Chapter 507 You Let Yaniang Come Out

Chapter 507: Have Yaniang Come Out

Both Yu Yongbai and Xingxing were taken aback.

Xingxing hurriedly climbed into the carriage and checked Huya's pulse. Seeing that Huya was merely drunk and unconscious, she breathed a small sigh of relief. But when she looked down and saw Huya's tightly closed eyes, reddened nose, and tangled bangs, she felt a pang of distress.

"What happened...?" Xingxing murmured.

"I've no idea either. I just happened to be at a tavern for some business and saw this young lady sitting alone, drinking one pot after another. I took a closer look and thought she looked familiar—like someone I'd seen in your Yu family's merchant team." Gong Qingniang shot Yu Yongbai a glance, her tone sharp. "...Don't tell me you, as her cruel boss, exploited her so badly that she ended up drowning her grief like this?"

"Don't be ridiculous," Yu Yongbai frowned, not bothering to explain further.

Gong Qingniang quickly realized her assumption was unfair and promptly apologized. "I'm sorry, that was my mistake. I shouldn't have said that."

Yu Yongbai, however, got flustered. "No, no, don't overthink it. I didn't mean to blame you. I should be thanking you for bringing Huya back."

Though Huya was already in her twenties and had traveled extensively for over a decade, she had a baby face. When silent and expressionless, she looked like nothing more than a somewhat distant-looking girl.

A girl like that, drunk and unconscious outside—who knows how dangerous it could have been.

Naturally, Yu Yongbai was grateful to Gong Qingniang.

Gong Qingniang didn't say much, merely waving her hand. "Now that she's safe, I can relax now. I'll be going."

Suddenly, Yu Yongbai called out to her again.

Gong Qingniang glanced back at him.

Yu Yongbai pulled a small box from his robe and quickly handed it to her. "Last time, I noticed your hands were chapped. You said it was an old issue... I happened to find a few jars of medicinal toad oil from the Western Regions these past couple of days. I meant to give them to you when I had the chance, but since we've run into each other now, here you go."

Gong Qingniang was stunned.

Yu Yongbai, embarrassed by the gesture, turned away immediately after handing her the box and instructed Pozi to carry Huya into the residence.

Xingxing also quickly waved at Gong Qingniang. "Bye, Sister Gong! I’ll come visit you in a few days!" Then she hurried back inside to the kitchen to brew some hangover remedy.

Yu Yongbai paced back and forth in the outer room, growing angrier by the minute. He muttered under his breath, "She's about to get married, yet she suddenly goes out to get drunk? If nothing happened, I'll be damned!"

Xingxing thought the same—something must have occurred.

Yu Yongbai's face twisted in anger. "And Huya—if something did happen, why wouldn’t she tell us? Do I look like someone who wouldn’t stand up for her?!... She just went through that painful scar treatment, and her body is still weak. And now she’s drinking like this? This makes my blood boil!"

The more he spoke, the angrier he became. Spotting a sword hanging on the wall of Xingxing’s room, he strode over in three steps and snatched it down. "I’m going to kill Zhang Nan!"

Perhaps the name "Zhang Nan" triggered something, because Huya, who had just drunk the hangover remedy and was still barely conscious, stirred slightly on the bed. "Zhang Nan..."

Yu Yongbai immediately dropped the sword. "Huya!"

Huya, after all, was a martial artist. Even in her weakened state, her resistance to intoxication was stronger than an average person’s. Combined with the hangover remedy, she soon regained consciousness.

She looked miserable. She braced herself against the bed with one hand and pressed the other to her forehead, leaning over the edge to retch.

Fortunately, a maid had already placed a spittoon nearby.

After vomiting for a while, Huya seemed slightly better. Xingxing quickly handed her water and a handkerchief.

Huya took them, rinsed her mouth, wiped her lips, then fell back onto the bed, looking exhausted and confused.

Xingxing peered at her worriedly and murmured, "Sister Huya..."

"Do you feel better?"

Huya's slightly dazed eyes sharpened in surprise upon seeing Xingxing. She gasped out "Miss Cen" before her voice choked with emotion.

This sent Xingxing into a panic: "Sister Huya, what on earth happened?... Did Zhang Nan bully you? Just tell us! My second brother already has his sword ready—he’ll march over and chop him to bits!"

Tears streamed down Huya’s delicate, heart-shaped face: "Zhang Nan, Zhang Nan..."

Not just Xingxing, even Yu Yongbai was alarmed.

Yu Yongbai and Huya had led merchant caravans across the north and south together. In their most perilous moment, when bandits swung a machete at Yu Yongbai, Huya had taken the blow for him. Even with a wound deep enough to reveal bone, Yu Yongbai had never seen Huya cry—yet now, her tears poured like a broken dam, unstoppable.

Xingxing saw red, nearly ready to grab a sword and join her second brother in cutting Zhang Nan down.

Just then, a servant rushed in announcing that someone named Zhang Nan had come to see the second young master.

Xingxing and Yu Yongbai whirled around, eyes murderous, snapping in unison: "Let him in!"

But Huya lurched out of bed: "I don’t want to see him!"

She tried to leave.

Xingxing quickly stepped forward: "Alright, alright, you don’t have to see him. Sister Huya, just rest here. Don’t go anywhere. Second Brother and I will handle Zhang Nan."

Huya, after a moment, obeyed and silently sat back down on the bed.

Xingxing and Yu Yongbai met Zhang Nan in the outer room, two chambers away.

Zhang Nan, who had always kept himself neat and tidy except when first rescued by Huya in dire straits, now looked unusually disheveled—his chin covered in rough stubble, his appearance neglected. The moment Yu Yongbai stepped through the door, Zhang Nan bolted upright, asking urgently, "...Yaniang is missing. Second Young Master, have you seen her?"

The words barely left his lips before Yu Yongbai’s fist struck him.

Zhang Nan, a frail scholar, reeled from the punch, his lip immediately bruising and bleeding. But he didn’t even flinch—instead, Yu Yongbai’s reaction only fueled his agitation: "Is Yaniang here?!... Yaniang! Yaniang!" he shouted.

"You stop shouting!" Xingxing snapped, holding back Yu Yongbai while glaring furiously at Zhang Nan. "What did you do?! Weren’t you supposed to marry Sister Huya after the imperial exams?! It’s only been days since the results came out, and you’ve already driven her to this?!"

Zhang Nan went white, his voice raw with desperation: "Is Yaniang here?! Miss Cen, let me see her—I can explain!"

Xingxing kept her cool: "Fine, explain first! I’ll listen. If your explanation makes sense, then we’ll talk about seeing Sister Huya!"

Yu Yongbai, too, forced himself to calm down, ready to hear Zhang Nan out.