Chapter 167
A steel-straight man doomed to die alone—no wonder in your previous life you could not even find a wife.
This really was something you accomplished purely by your own ability.
Looking at Ming Ji writhing in pain on the ground, Lu Hanzhi covered his face and said with a headache, “Wang Ye, this is not an assassin. She is a concubine carefully bestowed upon you by His Majesty. You kicked her out with a single blow just like that? Didn’t I even prepare the bridal chamber for you? How could you be so unappreciative?”
Yuwen Min: …
Looking at the woman struggling in pain on the ground, he tossed the heavy sword to the floor and stepped forward, saying, “Has Wang Fei gone mad? I do not want women.”
Lu Hanzhi could understand the mindset of a steel-straight man. Back when he had first looked at Yuwen Min, he had probably been exactly like this.
Lu Hanzhi committed to the act fully. He did not sympathize with the cannon fodder sent by Su Wan’ning; he merely wanted to teach her a lesson and make her more cautious.
After this incident, she probably would not dare to throw herself at Yuwen Min again so readily.
Lu Hanzhi hurried forward to help Ming Ji up. Ming Ji screamed and wailed like a ghost, with not a trace of her former gentle and obedient demeanor—she was completely a shrieking chicken.
Seeing her reaction, Lu Hanzhi immediately said, “Oh? You can’t move? You blind fools, why aren’t you quickly calling for a physician?”
Very soon, a physician was summoned. After a brief look at Ming Ji’s deformed legs, he said, “Both legs are broken. It would be better to invite a bonesetter.”
But in ancient times, many bonesetters also worked part-time as veterinarians, because strong hands were required to set bones properly.
After a round of ordeal, Ming Ji had lost more than half her life. Her two legs were saved, but she would have to lie in bed for at least a hundred days—at least a hundred days.
Lu Hanzhi went out and instructed the maids and servants, “All of you take great care in attending to her. No unrelated persons are allowed to approach Qiuming Pavilion. For these three months, do not let Madam Ming get out of bed.”
The maids and servants all understood and knew exactly what to do.
After finishing his tasks, Lu Hanzhi returned to the front courtyard. He had just drunk a cup of water when he was carried straight back to the bedchamber by Yuwen Min.
The latter wore an icy expression and asked, “What just happened?”
Lu Hanzhi replied with a cheeky grin, “I was giving Wang Ye a little benefit!”
Yuwen Min was furious and said, “Speak properly!”
Lu Hanzhi put away his frivolousness and said, “Well, actually, I just wanted you to strike without thinking and make her lie in bed for ten days or half a month. Who knew you would strike so hard? Now she can’t get out of bed for three months.”
Yuwen Min thought to himself that he had known it—this Wang Fei always left him so helpless that he wanted to cough up blood.
Time and again, he was played around with in the palm of his hand, and in the end, he could not even bring himself to be angry with him.
Seeing Yuwen Min’s cold expression, Lu Hanzhi stepped forward, grabbed his arm, and shook it gently. “Ah Min, are you angry?”
Yuwen Min did not want to pay attention to him and sat there by himself.
Lu Hanzhi stood behind him, wrapped his arms around his waist, pressed his body to his back, and said, “I’m sorry, Wang Ye. I was wrong.”
Yuwen Min’s heart instantly softened into a puddle of water. He turned around and hugged him, saying, “I know your intentions. I’m just angry that you casually let that woman enter the residence. So what if she was bestowed by Father? I’ll personally go and speak to him!”
Lu Hanzhi said, “Now you’re being impulsive. If you clash with the Emperor now, all the groundwork we laid before will be wasted. At present, Prince An enjoys unrivaled imperial favor and is already on the verge of overshadowing the Crown Prince. If you want to legitimately scheme for the throne, you can’t afford to lose patience over small matters.”
Even though what Lu Hanzhi said made perfect sense, Yuwen Min was still angry. He stiffened his neck and said, “I already have two sons. I don’t need other women to bear children for me!”
Lu Hanzhi said, “When did I ever let you have children with other women? Even if you wanted to, I wouldn’t agree! I’m just that petty—my man can only belong to me and will never be shared with anyone else.”
A smile finally appeared on Yuwen Min’s face, and he was no longer angry.
Lu Hanzhi: …
So this was what he liked?
Sigh, unbelievable—damn man.
Yuwen Min hugged him and asked, “Is what Wang Fei said true?”
Between Lu Hanzhi and Yuwen Min was a five-month-old belly. He replied, “True—truer than real gold.”
It was probably because Ah Zhu felt a bit cramped and began protesting inside his belly.
It happened to be summer, and Yuwen Min felt it as well, yet he still did not let go of Lu Hanzhi. He forced him to look into his eyes and said, “Then swear that you will never do something like this again.”
Lu Hanzhi felt that this man was really something—did he have to be so narrow-minded?
Still, he compromised and swore repeatedly, saying, “Even if Wang Ye becomes Emperor, you can only have me as your one and only Empress. The entire harem will be left empty!”
At last, a flying, triumphant look appeared in Yuwen Min’s eyes. He thought to himself that this was only natural—after all, it was not as if he had never been Emperor before.
If he had followed the path of Heaven’s mandate, he would probably already be sitting on the throne.
He realized that he and his Wang Fei were truly a perfect match—one devised strategies, while the other killed gods when meeting gods and killed demons when meeting demons.
Separately, they might both have struggled to accomplish anything, but together, they were flawless.
Lu Hanzhi finally became serious and said, “Su Wan’ning has actually tried more than once to stuff people by your side. Before this, Zhaoyun was someone she wanted to push into Prince An’s residence, but unfortunately she ended up trapping herself. This time, she used the Emperor’s hand to bestow an Eastern Sea beauty on you. You know that Second Sister-in-law is extremely capable at managing the residence—it’s nearly impossible to insert spies. Now she openly brought one in, and one personally bestowed by the Emperor at that. If we refused, we’d lose imperial favor; if we accepted, we’d disgust ourselves. So it was better to give her a kick and let her lie there for a few months, solving the problem once and for all. Besides, Wang Ye didn’t do it on purpose. If she couldn’t climb into Wang Ye’s bed, that was simply her own lack of ability.”
At this point, Yuwen Min did not mind at all that he himself had been calculated into Wang Fei’s scheme. Holding him, he only said, “Wang Fei naturally has his own considerations. I am completely at ease. There is only one thing—remember what you just said. In this lifetime, I will also never want anyone else.”
Lu Hanzhi was quite pleased inside. In this era, someone who could be this devoted and exclusive was probably very rare.
His second brother was one, and Yuwen Min was another.
Lu Hanzhi was delighted and hugged him as he said, “Alright, alright. Then let me give Wang Ye another little perverted insect-tribe army. What do you think, Wang Ye?”
Yuwen Min laughed. “Wang Fei can give birth to as many as he wants. I can teach them all well.”
Lu Hanzhi felt that he was truly something. He had resisted having children with all his might before, yet now he was actively wanting to give birth.
It just went to show that once you tasted the marrow, you could easily become addicted.
Lu Hanzhi could not help but let out a bit more affection-scent. Yuwen Min held him, and the two kissed for a long time, but they did not go any further.
Yuwen Min liked this feeling of always wanting more but never quite reaching satisfaction. Next time, and the time after that, he would reclaim it all little by little.
Moreover, he was pregnant—sigh, Hanzhi was pregnant again.
He felt happy, yet at the same time unbearably itchy, as if a little kitten were scratching at his heart.
This kind of feeling existed only when facing Lu Hanzhi. To everyone else, they were merely living beings in his eyes.
Of course, his family was an exception.
Perhaps because he was born with this trait, Yuwen Min was better able to calmly analyze and handle all kinds of matters.
And it was precisely this temperament that allowed him to have unique feelings for specific people.
And it was also because those people were good enough that they were worthy of receiving this unique affection from him.
At this moment, Yuwen Jue heard the commotion and happened to come looking for him.
As soon as he entered the front courtyard, he smelled a faint trace of affection-scent.
Yuwen Jue had originally intended to leave, but Lu Hanzhi opened the window and said, “Second Sister-in-law, come in.”
Seeing that they were properly dressed, Yuwen Jue knew that they had probably only been sharing a moment of intimacy.
He turned back and entered the room. The moment he stepped inside, he said, “I’ve already heard about what just happened. Hanzhi’s move was quite clever. Someone from the gate reported that a few unfamiliar faces were lingering outside the side gate. They hung around for quite a while, then left in disgrace.”
Lu Hanzhi stifled a laugh. “Their informant was crippled—if they couldn’t even walk, how were they supposed to pass on a message?”
Yuwen Jue smiled helplessly, always feeling that Lu Hanzhi’s head was full of ingenious, unconventional ideas.
This decision had only been made because he understood Yuwen Min well—knowing that Yuwen Min hated strangers getting close to him the most, and that unfamiliar people who approached him usually did not meet a good end.
Lu Hanzhi poured Yuwen Jue a cup of tea and asked, “Second Sister-in-law, where is my second brother? Why didn’t he come with you?”
Yuwen Jue replied, “Sigh, don’t even mention it. Mother has been urging Eldest Brother to get married, saying that the Zhang family has found a matchmaker to propose a union between him and the Zhang family’s eldest daughter. Mother thinks it’s a good marriage and wants Eldest Brother to accept it outright. You know, Eldest Brother is already twenty-five—if he had married earlier, his child would already be older than Xiao Liuzi. But Eldest Brother just refuses. He even called Second Brother over to help him climb over the wall and escape the residence.”
Lu Hanzhi: …
Eldest Brother really was… a breath of fresh air among ancient overage single men.
Holding back laughter, Lu Hanzhi asked, “Then where does Eldest Brother plan to run off to? All the family businesses are under his management. If he runs away, what will happen to the family’s affairs?”
Yuwen Jue said helplessly, “Mother said to let Father manage them. Father said that court affairs were too numerous and he couldn’t get away. Mother said that if he couldn’t get away, then he should never come back. Father said he would go stay at Hanzhi’s place for a few days.”
Lu Hanzhi: …
“Hahahahahahahaha—”
Yuwen Jue: …
Sigh, Hanzhi really could laugh at absolutely anyone.
Yuwen Jue continued, “But Mother also said that if Father dared to come hide here with us, she would send all his luggage over. He could return only after he had stayed long enough. Aunt Zhou and Aunt Cai both stood firmly on Mother’s side, so Father obediently returned to the residence.”
Lu Hanzhi: …
“Hahahahahahahaha—”
Mother was truly formidable. By now, the Lu household had basically been completely straightened out by her.
Thinking back to the days when Aunt Du had been around, if it had not been for Su Wan’ning, his mother would likely have been able to handle things just fine.
It was only because Su Wan’ning had come to manipulate Aunt Du, while the old madam had been tightly controlled by her, that everything had become constrained at every turn.
A wave of relief and pleasure rose in Lu Hanzhi’s heart. Seeing his family safe and sound, he felt that even if he himself had to endure some hardship, it was still immeasurably joyful.
Just as he was about to say that if it didn’t work, Eldest Brother could simply come hide here for a while, He Ming hurried in and said, “Young Master, there’s news from Xinglin Slope. The investigation team Wang Ye left there has sent an elderly gentleman over.”
Lu Hanzhi and Yuwen Min both stood up at the same time and asked, “They sent an elderly gentleman over? Has he already reached the capital?”
He Ming replied, “He has already arrived outside the residence. He’s waiting at the back gate. I took it upon myself to have him escorted first to Young Lady Lingshu’s courtyard on the side.”
Upon hearing this, the three of them immediately rose together, left the room, and headed toward Lingshu’s courtyard.
As soon as they entered the courtyard gate, they indeed saw an elderly man with reddened eyes, kneeling on both knees before the foolishly smiling Lingshu. With trembling hands, he reached out to hold her hand and choked out, “Young… young miss, this old servant… kowtows to you.”
Your favorite BL chaos wouldn’t be possible without coffee… lots of coffee….
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