Chapter 16: Lucky
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Yuwen Chu was speaking the truth.
Few people were willing to tell Yuwen You the truth. He didn’t expect his sixth brother, whom he rarely interacted with, to remind him so bluntly. Yuwen You sighed heavily, feeling that as a prince, it was shameful to rely on a woman’s pity to survive. Many words that he had hidden in his heart surged up, choking him, making his eyes sore. After a long while, he whispered, “Sixth Brother, I know, but I just can’t help it.”
Yuwen Chu patted his shoulder and said, “Go to my place first to clean and bandage the wound.”
The wound was deep, almost causing a whole piece of flesh to fall off. The doctor had to sew more than ten stitches before it was done. Yuwen Chu suffered a lot and was sweating profusely. After enduring it, he went to thank Yuwen Chu. Half of it was to show goodwill, and half was to test the waters, saying, “Thank you, Sixth Brother, for helping me today. I am deeply grateful. With so many brothers, only you are willing to tell me the truth… Royal Father left me a way out, but I messed it up. You can’t just watch as your younger brother has no way out.”
Yuwen Chu sat alone by the window, focusing on arranging chess pieces on the board. Upon hearing this, he didn’t turn back, his gaze fixed on the black and white pieces on the chessboard as he replied, “Regarding what happened back then, you and I both know… Fu Cong is not easy to deal with. The reason why Royal Father could leave you this way out is because Fu Mingzhu fancies you. If she didn’t fancy you, this marriage would have been called off long ago. If you really want my advice, then I’ll tell you, no matter how you offended her, either you must do everything possible to beg for her forgiveness, make her believe in your sincerity, and agree to marry you; or if you can’t do that, then let go early, stop offending her and Fu Cong, restrain your temper, and use this incident of her breaking off the engagement to gain sympathy from noble relatives, and live on.”
Regarding what happened back then… Yuwen You fell silent. When his mother was still alive, he was so favored and pampered. Even the Crown Prince had to be polite to him, finding various exquisite trinkets to please him. Empress Dowager Fu was even nicer to him, fearing that he or his mother would say anything negative about them in front of the Emperor and ruin the Crown Prince’s future. Later, his mother passed away due to a minor cold, and the Emperor didn’t dote on him as much openly, but he still cared for him secretly.
They said his royal mother’s death was mysterious, and he knew it was closely related to the Emperor’s excessive favoritism and rumors about changing the heir. The succession was always a life-and-death struggle, and Empress Dowager Fu and her son hating them was common. He didn’t know how Fu Mingzhu managed to make the unyielding Empress Dowager and Fu Cong agree to this marriage. Now thinking back, the surging undercurrents were truly frightening.
Whether he admitted it or not, the reason he could survive until today was because of Fu Mingzhu’s affection. Once this marriage was called off, his death would probably come soon, right? He was still so young, was he going to die like this? He couldn’t accept it. Should he kowtow to Fu Mingzhu to beg for her favor? Yuwen Chu lost in thought for a long time, sighed bitterly. If he really did that, he would probably be worthless in Fu Mingzhu’s eyes. If he didn’t even have any backbone left, how could he stand among the noble relatives?
“Sixth Brother, what would you do in my situation?” He felt so useless. The reality was so cruel that Yuwen You couldn’t help but feel a sense of disgust towards himself.
Yuwen Chu finally took his gaze away from the chessboard and looked at him, calmly saying, “If I were you, I wouldn’t have reached this point in the first place.”
Yuwen You smiled bitterly. This was just empty talk.
With a light click, Yuwen Chu placed a black chess piece down and said softly, “Actually, Fu Mingzhu really likes you. I’ve never seen anyone so unconditionally devoted to someone. You are lucky.”
And unlucky. Now that she didn’t like him anymore, and so suddenly, he was caught off guard. She hated him so much, she wanted to devour his flesh and take his life. What he used to have felt like a burden, disdainful, repulsive, but now that he lost it, he felt uncomfortable. Yes, he was just not used to needing this marriage to survive, not because he couldn’t bear to lose Fu Mingzhu. Yuwen You chuckled self-deprecatingly, “Now she doesn’t like me anymore.”
Yuwen Chu looked out the window with a dark look in his eyes. “I guess I’ve never personally experienced certain things, so I don’t have as strong a temper as you. I think if there’s someone who likes me that much, it’s not a bad thing.”
Yuwen You’s heart skipped a beat, staring at Yuwen Chu with suspicion, probing, “Sixth Brother, do you think she’s not bad?” It was possible. Yuwen Chu’s mother, Imperial Consort Min, was a slippery character who had good relations with Empress Dowager Fu. Fu Mingzhu was so beautiful and delicate that any normal man would be unable to resist stealing glances at her. He just didn’t expect Yuwen Chu, who seemed so calm and upright, to say such straightforward words as if he were envious.
Yuwen Chu chuckled, lowered his head, and continued to manipulate the chess pieces in his hand, his tone calm. “You’re overthinking it. I already have an engagement.”
Already engaged. But what if there were no engagement? Why did that sound so regretful? Thinking back to his sudden act of dislocating Mingzhu’s jaw, Yuwen You couldn’t help but feel a pang of sourness in his heart. “My yet-to-be-married sister-in-law comes from a prestigious family and is known for her talent and virtue. It’s my sixth brother who truly deserves admiration.”
Both Imperial Consort Min and her son are well-connected. Yuwen Chu’s marriage arrangement is quite remarkable among the princes. Jiang Shanshan, the eldest daughter of the Changxing Marquis, is both beautiful and virtuous. Moreover, the Changxing Marquis is an old and respected nobleman, well-connected and influential. This marriage arrangement is excellent. If it weren’t for Imperial Consort Min and Empress Dowager Fu’s friendship and Yuwen Chu’s usual low-key and considerate demeanor, he wouldn’t have obtained this marriage. So Yuwen You was genuinely envious, and he couldn’t help but be curious as to why Yuwen Chu was hesitating to marry Jiang Shanshan. There was undoubtedly an element of probing in his words.
Yuwen Chu smiled faintly, lowered his head to continue manipulating the chess pieces in his hand, and said calmly, “If you like, how about we exchange? “
Could such things be exchanged? Yuwen You was stunned, but Yuwen Chu had already lowered his head, saying seriously, “I’m just kidding.”
Just kidding? Yuwen You was speechless. After a moment of silence, unable to help himself, he tried to test Yuwen Chu with the affairs of the court, “Sixth Brother, you’ve been to the Jade Emperor Temple for a few days, right?”
Yuwen Chu nodded, “Probably five or six days.”
Yuwen You leaned forward, lowering his voice to a minimum, “Then you probably don’t know about the Emperor’s killing of Imperial Consort Zhu and the former palace maid.” The young emperor was young but extremely cruel. Since ascending to the throne, although it had been just over a year, dozens of palace maids had died at his hands. Empress Dowager Fu and Fu Cong, in order to control the government, let such a child occupy the throne, which hardly convinced many members of the royal family. If they could get Yuwen Chu to stand on their side, it would also add a few more points to their calculations.
Yuwen Chu’s gaze shifted, smiling ambiguously as he glanced at him, speaking firmly, “Ninth Brother, please forgive me, but I have a rule here not to discuss state affairs.”
Yuwen You couldn’t help but feel disappointed.
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