Chapter 47 Who do you like?
The army returned victorious, driving the barbarians out of the border, and Yu Zheng went to the palace to report on his duties.
The younger generation followed Yu He'an back to the Marquis's residence. The moment he saw Zhao Qiuci, their five-point resemblance in appearance and their equally indifferent attitude towards external affairs spoke volumes about the connection in their blood.
"Ah, brother." Zhao Qiuci stopped five meters away from the gate of the mansion. She was clearly not used to this form of address, and in this place, she even stumbled over her words.
Upon hearing this address, Yu He'an was momentarily dazed, recalling the scene he had witnessed on the street earlier, and he dug his fingertips into his palm.
He couldn't understand why he still wanted to get entangled with Chu Minglang.
"Go back to the manor. Your grandmother is waiting for you there. She has been talking about you for a long time."
Zhao Qiuci stood motionless in front of the mansion gate. This was clearly her real home, yet she couldn't find any sense of belonging.
"I'd better not go in..." She only went to Bianjing to investigate the case. She found some information about her adoptive father's death in battle in the military camp, but she didn't believe any of the truth revealed by those clues.
The kind of person a foster mother would choose is definitely not that kind of person.
She needs to overturn the verdict quickly; she wants to return to Liangzhou.
Since she joined the army in a fit of pique a year ago, she initially received replies from Zhao Qingwu when she wrote back to Liangzhou, but for the past six months, she hasn't received a single letter.
"Yu Tan isn't here, go inside quickly."
Before the news of Yu Tan being kicked out of the mansion reached the border, Shen Qiuci assumed that Yu Tan had left the mansion to avoid suspicion. She had long heard of Yu Tan's arrogant reputation and knew that she was not someone to be trifled with.
If the two of them started arguing on her very first day back at the manor, not only would she lose face, but the Marquis's manor would also be disgraced.
While Zhao Qiuci was still hesitating, Granny Liu came out with a radiant face and happily welcomed her inside.
Shen Wujiu and Yu He'an only met once. Yu Tan had saved him back then, and he owed her a life-saving favor. Before joining the army, he had thought about seeing her again to repay her kindness.
But now, his savior has become the culprit who caused his loved one to be forced to wander the countryside.
Gratitude was mixed with some resentment; he would only wait for an opportunity to repay this kindness and then cut off all contact with her.
The person had been delivered, and he clasped his hands in farewell to Yu He'an.
The imperial court arranged a post station for them, and he turned around and tapped Jiang Tingfeng on the shoulder.
"Let's go. The Marquis has gone to the palace. It's not proper for us to stay here."
Jiang Tingfeng said in a deep voice, "You go first."
Shen Wujiu looked at Jiang Tingfeng. Despite having been on the battlefield together so many times, he still couldn't figure him out.
This kid has always had a strange air about him. He's unpredictable in his military campaigns, and when he goes into battle, he doesn't care about his own life at all. He rises in rank quickly and fiercely, but he still fights like a madman. He's also full of ulterior motives. No matter how much you get to know him, he's unwilling to become close to you.
He had heard that Jiang Tingfeng seemed to have someone he liked in Bianjing. He had seen him writing a letter by chance, and the rare tenderness he felt was like a bloody thread tied around the neck of a vengeful ghost, allowing him to still walk in the world and still be called a human being.
Before returning to the capital in triumph, it is customary to send a letter to report that you are safe and sound.
He hadn't received a letter from Jiang Tingfeng, and he had even teased him about it. Jiang Tingfeng just glanced at him coldly, then sat on the hillside behind the camp, enjoying the breeze all afternoon.
Shen Wujiu wasn't the type to fawn over someone who wouldn't listen. The only person who could make him back down and treat him kindly no matter what was done was Zhao Qiuci. He then turned to the other generals, and the group left happily.
For a moment, only Yu He'an and Jiang Tingfeng remained.
"You need something from me?" Yu He'an stood in front of the stone lion. He had only met Jiang Tingfeng a few times when they were young. He only started to notice Jiang Tingfeng again when Old Madam Song had previously proposed his marriage to Yu Tan.
Jiang Tingfeng took a step closer: "Yu He'an, are you investigating the case of Zhao Ziyin, the former Minister of Rites?"
"Under investigation."
"Do you know why Zhao Qiuci asked you to investigate? Or rather, did Zhao Qiuci find irrefutable evidence of Xie Ling's collusion with the enemy and treason back then, but he didn't believe it? Did he have no choice but to turn to this case?"
Who is Xie Ling?
Yu Tan's biological father.
Originally just a carefree wanderer, he by chance saved Zhao Qingwu, the wife of the Minister of Rites, who was sentenced to exile for embezzling funds intended for flood control.
The two traveled for a while, but ordinary people had no way to appeal their cases, while those above them had connections to the highest levels.
Xie Ling secretly joined the army without Zhao Qingwu's knowledge. At the height of his power, he led 30,000 troops and died in Liaoshan Valley.
He coldly sized up Jiang Tingfeng without saying a word. Jiang Tingfeng's eyes reddened, like a trapped beast making its last, dying struggle.
It was as if he had found a victim like himself, and he poured out all his pain and resentment.
His envisioned life was to uncover the truth behind his parents' deaths, avenge them, and rise through the ranks based on his military achievements. Even if Yu Tan was a noblewoman, he would never wrong her in the latter half of his life.
But what was once a sweet feeling in my heart turned into the sharpest knife, cutting through flesh and revealing a bloody mess inside.
"Do you really not hate Yu Tan?" He practically squeezed those words out from between his teeth.
"After investigating for so many years, we only glimpsed a corner of the situation before rushing to a conclusion."
“All the evidence points to Xie Ling’s treason. I will continue to investigate…” Jiang Tingfeng glanced into the Marquis’s residence. The red walls and high pavilions offered no glimpse of the man. He stepped back. “If this is the truth, what will you do?”
"Jiang Tingfeng, are you asking me or asking yourself? You know your own answer, and there's no need to tell you mine."
If you truly believe Xie Ling killed your parents, then stay away from Yu Tan. Don't drag her into the grudges of the previous generation, or I'll be ruthless towards you.
Jiang Tingfeng stepped back, turned around and took a few steps. He couldn't finish his sentence, even though he was saying "on behalf of..." to Yu Tan.
Back then, there were no entanglements from the previous generation, and countless letters contained only a greeting.
He was afraid she would miss him, and also afraid she would forget him.
On the street, she clearly saw that Yu Tan was with someone else. Jealousy and unspoken love intertwined. Now, there was a sea of hatred between them. It was better to miss each other.
*
Yu Tan ran in a hurry and returned to the small courtyard panting heavily. It was really not a good time to go out. Every time she went out, she saw people she didn't want to see. She should ask Aunt He to buy an almanac and put it in the house so she could flip through it every time she went out.
As the early summer heat gradually rises, the suppressed restlessness deep within resurfaces.
She stood by the courtyard gate for a while before she recovered.
Chu Minglang was unwilling to help, which she had anticipated. She mentioned that Lingnan would send medicinal herbs later, but she understood the polite words and knew that she needed to find another day to go to Doctor Xue's place to treat her ailments.
"My lady, it's just in time for you to come back." Aunt He had just popped her head out of the kitchen when she went back inside, and in a few dozen breaths she brought out a plate of taro cake.
The purple taro cakes were shaped into various forms, including little rabbits, foxes, and jackals.
"Come quickly, come quickly, my wife." Aunt He pulled her to the back door of the small courtyard, where two small stools were placed under a large locust tree, and the back door of the courtyard was ajar.
A gentle breeze drifted in, but it didn't alleviate her anxiety. She could only sit on the small stool, legs together.
Outside the courtyard, a joyous chorus of music and singing filled the air, followed by a burst of lively firecrackers.
"Is a girl next door getting married?" She peeked through the crack in the door. Aunt He was a lively person and had brought her over to see the girl next door getting married.
Aunt He shook her head and said mysteriously, "Originally, no one lived next door. It was only after a scandal involving the Minister's family that they hurriedly moved people in."
Rumor has it that she was the illegitimate daughter of a high-ranking official, who fell into the water at a banquet and, soaking wet, wandered into a man's room.
Her hand holding the taro cake trembled. Wasn't this part of the plot Li Xu had orchestrated for her?
Could it be that yet another unfortunate young woman has been deceived by Li Xu?
"It doesn't have to come to that point, right? As long as we keep it a secret... there's still room for maneuver." She took a small bite of the taro cake.
"If that were the case, it wouldn't have come to the point of marriage. The strange thing is that when the young lady entered the house, the young man inside was drugged with aphrodisiacs, and the young lady and the young man had a one-night stand."
Later, upon further investigation, it was discovered that the woman herself had administered the drug, but she had targeted the wrong person. She intended to give it to her son, but accidentally administered it to her father instead.
I'm a heartless man; I married such a delicate young woman, only to have her as a concubine.
The Minister's family lost face and wouldn't allow her to marry through the mansion gates; she had to marry from her mother's private residence, so they moved next door.
As soon as Aunt He finished speaking, the maid helped the bride out of the mansion gate and into the sedan chair. When the maid turned to the side, she saw the maid's face clearly. It was Caixia, the one who led her to change clothes on the day she fell into the water at the Li mansion.
It was obvious who was in the sedan chair. Little did anyone expect that Li Xu would one day be defeated by her own methods.
She wanted to use despicable means to arrange her lover's marriage, but unexpectedly she ended up in her lover's father's bed and became his concubine.
Aunt He continued nagging, "He's got too many crooked ideas."
The bridal sedan chair had already been carried away. She looked at the firecrackers scattered all over the ground, leaving only the embers of joy.
Her entanglement with Li Xu had finally come to an end. She sat at the back gate of the small courtyard, finished the last piece of taro cake, and could no longer hold on. The suppressed heat after seeing Chu Minglang came back at her, and she could only get back into the house with the help of Aunt He.
"My dear wife, something's not right. Did you eat something bad?"
Although she also ate the taro cake, she was not as delicate as Yu Tan. Yu Tan kept pressing her lower abdomen, as if her stomach was in great discomfort.
"It's nothing, I didn't eat anything bad. I'll be fine after lying down for a while. You can go now."
She buried herself in the blanket, and the soreness in her lower abdomen became more pronounced.
"If you need anything, my lady, just call me. I'll be right here in the courtyard."
Aunt He had no choice but to lower the gauze curtain and leave. The curtain blocked out the light and shadow, making it impossible for her to tell the time. She lay on the bed for a while, but the heat did not subside at all, and the feeling of heaviness in her lower abdomen intensified.
It was so hot. She pulled her collar tighter, but still felt like she couldn't breathe.
She forced herself out of the room. It was already completely dark, and the silver moon hung in the sky—a day for family reunion.
She leaned against the wall and groped her way to the outhouse to relieve herself, sweating profusely in her haste.
No, absolutely not.
She squatted there for a while before slowly returning to the house.
"Where are you going?" Yu He'an stood behind the gauze curtain, her face hidden by the sky-blue curtain, so her expression could not be seen, and her tone was cold.
She originally thought that Yu He'an would not return tonight. Tonight, Zhao Qiuci and Yu Zheng returned to the mansion, which was supposed to be a day for their family reunion.
Where did you go?
For a moment, she didn't even know whether Yu He'an was asking about the morning or where she had just gone.
"Yaoyao, why are you in such a hurry to see Chu Minglang?" Yu He'an lifted the gauze curtain and walked quickly to her, getting so close that he was only an arm's length away.
The heat became more pronounced, making her feel uncomfortable. She stepped back, saying, "It was just a coincidence."
“He’s very close to you.” Yu He’an took another step closer, and they were now only a fist’s distance apart. She was enveloped in the scent of cedarwood.
I feel uncomfortable, hot, and the bloating in my lower abdomen is getting worse.
"Brother, could you please move away from me? I feel terrible..." She pushed Yu He'an's shoulder away, but he didn't budge and even moved closer to her.
“When he’s so close to you, you seem to enjoy it.”
"I...I didn't..."
Her wrist was grabbed, and the thin gauze slid up, revealing her wrist, which had been pinched red. How long and how much force had been used to pinch it into this state?
"Yu Tan, can you distinguish between lovers and friends?"
Do you know who you really like?
She suddenly looked up, and a strange emotion surged in her glassy eyes.
Before she could figure it out, a large hand stroked her cheek, the fingertip caressing the small mole under her lip.
It's like setting fires everywhere.
She turned her face away impatiently, but her chin was grabbed and Yu He'an's face got closer and closer, and her heart was pounding so fast it felt like it was going to jump out of her chest.
Warm lips replaced fingertips, pressed tightly against the small red mole beneath her lips, lingering for several breaths, warm and moist.
A sticky, lingering passion seeped into my heart.
All she could think about was why Yu He'an kissed her.
The moment his lips touched hers, she even mistook them for his kiss on her lips—how could she have such an absurd thought?
"Yaoyao, why didn't you push me away?"
He gripped her wrist tightly with his fingers, her breathing quickened, and her heart pounded wildly.
"Your heart is beating so fast, Yao Yao. Can you tell now? Who do you like?"
The heat and bloating came on so quickly and intensely that she could barely stand.
Author's Note: Thank you, MiMao. Foodie Baby Nutritional Solution.
[Shy][Milk Tea][Keep it up!]
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