Chapter 17
On the manuscript, he had written a new formula for fragrant ointment that could treat acne scars on young girls’ faces.
In the anonymous letter, he reminded the Fourth Prince to quickly return and treat the Eldest Prince’s illness.
It was all because he hadn’t studied well during his school days, and couldn’t write traditional Chinese characters properly, which made the ancient people think he had written incorrect characters.
Moreover, both letters contained the same mistake with the same character.
Yuwen Min was not unwise; after all, how could so many people have fought for the succession, yet he alone succeeded?
From this mistake in the character “medicine”, he deduced that Lu Hanzhi was the one who had sent the anonymous letter.
Was it too late to deny it now?
Yuwen Min might have guessed that he wanted to back out, so he slammed his heavy sword into the ground with a thud right in front of him.
Lu Hanzhi flinched backward. He was sure that if he didn’t admit it, his life would be forfeit without question.
He could only mutter quietly, “You… really… scare the person who helped you. Is this how you treat people?”
Clearly, the other person wasn’t moved by his words. Yuwen Min sneered and stepped forward, saying, “The Eldest Prince also has one of your anonymous letters. That was before he encountered any issues, and you warned him to be cautious. Did you know someone was plotting against him? Who was it?”
Yuwen Min paused for a moment, then took a step closer and continued, “And what is your relationship with that person?”
Lu Hanzhi got a bit angry and took a step forward as well, saying, “What are you talking about? If I were really connected to that person, would I have gone to such lengths to notify you all? I just couldn’t bear to see my second brother heartbroken, crying every day!”
Of course, Yuwen Min had heard some rumors about Lu Xuzhi and Yuwen Jue.
But he couldn’t say much about his elder brother’s matters.
However, as long as his elder brother was happy, no matter what choices he made, Yuwen Min would support him.
Yuwen Min examined Lu Hanzhi again and asked, “Why didn’t you marry into the Crown Prince’s household?”
Lu Hanzhi couldn’t be bothered with politeness and coldly responded, “I didn’t want to.”
Yuwen Min: “Who is the father of this child?”
Lu Hanzhi: “I don’t want to talk about it.”
Yuwen Min: “Oh?”
Lu Hanzhi: “Even if I told you, you wouldn’t recognize him.”
Yuwen Min’s heavy sword clanged to the ground, and Lu Hanzhi immediately panicked. He quickly said, “A heartless, fickle fool…” He closed his eyes slowly, a pained expression in them, before continuing, “I don’t want to talk about him. It only brings more sorrow.”
The system in his mental space was shocked. Ha, this exaggerated drama king was back online.
At this moment, in Yuwen Min’s eyes, Lu Hanzhi was just a weak young man hurt by love.
He glanced at Lu Hanzhi, probably not wanting to press him further.
Yuwen Min was not yet completely darkened by his emotions, and his affections were still alive.
Although Concubine Rong had been confined, she still had a dedicated caregiver in Chenxi Pavilion.
The Eldest Prince had recovered from his fever and was taking the medicine Lu Hanzhi sent him every day, enduring the needles administered by Lu Hanzhi as well.
With these two powerful figures backing him, Yuwen Min wouldn’t fall to darkness.
Lu Hanzhi silently prayed in his heart for both of them to live long and for the Great Zhao to avoid destruction.
He also hoped to live a few more years himself.
Just when Lu Hanzhi thought Yuwen Min was about to make things difficult for him, the other person picked up his sword and walked out.
At the door, he turned his head and said, “Thank you,” before pushing the door open and leaving.
Before Lu Hanzhi could recover from the “thank you” in his ears, a prompt sounded: “Congratulations, host, you have gained 3 loyalty points from the monarch.”
Lu Hanzhi: ?????
Yuwen Min’s thought process was beyond ordinary people. Who knew what he was thinking all day?
Well, it was clear that not playing by the rules was the future tyrant’s usual style.
As long as he didn’t make a move against him, Yuwen Min could do whatever he liked.
The next day, Zai Yu handed over the deed for the shop he had bought.
The shop was located in the East Main Street of Yongxing County, in the southern part of the capital. It wasn’t big, only about fifty or sixty square meters.
But according to Zai Yu, the shop had previously been selling incense powder and rouge.
When the owner moved south, the shop had been left vacant.
Lu Hanzhi went with Zai Yu to take a look, and he was very satisfied with both the size and layout of the place.
In the afternoon, he handed over the formula for making fragrant ointment to Zai Yu, asking him to prepare different batches based on the formula.
He also wrote a recipe for handmade soap-based shampoo and had the workers make some as well.
These things, he believed, would be very popular among the ladies.
Lu Hanzhi glanced at his mission board, noticing that his GDP had already gone negative.
This was due to the cost of purchasing spices and labor, which required money.
But none of this mattered. The goal of thirty taels of silver? He would make that back in one day!
With full confidence, Lu Hanzhi waved his hand and had Zai Yu hire a troupe of performers to hold a three-day public performance in front of the shop as a teaser.
This was to stir curiosity. The people passing by would know a shop was opening here, but they wouldn’t know what it sold, which would make them even more curious.
Lu Hanzhi also invited several masters of sugar sculpture to give candy sculptures to the children passing by.
Some guessed the shop sold pastries and candied fruits, some thought it was selling toys for children, and others guessed it was selling grains and cereals.
Lu Hanzhi was not in a hurry and let others guess while he calmly ordered for work to be rushed, trying to finish making five hundred different fragrant soaps and several bottles of homemade shampoo within three days.
It was around noon when Lu Hanzhi finally returned to the manor by carriage.
As soon as he entered, he collided with Lu Xuzhi, who was just about to get off the carriage.
Upon seeing Lu Xuzhi, Lu Hanzhi immediately greeted him with a smile, saying, “Second Brother? You’re here?”
Lu Xuzhi looked a little pale but still seemed in good spirits. His brows were slightly furrowed, almost forming a “川” shaped crease, as if he were worried about Yuwen Jue.
But when he saw Lu Hanzhi, his brows instantly relaxed.
Lu Xuzhi and Lu Chenzhi, these two older brothers, had always pampered their younger brother deeply in the past, which is why Lu Hanzhi had developed such an unruly temperament.
For some reason, Lu Hanzhi had a particular fondness for Lu Xuzhi and immediately jumped into his arms for a big hug.
Lu Xuzhi let him be, lightly tapping his back with a fan and saying, “You’ve lost weight. Haven’t been eating well these past few days?”
Upon hearing this, Lu Hanzhi knew for sure that his second brother was thinking about sharing some good food.
This second brother was simple—whenever there was delicious food, he would think of his younger brother.
Sure enough, the next moment, Xiao Langjun saw two servants bringing a large food box down from the carriage.
At Lu Xuzhi’s command, the food box was brought into the house.
Lu Xuzhi, well-read and skilled in both the arts and martial arts, though not imposing in stature, was still fit and agile. He picked up Lu Hanzhi with ease and said, “Look at you, you’re nothing but bones now. Come, second brother brought your favorite food to help you regain some strength.”
Looking at the table full of hot and cold dishes, all of Lu Hanzhi’s favorites, he felt a bit emotional.
He sniffed and pulled on Lu Xuzhi’s arm, saying, “Second Brother, don’t be in a rush. It’s not mealtime right now. I want to introduce you to someone.”
“Someone?” Lu Xuzhi asked, confused. “Where’s my little nephew?”
“It’s not Ah Chan,” Xiao Langjun replied. “You’ll know when you meet him later.”
Following Lu Hanzhi’s mysterious lead, Lu Xuzhi entered the backyard.
The backyard, with its high walls and green tiles, was off-limits to anyone without Lu Hanzhi’s command.
The two brothers circled around a flower wall and entered a side room.
When they pushed open the door, a voice came from inside: “Hanzhi? Is that you? You’re back? … You’re not planning to give me acupuncture again, are you? Well… let’s make a deal. I think my illness is almost healed, so maybe we don’t need the needles anymore?”
At the door, Lu Xuzhi was so shocked that he couldn’t speak. His hand holding the fan began to tremble.
Though it was only a few steps, it took him forever to walk over.
It was the Eldest Prince who, noticing the delay, personally came out to greet him. But when he saw the person at the door, he froze.
“Xu… Xu Zhi?” The way the Eldest Prince said his name made both of them tear up.
Lu Xuzhi quickly walked up, taking Yuwen Jue’s hand and looking him up and down, his urgency clear, a feeling that Lu Hanzhi could see from the side.
If these two didn’t have an issue, Lu Hanzhi wouldn’t believe it for a second.
Not only did they have a problem, but they were definitely… involved to a certain extent.
They had definitely slept together!
Otherwise, if one of them had died, the other wouldn’t be in such a fragile state.
And since Lu Hanzhi was also a bit of a gay himself, he could clearly sense the emotional progress between the two.
Now that he had figured it out, Lu Hanzhi couldn’t just stick around as a third wheel.
Seeing that the two of them were absorbed in their reunion joy, Lu Hanzhi quietly backed out.
Inside the room, Lu Xuzhi anxiously took Yuwen Jue’s hand, lowering his voice and saying, “How are you? When I got the news, I was stunned. I couldn’t find any information about you. Someone must want you dead! These vile people! Later, I heard you were kidnapped by the Fourth Prince, and I felt a bit relieved. I’ve been preparing for the exams these days, hoping to pass and use it to help you with some connections. But now I have no official title, and I’m like a useless person!”
Yuwen Jue stood up and covered his mouth, saying, “I won’t let you talk like that about yourself. Who says you’re useless? You’re an exceptional scholar and warrior of our dynasty! You’re my… Xu Lang*.”
Note: Xu Lang: Lang here is term of endearment equivalent to dear, or beloved.
Lu Xuzhi pulled Yuwen Jue into his arms, his heart aching, saying, “How did you get so thin? Are you no longer ill?”
Yuwen Jue didn’t hide anything from Lu Xuzhi and told him all about his experiences in prison.
Lu Xuzhi was so furious that his fingers trembled. “They know you have no interest in the throne, yet they humiliated you just to restrain General Rong! It’s so hateful!”
Yuwen Jue coughed lightly and gently comforted him, “Don’t worry, it’s all fine now. Thanks to Hanzhi’s brilliant skills, my illness has almost completely healed with just a few needles.”
“Hanzhi’s brilliant skills?” Lu Xuzhi frowned and said, “He doesn’t know anything about acupuncture. Since he was a child, he never learned anything proper. All he does is eat, drink, and enjoy life!”
Yuwen Jue smiled lightly and said, “It’s Hanzhi. You really don’t understand your younger brother. He’s actually quite talented in medicine!”
A moment later, in the front yard, in front of Lu Lingxi’s small bed, Lu Xuzhi looked seriously at Lu Hanzhi and said, “Speak up!”
If you love what Ciacia is doing, then consider showing your support by supporting a cup of coffee for her at Kofi. If you can’t wait for the next release chapter, subscribe to advanced chapters membership on her Kofi to get access to up to 10 chapters!