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En
T/N: Translated by Jen on Broken Jinsei! Please do not repost my translations! All translations outside of Broken Jinsei are stolen and reposted without permission!
When Xun Che’s stern voice came out, Yu Lingxin’s entire body just jolted, feeling her legs going soft, both wanting to quickly flee, yet also wanting to cry out to the similarly frightened Ming Huayue, ‘Madam, save me.’
However, Xun Che’s gaze was truly too sharp, and in the end, she was still frightened to the point of completely not daring to move, really just freezing on the spot, both obedient and timid.
“Mother.” Xun Che finally turned around again, directly facing Ming Huayue, just slightly hanging his head. In his deferential and upright figure, there was already a cold air, his voice heavy like water, “Does mother have any other instructions or lectures?”
He really was angered. This time, even Ming Huayue’s expression was all somewhat unnatural, “No more, no more.”
“Really don’t have any other younger brother or sister?” Xun Che didn’t lift his head to look directly at Ming Huayue, just that firmly kneeling upright in front of his mother, also not having the intention of getting up, “If mother still has some enormous surprise for this son, then why don’t you just bestow it altogether.”
Ming Huayue couldn’t help but glance at Yu Lingxin. Yu Lingxin was also full of regret, hesitating for a moment before going forward half a step and softly saying, “Shizi……..”
Xun Che didn’t pay Yu Lingxin any attention, instead raising his brow as he finally gazed towards Ming Huayue, “Mother?”
Ming Huayue’s eyes once again flickered, “There really isn’t anything else. Just now was merely a joke——–”
Hearing this, Xun Che bowed and said, “Since that’s the case, if mother doesn’t have any other instructions, then this son will send Huijun back first.” After saying this, he just got up. When standing up, his left hand supported his aching knees while clenching his teeth.
Seeing this little movement of his, Yu Lingxin’s heart also twitched along with, yet at the same time, also felt her scalp going numb. She completely didn’t dare imagine how Xun Che will lash out later in the carriage. She forced out an apologetic smile, “No need, I can just go back myself——-”
However, after Xun Che retreated two steps, he was already before her, sweeping a glance over, sharp like a blade. Yu Lingxin could only once again lower her head, “Will…….be troublin shizi.”
Ming Huayue actually still attempted to explain a few words, “Che’er, just now, it was actually I………”
“Mother should rest early.” Xun Che once again bowed, “We will be leaving first.”
It wasn’t good for Ming Huayue to say more and could only see off the pitiful Yu Lingxin who was ready to die for a righteous cause.
Very soon, they arrived at the second gate and mounted the horse carriage. Xun Che can be considered to have completely received permission in front of Ming Huayue, openly climbing onto the same carriage as Yu Lingxin.
Just, from Ming Huayue’s main courtyard to the second gate, then onto the carriage, this entire way, Xun Che unexpectedly didn’t say a single word.
Yu Lingxin at first was still very nervous, also having prepared the words to explain to him. However, it wasn’t just silence on the way over, even for a good while in the carriage, Xun Che’s handsome face was still undisturbed, not having the slightest expression, properly sitting separately on the two sides of the carriage with Yu Lingxin. In fact, he didn’t even give her a glance.
TN: All translations outside of Broken Jinsei are stolen and reposted without permission!
Speaking of which, this was probably the most proper Xun Che has been ever since they reunited in this lifetime.
But, this kind of silence nevertheless made Yu Lingxin even more unbearable. He although was very scary when angry, but not speaking and not getting angry like this was even scarier.
She thought for a moment, also not knowing how to explain. The one that wanted to scare him like this was naturally Ming Huayue. Although at present, she’d also given her the accessory set, for the most part considering to have accepted her, but Ming Huayue probably still feel that she’d gotten schemed against by Xun Che, so had the tiny intention of retaliating.
Regarding this bit, Yu Lingxin felt that she didn’t need to explain. Xun Che should be able to think of it. Where did she have the guts to come up with this kind of idea for her future mother-in-law? And on the other hand, Ming Huayue asking her to play along, how can she not listen and not cooperate? Could it be fearing that the matter of the two of them having a love affair prior to marrying wasn’t exposed enough?
Very soon, the horse carriage reached Huakang street. This really was close to arriving at the Yu manor. However, Xun Che still didn’t say a single word, not even giving her an extra glance.
Yu Lingxin ultimately gave in first, voluntarily asking, “Shenzhi, should we go around for a little while longer?”
Xun Che extended his hand towards the wooden partition, knock, knock knock, knock, two long, two short, knocking four times. Chen Qiao immediately pulled the reins and responded, “Second younger master?”
Xun Che didn’t utter a sound, just glancing at Yu Lingxin.
Yu Lingxin was helpless, instructing Chen Qiao herself, “Troubling you to slightly go around for a little while before going to my residence. Shizi and I still have things to say.”
Seeing Xun Che not speak, but also not opposing, Chen Qiao bowed in response, directly turning the horse carriage around, going in the other direction.
Seeing Xun Che about to turn his face to look out the right carriage window again, Yu Lingxin hurriedly went over to sit next to him, tugging his sleeve, “Shenzhi——–”
Xun Che just let her tug, also turning his face over, “En?”
Yu Lingxin was the most scared of this expressionless appearance of his, completely not knowing where to start pacifying. Moreover, in the last lifetime, he has never gotten angry at her before. At this time, she could only bite her lips, directly acknowledging her mistake, “I was wrong, don’t be angry.”
“En.” He responded, swift like as if not responding.
Since the first words already came out, the ones afterwards were just much easier. Yu Lingxin directly coiled around his lower arm along his sleeve, softly saying, “I shouldn’t have cooperated with madam, also not giving you a signal, letting you worry. This was my fault. Please be magnanimous and don’t blame me, alright?”
Xun Che’s eyes didn’t have the slightest ripple, “En.”
Seeing how the expression on his face still didn’t have any change, and thinking it over again, Yu Lingxin just felt increasingly apologetic, “I……..I know, for the sake of our marriage arrangements, you have gone through a lot of trouble, cautiously taking every step, planning for this long, so I shouldn’t have tried to scare you. Really, really, I know I was wrong.”
This time, Xun Che didn’t even make a sound in response, once again turning to gaze out of the carriage window.
“Xun Che!” Yu Lingxin really didn’t know what else to say. After calling out, she just directly lifted his arm, propping against her own shoulder, and voluntarily hugged him, “Don’t ignore me!”
Xun Che finally turned to gaze at her who was in his arms, his eyes already softening.
Just, he still remained silent.
Yu Lingxin’s heart suddenly turned sour. She suddenly understood Xun Che’s feelings.
He wasn’t angry, at least not completely.
He was probably really scared in that moment, just like those remaining nightmares of the past life that were hidden deep in his heart, unable to recount, and also unable to escape from.
“Shenzhi………” She lightly called out again.
Xun Che just lowered his head and kissed her, his movements both light and gentle, not having the least bit of anger and irritation that Yu Lingxin previously thought there would be. His arm firmly held her, his kiss very focused and full of deep feelings, as if everything that happened previously were all perfect bliss, and she was precisely the most precious treasure in his palm.
A while later, Xun Che finally let go, letting Yu Lingxin whose cheeks were bright red be able to catch her breath for a moment. Afterwards, he once again had her taken into his arms, but still not speaking.
“Shenzhi…” Yu Lingxin leaned in his arm. A moment later, once her breathing completely settled down, she finally softly said, “You don’t need to worry. The things in the past really are all in the past. I will be by your side, always will. Even if there’s some difficulty, do you still not know my feelings? Taking a step back, even if there’s some unforeseen change that we are unable to resist, even if becoming your concubine, I’m also willing.”
“Nonsense.” Xun Che finally opened his mouth, also holding her even tighter, “If to let you be wronged again in this life, then I would’ve relived for nothing.” He paused for a moment, also sighing, “Just, thousands of schemes, there’s ten thousand ways of using. I’ve always posed as being resourceful and full of schemes, while also believing myself to have the ability to deal with any kind of change, yet never expected that I would just become frantic this easily, heh.”
His voice just this deeply sounded by her ear. Yu Lingxin just felt her entire heart getting wrung. She truly was unable to listen to this kind of lonely and dejected voice of his. It made her heartache even more than when his body got injured.
Yu Lingxin lightly struggled free from Xun Che’s arm, turning around and facing his directly. She didn’t know what else can be said, so just bit her lips, voluntarily embracing his neck and kissing him.
This kind of compensation method, Xun-shizi still kindly accepted.
Just, after lingering on this long kiss for quite some time, when Yu Lingxin was already thoroughly red to the point of being unable to catch her breath, he still whispered by her ear the words that he’d been thinking about for a long time, “Huijun, I bear grudges.”
“Oh?” When Yu Lingxin faintly felt something amiss, Xun Che already lowered his head for a third kiss.
Finally, this seventh of the tenth month, in Yu Lingxin’s memories, seemingly compared to the day before that was full of disturbances, went by even more slowly.
Meanwhile, for the capital, from top to bottom, this entire tenth month of Tianxu year 13 was all very slow and lively.
Because, in less than two days after that resounding and luxurious flower banquet at the Cheng’en Duke Manor on the sixth of the tenth month awkwardly ended, that chaotic warfare during Xuan Emperor’s reign that was discussed enthusiastically by the later generations the most just pulled open its curtains.
The first to launch an attack was the Cheng’en Duke Manor. That day, the Capital Magistrate Office had coordinated in searching the manor, causing a huge disturbance, wanting to find some notorious bandit in front of guests from nearly a hundred upper class households of the capital. Yet, in the end, aside from discovering a few students that had skipped class to play, and a servant boy that was in charge of guarding the storeroom secretly drinking wine, there were no other gain, yet a third of the frightened guests ended up leaving. The atmosphere of the entire banquet was completely brought to an end. How could the Zhu family let go of this matter? They naturally wanted the Capital Magistrate Office to give an explanation.
The Capital Magistrate naturally was unwilling to acknowledge, directly taking out the witness testimony and material evidence during the negotiation prior to searching the Cheng’en Duke Manor that day. Although unable to prove whether or not an old habitual criminal had snuck into the Zhu manor or not, but because the responsibility of searching the manor that day was enormous, when negotiating, they were actually sufficiently cautious, practically just short of asking for the Cheng’en Duchess’s handwritten permission to search the manor.
Just, the outcome of this search was that they indeed didn’t find a thief, so the Zhu family just used this bit to endlessly denounce them, strongly advocating the Capital Magistrate Office’s negligence, incompetence, and so on. After disputing for two days upon the imperial court, the Ministry of Justice’s Bureau of Theft Arrest[1], and the Judicial Court all got dragged in as well, with the various sides mutually passing on the blame and disputing, another chaotic mess.
Finally, at the end of the court meeting on the tenth of the tenth month, it was still the Capital Magistrate Office that had the lightest weight that got the worst of it. The Capital Magistrate, Jiang Qisheng, was suspended from his post, awaiting to be sentenced.
However, just when the Cheng’en Duke Manor was immensely pleased, finally feeling that they’d slightly vented out this anger, a few hours later, the Capital Magistrate Office along with the Ministry of Justice’s Bureau of Theft Arrest just caught an old escaped criminal of twelve years in one of the Zhu family’s stores.
From the preliminary trial, they learned that this old criminal had already changed his name and have been away for many years, secretly working as an assistant shopkeeper for the Zhu family’s store in the outer regions, having only entered the capital a few months ago to deliver goods. Because he didn’t get discovered, he just thought that the old records have already been annulled, even openly entering the Cheng’en Duke Manor to deliver goods. As for why they didn’t discover him when searching the manor that day, it was because while the people of the magistrate office were arguing with the Zhu family’s steward, he’d already handed over the goods and went out through another corner gate.
When this matter passed onto the imperial court, there was immediately an uproar. The Capital Magistrate Jiang Qisheng’s teacher, the Head Minister of Justice Chen Min practically was about to have the documents directly thrown onto the Cheng’en Duke’s face, immediately accusing the Zhu family of not being strict in governing the family, privately sheltering a criminal, endangering the nobles, making false countercharges against honest and good people, and so on.
For things to have come to this step, never mind Noble Consort Zhu having some deep imperial favor, even if Cihui Empress Dowager was still alive, Xuan Emperor was still unable to be partial towards the Zhu family. At the same time, while having no choice but to immediately restore the Capital Magistrate’s post, he also reprimanded the Cheng’en Duke Manor and gave an order to rigorously interrogate the thief, imposing martial law on the four gates of the capital, tracking down any accomplices.
When this kind of marvelous story with many twists and turns passed onto Yu Lingxin’s ear, she was sitting in Yuli Hall verifying the accounting records and straightening out the arrangements of the servants in the entire manor during Xun old madam’s birthday banquet that day, while Xun Che was sitting across from her, holding a small knife inlaid with gold peeling a pear, casually telling her this story.
Just, that tone was very ordinary, seemingly as if the ups and downs of these disputes in court weren’t even nearly as important as the long and thin pear skin that still haven’t broke of in his hand.
Yu Lingxin lifted her eyes to look at him, “The last line is the important part, right? Imposing martial law on the capital, this is for the sake of——-”
A trace of mockery emerged on Xun Che’s lips, his slender fingers steadily spinning the sharp blade in hand, “Since she has the ability to return to the capital alone, then I rather want to see how she will go out now.”
[1] To be honest, I’m not completely sure how to translate this, but the name of this bureau literally is just ‘Bureau of Arresting Bandits’, so at least their function is very clear-cut. As far as I know, this bureau is completely made up by the author.
T/N: Technically speaking, the Zhu family is also the emperor’s maternal family.
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So convoluted, just to catch his cousin!
how many bandits are in this era that they need a whole bureau for them alone? maybe it’s just for theatrics?
Bandits were quite common back then. Mostly due to the huge wealth gap between the rich and poor. For example, if natural disaster happens and a bunch of peasants lose their home and land, a lot will have no choice but to become bandits to survive. Not just disasters, but also corruption, heavy taxes, oppression, and etc. can all force poor farmers down that path. Although this bureau also includes theft which is a very common crime in general.
whoops… this kinda backfired for them 😅😅😅