WMSG Chapter 17

Chapter 17: Chapter 17 – The Clothes Are Already Lost

In the academy, no one except Ye Yueshen knew Gong Xunwu’s full name, and Gong Xunwu and Ye Yuanshen had no intention of revealing it. This, at least, made Ye Yueshen breathe a slight sigh of relief.

Due to Yuan Bianyin’s serious talk last night about the personnel relationships in Ye Yueshen’s room, Cansong, Yinjian, Yunzheng, and Xiawei, the four maids serving in the room, all went to the Junzhu’s room for “training.”

This caused Ye Yueshen, who had finally established a non-repugnant relationship with them, to face four new faces this morning.

But being frequently hunted made it difficult to let strangers touch his hair without any defense. So, Ye Yueshen followed the steps he learned last night and tied himself a messy little bun.

Ye Yueshen had no experience taking care of long hair in his previous eighteen years of life, so the lower half of his hair, now loose, looked like a tangled mess.

However, a beauty is still a beauty, even in burlap sacks and with soot smeared on their face.

The messy hair reduced the alienation brought by Ye Yueshen’s extremely exquisite beauty, making him appear more approachable and lovely.

But a strand of hair on the left side that wasn’t smoothed out always tugged at Ye Yueshen’s scalp, making him feel very insecure.

He followed his brother and Gong Xunwu to the small pavilion outside. Ye Yuanshen glanced at him, “Did you fight someone?”

Ye Yueshen fruitlessly raised his hand and pinched his bun, as if to confirm that the little ponytail was still there.

The sense of contradiction in Gong Xunwu’s heart emerged again, making it almost impossible to associate the Ye Yueshen in front of him, whose demeanor and actions were all innocent and ignorant, with the murderer covered in blood yesterday.

“I don’t fight.” Ye Yueshen retorted casually, and at the same time, he thought of yesterday’s life-or-death struggle, instinctively looking at the “witness,” Gong Xunwu.

“Have you had lunch?” Gong Xunwu asked him, not commenting on his lie just now.

Ye Yueshen seemed to have found a chance, “Not yet, then I’ll go back…” and then eat, but he was interrupted by Gong Xunwu before he could finish.

“Your brother and I haven’t eaten yet either. If you’re not busy with your studies, why not join us?”

Gong Xunwu’s suggestion was obviously very sudden, because Ye Yuanshen looked at him as well, having just found out.

Ye Yueshen refused slightly, “I’m busy with my studies.”

…

Realizing that his wording was so concise that it seemed stiff, Ye Yueshen added a little, trying to make his attitude look gentle: “I agreed with Yimei to have lunch together.” Yimei was Yuan Bianyin’s courtesy name.

Lunch in the academy was all at their respective tables, so there was no question of being together or not, and they had never been close.

Ye Yuanshen heard his excuse and helped him out, “Since you’ve made an appointment…”

“Then ask him to come along.” Gong Xunwu interrupted again, his gaze towards Ye Yueshen already very impolite.

The awkward silence lasted for a while, and in the end, Ye Yuanshen maintained face and instructed Ye Yueshen to call Yuan Bianyin.

Yuan Bianyin was not impatient, smiling and greeting Ye Yuanshen politely, “Brother, hello.” Then, he bowed to Gong Xunwu, without speaking, maintaining his usual aloofness and pride.

The academy was located in the southeast part of the Ye family’s residence, with a small door directly leading out. The four people boarded a carriage, which eventually stopped at the back door of a three-story restaurant.

Yuan Bianyin’s presence in the Ye family was not high. Ye Yueshen, who had the most contact with him, did not get along well with him. As for Ye Yuanshen and Ye Lingshen, they did not study at the academy, so they had little contact.

Eating together today was a bit sudden for them, but fortunately, both Ye Yuanshen and Yuan Bianyin seemed to be very proper people.

Ye Yueshen had already given up, sitting at the table in the private room upstairs. Before anyone else moved their chopsticks, he took the liberty of eating the persimmon cake in front of him.

As the elder brother, Ye Yuanshen didn’t blame him, only telling him to eat less, as too much would hurt his stomach.

One after another, fragrant dishes were brought to the table. Everyone was silent, and even the polite conversations between Ye Yuanshen and Gong Xunwu seemed somewhat strained.

Finally, Gong Xunwu “accidentally” knocked over his wine glass, spilling wine all over Yuan Bianyin.

Gong Xunwu gracefully put down his chopsticks and said to him, “It was my clumsiness.” Then he looked at Ye Yuanshen, “Fuyi, please accompany him to find Manager Li to change his clothes.”

Ye Yuanshen was speechless to the extreme and even wanted to sneer, but in the end, he just got up without saying a word. He was extremely worried but had no choice, because the other party was Qi Wang.

Only Gong Xunwu and Ye Yueshen were left in the room. After a moment of silence, Gong Xunwu finally spoke, “Don’t you have anything to say?”

“My mother said to return to the academy when my injuries are healed.” Ye Yueshen’s voice was very soft, without the slightest awareness of being questioned, saying very calmly, “I chose to be an obedient child, so I decided to have a servant help me inform the Qi Wang Manor, waiting for Your Highness to have a convenient time later.”

Gong Xunwu looked at him coldly, “If I blame you, would it mean that I’m not understanding of your filial piety?”

“No, my explanation is also very unconvincing.” Ye Yueshen lowered his head slightly, “Please forgive me, Your Highness.”

“What have I done to make you avoid me like a venomous snake?” Gong Xunwu looked at him with a hint of coercion, “You were the one who killed, and I was the one who cleaned up the mess. Are you confused and misremembering?”

Ye Yueshen’s fingers under the table gradually clenched, “Instead of discussing what you’ve done, why not talk about what Your Highness wants to do? What is the purpose of you wanting me to go to the Qi Wang Manor alone?”

Gong Xunwu didn’t speak.

“Why not be clear?” Ye Yueshen looked back at him, “Some losses that Your Highness wants me to suffer, I have no ability to refuse. But Your Highness repeatedly avoids answering, what’s the point?”

Perhaps it was because he was too straightforward that Gong Xunwu remained silent.

Ye Yueshen was right. As long as he gave an order, he would be fully capable of making a marquis’s son his pawn. Yesterday, he was still in the imperial palace, under the emperor’s nose, disposing of a corpse without alarming anyone.

“Tomorrow at noon.” Gong Xunwu said in a tone that brooked no refusal, “That is your final deadline.”

“What if I don’t go?” A trace of transcendence from everything reappeared in Ye Yueshen’s eyes. Gong Xunwu felt that this innocence stemmed from ignorance of the Qi Wang Manor’s power.

Gong Xunwu didn’t speak, as if an overwhelming pressure was coming.

Ye Yueshen pinched his palm to maintain composure, “Your Highness disposed of everything very cleanly, to the extent that…” He plucked up his courage to look at Gong Xunwu, “The evidence has been cleared by Your Highness, so where does Your Highness have any leverage?”

“Didn’t you just say?” Gong Xunwu’s expression was already very unpleasant, “If I want to deal with you, why do I need any leverage?”

Ye Yueshen forced a smile, “Alright, then I’ll be Your Highness’s first stain.”

“Threatening me?” Gong Xunwu had never been threatened in his life. He felt novelty and annoyance, and even a bit of uncertainty about this unfamiliar feeling: Could it be that someone really dares to disobey me?

Ye Yuanshen and Yuan Bianyin returned, and neither of the two at the table had any appetite to eat.

After seeing Gong Xunwu’s gloomy eyes that looked like he wanted to kill someone, Ye Yuanshen was secretly startled. But when he turned back, his younger brother was still innocent and naive, even widening his eyes slightly at him, asking him with his eyes what was wrong.

He didn’t dare to think about what Ye Yueshen had done to provoke Gong Xunwu, while Ye Yueshen was completely unaware, even drinking soup as if nothing had happened.

After sensing Ye Yuanshen’s silent scrutiny, Gong Xunwu quickly restrained his anger, his tone returning to indifference, “Fuyi, although Yueshen hasn’t reached adulthood, he can’t be considered a child. He refers to everyone with ‘you’ this and ‘you’ that. I have a friendship with you and won’t mind, but he might offend others, so remember to discipline him properly.”

So it was this kind of thing. It could be a big deal or a small deal, depending entirely on whether others cared about it. Ye Yuanshen breathed a sigh of relief. Gong Xunwu being able to say these words to him did mean that he regarded him as one of his own.

“Yes.” Ye Yuanshen agreed.

Gong Xunwu then looked at Ye Yueshen, “Tomorrow, you will send the clothes to the Qi Wang Manor.”

Ye Yueshen was stunned. The old fox was so scheming, making him send clothes in front of Ye Yuanshen. If he made an excuse not to go, he wouldn’t be able to get past his brother’s scrutiny.

“I’m sorry.” Ye Yueshen pursed his lips, cheering himself up in his heart, “The clothes are already lost.”

In fact, what he wanted to do most at this moment was to drool and act like an idiot, but he didn’t have the courage to live as an idiot for the rest of his life, so he could only give up.

Moreover, a beautiful idiot would only be in a worse situation.

But in Ye Yuanshen’s eyes, he was no different from an idiot now. The clothes were clearly enshrined in his family’s ancestral hall, and even if they were lost, he couldn’t just say it like that.

Gong Xunwu glanced at him, “Compensate me. Tomorrow, you will send them over alone.”

Ye Yueshen still wanted to struggle, but Ye Yuanshen had already preemptively agreed for him, “That is only natural.” Being a errand boy was already a very light punishment.

Gong Xunwu got up to leave. Yuan Bianyin, who had been silent all along, suddenly raised his head, “I wonder what is keeping you so busy, but the food in your bowl isn’t finished. This is top-quality japonica rice, which many people outside haven’t even seen. Isn’t it shameful to be so wasteful?”

Ye Yuanshen narrowed his eyes and looked at Yuan Bianyin, reminding him, “Don’t be presumptuous.”

Yuan Bianyin still stood straight, but his fingers on the table curled up very quickly, looking a little insecure.

Ye Yueshen watched coldly. This kind of scene was often used in idol dramas. When Ye Yueshen was a boarder and did housework, he would occasionally hear this kind of dialogue coming from the TV.

The current Yuan Bianyin was like the brave and fearless female protagonist, while Gong Xunwu naturally corresponded to the male protagonist.

Before the main plot of the original work had even started, the original protagonist Gong Shengyin’s emotional entanglement had already been diverted. Ye Yueshen watched very intently.

Gong Xunwu glanced at Ye Yueshen, who was faintly interested, coldly withdrew his gaze, and did not answer Yuan Bianyin.

“Stop!” Yuan Bianyin got up to follow him. Before he could catch up, Gong Xunwu had already reached the door, turning his head back to look at him very lightly, then lowered his eyelids to look outside the door, saying indifferently, “Then eat more.”

Yuan Bianyin slumped his shoulders somewhat dejectedly. After a long while, he mustered up his courage to look at his cousins. He didn’t say anything, and quickly left.

“I already told him earlier that he was His Highness Qi Wang.” There was displeasure in Ye Yuanshen’s eyes about being used.

Ye Yueshen wasn’t too surprised. Yuan Bianyin’s father had once achieved the position of Tan Hua after passing the imperial examination and had served as a Si Jian. Now, he had been sent out to Yanzhou to serve as the magistrate of Mang County. His official position wasn’t too high, but it wasn’t low either. However, his family background was insufficient, and it didn’t measure up to the status of Yuan Bianyin’s mother, a Miss from a marquis’s family.

His mother’s marriage and his own family background had become Yuan Bianyin’s heart disease. He always felt that if his mother hadn’t been so willful and had listened to her parents’ orders, she would have definitely married a noble family in the capital with a comparable status. At least, he would be a young master with a status equal to his cousins.

In the original work, Yuan Bianyin accidentally became acquainted with Gong Shengyin and then refused to let go of this connection. Today, Gong Xunwu was the same to him.

People inevitably crave things that are difficult to achieve. Ye Yueshen wanted family affection, and Yuan Bianyin wanted noble status. In a sense, they were the same.