The Paranoid Male Lead’s "White Moonlight" Has Reborn - Chapter 10

The next day, Jiang Chaoyun heard the news that Jiang Zuoling had broken his leg.

Bixin prepared some tonics and planned to take Jiang Chaoyun to visit him. Jiang Chaoyun asked her, “Did my father say how he broke it?”

Bixin thought for a moment and said, “It seems that while he was at the cloth mill inspecting goods, he helped the workers hang some lanterns and accidentally fell.”

Jiang Chaoyun couldn’t help but complain, “He could have clearly let someone else do that kind of thing.”

His father was truly like that—he insisted on doing everything personally. In his previous life, he had also broken his arm while personally supervising work and had to recover at home for quite a while. Now, it was even worse; he had broken a leg.

Jiang Chaoyun went to Jiang Zuoling’s room to visit him. As soon as he entered, he smelled a heavy scent of medicine and a faint metallic tang of blood. He looked closer and saw some blood-stained cotton wads on the table.

Startled, Jiang Chaoyun asked in quick succession, “Father, why is there so much blood?”

As he asked, he looked at Jiang Zuoling, only to see medicinal patches stuck all over his face. Looking closely, his face also seemed quite swollen.

Jiang Zuoling let out a cough and said, “It’s nothing serious. When I fell, I hit a sharp stone. It’s already been bandaged.”

Looking at his bandaged leg, Jiang Chaoyun felt both pained and frustrated. “Father has so many managers and workers; you could have let them do those things. Why do it yourself? Now look what happened.”

As he spoke, his eyes turned red with distress.

Jiang Zuoling laughed, comforting him in a gentle tone, “Why are you crying? Don’t cry. Your father is a man who stands tall between heaven and earth; a minor injury like this is nothing. You are my son; don’t cry over such small things like a child.”

Jiang Chaoyun whispered, “But you are my father. As your son, of course it hurts to see you like this.”

Jiang Zuoling said, “My room is full of the smell of medicine; it’s quite pungent. Now that you’ve seen me, go back. Don’t stay out too much; be careful not to catch a cold. It’s quite chilly today.”

Jiang Chaoyun was moved. His father didn’t forget to care for him even at a time like this. Unfortunately, as a son, he couldn’t do anything for him except worry. After instructing the servants in Jiang Zuoling’s room to stew the tonics he brought, Jiang Chaoyun left.

Just as he left, Jiang Lin-shi (Mrs. Jiang) arrived to see her husband. She wasn’t as easily fooled as Jiang Chaoyun. At a single glance, she could tell that Jiang Zuoling’s injuries were the result of a beating. After watching him coldly for a while, she asked with feigned concern, “How is your body?”

Jiang Zuoling felt a bit tense. He said casually, “The doctor said it’s not a big deal, just a broken calf bone. It’ll be fine after two months of rest.”

Jiang Lin-shi asked, “Do you know who did it?”

“…” Seeing he couldn’t fool her, Jiang Zuoling waited a long while before muttering, “I don’t know. I’m still investigating.”

Despite saying that, Jiang Zuoling knew he likely wouldn’t find anything. The other party’s methods were too professional, leaving no evidence behind.

Jiang Lin-shi said, “The Jiang family has blocked many people’s paths over the years. Many people are eyeing us; you know this. Why weren’t you more careful? You’ve made Chaoyun worry for nothing.”

Jiang Zuoling was a bit annoyed by her constant mentions of Jiang Chaoyun. Was he not the one injured? Did she have eyes for no one but their son?

However, Jiang Zuoling didn’t lose his temper with her. He said, “I know. I didn’t let him stay long.” He couldn’t help but add, “My leg is broken, yet you don’t even show me some concern.”

“Am I not showing concern right now?” Jiang Lin-shi’s tone was very gentle. “Besides, if I concern myself with you, will your leg heal faster?”

Jiang Zuoling glared at her. This woman!

Jiang Lin-shi said, “Rest well. I will keep an eye on the shops.” With that, she left.

Once she was gone, Jiang Zuoling finally let out his anger. He reached for a teacup and slammed it onto the floor. However, the movement was too great, pulling at his injury and causing his handsome face to contort in pain.

The youth, feeling he had performed his mission perfectly, went to report back to Han Jiangmu.

Han Jiangmu, however, maintained a cold expression and asked, “Are you trying to find things for Jiang Lin-shi to do?”

Youth: “…” He asked cautiously, “Forgive my stupidity, but I don’t see the problem?”

Han Jiangmu fell silent again. But the youth could see he was dissatisfied. Feeling uneasy, he quickly changed the subject: “Master, I saw traces of Zhu Yuchun in Jiang City the day before yesterday. Should I go and regroup with him?”

Han Jiangmu said indifferently, “Leave him be.”

The youth wasn’t surprised. “Yes.”

Han Jiangmu added, “If there is a next time, take one of Jiang Zuoling’s hands.”

The youth froze, then immediately agreed.

After the youth retreated, Han Jiangmu stepped out of his room and heard Old Liu instructing the others: “The world isn’t peaceful lately; there are more petty thieves around. We must stay sharp. Add one more shift to the daily patrol; don’t let any thieves pay us a visit.”

The others agreed. Turning around and seeing Han Jiangmu, Old Liu immediately greeted him with a smile. “Brother Han, let’s go eat together.”

Han Jiangmu didn’t respond. Except in front of Jiang Chaoyun, he was a man of very few words. It wasn’t that he was naturally silent, but rather that he was usually too bothered to speak to others. Perhaps his innate arrogance and nonchalance made him so, yet he possessed a charisma that drew people to follow him. Even a rough man like Old Liu was attracted by this charm and followed him persistently.

Old Liu started talking about serious matters. “Speaking of which, the border city has been breached. I’m afraid it won’t be long before we have a new Emperor.”

Han Jiangmu’s footsteps paused. “You think the rebels will breach Yanjing?”

Old Liu was delighted to see a reaction. He felt that Han Jiangmu suited his tastes in every way, even down to caring about national affairs. He wanted to say something profound to impress him, so he said with feigned depth, “It’s hard to say. Though I don’t understand much, looking at our Emperor’s spineless habit of seeking peace whenever trouble arises, if the rebel army really reaches him, he’ll probably negotiate terms just to stay alive—like making the rebel leader a Prince or something.”

Although the north was in a mess, the Jiangnan region remained stable without any disturbances. As long as the common people’s lives weren’t heavily impacted, they didn’t really care who was the Emperor above. But people like them still hoped for an Emperor with some merit.

The previous Emperor had a fierce temperament; when foreign tribes invaded, he beat those barbarians to a pulp. However, as soon as the current Emperor ascended, he practiced nepotism, leading to the dominance of eunuchs. The upper levels were corrupt and the lower levels weren’t promoted; naturally, trouble arose over time.

Facts proved that the current Sage indeed lacked backbone. When foreign tribes invaded and the Yan soldiers couldn’t beat them, he could only seek peace, handing over tens of thousands of taels of gold and silver annually and ceding much land—including ten vital cities near Yanjing.

Anyone with clear eyes could see this was a case of “boiling a frog in warm water,” intended to besiege Yanjing. But the Emperor didn’t care; he felt that Great Yan had everything, and it was just a matter of giving money and land. If it could buy decades of peace and reduce soldier casualties, why not? As for the money, his Great Yan was rich in resources; the reparations could be found just by being a bit frugal.

Having done these things, the man felt quite moved by his own actions, thinking he was a truly good Emperor.

However, Yan faced not only external threats but internal strife. The Emperor had many brothers. The previous Emperor was vigorous externally but was a good father internally; he had settled all the Emperor’s brothers well, mostly making them Princes. The chosen Crown Prince was also the legitimate son. In his youth, the Emperor was relatively mild and obedient; though the previous Emperor felt he lacked edge, he left him many advisors, which should have been enough to be a “keeper” monarch. That was why the Emperor succeeded the throne.

Yet, a man like him only benefited from being the legitimate son. Whether his brothers accepted him was unknown. At his current age, with Yan going downhill in his hands, his brothers couldn’t sit still, leading to wave after wave of rebellion. The Emperor was either on the road to fleeing or currently fleeing. He had moved the capital three times in ten years, but he hadn’t lost his status as Emperor; he was still the noble “His Imperial Majesty.”

Han Jiangmu didn’t say a word in response to Old Liu. Behind those rebel armies could only be those vassal Princes, all waiting for someone to kill the Emperor so they could swoop in to “rescue the sovereign” and fight for the throne. It was a calculation understood by everyone, yet these martial men only thought it was a rebellion led by “people of vision.”

Old Liu didn’t know the inside story and spoke only superficial words. Han Jiangmu soon lost interest in listening.

After finishing the relatively lavish lunch provided by the Jiang mansion, he strolled to the outside of Jiang Chaoyun’s courtyard. Han Jiangmu’s hearing was sharp; even from outside the wall, he could hear Jiang Chaoyun’s voice.

With the warm jade, Jiang Chaoyun’s body had become very warm. Combined with the silver-charcoal filling the room with heat, he actually felt hot and insisted on opening the window to let the cold wind rush in.

Bixin tried her best to persuade him but found she couldn’t, so she had to comply. However, she didn’t open it much, leaving only a two-finger wide gap.

Jiang Chaoyun even had his own theory. He told Bixin, “Blocked is worse than channeled. Being cooped up in a room every day will eventually make one ill; it’s better to breathe some fresh air.”

Bixin humored him, “Yes, yes, young master is right.”

“Open it a bit more, I want to see the scenery outside.” Jiang Chaoyun sat by the window and pushed it open with one hand.

Before Bixin could object, Jiang Chaoyun asked her, “Will it snow this year?”

Bixin replied, “Probably not? It didn’t snow last year, so it likely won’t this year either.” As she spoke, she brought a bowl of soup to him. “Young master, quickly drink the tonic soup.”

Jiang Chaoyun knitted his elegant brows. “Is it tiger penis again?”

Bixin said, “The doctor said drinking this is useful; you must keep drinking it.”

Jiang Chaoyun let out a sigh, but he took the soup and obediently drank it all.

Han Jiangmu’s body slowly relaxed. He leaned back against the wall, the corners of his lips curling slightly.