H! GVCP Chapter 28

Chapter 28: The Person Behind the Scenes

By the time they emerged from the study, the sky had already darkened.

Feiyu had already ordered people to prepare the evening meal, waiting only for the masters to bathe before they went to eat.

Yu Lingzhao led her eldest sister-in-law toward Mengxi Garden; the place had been tidied up earlier, and Huayue had prepared the water.

The two women walked with brisk steps, leaving only the masked Yu Qizhi and Yu Xunyang behind.

Yu Qizhi’s identity could not be exposed, so naturally, he had to remain in disguise on all occasions except for those involving family, at this moment, he stood behind Yu Xunyang wearing his mask.

As soon as Yu Xunyang came out, he glared at Guan Xiao. Guan Xiao kept his eyes on his nose and his nose toward his heart, pretending he hadn't seen a thing.

Yu Qizhi let out a cough. Yu Xunyang’s whole body shuddered, and he immediately said, "From today onwards, Guard Yan will follow me. His quarters will be arranged in my courtyard."

Guan Xiao lowered his head in assent, pretending he hadn't recognized the Second Young Master.

Yu Xunyang didn't dare delay. He led his second brother toward his own courtyard. Having finally reached it, he closed the door and immediately shrunk back like a quail.

Yu Qizhi was in no hurry. He slowly removed the mask, stretched his limbs, and gave his silly younger brother a faint smile. 

"It has been quite some time since Second Brother has examined your martial arts skills."

Yu Xunyang wished he could find a hole to crawl into, but since there was no escaping it, he could only beg for mercy: "Second Brother, you are exhausted from your journey today. Why don't we pick another day for the exam?"

Yu Qizhi was born with delicate and handsome features. Had his temperament not been so outstanding, people might have mistaken him for a woman due to his feminine features.

When Yu Xunyang was a child, he had courted death by accidentally calling Yu Qizhi "Elder Sister." 

He was beaten ruthlessly by Yu Qizhi for an entire month, and from then on, he never dared to go against him again.

The summary was: Second Brother was a man who both protected his own and held a grudge.

Today’s lesson for Yu Xunyang was to punish him for failing to properly protect his younger sister as an elder brother.

Yu Qizhi smiled exceptionally harmlessly, but he had no intention of letting his brother off. 

"There’s no day like today. Today is fine."

As he spoke, he had already struck out, shifting from a punch to a palm strike, every move aimed directly at Yu Xunyang’s face.

The speed was so fast that if Yu Xunyang hadn't previously sparred with Yu Lingzhao, that slap would have definitely landed on his face.

Fortunately, having gone through his sister’s "devil training," Yu Xunyang managed to dodge this move of his second brother by a stroke of luck.

Yu Qizhi raised an eyebrow; this kid hadn't completely neglected his martial arts.

Thinking this, he used his left hand to push off, catching up to his dodging brother, and threw a kick that landed squarely on the thigh.

This time, Yu Xunyang couldn't dodge in time, how could he have expected Second Brother to kick from the lower plate!

To avoid rolling on the ground, Yu Xunyang steadied his lower body after all and took the opportunity to grab his second brother's arm, intending to take him down with a shoulder throw.

Unfortunately, how could Yu Xunyang’s 'three days of fishing and two days of drying nets' martial arts compare to Yu Qizhi, who was naturally gifted and practiced hard every day?

*An idiom that means 'not preserving in doing sth, to be inconsistent' 

Thud—

It was the sound of someone being slammed hard onto the ground!

Yu Xunyang grinned and grimaced in pain. Yu Qizhi glanced at him, patted the dust off his clothes, walked back to the table, sat down, and calmly uttered two words: "Passable."

Passable?

When Yu Xunyang heard these two words, his eyes sparkled!

One must know that in the past, Second Brother’s evaluations of him were always: no, lacking heat, not enough... in short, there was never an affirmative answer.

He actually praised him today?

Perhaps the surprise in the silly brother's eyes was too obvious for Yu Qizhi to ignore, so he begrudgingly explained, "Being able to dodge that first move just now was not bad."

"Not bad!"

Yu Xunyang’s eyes instantly lit up as he looked at his second brother. 

"Really, Second Brother?!"

Yu Qizhi swept a glance over him and extended a hand to let his silly younger brother pull himself up. 

"If you had been negligent in your usual practice, that slap would have been me teaching you a lesson on Zhaozhao’s behalf."

Yu Xunyang knew he was in the wrong and did not argue further. Nor did he dare tell his second brother that this was the result of the high-speed weight-bearing training his sister had put him through.

After several days of traveling, He Xuan was exhausted; only after bathing and changing clothes did she feel she had recovered her strength.

Yu Lingzhao was waiting in the side hall. Zhaoxing stepped forward quietly and whispered, "The person has fled."

Yu Lingzhao nodded. After being imprisoned for two days following his near-death experience, the assassin was still thinking of escaping.

Since the other party was working so hard at it, 

Yu Lingzhao saw no reason not to fulfill his wish.

"If he's gone, he's gone. Just don't lose the trail," 

Yu Lingzhao waved her hand, and Zhaoxing withdrew understandingly.

He Xuan happened to come out just then and, hearing this, asked, "Who fled?"

Yu Lingzhao sat obediently in the grand armchair and smiled at her. "It’s nothing, just the assassin we caught earlier has run away."

"An assassin? Fled?" He Xuan was confused. "What assassin? Why did you let him get away?"

Seeing her sister-in-law getting anxious, Yu Lingzhao quickly explained, "Don't worry, sister-in-law, everything is under control."

Yu Lingzhao briefly explained how she caught the assassin and the reason for letting him escape, though she didn't mention the 'Tie Jia Guan' in much detail.

After listening, He Xuan realized what was happening and looked at her sister with praise. 

"Zhaozhao has truly grown up; you’ve handled this very well. It seems Father and Mother don't need to worry about you too much."

Yu Lingzhao smiled faintly and said softly, "Even if I didn't act, the master behind him would no longer allow him to live."

He Xuan nodded in agreement. "To be captured for two days and return completely unharmed, if his master wasn't suspicious, he wouldn't have sent someone to probe you in the first place. Naturally, he will assume the assassin has been compromised and cannot be kept alive. Zhaozhao is truly clever."

In fact, exactly as Yu Lingzhao and He Xuan predicted, after the assassin returned, he was dealt with by his own people that very night.

Yu Lingzhao, He Xuan, and the others received the news from Luo Chuan after finishing their meal. The man had disappeared into a manor in the suburbs belonging to the Zhou family.

After waiting outside for less than the time it takes for a stick of incense to burn, a corpse was carried out. And this Zhou family was the family of the First Prince’s wife.

"Zhaozhao is still the most impressive. He was clearly the First Prince’s man, yet he claimed he was acting on Princess Qing’an’s orders. If Zhaozhao hadn't been cautious, we would have been fooled."

Upon learning the assassin belonged to the First Prince’s faction, Yu Xunyang excitedly shared Yu Lingzhao’s earlier judgment.

However, Yu Qizhi was staring at Yu Xunyang; one could almost hear the sound of him grinding his teeth in anger. 

"What assassin? And how did he 'run away' again?"

Yu Xunyang jolted violently and looked stiffly at Yu Qizhi. 

It seemed... he really hadn't mentioned it...

He Xuan shook her head and stopped her second brother from hitting the youngest. "The situation in the capital is complex, and it’s truly been difficult for these two little ones. Don't scare him."

Yu Qizhi gave a cold snort. "Zhaozhao is young in age; Old Third is just small in the brain."

Yu Xunyang stood to the side aggrieved and didn't dare make a sound. If Second Brother said his brain was small, then it was small. 

Anyway, he couldn't win in a fight, and a few insults didn't hurt.

Yu Lingzhao couldn't help the smile at the corner of her mouth; Second Brother’s tongue was as sharp as ever.

"The First Prince hides deep. On the surface, there isn't a stir of movement, yet privately he sends people to probe the Prince’s Mansion."

He Xuan’s expression was grim. 

"He truly thinks our Zhennan Prince’s Mansion is a vegetarian (to be a pushover)."

—

Author's Little Scene: 

Day 1:

Assassin: "My boss is Qing'an."

Third Brother: "!!!"

Qing'an: "You're full of crap!"

Day 2:

Real Boss = First Prince

Qing'an: "I told you he was full of crap!"

>>H! GVCP Chapter 29