Union

Chapter 154 Duke Xuan’s Mansion
Chen Yanzhou remained expressionless as he entered Wenhua Garden with Aunt Ding and had lunch with his mother, Madam Feng, and his sister, Chen Yanxi.

After lunch, Chen Yanxi was unusually not sleepy, and she begged her second brother to play chess with her.

Chen Yanzhou said, "Your chess skills are not good. I'm afraid you'll fall asleep before you finish a game. It's rare that you're awake today, so let your second brother accompany you to paint."

Chen Yanxi nodded reluctantly, "Okay, that's fine too."

Madam Feng sat nearby, watching the brother and sister talk with a smile. Upon hearing this, she asked Aunt Ding to go to the small study to fetch her writing brush, ink, paper, and inkstone.

The weather was nice today, the sun was shining brightly, but it was still a bit chilly outside. So, Ms. Feng had her two children paint in front of the glass window inside the house.

Chen Yanzhou was primarily responsible for the painting, while his younger sister, Chen Yanxi, was in charge of applying colors and adding inscriptions. Clearly, this wasn't the first time the siblings had done this, and they worked together seamlessly. In no time, a winter scene was completed.

Look closely at the picture: a group of people wearing raincoats are traveling through a vast snowstorm, braving the cold wind. The wind and snow swirl and sweep across everything on the ground, making the travelers' hair, clothes, and even their heavy packs billow and flutter wildly.

The group of people in the snow were all dressed in black, riding on black steeds. Only one person's clothing was inadvertently revealed, a glimpse of a pinkish-white corner, which seemed like a blur to the eye, and was quickly covered by the clothes of the person behind him, which were being blown about by the wind.

Chen Yanxi paused, somewhat stunned, as she finished coloring.

She called out, "Second Brother."

Chen Yanzhou looked over. "What's wrong?"

Chen Yanxi then pointed to the leader on horseback and asked, "Is there someone sitting behind him?"

Chen Yanzhou looked down at his younger sister with his dark eyes, "You figured it out?"

"I'm not blind!" Chen Yanxi rested her chin on her hand, looking at the rosy cheeks. "Second Brother, why are there women in your writings?"

What happened to the woman?

“Second Brother, you never used to paint women. You said that no matter what you paint, you have to have a clear idea in mind. Otherwise, the painting will only be a mere form without any spirit, which is a flaw in the painting. But this woman you painted…”

"how?"

This time, Chen Yanzhou didn't receive a reply from his sister, but he did hear his mother coming this way.

Little Feng glanced at the painting the siblings were discussing, and naturally noticed the touch of pink behind the black clothes. Though it was only a faint glimpse of color, this single vibrant touch added endless mystery to the painting, and even the raging snow and suffocating wind seemed to gain a touch of passion.

Ms. Feng said in surprise, "The painting is quite good."

At first glance, it feels a bit oppressive, but upon closer inspection, it's alright. However, the feeling of seeking destruction and creation is too distinct. It's like trying to break through the sweeping snowstorm and usher in a new world...

Such a painting was not something her usually steady and mature son would paint.

I wonder what this child went through in Yungui County, and what he wants to break through now.

Madam Feng only made a few brief comments before leaving the brother and sister to rest.

She has always had the habit of taking a nap, and even though the days are short now, she still needs to rest for at least fifteen minutes, otherwise she gets a headache before the afternoon is over.

After Xiao Feng left, Chen Yanzhou and his sister Chen Yanxi exchanged a few more words before leaving Xiao Feng's courtyard together.

When they parted at the gate of the courtyard, Chen Yanxi was also feeling a little drowsy.

Seeing this, Chen Yanzhou couldn't help but pat his sister's head twice, "Go back and rest."

"Okay, I'm leaving now. You go ahead and get busy, brother."

After Chen Yanxi finished speaking in a muffled manner, she was helped away by the nanny beside her.

Chen Yanxi appeared normal at birth, but as she grew older, her abnormalities became increasingly apparent. She seemed exhausted every day and needed to sleep for long periods before waking up.

Initially, the Duke of Rong was worried that the child might be unwell, and even invited the imperial physician to the manor to examine her. However, the physician examined her thoroughly but couldn't find anything wrong. In the end, he could only conclude that the child was just a little sleepy and that it wasn't a serious problem.

And so Chen Yanxi grew up. Although she always slept for seven hours a day, fortunately, apart from being a bit sleepy and lazy, she was otherwise normal. Gradually, the people of the Rongguo Duke's Mansion stopped taking it seriously.

As for Chen Yanzhou, after watching his sister return to the courtyard, he also returned to the front yard.

In the front yard, Mo Xue and the other two were all on high alert.

Upon seeing Chen Yanzhou approach, the three hesitated, but their expressions eventually became unusually solemn.

What can they say?

At a time like this, anything you say will be wrong, right?

The three remained silent. Chen Yanzhou went into the study for a short while, then came out again and said, "Have someone prepare a car and go to Donglaishun."

The three of them suddenly looked up at them, and Sui Yu asked, "You mean, go to Donglaishun Restaurant?"

"how?"

"Nothing, nothing."

Sui Yu hurried down to make arrangements, but in her heart she was pondering how the Second Master planned to deal with the matter between Lin Shuqing and the Second Prince.

It's absolutely impossible to expect Second Master to take this matter lightly and let it go easily.

But it seems unlikely that this incident will directly crush those two.

So, what exactly is Second Master planning to do? How can he maximize his profits?
As Sui Yu pondered these things, she suddenly remembered who owned the Donglaishun Restaurant.

Was she a concubine of the Crown Prince, or an official in the Crown Prince's palace?
I can't remember exactly who it was, but Donglaishun was definitely an enterprise belonging to the Crown Prince.

The Eastern Palace...

Sui Yu had a feeling that he had figured out the truth.

For the next two days, Chen Yanzhou remained very busy, so busy that he didn't have time to get together with a few friends until the 29th day of the twelfth lunar month.

Of course, not everyone showed up for this gathering.

The person who was least likely to be absent, yes, it was Liu Ying'an, but he was absent.

As for the reason for his absence, Liu Ying'an accompanied his grandmother to Tingchan Temple to invite their ancestor home for the New Year's Eve dinner. This ancestor was Liu Ying'an's great-aunt, a generation older than the current Marquis of Wu'an's wife, and was the current Marquis of Wu'an's aunt.

The old lady is very long-lived, already over ninety years old this year. However, since most of her peers have passed away and almost all her old friends are no longer alive, she has been living in the mountains for the past few years. Unexpectedly, since then, her health has become even better, and it looks like she will live past one hundred.

This centenarian is fine to be left to her own devices on the mountain, but during holidays and festivals, she should at least be invited down to join her children and grandchildren for some fun. Otherwise, it just doesn't seem right.

When Liu Ying'an and Tingchan Temple were mentioned, Chen Yanzhou showed no unusual expression, as if these things had nothing to do with him.

The conversation quickly turned back to Gu Yuanxi. Chen Songnian, who served in the imperial court, was relatively well-informed. He asked Gu Yuanxi, "Is General Pingxi going to the capital in the next couple of days?"

The General Who Pacifies the West is none other than Gu Yuanxi's biological father, Gu Wangchen.

Speaking of Gu Yuanxi's family, they appear glamorous and prosperous on the outside, but inside they are a complete mess.

This mess isn't just about family members arguing and fighting over who's who, and the various branches of the family getting bogged down in disputes over unequal distribution of benefits.

No! The Duke of Xuanguo's mansion, where Gu Yuanxi was born, did not have such power struggles among the different branches of the family because of the limited number of offspring.

However, there was a hidden wound in the manor that no one could mention, because mentioning it would cause everyone in the manor to feel pain in their hearts, livers, spleens, and lungs.

This is an old case that also occurred during the rebellion of the king.

At that time, the Duke of Xuan was also personally selected by His Majesty to accompany him at the Summer Palace.

At the Rongguo Duke's Mansion, it was because Chen Yanqing contracted smallpox that Xiao Fengshi did not go to the Summer Palace. When they arrived at the Xuanguo Duke's Mansion, the then Xuanguo Duke's heir and his wife, who were also Gu Yuanxi's parents, did not go with them either. Although the reasons were different from those of Xiao Fengshi, they were similar.

That is, the wife of the heir apparent of the Duke of Xuan was also pregnant. She was more than nine months pregnant and was about to give birth.

Therefore, the Duke and Duchess of Xuanguo took their eldest grandson Gu Yuanming and second grandson Gu Yuanxi with them, leaving only the young couple in the mansion. They originally thought that after this trip, when they returned, the mansion would have a new son or daughter, but to their surprise, both adults and children were gone.

The adult's body was eventually found, but the child was nowhere to be found, neither alive nor dead.

Gu Wangchen, the heir apparent of the Duke of Xuan, was also serving in the Imperial Guard at the time. He was the first to notice the upheaval in the capital. Realizing something was amiss, he settled his wife and went to the palace. But when he returned, his home was no longer a home, and his residence was no longer a place to live.

Gu Wangchen was devastated and remained depressed for three years. Three years later, he packed his bags and left the capital. He only returned once, for his eldest son's wedding, and never went back to the capital again.

This was a hidden wound for the Duke of Xuan's family, but they weren't the only ones aware of it. Look around the entire capital; whose affairs are unknown to outsiders?

However, given the particularly tragic experience of this General Pingxi, no one spoke of it.

Now that Chen Songnian has mentioned that General Pingxi is returning to the capital, not only Gu Yuanxi was stunned, but Zhou Zhenshu and Chen Yanzhou were also slightly taken aback.

Gu Yuanxi wiped his face. "You're well-informed. My father will definitely be home by tomorrow night at the latest. He can't afford not to come back any longer. My grandfather has been sending three letters a day urging him to come back, saying that if my father doesn't come back soon, he won't be able to see him one last time."

Gu Yuanxi's grandfather, the Left Vice Minister of the Ministry of Personnel who can still slam his fist on the table and shout at people, truly walked with a swagger and spoke with a roar.

Outsiders say that his ancestors came from the military, and in his generation he actually rose to the position of Vice Minister of the Ministry of Personnel. They wonder if it's because the feng shui of the Duke of Xuan has changed.

The old man wasn't happy to hear that and immediately started cursing, saying, "My family is full of people skilled in both literature and martial arts. I can be a vice minister, and my son can fight the Tartars. My two grandsons are both good at literature and martial arts. The feng shui of our Duke of Xuan's mansion is excellent..."

Whether the feng shui of the Duke of Xuan's mansion is good or bad is not for outsiders to judge. However, for Gu Wangchen, the current General of Pingxi, the Duke of Xuan's mansion is a place of sorrow.

Whenever Gu Yuanxi thought of his father, he couldn't help but think of all the things his grandmother was busy with.

As a junior, he shouldn't speak ill of his elders. But he had been holding this in for a long time, and apart from his brothers, he really didn't know who else to talk to.

Gu Yuanxi said with distress, "I've reached the age where I need to get married. It's one thing for my grandmother to be busy choosing a wife for me, but she's also arranging for my father to remarry..."

Zhou Zhenshu laughed when he heard this, "General Pingxi is not yet fifty years old."

“I know this better than you do. Is that the point? The point is, if my father wanted to remarry, he would have done so long ago after my mother passed away. He's been single ever since because he can't let go of my mother. But my grandmother always says that my father is getting old and needs someone to take care of him…”

Gu Yuanxi rarely talks about his family's troubles outside; in the past, it was Liu Ying'an and the others who talked about them while he idly listened, munching on melon seeds.

This time it wouldn't work; he felt incredibly stifled.

He understood his grandmother's desire for his father to remarry, but he understood his father even more and felt even more sorry for his mother.

My father's entry into the palace was a duty, but as a subject, he failed to protect his wife who was about to give birth. This allowed my mother to escape through a secret passage before the rebels arrived. Whether the passage was exposed or for some other reason, my mother escaped far enough and died outside from postpartum hemorrhage.

Almost all the maids and servants who accompanied his mother perished in that turmoil, and no one could say for sure what exactly happened. They also didn't know whether his mother had given birth to a sister or a brother, whether that child had been born safely, or whether he was still alive and well.
Every time I think about this, it brings me excruciating pain.

At this point, they still wanted him to help persuade his father to remarry, but he couldn't bring himself to ask.

Gu Yuanxi became increasingly annoyed by his family matters, and finally decided to stop thinking about them altogether, instead pulling a few of his brothers along for a drink.

Chen Yanzhou cooperated and drank quite a bit with them. Zhou Zhenshu, craving alcohol, also drank some. Only Chen Songnian, who had to work the next day, couldn't drink, but occasionally poured them a glass.

Thus, the group dispersed when curfew was imposed.

The next morning, various sacrificial activities began.

The manor doesn't need him for the time being, so after having breakfast, Chen Yanzhou put on his cloak, mounted his horse, and prepared to go to Linghui Temple.

He'll go crazy if he doesn't see Yunying again.

He feared that if he let Yunying listen to and read scriptures again, she would become a nun before he went mad.

He brought her to the capital to give her a proper background, so that she could walk in the sunlight with dignity. He didn't want to push her into a nunnery.

However, just as he was about to pull the reins, the Duke of Rongguo called out from inside the door, "What are you doing up so early? I was just looking for you. Go and invite some of the clan elders over to discuss the opening of the ancestral hall and the sacrificial ceremony this year."

Chen Yanzhou was stopped and had no choice but to dismount reluctantly and accept the task.

This task was never-ending. Once the clan elders were invited, the meeting began. Since Chen Yanzhou had already started a family and entered officialdom, he also wanted to listen in. Thus, he sat in a chair and listened to his uncles' lively discussions for an entire afternoon.

After finally managing to find some free time to get some fresh air, Chen Yanzhou never wanted to go back.

Unexpectedly, Chen Yanqing shared the same thoughts as him.

The two brothers, both in dire straits, looked at each other. They couldn't both stay behind. If they didn't go back, their father would lose face and might kill them.

With no other choice, and despite their reluctance, the two had to go back into the ancestral hall.