The Mad Villain Driven to Death - Chapter 7

Shen Zhaoxue had not yet regained his composure when he saw Wan Shenghan walking toward him with a dark expression. He stood up instantly like a startled bird, but before he could retreat, the other man grabbed his arm.

Wan Shenghan’s grip was incredibly strong, like a predator pinning a bird’s wings, threatening to crush the bone. Shen Zhaoxue’s face shifted, turning pained and pale; he instinctively bit his lip and began to struggle.

Everyone present was a bit bewildered. Chen Luo, seeing the “soft jade” fall into an outsider’s hands, felt a surge of dissatisfaction. However, hindered by the prying eyes of the crowd, it was inconvenient to snatch him back. He could only ask, “What is the Eldest Young Master of the Wan family doing? Could it be that you have some grudge against Young Master Li?”

Shen Zhaoxue’s heart skipped a beat. Sure enough, he heard Wan Shenghan repeat with a half-smile, “Young Master Li?”

“Indeed. Young Master Li traveled a thousand miles to the capital to find a distant relative. How could he have offended you, Eldest Young Master?”

Shen Zhaoxue clicked his tongue inwardly, thinking that these noble sons were truly loose-lipped, revealing his entire “backstory” so quickly. He felt Wan Shenghan’s grip was too tight and tried to pull his wrist away, only to feel the hand tighten further, as if truly intent on snapping the bone.

Shen Zhaoxue began to feel the pain again. He was about to speak to shut them up and find a way to lead this sudden trouble—Wan Shenghan—away before his true intentions were exposed.

Wan Shenghan suddenly said, “I am his distant relative. This… Brother Li has some problems with his head. We have troubled you much; I shall take him back to the estate now.”

Shen Zhaoxue choked, a surge of rage rising in his chest. He nearly burst out in a curse. But Wan Shenghan had already dragged him out of the private box, through the brothel, and stuffed him into a carriage.

The noble sons had not yet reacted; they only looked at each other in the open doorway.

“True. Since he came from so far away, I noticed his clothes were only a bit soiled, not looking like he’d been on a long journey.”

Chen Luo also realized something was amiss. “Yes, he didn’t even have any luggage.”

“Perhaps it’s as the Eldest Young Master said—he has a problem with his head, hahaha.”

“What a pity. He looked quite respectable; I didn’t see any signs of a mental problem just now.”

Outside, the wind and rain were fierce, with occasional thunder. Shen Zhaoxue’s ears were pained and the noise was deafening, but his annoyance with Wan Shenghan was even stronger. The moment he was pushed into the carriage, he lifted the curtain to jump out, only to see Wan Shenghan standing under an umbrella with his arms crossed, staring at him blankly.

Shen Zhaoxue’s footsteps paused. He didn’t know what he was afraid of, but he raged, “Why are you ruining my reputation?”

“Is it your reputation I’m ruining? Is it not the reputation of ‘Young Master Li’?”

“You—”

Shen Zhaoxue was momentarily speechless. He thought of how he had been formidable in the court for many years, yet here he was, falling into Wan Shenghan’s hands again. While he was weighing his words, Wan Shenghan had already entered the carriage. Shen Zhaoxue retreated repeatedly until he fell back into the chair, staring intently as the other approached.

Wan Shenghan closed the carriage door tightly and sat opposite him, acting as if he intended to block any path for Shen Zhaoxue to leave.

He said, “Young Master Li certainly enjoyed his visit to the brothel, even making new friends.” Wan Shenghan took a cup from the small table, poured some tea, and said coolly, “Does Young Master Li not know that His Highness the Fifth Prince is a ‘broken sleeve’ (homosexual)?”

Shen Zhaoxue was not surprised. He thought to himself, Are you and I not also broken sleeves?

After a moment, he suddenly realized something. Chen Luo had always hidden his preferences very deeply. In his previous life, Shen Zhaoxue only discovered this secret by accident because Chen Luo had harassed him multiple times. How did Wan Shenghan know about it now?

A sudden chill ran down his spine. Shen Zhaoxue thought that since Wan Shenghan’s attitude was so strange and full of loathing, could he also be reborn?

Recalling their past love and hatred, Shen Zhaoxue sucked in a sharp breath of cold air, but he quickly regained his composure, planning to find a time to test him. Privately, he believed such a thing was impossible; a supernatural occurrence like this was suspicious enough once—how could it happen twice in the same era?

Perhaps he was overthinking. With Wan Shenghan’s abilities, digging up someone’s secret was not a difficult task if he was willing.

Shen Zhaoxue then thought of the “gift” he had left him before his death. He didn’t know if Wan Shenghan had eventually seen it; if he had, what kind of expression and thoughts would he have had? Shen Zhaoxue’s face remained impassive, but he felt a hidden sense of triumph, thinking that none of this had anything to do with him anymore.

He was already dead. If it weren’t for the heavens giving him a second chance, he would be a mere wandering ghost by now; why should he care about past matters?

Shen Zhaoxue didn’t want to deal with Wan Shenghan’s sarcasm and reached for a piece of dried fruit on the table. Before he could touch it, Wan Shenghan pulled the plate away.

Shen Zhaoxue was fuming. “Give it to me!”

“My ‘distant relative,’ Young Master Li,” Wan Shenghan sneered, “that does not seem like the tone a guest should use with a host.”

Shen Zhaoxue sneered back: “You really take yourself for a host. Win the Top Scholar title first before talking.”

“No need for your false concern.”

“Who has the leisure to be concerned about you?”

“You had best stay that way.”

Shen Zhaoxue gave a cold snort, closed his eyes, and leaned against the carriage wall, falling silent. The sound of the rolling wheels and the thunder and rain outside made him feel very uncomfortable. The ringing in his ears wouldn’t stop, and his temples throbbed with pain.

Shen Zhaoxue frowned and reached for the ear covers hidden in his sleeve, but found nothing. He immediately remembered that when Wan Shenghan was pulling and dragging him earlier, he must have accidentally lost them.

Irritated, Shen Zhaoxue blamed him again: “You lost my ear covers.”

Wan Shenghan’s tone was flat: “Blaming me again.”

“Why wouldn’t I?” Shen Zhaoxue muttered. “You were dragging me just now; it must have been lost then.”

Wan Shenghan gave an “Oh.” “Then let’s turn back and look for them.”

How could they possibly be found now? Besides, even if found, the wind and rain outside meant they likely couldn’t be used anymore. Shen Zhaoxue held his breath for a long while before saying, “No need.”

He had already endured outside for a long time; he could likely endure a bit longer. He had survived ten years of pain and humiliation in the palace; why fear these minor things? Shen Zhaoxue closed his eyes again, trying his best to ignore the noise.

After a moment, he heard a rustling movement from the opposite side, and a new pair of ear covers was tossed onto his knees. Shen Zhaoxue’s lashes trembled as he lifted his eyelids to look over.

Wan Shenghan was looking out the window at the rain with an expressionless face, saying coolly, “Bother.”

By the time they reached the Wan estate, the rain had not subsided. Several servants stood at the entrance with umbrellas, waiting for the carriage to stop to shield the two men.

Shen Zhaoxue lifted his hem and stepped down. Chunya ran forward anxiously, asking in sign language where he had been. Shen Zhaoxue knew no one in the estate understood her signing, so he gave a light cough and answered a different question: “I am fine.”

Unexpectedly, Wan Shenghan undercut him, saying, “She asked where you went, not if you were fine. Why? When you were visiting the brothel, you didn’t think it was hard to talk about?”

The veins in Shen Zhaoxue’s temples throbbed. He snatched an umbrella from a servant and led Chunya back to the side courtyard first.

Chunya was bewildered: Why did the Young Master go to a brothel?

Shen Zhaoxue couldn’t help but clench his fists. “To find someone to handle some matters.”

Chunya breathed a sigh of relief and signed: I thought the Young Master had started learning bad habits from the Second Young Master and the others.

Mentioning Wan Jingyao made her angry: Today the Second Young Master bullied the Young Master so much. I went specifically to the Shanyue Academy to bring the Eldest Young Master back, but the Young Master was nowhere to be found. Only when the Eldest Young Master asked did he find out that the Second Young Master had kicked the Young Master out of the estate.

Shen Zhaoxue had been arguing with Wan Shenghan the whole way and was currently drinking water. Hearing this, he suddenly sprayed the water out, coughing heavily. His voice turned raspy; he truly hadn’t expected that it was Chunya who had brought Wan Shenghan back, accidentally ruining his “good news” in such a coincidental way.

But Chunya meant well, so Shen Zhaoxue couldn’t blame her. He could only blame Wan Shenghan for actually coming—this was nothing like his usual indifferent style.

Fortunately, today wasn’t a total loss. Since he had become acquainted with Chen Luo, meeting him again in the future would be much simpler. He had to enter the palace before the Spring Imperial Examinations next year, then stand by Emperor Yuanshun’s side and continue the plan he hadn’t finished in his previous life.

And, he wanted revenge.

Aside from Wan Shenghan being different and exceeding his expectations, everything else was moving in the direction he had predicted. Shen Zhaoxue knew that the matter of revenge could not be rushed.

He changed out of his soiled clothes, bathed, and sat at the desk reading a book carefully. When it was time for the evening meal, Chunya went to urge the servants to bring the food, but she returned shortly with Wan Shenghan following her.

Shen Zhaoxue found it incredibly strange. Chunya clearly had a poor opinion of Wan Shenghan, so why did she always go to him whenever something happened? And now she had brought him here with her.

Shen Zhaoxue felt a headache. The youthful affection between him and Wan Shenghan was long gone; every time they met, there was conflict and endless arguing. His health was poor, and having traveled for a long time today, he was exhausted. He had no energy to argue with Wan Shenghan, and his expression turned cold.

Wan Shenghan sneered, “What? Not welcoming me?”

He carried a box and handed it to Chunya. Chunya set out the dishes, and handed An Yu his chopsticks. Shen Zhaoxue followed his custom of using a silver needle to test each dish; only when he found nothing did he pick up his chopsticks to eat.

After a while, he noticed Wan Shenghan staring at the needle case on the table. His gaze shifted, and he said calmly, “A weasel giving New Year greetings to a chicken—I’m seeing if the Eldest Young Master intends to poison me to death.”

“Would I need poison to harm you?” Wan Shenghan said sarcastically. “With a broken body like yours, I’d only need to kick you out to stand in the rain, and you’d die of illness on your own in the night.”

Shen Zhaoxue was too angry to speak. He lowered his head to eat, not wanting to deal with him. Wan Shenghan didn’t feel awkward and added, “Wan Jingyao was just acting tough because of his connections; did you not know how to resist when he pushed you out?”

Shen Zhaoxue thought to himself, Why would I resist? Wan Shenghan had locked him up for many days; he couldn’t waste such a hard-won opportunity. He gave Wan Shenghan a strange look, then lowered his eyes again.

How could Wan Shenghan know he didn’t want to talk? He gave a light “Tsk.” He wanted to say a few more things, but seeing the other’s terrible complexion and obvious exhaustion, he closed his mouth.

Shen Zhaoxue had a poor appetite; the Wan family’s food didn’t suit his taste, and he could never eat much. However, the food Wan Shenghan brought tonight was decent; he managed a few extra bites before stopping.

Wan Shenghan looked a bit disdainful: “Finished?” So much left over—what a waste. He said, “Don’t leave yet. I have something to say to you.”

Shen Zhaoxue hadn’t intended to leave; he crossed his arms and waited for the other to speak. Wan Shenghan told him he had punished Wan Jingyao by sending him to the countryside for a while. Later, he mentioned the Fifth Prince, Chen Luo.

He said, “The Fifth Prince has privately collected many men of exceptional beauty. His methods of toying with them are extremely despicable. If you don’t want to end up as a mangled corpse, stay away from him.”

Shen Zhaoxue stared blankly at the leftovers. Wan Shenghan had actually finished all the food he had left over while talking? He really wasn’t picky.

“Shen Zhaoxue?” Wan Shenghan frowned. “Are you listening to”

He paused, his voice suddenly rising, “Shen Zhaoxue, are you having another fever?”