Chapter 91

Chapter 91

The Dingbei Marquis's household was too powerful, and its private affairs were not something one could casually meddle in.

Even if Shen Huaizhi and the others had family backing, if they truly touched upon the marquis's secrets, they would likely find it hard to escape unscathed.

So Han Zhang not only warned them not to get involved further, but he himself had no intention of using this route to win over Kang Zhanxun.

After all, his current status was even lower than Shen Huaizhi and the others. If he got caught up in the marquis's feuds, he'd be in serious trouble.

Besides, chasing after someone wasn't the way to do business. He wanted Kang Zhanxun to work for him, not the other way around.

With a rough plan forming in his mind, Han Zhang stopped bringing up Kang Zhanxun and skillfully steered the conversation elsewhere, heading with Shen Huaizhi and the others to the Ding-class classroom to report in.

That's right—the Imperial Academy had only four classes: Jia, Yi, Bing, and Ding.

Following the logical order, Ding was undoubtedly the class with the worst performance, and indeed that was the case. The spoiled sons of nobles and officials in the capital were basically all gathered here.

As for why Han Zhang, with his excellent scholarship, was placed in Ding class?

It wasn't that they looked down on him, but because the Imperial Academy's classes were all determined by merit through examinations. Except for Ding class, the "dumping ground for wastrels," the Jia, Yi, and Bing classes didn't accept transfer students at all.

So being assigned to Ding class didn't bother Han Zhang in the least—he took it in stride.

The Ding class teacher, however, was delighted that a serious student had finally arrived. Upon seeing Han Zhang, he couldn't stop praising him and even specially prepared a prime seat in the front row for him.

As for his classmates, thanks to Shen Huaizhi's advance notice and the fact that he had taken down Kang Zhanxun earlier, no one dared to cause him trouble.

On his first day, Han Zhang had a fairly smooth time at the Imperial Academy and was in good spirits.

When school let out and he saw his partner waiting specially at the academy gate, Han Zhang felt both warmth and heartache, quickly stepping forward to help him into the carriage that had ice basins placed inside.

"The weather's been getting hotter lately. I could've just gone back myself—why did you go to all this trouble, love?"

"I missed you..." Shen Qinglan's voice was soft, with a hint of coyness. "I put several ice basins in the carriage—it's not even hot in there."

Shen Qinglan was lively, cheerful, and loved to act cute. Though he often got shy, compared to most shy young men and women back then who made their husbands play guessing games, he was great at saying what he felt.

Han Zhang didn't know if others liked this bold, passionate personality, but he sure did.

Seeing his partner act so cute, he couldn't hide the smile in his eyes. He took out a handkerchief to wipe the fine sweat from his partner's brow while softly chiding:

"Even with ice basins, the carriage only cools down a little. It's fine for today, but when it gets really hot in a few days, don't come out in this heat again."

"If you want to wait for me, why not sit in the teahouse nearby? Why bake in the sun like this?"

Shen Qinglan basked in his partner's tenderness, beaming with joy: "But I just wanted to be the first thing you saw when you walked out..."

Actually, that was a total lie.

He'd purposely waited at the school gate today so everyone would see his partner was taken, head over heels for his spouse, and no one would think about sending pretty concubines his way.

You see, in high society, one of the classiest moves was gifting pretty concubines.

Although his partner had promised him a lifetime of monogamy, he still had to be on guard. Plus, it made his partner cherish him even more—killing two birds with one stone.

"Honey, I made you a bowl of shaved ice. Drink it up to cool down."

After being all cute, Shen Qinglan played the perfect partner and handed over the ice bowl.

He was so thoughtful, so caring toward his partner—his partner must be so touched and love him even more, right?

Han Zhang could totally see through his partner's little tricks, but he was happy to play along. After all, who could say no to a gorgeous person going all out for them?

"My partner takes such good care of me. Here, you try some too..."

Han Zhang took the bowl with a grin, fed his sweetheart two spoonfuls first, then dug in himself.

Back then, ice bowls were basically like shaved ice—crushed ice piled with fresh fruit and crunchy nuts, drizzled with milk and honey. Sweet but not too sweet, cool and refreshing—pretty tasty.

The rich and powerful back then knew how to live it up just as well as modern folks—maybe even better.

Back home, servants had hot scented bathwater ready, plain silk underclothes soaked in mint water, and light, refreshing dishes from the kitchen.

Han Zhang was loving this cushy life.

Shen Qinglan also loved taking care of his partner, serving him food while asking softly, full of concern:

"How did it go at the academy today, love? Did those rich brats give you a hard time?"

"With Second Brother there, who'd dare mess with me? Everything went great..." Han Zhang's brows relaxed. "But today I met a really interesting wastrel at school. His name is Kang Zhanxun..."

Unlike most men back then who thought men handled the outside world and wives stayed home, Han Zhang was happy to share his day with his partner.

He wanted to stand side by side with his partner, not keep him locked up like a bird in a cage.

Shen Qinglan loved hearing all about it. When he heard Kang Zhanxun's name, he got all excited:

"You mean that Kang guy? I know all about him. Marquis Kang and my Second Brother have been at each other's throats for years—their beef didn't start at school."

"A few years back, my Second Brother went with Mom to a party at the Dingbei Marquis's place. He got mischievous and snuck into the back courtyard, accidentally bumped Kang Zhanxun's maid into the lake. Kang Zhanxun got so mad he yanked down Second Brother's pants in public and spanked him. They've been enemies ever since..."

Though Second Brother was just eight back then.

But Second Brother held a grudge, and Kang Zhanxun was pretty petty too, so the two naturally got more hostile over time.

Han Zhang laughed: "That actually happened?"

"Right?!" Shen Qinglan smiled. "It was just Second Brother's rotten luck. The maid he knocked into the lake was Kang Zhanxun's favorite personal servant. Later, in that scandal where Kang Zhanxun favored a concubine over his wife, that concubine was her."

"Because of that maid, to this day, besides his wife's legitimate son, Kang Zhanxun only has that one concubine and the son she gave him..."

Shen Huaizhi and the others hadn't mentioned any of this.

Han Zhang got curious: "You know a lot about what goes on inside the Dingbei Marquis's house?"

"Of course. Mom's got great connections in the capital's ladies' circle and hears gossip from every household. She tells me all this stuff so I understand how the world works."

"What Second Brother told you about the Dingbei Marquis's house is just the tip of the iceberg. Mom was afraid he'd act reckless and stumble onto some deadly secret of the marquis's, so when he sent people to spy on the house, she stopped them..."

"So, honey, if you want to know about the Dingbei Marquis's house, you gotta ask me!"

Shen Qinglan lifted his chin, looking super proud.

Han Zhang pinched his cheek and grinned: "Don't tease me, honey—spill it already."

With that, he leaned over and kissed his husband on the cheek, pulling out the charm.

"Don't be so shameless in broad daylight..."

Shen Qinglan got all flustered, blushing as he shot him a reproachful glance before continuing to share the secrets of the Dingbei Marquis's household that Shen Huaizhi and the others had failed to uncover.

"Husband, didn't my second brother tell you that the relations within the Dingbei Marquis's household are rather delicate? He even suspected that the Marquis and his sister-in-law... had an affair?"

"There's actually a story behind this. Back then, the two Dingbei Marquis brothers both fell for the daughter of the Yu Earl's household—now Second Madam Kang—at first sight."

"But Second Madam Kang favored the younger brother, and since the Marquis was the heir apparent and needed a wife from a strong family to secure the family estate, it was Second Master Kang who ended up with her."

"Yet not long after both brothers were married, they ran into bandits on the road. Second Master Kang was killed, but the Marquis came back alive—alone..."

"On top of that, within a few months, the Marquis's wife also died in childbirth..."

"Two such suspicious deaths in succession naturally sparked speculation. For a time, rumors ran rampant that the Marquis had killed his brother and wife to get his sister-in-law."

"But Second Madam Kang personally came forward, insisting that her husband's and sister-in-law's deaths might not be what they seemed, and pleaded with the authorities to investigate thoroughly. After several inquiries, the case was closed as 'accidental,' and the matter died down..."

Han Zhang cut in: "But isn't there a saying about the thief crying 'stop thief'? Did people really buy it?"

There's no way things were that coincidental.

"Of course they didn't fully believe it, especially the Marquis's political enemies, who would have turned over every stone to find a flaw. But no matter how hard they looked, the result stayed the same."

"Over the years, everyone has seen how Second Madam Kang has been deliberately spoiling Kang Zhanxun to destroy him, while the Marquis has been fighting tooth and nail to protect Kang Zhanxun's position as heir..."

"Mother and the others privately think the two might be just like in your storybooks: one whose love was too deep to last, and one whose love turned to hate."

Han Zhang pondered for a moment, then asked: "Then why does Second Madam Kang leave Kang Zhanxun's son alone? Since she's already made an enemy, why stop halfway?"

"I've heard that Kang Zhanxun's wife is Second Madam Kang's own niece. When they got married, there was even a whole 'forcing himself on her' thing... Could there be more to that story?"

Shen Qinglan said: "Husband, do you suspect that the legitimate son isn't Kang Zhanxun's biological child? That Second Madam Kang used her niece as bait to set up a revenge scheme?"

"Mm, because the events and the connections are too coincidental. Too many coincidences in this world, and they stop being coincidences."

"People have speculated about that too..." Shen Qinglan gently shook his head. "But the child looks just like Kang Zhanxun—anyone who sees them knows they're father and son."

Han Zhang shook his head: "Nothing is absolute. What if the child... is actually Second Madam Kang's own grandson? If Kang Zhanxun's wife had an affair with her husband's younger cousin, then many things would make sense."

"They're from the same bloodline and closely related, so similar features wouldn't be surprising."

Shen Qinglan hesitated: "That can't be... If so, how could the Marquis tolerate it? Would he willingly hand over the title to his brother's bloodline and watch his own only son get played?"

The Marquis and his brother were rivals in love—what man in the world could be that generous?

Han Zhang kept pushing his wild theory: "Then what if—the son Second Madam Kang gave birth to was actually the Marquis's own blood?"

Shen Qinglan frowned: "...But when Second Master Kang was killed, Second Madam Kang herself asked for a full investigation. And when she was pregnant, the Marquis wasn't even in the capital."

The timing doesn't line up, so that theory falls apart.

Otherwise, with all the favoritism the Marquis had shown his nephew and sister-in-law over the years, his political enemies would have long used it against him.

After their investigation, as for their inner thoughts, hard to say, but their actions were indeed above board.

So then: Kang Zhanxun's legitimate son might be his cousin's. But his cousin definitely couldn't be the Marquis's and Second Madam Kang's child.

"Could it be... that the Marquis truly sacrificed his only son for the woman he loved?"

Han Zhang didn't buy that conclusion.

After all, if the Marquis were truly so infatuated with Second Madam Kang, why would he have married someone else back then? And why would he watch his only son get spoiled rotten and poisoned without saying a word?

Men back then were very attached to their own blood.

Seeing how he was, Shen Qinglan thought for a moment and said: "Husband, since you're so interested in the Dingbei Marquis's household, how about I send someone to investigate thoroughly?"

"No need, I'm just curious, that's all. The Marquis's affairs have nothing to do with us—stay out of it, lest you invite trouble."

Han Zhang waved his hand dismissively.

But in his heart, he had already decided to send a few plants he'd grown himself into the Marquis's household as eyes and ears.

These matters couldn't be handled openly, so he'd go about it covertly.

Whether it was the military power of the Dingbei Marquis's household or Kang Zhanxun himself, he wanted both.

When opportunity presents itself, you strike!