“Eldest Young Master… Oh, Eldest Young Lady is here too.” The butler walked in with a calling card. It was a rare occasion that Xiao Yanyan was present today; she was holding an old book, her profile looking gentle.
Xiao Yanzhi was in the middle of picking coals, with a large incense burner placed beside him. “Uncle Xiao, be careful not to burn yourself.”
Since returning to Jiangling, Xiao Yanyan had been nourished by fine goods daily, and her complexion had improved significantly. Seeing the butler enter, she smiled slightly. “Uncle Xiao, why are you still busy outside in such cold weather? Leave these errands to someone else.”
“Thank you for your concern, Eldest Young Lady,” the butler said with a laugh. “The younger servants are quick, but they are clumsy; if they aren’t careful, they might ruin things.”
Xiao Yanyan lowered her eyes slightly. “Uncle Xiao is still the most thoughtful.”
“Eldest Young Lady is too kind.” The butler bowed his head lovingly and then handed the calling card to Xiao Yanzhi. “Eldest Young Master, it is a calling card from the Princess’s Estate.”
Xiao Yanzhi’s small silver tongs paused. “The Princess’s Estate?”
The butler nodded. “It is a handwritten card from the Third Young Master Xue. It seems he has learned that the Heir is being punished by family law.”
“It would be impossible for him not to know,” Xiao Yanzhi thought. His feelings toward Xue You were contradictory; half of him disliked his background and family status, while the other half, knowing he was his younger brother’s beloved, couldn’t help but be a bit more tolerant.
But no matter how much tolerance he had, as long as Xiao Mingquan did not approve, everything was in vain.
“Don’t let Father know about this calling card.” Xiao Yanzhi put down the silver tongs, took the card from the butler, and flipped through it. “Tell him to go back.”
Xiao Yanyan glanced at the adjacent courtyard. “And we must keep it from Ashi.”
“Yes.” Xiao Yanzhi nodded.
It wasn’t that the siblings intended to be difficult, nor were they afraid of being scolded by Xiao Mingquan because of Xiao Yanshi’s actions; they were simply worried about Xiao Yanshi. There was no need to overthink it—the moment Xiao Yanshi knew Xue You was waiting outside the estate, he would drag his half-crippled legs to see him.
The two only wanted Xiao Yanshi to recover in peace.
The butler left, but returned before long, his expression different this time. Xiao Yanzhi asked him what happened.
“Third Young Master Xue didn’t say much; he only asked me not to tell the Heir that he had been here, and… he left behind a full box of high-quality medicinal herbs.” The butler paused. “They looked like they had been carefully selected…”
“Fine, I understand.” Xiao Yanzhi closed his eyes, speaking slowly after a long time. “It would be better if he weren’t such a good person…”
The words sounded awkward, but Xiao Yanyan understood him. She clutched the book in her hand, a trace of sadness flickering in her eyes. “Such a person is rare.”
“Ashi has never asked us for anything, even this time… he just silently shoulders it all. As for Father… I will go talk to him.”
“You…” Xiao Yanzhi’s heart was complex. In his eyes, Xiao Yanyan had always been gentle and timid fearing their grandfather in the past, then fearing their father, and even now, she was always overly polite to him as her older brother.
Xiao Yanzhi occasionally felt a pang of sorrow: why were his sister and brother always so respectful but distant toward him?
“Forget it, I will go with you.” Xiao Yanzhi sighed. “Father has a short temper and doesn’t know how to speak tactfully. You are a young lady; don’t speak too much later. Just stand behind me.”
Xiao Yanyan was startled. “Brother…”
Xiao Yanshi received one hundred strokes of the rod. Xiao Mingquan had personally administered the first fifty, each swing whistling through the air with power, without a hint of holding back.
The remaining fifty were carried out by the estate’s guards, who did pull their punches, but since the first fifty had already left him torn and bleeding, even the slightest touch afterward was agonizing.
Even though Xiao Yanshi had tempered himself into a man of iron, after one hundred strokes, he tried to rise with great difficulty, only to collapse on the floor.
And he was lying flat on his back…
Wound upon wound, pain upon pain, Xiao Yanshi stayed unconscious for two full days before gradually coming to.
When he woke, there was no one else in the room but Xie Kaiji, who was lying beside his face, playing with the loose threads on his quilt.
Xiao Yanshi: “…” He seems quite amused with himself.
“Oh, you’re awake!” Xie Kaiji, in his excitement, tugged a foot-long thread loose. “…Heh heh, I was simply incredibly bored, so I was just passing the time…”
Xie Kaiji awkwardly tucked the thread into the quilt, leaving Xiao Yanshi speechless.
Xie Kaiji stood up and made a show of going to call someone, but Xiao Yanshi stopped him. “Stay, here… need water…”
“Oh, you want water.” Xie Kaiji scurried off to pour some, only to find the two pots he grabbed were empty.
Xiao Yanshi watched him fussing about, his head throbbing. How has this person managed to survive until now?!
“There’s no water, will tea do?” Xie Kaiji asked with absolute sincerity, his earnest eyes making Xiao Yanshi feel that the man was truly dense, not acting on purpose.
“…Sure.” Xiao Yanshi’s throat felt like it was going to smoke; he couldn’t be bothered to argue at this point.
Xie Kaiji clumsily poured a full cup and strode over, propping Xiao Yanshi up, and began pouring the water before he had even adjusted his posture.
Xiao Yanshi: “…” Is he an enemy in disguise?!
The way he fed him was like feeding him poison, and the tea was cold to boot.
Xiao Yanshi: “…” I’m going to be finished off by this idiot sooner or later!
To avoid dying of thirst, Xiao Yanshi could only drink half a cup from Xie Kaiji’s hand. “Enough, enough, that’s plenty…”
“Oh, you don’t want more? You looked so thirsty, your lips are peeling…” Xie Kaiji was utterly solicitous, making Xiao Yanshi’s skin crawl. “…It’s really enough.”
“Fine then.” Xie Kaiji set the cup aside and lay back down by the bed. “Are you hungry?”
Remembering that half-cup of cold tea, Xiao Yanshi decisively denied it. “No.”
Xie Kaiji was skeptical. “Really?”
“Really.” Xiao Yanshi replied with a straight face. “More true than the fact that I am my father’s legitimate son.”
Xie Kaiji fell silent for a moment. “This is the first time I’ve seen a father beat his own son like this.”
Xiao Yanshi: “…Perhaps you just haven’t seen enough.”
Xie Kaiji shook his head, looking mournful. “I don’t even know what my father looked like…” His sadness lasted only a second before he continued. “But then again, seeing the way your father beats you, I’d rather my father had died young.”
Xiao Yanshi: “…”
Although Xie Kaiji was prone to exaggeration, Xiao Yanshi understood his feelings. But one can never truly understand another’s perspective, so he could only use humor to brush it off. “How long have you been watching over me?” Looking at the dark circles under his eyes and his weary face, he looked as if he hadn’t slept for two or three days.
Xie Kaiji gave a coordinated yawn. “Not that long, actually. I arrived the day before yesterday and have only been with you for two nights. During the day, I have to watch over the manor. The manors in Third Young Master Xue’s hands are quite good; if I manage them right, earning half a restaurant’s worth of profit won’t be a problem.”
After a beating, Xiao Yanshi still had no feeling from the waist down, and he had forgotten all about Xue You.
But some names only need to be gently whispered to ignite a fire that burns across the fields, scorching everything in its path.
Xiao Yanshi lowered his eyes, subconsciously clutching the loose thread Xie Kaiji had been tugging at earlier. “Has anything happened to him recently?”
Xie Kaiji thought for a moment. “No.”
“Three days ago, the Princess Consort followed the Empress to the Royal Temple to pray for blessings; I heard she wouldn’t be back for a month. The Princess Consort’s consort has also been at the Firearms Battalion every day. I reckon his life has been much easier lately.” Xie Kaiji then remembered something else. “During the time you were recovering, he did still come to the manor as usual, but he only stayed for a short while before leaving each time.”
“Did he… say anything?” Xiao Yanshi asked, rarely being this subtle. Xie Kaiji, being the fool he was, didn’t catch the nuance. “He didn’t say anything, only asked me about some medicinal herbs.”
“Medicinal herbs?” Xiao Yanshi beamed. “Did he find out I was beaten?”
Xie Kaiji cast him a look. “You’re still excited after getting beaten up?”
Xiao Yanshi couldn’t be bothered to explain. This virgin was even more clueless than himself; he was in for a rough time later!
“The news of me getting beaten up wouldn’t have spread across the city like last time, would it?” Xiao Yanshi’s train of thought was unique; even now, he could think of this.
Xie Kaiji shook his head decisively. “Very few people know. Xue You asked me, and I only gave a simple explanation…” He looked at Xiao Yanshi’s face. “I just didn’t tell him why you were beaten.”
He shook his head again. “The news of the Marquis’s return to Jiangling is known to everyone. You’ve been holed up in the estate without coming out, and the Marquis has been asking for leave on your behalf. I imagine Xue You could guess it.”
Xiao Yanshi froze. So even if he knew, he didn’t intend to come and see me?
Xie Kaiji immediately sensed Xiao Yanshi’s drooping spirits. He poked the other’s shoulder. “Why do you always ask these things? You should be thinking about what to do next?”
“Next?” Xiao Yanshi was calm. “Recover…”
“The night the Marquis returned, he went to the palace. I heard he spoke with the Emperor for a long time. None of the young eunuchs could enter, so naturally, no one knows what they talked about.” Xie Kaiji let his imagination run wild. “Could it be about your marriage!”
“Nonsense,” Xiao Yanshi denied. “My father beat me first to vent his anger, and then he rushed into the palace overnight. It must be about the Northern Frontier conflict.” Xiao Yanshi understood Xiao Mingquan too well; in his eyes, the war at the Northern Frontier and the safety of the commoners surpassed everything.
As for Xiao Yanshi’s marriage, while he wasn’t certain his father would accept Xue You soon, at the very least, he wouldn’t brazenly defy an imperial decree.
Under heaven, all land belongs to the King. Even if Xiao Mingquan held the military power of the Northern Frontier, once he returned to Jiangling, he was a bowing subject.
The word “transgression” is not difficult to write, but for Xiao Mingquan, defying the Emperor was an impossibility in this lifetime.
“You mean to say the Marquis returned to Jiangling because of the Northern Frontier conflict?” Xie Kaiji was bewildered. “And not because he rushed back specifically for your marriage!”
Xiao Yanshi: “…”
He couldn’t understand at all why Xie Kaiji’s thinking was so erratic.
“My older sister is also getting engaged; the wedding will probably be after the New Year. When she was to be sent back to Jiangling, my father didn’t return personally. Why would you think he would drop the war at the Northern Frontier to rush back because of my marriage?” Xiao Yanshi wanted to open Xie Kaiji’s head to see what was inside.
Xie Kaiji curled his lips. “Listening to you, the Marquis sounds cold-blooded.”
Xiao Yanshi was helpless. “Not cold-blooded, just responsible. I just understand him better than you do.”
Then, before Xie Kaiji could speak again, he suddenly sighed, slumped back in self-abandonment, and looked despondent. “You say, why doesn’t he come to see me?”