How to Deal with Having the Villainous Tyrant’s Child Chapter 172

Chapter 172

Going to the fief was easy enough; finding a reasonable excuse was not.

But this was not something that could stump Lu Hanzhi. With a slight narrowing of his fox-like eyes, he sent a few long-tongued women out to wag their tongues.

Rumors often started from a single household—how should one put it?

There was a saying: “Distant fragrance, close stench.” In the past, when Prince Chu and Prince An lived side by side, nothing seemed amiss.

Now that the two households had been merged into one, problems finally surfaced.

In less than three days, rumors spread through the capital as if they had grown wings.

Very quickly, the households of Prince An and Prince Chu became the talk of the town after meals.

As rumors spread and spread, they eventually reached Su Wan’ning’s ears.

Rumors were things that one either believed or didn’t—ultimately, it depended on one’s own judgment.

She herself harbored three parts suspicion. How could a relationship suddenly be bad just because people said so?

Coincidentally, that day she entered the palace to deliver winter clothing to the empress. With the intent of probing the situation, she went to the Xiaoyu Residence.

Ever since returning from Lu Hanzhi’s place, Zong Yuan had not gone to see Su Wan’ning again.

The mere thought that Su Wan’ning had stolen his sister’s identity and name made him feel physically repulsed.

Yet he had no choice but to remain in her camp—to uncover the truth, and so that his sister could recover as soon as possible.

Whenever he thought of the suffering his sister had endured all these years, Zong Yuan’s heart twisted painfully.

While he was lost in thought, Aunt Liu came in to report, “Young Lord, the Crown Prince’s side consort requests an audience.”

Zong Yuan sneered inwardly. She had come at just the right time!

It just so happened that he had received word from Lu Hanzhi—there was a good show prepared for her.

Zong Yuan turned around and said, “Please show her in.” Immediately afterward, he put on a smiling face.

Though his temperament was lively, he had undergone three years of harsh spy training in the Eastern Sea.

It was only a counter-espionage performance—he could act it well enough.

Soon, Su Wan’ning entered under Aunt Liu’s guidance. Zong Yuan instantly shed his earlier gloomy expression, a smile blooming on his young face as he stepped forward, grabbed Su Wan’ning’s hand, and said, “Sister! You finally came into the palace to see me? I missed you to death!”

Su Wan’ning helplessly patted his hand, but the touch made Zong Yuan stiffen. He forcibly suppressed the urge to shove her away.

She then heard Su Wan’ning’s gentle voice again:
“Isn’t your sister here to see you now? Look at you—still so childlike.”

Zong Yuan suppressed the disgust in his eyes and coquettishly replied, “In front of sister, the little one will always be a child.”

Su Wan’ning smiled and said, “All right, all right, the little one will always be a baby. But how old is this baby now?”

Zong Yuan did not answer the question. He only asked,
“Did Sister enter the palace today because something needed to be done?”

Su Wan’ning nodded and replied, “I delivered several winter garments to Her Majesty the Empress and came by to see you along the way.”

Zong Yuan pursed his soft, rosy lips and said, “So Sister didn’t enter the palace specifically to see me.”

Su Wan’ning sighed and said, “Sister couldn’t help it either. How could I freely enter the palace whenever I wished?”

Previously, Su Wan’ning’s palace entry token had been confiscated, and it was only in the past few days that the Crown Prince had helped her retrieve it.

Zong Yuan obediently nodded and said: “I understand. Sister, don’t worry. I will definitely listen to you. Whatever Sister tells me to do, I will do.”

Back then, when he had just returned from the snowy mountains, Su Wan’ning had said the same thing to him: “You must listen to all of Sister’s arrangements. Whatever I tell you to do, you must do it. Remember, all of this is to avenge our parents. We must pay some kind of price.”

Thus, at the age of thirteen, he had taken the sacred medicine and become a Xiao Langjun.

Zong Yuan quietly clenched his fist when he heard Su Wan’ning ask: “I heard that you have been visiting Chenxi Pavilion quite often recently. Did Imperial Concubine Rong mention anything?”

Zong Yuan thought for a moment and replied: “I went to Chenxi Pavilion yesterday to sit for a while. The Imperial Noble Concubine did indeed mention something. She said something like… kindness measured by the liter breeds gratitude, but kindness measured by the bushel breeds resentment. She said she had kindly raised him, nurtured him, and in the end raised a tiger that became a threat.”

Su Wan’ning’s eyes lit up, and she asked eagerly: “Really? Imperial Concubine Rong said that?”

Zong Yuan nodded and said: “Yes. She also said something like… she no longer wanted her son to stay in the muddy waters of the capital. She only wished for him to return to his fief early and live as a leisurely, wealthy prince. She also said that the Rong clan was only responsible for their own people and had nothing more to do with other irrelevant individuals. I only overheard Imperial Concubine Rong and Concubine Shu talking about it secretly, and I didn’t hear everything clearly. I don’t know what those two women were plotting again.”

A smile appeared on Su Wan’ning’s face as she said: “That’s wonderful. It seems the rumors circulating in the capital are not false.”

Zong Yuan pretended not to understand and asked: “Oh? What rumors have been spreading in the capital?”

Su Wan’ning answered: “You wouldn’t know while staying in the palace. It’s widely rumored in the capital that a rift has formed between Prince An and Prince Chu. They say Prince An has grown arrogant because of his merits, relying on his status as a hereditary iron-capped prince and looking down on everyone, treating Prince Chu disrespectfully in the residence. Prince Chu’s maternal Rong clan is dissatisfied and believes that Prince An’s achievements were entirely built upon the Rong family’s army as support. His disrespect toward Prince Chu is nothing short of forgetting his roots. Meanwhile, Princess An gave Prince Chu a public humiliation, saying that since he married into the Lu family, he was now a member of the Lu household’s rear backyard. As a rear backyard person, he should assist his husband and educate children, and it was improper to flaunt his princely title all day long. Moreover, they had been married for a year and had never once gone to the husband’s family to fulfill filial duties. Directly accused Prince Chu of being unvirtuous and lacking the proper conduct expected of a Langjun.”

Zong Yuan: …

Had the rumors already spread to such an extent?

What Su Wan’ning described was actually the sanitized version. The real rumors were far more terrifying.

They said Prince An’s Wang Fei had pointed at Prince Chu’s nose and cursed him as a bastard. They said Prince Chu had shoved Prince An’s Wang Fei, causing him to miscarry. They said Prince An had dropped the little heir and summoned imperial physicians from the palace. They even said Prince Chu had broken Prince Qinxiao’s leg!

In any case, rumors were the kind of thing that grew more outrageous the more they were passed around.

Zong Yuan swallowed and suddenly felt like laughing.

He truly felt that it was fortunate he was no longer enemies with someone like Lu Hanzhi—otherwise, that person would have been extremely difficult to deal with.

Su Wan’ning did not stay long with Zong Yuan before leaving. Watching her depart from Xiaoyu Residence, Zong Yuan’s expression turned cold once more.

Now he could even more clearly feel the difference between Su Wan’ning and his sister. Even when his sister had no awareness at all, the first thing she did upon seeing him was peel lotus seeds for him to eat.

And what had this woman done?

She had forced her beloved younger brother to submit himself to that dog emperor.

She had stood here for half the day and had not even spoken a single word of concern.

There had once been a final trace of doubt in his heart, but now not even half of it remained.

His sister had truly become a foolish girl.

And this Su Wan’ning, wearing his sister’s identity and face, was delusionally trying to soar up the branches and become a phoenix.

Zong Yuan closed his eyes. When he opened them again, his gaze was far more resolute.

At Prince An’s residence, Prince An’s Wang Fei and Prince Chu—who were supposedly fighting beyond reconciliation—were sitting together at a table, studying teaching materials.

Although Lu Hanzhi’s third mission had already been completed, there were still many areas of the teaching materials that needed refinement.

Yuwen Jue held Ah Meng in his arms while writing and sketching with a brush on paper. Casually, he chatted with Lu Hanzhi and asked,


“When do you think would be the best time to have Mother Concubine go request permission from Father Emperor?”

Lu Hanzhi thought for a moment and replied: “Let the rumors fly for another two or three days.”

Once the rumors reached the emperor’s ears, handling the matter would become much easier.

Moreover, the emperor would be very willing to facilitate it—even if it meant conveniently dragging Fifth Prince Yuwen Qin into it as well.

Yuwen Jue placed the completed course schedule in front of Lu Hanzhi, then put Ah Meng into a small cradle.

Lu Hanzhi circled and marked the schedule for a while before saying: “Why are there still two classes on reproduction and propagation?”

Yuwen Jue glanced at it and replied: “Oh… those are courses specifically for Langjun. Congyun said that letting Langjun understand physiological knowledge from a young age would be more beneficial for their future lives. Ordinary students don’t have these classes—they only attend two sessions of basic physiology each month.”

Lu Hanzhi nodded and did not comment on Great Zhao’s Langjun culture.

After all, relationships between men were not uncommon. If they encountered parental opposition, there was still such a path available to them.

If the Langjun path were completely eliminated, it would indeed block off the road for some people entirely.

It was just that the management of the sacred medicine would have to be strictly standardized in the future. At the very least, the boy’s own wishes should be asked before allowing him to take the sacred medicine.

However, those were matters for the future. For now, they first needed to get through the immediate difficulty.

After organizing the course schedule, Lu Hanzhi said,
“Don’t let our affairs delay the students’ classes. Have that teacher begin arranging lessons for the students. Also, select a logistics steward to be responsible for arranging dormitories for the students. Oh—and choose a retired palace nanny to take charge of the girls’ dormitory and etiquette matters.”

Yuwen Jue responded: “There’s no need for you to instruct me. I’ve already arranged everything. There’s a nanny surnamed Qiu, just turned forty, young and strong. She retired from Mother Concubine’s palace.”

Lu Hanzhi snapped his fingers and gave Yuwen Jue a thumbs-up: “When Second Sister-in-law handles things, I feel at ease.”

Yuwen Jue looked helpless and gently rocked Ah Meng’s cradle as he said: “Have you heard the rumors outside, Hanzhi?”

Lu Hanzhi replied: “I’ve heard a bit. In any case, none of it’s good. The more they spread it, the filthier it becomes. Second Sister-in-law, don’t listen to their nonsense.”

Yuwen Jue couldn’t help laughing and said: “I really can’t imagine what it would look like if the two of us actually tore into each other.”

Lu Hanzhi smiled, propped his chin on his hand, and said: “To be honest, I not only can’t imagine the two of us tearing into each other—I can’t imagine you tearing into anyone at all.”

In his mind, his second sister-in-law was someone who would never argue with others, never raise his voice, and would never lose his dignity—a refined gentleman through and through.

Yuwen Jue froze for a moment and said: “That does seem to be the case…”

Lu Hanzhi felt that he and Yuwen Jue were complete opposites—one who could fight with anyone, and one who could fight with no one at all.

Yet these two strangely fitting personalities matched perfectly.

Just then, Yuwen Min and Lu Xuzhi returned. Seeing the two of them chatting happily, they both gathered around.

One of them was still holding Ah Chan. When Lu Hanzhi looked up, he saw Ah Chan had smeared herself into a little flower-faced cat, clutching a chunk of pitch-black mud in his hand.

Lu Hanzhi: …

Ah. His germophobia was about to flare up.

Lu Hanzhi glared angrily at Ah Chan and asked: “What happened? Where did this come from? What is all this?”

Ah Chan trembled and burrowed into Yuwen Min’s arms.

Yuwen Min, rare as it was, defended the child and said: “Hey… Hanzhi, it’s just playing with mud. How about… not hitting him?”

Lu Hanzhi: …

When had he ever said he was going to hit him?

He merely called for Luan Feng and had Ah Chan taken away to be washed clean.

At that moment, Lu Xuzhi had already picked up Ah Meng. Ah Meng stuck out his tiny tongue and very skillfully blew a bubble.

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