Chapter 168: A Leaf Blinds the Eye

Chapter 168: A Leaf Blinds the Eye

After Wu Shen arrived at the house, Qiu Huanian sent someone to find Min Leyi, who had gone off to play somewhere unknown. Upon hearing that a young lad wanted to meet him, Wu Shen became quite intrigued and volunteered to go look for him himself.

After a while, before the servants who were searching returned, Wu Shen and Min Leyi came back to the inner courtyard one after the other.

Seeing the peculiar expressions on both their faces, Qiu Huanian was filled with questions.

Logically, Min Leyi, who had finally met the young general he admired, shouldn’t have reacted like this. Even if Wu Shen’s personality didn’t match Min Leyi’s expectations, the "true colors" or "shattered image" wouldn’t have happened so quickly.

Qiu Huanian wanted to ask, but Min Leyi gave him a pleading look, so Qiu Huanian decided to drop it for now.

There must be many hidden details between these two, but there would be plenty of opportunities in the future to figure it out. He would get to the bottom of this eventually.

By around three in the afternoon, guests began to arrive. Qiu Huanian had invited Scholar Wen, Bing Qi, Bing Ba, and Wei Li, among others. Azure Phoenix Lord lingered for a while before departing. The Crown Prince didn’t attend in person but sent Sixteen to present gifts.

Aside from these guests, there were also Du Yunse’s close colleagues from the Hanlin Academy, and Qi Yazhi was also invited. Although Qiu Huanian had a feeling that Qi Yazhi wasn’t someone to get too close to, since he and Du Yunse were from the same hometown and had passed the imperial exams together, it was only proper to maintain appearances.

Given the cold winter weather, the banquet was arranged in the main hall and the west wing of the outer courtyard. The men were seated in the main hall, while the women were in the west wing. A covered walkway linked all the buildings, making it easy to move around.

Du Yunse was currently a prominent figure in the capital, and for his birthday, many families who hadn’t received invitations still sent gifts. Quan Yu was stationed at the entrance to receive guests, and the gifts kept pouring in.

Since there was a newborn in the house who hadn’t yet reached a month old, the banquet didn’t include any theatrical performances or singing. Instead, two storytellers playing the pipa were invited.

Qiu Huanian, who was still recovering from childbirth, found loud noises unbearable, so he had the storytellers perform in the main hall, where the sound carried perfectly to the west wing.

Perhaps because Wu Shen’s recent adventures were so popular in the capital, the storytellers performed a tale titled "The Grassland King’s Misstep, Young General Wu’s Clever Strategy to Calm the Storm." Regardless of the real-life inspiration, the story was vividly narrated and utterly captivating.

Min Leyi, who usually loved such stories, listened with an increasingly odd expression.

Qiu Huanian politely declined a suggestion from Qi Yazhi’s wife, who had proposed taking Jiu Jiu out to visit a painting pavilion in a few days. Given Qi Yazhi’s reputation, Qiu Huanian felt it wouldn’t lead to anything good.

What common topics could a noblewoman in her thirties or forties and a thirteen-year-old girl possibly have? Such friendships across generations weren’t formed that way.

"I’m feeling unwell, so I’ll go rest in the back for a while and check on the children. Jiu Jiu and Cun Lan, please take care of the guests," Qiu Huanian said, standing up. "Brother Hua, accompany me to the back to rest."

Qiu Huanian’s excuse was flawless, and Qi Yazhi’s wife could only watch him leave, secretly vexed at failing to carry out her husband’s instructions.

Once in the inner courtyard, Qiu Huanian didn’t go to the nursery to see the children but headed straight to the heated chamber in the main hall. They were still cold from outside and carried the scent of the banquet, so it wasn’t suitable to visit the newborns immediately.

As soon as the door to the heated chamber closed, Min Leyi sensed something was amiss and said pitifully, "Brother Hua, are you going to cross-examine me?"

Qiu Huanian replied calmly, "I put in so much effort to help you meet Wu Shen. Now you suddenly lose interest? You owe me an explanation."

Min Leyi groaned, leaning against Qiu Huanian’s legs like a puppy with innocent eyes, looking up at him with a sigh.

"It’s not that I’m not interested, it’s just... it’s really... ah!" For once, Min Leyi seemed at a loss for words, as if there was something he couldn’t quite figure out.

Qiu Huanian was amused but continued to play the role of the "interrogator."

"Is it because Young General Wu is ugly?"

Min Leyi’s mind flashed to Wu Shen’s sharp eyebrows, starry eyes, and athletic build, and he instinctively shook his head.

"Is it because Young General Wu isn’t as impressive as the rumors say?"

Min Leyi shook his head again. A few days ago, that "Deputy General" had recognized him at a glance, even though they had only met once while he was in disguise. The man had effortlessly subdued a room full of thieves, no less impressive than the heroes in the stories.

"Then why? Could it be that you feel he offended you somehow?" Qiu Huanian joked.

Unexpectedly, after hearing this, Min Leyi fell silent for a long while, cupping his cheeks, looking sorrowful. "Brother Hua, I've lost all my dignity."

...

Meanwhile, the banquet in the main hall of the outer courtyard was more than halfway through, and Wu Shen and Du Yunse also found an excuse to come out and talk in the Cun Jin courtyard.

Wu Shen took long strides, taking two or three steps at a time to the second floor, and opened the window. The apricot blossom tree outside the window was left with only bare branches, and the cold air rushed in, refreshing everyone.

Both Wu Shen and Du Yunse were in good physical condition and wore warm clothes, so they skipped lighting the brazier. Wu Shen directly sat on the couch, while Du Yunse went to the cabinet to fetch a clean mat to sit on.

"So meticulous," Wu Shen teased, sitting in a relaxed manner.

"The couch is dusty and would soil the birthday clothes. Brother Hua would be upset."

Du Yunse was wearing a moon-white robe adorned with five bats holding a longevity symbol, draped with a crane cloak, the tail feathers of which were dyed black, and the collar was trimmed with pure black sable fur, looking very noble.

Qiu Huanian was also wearing a clearly matching outfit, both of them had a phoenix jade pendant tied with a love knot at their waists, faintly visible under their belts.

These two sets of clothes were definitely specially made by Qiu Huanian, and Du Yunse was showing them off. Thinking of this, Wu Shen felt a pang of envy.

He decisively got down to business, "We've already questioned them. The group of thieves caught at the City God Temple and Madam Zhao, the mother of Miss Zhao, are colluding. This time, they wanted to kill her to silence her."

"The cart that went out from the Zhao family seemed to be delivering incense to the City God Temple every now and then, but in fact, it was responsible for passing information between Madam Zhao and the thieves. Madam Zhao sometimes disguised herself and hid in the goods to go over and discuss matters in person."

In other words, Madam Zhao and the thieves at the City God Temple had long been in private contact and cooperation. Seeing that the matter was exposed, the thieves wanted to kill her to destroy the evidence.

"I told you, those who spy within the household are thorough. They replaced the fake Miss Zhao, and the real one would definitely be killed immediately. Since the real Miss Zhao no longer exists, the one who claimed to have seen her real daughter, Madam Zhao, is the most suspicious."

Wu Shen played a trick, "Sixteen devised some ways to 'invite' Madam Zhao out. Guess who first contacted Madam Zhao and told her her daughter wasn't real?"

Du Yunse said, "Someone from the second prince's side, right?"

Wu Shen snorted, feeling a bit frustrated, "Talking to you is no fun."

"It's a merchant long neglected by the second prince, named Bai Yanwen. His wife is a distant relative of the second prince's consort."

Du Yunse felt that the name was somewhat familiar, and after a moment of thought, he remembered this person.

Bai Yanwen was the "cheap son-in-law" of their neighbor Aunt Zhuang in Du Village. Aunt Zhuang's daughter, Zirong, was taken by Bai Yanwen as a concubine and gave birth to Yuchuan and Lansheng, a daughter and a son, but was later sent back to her hometown.

"Bai Yanwen botched a task a few years ago, so the second prince neglected him, but he never said what it was..."

Wu Shen raised an eyebrow, "How do you know this so well?"

Du Yunse thought for a moment and said to Wu Shen, "Send someone covertly to Zhang County to bring Du Zirong, the concubine of Wei Dexing, the owner of Wei's seasoning shop, and her two children to the capital for interrogation. We should be able to find out something."

Wu Shen knew that Du Yunse never acted without reason, so he agreed, "From the capital to Zhang County, a fast horse can make the round trip in roughly twenty days, which is enough time."

The two exchanged information concisely and discussed some matters. Outside the window, fine snowflakes began to fall, sticking to the window frame and quickly accumulating a thin layer.

Wu Shen exhaled, and a white mist rose from his mouth.

"It's been three years since I've seen my parents and other family members. Next year, next year I should be able to see them."

Du Yunse didn't speak, Wu Shen was just asking himself, not needing an answer.

Wu Shen shook his head, shaking off the snowflakes that had fallen on his head, and brought up another matter.

"By the way, Yun Se, among the guests who came to the mansion today, what does that young lad surnamed Min's family do?"

The young lad from the Min family is none other than Min Leyi. Du Yunse isn’t very close to Min Leyi and doesn’t know the full story, but he knows that Min Leyi greatly admires Wu Shen from the tales.

He glanced at Wu Shen, "It’s pretty rude to snoop around about an unmarried young man’s family background."

"Damn it! What are you thinking!" Wu Shen exploded, "I just accidentally offended someone and wanted to make amends properly. No matter what, I’d still seek a gentle and charming peerless beauty..."

His voice gradually trailed off, and he fell silent.

Du Yunse didn’t ask further, just said, "Young Master Min’s father is Min Taikang, who was the second-ranked scholar in the fourth year of Emperor Yuanhua’s reign and once held the position of Vice Minister of the Court of Imperial Sacrifices (Taichang Si), a fourth-rank official. He has retired from his official post and now serves as the headmaster of Qingfeng Academy in Liaozhou. I’m one of his students. He also has an elder brother, who was a second-ranked scholar in the nineteenth year of Emperor Yuanhua’s reign and currently serves as a judge in the Court of Judicial Review (Dali Si)."

The second-ranked scholar is the top of the second tier, just below the top three. Wu Shen had heard of Min Taikang’s reputation. The Min family, without relying on any powerful clans, had both father and son as scholars, truly a family of integrity.

Wu Shen muttered, "The Court of Judicial Review... figures... it’s not exactly a lie."

"What did you say?"

"Nothing, absolutely nothing."

Mistaking the fair-skinned, refined young lad from a respectable family for some shady character, deliberately teasing and mocking him, and even putting him in danger to take the lead—Wu Shen would never admit such things to Du Yunse.

Wu Shen recalled Min Leyi’s skills and demeanor that day, his heart racing a bit. Could he be blamed? What noble family’s young lad has such skills and acts so carefree around strangers?

It’s just! It’s just—

Wu Shen’s mind was a jumbled mess, unable to finish the thought, "It's just—"

He didn’t want to think about that young Master Min, but the image of the other kept lingering in his mind. The image of him, red-eyed after learning Wu Shen’s identity on the west pathway, kept replaying in his mind.

Wu Shen had planned to apologize and crack a few jokes to lighten the mood. But seeing him like that, all his words disintegrated at the tip of his tongue, and he could only slink after him back to the inner courtyard.

Du Yunse glanced at Wu Shen, who was in the midst of an internal struggle, and spoke meaningfully.

"I once told you that focusing too much on looks can blind you to a good match. I’ll repeat this warning today."