After the Cold and Aloof Husband's Mask Falls - Chapter 63

Clatter— The crisp sound of fine white jade shattering echoed on the floor, as scalding tea splashed all over the person standing in front.

The Prince of Huai was truly incensed by his worthless son. Panting heavily, he pointed a finger and barked, “You wretched creature! Do you have any idea how much trouble you’ve caused single-handedly?! If you don’t want to be quietly finished off by someone in the future, you’d better confess your ‘good deeds’ to your old man right now!”

The Heir to the Prince of Huai had been hiding in his room ever since someone had cut off his arm in a vendetta, not daring to venture out. Hearing such harsh accusations from his father now, he felt wronged. “It was just the granddaughter of some lowly woman; how could I possibly remember! If she’s dead, she’s dead. Surely Father isn’t afraid that her lonely ghost will come back for revenge!”

“Wretch! How did I raise such an unbridled thing!” The Prince of Huai slapped the Heir fiercely across the face. “Think! Think hard for me! If you have no impression of her, then starting today, think of every single evil deed you’ve done in the past, one by one!”

“If you miss even one, be careful—my entire Prince of Huai’s Estate might have to be buried with you!”

Unable to bear looking at this troublesome sight, the Prince of Huai kicked him twice more to vent the frustration in his heart. If not for the fact that he was the son his late consort had nearly died to give birth to, he would have truly driven this creature out of the estate long ago to avoid daily disasters.

Seeing the Prince of Huai emerge from the room, the Consort of the Prince of Huai moved forward with elegant steps, offering gentle comfort. “My Lord, do not be angry. Lin-er is merely playful; we just need to teach him properly in the future. No matter how much of a stir there is in the court right now, His Majesty will always spare him for the sake of My Lord’s face.”

The Prince of Huai furrowed his brows deeply and sighed. “This time, things are not simple. How could the death of one old woman just happen to involve both the military nobility and the civil official factions, and blow up so massively in a single day? I fear this matter is far from over.”

Hearing this, the Consort’s heart skipped a beat. Clutching her handkerchief, she panicked slightly. “Is My Lord worried that something further is coming for our estate? Could it still be targeted at Lin-er?”

The Prince of Huai gave her a profound look. “Usually, I don’t care to manage your affairs, but at this critical juncture, you’d better pack away those little schemes of yours. Screen the people in Lin-er’s courtyard thoroughly for me. If any more news about him leaks out, I won’t mind replacing my Consort.”

The Consort trembled, falling to her knees in terror. “This humble one wouldn’t dare, I wouldn’t dare.”

The Prince of Huai snorted coldly and was about to pass her when his eye caught the pure white cloak she was wearing. Recalling something, he paused and narrowed his eyes. “Is there a unique fabric that reveals shimmering golden threads within the cloth only under sunlight?”

The Consort was startled. Though she didn’t know why he brought up fabric, seeing him ask her something, she nodded hurriedly. “There is! There is! This fabric is called Lake-Light Brocade, named because it looks like a shimmering lake surface under the sun!”

“Why haven’t I seen you wear it?”

The Consort’s expression stiffened. She glanced at the Prince several times before explaining awkwardly, “This Lake-Light Brocade is extremely rare. It is basically only offered as tribute to the palace every year. Among the families of the ministers this year, only the Protector State Duke’s Estate received a few bolts.”

After the Consort finished, she waited anxiously for a while, thinking she might have provoked the Prince’s displeasure. Unexpectedly, after hearing this, the Prince actually burst into laughter. “Interesting. Truly interesting.”

He had gone to Xihe’s Plum Blossom Banquet yesterday, and at the time, he had noticed a girl in the crowd whose cloak fabric looked familiar. He couldn’t place that familiarity then, but just now, he remembered.

He had seen a woman’s outer garment made of this fabric in Ji Lin’s Akishiyama Villa!

Because he had discovered that day that the supposedly “recuperating” Ji Lin was actually indulging in daytime debauchery with a woman, the impression was quite deep.

“Do you know which of your nieces has had dealings with that Ji Lin?”

Though the Consort didn’t know why he suddenly mentioned the far-removed Ji Lin, years of marriage gave her a premonition. Perhaps this Ji Lin was the way to break the deadlock for the Prince of Huai’s Estate!

The Consort pondered for a moment and said hesitantly, “I heard Mother mention that the Wanlan who returned from outside seemed to have received Ji Lin’s help on the way to the capital. They should be considered to have had dealings.”

Ji Lin and Gu Wanlan, eh.

The Prince of Huai narrowed his eyes, a flicker of treacherous light flashing in his gaze.

There were too many people staring at his estate right now. He thought he had found a way to at least give them a chance to catch their breath.

Let the waters of this Xijing City become a little muddier.

The Imperial Palace

After leaving the estate, Gu Wanlan changed into her Feiyan attire and entered the palace without a moment’s pause to seek an audience with Emperor Qingyuan.

“You wish to investigate the case of the Heir to the Prince of Huai?”

Emperor Qingyuan spoke with surprise, looking at the travel-worn Gu Wanlan in the hall.

Gu Wanlan cupped her hands and said solemnly, “To be honest, Your Majesty, when that old woman first brought her accusation to the Jingzhao Office, this subject saw her…”

Gu Wanlan paused and closed her eyes. “It was also this subject who suggested she seek help from the lords of the great families, saying they would surely see justice done for her. I never expected… the events that followed. This subject feels guilt toward her and wishes to return justice to her.”

Emperor Qingyuan’s expression turned cold. “Are you not afraid that by saying this, I will suspect you had ulterior motives from the start? Furthermore, your identity truly cannot be described as ‘clean’.”

Gu Wanlan’s whole body shook.

What did Emperor Qingyuan mean?

Emperor Qingyuan paced down from his dais and spoke with a cold sneer. “When you were Ji Lin, you had many frictions with the Duke of Xun at Changping Pass. And as Gu Wanlan—do you know who your husband really is? Knowing this, how do you dare ask me for this assignment!”

Emperor Qingyuan’s final sentence came down with the force of a thunderclap, pressing heavily upon Gu Wanlan.

Gu Wanlan’s face went pale, but she was not crushed by the weight. Instead, she raised her head and looked back at Emperor Qingyuan with stubborn defiance. Yet, looking closely, there was a trace of grievance in her eyes. “Your Majesty has truly deceived this subject most cruelly. Since Your Majesty clearly knew his identity, why were you unwilling to give me a few hints? This subject only wanted to find an easy-to-control live-in husband; how could I possibly accommodate such a ‘Great Buddha’!”

Gu Wanlan’s words bordered on insolence, but Emperor Qingyuan did not get angry. Instead, the expression on his face softened slightly. “Oh? It seems you already know.”

Gu Wanlan bit her lip. “This subject only found out by chance during the incident with County Princess Yong’an yesterday. I have already signed a letter of divorce with that Lord. My connection with him began only because of someone’s scheme; we were married through a twist of fate. Thus, this can be considered returning things to their proper places.”

Gu Wanlan’s decisive and resolute manner was somewhat beyond Emperor Qingyuan’s expectations. He had thought that given Cui Jue’s looks and character, the two would be entangled for some time. However, Emperor Qingyuan was quite satisfied with this outcome. It was better for two of his useful subordinates not to be mixed together.

Seeing Emperor Qingyuan waver, Gu Wanlan bowed again and said loudly, “This subject’s friction with the Duke of Xun was only on the battlefield, and my love and hatred with the Cui family have been settled. I, Feiyan, am only a subject of Your Majesty! I implore Your Majesty to let me investigate this case thoroughly!”

Emperor Qingyuan had originally had someone else in mind, but thinking about it now, no one seemed more suitable than Gu Wanlan.

Her greatest weakness was in his hands, she had never formed a faction in Xijing, and most importantly, he could see that this woman’s heart was not in the capital, but beyond the passes. Now that she was no longer connected to Cui Shenzhi, she might be worthy of significant use in the future.

Emperor Qingyuan gave Gu Wanlan a profound look. “Granted. Wanlan, do not fail my high expectations.”

“How can it be Feiyan?! Brother, this is different from our previous plan.”

Cui Qiong cried out in surprise, nearly knocking over the tea on his desk as he stood up.

Cui Jue remained expressionless, using his hand to steady the tilting teapot. “She was able to make His Majesty change his mind and secure this assignment; that is her own ability.”

Cui Qiong was still worried, rubbing his chest exaggeratedly. “But this Feiyan is truly mysterious, and her background cannot be traced. My heart is a bit restless. She isn’t one of our people; what if she ruins things in the end?”

Cui Jue rose and tied his outer robe to head out, saying tonelessly, “If Feiyan ruins the matter, then kill her.”

His tone held no shred of concern; the person he spoke of killing was a personal favorite highly valued by Emperor Qingyuan.

Cui Qiong was startled, turning his head abruptly to look at Cui Jue who had walked to the door. It was the peak of the day, yet Cui Jue’s face was so pale it was transparent, making him look like a lonely ghost walking in the dead of night.

Brother is very wrong today.

But Cui Qiong truly didn’t dare ask what had happened between the two later.

After hesitating for a long while, Cui Qiong finally couldn’t resist testing the waters. “Where is Brother going?”

“The Protector State Duke’s Estate.” Cui Jue did not look back.

Hearing this, Cui Qiong felt a surge of joy and let out a sigh of relief, hurriedly following with a smile. “Ah, I knew it. A fight between husband and wife is always settled at the foot of the bed. As long as—”

Cui Jue’s footsteps paused. He reached into his sleeve to touch the letter of divorce left by Gu Wanlan, his voice ethereal. “But I… am going to finalize the divorce.”

On the day he married her, he had actually thought this day might come.

Actually, it should be this way.

Anyone who had seen and loved that gentle, principled “Cui Jue” would likely not love a monster like him who had crawled back from a past life.

In the end, she had felt a shred of pity and reluctance for him; that was enough.

Perhaps he could return to his position from his previous life, acting only as a passerby, witnessing her love and hatred with others through the words of others…

Dream on!

When he unexpectedly ran into Xiao Sun at the gates of the Protector State Duke’s Estate, Cui Jue could barely suppress the surging killing intent in his chest.

If Gu Wanlan were to be as intimate with Xiao Sun—or anyone else—as she had been with him…

Cui Jue no longer masked his hostility, his eyes turning dark and predatory as he looked at Xiao Sun. “What are you doing here?”

Xiao Sun, however, was in a great mood today. He even crossed his arms and leaned slightly toward Cui Jue, laughing loudly. “Naturally, I am here to share some good news with Wanlan. But since you are here too, it’s even better.”

It was blatant provocation.

Cui Jue did not take the bait. He simply walked straight up the steps and gave an order to the guards of the estate. “Close the gates. We are not seeing guests today. If anyone insists on visiting, drive them all out.”

Seeing the guards actually preparing to close the gates and drive him away upon hearing Cui Jue’s words…

Xiao Sun was stunned for a moment, then flew into a rage. “Cui Jue! This is the Protector State Duke’s Estate, not your Cui Estate! You have no right to do this!”

“Is that so?” Cui Jue stopped his footsteps and let out a cold laugh.

He turned back to look at Xiao Sun—unsure if he was looking at him or through him at the Xiao Sun of his past life.

The chill in Cui Jue’s eyes was sharper than a blade. “Whether I have the right or not, feel free to try me.”