Chapter 150: Offending Yu Huatian (Double Chapter)

Hearing that androgynous voice, Madam Wang immediately knew that the person standing outside the door was a damned eunuch. Madam Wang herself was a woman of supreme arrogance, and this arrogance had increased threefold ever since her daughter entered the imperial palace to become an imperial concubine.

Of course, this was assuming Madam Wang did not yet know the identity of the newcomer.

This was hardly surprising. Ever since Murong Fu informed her that Wang Yuyan had entered the palace as a concubine, although Madam Wang did not say much outwardly, she had grown increasingly strict with her servants and started looking down upon everyone.

Consequently, among Zhu Yu's entire entourage, other than knowing Zhu Yu was the Emperor, Madam Wang remained completely oblivious to the identities of anyone else.

In her view, given her current status, others should be rushing forward to introduce themselves. As the mother of the Emperor’s favored consort, how could she possibly lower herself to exchange polite pleasantries with mere nobodies?

Such a self-degrading act was something she would never do.

To an outsider, such behavior would undoubtedly brand Madam Wang as insane. Yet, if one truly immersed oneself in Madam Wang’s perspective, it was not entirely difficult to understand.

Consider this: for decades, day in and day out, a person had resided in the Man陀 Manor (Mandala Manor) as its absolute master, receiving endless flattery, getting whatever she desired, and issuing commands that subordinates would gladly risk their lives to execute.

Such a life was even more carefree and unrestrained than that of an emperor. To have lived in such an environment for decades and still maintain a shred of awe and reverence for the Emperor was already proof that this woman had some substance.

This was largely thanks to the education Madam Wang received in her youth, her past experiences, and her early days wandering the martial arts world.

Otherwise, had her temperament remained unchanged and she had spent her entire life growing up inside Mandala Manor, enjoying such pampered existence, she would likely have dared to stand right before Zhu Yu and shout: "Are kings and nobles, generals and ministers, made of a different mold?"

Her present conduct, though overbearing, became understandable when viewed through the lens of empathy.

In Madam Wang's mind, after her fierce reprimand, the eunuch outside the door should at the very least be trembling with fear and begging for mercy, if not kowtowing in apology.

Yet the response echoing from outside caught Madam Wang completely off guard. Just a mere eunuch, how could he be so spine-stiffened?

By her usual standards, anyone speaking to her in such a manner would already have been turned into fertilizer for her camellias. However, that androgynous yet unyielding voice outside served as a sharp reminder that she was merely the master of a small manor, and there were plenty of people in this world who held her in absolute contempt.

Suppressing her simmering rage, Madam Wang glared hatefully at Wang Yuyan before slamming the door and storming off.

When Madam Wang opened the door, Wang Yuyan and Yu Huatian caught sight of each other. Yu Huatian said nothing unnecessary; with a polite nod of acknowledgment, he followed behind Madam Wang.

After walking a few paces into the dark night, Madam Wang noticed that the handsome eunuch from the doorway was still tailing her. This thoroughly irritated a woman whose temper was already flaring, prompting her to vent her frustrations.

"Didn't you say it's late at night? Why are you following me? Why don't you hurry back and wait on your master properly?
What? Keeping pace with me all this time—don't tell me you have some improper ideas about me?
Logically speaking, given your pretty face, letting you have a merry night wouldn't be the worst thing. Come to think of it, wouldn't I be the one taking advantage of you?
What a pity, though, that you're a eunuch. Tsk tsk, what a useless waste! Hahaha..."

Having vented her spleen, Madam Wang felt a great deal more relaxed and strode toward her quarters with a hearty laugh.

Standing in the gloom of the night, Yu Huatian was left dumbfounded by Madam Wang's stream of insults. How many years had it been since anyone dared to speak to him in such a manner?

Naturally, Yu Huatian's thought subconsciously excluded the Emperor and the consorts of the inner palace.

Originally, Yu Huatian had only intended to follow her and issue a stern warning. But now, Yu Huatian's face turned utterly cold and gloomy.

As Madam Wang walked back toward her room, she stepped into the illumination cast by the doorway lantern. Seemingly sensing something, she turned her head back once more, only to find Yu Huatian standing at a distance that was neither too far nor too close.

Caught completely off guard by the abrupt sight of Yu Huatian, Madam Wang gave a start and instinctively cursed aloud.

"Are you out of your mind? Why are you following me this late at night? You damned eunuch, don't tell me you really harbor thoughts of tasting forbidden flesh?"

Hearing Madam Wang's harsh and grating words, Yu Huatian's expression remained entirely unchanged as he calmly replied, "Nothing much. This servant merely came to memorize the path."

"Memorize the path? Why would you need to do that?"

Still trying to steady her nerves, Madam Wang instinctively shot back at Yu Huatian's words.

"It will prove useful eventually." Yu Huatian gave Madam Wang a deep, meaningful look before turning and stepping back into the night.

That final look from Yu Huatian sent a slight chill through Madam Wang's heart. Watching his figure, which was already beginning to blur into the darkness, she raised her voice and demanded:

"Such unbridled audacity! Are you threatening me? What is your name? Tomorrow I shall have a proper word with the Emperor about this."

For reasons unknown, Madam Wang instinctively invoked the Emperor to bolster her courage.

After waiting for a long moment, a distant yet crystal-clear voice echoed from the depths of the night: "This servant is Yu Huatian!"

Waiting a while longer and realizing Yu Huatian had truly departed, Madam Wang muttered his name under her breath before turning to enter her room.

"Yu Huatian? Such a familiar name, right on the tip of my tongue. How could I have forgotten it?"

Upon entering her room, Madam Wang lit the oil lamps, and along with them, her somewhat sluggish wits.

A sharp crack echoed from within Madam Wang's chamber, though it was unclear what she had accidentally broken.

Yet the trembling words that immediately followed from Madam Wang would have been clearly heard by anyone standing outside the door:

"C-Chief Supervisor of the Western Depot? Y-Yu Huatian?"

..........................

The next day, as dawn broke, Madam Wang carried a tray of breakfast and knocked on Zhu Yu's door.

Zhu Yu and Jiang Yuyan, whose sweet sleep had been rudely disturbed, were naturally in no pleasant mood. However, upon opening the door, Madam Wang's sudden shift in demeanor left both of them utterly stunned, making them momentarily wonder if they were still dreaming.

Once they confirmed that reality was not a dream, Zhu Yu still harbored an eerie sense of unreality. Had her soul been swapped? Or did Madam Wang have an identical twin sister?

Throughout that entire morning, Madam Wang waited upon Zhu Yu and Jiang Yuyan with meticulous care, leaving not a single flaw to be picked—a level of comfort that surpassed even sleep itself.

Once her tasks were finished, Zhu Yu caught sight of Madam Wang's hesitant, stammering expression and understood immediately.

"Is there something on your mind? Speak your mind directly."

Hearing Zhu Yu's words, Madam Wang paid no heed to Jiang Yuyan's curious gaze from the side and recounted the events of the previous night in the briefest summary possible.

Although Madam Wang glossed over the exact details of what transpired last night, Zhu Yu easily grasped the core issue.

After pressing her for more details on the ambiguous parts, Zhu Yu stared at Madam Wang in astonishment and asked:

"Are you saying you offended Yu Huatian yesterday? You cursed him as a damned eunuch? And even mocked his lack of manhood?"

Upon receiving Madam Wang's confirmed nod, Zhu Yu could not help but feel a surge of profound admiration for her.

Oblivious to the changing expressions on Zhu Yu's face, Madam Wang asked with lingering anxiety:

"Your Majesty, I acted entirely out of ignorance last night; I had no idea he was Yu Huatian. Surely someone of Superintendent Yu's stature wouldn't stoop to bickering with a weak woman like me, right?"

"Well, how should I put this? The words you hurled at him last night aren't the first time someone has said them to Yu Huatian."

Hearing this, Madam Wang's eyes lit up as she eagerly pressed: "And then? What happened to those people?"

"Aside from Us, the rest of them have long since passed away. As for whether torture was used before they died... that was too long ago, We don't remember."

At these words, the color drained from Madam Wang's face, turning ashen for a fleeting moment before she quickly pulled herself together and pleaded:

"Your Majesty, for Yuyan's sake, I beg you to save this humble subject! I truly acted without malice last night."

Looking at Madam Wang before him, and recalling the Madam Wang he had met just yesterday, a strange sense of amusement washed over Zhu Yu.

"Clang, clang, clang."

Before Zhu Yu could offer any words of comfort, a crisp knocking sound echoed from the door.

Following the sound, standing right at the threshold was none other than Yu Huatian!

"Oh, Madam Wang, to think you actually troubled His Majesty over such a trivial matter between us?"

Though Yu Huatian's words sounded like gentle banter, a closer look revealed a chilling smile that didn't reach his eyes—a gaze cold enough to freeze a person to their core.

"This—this—I—yesterday this humble subject failed to recognize Mount Tai. I earnestly pray Superintendent Yu will be magnanimous and forgive me."

Sensing the hostility, Madam Wang immediately offered a submissive apology.

Yu Huatian, however, remained entirely unfazed. Instead, he maintained a solemn expression and said, "Madam Wang, this servant has matters to report to His Majesty. If you have no other business, I must ask you to withdraw."

Madam Wang had assumed that, given her status and the fact that she had already apologized to this extent, Yu Huatian would at least relent verbally, regardless of lingering resentment.

Never did she expect Yu Huatian to brush her aside so coldly. With Zhu Yu right beside them, Madam Wang's composure crumbled, and her expression turned unsightly.

"R-Right, important matters come first. You two discuss them; I'll go check if Yuyan has woken up."

Uttering a polite formality to save face, Madam Wang fled in a panic.

Watching her retreating back, Zhu Yu chuckled wryly and said to Yu Huatian, "She is Yuyan's birth mother after all. Your attitude toward her is somewhat excessive."

Hearing this, Yu Huatian lowered his gaze in silence. Seemingly admitting his fault, he was actually resisting in his own way.

Regardless of what the Emperor might be thinking, Yu Huatian knew one thing for certain: once he recounted the events of last night, the Emperor would surely forget his current overbearing demeanor.

Knowing what Yu Huatian's lowered head signified, Zhu Yu furrowed his brow slightly and asked, "Speak. What has happened for you to come looking for Us?"

Seeing that the Emperor had finally gotten down to business, Yu Huatian repeated the conversation between Wang Yuyan and Madam Wang point by point. As for Madam Wang's insults against him from the previous night, Yu Huatian conveniently omitted them.

Having listened to Yu Huatian's account, Zhu Yu lost all the leisurely ease of a peaceful morning.

Halfway through the narrative, Zhu Yu's initial reaction was: what possible trouble could a mere Mandala Manor have that required his personal intervention to resolve?

Once he heard the rest—Wang Yuyan's stubborn single-mindedness and Madam Wang's intention to take drastic action—Zhu Yu's expression grew cold, exactly as Yu Huatian had anticipated.

After a prolonged silence, instead of inquiring about Wang Yuyan, Zhu Yu asked: "Madam Wang insulted you last night?"

"Yes."

"What do you plan to do?"

"This... this subordinate hasn't decided yet."

"Nonsense, how could you not have decided? In that mind of yours, aside from killing, there's never any room for anything else."

"His Majesty reprimands me justly; this servant is dim-witted."

"You can forget about taking her life. For the sake of what Yuyan said last night, We will not cause her sorrow. Outside of the times when Yuyan returns home for family visits, you may deal with her however you see fit.
Only one condition: no matter what you choose to do, do not implicate Yuyan, and ensure she remains entirely ignorant of it. Otherwise, you know what fate awaits you."

"This servant understands. Thank you for your clemency, Your Majesty."

"Right, we won't be staying here much longer. Since Madam Wang didn't manage to voice whatever matter she intended to bring up last night, let it remain unsaid. Leave the handling of the manor to you—with the same stipulation: just ensure she doesn't die."

"Understood, this servant obeys the imperial decree."

Over the next few days, whenever Madam Wang sought out Wang Yuyan to bring up the previous night's incident, bizarre coincidences kept occurring. Either someone would interrupt them at the most crucial moment, or some crisis would erupt within the manor, desperately demanding Madam Wang's immediate attention.

The final day was even worse. After dinner, just as Madam Wang intended to seek out Wang Yuyan, a heavy dizziness clouded her mind. By the time Zhu Yu and his entourage departed after several days of lingering, Madam Wang was bedridden and unable to rise.

When Madam Wang finally recovered and traced the root cause, she discovered she had suffered from acute food poisoning caused by conflicting dietary ingredients.

To make matters worse, the days ahead for the entire Mandala Manor turned dismal.

The manor's external businesses either inexplicably collapsed one after another or were constantly raided by unknown bandits.

Most crucially, shortly after Zhu Yu and his party left, a band of masked intruders looted Mandala Manor clean of all its accumulated wealth.

To call it theft would be inaccurate—it was daylight robbery!

Consequently, with their revenue streams entirely cut off, everyone in the manor was reduced to eating coarse bran and wild vegetables, leading a life of utmost hardship.

During this period, Madam Wang did attempt to seek help. Yet her formerly close friends and long-standing business partners stubbornly refused to lend her even a single tael of silver.

Oddly enough, however, whenever the time approached for Wang Yuyan to return home for her family visit, Madam Wang didn't even have time to worry. During those specific periods—to put it without exaggeration—she could practically pick up silver coins just by taking a few steps outside.

Yet the moment Wang Yuyan departed, this stroke of good fortune vanished entirely.

Having experienced it once, Madam Wang knew full well that this was the retribution for offending Yu Huatian coming home to roost. Yet she held no deep resentment; Madam Wang understood that Yu Huatian sparing her life was already out of sheer consideration for Wang Yuyan.

What Madam Wang never could have imagined, however, was that she would endure such grinding poverty for a full five years!

Years later, by a twist of fate, Madam Wang learned the true origins of her ordeal, and she wept until her eyes were nearly blind.

What kind of cruelty was this to inflict upon her? All she had wanted back then was to seek out a marriage connection!

Dali was a vassal state of the Jing Dynasty; with a single imperial word from Zhu Yu, wouldn't Duan Zhengchun have been forced to obediently welcome her into his household with an eight-bearer sedan chair?

Because of such a trivial matter, five years of her life had been ruined!

Come to think of it, there was one other noteworthy event during this span of five years: Duan Zhengchun made a single visit to Mandala Manor.

Yet upon catching sight of the aged, haggard Madam Wang, Duan Zhengchun was so terrified that he didn't even wait for the boat; he immediately channeled his internal energy and fled across the water's surface. Mid-way, his vital energy failed him, causing him to plunge into the water and nearly drown, though thankfully he was rescued by a kind-hearted soul.

As a result, in his twilight years, Duan Zhengchun encountered yet another romantic entanglement, bestowing upon Duan Yu yet another younger sister...