CH 33

Zhao Yelan ignored Yan Mingting and Housekeeper Qin for the rest of the night, and in the morning, still half asleep, he heard someone say: “Mengting, I’m going to court.”

He rolled over drowsily and continued to sleep.

He went to the Imperial Academy that morning, and it was quite lively. This was the day that the new batch of scholars went to work. Aside from Wang Guisheng, the number one scholar who became a sixth-rank editor in the Imperial Academy, the others were assigned positions as seventh-rank editors.

In other words, Wang Guisheng’s current rank was higher than that of Zhao Yelan and Ruan Xian.

Ruan Xian was around the same age as them and enthusiastically went around to meet everyone. He soon became acquainted with them and was able to call them brothers.

Some people were gearing up for their upcoming official careers: “Ruan-xiong, does the Emperor attach great importance to this place?”

“Naturally.” Ruan Xian smiled and nodded. “Although we don’t have to go to court, the Emperor often summons us to draft documents. If he discusses important matters with you, that is where you can show off your intelligence.”

“Very good, then do we usually have many chances to see the Emperor?”

“Are you an Imperial Editor or a concubine?” Wang Guisheng answered unexpectedly with disdain in his eyes. “Why do you only want to see the Emperor’s face? Wouldn’t it be good to do your job well?”

The expressions of the others changed slightly. Due to his official position and high favor, they didn’t talk back to him and only looked at his impatient appearance.

Ruan Xian’s eyes shifted, and he said with a smile: “Wang-daren is correct, and this is exactly what I was going to tell you next. Although our Imperial Academy is highly valued, we cannot go to court after all, so you need to restrain yourselves and serve the Emperor well. Do not be impatient.”

Wang Guisheng nodded in agreement, and his esteem for the other increased a bit.

After everyone was appeased by Ruan Xian, they went to perform their duties. Ruan Xian deliberately stayed two steps back, and Wang Guisheng stepped forward to inquire about daily affairs with him.

Ruan Xian spoke to him patiently and meticulously for half an hour. The two sat down and had a cup of tea, and he said with emotion: “You are worthy of being the number one scholar, ah. You easily comprehend these things, and it seems that you are not far from soaring to the top.”

“Ruan-xiong’s praise is too much.” Wang Guisheng smiled, but then looked around and wondered, “Isn’t Zhao Yelan also in the Imperial Academy? Why haven’t I seen him all morning?”

“Oh, he’s in a room editing the collection of Imperial edicts. He doesn’t go outside very often. That is to say, I am idle and have little work, and unlike you two, I don’t have the temperament to do such things,” Ruan Xian said.

“He is in a room?”

“Yes, would you like to go and visit?” Ruan Xian led him through a few courtyard gates to the innermost Jingshi Pavilion, and stood by the window. “Look, Zhao-daren is right there.”

Wang Guisheng cast his gaze around. There were several colleagues in the room, all of them  elderly with gray temples, muttering the words from their books. And in front of the bookshelf next to them was a handsome young man reading with a dignified posture, like some family’s noble son who had come to join the old scholars.

“Do you want to go in and meet him?” Ruan Xian asked in a low voice.

“Another day.” Wang Guisheng shook his head, looked back at Zhao Yelan, and left him alone. “Let’s not disturb him now.”

“Of course, there is no need to hurry. In any case, Zhao-daren admires you very much, and sooner or later you will become friends.” Ruan Xian said with a smile.

“He admires me?”

“Yes, Zhao-daren has talked to me about your articles many times, and we have also discussed the article when you scolded him. You really treat the brush as a weapon, which makes one admire your courage.” Ruan Xian laughed out loud.

Wang Guisheng’s expression froze: “He has really read that article?”

“Naturally, otherwise I wouldn’t be impressed with you either.” Ruan Xian patted him on the shoulder, half serious and half joking. “Don’t underestimate Zhao-daren, and don’t look at him from a worldly perspective. That perception is too narrow.”

Wang Guisheng nodded thoughtfully.

The footsteps of the two gradually faded. Zhao Yelan put down the book and walked to the window with the corners of his mouth raised enigmatically, pulling the window shut a little to block the incoming wind.

In the afternoon, when Zhao Yelan returned to the General’s Mansion, Xiao Gao greeted him and whispered: “My lord, that Li Yucheng came by.”

“What was he here for?” Zhao Yelan walked slowly to the main hall.

“He said he was here to compete with you.”

“Compete for what?”

“I don’t know, he refused to say. He waited for us for most of the day and ate your tea and snacks before leaving.” Xiao Gao felt sorry about that food.

Zhao Yelan gave a light chuckle: “It’s okay, I understand.”

“My lord, are you going to compete with him?”

“Why not?” Zhao Yelan took a sip of tea and said leisurely, “Just wait, he will come again.”

“All right.” Gao Tan stood aside for a while, then asked hesitantly: “My lord, can I go and play with Hongshao?”

Zhao Yelan paused: “Hongshao what?”

“Yours and the General’s rabbit. Lieutenant General Zhong sent it back in advance yesterday. Everyone is rushing to play with it, and I only pet it once today.” Xiao Gao pouted, “You help me and let me play for a while, okay?”

“……Where is the rabbit?”

Zhao Yelan had forgotten about the rabbit at first, and didn’t expect it to appear again in the mansion. Was it really called “Hongshao?”

“The back courtyard.”

The two went to the back courtyard. When Yan Mingting returned, he saw the servants and asked: “Where is Zhao Yelan?”

“Answering the General, my lord has gone to the back courtyard.”

“The back courtyard?”

Normally, Zhao Yelan thought the chicken pen stunk and seldom went to the back courtyard, aside from when he was angry and wanted to kill a few chickens and fish.

There was no telling why he was so angry today.

Yan Mingting strode to the back courtyard and happened to see Zhao Yelan mentioning the rabbit as he asked Gao Tan beside him: “Hongshao?”

“En, Hongshao!” Gao Tan nodded enthusiastically.

Yan Mingting’s complexion changed. He ran forward quickly and grabbed the rabbit, hugging it in his arms and patting its head: “What happened, why should it be braised?”

Hearing this, and seeing him look so protective, Zhao Yelan’s eyes gradually turned cold: “Do you think I’m going to braise it?”

“Then otherwise……could it be that I misunderstood?” Yan Mingting looked at his face, not so sure anymore, and cautiously offered the rabbit to him. “Then you pet it.”

With ice in his eyes, Zhao Yelan turned around and left.

“General, my lord is not going to braise the rabbit, but was just calling its name,” Gao Tan said.

“It is really called Hongshao?” Yan Mingting originally thought that Zhao Yelan had chosen that name yesterday as a joke. When he realized that he had truly misunderstood the other party, he hurriedly called out, “Zhao Yelan, wait for me!”

Zhao Yelan quickened his pace and ordered without looking back: “Xiao Gao, kill all these stinky chickens.”

Gao Tan looked at Yan Mingting in embarrassment, and Yan Mingting shook his head at him: “One, just kill one, ba.”

“But my lord said……”

“I’ll explain to him.” Yan Mingting hugged the rabbit and gave chase, but when the other party returned to the room, he locked the door tightly and didn’t let him in.

He called outside the door for a while, but there was no response from inside. When he was about to break in, he heard someone coming to report that they had a guest, so he had no choice but to go to the main hall to entertain the visitor.

The person who had arrived was a young man. His face was a bit dark, but his eyes were piercing. Seeing Yan Mingting’s attire, he said politely: “Dare I ask if this is General Yan?”

“Yes, who are you?” Yan Mingting asked.

“This one is Yao Muze, Ruan Xian’s brother-in-law. A few days ago, my brother-in-law wrote to me and asked me to come to Zhao-daren for a consultation. I only returned today, my apologies.”

Yan Mingting glanced at the medicine box on his shoulder and said, “Come in, ba.”

“Yes.” Yao Muze followed behind him, secretly sizing up the legendary evil star general. Before coming here, he believed that he was a valorous and powerful rustic fellow. He really hadn’t expected him to be so handsome, with broad shoulders, a narrow waist, and long legs. He carried himself majestically, and one did not dare to approach him easily.

“He’s in the room, you go there and wait a moment, and I will call him out,” Yan Mingting said, pointing to the front courtyard.

“All right.” Yao Muze didn’t understand why he had to stand so far away, but he did as he was told and obediently walked to the front courtyard to wait.

Then he saw Yan Mingting knock on the door: “Cough……Mengting, open the door, Ruan Xian’s brother-in-law is here to see you.”

The door was ajar, revealing a small gap.

Yao Muze was a little curious as to what Zhao-daren looked like. He turned his head to look inside, but who would have thought that a bucket of water would suddenly splash out, soaking Yan Mingting from head to toe.

“General!” Yao Muze exclaimed and trotted forward, looking at him in astonishment. “Are you all right?”

Yan Mingting wiped his face, opened his eyes, and said with a smile: “It’s okay, you can go in, ba.”

“But you……”

“It’s no matter.” After speaking, Yan Mingting put an arm over his shoulders and walked inside with him, using him as a shield. “We’re coming in, there’s a doctor next to me, ba.”

Yao Muze somehow felt that this place was too dangerous! He walked inside vigilantly and saw the person inside toss away the bucket in their hands, then turn around and look straight at them.

Hiss –

Yao Muze gasped. Why didn’t his brother-in-law say anything in advance? With these two, each was even more good-looking than the other!

“Okay, okay, don’t be angry.” Yan Mingting immediately stepped forward to coax him. “It’s important for you to see the doctor first.”

Yao Muze watched their interaction silently, inwardly surprised – General, I really misread you, how majestic you are!

“Let’s go to the study to talk.”

Zhao Yelan took Yao Muze to the study and closed the door. He glanced at the person following him and wordlessly moved his gaze away to look at Yao Muze and say: “Please take a seat.”

“I don’t need to sit, it is getting late. I will see to your consultation early, my lord, so that you can go back and have dinner.” Yao Muze smiled and opened the medicine box. He took out a cloth bag and placed it under his wrist to begin feeling his pulse, frowning and sighing for a while.

“How is it?” Yan Mingting asked from the side.

“My lord’s body is weak and chilled. Long-term stagnation has led to illness, but it seems it is also caused by an injury. This is not something that can be rectified in a short while. However, it is not impossible. I will prescribe some mild prescriptions first, and my lord should pay more attention to his health. Regulate your emotions and do not overwork,” Yao Muze said with a sigh.

“En, I understand.” Zhao Yelan knew a lot about his own body, so he started to get to the point and said, seemingly unintentionally, “Doctor Yao, I have a distant relative who acquired some sort of disease a few days ago. The doctor who saw him said it was caused by poisoning.”

“What kind of poison?” Yao Muze became interested.

Zhao Yelan glanced at Yan Mingting, and Yan Mingting answered: “It is a colorless and odorless poison. After taking it for a period of time, it will cause dizziness, fatigue, and confusion.”

“That is too inconclusive, may I meet this relative?” 

“He passed away,” Zhao Yelan said.

“Was there anything unusual about the corpse?”

Zhao Yelan shook his head. He had never even seen Bao Lun’s face, so how could he know the condition of his corpse?

At this time, Yan Mingting suddenly spoke up: “There was. The skin had turned black after death, but there was no obvious corpse odor.”

The other two were startled. Yao Muze began to think about poisons, but Zhao Yelan looked at Yan Mingting in astonishment. 

Yan Mingting hadn’t known that Bao Lun had also been poisoned, so that he knew of the corpse’s abnormality, it could only be because……the old general had succumbed to the poison in the same way.

To open the coffin and examine the body of his own father – how courageous, and how bitter.

Yan Mingting’s body was still wet, his hands covered with water. He stared straight at Yao Muze, hoping for an answer. At that moment, a brocade handkerchief was stuffed into the palm of his hand.

He looked down, and Zhao Yelan withdrew his hand as if nothing had happened, saying lightly: “Don’t drip water everywhere.”

Yan Mingting tightly clenched the handkerchief, and then loosened his grip, lowering his head and wiping his hands. He glanced over from the corner of his eye and happened to meet Zhao Yelan’s covertly scrutinizing gaze.

The other party was taken by surprise, and turned his head away quickly.

Yan Mingting smiled silently, returned the handkerchief, and patted his shoulder: “Thank you.”

Zhao Yelan stared at the ground silently, without replying.

“I remember that I once heard Shifu mention that those in Nanjiang[1] are proficient with poisons, one of which is colorless and odorless, which makes people confused and dizzy. It begins to emit some fragrance after death, which will cover up the corpse smell,” Yao Muze said.

“Nangiang?” Yan Mingting asked.

Nanjiang was once the biggest enemy of the Xuan Dynasty, but was eventually defeated by the Yan family army and proclaimed a vassal to the Xuan Dynasty as a subordinate state. Unless summoned, they were not allowed entry into the territory of the Xuan Dynasty.

“En, I also heard from Shifu that he used to work in Tai Hospital and had seen some envoys from Nanjiang come on pilgrimage to show off various poisons to civil and military officials.”

“I see, thank you, Doctor Yao.” Zhao Yelan glanced at Yan Mingting.

Yan Mingting understood and politely sent him to the door, giving him some rewards: “He is miserable about this relative, so I ask the doctor to not make this matter public, in order to avoid exposing his scars.”

“This is natural, my mouth is sealed.”

“Your brother-in-law……”

“I only took a look at Zhao-daren’s body and prescribed some medications.” Yao Muze said astutely.

Zhao Yelan sat alone in the study, recalling the details of the envoys from Nanjiang. It was a pity that Zhao Xuan was not favored at that time and was forced into seclusion for three months. He was unable to participate in the session, so he was unaware of these details.

At this moment, footsteps sounded outside.

He raised his eyes and stared at the door, waiting for a while, but saw no one. Walking to the door suspiciously, he looked outside but only saw a white rabbit jumping in front of him.

A small piece of paper hung from a string around the rabbit’s neck.

He picked up the rabbit and took the piece of paper, upon which was written a line of small characters –

Zhao-daren, don’t be angry.

The corners of Zhao Yelan’s mouth curled up unconsciously, and after looking around, he saw Yan Mingting emerging from behind the pillar next to him.

“Hongshao, help me look, is your father still angry?”

“Who is a father?” Zhao Yelan gave him a gouging look.

“Of course it’s you. You even gave it the name “Hongshao,” and if you don’t want to braise it, don’t you just want to raise it?”

Yan Mingting walked up to him with a smile, bent over slightly, and looked at him in the moonlight.

Zhao Yelan gazed back without evading.

The jasmine flowers in the courtyard were in full bloom, swaying gently in the evening wind under the moon, pure white and flawless, with a permeating fragrance, just like the person in front of him.

The corners of Yan Mingting’s mouth curled up: “It seems that he isn’t angry anymore.”

Zhao Yelan scoffed lightly and turned around to walk back into the room with the rabbit in his arms, Yan Mingting following behind him.

Under the moonlight, one in front and one behind, they stepped through the old, quaint corridor, their footsteps ringing in tandem.

Zhao Yelan stood in front of the bedroom door and was about to enter, when he glanced sideways at Yan Mingting’s wet body. His brow furrowed slightly, and he called, “Housekeeper Qin.”

“This old slave is here.” Housekeeper Qin came in response, a smile on his face. 

“Prepare a tub of hot water.”

“Yes!” Housekeeper Qin said predictably. “It is already heated, and I will ask someone to move it here right away.”

“Prepare more, one tub of water may not be enough for your General.” Zhao Yelan looked at Yan Mingting’s tall body with disdain.

Housekeeper Qin stumbled: “Ah? For the General?!”

[1] Nanjiang refers to the regions south of the Yangtze River. This term will be used quite a lot in the coming chapters. ⮐