor the agreement? Are you going to change your mind so soon?" Unlike her anxious attitude, Yu He'an was unhurried.
She seemed to hear Yu Zheng's steady footsteps; he must have already entered the courtyard. Her heart was pounding in her chest.
"Brother."
Yu He'an finally stepped aside and walked to the desk to slowly grind the ink.
When Yu Tan got out of bed, her legs went weak and she almost performed a full salute in front of the door. A few meters away from the bed, her upper garment and skirt were scattered, and she hurriedly put them on.
The clothes still smelled of sake, and there was also the scent of cedar lingering in the room.
Yu He'an said in a deep voice, "Have you seen what's in your hand clearly?"
"I see, I see it clearly."
Actually, she only looked at the first picture, which was what she said to Yu He'an when she was drunk last night; she didn't look at the rest.
Just a few days ago, Yu Zheng had inquired about her, asking if Yu He'an had done anything strange to her. He essentially said that if Yu He'an had indeed done something to her, Yu Zheng would stand up for her. But now the situation has reversed...
If Yu Zheng finds out, she has been staying in Fengxu Courtyard. Last night, while drunk, she forcibly pressed Yu He'an down into a chair and did that kind of thing.
She felt her blood rush to her head, the world spinning around her, and she didn't even want to think about the consequences.
All she wanted to do was run. She glanced at the height of the window; she figured she could climb out.
"Come here, you can only leave after you sign."
A wolf-hair brush was handed to her. She gripped the brush tightly, quickly signed the two characters "Yu Tan," put down the brush, and rushed to the window.
Yu He'an teased, "What if I sell you out if you don't take another look?"
"I'm not watching anymore, I'm not watching anymore..."
She opened the window wider, reached up with both hands and legs, and with a powerful push, climbed up, no longer caring about how graceful she looked.
You have to run first.
Yu He'an sighed and rubbed his forehead: "Go through the door."
With a thud, the sound of a heavy object falling to the ground rang out. "Ouch!"
He could almost picture Yu Tan running away, lifting her skirt as she heard hurried footsteps.
Yu He'an looked at the opening and closing window, couldn't help but chuckle, stuck a few thin pieces of paper to his heart, then put them in his sleeve pocket, suppressed his laughter, and got up to walk towards the door.
Yu Zheng paced anxiously in the courtyard. No matter how worried she was, the child was old enough that she couldn't just open his room without permission.
"Father."
"Yu He'an, did you do what happened to Pei Qin?"
Yu Zheng turned around, and Yu He'an, dressed in a white robe and wearing a jade crown, stood in front of the door, bathed in the morning light, with a calm expression and glassy eyes staring at him. Yu He'an's appearance inherited the best features of Ning Weiqing and the two of them, and he was handsome and dashing.
At the junction of the white robe's collar, a section of the neck was exposed, with a few red marks on it.
My son has grown up.
He naturally knew what it was. Yu He'an had caused quite a stir because of Yu Tan's matter, and he thought he would have to give him a good talking-to. He didn't expect that they would find a new person so quickly.
If you take in a concubine, it would be best to give up any thoughts you might have about his sister.
Yu Zheng coughed involuntarily, his fist clenching uncontrollably: "Don't you know how to restrain yourself? What would it look like if someone saw you like this?"
Yu He'an frowned; he hadn't seen what he looked like yet.
There was a water vat in the yard where bowl lotuses were growing. Yu He'an walked quickly to the water vat and looked at her exposed neck in the reflection.
Several red marks were left from his Adam's apple to the side of his ear.
Yu Zheng looked around the courtyard but didn't see a single maid. He only saw Changming and Changde standing properly under the eaves, their heads bowed like quails.
There are no maids in Fengxu Courtyard. Could it be that he keeps a mistress?
Yu Zheng angrily asked, "What happened to Pei Qin? He was beaten up after leaving the restaurant yesterday. Did you do it?"
Pei Qin is Pei Shen's own grandson, the Pei family's precious darling.
During this period, the eldest prince staged a coup and forced the emperor to abdicate. His previous unauthorized iron ore mining was also brought up again, and as a result, officials in the court who were part of the eldest prince's faction were demoted or executed.
For a time, the Third Prince held absolute power in the imperial court.
When the emperor fell seriously ill, the Pei family even openly proposed establishing an heir apparent in the court.
The emperor smiled and agreed. After the autumn hunt, he offered sacrifices to his ancestors and the heavens and earth, and then established the crown prince.
To attack the Pei family at this time is like walking barefoot on a cliff.
“Father, it’s time to take action against the Pei family.” Yu He’an turned his gaze and stared coldly at Yu Zheng. “It’s time to sever ties.”
Yu He'an, with red marks on his face, said things that he found utterly repulsive.
If he had a second son, he would have kicked Yu He'an out long ago.
"Stop now." Yu Zheng stared intently at Yu He'an.
The two faced off in silence. Finally, Yu Zheng gave in and said, "If you like that girl, you can take her into your courtyard and take good care of her. What kind of image is it to keep her outside?"
Yu Zheng misunderstood that he was keeping a mistress outside the home, and that he was using the favor of bringing the mistress into the house to get him to stop.
Yu He'an smiled and stared intently at Yu Zheng: "Father, I want to ask you, after all these years, do you ever think of Mother even for a moment when you dream at midnight?"
Back then, you were stationed far away on the frontier and were unable to protect our mother.
Even that disaster was caused by you and your mother; it was because of you that she was dragged into the struggle...
If my mother had married someone else back then, she wouldn't have died at all. She would have been a glamorous mistress of Bianjing, living a peaceful and happy life.
"Yu He'an." Yu Zheng gritted his teeth, as if a sore spot had been touched. "Back then, if I had left, the border would have been destroyed. The weight of national duty was on my shoulders. The country came first, then my family. Your mother understood me..."
"You want my mother to naturally transition from a noble lady to a virtuous wife and loving mother. Virtue and generosity have long been ingrained in her. She will naturally understand you, the loyal and patriotic Marquis who guards the border for the people."
Resentment shouldn't be directed at her; she'll generously forgive you.
Yu Zheng stared at Yu He'an, having always thought of him as a man of few words and never truly opened his heart to him.
"All these years, you've been blaming me. You didn't become a military general, but a civil official. It turns out you've been blaming me all along... you've been blaming me all along."
"I only remember that year when my mother stuffed me into the cave and ran away alone. Her back looked desperate. She told me that she would come to save us."
"Father, have you ever regretted it for even a moment all these years?" Yu He'an sneered. The Pei family was the mastermind behind it all, and Yu Zheng couldn't possibly not know that, yet he pretended to be deaf and dumb.
"Are you really going to gamble the entire Hou family's future for something uncertain? Your grandmother is old, and your sister has only just been found. She hasn't even had a few days of happiness."
The aging wolf king is weathered and worn, while the young alpha wolf is about to rise to prominence.
They stood at a fork in the road, each heading in their own direction, trying to persuade the other.
"Father, the person I have always loved is Yu Tan."
Yu Zheng was taken aback, his brows furrowed deeply as he stared at the red mark on his neck.
Suddenly, he understood. Yu He'an had gone so far as to provoke him by mentioning his mother, and now he had given him leverage over him. He was determined to continue.
Parting ways is the best policy; he wants to preserve himself, while Yu He'an wants revenge.
Yu Zheng sighed deeply. He was truly getting old. He had fought all his life and now all he wanted was comfort.
How could he not know?
But if he makes a move, he will hand over power. Between a powerful minister and a military general who holds a large army, which one would make the aging emperor more wary? He would be overthrown by the Pei family sooner.
If he were younger, would he have done this...?
He granted Yuhe An's wish.
Yu Zheng kicked Yu He'an in the leg with all his might, and with a crack, it sounded like a bone breaking.
Yu He'an staggered and fell to the ground.
“The unfilial son Yuhe’an disobeyed his elders, seduced his younger sister, and was disloyal and unfilial. He shall kneel in the ancestral hall.”
Changming hurriedly went to help Yuhe'an, saying, "My lord, Changde, quickly go and fetch the doctor."
Yu Zheng angrily said, "No, you'll have to endure it."
"Go to the ancestral hall." Yu He'an barely managed to stand up, supported by Changming's hand. His face was pale, and cold sweat was beading on his forehead. The kick he had just received was quite severe.
"Someone, bring out the family genealogy. Today I will expel him from the family. I, Yu Zheng, have no son like you."
*
Yu Tan hurriedly walked towards Lanfang Courtyard, and just as she reached the lakeside, she ran into Zhao Qiuci, who was practicing her sword.
She pretended not to see it and shrank her neck as she walked towards the artificial hill.
"Yu Tan, how strong was the alcohol last night?" Zhao Qiuci sheathed her sword and caught up with him.
Big, quite big.
Strong liquor emboldens people, and she doesn't even remember how she ended up at Fengxu Courtyard.
"Why are you in such a hurry to leave? Didn't you hear me?" Zhao Qiuci quickly pressed down on her shoulder.
Yu Tan couldn't keep up the act any longer and had to stop. Looking at the sword in Zhao Qiuci's hand, its blade gleaming coldly, she gave an awkward laugh.
"Qiu Ci, you're practicing swordsmanship? Why are you suddenly interested in it?"
"In a few days, I will have a sword-sparring match with Wujiu."
How could she forget that Zhao Qiuci and Shen Wujiu, as the male and female protagonists of a restricted novel, are equally exciting no matter where they clash?
Zhao Qiuci scratched his head. Yu Tan's attitude today was really too strange, too awkward.
The light red dress Yu Tan was wearing seemed to be from yesterday. She leaned closer and sniffed at Yu Tan's neckline, smelling the scent of wine and a cool fragrance.
She felt like she'd smelled this somewhere before, and she frowned in thought.
"What's wrong? Nothing, I'll go back now." Yu Tan hurriedly took a big step back, and as she moved, the collar of her ruqun (a type of traditional Chinese dress) slipped down, revealing her fair nape.
On its slender and graceful neck, like a flower stem, a red mark was clearly visible.
It's very shallow and hidden.
It would have been absolutely impossible for anyone to discover this if it weren't for a chance encounter.
Because of the accident, she had already experienced human affairs, so she naturally knew what it was.
A hickey.
When emotions get the better of me, and I hug you from behind, the marks I leave behind, though I try my best to control them, still leave marks on my fair skin.
"What are you looking at?" Yu Tan quickly covered the back of her neck.
"Come here." Zhao Qiuci said seriously, pulling her behind the artificial hill and hiding her in a corner where no one could see her. "Were you at Fengxu Courtyard last night?"
Yu Tan was like a cat with its fur standing on end, and almost couldn't jump up.
"Was it because you were drunk that Yu He'an lured you away?" Zhao Qiuci asked, heartbroken. "I knew I shouldn't have persuaded you to drink, which led to this terrible mistake."
Yu Tan stared at the patterns on the embroidered shoes.
How could she tell Zhao Qiuci that she had drunk too much last night, went to Fengxu Courtyard, wrote down several of Yu He'an's faults, and then forced herself on him while he was sitting in a chair...
She clearly forgot everything when she was drunk last time, so why does she remember it this time? It would be better to let her forget everything.
She clearly remembered that she thought Yu He'an's kiss was not done properly, so she demonstrated how to kiss her herself, hugging and kissing Yu He'an for a long time.
Finding it too tiring to bend over, he simply sat on Yuhe'an's lap.
Then she got too hot and took off her silk trousers.
If Yu He'an hadn't stopped her, she would have sunk straight down. Fortunately, she was supported for a while to adjust...
"Is it because he forbade you to speak? Go find your father and demand justice." Zhao Qiuci gripped her sword, filled with righteous indignation.
Compared to her elder brother Yu He'an, Zhao Qiuci was definitely on her side.
Yu Tan quickly grabbed her wrist, her voice barely audible.
"What did you say?" Zhao Qiuci's brows furrowed and then relaxed, her eyes widened, and after a long while, she gave a thumbs up. "Impressive... Yu Tan."
Author's Note: MiMao
Passed all exams smoothly.
Thank you for the nutrient solution.
There's really no way to release the previous chapter; the original version can't be published, and using VB or other methods violates the platform's rules. I'm very sorry. [Hugs] I'll see if I can revise it later.
I'll explain later, love you all [hugs]
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