Chapter 16

Chapter 16

Holding the Ru kiln furnace in his hand, Yu He felt delighted.

This joy has nothing to do with value; it stems from Yu He's ability to see that Fu Yunzhen really liked the Ru Kiln stove, yet was willing to part with it to give it to him. Fu Yunzhen's action endowed the porcelain with a deeper meaning.

It’s as if both Yu He and the porcelain are little trinkets that Fu Yunzhen is fond of, but since Fu Yunzhen gave the Ru Kiln stove to Yu He, it proves that in Fu Yunzhen's heart, Yu He is more important than the Ru Kiln stove.

Mature individuals might find this way of comparison ludicrous, or even incomprehensible, but Yu He is really into this.

A gentleman does not contend for what others love. Yu He is very content knowing this. Even if he doesn't understand antiques or porcelain, he knows that anything Fu Yunzhen is willing to give away must be of considerable value.

Yu He is not greedy; he has no intention of accepting it.

He picked up the Ru Kiln stove and stood up, walking towards the mahogany shelf: “I’ll leave it here with you for now.”

He had only taken two steps when suddenly he slipped, and Yu He violently crashed into the mahogany shelf.

There was a crisp sound of shattering.

The two-meter tall mahogany shelf was very heavy and wouldn’t topple over, but a delicate and tall willow-leaf porcelain vase on it shook and fell to the ground, breaking into pieces.

The celadon was fragile, and the powder lightly floated in the sunlight, obviously beyond any hope of repair.

Yu He was really stunned, holding his shoulder in place.

Li Jing came running at the sound, and exclaimed in shock: “This is a Sky Blue Glaze Willow-Leaf Vase, Mr. Fu!”

She turned to Yu He, rebuking him: “How could you be so careless?”

Fu Yunzhen, without even glancing at the shattered porcelain on the ground, wheeled himself over to Yu He: “Did you hit your shoulder?”

Yu He wasn’t concerned about his own shoulder; he squatted down, picking up the fragments: “What a pity.”

“A pity?” Li Jing looked down at Yu He from her higher position: “A fine willow-leaf vase, unscathed through several wars, only to be broken in your hands. It’s more than a pity. This was even bought back from an overseas auction by old Mr. Fu...”

Old Mr. Fu?

It was bought by Fu Yunzhen’s father, so would this willow-leaf vase be very important to Fu Yunzhen?

After all, Fu Yunzhen's father has been deceased for many years, and this Sky Blue Glaze Willow-Leaf Vase could be considered a memento.

Yu He lowered his eyes.

Fu Yunzhen gently placed his hand on Yu He’s shoulder: “Did you hit a bone?”

Yu He lifted his head, his beautiful peach blossom eyes glistening: “Mr. Fu.”

“It’s a replica,” Fu Yunzhen casually fabricated. “The authentic piece has been donated to the country, and it’s in the capital's museum.”

Li Jing, of course, couldn’t tell whether the willow-leaf vase was genuine or fake. She just thought that Yu He had quite the luck; among all the priceless treasures on the mahogany shelf, Yu He had happened to knock down a replica.

Fu Yunzhen instructed Li Jing, “Go get someone to clean this up.”

Li Jing complied and started to leave, but Fu Yunzhen stopped her.

“Li Jing, get in touch with your company and arrange for a different manager to liaise with the Fu residence,” Fu Yunzhen said indifferently. “Your emotions are affecting your work.”

Li Jing spun around, incredulous: “Mr. Fu, I...”

Fu Yunzhen lifted his hand, halting Li Jing from saying anything more: “Go.”

Li Jing took a deep breath. She knew that Fu Yunzhen was notifying her, not discussing with her; there was no room for negotiation in this matter. She had never imagined that Yu He held such importance in Fu Yunzhen’s heart, important enough that he would dismiss her without even asking about right or wrong!

What Fu Yunzhen decided, no one could change.

Li Jing was filled with regret, a tumult of emotions swirling within her, as if she were in a dream. She slightly bowed and then left.

Yu He picked up the porcelain shards, examining the exquisite and quaint red stamp on the bottom of the vase. It didn’t look like a replica at all. Hesitating, he asked, “This isn’t authentic?”

“Stop playing with the shards; you’ll cut yourself.” Fu Yunzhen grabbed Yu He’s arm and pulled him up. “You can go to the museum to see for yourself.”

Yu He handed the Sky Blue Glazed Tripod Stove back to Fu Yunzhen: “You better keep it.”

Fu Yunzhen took it, his tone unchanging: “What, just because a worthless item got broken, Young Master Yu is going to cry?”

Yu He pressed his lips together: “Sister Li said it was left by your father.”

Hearing this, Fu Yunzhen couldn’t help but chuckle: “My dad spent his days idly, hanging around various auction houses looking at beautiful women. Whichever auctioneer he found attractive, he’d bid incessantly for collectibles. If we’re talking about the relics he left behind... well, there are just too many.”

Yu He: “......”

Old Mr. Fu had always been a frequent presence in newspapers, and after divorcing

Fu Yunzhen's mother,

Even more unrestrained, a young leading actress accompanied him at his deathbed, a whole twenty years younger than Mr. Fu Senior.

Yu He stuttered, unsure of how to respond. He braced himself and said, “Your father, he was quite the romantic.”

“Romantic is hardly the word; he was just lecherous,” Fu Yunzhen said bluntly, not shying away from discussing his father's scandals: “He liked them young and beautiful, just like I do.”

Yu He stopped in his tracks.

Fu Yunzhen handed back the Sky Blue Glazed Tripod Stove to Yu He: “What I give away, I don’t take back. This wasn’t bought by my father; I bought it. If you don’t like it, you can smash it to see how it sounds.”

Yu He crouched beside Fu Yunzhen’s wheelchair: “Is this tripod stove a replica as well?”

Fu Yunzhen said, “They say that the Ru porcelain stove made in the official kilns has a hidden official seal on the inner wall. You’ll know when you smash it next time.”

Repeatedly teased by Fu Yunzhen, Yu He couldn’t help but retort, “I slipped because of the palm oil on the floor.”

He had smelled the palm oil when he was picking up the porcelain shards.

Yu He was very sensitive to smells.

Some of the porcelain on the mahogany shelf had also been coated with palm oil. Most people would perceive the smells as a jumbled mess, unable to discern from which direction it was coming, but Yu He could clearly identify the direction of the scents.

He could smell that the scent of the palm oil was wafting up from the floor.

His overly sensitive sense of smell was also one of the reasons why Yu He easily got motion sickness. He couldn't stand stuffiness, and even in winter, he needed to crack open a window to sleep.

Yu He said, “Maybe Sister Li accidentally dripped it on the floor.”

“She might have accidentally dripped it, but she definitely intentionally didn’t wipe it away,” Fu Yunzhen gripped Yu He's chin, “Many people are wronged without even knowing why they’ve been harmed. You clearly know the reason, so why don’t you speak up?”

Yu He was at a loss for words. He was good at cursing and quarreling, but not at making accusations or complaints. He had never complained or explained himself to anyone. In his memory, explanations were useless; people only believed what they wanted to believe.

Fu Yunzhen lowered his eyes, not looking at Yu He, just staring at his own hand, and spoke softly, “Li Jing doesn’t like you and wants to drive you out of the Fu residence. You don’t like me either, so you want to leave the Fu residence, is that right?”

“No, that’s not it. I didn’t...”

Yu He blurted out, feeling awkward afterwards.

He vaguely felt that something was amiss, but couldn’t put his finger on it. It seemed like Fu Yunzhen had shifted the topic subtly, but after going over Fu Yunzhen’s words repeatedly, Yu He couldn't figure it out.

Yu He was good at letting himself off the hook. If he couldn’t figure it out, he simply stopped thinking about it.

As the common saying goes, "Broken pieces bring peace; financial loss averts disaster."

Although the precious willow-leaf shaped vase was shattered, Fu Yunzhen’s lingering cold that had lasted for nearly half a month finally improved.

*

Early that day, the Fu residence welcomed two uninvited guests.

Yu He had been scrolling through live streams until midnight, and only managed to fall asleep at 5:30 in the morning. Not long after, he faintly heard the sound of a woman crying.

It was a woman, sobbing and choking on her tears.

The sound of crying reached Yu He’s ears through the window, making the fresh breeze suddenly seem eerie and sinister.

Why was there a woman crying, emanating such a mournful and resentful sorrow?

Caught between a state of half-asleep and half-awake, Yu He couldn’t tell if he was dreaming or if there was actually someone crying, feeling trapped in a state akin to sleep paralysis.

Ah, he had long felt that the Fu family estate was too large and too secluded!

The estate was hidden deep in a scenic area, desolately empty at night, lacking vitality. With Fu Yunzhen as the sole proper master, and a few dozen servants and helpers whose living quarters were not exactly close to the main house.

Other staff members responsible for managing the horse ranch, greenhouse, underground wine cellar, golf lawn, and other facilities lived even farther away. Most of them were locals from Yun Su, who would come to work during the day and not stay in the estate at night.

No matter the place, it’s always lively with people, and quiet without. Extreme quietness leads to a creepy, eerie atmosphere.

Therefore, when Yu He heard the woman crying, he was not frightened or astonished; instead, he felt an odd sense of inevitability, as if it was meant to be.

There’s an old saying that even ghosts are afraid of the wicked.

Yu He often had nightmares as a child. The family’s cleaning lady told him that a person has three lights on their body, and the brighter the lights, the stronger their yang energy. So when having a nightmare, one must not be afraid, as fear dims the lights.

On the contrary, one should be bold and arrogant, using their yang energy to suppress the yin energy of the ghosts and spirits, keeping them at bay.

The power of the spoken word is mighty; curse them to never find peace, to suffer through endless torment in the eighteenth level of hell, and no ghost would dare to approach.

Yu He remembered that once when he was in primary school, he had a high fever that wouldn’t break. His foster parents weren’t home, so the cleaning lady carried him around the villa, cursing and banishing any potential spirits.

Before moving to the city, the cleaning lady had been a farmer in her hometown, embodying the full image of a ‘rural, rough, and tough older woman’ as one might imagine—boisterous, domineering, and extremely capable.

The auntie is robust and full of vitality, with wide shoulders, large palms, and a coarse voice. When she starts scolding in the street, even the ten kings of hell would retreat three feet away.

If rap is considered a racial talent of black people, then cursing in the street must be the instinctual heritage of country women.

That’s incredibly awesome.

Looking back now, it doesn’t make much sense; one could only say that at the end of science lies the mystical. The cleaning aunt held Yu He in her arms and turned around once, and by the afternoon, Yu He’s fever had subsided.

The fierceness of the cleaning aunt gave Yu He endless courage. He cursed inwardly twice, but he could never find the unstoppable momentum that the aunt had.

Those who have experienced nightmares know that to break free from them, one instinctively wants to scream. When one finally manages to make a sound, they can usually wake up successfully.

But this process is incredibly difficult.

Yu He faced the dilemma of not being able to wake up.

He wanted to curse at the weeping female ghost, to break through the nightmare, but his mouth seemed as if it was glued shut. Yu He was getting a bit angry. He thought, “The sun should be out by the time I’m asleep. Which ghost has such profound powers to come out and cause trouble against the morning sun?”

As the saying goes, rage rises from the heart, and evil grows from the courage.

In the struggle with the nightmare, Yu He's patience was exhausted, his anger meter was full, and he cursed loudly: “What the fuck, are you sick, crying and howling under the bright sun?”

With a bit of a sway, Yu He’s consciousness sank, and he suddenly woke up.

Opening his eyes, the crying sound beside his ear indeed stopped.

“Damn it, are you really bullying the honest people here? If I don’t curse you, your soul won’t be at peace. You dare to cause trouble with me, Yu Ye?”

Yu He leaped up from the bed, raised his arm and pointed into the void, speaking passionately and fervently:

“I just want to sleep for a while, and all sorts of monsters dare to come here to show their presence. I fucking want to sleep, do you understand? You dare to oppress me while I am asleep, have you considered your own weight? Can you bear the responsibility?”

Yu He took a deep breath: “You didn’t even inquire; when I was dominating the three realms, you were not even born yet!”

After venting furiously, Yu He felt refreshed.

He pulled open the curtains, ready to welcome a beautiful morning.

The dark blue curtains slowly opened, revealing a clear sky and light clouds outside.

Pushing open the window, Yu He saw several people sitting around the stone table in the garden downstairs, all looking up at him.