Chapter 28- The Disdained Concubine’s Son of the Marquis’s Family(12)

Get updated every time a new chapter is released and Get the Passwords to Password Protected Content at our Discord Server -> Click Here to Join now (Protected Content will be available within few days of release)

Chapter 28

Yan Su wasn’t someone to be trifled with, nor someone without a temper. After being hunted down by Madam Zou multiple times, in the past he might not have had the means to retaliate, but now, after his collaboration with Yue Xiangyang, and with several newly trained elite warriors at his disposal, a counterattack was inevitable.

However, before that, he had to investigate what had been happening in the Yongxin Marquis household in the capital. How did Madam Zou know that he was in the Yin City military camp?

What he found surprised him. He discovered that the runaway Kuai Ninghua was hiding in the Yongxin Marquis household under the guise of being a distant relative of Madam Zou, fawning over both her and Wen Gaozhe daily. Kuai Ninghua was completely infatuated with Wen Gaozhe.

Kuai Ninghua was, after all, the prestigious eldest princess of Prince Qin’s household. Running off to Yongxin Marquis’ residence and behaving so subserviently—what could she be up to?

Yan Su didn’t reveal this information to Kuai Heyu right away. His intuition told him that Kuai Ninghua had entered Yongxin Marquis’ household and approached Wen Gaozhe with a hidden agenda.

If he remembered correctly, the plot mentioned that after Wen Gaozhe became the powerful Regent, he wiped out Prince Qin, Prince Chen, and other rebels in one sweep, and his prestige in the court reached unprecedented heights.

In the epilogue, it was revealed that many of the close allies of the Regent had long been dissatisfied with the decaying Great Zhou Dynasty. They had privately urged Wen Gaozhe countless times to overthrow the weak and incompetent young emperor and take the throne for himself, but he had always refused.

It wasn’t until his and the female protagonist Feng Zixuan’s son grew up and gained control of the military, with the support of his maternal grandfather, Grand Preceptor Feng, that the dynasty was eventually overthrown.

But that was many years in the future. Currently, the Yongxin Marquis household was just a declining noble family. Wen Gaozhe had risen through flattery and currying favor with Emperor Zhangwu, and his official rank wasn’t high. His reputation in the capital was quite poor.

Any family with a shred of dignity wouldn’t want their daughter to marry such a despicable man.

So, what did Kuai Ninghua’s abnormal behavior of throwing herself at Wen Gaozhe indicate? Could it be that she could foresee the future?

Though it seemed illogical, Yan Su arrived at an unbelievable conclusion—Kuai Ninghua might have been reborn. Her early attachment to Wen Gaozhe was a calculated investment.

However, Wen Gaozhe was a man with deep schemes and great ambition. He had risen from nothing to the pinnacle of power in the court, so how could he be someone that a mere woman like Kuai Ninghua could manipulate?

Someone like him, who would never do anything without gaining a benefit, must have ulterior motives for keeping Kuai Ninghua, a woman with a questionable background, around. Anyone would find that suspicious.

Yan Su could see this clearly, but Kuai Ninghua, blinded by her fantasy of a glorious future as the Regent’s consort, was completely deluded.

After she became physically involved with Wen Gaozhe, she was convinced that her position as the Regent’s consort was secured. After all, in her previous life, Wen Gaozhe was famously disinterested in other women and entirely devoted to his wife. He even sympathized with the hardships she endured during childbirth and never let her get pregnant again after their first son was born.

Kuai Ninghua believed that Wen Gaozhe was steadfast in his loyalty. Once he chose a woman, he would ensure her dream of a lifelong monogamous relationship would come true.

On top of that, Madam Zou had become increasingly affectionate toward her, and the servants were all treating her with utmost respect, subtly indicating that they already regarded her as the future mistress of the household. All of this inflated Kuai Ninghua’s ego.

That evening, after having a pleasant rendezvous with Feng Zixuan, Wen Gaozhe returned to the marquis’ residence in good spirits.

To him, although Feng Zixuan wasn’t particularly beautiful, she was intelligent, understanding, and astute. As the capital’s foremost talented woman, personally tutored by Grand Preceptor Feng, she was well-read and never made conversations awkward. Thanks to his calculated flattery, the two of them shared common interests.

Feng Zixuan had already fallen deeply in love with him. As long as he continued to play hard to get for a little while longer, keeping her intrigued, Feng Zixuan would soon be hoping he would formally propose marriage.

By then, the marriage would be secured, and even if Grand Preceptor Feng opposed it, it wouldn’t matter.

Dreaming about becoming Grand Preceptor Feng’s son-in-law, Wen Gaozhe returned to the household and headed straight for his study. He was utterly fed up with dealing with the two women at home—Madam Zou and Kuai Ninghua.

No sooner had he entered his study than he heard a rhythmic knock at the door.

“Brother Gaozhe, I made some snow fungus and lotus seed soup for you as a midnight snack. May I come in?”

It was Kuai Ninghua’s voice.

Wen Gaozhe rubbed his forehead, his face darkening. The calligraphy brush in his hand flicked a drop of ink, and he nearly ground his teeth in frustration. “Come in.”

She still had some value left. Wen Gaozhe reminded himself to be patient. Once he had extracted the last bit of use from her, he would make sure she disappeared forever.

“Brother Gaozhe, Aunt said you’ve been very busy lately. His Majesty has assigned you a lot of tasks,” Kuai Ninghua said, completely unaware of his dark thoughts as she gracefully entered the study, carrying the bowl of snow fungus and lotus seed soup.

She had dressed up carefully tonight, wearing a new pomegranate-red Liu Xian skirt. Kuai Ninghua was already strikingly beautiful, and the bright red color further accentuated her voluptuous figure and smooth, delicate skin.

She was confident in her looks. Before coming, she had even applied some handmade floral balm collected by her maids, giving her skin a fragrant, alluring scent.

But what she considered a charming fragrance was revolting to Wen Gaozhe.

Having grown up in Madam Zou’s quarters, where incense constantly burned, Wen Gaozhe loathed the scent of perfume on women. Every maid in his courtyard knew this: their master could tolerate anything except fragrances. He couldn’t even stand the smell of fresh flowers. His courtyard was barren, with not a single flower or plant in sight.

When Kuai Ninghua first arrived at the Yongxin Marquis residence, she had been cautious. Over time, however, she grew complacent, and her once-arrogant personality from her days in Prince Qin’s household resurfaced, making her increasingly disliked by the maids.

As a result, no one had bothered to inform her of Wen Gaozhe’s secret aversion to fragrances.

Seeing Kuai Ninghua inch closer, even trying to snuggle up to him, Wen Gaozhe, irritated, shifted to the side. He stirred the bowl of snow fungus and lotus seed soup she brought, asking, “Grandmother loves this soup. Did you send her a portion?”

Kuai Ninghua froze. The soup was just an excuse. Her real goal tonight was Wen Gaozhe. How could she have thought to send any to Madam Zou?

“Aunt seems to have gone to bed already,” she replied stiffly.

Kuai Ninghua hastily made up an excuse, but her real goal was to get closer to Wen Gaozhe and conceive a child as soon as possible.

Even though Wen Gaozhe was known for being loyal to his women, as long as they weren’t married, there was always a risk. If she got pregnant, Wen Gaozhe would certainly not let his firstborn son be left without status.

However, Wen Gaozhe wasn’t the type of man to be blinded by lust. Everything he did was for his own benefit. Taking in Kuai Ninghua was for his own gain, and planning to marry Feng Zixuan was also a calculated move for his advantage.

Besides, Kuai Ninghua thought that he had been with her that night. But with Wen Gaozhe’s shrewdness, how could he allow himself to become entangled with the daughter of a traitor? He merely used a clever trick, letting one of his guards take his place when Kuai Ninghua was in a confused state.

This way, even if Kuai Ninghua’s identity was exposed to Emperor Zhangwu one day, Wen Gaozhe could distance himself, remaining entirely innocent.

That night, it took Wen Gaozhe a lot of effort to deal with Kuai Ninghua.

As he continued his schemes to deepen his relationship with Feng Zixuan, Feng Zixuan’s personal maid received a mysterious letter.

“Miss, this letter is for you.”

The envelope was completely blank. After the maid opened it, she was shocked and immediately handed it to Feng Zixuan.

As her closest servant, the maid knew that Feng Zixuan had been getting closer to a man recently—Wen Gaozhe, whose reputation in the capital was quite poor.

The Feng family had strict teachings, and the maid feared her lady was being deceived by Wen Gaozhe’s ill intentions, leading her astray. She had tried to warn her many times, but it seemed that Feng Zixuan was infatuated and ignored all warnings.

Upon receiving this mysterious letter, the maid worried that it might contain a love poem from Wen Gaozhe. But after reading it, she was furious, wanting to curse Wen Gaozhe.

The letter revealed the real reason Wen Gaozhe was pursuing Feng Zixuan. His family’s reputation was tarnished, and Wen Gaozhe needed to marry a woman from a reputable family with strong connections at court. His interest in Feng Zixuan wasn’t out of genuine love but pure convenience.

But that wasn’t the worst part. The letter also claimed that Wen Gaozhe had a cousin with whom he was deeply in love. However, because of Madame Zou’s disapproval, they had been forcefully separated. Wen Gaozhe had no choice but to court Feng Zixuan, but he and his cousin had already promised that once he married, he would take her as his honored concubine and never let her suffer.

After reading the letter, Feng Zixuan’s face turned pale.

Having been raised in a harmonious family, Feng Zixuan had been taught the Confucian classics by her father. She hadn’t learned much about the traditional restrictions for women and was well-versed in classical strategies and open schemes.

The Feng family’s household was simple, with Grand Tutor Feng being a man of integrity, with no concubines. So, Feng Zixuan had little exposure to the more sinister aspects of human nature.

But even if she hadn’t personally experienced such situations, she’d heard enough stories. Her mother, a second-rank noblewoman, often interacted with other prominent families and knew plenty of secrets from their inner chambers. When Feng Zixuan was younger, Lady Feng didn’t want to taint her daughter’s innocence with these sordid stories. But as she grew older and neared the age of marriage, Lady Feng realized it was time to prepare her daughter for the harsh realities of life. Over the past six months, she had been telling Feng Zixuan stories about the power struggles between wives and concubines in various households.

These tales filled Feng Zixuan with dread.

From what she knew, the Yongxin Marquis household didn’t have many illegitimate children, and their family dynamics seemed simple and pure.

Furthermore, Wen Gaozhe was incredibly handsome. Feng Zixuan had no particular hobbies other than her love for good-looking men, which was what had drawn her in so deeply.

But she wasn’t foolish. Now that the letter had exposed Wen Gaozhe’s dirty secrets, she knew that rumors usually had some basis in fact. These kinds of things weren’t likely to be made up out of thin air. It would be easy enough to find someone to investigate and confirm.

For now, Feng Zixuan decided to consult her mother to see if the inner workings of the Yongxin Marquis household were truly as clean as they seemed.