The Eldest Brother is Handsome but Sick. - Chapter 14

The room was dim, with only a few slivers of light leaking through the tightly closed doors and windows. Yan Jin reclined on the couch, his face pale and his long hair unfastened, cascading over his plain white robes.

His expression was indifferent. Aside from an occasional low cough, he showed almost no reaction, looking like a porcelain figure carved from ice, his brow radiating a rare, chilling aura.

On the table, the medicinal soup had grown cold, its bitter fragrance lingering in the air. He frowned slightly, listening to the silence outside; it was unnervingly quiet.

Since waking up, he had been confined here in the very room he had occupied for seventeen years before becoming the Eldest Senior Brother of Sansheng Hall. The white funeral silk in the room had already been removed, indicating that his old man’s funeral had been handled with full pomp and circumstance.

The question was: who handled it? None of those uncles and elders were easy to deal with.

Yan Jin let out a cold snort and closed his eyes in exhaustion, flopping onto the bed in a crooked “starfish” shape. His thoughts drifted back to Su Huai. Last time, it took half a year of coaxing to win him back; he had no idea what kind of “heart-and-soul” effort it would take this time to quell the boy’s rage.

“Dammit, I’ve been played.”

His voice was thick with resentment, echoing ghost-like through the room. Suddenly, the heavy doors opened a crack. Someone peered inside before pushing them fully open.

“The culprit has arrived,” Yan Jin sneered.

Steward Wang carried a food box, completely ignoring Yan Jin’s sarcasm. At a glance, he saw the untouched medicine and let out a worried sigh before making his way inside.

He walked with a slight tremble, looking frail enough to be blown away by the wind, yet he placed the food box by the bed with an undeniable air of authority, as if daring Yan Jin not to eat. Outside, the guards cooperated by slamming the door shut with a loud bang, as if they held a personal grudge against the wood.

Yan Jin was the only son of the Yan family, the true heir, a high-born Young Master yet he was being kept a prisoner in his own home.

This is a total reversal of the natural order.

Yan Jin thought it, and then he said it. He sat up and stared at Steward Wang with a smile that was more terrifying than a ghost.

Steward Wang arranged the dishes before him one by one. The food was exquisite and aromatic all of Yan Jin’s childhood favorites. “If it helps the Young Master vent his anger, you may scold this old servant as you wish. However, you haven’t eaten all day and you refuse your medicine; I fear for your health. Once you’ve finished scolding me, please eat something.”

His tone was gentle and full of concern, as if he were still the same man who had looked after Yan Jin in his youth.

But Yan Jin wasn’t buying it. His face went cold. “Let me out.”

Steward Wang only shook his head.

“My uncles handled Father’s funeral ahead of time, so I couldn’t attend the procession. At the very least, let me go to his memorial tablet to pay my respects,” Yan Jin said, taking a deep breath and trying to maintain his patience.

Steward Wang nodded. “I will let you go, Young Master. But not now.”

“Then when?”

“When the Young Master promises this old servant that he will never leave Yangzhou again,” Steward Wang replied. “Only then can the Master’s spirit rest in peace.”

The way he said it made it sound like Yan Jin had personally caused his father’s death.

Leaving aside the fact that his father’s decline was due to grief over his mother’s early passing, anyone with half a brain cell knew the man didn’t like his son. Why would he care if Yan Jin stayed or left?

What is Steward Wang really after by keeping me here? Yan Jin felt a headache coming on. He rubbed his temples and said helplessly, “Fine! How about I go out there and kneel for ten days and nights to atone for my sins? Does that work?”

Steward Wang frowned in disapproval, as if upset that Yan Jin spoke so lightly of life and death.

“Young Master should just eat.”

“I’m not eating.”

“If you don’t eat, you stay confined.”

“If I eat, will you release me?”

“No.”

After going around in circles like this, Yan Jin ran out of options. He began calculating whether his current physical state was strong enough to knock the old man down and make a break for it.

“Uncle Wang, I truly don’t understand. You were loyal to my father; you want me to seize his inheritance back from my uncles, so why are you locking me up?”

Steward Wang remained silent for a long time before speaking: “Young Master, you shouldn’t have left. The Yan family provides the best of everything; it could have nurtured your health perfectly. Why were you so unsatisfied?”

Just as Yan Jin was about to respond, he was interrupted: “The Master missed you constantly. Please, for the sake of the Master’s memory, have some food.”

This man is absolutely impenetrable!

“Fine. If that’s how it’s going to be, don’t blame me.” Yan Jin propped himself up. He waited a few breaths to steady his dizzy head, then gathered his strength and let out a booming shout: “WUXUE!”

Steward Wang’s eyes widened in shock. “Young Master, you—”

Before he could finish, the sound of chaotic footsteps erupted outside. In a few swift moves, the guards at the door were beaten to the ground.

CRASH!

The door was kicked open from the outside, flooding the room with light. Yan Jin squinted against the brightness, finally showing a genuine, heartfelt smile.

“Young Master! This lady has come to the rescue!”

It was a clear, ringing female voice. Standing in the brightly lit doorway was a woman in her early twenties. She wore her hair in clean, practical braids, and unlike the other maids in the manor, she was dressed in a simple, martial-style robe. She stood tall and confident.

Yan Jin’s mother used to say he had the “Four Gentlemen” (Plum, Orchid, Bamboo, and Chrysanthemum) by his side. “Plum” was Little White Plum, and the other three were all combined into this one woman a young girl Yan Jin’s mother had bought from a martial arts school years ago to protect him.

Though she was originally brought in to be a potential “child bride,” Yan Jin had no interest in such things. Instead, he had trained her to be his right hand within the Yan family effectively his proxy in all official matters.

But because Yan Jin had been away for so long, everyone assumed this “proxy” would succumb to the temptation of wealth and power and align herself with the uncles. Consequently, they had stopped paying her any mind.

Wuxue stepped inside and went straight for Steward Wang. She was incredibly strong and her martial training made her movements swift; before the old man could react, he was knocked unconscious.

She caught him and laid him gently on the floor before picking up Yan Jin’s outer robe and helping him into it. “Look at you. Why bother staying locked up for so long? You should have just called for me earlier.”

“He did look after me for a long time in my childhood,” Yan Jin noted.

“Fine, fine. But you’ve been gone so long you wouldn’t know, this old man has been acting like he’s possessed every day. He’s obsessed with finding you and bringing you back. I have no idea why.” Wuxue moved behind Yan Jin to tie up his hair. “Though, you don’t have time to worry about him now.”

Yan Jin paused. “What? Have they arrived?”

“They’re here.” Wuxue gestured toward the door. “Your uncles, cousins, and sisters heard you were home and have been waiting in the main hall. While Steward Wang was busy with you, I let them sit there and stew for over an hour to take the wind out of their sails.”

“Good job.” Yan Jin glanced at the unconscious Steward Wang. “Have someone take him away to rest. I’ll see him later.”

“You got it!” Wuxue clapped her hands, and several people entered to carry the old man out. She then shouted, “We’re going through the main hall! Let those people see how ‘cold and heartless’ our Young Master is—so cold he even fainted his own childhood steward. That should save us from having to listen to their fake, nauseating ‘family’ sentiments later.”

She nimbly finished grooming Yan Jin from head to toe. “Come on, my Great Young Master. To the battlefield.”

Then, she spotted the untouched food by the bed. Her eyes lit up instantly. She grabbed Yan Jin just as he was leaving. “Your meal hasn’t been touched yet. Shall we bring it along?”

Yan Jin: “?” Eating in the middle of a battle? Isn’t that a bit much?

Wuxue added diplomatically: “A man is made of iron, but food is the steel. Also, your sister here is starving.”

Yan Jin: “…………Bring it. Bring the medicine, too.”

The main hall was spacious and bright, with a plaque hanging in the center that read: “Harmony and Kinship.”

An old man with white hair sat in the seat of honor, slowly sipping tea from a porcelain cup. His son stood beside him, flipping through ledgers and whispering occasionally. On the east side sat a man with a heavy beard; he appeared to be resting with his eyes closed, but his fingers were white-knuckled around several land deeds.

On the west side sat a lady fanning herself. She looked around the room and let out a light laugh. “Our ancestral properties are vast, but they must be divided fairly. Little Yan Jin has always been sickly; I truly pity him. I don’t want him to worry his head over such matters. We should just make the decisions ourselves.”

“As if you’re qualified to say that! You’re his aunt, yet you’ve never cared for him and now you suddenly ‘pity’ him?” the bearded man mocked. “If you want the money, just say so. Don’t give me a carriage-load of excuses.”

The lady took offense, her voice rising sharply: “So what if I want the money? Don’t you? If you’re so noble, why are you here!”

“I want it, but I’m not being a hypocrite about it!”

“Pah! This lady at least bothered to track him down and have Steward Wang bring him back! He wasn’t left in the dark while his father passed. And what about you? An uncle and a grand-uncle along with those slobbering ‘wolf-pup’ relatives waiting at the front gate not one of you thought to bring him home.”

She sneered. “You think you’re better just because you didn’t say the words? Your second brother and his wife are watching from the afterlife while you bully their sick son!”

“I only want what’s rightfully mine. As for the rest of you, I know exactly what you’re planning. Just wait karma is coming!”

“You’re outrageous! I am your third brother how dare you speak to me like that!”

“There were four of us siblings, and none of us were any good except the second brother. Don’t try to play the ‘elder brother’ card with me!”

The bearded man was purple with rage, his beard flying as he slammed the table and prepared to charge across the room.

Suddenly, the old man in the seat of honor stood up and said deeply: “Silence.”

At his command, the room went still. Everyone tucked in their tempers and sat like quiet little chicks.

The old man continued: “Third Brother, sit down. Someone is coming.”

Hardly had he spoken when the sound of two voices drifting from outside reached the hall. Everyone sat on high alert.

Someone outside said: “Don’t eat so much; you’ll get a stomach ache.”

Another voice replied with a muffled burp: “I have to go to war with those ungrateful white-eyed wolves! If I don’t eat, I won’t have the strength.”

“I’m the one going to war. What are you getting excited for?”

“I’m not! But if the talking fails, I’ll just beat them all to the ground for you.”

The first voice thought for a moment: “That works, too.”

The people in the hall: “…………”

The Eldest Uncle in the seat of honor let out a thunderous cough: “YAN JIN, ENTER!”

The doors swung open. Yan Jin, who had been discussing the best way to thrash them with Wuxue, paused. He lifted his gaze.

His brow arched. He took a step forward, standing alone in the doorway, meeting the predatory gazes of the four people in the room.

Suddenly, he let out a light laugh. “It’s been a long time. How is it that you all still look so… unpresentable?”