Chapter 4 Frost Descent (Part 5)

  Outside Anfu Gate, this unassuming wine house is run by several powerful eunuchs from the palace. To get in for a drink, you need to be introduced by someone special. Before attending the banquet, write down what you want the eunuchs to do and hand it over to the middleman. The owner of the hotel will then quote a price based on the difficulty of the matter. Therefore, you don't need to meet with the person handling your affairs; as long as they agree to let you host a banquet, half the battle is won! After dinner, just pay the "banquet fee" in full to the cashier and you can go home and wait for news! The matters entrusted will be settled within half a month.

  Who would have thought such a thing could happen!

  Wang Xun thought he had been in the capital for over a decade, yet he didn't even know about this one wine house! After Jia Chang revealed the mystery of that meal, he was so ashamed that he almost wanted to find a crack in the ground to crawl into. Therefore, he didn't bother to investigate the truth of these words and bid farewell to the other party, hanging his head and dragging his feet as he went home to "listen for news".

  Not long after, on the second day just past noon, Wang Xun was in his bedroom with his concubine Zi Luo packing his luggage for the military camp. Suddenly, a young servant named Wang Xiang rushed into the backyard and shouted from afar: "Young Master, Young Master, great joy! Great joy! Come out! Yuwen Gongzi has come out!"

  "Who...?" Wang Xuan almost didn't react in time, pushed open the window and shouted outwards: "Come closer to say, who exactly came out?"

  Yuwen Gongzi, Yuwen Zhi! The little servant Wang Xiang glanced at the two maids standing under the flower corridor at the door, doing needlework, and lightly stuck out his tongue. "I didn't mean to disturb Young Master Hou. It's just that Yuwen Gongzi has been released from the big prison. He was beaten up so badly! Just now, he knocked on the door in front, and almost got beaten away by Wang Fu and others as a beggar!"

  "Cut the nonsense, where is he now?" Wang Xuan's heart suddenly surged with excitement, and with a forceful press of his hand, he jumped out of the window directly. "Quickly, quickly take me to see him!"

  "Wang Fu and the others were afraid that he would bring bad luck into the house, so they took him to the west wing to bathe and change his clothes first. Yún Jiān ordered someone to cook meat porridge and red date soup, and after a while, she had them go to the front courtyard's reception hall to eat!"

  "I'll go to the living room to see him! You find a few clothes I haven't worn and send them over to Zida first. Also, let Wangji ride a fast horse to inform Qin's brothers, Xiao Zhang Tanhua, and Ma Fang's side, all at once!" King Xun thought for a moment, feeling that Yunniang's arrangement was reasonable, so he pushed Wang Xiang and walked towards the living room.

  "Ah, ah!" Wang Xiang repeatedly responded, lifting his legs and running towards the western wing of the guest house again. As he ran, he muttered to himself, "This time no one needs to worry anymore, since Wan Nian County is willing to let him out, there won't be..."

  Wang Xuan smiled and ignored the gossip of the people below. Although he hadn't been affected by anything these days, since Sun the captain came over, everyone in the family had been holding their breath. Now that the storm had passed, it was unnecessary to pursue the matter further because of excitement.

  Before long, Yuwen arrived after finishing his grooming and was led back by the servants. As soon as he entered the living room door, he saw Wang Zhong and immediately knelt down with a thud, crying with his mouth open, "Second brother, second brother, I thought I would never see you again in this life!"

  Wang Xuan had been secretly resentful of Yuwen Zhi for getting him into such a big mess, and had planned to take advantage of their reunion to teach him a lesson. But upon hearing these words, his heart softened, and he rushed forward a few steps, grabbing Yuwen Zhi's arm with both hands and pulling him up, "You, you've finally come out! From now on, can you change your ways? Don't let everyone worry about you again!"

  "I know I was wrong, I know I was wrong!" Yuwen Zhi grabbed Wang Zhong's hand, his nose and tears streaming down together. "I was also confused for a moment, and only then did I think of going to hug the thick legs of the Yang family. From now on, I will never be foolish again, Second Brother, please don't be angry with me!"

  "After all these years of brotherhood, how could I really be angry with you!" Wang Xuan sighed softly and said in a low voice. The recent events that had occurred could be said to have given him a whole new understanding of himself and the world outside. In some ways, it wasn't entirely bad, at least deep down he was no longer as muddle-headed as before.

  "Thanks to Second Brother, I've been gritting my teeth and holding on in this big prison. It's just that I believe Second Brother won't blame me. Second Brother will definitely think of a way to rescue me. Second Brother, don't worry, no matter how much money it takes, I'll definitely return every penny to you!" Yuwen Zhi wiped his nose with one hand and spoke in a stuttering tone.

  "Who wants your money!" Wang Jun threw away the other hand of his opponent, shouting loudly. "Keep those two stinky coppers to buy a coffin for yourself! Next time you're in trouble, don't come bothering me again!"

  "Second brother..." Yuwen Zhi was stunned for a moment, staring at Wang Xun with tears in his eyes. Immediately, he realized that he had made another mistake, raised his hand and gave himself a loud slap on the face, "Look at my behavior. I only care about money. Second brother, I won't mention money again. Your kindness to me, I will remember it for the rest of my life!"

  "Don't let digging pits deceive me into jumping down again!" Wang Xuan glanced at him, crying and laughing. Yuwen Zhi was simply a rascal, and he couldn't be on the same level as him. "Hurry up and come sit down. Take a breath first. Cloud Aunt has ordered someone to cook meat porridge and red date soup, it'll be served soon!"

  "Thank you, Aunt Yun, thank you, Second Brother!" Yuwen Zhi wiped his face with a smile and dragged himself to the table. "I'm starving to death in there, every day eating bran buns, not even getting full. The food I feed the dogs is better than that!"

  He was much shorter than Wang Xun, and had also lost a lot of weight in prison. Wearing the other's clothes, he looked like a clown specially dressed up to make people laugh in a pear garden. Wang Xun adjusted his collar for him, smiling and saying: "My family doesn't have any smaller clothes, you can just wear these for now. I've already asked someone to go out to Jinxiu Pavilion to buy new ones for you, they should be delivered soon."

  "Heh heh, thanks Second Brother!" Yuwen Zhi grinned foolishly. "Actually this one is pretty good, it's made of Tianzhu cotton, and it feels really soft on the skin. I'll take it back and get someone to make some alterations, then I can wear it!"

  Wang Xuan smiled and shook his head, looked at Yuwen Zhi's face, and asked in a low voice: "Have you gone home? Did your brother let you in?"

  "Don't mention that guy!" Yuwen Zhi threw out his sleeve in a dejected manner, not seeming particularly angry. "The nerve of him, thinking he can just bully me once I'm inside. He's taken over the entire estate and all the property. But what he didn't think about was that I had hidden away the account books and deeds to the house and land. For now, I'll just take a breather and wait until I've got my energy back, then I'll slowly settle accounts with him!"

  "If you can part ways amicably, then part ways amicably! After all, he is your own brother!" Wang Xuan sighed softly and advised in a low voice.

  "The problem is, he's never treated me as a brother!" Yuwen Zhi's eyes flashed with a hint of viciousness for an instant, and he gritted his teeth. "If it weren't for Second Brother saving me, I'd be dead in the great prison by now, and that would make him happy. Don't mention him, sooner or later I'll let him know what regret is!"

  Wang Jun himself had no brothers or sisters, so he couldn't understand the resentment that came with siblings fighting over family property. Seeing Yuwen Zhi's hatred like this, it wasn't good to advise him anymore. He smiled and said in a low voice: "Those two concubines of yours have been hidden away by Ma Fang in Pingkang. You little scoundrel, you're really lucky. They'd rather wander the streets than betray you!"

  "Really?" Yuwen Zhi was overjoyed, "I didn't expect anyone to be waiting for me. I haven't even had a chance to go to Pingkangli yet! From the moment I left the Yuwen family gate, I rushed straight to you! Ma Fang this kid, he really knows how to choose a location!"

  "For your sake, he was almost beaten half to death by his father!" Wang Xuan said with a smile, speaking in a low voice.

  Yuwen's face changed again, with a hint of sadness and a few parts of satisfaction. "Let him suffer. I will never forget him in this life. Second brother, this time in prison, I have figured out many things. At the critical moment, except for having power and prestige, you also need to have a group of iron buddies. Otherwise..."

  Wang Xuan smiled again, too lazy to talk. Yuwen Zhi had just come out of the big prison and had experienced his own brother's betrayal. With his current state of mind, what he said would definitely be unreasonable. It's better to let him go and vent his emotions, then he'll forget about it.

  The two brothers chatted idly for a while, and the servant brought in a new pot of meat congee. Yuwen Zhi smelled the meaty aroma and his eyes widened immediately. Without using chopsticks or a spoon, he picked up the bowl and gulped it down in one breath. The servants suppressed their smiles and refilled his bowl. Yuwen Zhi again made "gulping" sounds as he drank two large mouthfuls, finishing the entire bowl of congee. Before the servant could attend to him, he reached out to grab the spoon. Wang Xun saw this and quickly pulled him back, saying, "Your intestines are starving, don't eat too hastily. Take it easy first, drink a bowl of red date soup to dispel the bad air!"

  "Ah!" Yuwen turned around stupidly, tightly grasping an empty bowl. After a while, he was sure that the other party wasn't unwilling to give him food to eat. He sniffled and said in a hoarse voice: "Second brother, I'll listen to you. You won't harm me!" After speaking, he snatched over the small bowl filled with red date soup and gulped it down again.

  "You're really starving!" Wang Xun chuckled and sighed softly. "Gu Yong and Gu Zhen might arrive soon, but I don't know if Ma Fang can make it. For your sake, Lei Ge was injured and is now lying in the post house, so Zhang Jun probably won't be able to come either. Later, I'll take you to visit them and thank them. You can stay at my place for a few days, and I can arrange for your two maidservants to join you as well. Once the storm passes, we'll help you buy a new house!"

  "No need, no need!" Yuwen Zhi put down the red date soup and waved his hand repeatedly. "I'll just go live in a brothel in Pingkang Li, it's fine."

  "Wang Jun was again disheartened. To make dirty money, Yuwen Zhi even opened a brothel, that's tolerable. Now he still wants to move in personally, and when outsiders see him, where will the ancestors of the Yuwen family put their faces?"

  No need to ask, Yuwen Zhi already guessed what Wang Xuan wanted to say. He curled his lips and smiled: "It's nothing, Second Brother doesn't have to worry. If I lose face, it's my own fault. Does the Yuwen family still have any relation with me now?"