Chapter 8: The Beginning of Another Game

Originally, he was not particularly enthusiastic about women’s rouge and powder, nor was he curious about them.

At most, they were simply trinkets women liked to fuss over.

But he worked in the Zhaoyu Prison and had handled contless cases.

He knew very well that the effects of rouge and cosmetics women favored were far from ordinary.

When used skillfully, they could even reshape features and cause a person’s appearance to change noticeably.

That was why the thought suddenly occurred to him.

Was there a great difference between Pu Wange with her exquisite makeup and Pu Wange without any powder at all?

It was deep into the night.

Though the moonlight was bright, layers of bed curtains hung down, blocking it out, and he could not see clearly.

Perhaps the difference really was quite large.

Madam Pu’s personal maid had also said that she loved beauty.

Her original appearance was likely not as pleasing as her face after applying rouge and powder, which was why she always needed cosmetics to adorn herself.

If her features were naturally flawless, how could she go to such lengths to conceal them?

Thinking this, Yan Chiyun did not dwell on it further and closed his eyes to sleep.

“……”

***

The next day, Yan Chiyun rose very early.

The theft case in the capital had yet to be resolved.

The officials implicated still needed to be thoroughly investigated.

There was little time left, and dragging it out would only make matters harder to handle.

He glanced inside and discovered that the person beside him was no longer maintaining her proper, orderly sleeping posture.

She had turned inward and curled herself up again.

Her head was buried in the bedding.

Her long hair spilled down, exposing the tender white nape of her neck, which still bore the marks of his fingers.

At the sight of this, Yan Chiyun could not help recalling the entanglement of the previous night.

Her soft, pliant little hands had guided him as they explored together.

And her other hand had not been idle either.

She had held him, inexperienced and clumsy.

At times, she had not even managed her strength properly…

As he thought on, a faint stir of desire unexpectedly rose in his heart.

Morning vigor was already strong enough.

How could he allow himself to think so deeply about these things?

Fortunately, she had not awakened yet and had not noticed his abnormality.

Thinking of how Madam Pu had been staring straight at him these past two days, if she were awake, she would surely see through his reaction.

Yan Chiyun rose quickly and did not linger.

Pu Jinyu had truly been exhausted the night before.

Yet in her previous life she had always been on guard, and in this life her body had not fully relaxed from years of “discipline.”

So even though she was very sleepy, and even though Yan Chiyun moved lightly when he got up, she still regained some awareness.

Aware though she was, she did not move.

Fairly speaking, Yan Chiyun was indeed a passable example of a noble-born gentleman.

He rarely made things difficult for her.

When she had first married in, no matter how early he rose, she had to follow Madam Pu’s orders and get up with him to help him dress.

The Northern Depot handled major cases, often working from dawn till late at night.

Seeing the drowsiness she tried to hide between her brows and eyes, he had deliberately told her that she need not rise anymore in the future and could continue resting.

Thus, she no longer had to get up.

Now she lay there, listening to the faint sounds of the man washing up and dressing.

In her daze, Pu Jinyu could not help thinking of her own biological father, who was likewise regarded as a model gentleman.

He had put on a good show on the surface, but had he not still been sneaking around outside?

He had kept a mistress for so many years and never once thought of taking responsibility.

All he wanted was to enjoy the beautiful body of a concubine.

Men were all the same.

Thinking this, her expression grew even colder.

She kept her eyes closed and did not move at all.

After Yan Chiyun finished tidying up, he glanced once toward the bed curtains before heading out.

Unexpectedly, after passing the hanging flower gate, he encountered Yan Huaixiao and a friend who was staying in the household for a short time, Cheng Wenque, returning from outside along the covered corridor.

“Elder Brother.”

Yan Huaixiao led Cheng Wenque forward and cupped his hands in greeting.

“Mm.”

Yan Chiyun’s gaze casually swept over the man at Yan Huaixiao’s side.

Cheng Wenque was indeed good-looking.

Though his family background was thin, his features were excellent.

His manner was refined and scholarly, and every gesture carried its own elegance.

Yan Chiyun was adept at concealing his emotions.

Even though Cheng Wenque had grown up living under others’ roofs and was skilled at reading expressions, he still failed to detect Yan Chiyun’s scrutiny.

He had long heard that the Yan family’s eldest legitimate son was astonishingly gifted.

Seeing him today, he was indeed restrained and solemn, exuding authority without anger, making one reluctant to meet his eyes lightly.

After exchanging brief greetings, Yan Chiyun left with his subordinates.

***

“Your elder brother truly is extraordinary.”

After passing the hanging flower gate, Cheng Wenque spoke up.

“My elder brother has been formidable since childhood.

He is the most outstanding genius our Yan family has produced in a hundred years.

Everyone in the capital praises him.”

Yan Huaixiao’s face was full of admiration when he spoke of Yan Chiyun.

“Indeed.”

Cheng Wenque nodded.

Yan Huaixiao felt a sense of guilt.

Thinking of how he had dragged Cheng Wenque in as a shield, only to have him forcibly kept in the Yan household, he slung an arm around his shoulder and sighed.

“Wenque, as the saying goes, those close to the water reach the moon first.

The imperial examinations are approaching, and the instructors are swamped.

While you stay in our Yan household, you can be like me.

If you have any questions you don’t understand, copy them down and hand them to my elder brother to take a look.”

Yan Chiyun was the first person of the dynasty to place first in all three levels of the examinations.

Even the current emperor praised his writing.

Some of his insights left even the instructors of the Imperial Academy feeling inferior.

Many people wanted him to review their essays, but he always declined on the grounds that Northern Depot affairs were too busy.

When his own younger brother sought guidance, Yan Chiyun would naturally help.

Yet his explanations were too profound.

Much of what he said when reviewing drafts was beyond Yan Huaixiao’s full understanding, leaving him perpetually confused.

He could only sigh that though they shared the same parents, his own talent was so far lacking compared to his elder brother’s.

Hearing this, Cheng Wenque was overjoyed.

But very quickly, he grew worried that this path might not work.

The head of the Yan household looked exceedingly aloof and difficult to approach.

Yan Huaixiao reassured him.

“You’re close with me.

My elder brother will definitely help you.”

Though he said so, Cheng Wenque felt uncertain.

What close friendship did he really have with Yan Huaixiao?

If not for the fact that four years ago Yan Huaixiao had encountered an assassination attempt while traveling in Lanling and fallen into the water, and that he, while delivering food to his mother who washed clothes for a living, had happened to rescue him, how could someone of his family circumstances ever associate with a scion of a great house?

The Cheng family was poor.

After his father’s death, they had fallen into utter destitution.

Their only house had been seized through underhanded means.

For years he had lived under others’ roofs, enduring endless cold looks and exclusion.

To support his studies and transfer him to a different academy, his mother, ill and frail, had bowed and begged everywhere.

She had even sold her coffin money and borrowed at high interest, scraping together enough silver for him.

Yet even with the silver, there had been no way to enter the capital’s foremost academy.

This was a gathering place of imperial kin and noble scions.

Without connections, one could scarcely move an inch.

Recalling how Yan Huaixiao, whom he had rescued years ago, had left behind a jade pendant, he had taken a gamble.

He wrote a letter and sent it, along with the pendant, to the capital.

To his surprise, he truly received a letter of recommendation written by Yan Huaixiao seeking help from the Yan family’s general, allowing him to enter the academy smoothly.

Only after entering did he realize how vast the gap was between himself and those noble-born students.

The instructors at Lanling Academy had been quite good, but compared to those in the capital, they fell far short.

This academy held far more classical texts, policy essays, and examination papers, things he had never encountered in Lanling.

If he did not work relentlessly, he would absolutely fail to place.

He had no retreat.

This journey to the capital had to end in success.

He had to rise above others.

Otherwise, he and his mother would be trampled into the mud, never to rise again.

But were some things truly attainable through effort alone?

Thinking of this, Cheng Wenque could not help recalling the Yan family’s young mistress who had stared at him for a long while at the return banquet the previous day.

His gaze shifted slightly.

“I wonder if Sister-in-law has any particular fondness for certain items?” he asked tentatively.

“You want to give my sister-in-law a gift and go through her, so that my elder brother will help you?”

Cheng Wenque nodded.

“Yes.”

Lowering his voice, he probed further.

“I wonder… how is the affection between your elder brother and sister-in-law?”

Yan Huaixiao did not think much of this line of questioning.

He assumed Cheng Wenque was merely trying to gauge how deep their affection ran, to see whether going through Pu Wange might move his elder brother.

Using gifts for the inner household to indirectly seek tangible benefits was a common tactic in aristocratic social dealings.

Yan Huaixiao waved it off and said it was unnecessary.

On his account, his elder brother would certainly help review Cheng Wenque’s writing, given the life-saving debt from years past.

Yet Cheng Wenque still insisted on giving a gift and wanted an answer to his earlier question.

“My elder brother and sister-in-law were joined in an aristocratic marriage.

Naturally, their relationship is harmonious.”

An aristocratic marriage…
No matter how harmonious, how harmonious could it truly be?

Yesterday, the two of them had looked very much like courteous strangers.

“What does sister-in-law usually like?”

Yan Huaixiao thought for a moment.

In truth, he did not know, as he had little contact with his elder sister-in-law.

“Rouge and powder, hairpins and jewelry, perhaps?”

Most women likely loved such things.

After speaking, he thought of Cheng Wenque’s family circumstances and took the initiative.

“If you want to give a gift, that’s fine.

Later I’ll ask my younger sister about sister-in-law’s specific preferences.

I’ll help you prepare it, and you can simply deliver it.”

“Many thanks for Brother Huaixiao’s kindness.

You’ve already helped me a great deal.

This gift, I should prepare it myself.”

After all, what he truly wanted was not merely to give a gift, but to show concern.

Yan Huaixiao told him not to stand on ceremony.

In the end, he still could not overcome Cheng Wenque’s stubbornness.

“Alright then, as you wish.”

“If you run into any difficulties, just come to me.”

***

After the return banquet, Pu Jinyu had fewer matters to handle.

That day, she was reviewing accounts.

She sent Jing Chun to the storeroom to look up the gift registry, to see what the Fang family had given the Yan family’s main branch for a full-month celebration in past years.

She intended to select something suitable to send back, as the Fang family’s child’s full-month feast was approaching.

In truth, she remembered it clearly and knew exactly what would be appropriate.

But Jing Chun had been hovering around her these past days, making her increasingly irritated.

So she simply sent her away.

Jing Chun was fiercely loyal to the legitimate elder sister and was her confidante.

She had long known that the elder sister was not dead.

These past two days, she had likely reported all of Pu Jinyu’s abnormalities to Madam Pu.

Yet Madam Pu had shown no response at all.

Was she afraid of alerting the enemy?

Pu Jinyu pondered this, her thoughts drifting, when she suddenly heard a young maid outside reporting that the Third Young Master’s friend had come to pay a visit.

Cheng Wenque?

Thinking of that face so similar to her sworn elder brother’s, she set down her brush.

“Invite him in.”

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