Zhou Yu was the first to react. Xu Zhuling had been hiding perfectly well—how was he supposed to explain Xie Bohuai’s actions to Ye Wanning?
His face darkened with humiliation and anger. “Commander Xie, what do you mean by drawing your sword in my room?”
“Does Zhenfu Si need to explain itself to you?” Xie Bohuai swept a cold glance over him.
Arrogant.
Disdainful.
With that single retort from Xie Bohuai, no one dared to make a sound.
Only Xu Zhuling’s uncontrollable sobs remained.
Qingshan’s eyes widened like copper bells. Just how much did his master despise Zhou Hanlin? He had beaten him up last night, and now he was taking direct action without sparing Zhou Hanlin any face. If Zhou Hanlin were to submit memorials impeaching his master over this, his master would face another round of criticism.
Zhou Yu was too furious to speak. Xie Bohuai was a favorite of the Emperor and enjoyed His Majesty’s utmost trust. Catching sight of Ye Wanning from the corner of his eye, his head throbbed painfully as his thoughts raced.
Ye Wanning would not let this opportunity slip. Stunned, she demanded, “Zhou… Zhou Lang, didn’t you say you sent Xu Zhuling away? Why is she in your room?”
A man and a woman alone together in a room was already questionable, and the deliberate hiding made it even harder to believe they were innocent.
“Wan Ning, let me explain,” Zhou Yu knew he had to placate Ye Wanning, but with Xie Bohuai present, if he appeared too submissive, wouldn’t he become a laughingstock?
Dragging his aching body, Zhou Yu sat up. “Lord Xie, as you can see, there are no unfamiliar faces here. Could I ask you to step out first?”
“Zhou Yu, are you trying to hide something by asking Lord Xie to leave?” Ye Wanning feigned heartbreak.
With Xie Bohuai present, Zhou Yu’s words would have a means of spreading beyond these walls.
Zhou Yu grew anxious. “I have a clear conscience in all my actions. What is there to hide? The carriage escorting my cousin met with an accident, so I let her stay at my home for a couple of days. I didn’t tell you because I was afraid you’d overthink it. After all these years of affection between us, I’ve always been open and honest with you. Do you not trust me now?”
Ye Wanning had long been acquainted with Zhou Yu’s silver tongue. “It’s not about whether I trust you or not—the facts are right before my eyes. If the carriage broke down, you could have settled her at an inn. You know full well that Xu Zhuling has harmed the Ye Family, yet you still protect her like this. I have nothing more to say to you!”
Having said enough, Ye Wanning turned to leave, but Xu Zhuling crawled out on her knees.
“Dear sister, please don’t be angry with Cousin. All the fault is mine. Cousin only took me in out of momentary soft-heartedness. If you must hit or scold anyone, direct it at me. Don’t let this ruin your affection for each other.” Xu Zhuling had regained her composure and knew she had to take responsibility for today’s incident. Her cousin’s future was her hope as well, so even if she loathed Ye Wanning in her heart, she couldn’t let it ruin the marriage between Ye Wanning and her cousin.
Pausing, Xu Zhuling wiped her tears. “With your wedding to Cousin approaching, if any rumors spread, it would tarnish the reputation of the Ye Family’s young ladies.”
Ye Wanning had already reached the doorway. Without turning back, she said, “I’m not the one caught in an affair, so stop slandering the Ye Family’s name. Xu Zhuling, if you love Zhou Yu so much, I’ll simply yield him to you.”
With that, Ye Wanning left with Yunzhi.
As they neared the entrance of the Zhou residence, Qingshan called out to her.
“Miss Ye, please wait.” Qingshan gasped for breath, having run so fast he forgot his master’s instructions and instead voiced his own thoughts first. “What you said earlier was absolutely right. What decent young lady would repay kindness with enmity? Xu Zhuling is certainly no good, and Zhou Hanlin is also… Oh dear, I’ve gone off track. My master sent me to tell you that Zhenfu Si’s arrest of spies has nothing to do with you. Please don’t dwell on today’s matters.”
If not for his master’s warning against speaking out of turn, he would have told Miss Ye about Xu Zhuling and Zhou Yu having a child together.
“Alright, please convey my thanks to your master.” Having just confronted Zhou Yu, Ye Wanning still had matters to attend to. After a hurried farewell, she boarded the carriage with Yunzhi.
“Miss, can we now tell the Old Madam that you wish to break off the engagement?” Yunzhi asked excitedly. She had been waiting for this day ever since learning of Zhou Yu’s affair with Xu Zhuling.
Ye Wanning said it wasn’t time yet. “The world judges women harshly. Even if I caught Zhou Yu and Xu Zhuling in bed together, people would only say Zhou Yu is promiscuous and call Xu Zhuling a seductress, but no one would advise me to break off the engagement. In most people’s eyes, Zhou Yu remains a good match – he has scholarly honors, promising prospects, and handsome looks. To successfully end the engagement, we need to add more fuel to the fire.”
Mainly, her grandmother’s health couldn’t withstand the shock. Ye Wanning needed to settle matters first before gently breaking the news to her grandmother.
“Does Miss plan to use Feng Ge’er in this matter?”
“I sent word to Mother Zhou about Xu Zhuling. Though I haven’t seen Mother Zhou for some time, she’s extremely protective of her own. Calculating the travel time, she should arrive in Jingcheng today.” Ye Wanning’s carriage stopped by the roadside, facing the residence where Xu Zhuling and her son lived.
Before long, a steward came knocking at the door, driving out the occupants.
The wet nurse, holding Feng Ge’er, looked utterly confused. “Your family rented this house to my mistress with a thumbprint on the contract. How can you go back on your word?”
“This is our family’s property. Whether we rent it out is our decision. Who would have thought the tenant would be an Outside Woman? Not only has she ruined our family’s feng shui, but my mistress finds the place contaminated.” The steward, accompanied by several servants, threw Xu Zhuling’s belongings all over the ground. “Get lost quickly, or don’t blame us for being rude.”
An Outside Woman?
Hearing this, curious bystanders asked what was happening.
The steward answered directly, “My mistress said she’d rather leave the house empty than rent it to an Outside Woman.”
“What principled madam,” a passerby praised.
The wet nurse, with only one maidservant, was no match for a group of men. Seeing the mess everywhere, she decided to find her mistress first.
As for Ye Wanning, seeing Feng Ge’er again stirred no sympathy in her. She had arranged for someone to inform the homeowners that Xu Zhuling was someone’s Outside Woman. The homeowners particularly despised Outside Women, hence they came to evict her.
She understood Zhou Yu well – for his own sake, no one else mattered. Even his own son, when crucial moments arrived, Zhou Yu would deny Feng Ge’er to protect himself.
But Mother Zhou was different. Her ability to marry Father Zhou came from her family funding his imperial examinations. She herself was uneducated, speaking and behaving like an ordinary village woman. She placed great importance on both Feng Ge’er and Xu Zhuling.
If Father Zhou hadn’t arranged the childhood marriage for Zhou Yu, Mother Zhou would have wanted her niece Xu Zhuling to be her daughter-in-law. Therefore, when the wet nurse took Feng Ge’er to the Zhou family, Mother Zhou would certainly keep the child.
“Have Fusheng go to the Wang residence to inform them that the wet nurse has taken the child to the Zhou family,” Ye Wanning said.
The Wang family were the ones who rented the house to Xu Zhuling. Lord Wang was acquainted with Ye Wanning’s elder brother, and the two families frequently interacted. Hence, Ye Wanning had heard about Lord Wang keeping an Outside Woman in his younger days.
Madam Wang had suffered greatly from the presence of an Outside Woman and detested them intensely. If she learned that Xu Zhuling was Zhou Yu’s woman, she would undoubtedly spread the news far and wide.
Ye Wanning intended to use Madam Wang’s voice not only to confirm the relationship between Zhou Yu and Xu Zhuling but also to ensure everyone in Jingcheng knew they already had a child together.