Chapter 813: Chapter 773: Holding a Grudge, Emperor Guangxi Abdicates (Update 3)

Xu Jia was reluctant to pry into others’ privacy, so she stopped the conversation here. She entered the main room, seeing it sparsely furnished, and ordered some people to fetch from the Marquis Mansion’s storeroom an incense table, a writing desk, a sword rack, and an Arhat Bed, adding new cushions and bolster pillows.

Once everything was arranged, she suddenly felt something was amiss.

She walked out of the main house and saw Yun Huai slightly bent over, weeding the garden. His fair and elegant fingers seemed incompatible with such coarse work, yet his movements were deft, clearly not for the first time.

Upon hearing footsteps, Yun Huai’s hands did not pause.

Xu Jia spoke, "As far as I know, your Yun Family has quite a few secret bases in the Capital, surely there’s a private residence. Why doesn’t Master Yun stay in a luxurious private residence, instead of living in such a simple courtyard?"

Yun Huai didn’t lift his head to look at her, continuing to weed, his tone calm and slow, "This place is quiet."

Xu Jia’s mouth twitched slightly; right outside was the street, where was the quiet?

Nonetheless, there’s a saying that great hiding lies in the city; perhaps for someone like Yun Huai, the more bustling a place, the quieter it feels.

This is a kind of realm; she ought to learn it well in the future.

At this moment, an old woman came out to report to Xu Jia, saying that the main house and the side rooms were almost cleaned, but the bedroom was short of bedding, asking how to procure it.

Xu Jia listened to the question and felt like she was the mistress of this place, which startled her, making her cough with cheeks turning red.

Snapping back to reality, Xu Jia forced a stiff smile, "I don’t know what kind of bedding material Master Yun prefers? I’ll have someone send it."

Yun Huai had finished the weeding, and went to the well to clean his hands. Returning, slender fingers still had water droplets clinging to them, he said leisurely, "May I borrow a handkerchief?"

The tone was as casual as chatting in the home, as if unaware that a handkerchief holds certain significance to girls.

Xu Jia was stunned for a moment, taking out the handkerchief she earlier intended to give Yun Shisan to wipe his face, handing it to him.

Seeing the old woman watching intently, Xu Jia coughed lightly, saying: "Children of Jianghu are not bound by small conventions, go down now."

The old woman was about to leave, but suddenly recalled something, saying, "Still, it’s best to return to the Marquis Mansion, and ask my brother if he has any newly made bedding, and quickly send it over."

Once the old woman left, only Xu Jia and Yun Huai remained in the courtyard. Xu Jia glanced at Yun Huai’s hand-wiping movement, feeling somewhat uneasy.

In the Western Marquis Mansion, she, perhaps due to her status as the owner, felt not the slightest constraint. Now, separated only by a street, her status swapped, Yun Huai became the owner of the courtyard, making her feel somewhat ill at ease, with a frequent urge to escape his gaze.

Reflecting carefully, Xu Jia couldn’t quite understand what she felt guilty about.

Nonetheless, if scrutinized, she did have some guilt towards Yun Huai for the time she approached him with ulterior motives for the Yun Family’s heirloom bracelet. Once obtaining the Phoenix Blood Jade Bead Chain, she turned her back and kicked him aside. Later, in Liangzhou City, when Tang Yuan persisted in entangling her, she had no choice but to temporarily cling to this family head’s thigh, and after driving Tang Yuan away, she flipped her face as if nothing had happened.

Using others when needed and discarding when not, in retrospect, she might not have been entirely virtuous.

Amid thoughts spiraling, Yun Huai had slowly returned the embroidered handkerchief.

Xu Jia took it, clearly feeling his fingertip’s warmth on it, suddenly stammering, "If there’s nothing, I’ll, I’ll head back first." Pausing, she remembered something, "Right, I’ll arrange for a cook to come over, to prepare meals for you."

Yun Huai remained silent, so quiet that Xu Jia had to recall her words, reconsidering each one, to see if any had displeased him.

But soon, Xu Jia understood why something felt wrong.

This street, this courtyard...

Their first encounter was far from pleasant, yet left a deep impression.

At the time, she had not yet been reborn, already engaged to Tang Yuan, soon to be married. Although admiring Tang Yuan’s talent, she had never had close contact with him. Young and impulsive, relying on a few fledgling skills, she decided to sneak into the Tang Mansion at night.

Just stepping out of her own residence, intending to take the back street to avoid detection, the guards soon noticed her absence, scouring the area with torches, reaching the back street. Forced, she climbed into this courtyard.

Coincidentally, that day Yun Huai had entered the Capital, intending to secretly discuss matters here with some operatives. Just unlocking the door, a brick flew at him.

In the pitch-black night, the torches lit quickly, only then Xu Jia realized she had hit the wrong person.

If not recalling the past, Xu Jia almost forgets she once had such vivaciousness.

Though she’s not very old now either, dying once and returning makes frivolity difficult to sustain.

Yun Huai’s eyes seemed capable of reading minds, seeing through her thoughts, asking, "Why were you hiding here back then?"

Xu Jia couldn’t answer, could she say it’s to sneak into her fiancé’s house?

She thought carefully, then seriously replied, "Playing hide and seek."

"Playing hide and seek with a brick, is that your hobby?"

Xu Jia hesitated for a moment, "Probably... yes."

She pondered, considering she was just a little girl back then, someone as significant as Yun Huai, a hero, shouldn’t fuss over trivial matters with a child, and shouldn’t hold grudges. Bearing this in mind, Xu Jia said, "I thought Master Yun had already forgotten."

Yun Huai replied slowly, "I might be somewhat vengeful."

Xu Jia’s mouth twitched, "How about you throw a brick at me too, and let’s call it even between us?" Pausing, she added, "But, you must be gentle, I’m afraid of pain."

"I’ve noticed," Yun Huai lowered his head, tidying his cuffs, "You easily get your hands hurt in Liangzhou City."

"..."

At this moment, Xu Jia felt she no longer wished to maintain even the most basic polite smile.

She truly couldn’t fathom why, having lived another life with supposedly rational stability, she was always left speechless and eager to jump with impatience by him?

...

Yun Huai, a famous figure in Jianghu, took a nominal position at the Ministry of War, causing quite a stir in the court.

The officials speculated whether the Yun Family intended to submit to the court.

Zhao Xi surely wouldn’t disclose matters regarding the Sky Eagle Guard, for the court was infiltrated by Bei Yan’s ears, and the Sky Eagle Guard is a secret known only to a select few.

He merely explained that recently the Ministry of War had been busy due to the Northern Border conflict and, coincidentally, Master Yun was in the Capital. Assigning him a nominal role was because the Yun Family could provide assistance in military supplies.

No one usually questioned the Crown Prince’s words.

Thus, this matter soon faded away because, from Qianqing Palace, a more explosive news emerged.

——Emperor Guangxi intended to abdicate this month on the twenty-sixth, putting the Crown Prince on the throne.

Looking back through the ages, which Emperor did not hand down the throne posthumously, even seriously ill, they wouldn’t relinquish the Nine Dragon Throne until their final breath, wishing to borrow hundreds or thousands of years if possible.

Yet Emperor Guangxi proposed to be the first Emperor in Chu Country history to willingly step down.

This news stunned the nation.

Everyone knew the twenty-sixth was the Crown Prince’s wedding day with the Crown Prince Consort. Emperor Guangxi’s hastened abdication, could it be that his end was near?

If true, experiencing new mourning right after marriage would indeed evoke sighs.

No matter the outside speculation, Zhao Xi remained unaffected, maintaining his usual routine; eating when meal times came, sleeping when time dictated, attending court when scheduled, while the wedding arrangements were taken care of solely by the Ministry of Rites, without requiring his attention.

Meanwhile, Wen Wan accompanied Zhao Xunyin back to Qianqing Palace, insisting on seeing her uncle this time.

Emperor Guangxi was indeed beyond medicinal help, with daily medicine merely prolonging his final breath.

By sheer will, he persisted from early in the year until now; aware that upon his death, the Empress was to follow, causing double mourning to disrupt Zhao Xi and chaotic governance, determined to hang onto his final breath until the Crown Prince’s marriage.

When Wen Wan visited, he could no longer speak nor fully open his eyes, yet hearing Wen Wan’s voice, he managed a faintly reassuring smile.

Perhaps unable to witness the parting of life and death, this sight made Wen Wan want to cry. Indeed her eyes turned red, though she held back tears on the spot, stifling them until leaving Qianqing Palace, where she found a pavilion, nestled against her mother, crying aloud.

Zhao Xunyin gently patted her daughter’s back, but offered no words of comfort.