MLIAM Chapter 2

Chapter 2 My Troubles – Is This the Little General’s Greeting Gift?

Chapter 2 My Troubles – Is This the Little General’s Greeting Gift?

Yu Shuli was dragged from his sleep, tied up securely, and escorted to The Censorate.

He opened his eyes groggily, leaning awkwardly in the uncomfortable solitary cell, listening to the grinding teeth and snoring of his fellow inmates in the middle of the night, and waited somewhat irritably for the person who would interrogate him.

But two hours passed, and the person didn’t appear.

Could he really be dead?

Yu Shuli curled his lip.

That would be too easy on him.

Utterly bored, Yu Shuli turned and started chatting with the inmate next door to gossip.

The inmate next door wasn’t old, but it was said that he had committed a serious crime.

“Hey, I heard you caused quite a stir? Almost drove the yamen runners crazy.”

“Likewise.”

Yu Shuli had quite a bit of experience in committing offenses, so he comforted him in the tone of someone who had been there: “It’s okay, it’s okay, as long as your old man has a decent position, you definitely won’t die.”

The man glanced at him: “I don’t have a father.”

That shut down the conversation.

Yu Shuli smiled apologetically: “Ah… my condolences.” He thought for a moment and asked again: “What did you do? Maybe I can help you?”

The man glanced at him: “If you’re so capable, why don’t you save yourself first?”

Yu Shuli chuckled sheepishly: “I’m accused of the major crime of poisoning a court official.”

The man smiled back: “I’m accused of the major crime of assassinating a prince.”

Oh, both major crimes, both quite capable.

Yu Shuli became interested, leaned over, and asked him in a low voice: “Which one did you assassinate? How come there’s no news outside?”

The young gentleman glanced at him and didn’t hesitate to tell him: “The Crown Prince.”

A look of excitement suddenly appeared in Yu Shuli’s eyes: “Ha! That bastard!” After he said that, he suddenly covered his mouth, thinking that if this person was sent by the Crown Prince to test him, wouldn’t he be walking right into a trap!

Yu Shuli was annoyed. His brain was so useless, it wouldn’t be worth anything even if sold by the pound…

“Are you one of The Crown Prince Party?” the man asked, “You look so sad and upset.”

“Sad? How could I be!” The Crown Prince Party my ass! He wasn’t!

Yu Shuli frantically thought about how to remedy the situation, and suddenly something came to mind, and his eyes lit up.

“I am definitely not one of the Crown Prince’s people!” Yu Shuli simply swore to the heavens, and then mysteriously said to the young gentleman: “Don’t you know? Wei Yan secretly loves me, so he’s been targeting me everywhere.”

“Wei… the Prime Minister? …You?” The young gentleman’s gaze wandered, seemingly thinking about the truthfulness of his words. “Are you Yu Shuli?”

Yu Shuli nodded frantically, trying to pass the buck to Wei Yan. “Don’t you know, I’m only telling you this, we can be considered as opening our hearts to each other, what’s your name?”

“Chen Li.” The young gentleman frowned: “But… weren’t you brought in for poisoning Prime Minister Wei?”

Yu Shuli smiled meaningfully: “What do you know! This is his kink! A game of playing hard to get.”

The young gentleman frowned even deeper.

Yu Shuli saw that he didn’t believe him: “You just wait, he’ll come to release me soon. When I’m in a good mood, I might pull you out with me.”

The young gentleman simply turned his body away and ignored him.

Yu Shuli: Was he really that untrustworthy?

As dawn was breaking, Yu Shuli, between waking and sleeping, heard rustling sounds outside, followed by a familiar and chaotic sound of footsteps.

“My son!”

The person who came was burly and fierce-looking, but inappropriately had two streams of clear tears hanging from the corners of his eyes. He rushed in aggressively, like a purple eggplant, and rushed towards Yu Shuli… but went to the cell next door.

“Son! Did they bully you?” The man grabbed the bars and reached out to the young man inside, then shouted angrily to the back: “Release my son now!”

The young man frowned even tighter: “Sir, you’ve mistaken me.”

Meeting the strange gazes of the guards behind the man, Yu Shuli sighed helplessly and said, “Dad, I’m over here.”

The sound of the brawny man’s wailing next door stopped abruptly.

Yu Shuli saw his father “hiss” in a daze, stuffed the speechless and confused young man back in, and then rushed towards him sniffling.

He could even mistake his own son. The guards who followed in all looked a little disdainful.

Seeing the prison lock opened, Yu Shuli subconsciously took a step back. Sure enough, his father pounced over like a firecracker: “Son, you’ve suffered! Did they torture you to extract a confession in The Censorate?! You wait, I’ll impeach them when I go to court later!”

Yu Shuli recognized the head of the guards who followed in, a man named Cang Xu who was close to Wei Yan.

Cang Xu was here, definitely sent by Wei Yan.

Yu Shuli lowered his eyes somewhat regretfully, thinking to himself, Wei Yan was indeed not dead.

He leaned over and patted his old man, comforting him, “Dad, The Censorate is a proper place, they won’t force a confession.” He looked at Cang Xu: “Inspector Cang, am I right?”

Cang Xu frowned: “Is the Little General sober now?”

“Naturally.”

“Then please, Little General, come with me.”

“Where to?! Huh? Where are you taking my son?!” Old General Yu instantly transformed from a son-doting man into a true soldier.

With a “clang,” a sharp blade was drawn, and the atmosphere was tense.

Cang Xu was stunned, and from this fat, seemingly weak old general, he saw a bit of the shadow he had seen in his youth.

At that time, Yu Huaxin was heroic, and mighty. Relying only on his personal Northwest Army of 30,000 men, he swept away hundreds of thousands of enemy troops, killed dozens of enemy generals, and drove those covetous enemy troops head-on out of Jianmen Pass.

His Lance carrying the enemy’s head, passing through the border town of Ningchuan, the people cheered and welcomed him on both sides of the street, throwing flowers everywhere.

Where was that divine general who was admired by thousands of people, compared to the muddle-headed appearance of the pot-bellied man who wobbled when he walked?

Cang Xu happened to be from the small town of Ningchuan, and he was also the one who looked up to and admired him back then.

But now…

It can only be said… the world is going downhill.

“Old General, please don’t make things difficult for us.” Cang Xu cupped his hands and explained, “Prime Minister was poisoned last night, and the Little General was also in contact, we are just doing a routine check.”

Yu Huaxin’s hand holding the hilt of the sword was trembling, but he didn’t budge, shouting repeatedly to see His Majesty.

“Dad.”

Yu Shuli said, “I’ll go with them.”

He patted his father’s calloused hand and smiled, “It’s just a question, don’t make such a fuss.”

“You brat! Blaming your dad for making a fuss?” Yu Huaxin said aggrievedly: “Dad heard from your Uncle Zhang that you were arrested in a brothel, Dad didn’t even bother to enjoy the warmth with your mother, pulled up his pants and came… Blocked your dad at the door for two hours, Dad didn’t sleep all night…”

Yu Shuli: …

There was no need to say so much detail.

“It’s really nothing.” Yu Shuli pushed his old man out the door: “Why don’t you go home and take care of those newly arrived servants? I heard they’re making mom very happy.”

“Still talking? You brat! All your fault!” Taking advantage of the fact that everyone wasn’t looking, Yu Huaxin blinked and said in a low voice: “Really don’t need Dad’s help? Dad has Death Exemption Token, no matter what happens, Dad can save your life!”

“Really don’t need it, Dad…” Wei Yan wasn’t dead, what crime could he be charged with?

He had kindly poisoned the rats, and accidentally gave him a rat poison bun.

The bun crumbs fell all over the ground, no one would dare to eat something from a drunkard, right? Who told Wei Yan to actually eat it?

Yu Shuli smiled: “I haven’t done anything illegal, innocence will clear itself.” He looked at Cang Xu, with a half-smile: “Am I right, Inspector Cang?”

“Naturally.” Cang Xu said sternly: “If it is confirmed that the Little General is innocent, you will be sent home immediately.”

Yu Shuli put away the sword for his old man, patted his father’s shoulder: “Go back and rest and sleep well. Also, Dad, your sword is rusty, don’t take it out to scare people. A collision can easily hurt people.”

“You brat! Disassembling your old man’s stage!” Old Dad Yu was still turning around and cursing when he was being led away.

“Please.” Yu Shuli saw his father walking away, then restrained his smile and looked at Cang Xu.

Cang Xu nodded and gestured: “Please.”

Yu Shuli turned his head to look at the young man in the shadows again, seemingly knowing that the other party was looking at him, he straightened his back and said triumphantly: “You see, I said, I would get out.”

The young man scoffed lightly and said perfunctorily: “Have a good trip.”

“Hey, you kid, why aren’t you cute at all!”

*

“You’re here?” The originally sickly man sat at the desk, slightly lowering his head to write something.

In the not-so-cold weather, he was wearing a long-haired cloak. A pale face gently outlined a smile, beautiful and soul-stirring.

When Yu Shuli stepped into the study, he saw such a scene.

His heart skipped a beat, he “hmph” and walked over, casually sitting on the only chair on Wei Yan’s side: “What does the Prime Minister want me for?”

He wanted to show off and lean over to see what Wei Yan was painting, but he sneezed loudly.

A clear stream of snot and a few drops of saliva appeared clearly on Wei Yan’s ink treasure.

Wei Yan raised his head and glanced at him, putting down the ink brush.

Yu Shuli’s feet quickly clawed at the ground, and the words he wanted to scold Wei Yan, “old, undead, sick man,” were stuck in his throat.

Wei Yan’s gaze was fiery.

Yu Shuli was embarrassed and his face turned as red as a monkey’s butt. He chuckled sheepishly and stammered: “Or should I wipe it for you?” It was impossible to redraw a new one to compensate him, he didn’t have that painting skill.

Wei Yan was a noble young man after all, and the feedback of his gestures was calm enough. Not only did he not deal with the evidence of Yu Shuli’s few drops falling on the painting, but he also rolled up the painting and put it aside, then looked at Yu Shuli: “Is this the Little General’s greeting gift?”

Greeting your big ghost head.

Yu Shuli was unwilling to admit the fact that he had caught a cold after spending a night in prison, so he stuck his neck out and pointed at the servants who were serving in the corner, arguing: “It’s too smelly here!”

Wei Yan’s eyelashes moved, and he waved his hand to send all the servants out, and then he got up and closed the windows.

Cang Xu stood at the door, staring at Yu Shuli intently, afraid that he would do something to harm the Prime Minister.

“Does the Little General know his mistake?” Wei Yan’s voice was still a little hoarse at this time, “Poisoning a court official, your courage has never been small.”

Yu Shuli raised his head, meeting Wei Yan’s suddenly cold gaze.

His face changed quickly.

“Know my mistake? What mistake do I have?” Yu Shuli sneered, “The Prime Minister poisoned himself, you can’t push it on me, right? You know, the entire brothel can testify for me, these past two days, I haven’t even left the door of the brothel.”

The door of the study was open, Cang Xu stood behind the door, and frowned when he heard the words. “Little General, the bun you gave the Prime Minister almost cost him his life! What a vicious heart!”

Yu Shuli snorted lightly.

Vicious? If it weren’t for his conscience and thinking of their former friendship, and he had put less poison powder, Wei Yan would have been a dead man long ago.

“Go out.” Wei Yan said faintly.

Cang Xu raised his eyes in shock: “Sir!”

“Close the door, go out, I don’t want to repeat it a third time.”

“Sir! This is what harmed you…”

Wei Yan looked over again, Cang Xu shut his mouth aggrievedly, and opened and closed the door in one go.

“You are really not friendly to your subordinates.” Yu Shuli commented, “Also, noble young masters, always look down on ordinary people who start from scratch.”

“Yu Shuli.” Wei Yan’s fingers were bent by his side, and he leaned forward slightly, but sat back halfway, he frowned and looked over.

“Have you made enough trouble?”

“Trouble?” Yu Shuli smiled, “Even now, you still think I’m making trouble?”

He withdrew his smile: “My sister is now an idiot, with the intelligence of a three-year-old child. You harmed her like this, but you say I’m making trouble? My father has become a complete waste after that incident, his belly is bigger than the pot, and all he does is eat and compete with my mother for attention, staring at those servants all day long, the vinegar jar is turned upside down all over the place. If it weren’t for me charging forward on the front line, our family would be completely finished.”

“Our family has become like this, all thanks to you.” Yu Shuli rushed over, grabbed Wei Yan’s collar, and gritted his teeth and asked, “Wei Yan, don’t you have a heart?”

Wei Yan coughed a few times, his pale fingers wanted to pull Yu Shuli’s hand away, but he didn’t have the strength.

He was silent for a moment, simply letting him grab him in this posture, slowly arched one leg against the table, using the momentum to stabilize his figure.

His posture was not elegant, and there was some embarrassment: “I can only say sorry for your sister’s matter.”

“Sorry? Is a sorry enough?!” Yu Shuli slapped the table, and half of the table corner was unloaded like this.

Yu Shuli couldn’t restrain his ferocity, and when he met Wei Yan’s clear and deep eyes, he seemed to see the sadness gathering inside, but only for a moment, his gaze returned to coldness.

“Little General, you should drink less wine in the future.” Wei Yan sneered, “So you don’t think of some unpleasant old things.”

“Old things?” Yu Shuli threw the sawdust away, and recalled with gritted teeth: “There was an accident at the autumn hunting ground, torrential rain, the mud water washed away the post station in the forest, you asked her to meet you there in private, you should have protected her well, but you turned around and went into the deep mountains in the rain to save the Crown Prince. And my sister was humiliated because of this, and then she had a high fever and became an idiot… You could have… saved her first… At the very least, send troops to take her back, is it difficult?”

Wei Yan was held by Yu Shuli’s neck, and the corners of his eyes were red. His originally fair face was stained with a little blush, which was enough to be shocking.

Yu Shuli’s fingers trembled, and he couldn’t pinch it anymore. His palm moved to Wei Yan’s waist, seemingly wanting to take the opportunity to break his thin waist.

Wei Yan took the opportunity to lean on his palm, stabilizing his precarious figure: “Yu Shuli, you clearly know that it was not me who humiliated your sister. And even without that day, your sister and I could not get married.”

“You… what did you say? You’re lying again!”

“I have explained it to you countless times, I really didn’t do anything to hurt your sister. I didn’t propose to marry her in the first place, so naturally I have no feelings or obligations to her.” Wei Yan gasped in embarrassment, raised his eyes to look at Yu Shuli, and said seriously: “As for saving the Crown Prince…”

He smiled bitterly, seemingly also trapped in his memories, hesitant to speak, and after a long time he said: “Give me another chance, I will still give up saving your sister, I can’t argue with this, saving the Crown Prince is also something I must save. I had no choice.”

Yu Shuli saw that his face was getting worse and worse, and finally let go of his fingers and pushed him away: “You are very loyal! For the sake of the Crown Prince, you have become half-crippled yourself, are you satisfied now?”

Wei Yan’s gaze retracted from Yu Shuli’s face, and he coughed heavily a few times, then slowly said: “Satisfied.”

Seeing Yu Shuli’s face unhappy, he pressed his pale fingers on the outer edge of the chair, and repeated: “Below one person, above ten thousand people. Naturally satisfied.”

“Lackey! Beast!” Yu Shuli scolded: “You weren’t like this before!”

“What about beasts? The Little General is straightforward and full of righteousness, but what about the Yu family now?” Wei Yan smiled: “In this world, treacherous officials are in power, the Little General lacks some means, so it is unfair to count the downfall of the Yu family on me.”

“Fair? Wei Yan, you bastard, are you talking about fairness with me?” Yu Shuli kicked the chair over: “Was it you who caused my second uncle’s house to be raided? Was it you who made the Yu family jealous of His Majesty?! If it weren’t for my father’s old merits, would our family have been beheaded by you?! Wei Yan, how can you be so vicious! I used to treat you as a confidant.”

Whether it was frightened by Yu Shuli’s actions or hurt by his words, Wei Yan’s brows suddenly tightened, and he coughed hard a few times.

Yu Shuli’s scolding stopped, and the room was silent except for Wei Yan’s coughing.

“Think what you want.” Wei Yan coughed and took a long breath, closing his eyes weakly, “I won’t pursue the poisoning incident, and The Censorate won’t investigate further. But Yu Shuli, know when to stop, if you keep making trouble, I won’t be able to protect you.”

Yu Shuli was stunned and exasperated: “Who wants you to protect me?!” He turned around and wanted to leave.

Wei Yan didn’t know where he got the strength, and grabbed his wrist:

“Don’t investigate that matter anymore.”

Yu Shuli frowned and turned back, but saw Wei Yan finish speaking, and the body that was standing upright suddenly tilted and fell to the ground, spitting out a mouthful of blood.

Yu Shuli opened his eyes wide: “Wei Yan, you bastard, you’re actually faking it?!”