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Chapter 137: Chapter 137 Mu Yan Visits the General Mansion
Zhan Hui’s eyes were red. It turned out that both his grandfather and father had borne such a heavy burden.
After Zhan Beicang and Zhan Xinzhang left, Zhan Hui bowed to his ancestors’ tablets.
He stood up and left, heading to the back yard to knock on Zhan Lan’s door.
Zhan Lan was getting ready to go to bed when she heard Zhan Hui’s voice.
"Fourth Sister, can I talk to you alone?"
Zhan Lan put on her clothes, got up, and opened the door.
When she saw the redness in Zhan Hui’s eyes, she was startled and then followed Zhan Hui to the old house.
There was no one in the old house, so the two of them found a pavilion to sit down in, the candlelight in the lantern illuminating their faces.
Zhan Hui began, "Fourth Sister, I really don’t know who else to talk to about this."
Zhan Lan looked into Zhan Hui’s eyes and said, "Are your worries because of Chu Yin, or because of General Mansion?"
Zhan Hui was startled by Zhan Lan’s words. His fourth sister must see things more clearly than him, just like his father and grandfather did. Perhaps she already knew about Emperor Xuanwu’s intention to weaken the Zhan Family.
Zhan Hui nodded, "Both, Fourth Sister, you see things clearly and think further ahead than I do."
Zhan Lan sighed, "Big Brother, so it’s about Grandfather telling you that you cannot be with Chu Yin now, is it?"
Zhan Hui nodded helplessly.
Zhan Lan smiled and said, "If you truly like each other, then wait a bit longer for one another! If you want to be with Chu Yin forever, you’ll have to consider even more long-term issues."
She lowered her voice, "That is, how the Zhan Family can protect itself, and if we cannot protect ourselves, what should we do?"
Zhan Hui clenched his fists, "Just now, in the ancestral hall, seeing the tablets of so many ancestors, I felt really upset. If one day some people want to completely annihilate our Zhan Family, I will surely fight to the death to protect the Zhan Family!"
Zhan Lan smiled faintly, finally, with her instigation, Emperor Xuanwu had repeatedly intervened, and the loyal Zhan Family members had also come to see the emperor’s true face.
If one day she needs to raise the flag to overthrow the Si Family’s reign, the hearts of the Zhan Family members are already prepared.
"Good, Big Brother, I feel the same way!" Zhan Lan’s eyes seemed to dance with flames in the candlelight.
"Alright!" Zhan Hui stood up and said to Zhan Lan, "Another day, I will have a clear talk with Chu Yin."
"Okay." Zhan Lan nodded.
Zhan Hui and Zhan Lan each returned to their own courtyards.
Qiuyue was now serving Zhan Lan.
Every day she would relay to Zhan Lan what happened in the front yard, and of course, she also knew about the incident where Mrs. Zhang created a scene in the mansion.
Zhan Lan thought of Zhang Cheng as a sly and petty person; he would definitely take this opportunity to slander Chu Yin and Zhan Hui’s reputations.
She must find a way to silence that family.
...
Mu Residence.
Vermilion Bird noticed that the light was still on in Mu Yan’s room, and after reading the message from Yun He over and over again, he finally knocked on Mu Yan’s door.
"Master..."
"Speak!" Mu Yan’s voice was clear and cold.
"Just now, Yun He reported that Miss Zhan and Young Master Zhan Hui had a secret meeting at the old house in General Mansion; it seemed like they were discussing something."
Vermilion Bird relayed the message to Mu Yan without missing a word.
Mu Yan frowned, sitting up from his bed. What exactly is the relationship between Zhan Hui and Zhan Lan?
Why do they need to meet secretly?
Even if Zhan Lan is his biological sister, there should be distinctions between men and women, yet Zhan Hui seems not to know how to avoid suspicion!
Mu Yan said with a stern face, "I understand."
He was sitting at the table and noticed Zhan Lan’s shabby embroidered purse on the corner. He picked it up, looked at it carefully, and then tucked it into his pocket.
The next morning, after attending the early court session, Zhan Beicang returned and saw an extraordinarily luxurious carriage in front of his home.
He looked at it, confused, and entered the mansion.
In the living room, he saw Zhan Xinzhang sitting in the master’s seat, with Mu Yan seated beside him, comfortably enjoying his tea.
He frowned—this Mu Yan, the words he said the other day were not just jest!
He truly came to pay a visit, to curry favor.
Zhan Beicang walked in, and Mu Yan leaned back in his chair, smiling slightly, "General Zhan has returned!"
Zhan Beicang sat across from him, smiled lightly, and said, "Thank you, Lord Mu, for making the trip."
Mu Yan looked around and asked, "Where is Miss Zhan? Why isn’t she staying at the General Mansion?"
Vermilion Bird stood behind Mu Yan, his lips twitching—does the Master have no shame?
You spent the night in Miss Zhan’s boudoir, and now you still feign ignorance?
Zhan Beicang remained silent, cursing in his heart that Mu Yan was nothing but a libertine. If the other party uttered any more racy comments, he would kick him out.
Zhan Xinzhang stroked his beard and said, "Lan’s mother prefers peace and quiet, so she lives in the back courtyard. Right now, Lan should be at the academy, listening to Qingfeng Scholar lecture."
Mu Yan let out a long "Oh."
The servants brought over desserts and a large plate of cherries as lustrous and crimson as agate.
Zhan Beicang said with a smile, "Lord Mu, His Majesty personally bestowed a basket of cherries at the morning court today, for Lord Mu to taste."
Mu Yan nodded with satisfaction. After eating one, he curiously asked, "Didn’t you say there was a basket of cherries? Why is it just a plate here?"
Zhan Beicang nearly choked with anger because of Mu Yan.
A single cherry was an utter luxury in Nanjin, known as "the foremost among hundreds of fruits". Each year, the first harvest of cherries was first offered to the imperial ancestors at the ancestral temples, after tasting they were then used to reward and entertain the court ministers and nobilities inside and outside of the palace.
Probably, Emperor Xuanwu awarded a basket of cherries to the Zhan Family as a gesture to ameliorate relations with them.
Zhan Beicang looked at Mu Yan speechlessly—are his cheeks made of city walls?
Visiting someone’s home, he did not feel the slightest bit embarrassed, a large plate of cherries was not enough—he wanted a whole basket.
Zhan Beicang took a breath and said, "My daughter Xuerou loves cherries the most, so the rest were sent to her."
Upon hearing this, Mu Yan became displeased. He put down the cherry in his hand and stared at Zhan Beicang, "Doesn’t Miss Zhan Lan like them?"
Zhan Beicang’s eyebrows were nearly knotted—why can this man not leave Zhan Lan out of his speech for three sentences?
Was he here to visit them, or was he here to see Zhan Lan?
Zhan Beicang said irritably, "Zhan Lan has disliked them since she was a child."
Mu Yan lowered his gaze; that night, sleeping beside the drunken Zhan Lan, he had listened to her murmuring in her dreams all night long!
And in those dreams, she had said, "Daddy, I actually like cherries the most..."
This was completely inconsistent with what Zhan Beicang was saying now!
Mu Yan grew even more suspicious of Zhan Lan’s true background.
Why would Zhan Lan tell Zhan Beicang that she didn’t like cherries?
Why in her dreams did she yearn so much for one, why did she weep while talking about it?
Thinking of this, Mu Yan stood up, his voice cold, "The younger generation takes his leave."
Zhan Xinzhang had prepared some gifts of gratitude for Mu Yan, but before he could present them, Mu Yan was ready to depart.
Just as he thought to stand, he heard Housekeeper Zeng report, "Master, it’s terrible, Zhang Cheng’s mother has come again!"
