Chapter 208: Brother Jiu Returns

Translator: Henyee Translations  Editor: Henyee Translations

Yan Ruyu could not stay in this teahouse for too long. In order to cover up her tracks, she had arranged to tour the nearby lake with a group of noble ladies. She had used the excuse of buying tea and snacks for her friends to come here. She estimated that it was about time for her to go back and look for those noble ladies.

Yan Ruyu carried a few boxes of tea and snacks downstairs. Just as she reached the door, she saw Yu Wan, who was filled with killing intent.

Yu Wan had just come out of the alley where she had “met” Zhao Heng. She had plundered five copper coins from Zhao Heng. Five copper coins were not even enough to fill the gaps between her teeth. Of course, Yu Wan did not care about these copper coins, but what she had interrogated Zhao Heng about.

Zhao Heng said that he had seen a portrait of her pregnant, and the portrait of her was covered in red spots, her appearance was ugly, and she was beyond recognition. Even Zhao Heng, who had grown up with her, almost couldn’t recognize her. Then, how did his classmate surnamed Yang, who had only seen her a few times from afar, recognize her in the brothel?

It was obvious that Yang was lying!

Of course, she did not suspect that the two of them had seen each other in Prefecture Xu’s brothel. However, it was not as Scholar Yang had said. On the contrary, she should have recognized Scholar Yang.

Scholar Yang and Zhao Heng had a close relationship. She, who always went to visit Zhao Heng at the private school, knew this person even if she had never spoken to Scholar Yang.

After recognizing Scholar Yang, she immediately revealed her identity to him and asked him to save her. Unfortunately, Scholar Yang was afraid of being implicated and left her alone.

Yu Wan did not think that there was anything to blame him for. After all, he was not related to her. It seemed to be forcing him to take the risk of offending others and save her. However, since he had chosen to leave her alone, he might as well not care about her. Why would he gossip to Zhao Heng about this? What was the meaning of this?!

If he dared to say the whole story, Yu Wan would respect him as a man. However, he had removed himself completely and refused to mention that she had asked him for help. He only insisted that she had entered the brothel herself.

What scum! What a coward! It was said that birds of a feather flock together. Those who were friends with Zhao Heng were actually the same type of person as him!

Yan Ruyu saw Yu Wan walking forward with her head lowered. She did not even look at the road and only waited for Yu Wan to bump into a pillar. Unexpectedly, Yu Wan seemed to have a pair of eyes on her head. The moment she was about to hit the pillar, she stopped in her tracks. Then, Yu Wan seemed to have sensed something and looked at Yan Ruyu.

Yan Ruyu was caught off guard and was caught red-handed. However, Yu Wan did not even look up. She looked away and continued walking forward.

Yan Ruyu, who had never been ignored like this, was so angry that smoke was rising from her head. “Stop right there!”

Yu Wan ignored her.

“Yu! I told you to stop!”

Yu Wan still did not stop.

Yan Ruyu widened her eyes in disbelief. After not seeing her for a few days, this girl had become more and more bold. She dared to ignore her on the streets. Look, she was still a lowly village girl, but she dared to embarrass her like this. When she regained her status, wouldn’t she ruthlessly step on her?!

“Hey, Miss Yan told you to stop. Are you deaf or stupid? Can’t you hear her?”

Just as Yan Ruyu was about to die of anger, a few well-dressed noble ladies suddenly appeared in front of Yu Wan and blocked her path arrogantly.

They were noble ladies who had been invited to tour the lake with Yan Ruyu. Their original plan was to meet at a cloth shop. After they met, Yan Ruyu suggested buying tea and snacks for them. They waited for a long time but Yan Ruyu did not return, so they came to look for her.

The person who had spoken just now was a young lady surnamed Li. She was the closest to Yan Ruyu among all the noble ladies, and her status was also the highest among them. It was most suitable for her to stand up for Yan Ruyu.

When the other two young ladies saw that Miss Li had spoken, they were not to be outdone.

“Yes, can’t you hear her? Are you really deaf?”

“Or are you saying that you want to deliberately offend Miss Yan? Do you know who Miss Yan is? She’s the daughter of the Marquis Manor. A lowly commoner like you can only kowtow and bow when you see her. How dare you neglect her!”

“Lowly commoner?” Yu Wan looked at the three of them indifferently. “I’m a lowly commoner, then what are you?”

“My father is the assistant minister of the Ministry of War, Miss Hu’s father is the assistant minister of the Yellow Gate, and Miss Zuo’s grandfather is a scholar of the Hanlin Academy. You…” As Miss Li spoke, she sized her up. “What are you?”

Yan Ruyu walked forward and “kindly” helped her out. “Forget it, it’s my fault. I wanted to use this opportunity to make up with her, but I didn’t expect her to have such a deep grudge against me…”

There was a lot of information in these words. What did she mean by “make up with her”? What did she mean by “have a deep grudge”? Could it be that the two of them did not get along well before this? But no matter how they looked at it, Miss Yan would not have any interactions with a commoner!

Everyone looked at Yan Ruyu in confusion.

Miss Li asked, “Miss Yan, who is she?”

Yan Ruyu looked embarrassed. “Forget it, let’s not talk about her anymore. Let’s go. Don’t ruin our mood because of this small matter. I’ll feel bad.”

“Why are you pretending to be a good person, Yan Ruyu?” Yu Wan looked at her expressionlessly.

Everyone was stunned by this shameless tone. Yan Ruyu frowned slightly. “Miss Yu…”

“Miss Yu?” Yu Wan smiled. “You’re not calling me a village girl anymore?”

“So you’re a village girl!” A trace of disdain flashed across Miss Li’s eyes. “Heavens, now even a village girl dares to look down on the daughter of the marquis?”

Miss Hu on the left said, “Miss Yan, how do you know a village girl?”

Yan Ruyu hesitated for a while and said awkwardly, “Her father was once my father’s subordinate.”

Miss Li raised her voice. “Is the daughter of a subordinate so disrespectful?”

Yu Wan said in amusement, “Yan Ruyu, why don’t you just tell them that not only is my father your father’s subordinate, but he also snatched your father’s military achievements?”

Miss Li’s eyes widened. “What? Your father even snatched Marquis Yan’s military achievements? Your… your father… your father is that…”

“Yes, my father is Yu Shaoqing,” Yu Wan said as she straightened her back. No matter how the outside world wronged her father, her father would always be a hero in her heart who saved the people from danger.

Miss Li mocked, “No wonder you didn’t dare to stop when Miss Yan called you. You’re too ashamed to stop!”

Yan Ruyu tugged at Miss Li’s sleeve and said gently, “Stop talking, don’t offend her.”

Miss Li snorted. “What? Am I afraid of her?”

Her father was the current assistant minister of the Ministry of War. Killing the daughter of a criminal was as easy as killing an ant, not to mention that she had Yan Ruyu by her side. Even in the entire Capital, there were not many people who dared to provoke the Yan family.

Yan Ruyu revealed a difficult expression again. Yu Wan sighed and said, “Stop acting. I’m tired for you. Don’t you just want to say that I have some vixen abilities? Not only did I seduce the current Second Prince, but I also seduced the Young Master of Yan City?”

Everyone was stunned when they heard this. What did this village girl say? The two most noble young men in the Capital were both seduced by her?

“Is what she said true?” Miss Li looked at Yan Ruyu anxiously.

“Miss Yan, she’s lying, right? How could His Highness and Young Master Yan like her?”

“That’s right. Even if she’s quite beautiful, how can she catch the attention of His Highness and Young Master Yan with her lowly background?”

Miss Hu and Miss Zuo did not believe it either.

In terms of beauty, Yu Wan was really beautiful, but who were the Second Prince and Yan Jiuchao? They were from the royal family and had seen many beauties since they were young. How could they be charmed by a mere face?

They were looking forward to Yan Ruyu giving a negative answer, but Yan Ruyu sighed. “Stop talking. Let’s go tour the lake.”

This was a tacit agreement! This lowly village girl had really seduced the two men they wanted to marry the most! No wonder she was so arrogant. It turned out that she was relying on her man to support her.

They were extremely jealous of Yu Wan. Even in their dreams, they wanted to obtain the favor of the Prince and Young Master Yan. However, one was unwilling to marry because he was mourning for Empress Dowager, and the other was unwilling to get close to women. They were also once jealous of Yan Ruyu, but Yan Ruyu’s status was noble and she was beautiful. They felt that they could not compare to her. It was not unjust to lose to Yan Ruyu, but it was a little unreasonable to lose to a lowly village girl.

Moreover, it was said that the Second Prince’s marriage was already set in stone. The main consort was the daughter of the Prime Minister, and the two secondary consorts were the daughter of the Grand Tutor and the Censorate. It seemed that she had not even achieved the status of a concubine.

As for Young Master Yan, there was nothing to be afraid of. Miss Yan was the biological mother of the little masters, and she was the mistress of the Young Master Manor. So what if they taught this village girl a lesson? Would Young Master Yan make things difficult for his fiancée for a girl who warmed his bed?

At this thought, when they looked at Yu Wan again, there was no longer any fear in their eyes.

Miss Li walked up to Yu Wan and looked at her arrogantly. “Kneel down, kowtow to Miss Yan, apologize, and swear not to seduce Young Master Yan again. We’ll pretend that nothing happened today.”

“Kexin, forget it.” Yan Ruyu tugged at Miss Li’s sleeve.

Miss Li snorted and said, “Forget it? You’re just too kind! Little do you know that a good horse is ridden by others, and a good person is bullied by others. You’re the daughter of the Marquis Manor, but you actually let a village girl ride on your head and abuse her power. If word gets out, where will your dignity go?”

Yan Ruyu said gently, “My dignity isn’t important. It’s best if everyone is friendly with each other for me.”

“Who’s friendly with her!” Miss Li looked at Yu Wan coldly and said, “Did you kneel yourself, or should I force you to kneel?”

Yu Wan met her gaze. “I advise you to be kind.”

“Kexin, stop fooling around.” Yan Ruyu continued to persuade her. However, this persuasion did not work. Instead, it was like boiling oil, making Miss Li’s anger burn.

Miss Li was born into a family from the Ministry of War. Since she was young, she had watched her brother practice martial arts. She had also learned a little and had some skills. She immediately grabbed Yu Wan’s shoulder and was about to lift her leg to wrap around Yu Wan’s knee, forcing Yu Wan to kneel on the ground. Unexpectedly, Yu Wan suddenly reached out and grabbed her wrist.

Before anyone could react, Miss Li staggered and fell to the ground. She fell flat on her face in public and was so angry that her face turned green!

Yan Ruyu frowned and said, “Miss Yu, this is your fault. Why did you hurt Miss Li?”

Yu Wan asked, “If I don’t attack, should I obediently stand here and wait to be beaten up?”

Miss Li looked coldly at her companions. “What are you two waiting for? Hurry up and help me deal with her!”

Under Miss Li’s order, Miss Hu and Miss Zuo also went forward to bet on Yu Wan. However, even Miss Li was not Yu Wan’s match, so how could they be?

Yu Wan moved her fingers and the two of them fell to the ground.

Yan Ruyu secretly clenched her fists. They couldn’t even deal with her like this. A bunch of good-for-nothings!

“I told you not to offend her.” Yan Ruyu squatted down and helped Miss Li up.

Miss Li gritted her teeth and said, “I was just careless and fell into her trap! So what if she’s powerful? Can she defeat the guards of our Minister Manor?”

A trace of light flashed across Yan Ruyu’s eyes. That’s right, how could she forget that Miss Li went out with guards?

Miss Li asked the maidservant to call over the guards stationed at the cloth shop. There were more than ten of them. They originally wanted to protect them as they toured the lake, but Yu Wan made Miss Li so angry that she let them show off their skills in advance.

Miss Li pointed fiercely at Yu Wan. “Catch this arrogant girl!”

“Miss…” The leader of the guards looked troubled. Their fists were used to deal with evil people, not to bully a little girl.

Miss Li pointed at her swollen face. “Didn’t you see that she threw me like this? And Miss Hu and Miss Zuo were injured by her! Hurry up and arrest her!”

This was just a quarrel between women. The leader of the guards did not want to arrest her.

Miss Li was so angry that she pulled out the sword at his waist. “Are you going to arrest her or not? If not, I’ll go back and tell my father that you and this woman are colluding to bully me!”

The leader of the guards had a headache. Miss was usually not so unreasonable. What was wrong with her today?

Yan Ruyu lowered her eyes.

Miss Li urged him again. The guard had no choice but to capture Yu Wan.

Yu Wan might have some brute force, but the other party was not some scattered thieves, but a well-trained guard. If they really fought, Yu Wan had no chance of winning. At this moment, an extremely luxurious carriage drove over and stopped beside them.

The few of them quickly turned their heads to look. The coachman was a young man in his early twenties. He was tall, muscular, and had strong facial features. Although he was driving, he exuded a temperament that was even more noble and unique than that of a young master.

“This is…” Miss Li was stunned.

Others might not have recognized him, but Yu Wan and Yan Ruyu instantly recognized him.

Yan Jiuchao’s personal secret guard—Shadow Thirteen.

After Shadow Thirteen stopped the carriage, he jumped down and reached out his slender arm to lift the curtain.

A peerless man alighted from the carriage. He was dressed in a white robe and was so handsome. If Shadow Thirteen was a handsome man, then this man was a fairy. The moment he appeared, everyone was so stunned that they held their breaths.

Yan Ruyu bowed down first. “Yu’er greets Young Master Yan.”

Everyone was shocked. What? He was Young Master Yan?

They had long heard that this young master had a stubborn personality, but was born to be devastatingly beautiful. They felt that the rumors were more or less exaggerated, but now that they saw him, they felt that they could not describe ten to twenty percent of his beauty.

Yan Jiuchao ignored Yan Ruyu and quietly walked up to Yu Wan.

Yu Wan did not look at him. Yan Jiuchao raised his eyebrows.

Miss Li rolled her eyes. “Young Master Yan! You have to uphold justice for us! She bullied us and offended Miss Yan. She even injured me, Miss Hu, and Miss Zuo!”

Yan Jiuchao glanced at the three of them indifferently. “She didn’t hold back…”

Miss Li nodded vigorously!

Yan Jiuchao turned to look at Yu Wan. “You hit them?”

“Yes.”

“Which hand?” Yan Jiuchao asked in a deep voice.

Miss Li was overjoyed. If she didn’t hear wrongly, her hand was going to be crippled, right? She knew that a lowly country bumpkin like her wouldn’t catch Young Master Yan’s eye!

“This, is that fine?” Yu Wan stretched out her right hand angrily.

Yan Jiuchao held the hand that had scratches and calluses from years of hard work.

“Does it hurt?” he said.

Everyone was stunned. Yu Wan was also stunned. She did not expect him to make such a reaction in public.

Yu Wan’s ears were a little hot. She wanted to pull her hand back, but he held it tightly.

Everyone was stunned by this scene. It was not strange for a man to dote on a girl, but it was not normal for him to dote on her in public.

The guards were glad that their leader had hesitated and did not let them offend this girl in time. Otherwise, their heads would not be enough for Young Master Yan alone.

However, Yan Ruyu was still around. Wasn’t Young Master Yan slapping Yan Ruyu’s face too much?

Yan Ruyu’s expression turned very ugly. There was no more embarrassing moment than this. Everyone thought that she was Yan Jiuchao’s fiancée, but ever since Yan Jiuchao appeared, he did not even look at her. He only doted on that village girl. She was the daughter of a marquis, but she was actually inferior to a wild girl from the countryside!

Her gaze landed on their tightly held hands, and she was so jealous that she was about to go crazy.

… .

Yan Jiuchao brought Yu Wan into the carriage.

Yu Wan’s condition was not right. With her personality, she should have held his hand and bullied Yan Ruyu just now. However, she let them go just like that. It was not out of kindness, but because she did not have the mood to torture them.

Yan Jiuchao let out a long sigh and said, “I’ve only been gone for a few days, and you’re already so dejected? Didn’t I write you letters every day to comfort your lovesickness?”

Yu Wan turned around in confusion. “Letter? What letter?”

“You didn’t receive it?” Yan Jiuchao frowned. “Shadow Thirteen!”

Shadow Thirteen, who was driving the carriage, cleared his throat. “It’s not my fault. I sent them all. As for why she didn’t receive them, Miss Yu should understand.”

The letters at the courier station were roughly divided into three types. The first type was official letters, the second type was civilian letters, and the third type was urgent, which was okay to be used by officials and civilians.

Along the way, in order to hide their whereabouts, Shadow Thirteen was not allowed to use Yan Jiuchao’s name. He could only send ordinary civilian letters. Civilian letters were sent once a month in the countryside. In a poor place like Lotus Flower Village, it was not strange for them to send them once every three months.

Yan Jiuchao’s face instantly darkened. So he wrote for nothing?!

Yu Wan stopped talking again. She sat quietly in the carriage and stared blankly at the constantly changing scenery.

This time, Yan Jiuchao really sensed that something was wrong with her. It was as if she had lost his soul and could not find it. He wondered if he should tell her that Yan Ruyu was not the children’s biological mother to make her happy. After all, she was so jealous of Yan Ruyu, afraid that he would have anything to do with her.

But on second thought, although the woman he had slept with was not Yan Ruyu, she was not her either. What was there to be happy about?

Yu Wan did not ask about the letter again. Her mind was filled with the child that had yet to be born. She did not know if she should tell Yan Jiuchao all of this.

Her heart was in turmoil. A voice told her that Yan Jiuchao had the right to know the truth, but another voice told her that once Yan Jiuchao knew the truth, the consequences would be unimaginable.

That’s right. What man would be willing to accept a woman who had been in a brothel and given birth?

Yan Jiuchao knocked her head. “What are you thinking about?”

Yu Wan lowered her eyes. “Yan Jiuchao, do you mind what kind of person I was in the past and what I did?”

Yan Jiuchao said indifferently, “You want to say that you had a fiancé?”

“You know?” Yu Wan was surprised.

“Is it difficult to know?” Yan Jiuchao asked.

Yu Wan shook her head. The village was only so big. Even if he didn’t ask around, he would easily hear about this.

“Isn’t it just an engagement?” Yan Jiuchao scoffed.

Yu Wan pursed her lips. “What if… it’s not as simple as an engagement?”

“Did you sleep with him?!”

“What if… what if I did sleep with him?”

Yan Jiuchao exploded on the spot. “Shadow Thirteen! Kill that Zhao guy for me!”

Shadow Thirteen stopped the carriage and flashed out!

“Shadow Thirteen, you… come back.” Yu Wan stopped Shadow Thirteen and lowered her head. She said to Yan Jiuchao, “I didn’t sleep with him.”

Yan Jiuchao heaved a sigh of relief.

Unexpectedly, before he could finish heaving a sigh of relief, Yu Wan gave him another thunderous blow. “I slept with someone else.”

Yan Jiuchao: “???”

Yu Wan said, “I… I even gave birth.”

Yan Jiuchao: “!!!”