Chapter 66: Punishment
The sunlight shimmered, making the rain streaks on the ground glisten like waves.
Wu Mao was stunned for a moment, then hurriedly repeated himself, “When the Zhao family and the Cui family first discussed the marriage, the Zhao family explicitly told the Cui family that Second Miss Zhao was actually an adopted daughter. The Cui family agreed to it at the time.”
Gu Zhen looked dazed; he couldn’t hear a word of what followed.
After a long time, he slowly came back to his senses and said in a deep voice, “Zhen understands.” With that, he strode out of the Qianqiu Hall.
When Gu Zhen arrived at the Xiangsi Hall, he was met with a scene of tranquility.
Everywhere was silent, save for the chirping of cicadas resting among the courtyard vegetation. Their rising and falling hum was a noisy disturbance, calling out one after another, harmonizing with the occasional tweet of a bird.
From inside the hall came her angry voice: “Grandfather made it clear when the Cui family took the initiative to propose this marriage. He told them Duanduan was an adopted daughter, merely passing as Mother’s biological child. The Cui family wanted to climb our family’s ladder, so they agreed in a rush, repeatedly saying it didn’t matter. But now…”
Large and small fruits hung from the pear tree in front of the hall. Gu Zhen looked up at them, then crossed the threshold and entered.
Zhao Yiyi was wearing a madder-red short jacket embroidered with a hundred birds. She leaned against the low couch with a frown, her expression harboring a hint of displeasure.
Gu Zhen strode over, sat down beside her, and said warmly, “Weren’t you fine this morning? I haven’t seen you for half a day, and you’re already this angry?”
Zhao Yiyi looked at him, her brows knitting even tighter, and turned her head away, ignoring him.
It was quite a while before she asked belatedly, “Why has Bixia come?”
Saying this, she made a gesture to rise and curtsy to Gu Zhen. Her body had barely lifted an inch when Gu Zhen held her down. He said helplessly, “Zhen heard someone say you were so angry you wouldn’t even eat, hm?”
Zhao Yiyi’s eyelashes drooped slightly as she subconsciously avoided his gaze.
The familiar scent of incense wrapped around her, causing her heart to constrict suddenly. She leaned back, trying to withdraw.
But the low couch was only so big. No matter how she tried to lean back, she couldn’t escape that faint, cold scent.
“It is nothing,” she lowered her head slightly and replied softly.
This unnatural expression clearly did not suggest that it was “nothing.”
She just refused to tell him.
Seeing that she was clearly furious inside yet insisting on pretending to be calm, Gu Zhen reached out, wanting to rub her hair, which looked ready to stand on end. His hand reached halfway, then retracted. Instead, he took a cup of tea from the side table and handed it to Zhao Yiyi.
“Don’t be angry,” Gu Zhen’s voice was gentle as he brought the rim of the cup to her lips. “Drink some tea to moisten your throat first. Have a meal later, then we can talk. Don’t ruin your health with anger.”
Zhao Yiyi gloomily took the tea and took small sips.
After she finished a cup, Gu Zhen took it from her and asked, “Do you want more?”
Zhao Yiyi shook her head, her voice still muffled. “No.” She reached out to push him, frowning. “Bixia shouldn’t stay here. This concubine’s mind is in turmoil; I want to be alone for a while.”
Gu Zhen caught her hands, held them for a moment, then let go, laughing, “Chasing Zhen away already? Do you think Zhen came all this way without even having the noon meal just for nothing?”
Zhao Yiyi turned her head and whispered, “How would this concubine know?”
Seeing her cold and indifferent manner, Gu Zhen was momentarily out of ideas. He ordered the palace servants to serve the meal, then asked, “Are you angry about your sister’s matter?”
Her eyes were filled with his face, and looking at him made her chest feel blocked. Zhao Yiyi stood up, shuffling in her lotus-patterned embroidered shoes to the side, then turned to glare at him. “Bixia knows, yet you still ask!”
After being here for so long, she finally had a reaction. Gu Zhen’s eyes filled with tenderness as he coaxed softly, “It is just a small matter. Don’t disregard your own health over it. Didn’t you say this morning that you were dizzy from not sleeping well last night?”
Zhao Yiyi’s beautiful brows furrowed slightly, anger almost overflowing from her eyes. “This concubine isn’t angry about anything else, only that the Cui family is shameless.”
As she spoke, her features almost scrunched together, and the suppressed annoyance in her voice was palpable.
Gu Zhen was stunned, then said warmly, “Alright. This matter belongs to a civil dispute; Zhen will instruct the Luoyang Governor not to accept the case.”
Zhao Yiyi became even angrier. She bit her lip and said, “This concubine isn’t angry about that.”
Gu Zhen asked patiently, “Then what is it about?”
Zhao Yiyi opened her mouth to speak, but just then, the attendants brought in the noon meal. She lowered her eyes and sat there. Only after a long while did she lift her eyelids to look at the dishes on the table.
After sitting in silence for a moment, she finally said, “Originally, the family claimed to the public that she was Mother’s biological daughter because we didn’t want outsiders to look down on her. This concubine is angry that the Cui family publicized Duanduan’s background.”
Gu Zhen’s fingers tightened around the armrest. He suddenly asked her, “Your sister… what is her situation?”
“What?” Zhao Yiyi turned to look at him, not reacting for a moment. After a pause, she replied, “This concubine is saying that the Cui family revealed the fact that Duanduan is not biological.”
Suppressing the astonishment in his eyes, even though he had heard Wu Mao mention it once, Gu Zhen still asked, “She was adopted by your family?”
Zhao Yiyi was exasperated. She picked up her chopsticks and lowered her head to eat, ignoring him completely.
Only after eating some fake fried meat did she whisper, “I told Bixia before.”
She thought he would remember at least a little of what she had said.
She never expected he would have forgotten it all completely.
“It is Zhen‘s fault.” Gu Zhen softened his voice to apologize, a look of guilt on his face. “Zhen… did not pay attention to these matters in the past.”
After the meal, taking advantage of the break in the rain that had fallen for days—and the sun not being too harsh—the two went to the Dragon Pool to admire the lotuses.
It was the height of summer. The lotus leaves were lush, and countless pink and white lotus flowers stretched their figures, quietly blooming.
Zhao Yiyi looked at the lotus pond and smiled. “A few days ago, they were all just buds. After raining for these few days, they have all bloomed so beautifully.”
Gu Zhen nodded slightly, echoing a few words.
Noticing the gloom between her brows, Gu Zhen didn’t feel good either. He almost coaxed, “Regarding this matter, Zhen will order someone to punish the Cui family.”
“No need.” Zhao Yiyi refused gently, pulling the corners of her lips into a silent smile. “This concubine has already sent someone to question the Cui family. There is no need to trouble Bixia.”
She had learned everything.
She understood everything.
She no longer needed him to support her; she could handle all of this very well on her own.
Gu Zhen looked dazed, a trace of melancholy crossing his heart, followed by an inexplicable discomfort.
The willow branches were sparse, hanging into the pool, stirred by the wind to create ripples.
“Yiyi,” Gu Zhen’s voice was hoarse, even trembling slightly. He suppressed the sourness in his heart and smiled at her. “If there is anything in the future, remember to tell Zhen. Zhen said I would support you.”
Zhao Yiyi also smiled. “Many thanks for Bixia‘s kindness. This concubine appreciates it, but this concubine dares not trouble Bixia with these trivial matters.”
Blocked by her soft yet firm words, Gu Zhen felt a hidden pain in his chest. The injury from his broken rib also began to ache unexpectedly.
After recuperating for so long, the injury had mostly healed. Aside from aching during the continuous rain these past few days, it seemed fine.
But right now, it hurt without warning.
Forcing that pain down, Gu Zhen gave a bitter smile and said, “Yiyi, Zhen is your husband. Supporting you is what I should do; you need not feel it is a trouble.”
Zhao Yiyi looked down at the carved carp on the railing. Her lips moved, but then settled. In the end, she did not answer him.
Husband?
In the past, she seemed to have truly called him that in her heart.
A gentle breeze blew, shaking the bamboo forest behind them. The bamboo leaves collided, making a rustling sound like falling rain.
Staring at the distant mountain scenery, Gu Zhen suddenly lowered his voice and said, “Yiyi, Zhen is in some pain.”
The hoarse voice sounded somewhat aggrieved, making one’s heart soften upon hearing it.
Zhao Yiyi asked him, “Where is Bixia uncomfortable? Should I call the Imperial Physician?”
Gu Zhen shook his head and suddenly fell silent.
Where does it hurt?
He knew clearly in his heart, yet he refused to say it, nor did he dare let her know in the slightest.
The Imperial Physician said he had only recovered slightly; to heal completely, he would have to wait another two or three months.
He knew he deserved it, but it still felt terrible.
But this physical pain couldn’t compare to the sourness in his heart.
Couldn’t compare to the pain that sliced across his heart when she ignored him.
“Yiyi.” Gu Zhen suddenly extended his arm to embrace her, calling out with a trembling voice.
Suddenly held by the waist and shoulder, Zhao Yiyi struggled a bit uncomfortably. Just as she was about to reach out and push him away, she heard him say in her ear, “Zhen won’t do anything. Just for a moment. Just a moment is fine.”
Gusts of wind wrapped in a chill blew past, causing her skirt to move gently with the wind.
His body was trembling slightly, and his voice was soaked in sorrow. Even the hand resting on her shoulder was shaking gently.
The inadvertent touch against her skin was cold.
Zhao Yiyi stood there stunned. Her breath was filled with his scent. Hearing that voice, she just stood there, not answering.
The sun shone down brightly. Gazing at the shadow of the sun, she suddenly closed her almond eyes.
Inside the Rong’an Hall of the Marquis of Hejian’s Manor, the Marchioness, Lady Cheng, sat upright at the head. Below her knelt a young girl in a green silk skirt.
Her kneeling posture wasn’t very proper; her body was bent slightly, and strands of hair fell as she hung her head.
Lady Cheng drank tea sip after sip, not looking down once. Instead, she raised her eyes to gaze at the scenery outside the hall.
Cui Nianhan shivered slightly. She carefully looked up to size up her mother and couldn’t help calling out, “Mother…”
Lady Cheng endured the palpitations in her chest and turned her head away without speaking. The Marquis of Hejian, however, looked down at her and said in a deep voice, “Shut up.”
Cui Nianhan’s face instantly went pale. She whimpered, “Father, it was the Zhao family who made a fraudulent claim, passing off an adopted daughter as legitimate. What did daughter say that was wrong?”
Bang!
A Ru kiln teacup was thrown beside her, instantly shattering into pieces. Tea splashed out, soaking a large patch of the rug and her green skirt.
The scalding tea made her body tremble. She almost screamed, enduring for a long while before not dodging.
Lady Cheng’s brow jumped. She subconsciously wanted to go help, but upon seeing the Marquis’s expression, she closed her eyes briefly and pretended not to see.
The Marquis of Hejian said coldly, “The fact that Second Miss Zhao is an adopted daughter was known to our family when the engagement was first set. What need was there for you to say it?” He paused, his voice becoming even heavier. “Even if we hadn’t been told, this is your brother’s affair. What is an unmarried young lady like you blindly meddling for?”
Cui Nianhan was stunned, asking numbly, “Father, you knew?”
The Marquis ignored her but looked at Lady Cheng, sneering, “This is truly a good daughter raised by Madam.”
Being scolded so mercilessly in front of her children and servants, Lady Cheng couldn’t hold onto her dignity. Her face flushed red with shame, and she forced herself to hold back her anger, saying, “I didn’t know about this either. Why must my Lord blame me?”
“I go out for a trip, and upon return, I am shocked to hear Madam has broken off the engagement with the Zhao family. If Nianhan didn’t learn this from Madam, where else could she learn it?” The Marquis suppressed the anger in his heart, his pitch rising a few notches. “Does Madam know that before the annulment, our marriage with the Zhao family had just passed through Bixia‘s ears?”
Lady Cheng broke out in a cold sweat. She said, “My Lord didn’t explain earlier that Bixia knew about this.”
She glanced at Cui Nianhan, who was still kneeling on the floor with her skirt soaked in tea, and hurriedly asked, “What do we do now?”
The Marquis looked at Cui Nianhan and asked in a deep voice, “Who told you this matter?”
Cui Nianhan sobbed, “It… it was when I went to offer incense at Lanruo Temple a few days ago. I met Zuo Lianzhi, and she told me. I was angry at the time, so I spoke about it openly with my friends in the temple.”
The Marquis was both angry and annoyed. In the end, he was so angry he laughed, mocking, “Something a little girl from the Zuo family knows, do you think your father and mother wouldn’t know?”
Lady Cheng also said, “That girl from the Zuo family has more holes in her heart than a sieve. Don’t you know the relationship between her and the Zhao family? Did you really think she was some good person thinking of your benefit?”
Hearing these low voices, Cui Nianhan became even more afraid and sobbed, “Daughter knows her mistake. Father, don’t be angry.”
“Fortunately, Bixia and Niangniang are far away in Luoyang. The plan for now is to hide this matter first and wait for the rumors to settle down,” the Marquis of Hejian said in a deep voice, glancing at Lady Cheng.
Lady Cheng agreed repeatedly, then added, “But Chang’an will eventually know…”
Rubbing his brow, the Marquis recalled the Zuo girl his daughter mentioned and couldn’t help sneering. She used his daughter as a knife and thought she could retreat unscathed?
What a wonderful dream.
After the two discussed, they ordered someone to take Cui Nianhan to the ancestral hall to kneel.
Just as they were about to get up and leave, a servant ran over hurriedly, stammering, “My Lord, Madam, someone has come from the Palace! They say they were sent by Empress Niangniang!”
Remembering that the Empress had locked her own biological father and stepmother in a temple for months just because they were eyesores, what would happen to them?
Lady Cheng only felt dizzy, her head feeling like it was about to explode, and she nearly collapsed to the ground.
“My Lord?” She looked at the Marquis of Hejian in panic.
Pondering for a moment, the Marquis said, “First, think of a way to extinguish Niangniang‘s anger.”
After the palace servant entered, the Marquis smiled and invited him to the seat of honor, then spoke first, “This matter was told to my daughter by Miss Zuo. My daughter is ignorant. But please ask Niangniang to rest assured; this subject will certainly handle it properly and not let Niangniang be troubled.”
After sending away the palace servant, the Marquis’s expression was covered in a layer of gloom. He smiled coldly, “Tomorrow, I will make a trip to the Zuo family. Since Miss Zuo likes the Zhao family so much and meddled in the affairs between the Zhao family and ours, then let’s just cut off ties with the Zuo family. I imagine the Zuo family should be willing.”
In early August, the war with Rouran ended. The eldest son of the Rouran Khan arrived in Chang’an, and the grand army returned in its entirety.
Gu Zhen had planned this war for a long time, striving for certain victory, yet it concluded with a speed that exceeded plans.
The court and the public rejoiced. After a brief celebration, Gu Zhen ordered people to pack their luggage and began preparing for the return to Luoyang.
But there was no movement from Xiangsi Hall.
Two days before the departure, he personally went to Xiangsi Hall.
Zhao Yiyi lay on the couch, refusing to look at him, and only said in a muffled voice, “This concubine does not want to go back.”
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