Chapter 215: Brother Jiu Is Here
Translator: Henyee Translations Editor: Henyee Translations
“What’s wrong with the little masters?” A guard’s voice sounded outside the door.
Yu Wan suppressed the churning emotions in her heart and said calmly, “They’re crying a little. They’re probably frightened. It’s fine. Hurry up and take care of Miss. I think her condition isn’t very stable.”
It was more than unstable. If she was not wrong, Yan Ruyu had gone crazy!
How could a normal person’s gaze be so terrifying? She even knocked Aunt Lin unconscious and chased the maidservants away. She held a sword and slashed anyone she saw… How was she that gentle and kind socialite lady? She was a crazy woman without any rationality!
Yu Wan went to light the oil lamp.!!
Yan Ruyu was so crazy that it was unknown if she had hurt the little munchkins.
Yu Wan first checked Xiaobao’s arm. He was the one who had been held in Yan Ruyu’s hand. Perhaps he was the youngest and the easiest to bully. Look, even if she was crazy, she still knew how to pick the weakest one. She was really bad to the core!
“Does it hurt?” Yu Wan asked softly.
Xiaobao cried until he was out of breath.
Yu Wan rolled up Xiaobao’s sleeve. That lunatic Yan Ruyu had actually pinched Xiaobao’s arm until it was blue. There were a few deep finger marks, making Yu Wan’s heart ache. Fortunately, the bones were fine.
Yu Wan then checked the other parts of Xiaobao’s body. There were bruises on his knees and elbows that she did not know where he had hit. His little feet were cold. Compared to his two brothers who had been sitting on the bed, he, who was standing barefoot on the floor, was really too unlucky.
Yu Wan checked the two babies again. The two of them were mostly frightened, but their bodies were fine.
The three little fellows trembled in fear. Yu Wan hugged them tightly.
Yu Wan hugged them quietly for a while. The three children were still trembling. Yu Wan pulled the blanket over the three of them as they sobbed in her arms. Her heart ached as she kissed their foreheads.
Yu Wan recalled the night in Lotus Flower Village. It was also raining heavily and there was lightning and thunder. The children were also frightened badly. Was it because they were often frightened on rainy nights?
Did Yan Ruyu have an attack on a rainy night? But why did she have an attack? What had happened to her?
“Why? You don’t believe me? You gave birth to two children. The first one died of illness, and the second one fell to death by your hands accidentally. It was raining very heavily…”
For some reason, the words that Yan Ruyu had said to her during the day flashed across Yu Wan’s mind. When Yan Ruyu said this, her expression had already become strange. At that time, she only felt that Yan Ruyu was deliberately making it up to disturb her heart. Now that she thought about it carefully, it didn’t seem to be the case.
Yan Ruyu made up someone else’s past. But why did it seem like she had suffered a huge blow?
Yu Wan suddenly thought of the two urns that Yan Xie had stolen. Because it was too small, she once suspected that the ashes were incomplete. However, was there a possibility that the ashes originally belonged to the two children?
“Could it be that Yan Ruyu is talking about her own children!” Yu Wan said what she was thinking in a moment of carelessness.
The three little lads choked on their tears and looked at her in unison.
Yu Wan hurriedly said, “It’s fine. Continue crying.”
The little munchkins who suddenly couldn’t cry: “…”
Yu Wan linked everything together and felt that her guess was reasonable. If Yan Ruyu had lost two children on a rainy day, then everything made sense. The shock she received was too great, causing her to occasionally lose her mind. She probably didn’t even know that she was sick, let alone why the children were always not close to her.
However, there was one thing that Yu Wan could not understand. Yan Ruyu had already given birth to triplets. How did the other two children come about? The chances of her giving birth to five children were too small. But if they were not born in one go, then when did she get pregnant? Who did she get pregnant with?
It couldn’t be Yan Jiuchao. After all, Yan Jiuchao had only been tricked by her once.
Yu Wan looked down at the little munchkins in her arms. The little munchkins also looked at her with big watery eyes. Their innocent and ignorant eyes really melted Yu Wan’s heart.
Yu Wan asked softly, “Are you hungry?”
The three of them nodded.
“I’ll go find you guys something to eat,” Yu Wan said.
The three of them grabbed Yu Wan’s lapels nervously.
Yu Wan remembered that these were three little fellows who had been greatly frightened. They were still so young and were even afraid of a baby frog, let alone Yan Ruyu, that crazy behemoth. She really did not know how the children had survived for the past two years. Damn Yan Ruyu, she really wanted to throw her into the water to feed the fish!
Yu Wan realized that the children were looking at her uneasily. She did not want to scare them anymore. She removed Yan Ruyu from her mind and revealed a faint smile. “I won’t leave. I’m just going to get some food. I’ll be back soon.”
The three little fellows still did not let go.
Yu Wan touched their sticky backs and said softly, “Your clothes are also wet. You’ll get sick if you don’t change. If you get sick, you need to take medicine, a very bitter medicine.”
This time, the three of them understood. It seemed like they had taken medicine before and it was still fresh in their minds. The three of them reluctantly let go and looked at Yu Wan aggrievedly.
Yu Wan sighed. If you guys take another look, I won’t even be able to cross the threshold.
After leaving the room, Yu Wan closed the door. In a sense, the children were relatively safe on the ship. The premise was that they did not fall into the hands of that lunatic Yan Ruyu. Yu Wan decided to investigate Yan Ruyu’s situation.
The sky was still filled with lightning and thunder. The pleasure boat was actually moving forward in such bad weather. It could be seen that not only was Yan Ruyu crazy, but she was also retarded.
Yu Wan arrived outside Yan Ruyu’s room. Yan Ruyu had already been controlled by the guards. In the guards’ eyes, the slap she gave Yan Ruyu was because she had no choice but to save the little masters. No one caused trouble for her, or perhaps in their hearts, they had already slapped this crazy woman hundreds of times.
A guard with strong martial arts skills tapped Yan Ruyu’s sleeping acupoint. Yan Ruyu lay down and the guards left. The maidservants had long hidden somewhere in fear, but they should be called over by the guards soon.
Yu Wan did not want to complicate matters at this juncture. She took some food and three sets of clothes and returned to her room. When the three little lads saw her return, they pounced into her arms.
Yu Wan placed them on a stool and first changed them into dry clothes. Then, she let the three of them share the cloud slice cake and green bean cake she brought. The three of them had been hungry for the entire day, so this bit of food was not enough. Yu Wan took advantage of the chaos and went to the kitchen. She found a braised chicken and a few white steamed buns. She brought them back to the room and roasted them on the brazier.
The three of them ate the chicken wings and drumsticks. Yu Wan also ate some herself.
“What about the woman?”
Outside the house, a familiar voice suddenly sounded. It was the man who went to pick her up from the Drunken Immortal Pavilion.
A guard replied, “Steward Liu, I’ve drugged her with smoke. She should still be unconscious.”
“Isn’t anyone guarding her?” The man called Steward Liu was furious.
“There-there was someone guarding her. Something happened to Miss, so… they all went to take care of Miss.” This was naturally an excuse. Before Yan Ruyu’s illness acted up, they had run back to their room to hide from the rain.
“Hurry up and take a look!” Steward Liu shouted.
“Yes… yes!” The guard agreed respectfully and hurried away.
Yu Wan put down the chicken nuggets in her hand and gestured for the three little fellows to hush. She whispered, “I’ll be back soon.”
The three of them nodded, not fully understanding.
Yu Wan opened the door and went back to her room from the other side of the pleasure boat. She opened the door and lay back on the bed. Thinking that she was still wearing the clothes of a maidservant, she hurriedly pulled the blanket over her.
The guard pushed open the door and entered. He glanced at Yu Wan and muttered, “I told you she was sleeping…”
With that, he closed the door and left.
The pleasure boat was filled with water, and the guard could not stay at the door to guard it. He was called by Steward Liu to scoop water.
Yu Wan quickly went to the little munchkins’ room. After she left, the three of them did not eat anymore. When they saw her return, they continued to eat. The three of them were full. They played on the bed for a while before falling asleep.
Yu Wan covered the three of them with a blanket and went to Yan Ruyu’s room.
Aunt Lin was not around. It seemed that she had been beaten up by Yan Ruyu and was still unconscious. The person guarding the bed was a fifteen or sixteen-year-old maidservant. The little maidservant was sleepy and nodded like a chick pecking at rice.
Yu Wan went forward and patted her shoulder. “Hey, hey!”
The maidservant shuddered and jumped up. “I didn’t sleep!”
Yu Wan found it funny in her heart, but her expression was solemn. “I asked you to guard Miss. Why are you still sleeping? If Steward Liu and Aunt Lin find out, they’ll punish you.”
“I… I… I didn’t sleep!” The little maidservant said guiltily.
Yu Wan said, “Alright, I’ll guard it for you. Take a nap.”
Yu Wan was really worried that this girl would say, “Why haven’t I seen you before?” Fortunately, the little maidservant wasn’t curious. She was too sleepy and really fell asleep leaning against the bedpost when someone was on guard.
Yu Wan hurriedly went behind the screen and took Yan Ruyu’s clothes from the screen to change. Then, she gently carried Yan Ruyu down and hid her behind the screen before lying on the bed.
The lights in the room were off, so they could not see her appearance clearly. Moreover, the servants on the ship seemed to have been newly bought. Not only were they not familiar with each other, but they were also only half-familiar with Yan Ruyu.
After Yu Wan lay down, she covered her face with her hair and tugged at the little maidservant’s sleeve.
The maidservant was woken up by the pull. She stood up. “I’m not asleep!”
“Ahem.” Yu Wan coughed softly.
The maidservant was shocked. “Miss! You’re awake?”
Yu Wan opened her mouth.
“Miss, what did you say?” The maidservant did not hear her clearly. She bent down and brought her ear to Yu Wan’s mouth.
Yu Wan said weakly, “Pull… pull ashore.”
“Pull ashore?” Steward Liu, who was directing the guards to drain the water, frowned and looked at the maidservant who had come to report.
The little maidservant nodded vigorously. “Yes! That’s what Miss said! I swear to God, I’m definitely not lying!”
Steward Liu was originally the deputy steward of the Yan Manor. Yan Ruyu had taken a fancy to him and promoted him to be her trusted aide. After that, he left the Yan Manor and began to privately work for Yan Ruyu. He had personally chosen the guards and maidservants on the ship, so he naturally trusted them.
“Are you sure you didn’t hear wrongly?” Steward Liu double-checked.
The maidservant shook her head like a rattle-drum. “I didn’t hear it wrongly! I asked several times!”
The sleeping acupoint could only last for an hour. It was not too surprising to wake up at this time. He did not know if she was talking nonsense when she was awake or when she was sick.
“Where is she?” Steward Liu asked.
“She fell asleep again,” the maidservant said.
Steward Liu did not have the courage to wake Yan Ruyu up. Who knew if she would kill him if she fell ill again? Steward Liu thought for a while and decided to listen to Yan Ruyu first.
After Yu Wan gave the fake order, she returned to the room next door. Yan Ruyu woke up halfway and was knocked out by Yu Wan. Yu Wan wanted to kill her, but if Yan Ruyu died, she and the little munchkins would not be able to escape.
The most important thing now was to get off the ship and escape from this group of people. As for this crazy woman, she would deal with her later!
An hour later, the rain stopped and the boat docked.
Yu Wan secretly went to the kitchen and found a basket to carry the vegetables back to the house. She laid a soft blanket on it and carried the sleeping little munchkins in one by one. The three of them were woken up. Their small bodies trembled. When they opened their eyes and saw that it was Yu Wan, they closed their eyes in peace.
Yu Wan covered them with the blanket, carried the basket, and gently opened the door.
The maidservants and guards on the ship were tired for half the night. At this moment, they finally stopped and returned to their rooms to rest. Only two guards were left to patrol the ship.
Yu Wan listened to their footsteps and after confirming that they had gone far, she silently flashed out.
Yu Wan had long figured out their patrol pattern. As long as nothing went wrong, with her speed, she could leave this ship before they discovered her. As long as they got off the ship, she would not be afraid of them.
However, Yu Wan never expected that Aunt Lin would wake up at this critical juncture.
She went to Yan Ruyu’s room and found that the little masters were not around. She asked the little maidservant who was guarding the night and the little maidservant said that they were next door. She went next door, but the room was empty. Aunt Lin immediately shouted, “Someone—the little masters are missing—”
“Miss Yu—” Steward Liu’s devilish voice sounded behind her.
Yu Wan was stopped.
… .
“Cousin! Thank you for bringing me out!”
In a carriage, Xu Chengxuan looked gratefully at Yan Huaijing.
He was bored to death at home, so he had no choice but to get someone to bring news to Worthy Consort Xu in the palace. He said that he missed his aunt and wanted to greet her.
Worthy Consort Xu had always doted on her nephew, so she asked Yan Huaijing to bring him into the palace.
Along the way, Yan Huaijing was very silent. Only Xu Chengxuan was chattering like a sparrow that couldn’t calm down. “…Cousin, are you really going to marry the daughter of the Prime Minister? If you don’t marry her, are you going to marry the princess of Xiongnu?”
Yan Huaijing did not answer.
Xu Chengxuan observed his expression and said, “Do you not like the daughter of the Prime Minister? Actually, I also don’t think she’s worthy of you!”
Everyone was only concerned about whether she was worthy or not. No one cared if he liked it or not.
“Cousin…”
“Can’t you be quiet?” Yan Huaijing was distraught.
“No, Cousin, I saw Yan Jiuchao,” Xu Chengxuan said as he looked out of the window.
“So be it.” What was so strange about it?
“My father sent someone to kill him. Why is he still alive?” Xu Chengxuan threw his father’s warning to the back of his mind.
“What did you say?” Yan Huaijing’s eyes darkened.
“My father doesn’t want me to say, but Cousin, you’re not an outsider. I won’t tell anyone. I’ll only tell you!” Xu Chengxuan told Yan Huaijing everything he had heard in the study. He didn’t hear much. It was nothing more than his father’s secret in Gong City. This secret was discovered by Yan Jiuchao, and his father decided to silence him.
Xu Chengxuan felt that his father was too bold. He actually dared to kill Yan Jiuchao. However, he had suffered at Yan Jiuchao’s hands and had been looking forward to Yan Jiuchao’s death. Therefore, compared to being surprised, he felt more carefree.
Yan Huaijing did not think so. Xu Chengxuan was still young. A youth knows no fear. He did not know how terrifying Yan Jiuchao was, but Xu Shao was not.
Yan Huaijing never knew that his uncle was so bold. Was he still his uncle? What secret was it that was worth his uncle risking his entire family to assassinate his father’s favorite nephew?
“Enter the palace yourself. I have something on.” With that, Yan Huaijing alighted from the carriage.
Xu Chengxuan was shocked. “Hey! Cousin! Don’t go! I came out because I wanted to see you!”
Yan Huaijing had already disappeared into the crowd with Jun Chang’an.
“What exactly happened? How did my uncle get involved with Yan Jiuchao?” It was barely reasonable to say that he was taking revenge for Xu Chengxuan, but from Xu Chengxuan’s words, it was obvious that Yan Jiuchao had discovered Xu Shao’s secret in Gong City.
“Gong City?” Yan Huaijing muttered. “My uncle is from Prefecture Xu. When has he been to Gong City?”
Jun Chang’an raised his eyebrows. “I’ve already investigated it for you. I was just waiting for you to ask.”
Yan Huaijing frowned. “You investigated my uncle? Didn’t I tell you not to investigate him?”
Jun Chang’an crossed his arms. “Then just pretend I didn’t investigate, Your Highness. I won’t say anything.”
“…You.” Yan Huaijing sighed helplessly. “Forget it, what did you find?”
Jun Chang’an smiled faintly and said, “Your Highness, do you know who Xu Shao met that day?”
“Who?”
“Yan Ruyu.”
A trace of extreme shock flashed across Yan Huaijing’s eyes. How could it be Yan Ruyu? His uncle and the Yan family had nothing to do with each other. Moreover, Yan Ruyu was Yan Jiuchao’s woman. But his uncle was involved with her. This, no matter what, was a little unreasonable.
Jun Chang’an said, “I don’t know about the news from Gong City, but it’s not too difficult to guess. Since Xu Shao has dealings with Yan Ruyu, what secret could it be that made Xu Shao not hesitate to kill Yan Jiuchao?”
An idea flashed across Yan Huaijing’s mind. “The secret that threatens Yan Ruyu’s status.”
Jun Chang’an nodded. “That’s right. Although I don’t know what the relationship between Xu Shao and Yan Ruyu is, I’m certain that they’re in the same boat. This secret that threatens her status might be that she has an affair with Xu Shao, or it might be…”
Yan Huaijing continued her words. “…She never gave birth to Yan Jiuchao’s children.”
… .
“You still want to escape?”
Yan Ruyu stood coldly at the door of the room and watched helplessly as Yu Wan was pushed in by a guard.
“If you dare to struggle, I’ll stab them.” Yan Ruyu’s sword lightly knocked on the basket containing the little munchkins.
Fortunately, the children were asleep. Otherwise, who knew how shocked they would be when they heard this.
Yu Wan clenched her fists and took a deep breath. “Yan Ruyu, the children aren’t yours, right?”
Yan Ruyu sneered. “Anyway, you’re about to die. I’ll let you understand. That’s right, the children aren’t mine. I snatched it from someone else.”
Yu Wan closed her eyes. “No wonder…”
“Do you want to know who their biological mother is?” Yan Ruyu asked evilly.
Yu Wan said indifferently, “As long as it’s not a crazy woman like you.”
Yan Ruyu smiled. “You want to know, right? Unfortunately, I won’t tell you.” I want you to die without even knowing that they’re your children!
Yan Ruyu put down her sword and took out a sleeping child from the basket on her back. She placed the child on her arm and looked at him lovingly. “They’re mine. My children have grown up safely…”
Yu Wan said coldly, “You lunatic! You’re snatching someone else’s child after losing yours!”
“What does it have to do with you?” Yan Ruyu smiled sweetly. Her face darkened as she said to the guard, “Throw her down!”
The guards held the bound Yu Wan and were about to throw her into the water when suddenly, a ship with a strange speed came over. A figure flew down from the ship, skimmed across the lake like a dragonfly, and landed on Yan Ruyu’s pleasure boat.
The person who came was none other than Yan Huaijing’s personal guard—Jun Chang’an.
Jun Chang’an kicked away the guard holding Yu Wan and stood in front of her.
Yan Ruyu handed the children to Aunt Lin and let her carry them back into the house.
“Guard Jun?” Yan Ruyu narrowed her eyes. She had seen Yan Huaijing and Jun Chang’an in the palace before. Strange, why was Jun Chang’an here? Since Jun Chang’an was here, was Yan Huaijing not far away?
Just as this thought flashed through his mind, the large ship approached and stopped beside the pleasure boat. A guard put down a wooden board and Yan Huaijing walked over.
A trace of coldness flashed across Yan Ruyu’s eyes, but she still bowed respectfully. “Greetings, Your Highness.”
Yan Huaijing was here. She couldn’t kill this woman anymore. She was just one step later. How detestable!
Yan Huaijing’s gaze landed on Yu Wan, who was tied up. His expression instantly turned cold. “Miss Yan, can you tell me what’s going on? I received a report that Miss Yu has gone missing. Why did you kidnap her?”
Report? Only a fool would believe this! However, he was the prince. He could lie through his teeth, but she could not treat it as the truth.
Yan Ruyu said, “Your Highness, you have misunderstood. It’s not that I want to capture Miss Yu, but Miss Yu sneaked onto my pleasure boat herself and knocked me out. She wanted to steal my children, so I had no choice but to teach her a lesson.”
“Is that so? Then has Miss Yan lectured enough?” Yan Huaijing asked angrily.
Of course not. Yan Ruyu’s eyes flashed, hesitating how to send Yan Huaijing away while protecting herself.
Yan Huaijing walked to Yu Wan’s side and untied her. He said to Yan Ruyu, “If Miss Yan doesn’t mind, I’ll take her away.”
Yan Ruyu asked, “But are we going to let go of the fact that she stole my children?”
Yan Huaijing looked at her coldly. “Miss Yan knows better than me whether you should let it go or not.”
What did this mean? Was Yan Huaijing threatening her? Yan Huaijing… Yan Huaijing also knew something? But since he knew, why didn’t he expose her in person? Could it be—
Yan Ruyu’s eyes darted around Yu Wan’s body and she smiled. Yes, so what if Yan Huaijing had figured out the truth? Would he dare to let Yu Wan discover it? He wished Yu Wan would be kept in the dark for the rest of her life and not have anything to do with Yan Jiuchao. In that case, there was no harm in giving Yu Wan to him for the time being.
Yan Ruyu bowed. “Since Your Highness has said so, I’ll pretend that nothing happened today. I hope Your Highness can keep a close eye on Miss Yu and not let her do anything stupid again.”
Yan Huaijing held Yu Wan’s hand. “Let’s go.”
“I’m not leaving.” Yu Wan brushed his hand away.
Yan Huaijing’s arm stiffened.
Yu Wan said, “Take the children with you and I’ll leave with you.”
Yan Huaijing’s eyes froze.
Yu Wan looked at him steadily. “I owe you this time. Take us away together.”
Yan Huaijing gradually clenched his fists. “That’s Yan Jiuchao’s children. It has nothing to do with me… nor with you.”
Yu Wan took a step back. “Then you can leave by yourself.”
“Do you know what will happen to you if I leave?” Yan Huaijing asked in a deep voice.
Yu Wan turned her face away. “At most, I’ll be fed to the fish.”
Yan Huaijing was so angry that his heart was stifled. Yan Huaijing gave Jun Chang’an a look. Jun Chang’an understood and raised his hand to tap Yu Wan’s acupoints.
Yu Wan instantly became unable to move. She could only widen her eyes and glare coldly at Yan Huaijing.
“I’m doing this for your own good,” Yan Huaijing said earnestly. With that, he reached out to hug Yu Wan.
Just as his hand was about to touch the corner of Yu Wan’s clothes, a spear tore through the air and shot towards his head as fast as lightning!
“Your Highness!” Jun Chang’an’s expression changed!
Yan Huaijing hurriedly dodged. Although the spear did not hit his head, it shot off his prince’s crown. His black hair scattered. The spear did not stop because of this. Instead, it shot into the chest of a guard, lifting him up and nailing him firmly to the mast!
Everyone was stunned by this scene, but what was even more surprising was what happened next.
“Look!” A guard pointed ahead and shouted.
Everyone looked in the direction of the voice, and Yu Wan also looked over. Under the sun, in the dawn, Yan Jiuchao was standing on a huge ship with a cold expression. His white robe and cloak fluttered against the wind. Behind him, majestic warships raised their sails and rode the wind and waves!