When Fang Linyuan arrived at Jiyue Hall, the sky had already darkened. Servants in front of the hall were bustling under the corridor lit with lamps, and the aroma of food could be smelled as soon as he reached the hall.

Upon entering the hall, Fang Linyuan saw Song Zhaojin and Zhao Ling sitting there, with Fang Changnian, who had just finished his studies, sitting beside them.

Song Zhaojin was instructing a maid to serve soup to Zhao Ling, while Fang Changnian, who was always taciturn, was now sitting across from Zhao Ling, awkwardly reciting newly learned poems and essays to him.

Meanwhile, the fox, under the warm light, remained calm, occasionally reminding Fang Changnian when he stumbled over the text.

It was a harmonious scene, but Fang Linyuan, standing hesitantly outside the corridor, felt like an outsider.

He felt as if Zhao Ling had stolen his family.

The maids at the door noticed his arrival. With smiles, they ushered him in, calling out, "The Marquis has arrived."

Everyone in the hall looked up and turned their gaze towards him.

Zhao Ling stood up first, his slender figure showing no signs of stiffness, as he politely greeted, "Husband."

Fang Changnian also stopped reciting, stood up, and bowed to him in a disciplined manner.

Fang Linyuan nodded with a smile towards Fang Changnian, then passed by Zhao Ling and greeted Song Zhaojin, "I apologize for being late, Sister-in-law."

"No need for excessive courtesy," Song Zhaojin replied. "But, Brother, have you been too busy at the yamen these days? Today, Jingzhe came to deliver tea and said you've been sleeping in the study for two or three days."

Fang Linyuan glanced at Zhao Ling.

Was it Jingzhe who said that? Jingzhe was usually a servant of few words and rarely gossiped. His sister-in-law's mention of it was probably just to prevent him from thinking Zhao Ling had complained about him.

But he knew many of Zhao Ling's secrets. Was this one more complaint?

However, Zhao Ling stood calmly on the side, looking at him as if nothing had happened, showing no sign of guilt.

Fang Linyuan withdrew his gaze, replying tactfully, "Yes. The archives at the Honglu Ofice were complicated recently, and there were urgent matters regarding foreign envoys. I had to bring back the documents to deal with them."

"Are you almost done with your work?" Song Zhaojin asked.

"Almost," Fang Linyuan replied.

Song Zhaojin nodded. "Then after dinner, you should escort the princess back to the Huaiyu Pavilion. It's dark at night, and she might have trouble walking alone."

"...Sure."

Facing Song Zhaojin's request, Fang Linyuan could only comply, besides stabbing Zhao Ling in his heart.

"Alright, I won't say much, but even if you're busy, you can't neglect your wife." Seeing his compliance, Song Zhaojin nodded approvingly and didn't say much. "Go sit down and have dinner."

Fang Linyuan stood up straight, smiled, and said, "Yes. But if I'm late next time, you don't have to wait for me. Changnian is still growing, and we can't let him go hungry because of me."

As he spoke, he was about to sit down, but he felt a cold, indifferent gaze on him.

His back chilled, and he glanced sideways to see Zhao Ling, who had just stood up but hadn't sat down yet, looking at him with an unclear expression.

Fang Linyuan froze for a moment, then awkwardly reached out to help Zhao Ling sit down, with a gentle expression but a fierce glare in his eyes.

Telling on me, and expecting me to help you sit down?

I haveno  legs!

"Please, sit down, Madame," he assisted Zhao Ling to take his seat, gritting his teeth inwardly.

Zhao Ling responded with a faint, calm smile.

He was no match for this millennium-old fox. Tonight, when he went back, he would ask him why he had to make things difficult for him, and even come to his sister-in-law to complain.

Fang Linyuan coolly withdrew his gaze and, not forgetting to pick up a piece of chili with his chopsticks, placed it in Zhao Chu's bowl. "Madame, please."

Based on his experience from the past few days, Zhao Ling always ate bland food. He definitely couldn't handle spicy food. Since his sister-in-law couldn't see, he would feed him the chili and burn this fox.

However, Zhao Ling glanced at the chili, then glanced sideways, looking at him with an ambiguous meaning.

Fang Linyuan stared back fearlessly.

Meanwhile, Song Zhaojin was still having his meal with the help of the maids and spoke warmly to Fang Linyuan, "You've been away from home these days, and the princess comes to greet me every day. I always tell her she doesn't need to come, but she insists on being respectful and diligent, never missing a day."

He sure knows how to put on a show.

Fang Linyuan responded to the remark, "Indeed, Your Highness has always been like this."

"Since New Year's Day, even Si Chao mentioned that the princess has been busy with bookkeeping. There were several mistakes in this year's accounts, all corrected by the princess," Song Zhaojin continued.

It seemed she had made up her mind to tell Fang Linyuan about Zhao Chu's recent hard work, hoping to teach her hot-blooded younger brother to cherish his wife.

The surrounding maids echoed in agreement, and even Fang Changnian nodded along.

But Fang Linyuan, who had already confronted Zhao Chu, was now only interested in seeing him eat that piece of chili.

And Zhao Chu, sitting beside him, found his almost fiery eyes quite amusing.

Why would he think he couldn't handle spicy food? His diet was bland simply because human skin changes, and a body accustomed to simple food is easier to disguise.

Fang Linyuan stirred the chili in his bowl with his chopsticks, and Zhao Chu's eyes instantly darted there.

Zhao Chu almost burst into laughter.

His way of revenge was to make his enemy eat chili? Even women who rarely left the palace knew that the only way to harm someone through food was by poisoning it.

He seemed to really hate him, yet he never thought of killing him.

How... interesting this person was.

For a moment, Zhao Chu felt like a splash of colour had suddenly appeared in his dull world, adding some excitement.

Teasing Fang Linyuan, he calmly picked up the chili but hesitated to eat it, putting it back after a moment.

Watching Fang Linyuan's fluctuating emotions, Zhao Chu's smile deepened.

Even he himself didn't notice.

He had played enough. He casually put down the chili, but caught a glimpse of disappointment in Fang Linyuan's eyes.

Zhao Chu paused.

The white rabbit drooped its ears. It seemed he wouldn't be happy until he saw him eat that piece of chili.

He found those drooping ears somewhat unpleasant, as if he wanted to see Fang Linyuan happy.

So, Zhao Chu thought to himself, fine, enough teasing, I'll eat it.

He raised his chopsticks again.

But at that moment, a pair of unsteady chopsticks reached out and snatched away the half-eaten chili from Zhao Chu.

Fang Linyuan turned to look and saw it was Fang Changnian, looking timidly at the two of them.

"Uncle, Auntie doesn't seem to like this. Please give it to me," Fang Changnian said.

Fang Linyuan felt like his teeth were about to shatter.

Little traitor... this little traitor who recognizes the thief as his father!

But he couldn't blame Fang Changnian at all. It was the male fox sitting next to him, looking surprised, who seemed to be quite the actor.

He couldn't taste a thing during the meal.

Fortunately, his sister-in-law usually went to bed early and didn't like to chat. After the maids cleared the table and brought tea, within half a cup of tea's time, Fang Changnian was ready to rest.

Fang Linyuan also bid farewell.

Song Zhaojin stopped him at this point.

"I called you both here today for another matter," Song Zhaojin said, motioning to Mingyue.

Mingyue immediately went to the back room and quickly brought out a note, placing it in front of Fang Linyuan.

"Zhongshun Marquis's eldest grandson is about to be born, and they've sent invitations for a feast at the mansion. Since I don't move around much and never liked socializing, you two should go together," Song Zhaojin said. "I'm sure you understand it's more suitable for you to attend such social events since I find it inconvenient to go out. So, please accept the invitation and go together with Zhao Chu."

Fang Linyuan knew that his sister-in-law always found it difficult to go out, so it was appropriate for him to attend such social events. He accepted the invitation and promised to go, then bid farewell with Zhao Chu.

He escorted Zhao J Chu ie back to the Huaiyu Pavilion as agreed. They walked in silence all the way until they entered the inner chamber of the pavilion, where the maids closed the door for the two of them and left.

Fang Linyuan's doubts could finally be voiced.

As he watched Zhao Chu sit by the window and remove his hairpins, he approached and stood by the table, asking, "What exactly do you want?"

Zhao Chu looked up.

"Is your wound healed?" He pointed to the side of his neck.

This was indeed an important matter for Zhao Chu. Once the wound appeared, he always inexplicably thought of Fang Linyuan, as if the thread hanging over his heart could never be severed.

For him, this issue needed to be resolved sooner rather than later.

Fang Linyuan, however, looked at him with confusion and asked, "Didn't we agree before that I wouldn't bother you anymore? I had a legitimate reason to stay away, yet you still complained?"

"It wasn't me," Zhao Chu said calmly, telling the truth.

"And you think it was my sister-in-law's idea?" Fang Linyuan found it amusing.

Zhao Chu nodded honestly.

But a shepherd who constantly tells lies can never gain trust from others. In Fang Linyuan's eyes, Zhao Chu, whose identity was even fabricated, was now showing an attitude that was completely untrustworthy.

He gritted his teeth and paced back and forth by the table like a trapped animal, feeling utterly helpless against Zhao Chu 's fearless attitude, as if he were a dead fox unafraid of boiling water.

Forget it.

"If you say it wasn't you, then it wasn't," he gave up arguing and turned to leave.

Out of sight, out of mind, he thought to himself.

But then, at that moment, Zhao Chu stood up again and stopped him.

"Wait," he said.

Fang Linyuan turned back to see Zhao Chu looking at him and pointing to his own neck. "Your..."

Annoying! This fox was like Tang Seng, endlessly chanting!

(NT: Tang Sanzang, also called Tang Seng, was a buddhist monk and pilgrim, central character in the 16th century novel ‘Journey to the West’ by Wu Cheng'en. He was sent by the Emperor on a mission to India to fetch a set of Buddhist scriptures back to China for the purpose of spreading Buddhism in his native land.)

Feeling irritated, Fang Linyuan simply tore open his collar, exposing his snow-white neck to Zhao Jie.

Look, just look. You have to look at it.

If Zhao Chu hadn't repeatedly mentioned it, he would have long forgotten about those few itch-like scars.

He glared at Zhao J Chu ie with hostility, waiting for him to finish looking so he could retreat to the side room for some peace and quiet.

Little did he know, his impatient actions at that moment, seen through Zhao Chu's eyes, were like a lamb offering its neck for slaughter.

The most vulnerable and delicate part of a person, his exposed neck, illuminated by the bright lights, the few scars now only faint pink marks. In that moment, it was as if the thread that Zhao Chu had hooked onto his heart had materialized into reality.

It could either instantly sever that innocent snow-white, or slowly tighten, deepening the bond of that red scar.

It gently wrapped around Fang Linyuan's neck, casting a hazy meaning over his handsome and dignified face, as if he were a god descending to earth.

Zhao Chu's Adam's apple, which had been discreetly constrained since childhood, gently moved up and down.

Like a wolf that had been chained at the throat since childhood, and a lamb led to the slaughter, stirring the bloodlines effortlessly.

 

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The author has something to say:

Seeing the previous comments, I'd like to explain here~

The princess still doesn't know that the young marquis has had an unrequited love for her for a long time. Initially, he threatened him with life and death because he wanted to quickly control a stranger. He has been struggling in the palace until now, with a ruthless and untrustworthy nature, coupled with a bad temper, he indeed might say and do excessive things.

As for the princess's subordinates, they also mingle in court intrigues, loyal but short-sighted, often resorting to any means necessary.

Saying these things is not to excuse their behaviour! Everyone's actions always have reasons, and naturally, the law of cause and effect will soon hold them accountable for what they have done (hinting at the consequences for the princess and the young marquis).

Thank you for standing up for the young marquis, sincerely caring about him. The young marquis also hopes everyone can enjoy the story!

 

Translator : DarNan