After the Pitiful Little One Seduced the Feudal Big Daddy - Chapter 22

Ruan Ci’s dormitory was filled with the crisp, bitter scent of medicinal herbs. Various bottles and jars lined the windowsill, most of them ointments for treating external injuries.

Ruan Ci led Xie Yunqing to sit by the window and asked him to unfasten his outer robe, revealing the bruises on his shoulders, arms, and knees. Xie Yunqing looked up at Ruan Ci, his mouth opening slightly. At this moment, he desperately wanted to know the meaning behind Ruan Ci’s earlier words.

However, Ruan Ci had insisted that Xie Yunqing return with him and obediently apply the medicine before he would reveal why Pei Xuan couldn’t help him and who he should seek instead to save his father. Thus, lowering his head, Xie Yunqing unfastened his clothes, exposing the places where he had fallen that afternoon.

The sixteen-year-old youth had a slender frame and fair skin; the evening glow filtered through the window, making his skin appear even more lustrous. He was like a piece of carefully polished jade, perfect in every way. Precisely because of this, the greenish-purple bruises stood out prominently, like flaws or cracks in the jade, making it hard for anyone not to feel a surge of pity and tenderness.

Ruan Ci sighed inwardly. Holding the medicinal paste and a wooden spoon, he stood before Xie Yunqing, carefully applying the ointment to the injuries bit by bit. These were not light injuries; normally, even a touch would trigger intense pain. Throughout the process, though Xie Yunqing couldn’t help but flinch several times, he never made a sound. He seemed to be enduring the pain in silence, or perhaps offering a wordless protest against Ruan Ci’s cryptic behavior.

Ruan Ci’s hand paused. “Are you blaming me? Blaming me for not telling you directly what to do?”

Xie Yunqing instantly lifted his gaze. A flicker of confusion and panic gathered in his dull eyes, and he shook his head repeatedly. “I… I don’t blame you…”

“I was just… just thinking… about my father…”

Ruan Ci smiled; he was the one in the wrong. Although his contact with Xie Yunqing was limited, he knew that in a state of extreme panic, anyone else might push the blame and vent their frustration on others to make themselves feel better. But not Xie Yunqing. Xie Yunqing would only take every fault whether his own or not upon himself, swallowing all negative emotions alone, all while never forgetting to consider the feelings of others.

Even now, Xie Yunqing could have easily blamed him. At the very least, he could have remained silent. There was no need for him to muster his spirits to comfort Ruan Ci when he himself was so lost.

“It’s not that I’m unwilling to speak plainly. It’s just… I also need some time…” Ruan Ci’s hand trembled slightly. “…to think about how to tell you… about my own affairs.”

Xie Yunqing was likely confused as to why Ruan Ci would share his personal history. It seemed to have no connection to his father’s case and, in this moment, felt almost like a cruel joke. Yet, Xie Yunqing only pursed his lips and gave a slight nod, indicating his willingness to listen.

“You likely know I come from the Ruan clan of Chenliu.”

Xie Yunqing gave a soft “Mm.”

“But you likely don’t know that the Ruan clan is no longer as glorious as it was decades ago. It has reached a point where it must depend on the Yu clan of Yingchuan just to maintain its facade as a noble house. Nor do you likely know that although I am a son of the Ruan clan, I am loathed by my own father and clansmen because of my mother’s lowly status.”

Xie Yunqing’s eyes widened, his lips moving as if to offer comfort, yet he found no words.

Ruan Ci shook his head slightly and smiled. “Don’t worry; those things haven’t mattered to me for a long time.” He paused, the smile vanishing. “You must be curious about my relationship with Yu Chen.”

Xie Yunqing moved to nod, but immediately lowered his head. He was clearly remembering the scene he had witnessed two days ago in the forest.

Ruan Ci didn’t continue immediately. He focused on applying the last of the medicine, then tidied the jars away into a cabinet. He spent a long time organizing them before turning back to Xie Yunqing. He took a deep breath.

“Three years ago, on a rainy night, my mother fell critically ill. She was in agonizing pain, yet my father and older brother gave orders that no one was permitted to treat her. That day, I was just like you, begging almost everyone I could find… physician, butler, nannies, cooks, coachmen, even the First Madame. But not a single person was willing to help me.”

“Finally, I went to my father again, wanting to plead with him to give her a chance at life for the sake of the many years she had served him. When I burst into his study, I ran into someone…” Ruan Ci fell silent for a moment, his gaze drifting toward the darkening sky outside. “It was Yu Chen.”

“At the time, my father was bowing and scraping before him, full of flattery. Enraged by my intrusion, he immediately ordered the guards to throw me out.” Ruan Ci smiled again, a self-mocking expression. “Perhaps it was an opportunity given by the heavens, because before I was dragged away, I saw… the look in Yu Chen’s eyes.”

“Desire,” Ruan Ci’s voice trembled. “Those eyes were filled with desire.”

Ruan Ci suddenly looked down, then walked quickly to his desk and lit a candle. As the room brightened, he seemed to feel better. His voice steadied and became flat, as if telling a story that had nothing to do with him.

“So that night, I walked into Yu Chen’s room… Afterward, my mother was saved. And Yu Chen helped me escape the control of my father and brother, giving me the chance to enter the Imperial Academy.”

Before Xie Yunqing could react, Ruan Ci returned to his side, adjusted his clothes, and closed the window to shut out the rising night wind and any sounds that shouldn’t be heard. Then, he sat before Xie Yunqing.

Lowering his head, he told him: “As for your father’s case, I saw it in Yu Chen’s study. I cannot tell you the specific details, but I can say this: the entirety of Yongjia Commandery is currently under the absolute control of the Emperor and the Yu clan. If you want to clear your father’s name, there are only two paths…”

Seeing Xie Yunqing’s trembling eyes, Ruan Ci took another deep breath. “Either you beg the Emperor or… Yu Chen, or…”

“You find Chancellor Pei.”

“Currently, not a single official in court or any noble family would dare interfere in a case from Yongjia. But Chancellor Pei can. And only Chancellor Pei can.”

Xie Yunqing faintly grasped Ruan Ci’s meaning. But he didn’t dare think deeply on it. His lips trembled as he whispered, “Then I will beg Pei Xuan to help me speak to the Chancellor…”

“It isn’t that simple,” Ruan Ci interrupted. “Even though the Chancellor has the power to interfere, he hasn’t moved in all these years, allowing the Emperor and the Yu clan to manipulate Yongjia. I suspect he has other arrangements.”

Xie Yunqing suddenly found it hard to follow. Why was his father’s case connected to the Emperor, the Yu clan, and even the Chancellor’s political moves?

“Never mind whether Pei Xuan would still be willing to help you once he knows the risks; consider the Chancellor himself. He has never moved his power for personal sentiment or desire. Perhaps even if Old Madame Pei herself pleaded with him, he wouldn’t be moved in the slightest.”

Xie Yunqing felt as if he couldn’t breathe. “Then… then what use is there in me finding him…”

“It is useful!” Ruan Ci gripped his hand tighter. “The Chancellor has always been cold and detached, but he is also a rare gentleman of the world. To a gentleman, appealing to emotion or desire is useless. Only one thing works…”

“‘Indebtedness’.”

“Indebtedness?”

“Yes. Indebtedness.” Ruan Ci suddenly released his hand and reached out to brush Xie Yunqing’s reddened eye. He continued: “You should understand what I mean. If you can have a single night of romance with him, regardless of your motive, a gentleman like the Chancellor will feel he is indebted to you. At that time, if you beg him to save your father, he will surely succeed.”

“I… I…” Xie Yunqing’s whole body began to shake. “How could I…”

“Then will you watch your father die for a crime he didn’t commit?” Ruan Ci steeled his heart, no longer persuading but stating the outcome. “Otherwise, you must go and beg Yu Chen.”

“And Yu Chen…” Ruan Ci closed his eyes to hide the emotion within them, but his voice was tinged with hatred. “Once you are involved with him, he will be like a venomous snake, coiling around you and torturing you until you die; he will never let you go. But the Chancellor, even if he knows your intent, will never make things difficult for you. After this is over, you can continue to study at the Academy and fulfill your ambitions. Nothing will be affected. It will be as if nothing ever happened.”

Xie Yunqing suddenly felt a wave of agony—an agony no less than losing his mother or learning of his father’s impending death. Every part of him resisted Ruan Ci’s words.

But what could he do? What else could he do? Was he really to lose his father after already losing his mother?

Then… go and beg Yu Chen? No! Even without Ruan Ci telling him the consequences, he knew that if he begged Yu Chen, he would never have the chance to live a normal life again.

Xie Yunqing began to loathe himself. He loathed that he was actually wavering, that he had become a despicable, selfish person. He loathed that he wanted to exploit the Chancellor’s character as a gentleman to achieve his own lowly ends.

His fingers dug deep into the cracks of the windowsill, so hard that blood seeped from the tips and his fingernails turned bruised and purple. A long time passed. So long that he could no longer feel the pain. So long that it felt as if something very important in his heart had been lost.

He lowered his head, as if he could never lift it again, and asked Ruan Ci softly:

“…Then, how should I go about it?”