When Xue Yan was in front of Jun Huailang, he still put on the appearance of someone who could not even walk without being supported. But once Jun Huailang had gone far away, he walked as swiftly as the wind, returning all the way to his own courtyard.
He passed by the bedroom without even glancing inside and went straight to the study.
“Bring everything to my desk,” he said.
Jinbao hurriedly answered, then jogged off and called over two Embroidered Uniform Guards to bring all the important messages that had been sent from various places over the past few days into Xue Yan’s study.
Xue Yan pressed one hand against the desk and casually picked up the one on top with the other. His movements were smooth and natural, not resembling someone who had been injured in the slightest.
Jinbao stood beside him, attending to him.
He was not surprised at all. He knew better than anyone how much punishment his master’s body could endure.
A year and a half ago, His Majesty had beaten him with fifty strokes of the cane, yet he had not called for an imperial physician. He had applied his own medicine and even fetched water and cleaned himself every day without allowing anyone else to help. Who else could have done that?
Although his master’s injuries this time were severe, he had received such meticulous treatment and had also been accompanied by the Heir and allowed to recuperate properly for several days.
Jinbao knew that his master had long since recovered. He was merely pretending to be pitiful in front of the Heir so that the Heir would come to see him again.
It was only because the Heir was kind-hearted that he could be fooled by his master.
Over there, Xue Yan glanced through the letter in his hand.
It had been sent by the Eastern Depot. Aside from the usual miscellaneous news from court, a large portion of it concerned the Xu family.
One piece of information said that the position of Inspector of Shandong had become vacant, and the Xu family had strongly recommended an obscure official for it. The position had originally been the subject of an unresolved dispute between the Jiang and Xu families. The Emperor had left the matter undecided and was still hesitating. But when he saw that the Xu family had suddenly recommended an official with no background whatsoever, he immediately agreed.
That official indeed had nothing particularly outstanding about him. His family was simply wealthy. He had given the Xu family a large sum of silver, essentially buying the position.
Xue Yan’s gaze lingered there for a moment.
Why was the Xu family so short of money?
He knew that ever since he had taken this position, the Xu family had been far less peaceful than before. Their entire faction had been thrown into chaos because of him.
It was precisely because of this that the women of the Xu family had no say, while Minister Xu and several of his sons were overwhelmed with problems. Thus, they had allowed their only grandson to travel south for pleasure and had not even had time to send anyone to summon him home.
But even so, the Xu family was large, wealthy, and deeply established. They would not abandon their struggle with the Jiang family merely for the sake of money.
If so, there was only one possibility.
That official had shown them enough sincerity that he would certainly be useful to them in the future, and the Xu family truly was short of money. It was simply unclear what they needed the money for.
Xue Yan turned to the next page.
The Qingping Emperor had received the memorial submitted by the Duke of Yongning and agreed with it wholeheartedly, summoning the ministers to discuss it. The Xu family had behaved unusually by not opposing it. Instead, they supported the Qingping Emperor in allocating some funds to prevent and control the flooding in Jiangnan.
The Qingping Emperor readily agreed. Immediately afterward, the Xu family returned home and sent out a secret letter.
As for where that secret letter had been sent, the Eastern Depot’s influence only extended throughout Chang’an. Anything beyond that, they could not investigate.
Xue Yan’s lips curved slightly.
He could naturally guess where the secret letter had been sent.
It must have been sent to Jiangnan, into the hands of Guo Rongwen.
When he had left the Ministry of Revenue, he had been put in charge of managing the Duke of Yongning’s accounts. The Duke of Yongning had shown him kindness and trusted him, so naturally, he entrusted him with the miscellaneous matters concerning the accounts.
In that case, embezzling some money from them would naturally be extremely easy.
It was simply unclear what the Xu family was trying to accomplish by gathering money from all sides.
Xue Yan flipped through a few more pages.
After a moment, he smiled faintly.
“Looks like the Eastern Depot really is wary of the Xu family. Even though Noble Consort Yi is dead, they still aren’t at ease.”
He placed the letter face down on the desk, his index finger tapping it leisurely.
“They want to use my hand to eliminate them, so they can destroy the evidence of what they themselves have done?”
The people of the Eastern Depot had killed Consort Rong. Xue Yan had known that for a long time.
He had little attachment to his relatives and did not particularly care about it. But what truly touched his reverse scale was that these eunuchs actually thought themselves clever enough to try to manipulate him and make a fool of him.
Xue Yan sighed lightly.
“Duan Shisi,” he said. “Train harder. When you return to the capital this year, you will personally take Duan Chong’s head.”
From the shadows, Duan Shisi clasped his sword and accepted the order.
Xue Yan picked up another letter.
This letter had been given to him by Duan Shisi. Several days earlier, he had already sent Duan Shisi ahead to Jinling.
As expected, Guo Rongwen had taken advantage of their absence to make quite a few moves behind their backs.
He had instructed Duan Shisi to cause trouble for the Xu family’s young master. Duan Shisi had not been the slightest bit careless. Before long, the young master had become involved in a fatal legal case and had also accumulated gambling debts. Xu Cong’an was alone in Jinling, so naturally, getting home to ask for money was extremely difficult. Thus, he went to find his father’s lackey.
That person was Guo Rongwen.
Guo Rongwen was merely a minor official in the Ministry of Revenue. Several years ago, he had managed to climb aboard the Xu family’s wagon, and only then had his fortunes begun to improve. The Xu family had only this one young master as their sole heir, so naturally he did not dare offend them. Thus, he had used the authority in his hands to skim money from the funds passing through him several times, finally filling the young master’s financial hole.
But all of this had been within the scope of his authority, so it had left no traces.
What Xue Yan wanted was not traces.
Now, every bit of money Guo Rongwen could move was gone. The next time the young master of the Xu family needed money, he would have no choice but to take a desperate risk.
Once he took such a risk, he would naturally reveal more obvious handles and mistakes.
That was what Xue Yan wanted.
“Did you find the pleasure house I told you to look for?” Xue Yan asked.
Duan Shisi answered, “Reporting to Master, it has been arranged. The pleasure house is one of the most famous in Jinling City, with a considerable reputation. We found a woman named Yujing, and she has already become one of our people. We are only waiting for Master’s order. Once you give the word, the establishment will promote her.”
Xue Yan nodded.
“It’s about time. Begin.”
Duan Shisi acknowledged the order.
“Promote her, but make her sound as extraordinary as possible while not allowing her to show herself easily,” Xue Yan said. “If Duan Chong never taught you the principle that rare goods are valuable, then I’ll teach you today.”
Duan Shisi nodded and acknowledged him.
“Go.”
Xue Yan set down the secret letter.
Duan Shisi vanished in a flash like a shadow.
Xue Yan raised his eyes toward the flickering candle flame before him. After a moment, his gaze softened, and the corners of his lips curved slightly.
Such a gentle expression was extremely rare on his face. Like an epiphyllum blooming for only an instant, it appeared and disappeared in the blink of an eye.
At that moment, what he was thinking of was Jun Huailang.
There were informants planted by the Xu family beside his father, something Jun Huailang naturally knew nothing about.
But he did not need to know.
He himself would quietly make those informants who had been planted there without a sound disappear without a sound, along with the people behind them who were itching to harm the Jun family.
Xue Yan withdrew his gaze and returned his attention to the other letters.
Just then, a knock sounded from outside.
Xue Yan’s subordinates all followed certain rules. Unless it was something urgent, they would never disturb him while he was in the study.
Jinbao hurried over to open the door.
A young servant stood outside, his expression somewhat nervous.
“If you have something to say, just say it. Why are you stammering?” Jinbao scolded.
The servant raised his head, only to see that Xue Yan had also lifted his eyes to look at him.
His legs went weak, and he nearly fell to his knees.
“Reporting to Your Highness,” he said tremblingly. “Just now, Fuyi, who serves beside the Heir, came…”
“What did he say?” Xue Yan asked.
The servant continued, “…He said that the Heir asks Your Highness to recuperate properly. For the next few days, he won’t be coming.”
Xue Yan’s hand holding the letter paused.
Unexpectedly, the servant had not finished speaking.
“The Heir also said that unless there is something important, he asks Your Highness… not to look for him.”
—
Jun Huailang did not sleep at all that night.
He held that page in his hand and did not dare look at it again, yet he still clutched it tightly, unable to let go.
Perhaps too much had changed in this life, and he had lived too peacefully. Perhaps he had gradually placed all his attention on his father’s affairs, causing him to slowly forget his previous life.
He had forgotten what Xue Yan in his previous life had been to him, and what he had been to Ling Huan.
He could choose not to pursue Xue Yan because in this life, Xue Yan had done nothing and was an innocent person. But he… could not fall in love with him.
Even though everything from his previous life had never actually happened and no one else knew about it, he was the one who knew.
Knowing all of that, he could not allow himself to develop such feelings for the other person.
…Yet he had still done so.
He could not behave so immorally, going against his conscience and his nature.
He knew that although he was soft-hearted, he had always had very firm principles.
Under his own moral standards, if something ought to be done, he would never fail to do it. If something ought not to be done, he would immediately stop and never touch it again.
But this time was different.
It was a mess.
He knew that he should not like Xue Yan. He should restrain himself in time, sever contact with him, or put away these thoughts.
But he had never liked anyone before, and he had never known…
Once such feelings were born, they could not simply be put away because he told himself to do so.
He had always known himself well. Even if he could not control other people, he could certainly control himself.
But now… his own heart seemed to be slipping beyond his control.
The more clearly he knew what he ought to do, and the harder he tried to force himself to do it, the more miserable he felt inside. It was as though a mass of damp cotton had been stuffed into his chest, making it ache with suffocation until he could hardly breathe.
He was gentle by nature, yet fundamentally aloof. In the more than twenty years spanning his past and present lives, this was the only person who had ever stirred his heart.
And yet he was precisely the person he absolutely should not have fallen for.
Jun Huailang lay alone beneath the bed curtains, holding that torn page in his hand. Without realizing it, the rising morning sun slipped through a gap in the curtains and fell upon his bed.
A beam of light landed directly on the back of his hand.
Jun Huailang looked at that beam of light, then slowly opened his hand and, almost as though deliberately torturing himself, quietly looked at those words.
【Xue Yan’s lips curved into a cold arc…】
Jun Huailang frowned.
He suddenly realized that the Xue Yan described on this scrap of paper was utterly unfamiliar.
The Xue Yan he knew would never show such an expression or say such things. Even less would he retaliate against someone in this manner simply because that person had once treated him well and then withdrawn that kindness.
Jun Huailang’s fingers tightened slightly around the paper. Facing the light, he slowly sat up.
For an instant, he actually began to suspect that what was written in that book was false.
Outside, Fuyi heard the movement and hurriedly lifted the bed curtains for him, attending to him as he got up.
Jun Huailang said nothing. It was Fuyi who noticed his expression first.
“Young Master didn’t sleep well last night?” he asked. “Why do you look so tired?”
Jun Huailang hummed, his voice somewhat hoarse.
“It’s nothing,” he said.
“What are you holding, Young Master?” Fuyi noticed the piece of paper clutched in his hand. Seeing how crumpled it was, he quickly said, “Shall I throw it away for you?”
Jun Huailang’s fingers moved, and he closed the paper inside his palm.
“No need,” he said.
Fuyi could also see that his master was not in very good spirits, so he did not say anything more. He simply worried about his young master, assuming that he had probably had some sort of nightmare that had left him disturbed, which was why he was behaving so unusually.
If that was the case, he needed to say something to divert his attention.
Fuyi racked his brains. Suddenly, he remembered running into Jinbao beneath the corridor that morning.
Right. Young Master had always had a good relationship with His Highness the Prince of Guangling.
Fuyi hurriedly spoke.
“Oh, right, Young Master. This morning, I ran into Eunuch Jinbao.”
Jun Huailang’s eyelashes trembled.
Fuyi continued,
“Eunuch Jinbao said that His Highness has been busy with official matters and went to the government office first thing this morning despite still being ill. He said he couldn’t persuade him, but he’s worried. He wanted you to go persuade His Highness when you have the time.”