With the rumors finally dying down, Yu Huishui could finally focus on his studies. But just as he settled into a few days of quiet reading, Zang Liujiang barged into the study again.
“Wife, we need to go to my fourth…”
Before he even appeared, Zang Liujiang’s voice came from outside the door. He wasn’t worried about disturbing Yu Huishui, as he kicked open the door with a plate of rice cakes in hand. Sure enough, Yu Huishui was still buried in his books, his eyes practically glued to the pages, not even glancing up.
Zang Liujiang glanced at the incense burner on the desk. The incense stick had long since burned out, leaving a small, pitiful incense stick standing in the ashes.
“No more reading.”
Zang Liujiang set down the rice cakes, unusually serious, and scooped Yu Huishui up from under his arms like a kitten, lifting him away from the desk.
“Take a break after one incense stick. How long has it been? The ashes are cold.”
Zang Liujiang touched the incense burner, confirming it was cold, and then felt the warming stone under the desk, which was also cold to the touch.
Yu Huishui smacked his lips, knowing he was in the wrong, and changed the subject by taking a bite of the rice cake. “It’s delicious.”
“If you like it, have more. It was sent by someone from my big brother’s house.” Zang Liujiang, indeed, didn’t hold a grudge and moved closer to grab Yu Huishui’s ink-stained hand.
Zang Liujiang was strong, his palms warm like hot coals. Yu Huishui wanted to pull away, but his hands were cold, so he let Zang Liujiang hold them.
Zang Liujiang’s fingers kneaded Yu Huishui’s fingertips, but he said nothing.
“…Where did you say we were going?”
The atmosphere in the room grew increasingly ambiguous. Yu Huishui felt a bit guilty, and once his hands were warm, he shook off Zang Liujiang’s hand and continued to stuff rice cakes into his mouth.
“My fourth brother sent a message saying he wants to come up the mountain to meet his sister-in-law. We need to intercept him first.”
Zang Liujiang looked troubled, kicking a stool over to sit beside Yu Huishui, looking quite unhappy.
“You don’t want your fourth brother to come up the mountain?”
Yu Huishui sneaked a glance at him, finding Zang Liujiang’s expression amusing, and playfully kicked his shoe.
“My fourth brother is a charlatan.”
Zang Liujiang’s expression was serious as he reached for Yu Huishui’s hand again. “If he says anything to scare you, don’t listen to him. If he tries anything, come to me, and I’ll stand up for you.”
“Is he that scary?” Yu Huishui had never encountered such a person and was naturally curious. “What does your fourth brother say?”
“His divinations are quite accurate, and he can see…unclean things.”
Zang Liujiang lowered his voice, leaning in to scare Yu Huishui like a child. Yu Huishui played along, shrinking his neck and staring wide-eyed. “Really?”
“I don’t think so.”
Zang Liujiang crossed his arms, recalling the “nonsense” Zang Yuan had spouted.
“Some of the things he’s predicted have come true, but the most exaggerated was when he said our father was followed by millions of ghosts.”
“That is a bit much.” Yu Huishui nodded, forming a rough idea of Zang Liujiang’s fourth brother.
“Then why are you so afraid of him?”
Zang Liujiang was hit where it hurt, covering his head. “Back then, he refused to take the position, so it fell to me. Even after taking it, he didn’t stop, forcing me to drink talisman water for half a month and making everyone in the stronghold wear his talismans, holding rituals all day long, causing quite a commotion.”
Yu Huishui stroked his chin, thinking this fourth brother he hadn’t met yet seemed to have some tricks up his sleeve.
The next day, as the sun rose, Yu Huishui deliberately changed into a dress, and Zang Liujiang happily wrapped him in a goose-yellow cloak and carried him onto the horse.
Yu Huishui was confident. A few days ago, even Cuicui and her group of girls hadn’t noticed he was a man, proving the dress was effective. To be safe, he still wore it when going out to meet people.
Zang Liujiang, delighted, held the reins tightly, making the big black horse move slowly, afraid that if it went too fast, he wouldn’t be able to hold his beautiful wife for long.
The big black horse, annoyed, tossed its head, its hooves clattering loudly, almost throwing Zang Liujiang off.
Caught by Yu Huishui, Zang Liujiang finally loosened the reins after getting pinched on the thigh. The big black horse happily lifted its head and trotted down the mountain.
Once they reached the market and dismounted, the two led the big black horse along the market for a while. Yu Huishui thought Zang Liujiang would buy some food and gifts as usual, but unexpectedly, they stopped in front of a stall.
The stall had only an old table, with two banners on either side, one reading “Fortune Telling to Save Lives” and the other “Turn Misfortune into Fortune.”
A man was blocking the stall, cursing and slapping the table, making the copper coins on it jingle.
“You blind man, spouting nonsense! I asked you to tell me when I’d strike it rich, and you said all this nonsense!”
“Hey! I didn’t say anything wrong!”
Zang Yuan, sitting at the stall, sidestepped the man’s hand reaching for his collar, showing no signs of being blind. “I said you’d have bad luck, and you will. Go home and think about it.”
Someone in the crowd recognized the troublemaker and whispered to the person next to them, “Isn’t that the gambling addict from that family? How dare he come for a fortune telling…”
“I heard he lost big at the gambling house yesterday. He’s really in for bad luck.”
The mocking gazes from the crowd stung the already violent man. Unable to save face, he viciously stepped forward, trying to flip the table.
“I’ll make you pay for your nonsense! This won’t end until you compensate me!”
Seeing the table about to flip, Zang Liujiang kicked it, hooking the table leg. With a lift of his leg, the table spun in the air and landed back in place between the man and Zang Yuan.
The copper coins and tortoise shells clattered to the ground, but none of the onlookers dared to pick them up.
“Who do we have here?”
Zang Liujiang stepped on the table leg, grinning, but the smile didn’t reach his eyes. The golden earring in his ear swayed with his bandit-like movements, reflecting a blinding light.
“Isn’t this the guy who broke the gambling ban and was kicked off the mountain a few days ago?”
Hiding in the crowd, holding the big black horse, Yu Huishui suddenly understood. No wonder the man looked familiar. Not long ago, Zang Liujiang had dealt with a group of people with improper behavior. Those who committed serious crimes were immediately punished with the stronghold’s laws, while those who gambled or were violent were packed up and sent down the mountain.
This man was one of them.
“Lost all your belongings gambling and now trying to extort people? Seems the lesson wasn’t enough.”
Zang Yuan remained leisurely seated, his eyes always squinting into crescent moons, a bit sly and shrewd.
The man clearly recognized Zang Liujiang. Seeing him, his arrogance deflated instantly, and he retreated a few steps before turning to run.
With the commotion over, the crowd quickly dispersed. Zang Liujiang couldn’t be bothered with the man’s whereabouts, bending down to quickly clean up the mess on the ground. He said to Zang Yuan, “Why are you still out here fortune-telling? Didn’t I give you money?”
“You don’t understand.”
Zang Yuan chuckled, accepting the copper coins Zang Liujiang handed him. He suddenly turned his head towards the crowd, and even though his eyes were squinted, Yu Huishui could feel a gaze falling on him.
“Cut sleeve, fond of Longyang… Zang Liujiang, you’re something.”
“Don’t scare him.” Zang Liujiang knew he couldn’t hide it from Zang Yuan and didn’t bother explaining, eagerly pulling Yu Huishui over.
“This is Huishui. Wife, this is my fourth brother.”
“Hello, Fourth Brother.”
Yu Huishui maintained his obedient demeanor, polite and proper, leaving no room for criticism.
Zang Yuan glanced over Yu Huishui’s head, quickly returning to his playful demeanor. “No need to be so tense. I’m half-blind, can’t see much.”
Indeed, the gambler had just called him a blind man, and upon closer inspection, Zang Yuan’s half-squinted eyes did seem to have some eye condition.
“Old problem, not completely blind, but I can see shadows.”
Zang Yuan waved his hand in front of his face, able to make out vague shadows moving with the motion. That’s about all he could see.
“No worries, let’s head back.”
Zang Yuan packed up the fortune-telling stall, neatly rolling up his things and putting them in a basket, which Zang Liujiang carried. The group moved forward with the crowd.
The big black horse, which had been obediently following Yu Huishui, eagerly moved forward, sticking close to Zang Yuan, acting very affectionate.
“You opportunist!” Zang Liujiang smacked the horse’s back, earning a guilty snort from the big black horse, which then ignored Zang Liujiang and nuzzled Zang Yuan’s face.
“See that, wife?” Yu Huishui heard Zang Liujiang muttering softly in his ear, “It’s too strange. He hasn’t even fed the big black horse a single blade of grass.”
With that, Zang Liujiang reached out to pat Yu Huishui’s chest, trying to reassure him, but before he could finish saying “don’t be afraid,” his hand was smacked away.
Hearing the sound, Zang Yuan turned his head, glancing at Zang Liujiang, who was rubbing his hand and trying to act calm, and shook his head.
“For your birthday this year, I should get you a pair of iron gloves. Otherwise, how will you withstand all the hits?”
As he turned back, Yu Huishui finally got a chance to take a good look at Zang Yuan’s appearance.
The man was tall and slender, with long black hair tied into a bun with a peach wood hairpin. His skin was fair, and his features were delicate. Though he was thin, he didn’t have Zang Huan’s sickly look, appearing as a handsome young gentleman.
But why were his eyes…
“Sister-in-law.” Zang Yuan shook the hand holding the big black horse, a mysterious smile on his face. “It’s a fair trade.”
Yu Huishui was startled, quickly hiding behind Zang Liujiang, truly frightened by Zang Yuan’s foresight.
The group left the market, gradually reaching residential areas. The empty streets occasionally swept by cold winds. Zang Liujiang reached out to feel the warming stone under Yu Huishui’s cloak, finding it still warm.
“Wife.” Zang Liujiang suddenly remembered something, casually mentioning, “My fourth brother’s house seems to have a prince living there.”
“Okay, okay, a prince… A prince?!”
Yu Huishui thought he had misheard, turning his head sharply, almost bumping his forehead into Zang Liujiang’s chin.
“Really.”
Zang Liujiang took advantage of the moment to pull Yu Huishui closer, continuing, “That guy isn’t a good person. He doesn’t like me and isn’t reasonable. Back then, when my fourth brother refused to come down the mountain, he even came to take him by force, causing quite a commotion.”
As they spoke, the group stopped in front of a grand courtyard. Yu Huishui was shocked, looking at the red doors, white walls, stone pillars, and black tiles, exuding an air of grandeur, even more so than the Fu family.
“This courtyard was bought by him for my brother to live in.”