“Grand Tutor!”
Su Wantang clutched the robe she had hastily pulled over herself and cried out in alarm, “What are you doing? What is the meaning of this?”
Xie Yan looked at her wet hair with an impassive expression. “Second Miss Su always seems to have a unique affinity with water… but I wonder why you are bathing here in the middle of the night?”
“I, I…” Su Wantang stammered, putting on a look of guilty panic. “I bathe when I want to. Is that a crime? Does the Grand Tutor have to manage the bathing hours of others too?”
Xie Yan observed her display of feigned bravado. Remembering the speed at which he had rushed back, he spoke bluntly, “I was pursuing an assassin earlier and coincidentally saw them enter the Cuiwei Pavilion. To avoid wrongly accusing you, Second Miss, I must ask for your cooperation.”
In such a short time, she might not have even had a chance to change her clothes, which was why she had hidden in the tub to conceal herself.
Su Wantang stuttered, “Assassin? I encountered assassins when I went out with the Heir and my sister last time. Are, are there assassins here too?”
“Whether there are or not, Second Miss should know best.”
Even though the delicate and alluring concubine-born daughter of the Marquis’s house before him did not look like an assassin, let alone the ruthless and highly skilled “Red Lotus,” Xie Yan was not one of those Imperial Academy students who coddled beauties. To him, Su Wantang was merely a suspect—a suspect who had appeared at both the Juyun Water Pavilion and near him, both times under suspicious circumstances!
Su Wantang shrank back and shook her head. “I, I don’t understand.”
“That is fine.” Xie Yan’s tone was calm to the point of indifference. “Second Miss Su need only stand up.”
“What?”
Su Wantang’s eyes widened. Following her shock and disbelief, a wave of profound humiliation surged, and her lips trembled. “Grand Tutor, you… you go too far.”
But Xie Yan remained unmoved by her teary, pitiable appearance. “It would be best for you to cooperate. I am the only one here. If we delay any longer, I fear the more people will be startled…”
Xiaotao shivered in fear. “Miss.”
Su Wantang’s lips quivered. “The Grand Tutor is powerful and insists on humiliating me. As a mere concubine-born daughter, I have no choice… very well.”
As she finished speaking, she closed her eyes and stood up directly from the tub.
The robe she had hastily wrapped around her barely covered her thighs, and her fair, slender legs trembled slightly… There was no black night-suit.
Xie Yan’s eyelashes fluttered as he narrowed his eyes, yet he continued to move forward.
Su Wantang’s heart tightened. Thinking of the night-suit she was stepping on at the bottom of the tub, she released her grip. “If the Grand Tutor is still not satisfied, I will come out like this for you to inspect…”
The wrapped robe fell into the tub like flower petals unfolding on the water’s surface. Su Wantang covered her chest with her arms, tears streaming down her face, as she made a move to step out.
Xie Yan paused, silent for a moment, before turning away. “My apologies.”
The next instant, he pulled the nearby screen over to firmly block the front of the tub and called out, “Zhichiu.”
“Yes, Master.”
A group of people walked in immediately. Xie Yan, still with his back to Su Wantang, said coldly, “For the sake of security, I must search the room. These men are eunuchs, so please bear it for a moment, Second Miss Su.”
Su Wantang sobbed in silence, submerging herself deeper into the hot water. With her head bowed, the robe floating on the water’s surface firmly obstructed any view.
Sounds of rummaging filled the room. Beside the tub, Xiaotao felt lingering fear. Fortunately, her mistress had been cautious and had not hidden the night-suit in her undergarments. Seeing these eunuchs shake out every single piece of clothing—from the rafters down to the petticoats and undergarments—she knew that had it been hidden in its original place, they would not have escaped this ordeal.
Not long after, the rummaging ceased. Zhichiu and his group had meticulously returned every item of clothing and accessory to its proper place before bowing to Xie Yan from behind the screen. “Master.”
Xie Yan asked, “Well?”
“There is nothing unusual.”
Xie Yan gave a curt acknowledgment. “Retire.”
Zhichiu and his men exited, and silence returned to the room. Just as Xie Yan frowned, about to speak, Zhao Xuanzhen and Su Huajin rushed in.
Zhao Xuanzhen had been astonished to hear that Xie Yan had surrounded the Cuiwei Pavilion. Since the entire mansion had been stirred, he could not arrive immediately and had first gone to find Su Huajin. Entering the room and seeing the figure behind the screen, Zhao Xuanzhen instinctively moved forward, then hesitated and signaled to Su Huajin.
Su Huajin walked in. Her brow furrowed upon seeing Xie Yan and then Su Wantang, who was huddled in the tub.
Suppressing her shock, she bowed to Xie Yan. “Cousin, is something amiss here?”
Xie Yan glanced at Zhao Xuanzhen outside before walking out. “My shadow guards were pursuing an assassin and sensed a presence entering the Cuiwei Pavilion. Out of concern for Second Miss Su’s safety, I came to investigate.”
Su Huajin was even more suspicious. She certainly didn’t believe Xie Yan’s understated “came to investigate.” She subconsciously remarked, “But Wantang is a young lady of noble house, Cousin, you…”
Xie Yan looked toward the screen, vaguely hearing Su Wantang sobbing softly.
At this moment, Wen Jian and Xun He finished their search and walked to the door. They bowed to Zhao Xuanzhen before approaching their master, shaking their heads.
Xie Yan’s brow slowly furrowed… Could he have truly guessed wrong?
Zhao Xuanzhen finally could not help but frown. “What is actually going on?”
Xie Yan did not hide it. “I was attacked earlier by the same assassin from the Juyun Water Pavilion.”
Zhao Xuanzhen’s expression froze, and he instantly understood why Xie Yan had made such a grand show of force. If the trail of the Red Lotus assassin had truly been found, it was no small matter, but…
Zhao Xuanzhen looked toward the screen. “What does this have to do with her?”
Xie Yan remained impassive. “I suspect the assassin snuck onto my carriage from the mansion. Since I have sealed the estate, if she wanted to return to conceal her identity… the only possibility would be through the underground waterways.” He glanced toward the screen again. “Last time at the Juyun Water Pavilion, Second Miss Su happened to fall into the water. Today, she is bathing late at night… It is too much of a coincidence.”
Such coincidences made it difficult for him to believe otherwise.
Zhao Xuanzhen was speechless. “She was pushed into the water by the Fifth Princess before the assassin appeared last time, as you saw yourself. Today, she…” He glanced at Su Huajin and signaled for Xie Yan to step outside with him.
Xie Yan frowned and followed him out. Zhao Xuanzhen’s expression was slightly uncomfortable. “She is bathing tonight because I was here earlier… It truly is a coincidence.”
“You were here?” Xie Yan frowned instantly. “As the husband of her elder sister…”
He stopped mid-sentence as he realized something, and his eyes filled with a deep sense of distaste toward Zhao Xuanzhen.
Zhao Xuanzhen coughed and touched his nose, sighing helplessly. “Besides us, only you know that Huajin cannot conceive.”
Xie Yan had arranged the doctor during their previous consultation for the sake of discretion. Upon hearing this, Xie Yan’s brow furrowed. “So, you intend to take your wife’s concubine-born sister as a concubine? If I recall correctly, you once declared… that you would never take a concubine.”
Zhao Xuanzhen and Xie Yan were as close as brothers, so he did not hide it, saying sheepishly, “Huajin’s intent is to properly settle her elsewhere after the child is born… That is why it must be kept secret.” He pulled at the corner of his mouth. “The secondary consort in the Prince’s mansion, Lady Xiao, is watching like a hawk. This is the safest way… In any case, Su Wantang broke her engagement to pursue me with her own designs; we are simply taking what we each need.”
After saying this, Zhao Xuanzhen suddenly remembered the look on Su Wantang’s face earlier when he had interrogated her—teary-eyed, claiming to have fallen for him at first sight, and that she had not entered the Prince’s mansion for the sake of wealth.
But what did that matter? He would not take a concubine, and Su Huajin could not raise someone else’s child; she wanted an heir to the Prince’s mansion who carried the Su family bloodline. Su Wantang was the only option.
Xie Yan suddenly realized what the marks on the fair, jade-like knees of Su Wantang were when she had stood up earlier…
Thinking of those degenerate, hidden traces, the pure and upright Grand Tutor felt an inexplicable discomfort in his heart, yet he was not one to interfere in the private lives of others. Since the offense had been his, he spoke calmly after a moment of silence: “The situation was unique, and I have greatly offended Second Miss Su… Please convey my apologies, and I am willing to offer reparations and compensation.” He said to Zhao Xuanzhen, “If she has any requests, just let me know.”
With that, Xie Yan turned and strode away without looking back…
Though Su Wantang had demeaned herself as a noble lady to enter the inner chambers of her sister’s household, it was her own choice; she should not be subjected to humiliation because of it. His actions had warranted an apology… Yet, Zhao Xuanzhen’s conduct was nonetheless preposterous.
Xie Yan left with his group. Not long after exiting the Cuiwei Pavilion, his pace faltered, and he closed his eyes, inhaling deeply. Wen Jian hurriedly produced a porcelain bottle, poured out a pill, and handed it over. “Master.”
Xie Yan took the pill and placed it directly into his mouth. He was currently undergoing a regimen and was not supposed to exert his internal energy… He had done so to pursue the Red Lotus, and now the symptoms were recurring as a result…