The Mad Villain Driven to Death - Chapter 4

Wan Jingyao’s small courtyard caught fire. The servants were kept busy all night, and as a result, Wan Shenghan was unable to rest properly. His mood was somewhat foul as he stood outside the side courtyard door with a dark expression, reprimanding Wan Jingyao.

Wan Jingyao was not afraid of his own parents, nor his uncle or aunt, but he feared his elder cousin most of all. He shrunk his head like a quail, not daring to utter a sound, only claiming he had no idea how the fire had started.

Wan Shenghan was irritated. After waiting outside for a while, Zhang Shu emerged and said, “Gunpowder met a flame; that is why it ignited.”

Wan Shenghan knew his cousin enjoyed climbing trees and catching birds with those profligate sons of noble houses; he knew the gunpowder had been brought by the boy himself, but he was curious about the source of the flame. He questioned every servant in the estate, yet no one could give a clear explanation.

Wan Shenghan said, “Jingyao was not in the estate during the day, and a flame does not appear out of thin air. Someone from the outside must have entered. Those who neglected their duties will have their pay docked.”

After a pause, he added, “Wan Jingyao, you are forbidden from leaving the estate for the next few days. Stay inside, read your books, and reflect on your faults. I will check your lessons daily.”

Wan Jingyao was a bit terrified and whispered, “Cousin, you are busy with the imperial examinations yourself; there is no need to personally oversee my lessons, right?”

“Your parents sent you here. Since my father cannot manage you, I shall.”

His tone left no room for doubt. The fire incident was suspicious. As the eldest son, he had to begin bearing the heavy burdens of the household for his father; he could not afford to be careless in his actions. Having finished his reprimand, he left the side courtyard with Zhang Shu.

Zhang Shu asked, “Regarding the arsonist, has the Eldest Young Master already reached a conclusion in his heart?”

Wan Shenghan remained silent for a moment. The faint sound of crickets rose from the path, and the estate was draped in tranquility. He turned his gaze toward the remote, secluded courtyard in the distance and said after a long while, “It is not yet clear.”

“The divination has a solution,” Zhang Shu whispered, his voice low. “It has changed.”

Wan Shenghan remained silent. It was not until they turned the corner and the main gate was in sight that he asked, “The divination… is it truly accurate?”

“Perhaps,” Zhang Shu smiled. “No one can experience future events in advance. Until that day comes, how can one know what is true or false?”

Zhang Shu’s figure disappeared outside the gate, and the attendant closed the main doors. Wan Shenghan stood in the night breeze for a long time. Dark clouds obscured the bright moon. Only then did he lift his feet and head toward the side courtyard.

Shen Zhaoxue’s cold had not yet fully healed. After taking medicine, his fever had subsided, but he had no desire to sleep and was leaning against the headboard reading. Hearing the faint sound of footsteps outside, he put down his book and listened carefully, identifying the visitor as Wan Shenghan.

Shen Zhaoxue rubbed his fingertips, thinking to himself that the man had likely come to interrogate him. He had learned a bit about the events in the other courtyard from Chunya. It was only a pity that Wan Jingyao had not been in his room at the time; otherwise, he would have been even happier to hear news of the boy’s death, even if it brought a deathly disaster upon himself.

A person who has already died once does not fear death.

Shen Zhaoxue curved his eyes into a smile, looking toward the door with a beaming, tender gaze as he met Wan Shenghan’s eyes. The candlelight cast a warm, soft glow on his face, making that smile appear wonderfully gentle and beautiful, yet strangely eerie in every way.

Wan Shenghan suddenly frowned, feeling a sense of unfamiliarity toward the current Shen Zhaoxue. Since entering the Wan estate, Shen Zhaoxue had always been in a state of “do not provoke me, and I shall not provoke you”—quiet and reclusive, disliking disturbances from outsiders. Only toward Wan Shenghan was he always gentle, offering constant care and concern.

But Wan Shenghan disliked that daily, routine greeting and care, as well as those gazes filled with affection; it made him feel as though it were not real. Now, however, there was a bit more vitality.

Shen Zhaoxue’s voice was still a bit raspy as he asked, “What brings the Eldest Young Master here?”

“I believe you are clear in your heart; there is no need for me to say more.”

Silence filled the room for a moment. Shen Zhaoxue sat up straight and placed his book on the small bedside table, saying with a half-smile, “I do not understand the Eldest Young Master’s meaning. Perhaps coming to my courtyard in the middle of the night means there is some affection you wish to speak of?”

“Do not be so frivolous,” Wan Shenghan said with some impatience. “You think your actions were seamless, but you hide quite deeply, Shen Zhaoxue. To act so obediently on a normal basis, yet be such a cold-blooded and ruthless person.”

Shen Zhaoxue had long heard enough of such words. His expression did not flicker; he continued to smile, saying calmly, “Ah. So?”

He got out of bed. The noise was making his ears ache, but he endured it, pacing slowly until he was in front of Wan Shenghan. Looking him in the eye, he said, “Your cousin and I are both merely outcasts abandoned by our kin. In your Wan family, we are both burdens; neither is more noble than the other.”

“He threw away my jade pendant, forcing my weak body into the water to retrieve it and causing me to catch a cold. What is inappropriate about me taking a bit of revenge?”

He took the jade pendant from his waist, toying with it in his palm for a while, then asked, “The Eldest Young Master is a busy man with a short memory. I wonder if you still remember… who gave this jade pendant to me?”

Wan Shenghan stared at the jade.

Of course he remembered. He had personally given this jade to Shen Zhaoxue; it was nothing more than a token that allowed free entry and exit from the Wan estate, nothing special. His gaze was too cold, almost devoid of emotion, as if he could not understand why Shen Zhaoxue would bring up this jade pendant that was, to him, ordinary to the extreme.

Shen Zhaoxue realized belatedly that perhaps the value of this jade was different from his previous life. Between him and Wan Shenghan, there was no affection, so how could there be a token of love?

It had long been a piece of rubbish.

A wave of frustration, hatred, and anger rushed into his heart. He raised the jade pendant in his hand and slammed it heavily onto the ground. The jade shattered at Wan Shenghan’s feet.

Shen Zhaoxue saw the other’s stunned expression and suddenly felt a surge of pleasure and liberation. This jade, which had been lost for so many years and briefly found again, had been destroyed by his own hand.

He would never love Wan Shenghan again.

Shen Zhaoxue laughed aloud and said, “Who wants your pity, Wan Shenghan? Did you not want me to leave the Wan estate sooner? Did you not say I am cold-blooded and ruthless? I am exactly like that. It was you who failed to see my true face; it was you who invited the wolf into your house.”

“I shall leave this place tomorrow and never disturb the Eldest Young Master again.”

He bent down to pick up the jade. Just as his fingertips touched the fragments, his wrist was suddenly grabbed by Wan Shenghan.

The young man’s grip was very strong, and the temperature of his palm was very high. Shen Zhaoxue felt a desire to retreat from the heat, struggling with his wrist, but he was suddenly silenced as Wan Shenghan covered his mouth and nose.

Wan Shenghan said through gritted teeth, “You are quite the actor, Shen Zhaoxue. Your mouth, your blackened heart—do you have even a shred of humanity left?”

Shen Zhaoxue was bewildered for an instant. He suddenly detected a foreign emotion in the other man and felt a moment of suspicion, yet he could not speak. He could only whimper and struggle.

Wan Shenghan dragged him to the bed and wrapped him in the quilt, sneering, “You think too beautifully. Until the matter of the fire in Wan Jingyao’s courtyard is clearly investigated, do not dream of leaving the Wan estate for a single step.”