Chapter 023
Chapter 23: She Thinks Yang Clan and Xu Qing Qing Have Too Many Heads
Yang Xin’er was left behind and settled in an outer residence.
Before dawn, the news reached Yun Zheng. Early that morning, he told Madam Yun. She frowned in worry and asked in a low voice: “Husband, Lin Wei’an is an imperial official. By openly keeping someone in his outer residence, is he not afraid he will ruin his reputation or even lose his post? Why take such a risk?”
The more she thought, the stranger it seemed. Most men avoided suspicion like fire, yet Lin Wei’an did the opposite. Had he grown tired of office? Since returning from the frontier, Madam Yun had never spared him a glance, but she had heard enough to know the Lin family’s lawful wife was not easy to provoke.
Yun Zheng stroked his chin and narrowed his eyes as he said: “Madam, if we see it, Lin Wei’an sees it. Yet he still shelters Yang Xin’er. Two possibilities only. Either he is being blackmailed, or she is useful to him.”
Countless thoughts flashed through Madam Yun’s mind. Compared with usefulness, blackmail felt more likely. They had traded letters in secret for over a year. That alone was a deadly weakness. A Vice Minister of the Secretariat secretly exchanging love notes with another man’s wife—if such filth leaked, the result would be disastrous.
“Husband,” her face paled as she whispered: “Yang Xin’er used my name. If this spreads…”
If Yang Xin’er died, there would be no witness to clear Madam Yun. The mud would stick to her forever. Only by sending Yang Xin’er directly to Lin Wei’an could she peel the stain from herself. Plainly, this woman had become a lingering threat to her and to Duke’s Manor.
Yun Zheng took her hand and soothed her hair as he said: “Do not worry. I have handled it. If I truly feared her mouth, would I ever have let her leave?”
He had already burned the trails with his own hands. He also held Yang Xin’er’s handwritten confession. Unless Yang Clan and Xu Qing Qing had too many heads to spare, he did not believe they would dare sling filth at Duke Ning’s wife.
“Good,” Madam Yun breathed, at last easing. Ever since hearing Little Fourth’s inner voice the day she gave birth, she had ordered every personal item marked with her maiden name destroyed. When Yang Xin’er and her daughter were sent away, the servants searched them double and triple. Nothing was missing. There should be no slip.
“Leave the rest to me,” Yun Zheng said. “No matter what petty schemes those two hatch, they will not succeed. Rest easy, my dear.”
He kissed her cheek, murmuring comfort, then asked with a smile: “By the way, when can Little Fourth be brought here again?”
“Why? Husband, are you leaving?” Madam Yun lifted her eyes, reluctance softening her gaze. That look pleased him; his smile deepened.
“Madam is perceptive,” he said. “There is a matter at the military camp. Two or three days at most. Once it is settled, I will return at once. These days, take care of yourself and Little Fourth.”
Since it concerned the camp, she could not hold him back. She sent a maid to fetch the Fourth Young Miss from the wet nurse. While they waited, she leaned into his arms and looped her hands at his waist, sending him off with tender whispers: “Husband, take care. Do not worry about the house. I will manage.”
“Mm, good,” he answered.
Looking at the luminous beauty in his arms, Yun Zheng’s throat went dry. He tried to restrain himself, then failed, and captured her soft lips. The kiss burned fierce and deep. Madam Yun melted with a small whimper. The room filled with the hush of breathing and quick swallows.
Only when the maid announced herself did Madam Yun jolt awake. She pushed him away and rushed to straighten her robe and smooth her hair. The culprit, however, watched her with a heated gaze, the narrow dark of his eyes making her heart flutter like a trapped bird.
The wet nurse carried in Yun Wan Ning. The little one blinked once and noted at a glance that her mother looked odd.
[Huh? Why are Mother’s cheeks red and her eyes watery, as if she was just thoroughly kissed?]
[Could it be that before I came in, Father and Mother were…]
[Hehe. I see. I came at the wrong time and disturbed their loving hour.]
Yun Wan Ning giggled in her heart. Madam Yun flushed to the neck, pounding heartbeat drowning everything else. Inside, she blamed Yun Zheng for making her lose face, yet more than embarrassment, a sweet shyness rose and would not settle.
[Oh dear, my daughter understands this much and even teases me. What will I do in the future?]
Compared with Madam Yun, Yun Zheng’s skin was thick as armor. He stayed calm and unruffled. He laughed and took the little bun into his arms, kissing her soft cheek: “Little Fourth, Father must go out for a bit. I will not be able to hold you for two days. As soon as I return, I will come see you first. Be good. Drink your milk, sleep well, and do not fuss your mother. Understand?”
[I understand, I understand. Do not worry, Father. I will behave and will not disturb Mother’s rest. Father must be careful too.]
Though Yun Zheng could not hear, she answered with all her heart. Halfway through, her face changed; she remembered something vital.
[Wait. Father leaves today? Oh no, he is going to the military camp. Something terrible will happen to Father.]
What? Something terrible for her husband?
Madam Yun’s breath caught. Embarrassment scattered. She fixed all her attention on the inner voice and pricked up her ears. Yun Zheng’s eyes flickered once, then cooled, and no one saw.
[In the book, Father returned to the camp while Mother was still in recovery and was ambushed at Red Willow Slope.]
[The assassins failed, but Father was gravely wounded. His health broke and long pain tormented him for years.]
[Later, when he returned to battle, he was no longer as valiant. His prestige fell in the army. That gap gave the heroine and the treacherous minister their chance.]
[Ah. I could heal Father’s old injury when I grow up, but he will not live to see it. By then the Yun family will already be dead. What should I do?]
[No. I must stop Father from leaving.]
[Last time I cried for Second Brother. Clearly crying does not work. This time I will use a harsher method. I will hold my breath. Luckily, I learned many tricks in my last life; otherwise I would be helpless.]