Chaotic World Book
Chapter 400 - 391: The Secret of the Yang Family

Chapter 400: Chapter 391: The Secret of the Yang Family

The Yang family dispersed upon the Imperial Concubine’s order, and Yang Jingxiu indeed should have gone to greet other guests, such as the Wang Family—it was improper to stay here all the time. In fact, Yang Jingxiu still had not understood why the Imperial Concubine would come. He had just asked a series of roundabout questions, and Huangfu Qing evasively talked around them, revealing no true intentions.

Yang Jingxiu was completely baffled and treated it as some sort of hint from the Emperor—could it be that the Emperor wanted to send some signals to the world?

It might be helpful to discuss this with Wang Daozhong; perhaps some insights could be gleaned.

Yang Jingxiu left some observant maids and servants while withdrawing the men, giving the Imperial Concubine ample comfortable space before he took his leave.

Huangfu Qing couldn’t be bothered with what he was thinking; she comfortably sat in the rosewood chair sipping tea, looking at the anxious little maids in front of her, feeling very pleased.

With her status as the Vermilion Bird, she could give Xia Chichi a hard time; as the Imperial Concubine, she could control the Cui Family’s girls and even irritate Tang Wanzhuang.

Who else in the world could she care about!

If this were the three-way conflict recorded in the epoch’s history, she would surely be the strongest Cao Wei, and also a wife—how fitting.

There was a female version of Zhuge who had just come from Jingxiang... but now she found herself in a very un-Zhuge-like predicament, currently resembling an idiot with little difference—not worth a fight.

As for this little maid... it’s a pity this isn’t Hefei, but it’s not too far off... Zhao Changhe’s courtyard is now your Hefei; don’t even think about entering!

Huangfu Qing completely forgot that her location was also not too far from Chibi, and almost crossed her legs, leisurely said, "Your name is Yangyang, isn’t it?"

Cui Yuanyang truly didn’t know what the Imperial Concubine was up to. The Cui Family, no matter how powerful, had to maintain public decorum, and she honestly answered, "Your Highness, Yangyang is my nickname, my full name is Yuan Yang."

"Girls don’t usually carry generational names, but your father has given you the ’Yuan’ generation name, which indicates great expectations for you, hinting that girls need not be inferior to boys."

"May...be." Cui Yuanyang scratched her head: "Father is very fond of me."

"According to this, the Cui Family would want a son-in-law rather than a daughter-in-law, right?" Huangfu Qing gently led the conversation, "Is it not good for you to appear mannish in front of everyone?"

Cui Yuanyang: "?"

What’s it to you... Wait.

Hiss... This is the Imperial Concubine, if Zhao Brother really is the Prince, then this is his little mother! Could it be that she’s here to express the Emperor’s opinion?

If that’s the case, then there’s a big problem... Cui Yuanyang’s face paled: "Your Highness... this..."

"Additionally, to my knowledge, your birthday is at the end of the year, and you’re still half a year from true adulthood, aren’t you?"

"I was actually old enough by the end of last year."

What do you mean ’old enough’? Such an indescribable description...

Huangfu Qing stopped there: "His Majesty is very concerned about this marriage."

Cui Yuanyang now truly became restless, feeling that perhaps she should go back and discuss with her father... If the Emperor was really paying attention to this matter, it seemed very complicated. The little rabbit couldn’t figure it out on her own.

"It’s getting dark; go back and rest." Huangfu Qing ended the conversation with a satisfied lift of her teacup, her voice laden with meaning, "Don’t be too conspicuous, consider the Cui family’s reputation a bit more."

Uncertain if she truly meant to be less conspicuous, or just less jumpy in general, Cui Yuanyang was thoroughly embarrassed, trudging back to her quarter with her head down, daring not to venture past the wall that separated them.

Actually, when the noise had died down, and everyone returned to their places, Zhao Changhe did have serious matters to attend to. Yang Jingxiu’s birthday banquet was the day after tomorrow, and at this moment, there were no guests gathered for a feast, the supposedly retired Yang Bugui was sneaking around in his courtyard, sitting with him and drinking.

"Zhao Brother, the people around you are really intimidating." Yang Bugui sucked in a breath of air: "Even Cui Yuanyang has such strong aggression when she’s near you, like a rabbit with its fur blown up."

"Yangyang is very well-behaved..."

"Yes, yes, yes." Yang Bugui said, "What does the Four Symbols Sect’s Holy Daughter say about it? At the Langya Conference, her affection for you was evident to everyone. Now that you’re truly getting engaged with the Cui Family, I can hardly imagine the Holy Daughter’s reaction."

Zhao Changhe glanced at him, "Hey, Brother Yang, don’t tell me you’re interested in Chichi."

Yang Bugui bowed his head to drink, silent for a while before he did not refute, "Indeed, I’m a bit interested, and I can tell that Wang Zhaoqing is also interested in her. Xia Chichi was supposed to be a demoness causing chaos in the Worldly Society, possibly throwing all the families into disarray... Maybe because of you, she became indifferent towards other men."

Zhao Changhe’s expression became strange, hearing someone else confess liking your girlfriend... and yet speaking so openly and honestly, it wasn’t offensive.

He inadvertently remembered that Cui Yuanyang also made some impression in the Langya Conference. She was well-matched in every aspect, yet none of these sons of Aristocratic Families showed interest in her; instead, they all fell for Chichi.

The demoness template was more enticing to the Aristocratic sons’ hearts, right.

"Of course, Brother Zhao’s acquaintance with her was humble, an affection others could not envy. It’s just a thought; to actually fall hard for a demoness would probably get me killed by my father, and your existence also precluded the nuisance for our family." Yang Bugui laughed heartily, raising his glass in toast, "I should also thank Brother Zhao for helping capture Yang Qianyuan."

Zhao Changhe drank and asked, "Chichi came to contact you before going after Yang Qianyuan?"

"Mm... The Four Symbols Sect intended some collaboration with the Yang family, and Yang Qianyuan was merely an excuse for our polite refusal. I never thought she would actually venture into Kunlun to do this; fortunately, Brother Zhao helped..."

"Possibly because Chichi was delaying Yang Qianyuan’s return, you’ve grown fonder of her..." Zhao Changhe didn’t fret over these matters; he saw something more fundamental, "Why would the Four Symbols Sect think of collaborating with the Yang Family? Did the Yang Family display some behavior that made the Four Symbols Sect believe they could be won over?"

Yang Bugui slightly narrowed his eyes, looking at him in silence.

"Rest assured, I won’t jeopardize the affairs of the Four Symbols Sect... I don’t know if the Xiangyang situation counts, but I think the essence lies in spoiling the Maitreya and Wang Family’s plans, not directly provoking the Four Symbols Sect. Otherwise, the Vermilion Bird Venerable’s attitude when he met me before wouldn’t have been so straightforward," Zhao Changhe said, "The reason I ask you, Brother Yang, has nothing to do with the Four Symbols Sect... I’m here exactly for the purpose of discussing a collaboration with the Yang Family."

Yang Bugui said, "Our march southward to Xiangyang is merely to assist in defense, not to expand our own territory southward."

"I know."

"Brother Zhao and the Head of the Tang family’s next move should be to do your utmost to pacify Jiangnan, thoroughly eradicating the threat of Maitreya. So, what use would our cooperation serve? You wouldn’t lack the manpower we could contribute to this battle."

"To be precise, I need the strength of your father, who is tenth on the Earth List. At the time, the shadow of the gods and Buddha stood behind Maitreya, and both father and son witnessed it. I need to rally all the potentially united forces for this campaign. Your father has been involved in the siege of Maitreya before, and if he truly escaped, it might pose future troubles for the Yang Family. I feel your father would be very willing to cooperate with me once again."

Yang Bugui chuckled, "Just that isn’t enough to have the Head of the Tang family come in person... Brother Zhao, if you have other thoughts, feel free to speak bluntly."

"The Wang Family wouldn’t want us to easily annihilate Maitreya or to let the Tang family gain significant influence in Jiangnan. There’s a good chance they’ll try to sabotage us. I don’t expect the Yang Family to help defend Xiangyang, but at the very least, I hope the Yang Family doesn’t lean toward them on this matter; otherwise, we’ll be at a disadvantage."

Yang Bugui looked intently at Zhao Changhe for a long while, then suddenly said, "Originally, Brother Zhao didn’t care who rebelled, but now you’re busy fixing things everywhere. How do you reconcile this contradiction, particularly between the Four Symbols Sect and the Head of the Tang family?"

Zhao Changhe said, "Perhaps there’s been some misunderstanding... To this day, I’m not particularly concerned about who rebels. I oppose Maitreya because he’s worse, and as for the Wang Family, it’s purely because they want to kill me. As for Head Tang, what I’d prefer more is for her to retire to the countryside and leave all these troubles behind, rather than wanting her to deal with them more comfortably."

Yang Bugui didn’t care for Zhao Changhe’s lengthy explanation, but instead caught a certain detail, "Worse?"

Maitreya being "worse" implied that the current situation was also terrible, hence the choice of word.

Zhao Changhe was criticizing Xia Longyuan.

Zhao Changhe didn’t directly answer this, but instead said, "Brother Yang doesn’t have to keep probing my intentions... Honestly, the Yang Family might not care that much about my view of the world. What I think the Yang Family truly cares about more is the once-parallel reputation with the Cui and Wang families, which now seems to not carry as much presence... Brother Yang has become more reticent, not having the spirited vigor of Wang Zhaoqing and Cui Yuanyong."

Yang Bugui’s smile faded.

Zhao Changhe continued, "Regardless of how much you may disdain the valor of the individual, the Chaotic World List matters to people. It’s been generations since the Yang Family had someone on the Heavenly List, could this threaten decline?"

Yang Bugui slowly said, "Brother Zhao brings up our family’s wounds; what is it that you want to say?"

Zhao Changhe said, "If the Yang Family could become a top Aristocratic Family, their legacy must not be weaker than that of the Cui and Wang families, yet they are starting to decline. It certainly isn’t because your abilities don’t measure up."

Yang Bugui indifferently said, "Indeed, our abilities are crude, no match for the talents of the Cui and Wang families."

"Why hide it from me?" Zhao Changhe firmly said, "There must be something amiss with the Yang Family, and it’s precisely this that the Four Symbols Sect must have noticed to consider a partnership with you. Since that’s the case, why not discuss it with me? What they haven’t been able to solve, I might be able to."

Pausing for a moment, he suddenly added, "The Yang Family has never made such a grand celebration of a birthday; I have my suspicions that this birthday banquet has something to do with it."

Yang Bugui stared at Zhao Changhe for a long while and then, with a smile, said, "I will convey Brother Zhao’s intentions to my father. Please, make yourself comfortable here. While the birthday banquet hasn’t started, I hope Brother Zhao enjoys his stay."

With that, he rose, bowed, and took his leave.

Zhao Changhe saw him out, then turned to look at Tang Wanzhuang’s tightly shut courtyard door next door, wondering if she had been listening to their conversation and what she might be thinking.

Today, both Huangfu Qing and Yangyang had had their tempers provoked; he wondered if his master and sister could bear the shame... He was only halfway through the pursuit, yet with the situation turning out like this, could it blow over...?

Zhao Changhe knocked on the door with a headache, attempting to have a chat, but there was dead silence inside, and no one opened the door.

Zhao Changhe stroked his chin thoughtfully, then returned to his own courtyard and went straight over the wall.

Just a wall apart—who could it stop?

No sooner had he poked his head over the courtyard wall, than Bao Qin, holding a large broom in hand, soared up and slapped it down: "Lustful thief, I knew you would climb the wall—been waiting for you a long while!"

Tang Wanzhuang sat in the courtyard reading a book, not even lifting her head, "Such behavior beneath the beams is disgraceful to our school. Go back and copy ’Shennong’s Materia Medica’ a hundred times to reflect."

Zhao Changhe didn’t dare to really fight with Bao Qin, covered his head, and fell back, cursing his misfortune.

She really was angry, definitely thinking that nothing should have happened between the two of them and wondering why she should be jealous over other women.

Is it over... What should I do?

Just then, a red dress flickered above; Huangfu Qing leaped over the wall and entered, brimming with seductiveness: "I told you last time, the next time we met, if you didn’t eat me, I would eat you."

Next door, Tang Wanzhuang, still in her reading, pricked up her ears.

She soon heard the next line, a voice beguiling to the bone: "Sneaking a taste of the Imperial Concubine next to the court’s chief head, thrilling, isn’t it?"

Tang Wanzhuang’s cool voice floated down under the moon, "Demoness, would you dare!"