WMSG Chapter 87
by VolareGong Xunwu showed Ye Yueshen his palm, a cut following the lines of his palm that was almost everted. It was unknown how much blood had already flowed out, but it was still visibly dripping down in a line.
“There are people from the Noble Consort among the Imperial Guards. I blocked a knife for the Emperor.” Gong Xunwu didn’t think bleeding was a serious matter at all. He even lightly curled the corners of his lips and told Ye Yueshen, “Gong Shengyin didn’t block it; he dodged instinctively.”
Ye Yueshen opened his mouth slightly. Now, the matter of Gong Xunwu raising private soldiers and going crazy for him could almost be turned over with this knife.
Ye Yueshen resentfully said, “You must be very proud of yourself.” Then he lowered his head and tears began to fall in a stream.
“Don’t cry.” Gong Xunwu used both hands to wipe away his tears, and then, as expected, smeared blood all over Ye Yueshen’s face. He stopped as if he had done something wrong, unsure of what to do.
Ye Yuanshen and Yan Kui returned. Ye Yueshen brushed off Gong Xunwu’s hand, not deliberately avoiding the others, but his voice was just loud enough for him and Gong Xunwu to hear, “I’m not crying for you.” Don’t be so pleased with yourself.
Ye Yueshen felt that Gong Xunwu tonight was already smug enough, and any more satisfaction would send him floating into the sky. Therefore, his uncontrollable, bad attitude toward Gong Xunwu had a reasonable justification.
Only in this embellishment could he temporarily avoid making a difficult choice in the chaotic and irrational night.
Ye Yuanshen’s attitude towards Gong Xunwu returned to its initial unfamiliar state, respectful and polite but very distant. After bowing, he said, “Your Highness is injured. If you don’t mind my humble physician, I can have him come to take a look.”
Gong Xunwu agreed, “Let him come.” Even if he didn’t need to have his wound looked at, he needed a physician to be on standby in case Ye Yueshen had injuries he wasn’t aware of.
Ye Yuanshen nodded and entered the house. After the chaos, the eldest son, bound by filial piety and etiquette, should ensure the safety of all family members.
Yan Kui bowed to Gong Xunwu, “Your Highness, this subordinate accompanied Yue Gongzi to the residence near the Shi Yue Ge, and brought back a fine, young fellow. He has been in the Wang Estate since then and hasn’t left.”
He reported his errand in front of Ye Yueshen. Ye Yueshen didn’t even have the strength to get angry, but Gong Xunwu still took issue with it, “You think you did a good job? When I rushed here, I saw him alone with a yard full of corpses and a throng of servants whose faces I couldn’t even see. If there were robbers and assassins mixed in, where would you be?”
“Your Highness…” Yan Kui was somewhat guilty, and his tone was a little hesitant, “This subordinate went with Yuan Gongzi to chase after any survivors.”
Ye Yueshen couldn’t help but speak up for Yan Kui, “He only went with my brother after everyone was taken care of. He didn’t abandon me.”
Gong Xunwu’s eyes followed Ye Yueshen as soon as he spoke, and he didn’t open his mouth again or pay any attention to Yan Kui. He focused solely on Ye Yueshen’s face, thinking that these bloodstains would have to be washed off later with plenty of fragrant soap, otherwise the smell of blood would taint the sweet Ye Yueshen.
Out of fear, Yan Kui said even more details, “That’s right, Yuan Gongzi instructed this subordinate not to spread this around, but Your Highness and Yue Gongzi are not outsiders. Those robbers didn’t even need to be interrogated; they confessed everything. They were all ‘Jianghu brothers’ that Yue Gongzi used to associate with. Xue Dong got angry and killed them all. Those people took quite a bit of money from Yue Gongzi, but they were ungrateful wretches who took advantage of the chaos in the capital to rob the Marquis Estate of gold, silver, and treasures, and even uttered foul words, wanting to…”
He didn’t continue, tightly closing his mouth, thinking that he had really said too much without realizing it.
Gong Xunwu knew that those people were associates of the former Ye Yueshen and had nothing to do with his Ye Yueshen, so he was a little angry, “That person can’t tell right from wrong and almost implicated my Yueshen.”
Yan Kui didn’t understand for a moment. He only knew that his Highness’s tone had softened a lot and shouldn’t blame him for not staying by Ye Yueshen’s side at all times.
In fact, he had been sticking close to Ye Yueshen tonight. There wouldn’t be too much danger in the Marquis Estate. He and Gong Xunwu knew this very well, otherwise Gong Xunwu wouldn’t have only sent him alone.
Listening to the chaotic sounds outside and thinking about his Highness leading people to fight in the palace, he remembered the times when he fought side by side with his Highness on the frontier. He wished he could return to the palace immediately, but he was the most suitable among Gong Xunwu’s confidants to protect Ye Yueshen; those who were more attentive than him weren’t as skilled in martial arts, and those who were more skilled in martial arts weren’t as attentive as him.
So, he could only imagine the dangers in the palace in the safe environment of the Marquis Estate. Therefore, after he heard that robbers had broken in, he went out to fight almost excitedly and, unable to restrain his emotions, pursued the victory with Ye Yuanshen.
Ye Yueshen was stunned when he heard Yan Kui’s words. He didn’t expect that those robbers were people the original “Ye Yueshen” knew. People’s hearts are hard to fathom. There were actually bastards who repaid kindness with hatred.
“Ye Yueshen” was a poor judge of character and actually associated with these scoundrels. Ye Yueshen felt it was not worth it for him.
Ye Yuanshen opened the door and stood at the entrance, calling out to them, “Your Highness, please come in. The physician will be here soon.”
Ye Yueshen turned around and went in first. He went to see the Junzhu and Marquis Ye, and also cared about Ye Lingshen. Over here, Ye Yuanshen brought Gong Xunwu in. The Junzhu deliberately didn’t want to welcome him, planning to hesitate for a while before getting up to greet him. Even Marquis Ye was stopped by the Junzhu when he wanted to get up to pay his respects.
Gong Xunwu seemed not to see their actions. He took the initiative to salute the Junzhu across the beaded curtain partition, and even bowed slightly to Marquis Ye, “Junzhu Niangniang, peace. Houye, peace. I apologize for disturbing you late at night.”
He spoke politely, but his tone was still as distant and low as ever. It was impossible for him to deliberately put on a flattering posture. Just being polite in his wording was surprising enough.
Ye Yueshen felt his face and ears were hot. He stepped back a little embarrassedly, standing slightly behind Ye Yuanshen, as if hiding behind Ye Yuanshen.
The Junzhu was stunned, thinking that it was all over. Gong Xunwu had really grabbed hold of her son and wouldn’t let go. Marquis Ye, on the other hand, easily compromised with this result. If Prince Qi really wanted his youngest son, then the current situation, where things were still polite and humble on the surface, was already the most decent outcome for their Ye family. He only wanted to accept a toast and not be forced to drink a forfeit.
Just when there was an awkward moment of wanting to smooth things over but being powerless, and of being able to smooth things over but being unwilling to, the physician came, which barely broke the deadlock.
Marquis Ye stood up, “Your Highness, please sit down. Let the physician examine Your Highness’s injuries first and treat them slightly to prevent the wound from becoming dirty.”
Gong Xunwu nodded, “I’m sorry for the trouble.” Then he actually turned back to look at Ye Yueshen, as if seeking Ye Yueshen’s opinion.
Ye Yueshen was immediately furious and almost blurted out, ‘Don’t act so pitiful anymore. Now I look like a mean villain?’
Ye Yueshen didn’t say anything. He turned his face away and looked at Ye Yuanshen, “Brother, come with me to get something.”
Ye Yuanshen accompanied him out. The courtyard was still filled with the lingering, foul-smelling, damp atmosphere. Ye Yueshen covered his mouth and nose and said in a muffled voice, “I don’t know what to do with him.”
Ye Yuanshen seemed to smile, “San Yue doesn’t need to pay attention to him.”
The two brothers fell silent again. Ye Yueshen didn’t actually have anything to get. He just didn’t want to stay there and watch Gong Xunwu pretend, so he hid away.
The two tacitly walked around most of the estate. When they returned the same way, Ye Yuanshen said, “Those robbers were ‘Jianghu brothers’ that the former you associated with. They swore an oath of brotherhood, sharing life and death together. Now they’re taking advantage of the situation to rob their ‘brother’s’ house.”
Ye Yueshen didn’t know what to say, so he remained silent.
“I’m not telling you how muddle-headed he was.” Ye Yuanshen stopped, and Ye Yueshen also stopped. The two faced each other, and Ye Yuanshen said very seriously, “That little brother named Ye He took you in. I know you feel ashamed.”
Ye Yueshen blinked. He did feel ashamed. Ye He was able to take him in because of the good karma that the former Ye Yueshen had created.
“But you see, he also has things that implicate you.” Ye Yuanshen reached out and tucked the stray hair falling on Ye Yueshen’s cheek behind his ear, saying very gently, “So you don’t need to feel too guilty or inferior. Live on as Ye Yueshen without being arrogant or humble.”
Ye Yueshen’s eyes stung. He turned his head, looked up at the sky, but still couldn’t stop the tears from flowing. He lowered his head in a fluster.
Ye Yuanshen reached out and pulled him into his arms, “You didn’t do anything wrong. You’ve been chased and killed because of him, haven’t you? Don’t think about the past anymore. If you were more ruthless and indifferent, you would live a very easy life, but you’re a soft-hearted idiot.”
Ye Yueshen pursed his lips, barely suppressing the urge to cry, and retorted in a hoarse voice, “I’m not an idiot.”
“Yes, you’re not.” Ye Yuanshen touched his hair, “You’re a smart egg.”
Ye Yueshen turned from tears to laughter, gave Ye Yuanshen a resentful look, and Ye Yuanshen wiped away his tears without caring, wiping his snot as well.
Ye Yueshen was immediately a little embarrassed, “Hey…”
“It’s okay. You still call me brother, it’s nothing much.” Ye Yuanshen patted him on the back, “Let’s go back.”
Having said that, Ye Yueshen took a deep breath and said something from the bottom of his heart without any precautions, “I don’t know how to face him.”
Ye Yuanshen said in a tone that didn’t think it was a big deal, “Then don’t face him. Anyway, he’s the one rushing forward. You do what you need to do and don’t take him too seriously.”
Ye Yueshen felt a lot lighter. He walked back with Ye Yuanshen. At the entrance of the main courtyard, Ye Yuanshen stopped, and Ye Yueshen also turned to look at him, “What’s wrong?”
“Nothing.” Ye Yuanshen’s eyes were very red. He took a deep breath, and then opened his mouth with a smile, “I’m just saying goodbye to my brother.”
Ye Yueshen instantly understood what he meant. Ye Yuanshen had quickly accepted him in front of the Emperor, but in his heart, it was impossible not to feel reluctant about his former brother.
Perhaps even when he said these words to him, his heart was filled with guilt towards the former Ye Yueshen.
Ye Yueshen nodded. There was nothing he could do now but give Ye Yuanshen space. He returned to the main courtyard alone.
Inside the room, Gong Xunwu was talking to Marquis Ye. The Junzhu sat there with a frosty expression, while Ye Lingshen was sitting next to her with his legs crossed. Now no one was in the mood to care about his casual behavior.
When Gong Xunwu saw Ye Yueshen coming in, he smiled and held out his bandaged palm to show Ye Yueshen, “Don’t worry, it’s already fine.”
Under the gazes of the Junzhu, Marquis Ye, and Ye Lingshen, Ye Yueshen wanted to find a crack in the ground to crawl into. He looked back at Gong Xunwu with a grim face, almost gritting his teeth as he said, “I wasn’t worried about you.”