Chapter 232: Chapter 217: Losing a Man’s Dignity (Part 1)
As the man spoke, a warm breath brushed over Wen Wan’s hair, filling her heart with a sense of contented satisfaction.
Her lips slightly curled, Wen Wan slowly closed her eyes and said, "I’ll sleep for a while, wake me up when we get home."
——
For the first time being close to the girl he admired, Su Yaoqi couldn’t hide his smile on the way home.
After entering the mansion, he didn’t even have time to change his clothes before heading straight to Su Yu’s courtyard, eager to share his joy with his elder sister. But upon entering the courtyard, he realized something was amiss.
The servants in his elder sister’s courtyard were already fewer than elsewhere, and today not even one was to be seen.
The atmosphere was indescribably heavy.
Su Yaoqi hesitated about whether to continue forward when he saw his brother-in-law, Hao Yun, pushing the door open and coming out.
Su Yaoqi noticed one side of Hao Yun’s face was swollen, and there appeared to be an unreduced handprint. In an instant, he stood frozen in place.
Hao Yun hadn’t expected to run into this legitimate Fourth Young Master, and despite his displeasure, he managed a smile, "Yaoqi, what brings you here all of a sudden?"
Hearing the voice, Su Yaoqi immediately averted his gaze from Hao Yun’s face and softly said, "I’m here to see my elder sister."
Hao Yun didn’t mention whether Su Yu was around and directly asked him, "Do you have something to discuss with your elder sister?"
Su Yaoqi’s face flushed slightly as he shook his head, "It’s nothing important. If she’s not around, then never mind."
"She should be over at Aunt Qiu’s place," Hao Yun eventually reminded the young man.
Su Yaoqi’s eyes brightened, and after expressing his thanks, he headed towards Aunt Qiu’s courtyard.
Being treated coldly upon entering the mansion, Aunt Qiu’s courtyard was somewhat secluded, and Su Yaoqi walked for quite a while. Just as he was about to arrive, he didn’t continue forward but instead stopped and waited.
The rain had long stopped, leaving a layer of water on the ground.
The young man stepped into the water with his brand new boots, seemingly unaware, while his eyes drifted to the dilapidated water vat beside him. What he saw in his mind, however, was the scene earlier outside the Hongwen Academy’s gate.
The girl lowered her head, her small face blushing with shyness, making him feel as though his soul had been hollowed out.
As Su Yu came out of Aunt Qiu’s courtyard, she saw Su Yaoqi standing alone, his demeanor openly joyful. She approached him, "What happened that you’re so joyous?"
Eager to share his little secret with Su Yu, Su Yaoqi couldn’t wait to ask about the situation on her face.
"Elder sister, I talked to her."
It was only a matter of time, and while Su Yu wasn’t surprised, she feigned happiness for him, "Really? What did you two talk about?"
Su Yaoqi thought carefully, "When I was leaving school, it happened to rain, and I couldn’t see clearly in front of the Hongwen Academy gate. I decided to try my luck and indeed saw her without an umbrella, standing at the gate avoiding the rain. I wanted to lend her my umbrella, but shortly afterward, her uncle came to pick her up. I only said a few words while lending the umbrella, nothing much, but I still felt quite happy."
Although Su Yaoqi babbled on, Su Yu wasn’t concerned about their conversation.
Her attention was entirely captured by the word "uncle."
"What uncle?"
The Song family had just moved to the Capital last year, with all their relatives in the countryside. As the Song family’s daughter-in-law, how could Wen Wan have an uncle here?
Considering a possibility, Su Yu further asked, "Was he a tall man, appearing to be in his early thirties and quite handsome?"
Su Yaoqi nodded, "That’s probably him."
Su Yu didn’t look pleased, "Who told you that he was the girl’s uncle?"
"I guessed," Su Yaoqi replied honestly. "Besides, when I called him uncle, he didn’t deny it. So I must have guessed correctly."
Su Yu wanted to know what kind of expression Song Wei had when he saw Su Yaoqi and Wen Wan standing together.
Su Yaoqi, however, told her that the uncle was rather friendly and even thanked him for his good intentions on behalf of the young girl.
Su Yu became anxious, "There was nothing else?"
Su Yaoqi was puzzled, "What else?"
"You, who are an outsider, approaching that girl, he wasn’t angry at all?"
"No, he wasn’t at all!" Su Yaoqi was still puzzled, "Elder sister, do you really wish that uncle to get angry?"
Su Yu clutched her chest, nearly spitting out a mouthful of blood.
To see with her own eyes Su Yaoqi approaching Wen Wan, and yet Song Wei didn’t react at all?
"This is impossible!"
"Elder sister, what’s wrong with you?" Su Yaoqi looked at her, puzzled.
What’s wrong? She’s about to be angered to death!
Su Yu’s expression was extremely unpleasant. She said she had something to do and hurried back to her own courtyard.
Hao Yun, his face swollen from being hit, hadn’t left the house and was resting on a rocking chair.
Su Yu kicked the door open with a "bang," her eyes fixed intently on him, "How dare you deceive me!"
Hao Yun, hearing the noise, sat up and looked over, "What’s the matter with you, my dear?"
Su Yu, her face grim, walked toward him, "Didn’t you previously say that Song Wei spoils Mrs. Wen to the point of no return?"
"That’s right, I said it."
"But he saw Wen Wan with another man and didn’t react at all!"
Su Yu was so angry at this thought that it hurt her lungs; she had spent so much effort to lure Su Yaoqi into the trap, never imagining it would end this way.
Hao Yun didn’t know Su Yu’s plan, he simply asked her, "Did you get someone to target Wen Wan?"
Su Yu stayed silent.
Hao Yun guessed that was probably the case and chuckled, "He saw Wen Wan with another man and didn’t react, isn’t that perfect? It shows he’s not fond of her anymore, which is what you want with Song Wei, isn’t it?"
Though that reasoning made sense, Su Yu felt like she was suffocating with rage, almost to the point of vomiting blood.
——
The matter between Song Wei and the Su Family reached Emperor Guangxi’s ears. He heard that the Su Family’s son-in-law personally went to reconcile and ended up looking even darker-faced upon leaving than when he went in. This piqued Emperor Guangxi’s curiosity about what Song Wei had said to Hao Yun.
After the last incident of painting appraisal, the entire Hanlin Academy and several former ministers knew Song Wei was an expert in that field.
Song Wei was a hidden asset, also a budding Assistant Minister whom Emperor Guangxi wanted to nurture carefully. On the surface, he wouldn’t easily summon Song Wei to avoid attracting too much attention that might bring trouble.
However, using the pretext of "antiques," it seemed reasonable to summon him at any time.
There was nothing he could do; Emperor Guangxi had many ministers under him who enjoyed collecting, but when it came to expertise, no one matched Song Wei.
About this, Emperor Guangxi couldn’t help but marvel.
Song Wei was in his early thirties, yet his knowledge of antiques and paintings overshadowed numerous ministers. How many books and antiques must he have studied to reach such a level?
Of course, regarding antiques, Emperor Guangxi admired Song Wei not only for his extensive reading and profound knowledge but also for the fact that he collected without treating antiques as more important than anything, unlike certain old fools who valued them above all else to their own detriment.
——
Song Wei was summoned again today; the messenger eunuch said that the Emperor had an item that couldn’t be dated and wanted him to take a look.
Song Wei knew immediately that the Emperor had an ulterior motive. Given his current official rank, the Emperor indeed had no reason to summon him to the imperial court except for the item.
Putting aside his current tasks, Song Wei followed the messenger eunuch to the outside of the Imperial Study Room.
He stopped, and bowed his head in thought.
The Imperial Study Room was not a place anyone could enter casually; some ministers served the court for decades without stepping inside even once, yet Emperor Guangxi had met him twice there.
The last time was for a painting appraisal, which seemed reasonable; but this time...
Before Song Wei could think further, the messenger eunuch returned, "Mr. Song, the Emperor invites you in."
Song Wei cleared his thoughts and stepped through the door.
As usual, he kneeled to perform the grand gesture to the Emperor.
Emperor Guangxi held a tea cup, looking down at him.
If it were another minister, Emperor Guangxi would likely say to skip the formalities, but for Song Wei, it was different.
There was a time to enjoy advantages, and taking full advantage was entirely justifiable at such moments.
It seemed that watching him bow a few more times was the only thing that could ease Emperor Guangxi’s mind.
After finishing the ritual and receiving permission to rise, Song Wei dared to stand up.
"The eunuch said the Emperor wanted me to appraise an item. What kind of item might it be?"
This topic was quite dull, so Emperor Guangxi automatically ignored it, looking at Song Wei with some schadenfreude, "Song Wei, I heard you were set up a few days ago?"
The Imperial Chief Steward quietly reminded him, "Emperor, it was nearly, nearly."
Emperor Guangxi shot him a sidelong glance, "Why do you always have to interject? Step aside!"
The Imperial Chief Steward: "..."
Song Wei kept his head lowered, unaware of Emperor Guangxi’s little gestures, and replied truthfully, "Thank you for your concern, Emperor. Lord Luo from Shuntian Prefecture has been asked to help resolve it."
Emperor Guangxi was quite interested in his affairs.
Indeed, nurturing Song Wei meant getting him to deal with the Su Family, yet now that he was rarely outwitted by others, Emperor Guangxi felt a peculiar sense of "relief."
"I also heard that the Su Family’s son-in-law sought reconciliation with you but failed; how did you respond to him?"
Song Wei: "I told him he lingered too long among women, wore human skin and acted like a woman, bringing shame to men."
What did this mean?
It was a satirical comment on how a man acts like a woman.
In what way like a woman?
Perhaps like Hao Yun, employing petty tricks of the inner chambers to deal with friends.
Or perhaps like Emperor Guangxi, who neglects serious matters and gets excited when gossiping about others.
Emperor Guangxi darkened his face, "..."