Blood trickled down from the gray-robed elder’s forehead. Covering his head, he sat slumped against the wall. To any observer, it looked exactly like a domineering young wastrel had assaulted an innocent, pitiful old man in his sixties.
The two young ladies standing before him had witnessed the entire incident.
Blood dripped from his hand onto his clothes. Raising his head, the old man saw a somewhat familiar face. It was the same young woman who had accompanied Lu Mingzhu on the day his beauty-trap scheme failed.
Any young lady who associated with Lu Mingzhu could not possibly be a commoner. Lowering his aged eyes, he acted as though he did not wish to cause trouble, not even letting out a cry of pain.
Those downstairs who had witnessed the scene began to look at him with sympathy. Several scholars seated in a corner had already decided to intervene.
“Oh, it’s you.” From the upstairs railing, Prince Luo leaned out, revealing half his face. Looking down at the crowd below, he raised an eyebrow when his gaze landed on Yun Qiya. “This old fellow has problems. Don’t pay him any attention.”
Hearing that, Yun Qiya immediately grabbed He Lu and retreated another two steps.
Mistress and maid eyed the gray-robed elder suspiciously, not daring to approach him casually. Her reaction amused Prince Luo. Leaning lazily over the railing, he thought, fortunately, she wasn’t some fool who scattered sympathy everywhere.
“Bullying an old man and then trying to reverse the blame! Sir, you have no sense of justice!”
The scholars, already watching closely, could hold back no longer and rushed over. One took out a clean handkerchief to stop the old man’s bleeding. Another draped a thick cloak around his shoulders. A third stood protectively in front of him and glared angrily at Prince Luo.
“What business is it of yours?” Prince Luo lifted his chin arrogantly. “The Imperial Academy isn’t on holiday today, which means you’re not students of the Imperial Academy. Since you couldn’t even pass the Imperial Academy examination, how do you still have the energy to meddle in other people’s affairs?”
The three scholarly young men who had stepped forward to defend the old man flushed red with embarrassment at those words. Did they think not attending the Imperial Academy was their choice?
The Imperial Academy admitted only a fixed number of students each year. Not only did it take in the sons of nobles and officials, but neighboring kingdoms also sent students to Great An to study. Among ordinary scholars, anyone who managed to gain admission was exceptionally talented.
Seeing the three scholars clench their fists, Yun Qiya grew genuinely worried that Prince Luo might provoke them into a fight with his attendants.
“Gentlemen, you’ve misunderstood.” The gray-robed elder spoke up. “This old man fell on his own. It has nothing to do with the young master upstairs.”
Looking at Prince Luo with a tolerant gaze, he carried himself with elegant composure. The blood on his face did not diminish his bearing. Instead, it made him seem like some mysterious elder who had seen all the world’s joys and sorrows and treated everything with boundless forbearance.
The three scholars couldn’t help feeling that he possessed the aura of a hidden master.
Yun Qiya was very familiar with that sort of aura. Back in Guozhou, a fraud who had pretended to be an immortal and swindled common folk out of their money had been arrested. Before his capture, Yun Qiya had seen him in person. The style he carried himself with was at least sixty or seventy percent similar to this old man’s.
“Regardless of where we study, we all devote ourselves to learning in hopes of serving the court and speaking for the people,” said the scholar standing protectively before the elder. Taking a deep breath and suppressing his anger, he continued, “Does this gentleman believe that only students of the Imperial Academy count as scholars, while the rest of us are worth no more than grass?”
Prince Luo let out a derisive laugh. His mood was already poor, and he had no interest in arguing with such people. Under normal circumstances, these men would not even qualify for an audience with him. Yet now they were lecturing him about principles.
“What are you people? Get out of my—”
“Please don’t think that way, gentlemen,” Yun Qiya hurriedly interrupted before Prince Luo could spew something even more outrageous. “Perhaps this gentleman only meant that you possess the bearing of scholars capable of entering the Imperial Academy. That’s why he spoke as he did.”
So many scholars existed under heaven. If Prince Luo’s words spread, Yun Qiya did not even dare imagine how enormous the resulting uproar would be. And if the Emperor investigated how the incident had started and discovered that she had been present… Would he take it out on her?
After all, emperors possessed the power to vent their anger on others. She secretly glanced at Prince Luo. Nothing good ever happened whenever she ran into him. What bad luck.
The gray-robed elder rose and returned the cloak to the scholar, speaking in a way that consistently defended Prince Luo. “This old man was not joking just now.” He gave Prince Luo a long, meaningful look. “You will understand very soon.”
If not for the blood on his face and the massive bruise swelling on his forehead, he might have seemed a great deal more mysterious. After saying those words, the gray-robed elder left. His robes fluttered behind him, and he quickly disappeared through the doorway.
The scholars concluded they had really misunderstood Prince Luo. Although his words had indeed been exceedingly offensive, they still offered reluctant bows of apology before leaving the restaurant themselves.
Seeing the matter settle without escalating further, Yun Qiya breathed a sigh of relief. She immediately slipped away after them. The food at this restaurant was not something she absolutely had to try. Right now, her top priority was getting as far away from anything unlucky as possible.
“Runs fast, doesn’t she?” Prince Luo pushed open the window and looked at Yun Qiya’s hurriedly departing figure. He tossed his riding whip to an attendant. “Go investigate which family that young lady belongs to.”
Clutching his wound, the gray-robed elder wound his way through several alleys before entering a small courtyard.
“Uncle.” A man sitting inside the courtyard stood up at once when he saw the elder’s condition and hurried forward to support him.
“How did you get injured? I’ll fetch some medicine.” After applying medicine to his wounds, the gray-robed elder faced the concerned gazes of those around him. His face turned livid as he ground out through clenched teeth: “Prince Luo is an absolute blockhead!”
The Emperor had only two sons. The eldest was frail and sickly, which naturally made Prince Luo a strong contender in the succession struggle. Now that the Emperor intended to bring his eldest son into government affairs, and the official who spoke up for Prince Luo had just been expelled from court, any normal person ought to feel uneasy. At a time like this, if someone offered him advice and guidance, he should have treated that person as an honored guest. Instead, he’d responded with a kick.
“Th-then what should we do now?” someone asked.
“What should we do?” The gray-robed elder narrowed his eyes. “I’ll continue looking for ways to get close to Prince Luo. As for Lu Mingzhu, I’ve discovered a key person. If we can establish a connection through her, approaching Lu Mingzhu will become much easier.”
“Who?”
“The Marquis Chengping family’s granddaughter, Yun Qiya.”
“Yaya.” The Eldest Madam was trimming flowers in the courtyard. Seeing Yun Qiya return, she smiled. “Didn’t you say you were going to sample the dishes at that restaurant today? Why are you back so early?”
“Aunt!” Yun Qiya scampered over, helping hold the freshly cut blossoms.
“I ran into something at the restaurant.” She chattered away, recounting the entire incident from beginning to end.
“Yaya handled it very well.” After hearing the story, the Eldest Madam nodded approvingly. “When the facts are unclear, do not act rashly. When right and wrong are uncertain, do not intervene recklessly.”
“Hehe.” Yun Qiya’s eyes curved into crescents from the praise. “Aunt, the flowers you’ve grown are so beautiful. Give me a few to take back and arrange in a vase.”
“Take them, take them.” Setting down her pruning shears, the Eldest Madam shook her head with a helpless smile. “I knew sooner or later you’d set your sights on these flowers.”
This season, getting even a few flowers to bloom was no easy task. Her niece wandered over every day to admire them, waiting eagerly for them to open.
“Thank you, Aunt.” Yun Qiya’s smile grew even brighter. “You can’t blame me. Blame the flowers for being raised so well.”
Behind the Eldest Madam, Nanny Yao silently lifted her chin. The garden was her son’s work. Praising the garden was the same as praising her son.
“That’s right, that’s right. It’s all these flowers’ fault for stealing our Yaya’s heart.” The Eldest Madam handed over the flowers she was holding as well. “Go on and take all these wicked things that keep distracting you away.”
The servants in the garden all laughed along.
Outside the garden, the old Marquis and his wife were taking a walk. Hearing the laughter drifting out, the couple exchanged smiles.
“It must be Yaya in there.”
Their eldest daughter-in-law had a steady temperament and managed the entire marquis’s household flawlessly. The servants performed their duties diligently, and no one dared cause trouble.
The only drawback was that too few family members lived in the residence. Most days it was so quiet that it resembled a stagnant pond.
Since the second son’s family had returned, it was as though fresh water had been introduced into that still pool. The change was especially obvious in their eldest daughter-in-law, whose smile had become much lighter and brighter.
The elderly couple did not enter the garden. Instead, they turned around and continued their walk in another direction. When it came to younger generations, elders who interfered too much only spoiled things.
That evening, when Yun Boyan returned home from work, the family gathered for dinner.
Yun Zhongsheng ladled soup for his brother and placed it in his bowl; the two brothers got along as closely as they had in their youth.
The Eldest Madam glanced at the rather worthless grin on her husband’s face and looked away. Then she turned and saw her little niece carrying over a bowl of soup for her. “Try some of this soup, Aunt. It’s delicious.”
“Careful, don’t burn your hands.” The Eldest Madam quickly took the bowl from her, completely unaware that the smile on her own face was identical to Yun Boyan’s. Lowering her head, she savored the soup her niece had personally served. Her brother-in-law might be annoying, but her niece was simply too lovable.
Taking ten thousand steps back, they were both children of the Yun family, so why hadn’t Yaya been born from her own womb?
“The Emperor is dissatisfied with the proposed manner of the Deposed Prince’s execution and intends to impose a harsher punishment.”
After dismissing the servants, Yun Boyan took the initiative to bring up the matter.
“The ministers have been arguing endlessly over how the Deposed Prince should die, but I can say with certainty that hanging is no longer likely.”
The originally proposed execution by hanging had merely been intended to soothe the imperial clan.
Now, however, more and more evidence of the Deposed Prince’s crimes had emerged, and countless commoners had come forward with accusations. The members of the imperial clan had long since stopped defending him. In fact, they had gathered together to revise the imperial genealogy and remove his records as thoroughly as possible.
Over the years, the Deposed Prince had tormented the imperial clan almost as much as everyone else.
Yun Boyan strongly suspected that when the Deposed Prince had been stripped of his status and reduced to a commoner, quite a few members of the clan had gone home and celebrated with drinks. Thinking of this, he looked sympathetically at his younger brother’s family.
“Don’t worry. I will do my best to petition His Majesty and ensure that the Deposed Prince receives the harshest punishment possible.”
“Thank you, Elder Brother, but you must take care of yourself first.” Yun Zhongsheng hurriedly replied. “I hate the Deposed Prince, but you’re more important.”
After all, his elder brother was the pillar supporting their entire family!
Yun Boyan was deeply moved. His younger brother really was wonderful, always putting him first in every situation.
“Don’t worry. My position also happens to align with His Majesty’s wishes.” He patted his brother’s arm reassuringly. “Among everyone in the court, no one hates the Deposed Prince more than the Emperor.”
“The child-swapping case shocked the entire court.” The Marquis sighed. “It’s only natural for His Majesty to hate the Deposed Prince. No parent could accept something like that.”
“So that’s why His Majesty became angry today and proposed bringing the First Prince into court affairs.” A trace of regret appeared in Yun Boyan’s eyes. “It’s a pity that His Highness’s health is so poor.”
Yun Qiya knew little about court politics, so she obediently lowered her head and focused on eating. Tonight she planned to go to bed early. Tomorrow morning, she and her little partner were going to the Imperial Clan Court to cause trouble for the Deposed Prince.
Just as dawn began to break, the gates of Marquis Chengping’s residence opened a crack.
Yun Qiya poked her head outside. As expected, the familiar vermilion-wheeled carriage was waiting there. Two lanterns hung from the front of the carriage, casting a soft glow in the early morning light.
“Lord Ling!” Yun Qiya ran toward the carriage. Before she even reached it, the curtain, which had been perfectly still until then, was already lifted from within.
The man inside wore a crimson brocade robe beneath a black cloak. He looked both imposing and exceptionally handsome. “Miss Yun.” He raised his eyes and naturally shifted to one side, leaving more than half the carriage free for her.
Yun Qiya did not stand on ceremony. With practiced ease, she climbed inside. “Let’s go, let’s go! Little partner, let’s set off right now!”
Ling Yanhuai looked at her and smiled. “All right. Let’s set off.”
Along the roadside, tiny blades of grass growing from cracks in the earth seemed to sense spring’s approach. Quietly, they pushed out pale-green new shoots.