Chapter 259: Taking Back
Su Yaoguang hugged Zhou Wangshu.
Zhou Wangshu took a deep breath, hugged Su Yaoguang tightly without letting go, and rubbed against her neck.
The horse-drawn carriage stopped, someone lifted the curtain, and said to the two inside: “We’ve arrived, get…”
When Su Rende saw the two in an intimate embrace, he looked as if he couldn’t bear to watch: “You are a wedded husband and wife, not a pair of adulterers. Take it back to the room and hug slowly.”
“You know they are husband and wife too. They can hug however they want, wherever they want.” Zhang Zhaodi pinched Su Rende’s ear and dragged him away.
“Hiss… it hurts… wife…” Su Rende begged for mercy.
The servants of the General’s Mansion looked up at the sky, pretending they saw nothing, struggling hard to hold back their laughter.
“Let’s go back to the room and talk slowly.” Su Yaoguang pulled Zhou Wangshu down from the horse-drawn carriage.
The butler looked at the loving couple, his eyes full of relief: “Our General’s Mansion is joyful every day. The four masters are all so kind, loving couples, wonderful.”
If they could soon have a few young masters, that would be even better.
Before, there were always people saying their general killed too many people, had heavy murderous aura, so he had a lonely fate. Now look again, who dares say their general has a lonely fate?
Back in the room, Su Yaoguang had the servants prepare hot water; they wanted to bathe.
She felt Zhou Wangshu needed to calm his mood. After all, he had done such a stimulating thing at Prime Minister Wang’s Mansion earlier; his mood now should be very unsettled.
The servants prepared the hot water. Zhou Wangshu soaked in the water and then pulled Su Yaoguang in.
“This bathtub is big, and they prepared a lot of water. Don’t waste it; let’s bathe together.”
“You’re really getting more and more shameless now.” Su Yaoguang pinched his cheek.
Zhou Wangshu had drunk some wine, his handsome face already pink and fluffy. After her rubbing and pinching, it looked even more tender. If he wore women’s clothes, everyone would praise him as a charming beauty.
But this charming beauty only appeared harmless, actually a vicious wolf. She had only recently discovered she was deceived by him; she hadn’t noticed his true face for so many years.
The water cooled, and Zhou Wangshu didn’t want her to catch a chill, so he carried her out.
“You only said half of what you were saying earlier. Why not continue telling me about Marquis Cheng’an’s Mansion?” Su Yaoguang tried every way to divert his attention and make him settle down.
In the middle of the night, the moonlight was cool as water.
Zhou Wangshu held Su Yaoguang, letting her lean against his chest.
Zhou Wangshu appeared slim but was actually very strong. Leaning against him like this, listening to his powerful heartbeat, she felt she owned the whole world.
Such a life of loving couple, harmonious family, and healthy parents was what her previous life self longed for but could never attain. In this life, not only did she have it, but she had so much more.
However, her man had been bullied; this was no small matter.
“You let Xia Zhen suffer the consequences of his own actions; you did nothing wrong. No need to blame yourself.”
“My methods are very dirty. Madam won’t abandon me, right?”
“Dirty what? You used his own methods against him; this is their retribution. If you were a soft steamed bun, letting others scheme and bully you, then I would despise you.”
“If he had succeeded today, not only would my reputation be ruined, everything I have now would turn to bubbles. Moreover, what I care about most is you. I would feel dirty, too ashamed to face you, and find a place to end my miserable life. Yaoguang, fortunately I discovered his conspiracy in advance; these things didn’t happen.”
“That Xia Zhen has already suffered the consequences. What do you want to do next?” Su Yaoguang looked at him. “No matter what you want to do, I will support you.”
“I want to take back everything that belongs to me,” Zhou Wangshu said. “The title of Marquis of Cheng’an wasn’t inherited from ancestors; after he married my mother, my maternal grandfather schemed for him, helping him rise step by step to a high position and obtain the hereditary title of Marquis Cheng’an’s Mansion. Marquis of Cheng’an turned ungrateful right after eating his fill; then I will smash his rice bowl and make him lose what he cares about most.”
“You want to go back to Marquis Cheng’an’s Mansion?”
“Xia Zhen is crippled; Marquis of Cheng’an needs a promising son.”
Su Yaoguang touched the tip of his nose: “Good.”
“Yaoguang, the things I will do next will be very terrifying. Don’t hate me, okay?”
“That depends on how terrifying. We’ll talk after you do it.” After Su Yaoguang finished, she asked him again, “Does this matter need to be told to my parents?”
“I want to keep it from them,” Zhou Wangshu said. “If I tell them, they won’t agree to me returning to the wolf’s den. But if I don’t go back, I can’t take back everything that belongs to me.”
“Good.”
The next day, the two incidents at Prime Minister Wang’s Mansion spread. First, after Prime Minister Wang sent people to verify, the child Wen Shi brought was Xiao Yanci’s. Prime Minister Wang’s Mansion was willing to accept Wen Shi and her son, arranging a separate courtyard for them. Second, Prime Minister Wang’s nephew ruined Marquis Cheng’an’s Mansion’s Heir Apparent at the banquet, turning a noble young master into one who was taken below, and then several imperial physicians were called to stop the bleeding; he nearly lost half his life.
Prime Minister Wang brought the nephew’s parents to Marquis Cheng’an’s Mansion to apologize, sending a large amount of medicinal herbs for conditioning the body, and also twenty chests of compensation gifts.
The two matters were thus settled.
“Marquis Cheng’an’s Mansion Heir Apparent’s buttocks are indeed noble; twenty chests, more valuable than marrying off a daughter.”
“If I were him, I probably wouldn’t have the face to go out. So many people caught him in the act and saw his beautiful buttocks spurting blood. Haha…”
“That young heir relied on his family’s power and influence, not putting us common people in his eyes. Now he has truly suffered retribution.”
“What I’m more curious about is, with the young heir like this, does Marquis Cheng’an’s Mansion’s title still belong to him? But besides him, Marquis Cheng’an’s Mansion has no other heirs.”
“Who says there aren’t?” The shop assistant nearby said mysteriously, “I’ve been a shop assistant on this street for decades, and I know more about Marquis Cheng’an’s Mansion than you. Marquis Cheng’an’s Mansion had an eldest legitimate son back then; if he were still alive, he would be sixteen or seventeen now. That young master was born to the original wife, a little beautiful boy from childhood, the kind everyone wanted to pinch on the street, a little immortal child. Later, the family had a mishap, his mother died, and I didn’t see him outside anymore. Then he fell into water and died a particularly miserable death. Some say it was the second wife who harmed him. Otherwise, how could such a pampered eldest legitimate son die so miserably and horribly?”
“Isn’t Marquis Cheng’an’s Mansion’s second wife quite kind? I heard she never quarrels with others. Before, people were saying the young heir doesn’t look like her son, not inheriting any of his mother’s gentle kindness at all. But thinking of that Marquis of Cheng’an, it’s not surprising. Since he doesn’t resemble his mother, he must resemble his father.”
“Actually, a few days ago I saw someone who looks like that young master, but I didn’t dare say.” The shop assistant nearby said, “You know the newly appointed top scholar, right?”
“Of course! We watched the lively parade when he rode on horseback. Such fine looks, much better looking than the third scholar.”
“Exactly, it’s him. The young master I mentioned looks extremely like this top scholar. If I hadn’t seen that young master’s corpse with my own eyes, I would think it was him!”
One person rode past on horseback. The shop assistant who had just been discussing pointed at the figure outside and said: “Look, it’s him.”
“That’s the son-in-law of the Great General Who Protects the Nation’s Mansion. I heard he’s also a son-in-law who lives with the wife’s family. He previously fell into the hands of human traffickers; it was General Su’s thousand-gold daughter who bought him, leading to his today.”
Zhou Wangshu listened to those people gossiping, pretending nothing happened, handling official duties as usual and accompanying his wife when off duty, as if completely unaware of the rumors outside.
The rumors had been released, like bait cast; only waiting for the fish to bite, then he could cast the net.
Xiao Yanci was riding in a horse-drawn carriage and happened to meet Zhou Wangshu head-on.
There was a dark bruise under his eyelids.
Last night was his wedding night; he had married a delicate wife, and this delicate wife’s status was so noble. He thought his hard days were over and a new life would begin.
In his previous life, he became a powerful minister without relying on anyone; in this life, he clung to Prime Minister Wang’s thigh, so his days should be better than in his previous life, and he probably wouldn’t take too long to become a powerful minister.
But when Wang Ruyan’s body was not a pure one, he felt a disgusting sensation in his heart like swallowing a fly.
Wang Ruyan still put on an affected defense in front of him, saying she lost her virginity from falling off a horse while riding. Ridiculously, he had been with women and knew very well if a woman’s body was pure. After all, purity isn’t just proven by virginity blood; whether a woman’s body has been developed, a man knows best.
He dug into his palm to control himself from exposing her lie on the spot, instead gently comforting her and saying he believed in her purity.
He had paid so much; if he still couldn’t get Prime Minister Wang’s cultivation, he would go down with that father-daughter pair who bullied him too much.
Xiao Yanci had just started his duties when a new appointment document came down. He was transferred to the Ministry of Revenue, a fourth-rank official position, higher than his previous regular fifth-rank.
Though only slightly higher, he was already very satisfied. After all, he had just gotten married; if promoted too much at once, it would attract envy.
“Zhou Wangshu, you have a backer; I have one too. Now let’s compete and see who climbs higher.”
Xiao Yanci looked at the appointment document in his hand and muttered to himself.
Su Yaoguang continued busy with her career. Her Peach Blossom Workshop’s business was getting better and better, branches were opening, and she recruited more employees.
Every day, she was either researching new products or new beauty techniques. All the women in the capital city praised her skillful hands, which could turn a fat woman into a slim one, and an ugly woman with a face full of pockmarks into a beautiful young girl with skin like congealed fat.
Marquis Cheng’an’s Mansion. Marquis of Cheng’an looked at the jade pendant in his hand, his gaze burning.
“You say this is the jade pendant of the Great General Who Protects the Nation’s son-in-law, that is, the newly appointed top scholar Zhou Wangshu?”
“Yes, Marquis.” The confidant nearby said, “It’s said to be something Lord Zhou carries with him. The person serving him said Lord Zhou fell into water, lost his memory, was then trafficked by human traffickers, and thus fell into the Su family’s hands.”
“He even has amnesia?” Marquis of Cheng’an believed it even more.
Only with amnesia, not knowing who he was, would he not come back.
“The first time I saw him, I thought he looked strange; his face resembled my deceased eldest legitimate son somewhat, but I didn’t dare ask in detail, since that child died long ago, his bones turned to ash. Now it seems that back then he fell into water, was swept to another place, and the other child just resembled him and happened to wear the same clothes.”
The butler walked in from outside and said to Marquis of Cheng’an: “The Heir Apparent has been making a fuss, not eating or taking medicine. Marquis, what to do now?”
Marquis of Cheng’an said coldly: “Disgraceful thing, he still has the face to fuss with me? If not for him disgracing us, would I become a laughingstock? But now, I have a chance to turn the tables.”
The confidant nearby said: “Should we investigate more? Maybe it’s just a coincidental resemblance.”
“This jade pendant was given to him by his mother; since it’s something he carried with him, it must be him. Arrange it for me immediately; I want to see him.”
“But Marquis, this jade pendant was stolen from his home by our people. If we take this jade pendant to recognize kin, how to explain why his jade pendant is in our hands?”
“I’m his father; does this need explanation?” Marquis of Cheng’an said with a smile, “If he returns to the marquis manor, the manor’s title will be his to inherit; how could he not recognize me? Though he now has the Great General Who Protects the Nation as a backer, the great general’s position isn’t hereditary; even as a son-in-law who lives with the wife’s family, it’s useless.”
In the backyard, Cheng’an Marchioness listened to her subordinate’s report, her face pale as paper.
She gripped the table nearby, her voice trembling: “You say that illegitimate child didn’t die?”
“This old servant’s nephew serves by the marquis’s side; today was his duty shift, guarding right outside the door, and he heard everything clearly. The marquis doesn’t know the relation between this old servant and my nephew; otherwise, he certainly wouldn’t keep my nephew.”
“That illegitimate child didn’t die and is back now. He must be back for revenge.”
“I heard he has amnesia,” the old wet nurse said. “Since he has amnesia, of course he doesn’t know who he is or what happened before. This old servant thinks Madam shouldn’t panic first. Now the marquis got that person’s news first; we have no chance to act before him, lost the initiative, so we can only take it step by step.”
“Zhen’er is like this now; how can he compete with him?” Cheng’an Marchioness said angrily. “Before, he was the only legitimate son, no one to compete with him, so it didn’t matter how he fooled around. Now that illegitimate child is back, and Zhen’er had such a disgraceful thing happen, the marquis will surely abandon him.”
“Anyone can abandon the Heir Apparent, but Madam, you cannot. You only have this one son.” The old wet nurse said. “Though the Heir Apparent had such a thing happen, it’s… not a big deal! That illegitimate child drifted outside for years, has no foundation; unlike us, with our people everywhere. To deal with him without anyone knowing isn’t hard; just need an opportunity.”
“He has the Great General Who Protects the Nation as a backer; it won’t be easy for us to move him.”
“Can the Great General Who Protects the Nation guard against all kinds of accidents? He can’t possibly guard him every day, right?”
