The Mad Villain Driven to Death - Chapter 5

Seeing Wan Shenghan rise to leave, Shen Zhaoxue froze for a moment and then began to struggle. However, the quilt wrapped him so tightly that he couldn’t break free in an instant; he could only kick his feet in futile frustration.

Shen Zhaoxue couldn’t help but raise his voice, calling the man by his full name: “Wan Shenghan! Come back here!”

This was essentially a sentence of house arrest. Wan Shenghan had locked him in the room once before; as the Eldest Young Master of the Wan family, locking him up again would be a simple matter. Shen Zhaoxue still had unresolved business and had to find a way to return to the palace.

With only half a year until the Spring Imperial Examinations, time was pressing, yet Wan Shenghan was creating trouble for him. He struggled on the bed for a while until he lost his strength, helplessly watching Wan Shenghan leave the room and close the door.

Wan Shenghan walked to the window and spoke to the person inside: “The examinations are approaching. Young Master Shen has disturbed my peace of mind time and again. If the Wan family falls to ruin, who will support you in the future?”

Shen Zhaoxue sneered, “It is your own heart that is unsettled. What use is there in blaming me? Even if a dead man were placed in your room, you would still fail to become the Top Scholar.”

The person outside the window was quiet for a moment before giving a light “Tsk.” “Is that so?”

The sound of footsteps rose again, gradually fading into the distance.

Shen Zhaoxue was truly livid. In their previous life, he and Wan Shenghan had loved each other, yet later the man refused to believe a single word he said. The long-standing resentment finally became uncontrollable. He raised his voice slightly and intentionally provoked him: “Does the Eldest Young Master feel so flustered upon seeing me that he cannot focus on his studies? Could it be that your feelings for me are deep-seated?”

In the Great Yan, the “custom of the dragon and sun” (homosexuality) was not favored. Shen Zhaoxue’s words were somewhat improper, and a listener might easily assume he was being intentionally difficult. Shen Zhaoxue, however, did not care for such reputation. He couldn’t be bothered to control his temper, and harsh words tumbled out one after another.

In front of outsiders, he was always calm and calculating; only toward Wan Shenghan did he show this side of his temperament. It was a pity he hadn’t seen the man before his death, otherwise he likely would have provoked him just like this.

Wan Shenghan returned to the window, watching him for a moment before sneering again. “I heard Young Master Shen’s ears cannot tolerate loud noises. Looking at you now, it seems the rumors were exaggerated. Your voice is certainly loud enough.”

Shen Zhaoxue snapped in frustration, “You—”

“I what?” Wan Shenghan sneered. “I have no enmity with you, yet I waste my time dealing with you for nothing. I don’t care about your grudge with Wan Jingyao, but if you can burn his courtyard today, you might burn the entire Wan estate tomorrow. To act so fierce yet be so weak inside—it is as if I owe you something.”

Shen Zhaoxue suddenly felt as though he had been struck by lightning. He stopped speaking.

Wan Shenghan certainly owed him. If the man hadn’t given him hope only to destroy it with his own hands, Shen Zhaoxue wouldn’t be so resentful. But he himself had also done wrong. Their grievances were so entangled that it was impossible to tell who owed more; the accounts could no longer be settled.

He wanted to retaliate, he wanted revenge. Every person who had ever pushed him into hell was on his list—except for Wan Shenghan. From his rebirth until now, he hadn’t decided what attitude to use with the man. Furthermore, the situation had changed; Wan Shenghan was indifferent to him in this estate, so there was no “love” to speak of.

He could only take it one step at a time, saying things that made the other uncomfortable to gain a moment of satisfaction.

Shen Zhaoxue lowered his eyes, his chest feeling empty and painful. After a moment, he slowly struggled out of the quilt. Wan Shenghan was no longer outside the window.

Shen Zhaoxue closed his eyes irritably. He and Wan Shenghan would likely be like this in this life—at each other’s throats with no further intersection.

Actually, that was fine. He didn’t know if he could change the terrible future in this second life, nor did he want to exhaust himself trying; he only wanted revenge. If the truth came to light one day and led to his death, it wouldn’t matter. This was all stolen time anyway; being able to take revenge on even one person was enough.

When Emperor Yuanshun summoned him in his previous life, his elder sister had already been dead for three years. Both he and Wan Shenghan assumed the Emperor wanted a male concubine who resembled his sister, but they later realized that wasn’t the case.

Emperor Yuanshun was never overly intimate with him; the most he did was have Shen Zhaoxue stay in the bedchamber overnight, occasionally asking for his opinion while reviewing memorials. Although Shen Zhaoxue had stayed home for years and never went out, and had no tutors, he possessed a unique talent for statecraft and strategy—he had personally guided Wan Shenghan until the man became the Top Scholar.

To him, the Emperor’s inquiries were minor matters that required only a few words to answer. Emperor Yuanshun trusted him implicitly and didn’t pry much, simply keeping him in the palace as an obscure “Right Envoy.”

Thinking back now, the reason for summoning him to the palace seemed forced. There seemed to be some unknown secret. Shen Zhaoxue’s head ached from thinking, and he couldn’t find any more reasons, so he temporarily pushed the thoughts to the back of his mind, wondering how to enter the palace.

This time, he had to reach Emperor Yuanshun’s side before Wan Shenghan became the Top Scholar, and then find a way to drag the Emperor off the throne. In his previous life, he had sought an ally—his elder sister’s child, who had been brave and strategic since youth, though his temperament was strange and not suitable for a ruler.

At that time, Wan Shenghan followed the Crown Prince to storm the Imperial City and seize the throne. His nephew had trapped him on the dragon throne to die in his stead—this was something Shen Zhaoxue still remembered clearly. He stroked his lower abdomen, where the sword had once pierced through, and a light smile floated onto his face.

Shen Zhaoxue was kept under house arrest by Wan Shenghan for several days, yet no one ever came to discuss the fire in Wan Jingyao’s courtyard. Shen Zhaoxue thought that Wan Shenghan clearly knew he had done it, but since the man had done nothing but ground him for a few days, he likely wanted to hush the matter up.

After the house arrest was lifted, Wan Shenghan did not visit the side courtyard again. Shen Zhaoxue’s cold hadn’t fully healed; he coughed frequently and spent some time recuperating behind closed doors.

Chunya brought him a pot of orchids to keep by the window. Shen Zhaoxue sat at the desk transcribing books, organized the pages, and handed them to Chunya. “After you sell these, buy a few more books for me.”

Chunya nodded. The Eldest Young Master was busy with the exams and rarely bothered with Shen Zhaoxue; the rest of the household simply ignored him. If Shen Zhaoxue wanted to move freely in the capital, he couldn’t be without money. He was transcribing books for others for now, but it was time-consuming, laborious, and earned very little. He would have to find other work soon.

Shen Zhaoxue stood up to tidy his brushes and ink. His sharp ears suddenly caught a movement outside. He opened the window to see Wan Jingyao had returned and was blocking Chunya’s path.

Shen Zhaoxue said coolly, “A son of a noble house bullying a woman—how truly embarrassing.”

“You—” Wan Jingyao snapped, shouting, “What nonsense are you talking? Who would care to bully a servant?”

His voice was truly loud; Shen Zhaoxue’s ears throbbed with pain. He frowned slightly and put on his ear covers, blocking out the other’s verbal abuse.

Wan Jingyao felt like he had punched a bale of cotton and was left speechless with frustration. He shoved Chunya aside, stomped up the stairs, and hammered violently on Shen Zhaoxue’s door.

Shen Zhaoxue couldn’t hear him and didn’t care. He washed his brush, then picked up the basin of ink-stained water, opened the door, and splashed it squarely onto Wan Jingyao’s face.

Wan Jingyao let out a cry, and the door slammed shut again with a bang.

Shen Zhaoxue said flatly, “Noisy.”

The ear covers blocked most of the sound, but Wan Jingyao’s pounding was so loud that even they couldn’t stop it. Shen Zhaoxue listened to him smash the door for a while, seeing it was about to break. He didn’t know why the boy had come looking for him today and irritably opened the door.

In the next instant, Wan Jingyao grabbed him by the collar and dragged him out of the courtyard. Shen Zhaoxue felt the collar choking him; he couldn’t keep up with the other’s pace and stumbled along the way, nearly falling several times.

Wan Jingyao raged, “You motherless slut! You dared to set fire to my courtyard! I think you’re trying to take my life!”

Shen Zhaoxue’s ear covers were crooked, so he heard every word. He endured the headache and said with a light smile, “Why would I go through so much trouble for your life? With just a few words, you’d be stupid enough to go seek death yourself.”

As soon as he finished, Wan Jingyao suddenly exerted force, pulling Shen Zhaoxue from behind and shoving him out of the Wan estate’s main gate. Shen Zhaoxue stumbled and tripped over a stone, falling sitting on the ground.

His palms were scraped and stinging with pain. He took a light breath and looked up at Wan Jingyao.

Wan Jingyao was once again intimidated by his gaze. He felt that Shen Zhaoxue was somewhat different from usual. In the three years he had been in the Wan estate, he had always been someone who didn’t fight back; even when bullied, he would try to hush things up. Even though he knew his cousin didn’t like him, he still shamelessly hovered around him.

He’s just a pitiful beggar wagging his tail for scraps, Wan Jingyao thought. He felt there was nothing to fear from Shen Zhaoxue; it was just that for some reason these past few days, the boy had actually dared to fight back.

He lifted his chin and said, “No matter how silver-tongued you are, you are ultimately an outsider. I am the Wan family’s Young Master.”

Shen Zhaoxue slowly climbed up and tidied his sleeves and hair, saying calmly, “Oh.”

Wan Jingyao was angry and confused by the reaction. Since Shen Zhaoxue learned to resist, things had become more interesting; he thought the boy would talk back, yet he had returned to that bland, boring manner.

Looking for trouble, he couldn’t help but add: “What do you mean ‘oh’? I’m telling you, Cousin isn’t here today let’s see who in this estate can help you.”

Shen Zhaoxue gave another “Mm.”

Wan Jingyao was truly fuming. Seeing Shen Zhaoxue preparing to bypass him and go back inside, he shoved him out again. “You still dare go back in? Today I shall expel you from the Wan estate in place of my uncle. Don’t dream of ever stepping foot in here again!”

Shen Zhaoxue remained calm, then decided he was acting too calm, so he perfunctorily said, “Oh my, please, I beg you, let me go inside.”

His submission, though his tone was strange, hit exactly what Wan Jingyao wanted. The boy couldn’t help but burst into laughter with his hands on his hips. “Dream on!”

He went inside the estate and slammed the main gate shut with a bang.

Shen Zhaoxue looked up at the sky, and a smile drifted across his face.