CHAPTER 231: CHAPTER 228 WHAT DO YOU HAVE WITHOUT PRINCE MANOR?

Xu Yin glanced at her, "That fool Yongping, you expect her?!"

Lian Rong paused, then looked at him, "Master, do you really think the Commandery Princess can’t handle it, or do you not want her to handle it?"

Xu Yin stared, "What are you talking about?"

Lian Rong spoke slowly, "Master, back then, you had some genuine feelings for Liang Ning, right? After five or six years of living together day and night, if you didn’t have some true feelings, you might deceive Liang Ning, but you couldn’t deceive other members of the Liang Family.

"You mentioned more than once that Fu Zhen resembles Liang Ning, and when painting these pictures, isn’t it akin to painting Liang Ning through these portraits?

"When Fu Zhen hit the Commandery Princess, you didn’t intervene. That night after the Commandery Princess sought you in a rage, you took the flute Liang Ning gave you and played it beneath the Fu Residence’s walls.

"I know you were testing Fu Zhen, but if you truly had no feelings for Liang Ning, there would be no need to test her.

"Liang Ning couldn’t possibly still be alive. Resurrection after death is absurd.

"But you still wanted to test, doesn’t that show you hold some hope that Liang Ning could somehow return to life?"

After he finished speaking, Xu Yin still stared at him unwaveringly. "What exactly are you trying to say?"

Lian Rong said, "I am trying to say, Fu Zhen is not Liang Ning, Master mustn’t mistake her."

Xu Yin’s gaze lingered on his face for a long time, then sneered, "When did I give you such a misconception? Just a few paintings, what do they represent? I can paint Fu Zhen today, and another woman tomorrow. Do you also think that just because of these paintings, I’m an unfaithful man?"

"Master..."

"Enough!" Xu Yin said sternly, eyes filled with deep displeasure, "If you’re so idle, think about how to stabilize Pei Zhan’s side. Today’s meal was not pleasant at all!

"And Zhe Yu’s side, why is he still alive?!"

Lian Rong bent his head deeply, "I will find a way with the Pei family. I have already greased the palms of those around Zhe Yu, it can’t be delayed much longer.

"I mean no harm, just hope that Master doesn’t indulge in blind affection towards Fu Zhen. She is our enemy..."

"Master, the Commandery Princess is here!"

As he said this, a servant’s voice came from outside.

The two inside immediately stopped talking.

Lian Rong glanced at Xu Yin and then walked out, bowing deeply to Yongping who just arrived at the door, "Commandery Princess."

Yongping didn’t even glance at him, stepped inside with a sullen face.

"I have something to ask you!"

Xu Yin furrowed his brows, "Are you scolding me or ordering me?"

Yongping glanced over the pictures on his desk, grabbed one, unfolded it, and shoved it in front of him, "Why did you paint her?!"

"Didn’t Lian Rong tell you everything? You still come to me after everything is clear; are you dissatisfied and want to hear a different answer from me?"

Yongping gritted her teeth, "Did she really covet you, and you never responded?"

Xu Yin took the picture from her hand and tore it to shreds in his hand! He swept the remaining ones on the table to the floor with one swoop!

"What do you think?"

His eyes were sharp, like knives piercing through, "Are you satisfied now?"

Yongping, who came in aggressive, was suddenly at a loss seeing him like this.

Xu Yin said, "We’ve been married for a few years, aren’t you aware of how I conduct myself in private? With just a few drawings, you dare to put on airs in front of me?"

Yongping was so angry that her face turned red, "Is it my fault? You are already married, and yet drew other women!"

"So what if I’m married?" Xu Yin sneered, "Back then when you seduced me, wasn’t I also a married man! When you tried every opportunity to seduce me, Taiping—she never questioned me like this, like a shrew!"

Yongping immediately blushed, screamed, "You’re still calling her Taiping? She’s dead!"

"So what if she’s dead? Even if she turns into dust, I will remember her! She was more than just the young lady of the Liang Family, she had her own name! In the northwest, she was a renowned heroine, one who could fight on the battlefield alongside men!

"And you? All you do is stare at me every day! Just basking in your Commandery Princess status, throwing your weight around! Think about it, without the Prince Manor, what do you have left? What right do you have to dictate how I remember her?!"

"Xu Yin!"

Yongping screamed at the top of her lungs.

But Xu Yin coldly turned away from her and left without looking back.

Yongping chased into the courtyard, catching only the trail of his cloak disappearing at the gate.

"Commandery Princess!"

Her personal maid quickly walked over to support her.

Tears flowed like springs from Yongping’s eyes.

"The Master is too much! Commandery Princess, shall we report to the Princess?"

Yongping turned around and slapped her, scolding angrily, "Last time I reported to Consort, he resented me. You want me to report again? Do you want to see us completely break apart?"

The maid, holding her face, dared not speak again.

Yongping stared at the empty doorway, and suddenly wiped her tears away with a forceful hand.

"Send someone to invite Lou Zhao, the Commander of the Five Cities Military Office, to visit me at the mansion early tomorrow morning!"

...

Just as Fu Zhen anticipated, the next day Princess Rong heard the news of Zhe Yu’s awakening, and there was noticeably more traffic to the Zhe Family’s residence that day.

However, this did not mean that Zhe Yu was out of danger. But the person Guo Song sent to Luoyang to fetch the old military doctor was already on the way back to the capital, and as long as nothing unexpected happened in the next ten days or so, survival shouldn’t be much of a problem.

After all, the Imperial Physicians in the palace primarily focus on keeping the Empress healthy, and their experience with traumatic injuries was far less than that of military doctors in the field. It was best to leave the matter to the old military doctor.

To avoid distressing Zhe Yu, Fu Zhen hadn’t visited these past two days. She was also annoyed with this stubborn fellow, deciding to let him be for a while.

Early in the morning, Mrs. Ning sent word for Fu Zhen and Pei Zhan to dine at Wanbin Building that evening. Someone had procured a small basket of fresh and lively pufferfish.

This season, pufferfish were difficult to come by. Mrs. Ning couldn’t bear to sell them and wanted to keep them for Fu Zhen, so she invited General Liang and others to gather together.

Wanbin Building employed skilled Yangzhou chefs who specialized in river cuisine and were experienced in handling pufferfish. During the pufferfish season, Fu Zhen and company had already dined on them several times and they had been highly praised every time.

Fu Zhen agreed wholeheartedly.

After finishing her martial arts practice that afternoon, she was about to send someone to pick out some imperial-quality rouge paper and inks to take to Mrs. Ning in the evening when Ziyan suddenly brought in Li Jiang.

"Young Madam! Something major happened at Wanbin Building!"

Unsure of how fast he ran over, but Li Jiang, a guard trained by the General’s Mansion, was so out of breath that he couldn’t even speak coherently after uttering just one sentence!