Chapter Nine, Gazing at the Spring Terrace (Three)

Yang Wan felt that Yang Lun's words were somewhat lonely, pursing her lips and lowering her head, not responding.

It is hard to imagine that these hands would actually hold a silver hairpin to stab him

She does not seem to be a particularly fierce woman, fighting fiercely with her life on the line. She possesses her own ruthlessness, as well as a sense of measure that he finds perplexing

Yang Wan waved her hand and said, "It's fine, it doesn't matter, he didn't use much strength. I'm just thirsty and want to... want to pour myself a glass of water to drink"

Whenever officials in the capital mention Zhang Luo, they are reluctant to say much and tend to avoid the topic. Fortunately, he has never been one to enjoy socializing; although he is ruthless in his dealings, he does not leave any avenues for others to approach him, thus saving many from the desire to ingratiate themselves with him.

Do not move, let me take a look

He left some leeway for Yang Lun and did not enter with great fanfare accompanied by the Jinyiwei. However, even so, the maidservants in the main hall did not dare to treat him as a guest of the Yang residence, and not a single one approached to inquire about tea or water

Unrestrained

There is really nothing...

Master Zhang

Outrageous

Zhang Luo felt quite uncomfortable being pierced by the expression in her eyes, yet she refused to avert her gaze

She instinctively reached for the kettle to pour herself some water

After Zhang Luo finished listening, he cracked the knuckles of the finger he was holding on Yang Wan's hand

Yang Lun's sister has already passed away. The Yang family treats her well unilaterally, out of familial affection, but the same familial bond cannot be reciprocated by her, which is quite cruel

Shh... how can you still speak...

What are you saying

Ah?

She met Zhang Luo's gaze, "My brother is not at fault. The ones at fault are those who, under the guise of defending my chastity, seem to please you and stand up for you, but in reality, they are merely here to enjoy the spectacle between our two families. Master Zhang, you are indeed a prominent figure in this capital, but you have never been married. They know that in this matter, you cannot act with the same decisiveness as you do in the imperial prison, so they deliberately look down on you and mock you. Yang Wan understands that speaking to you in this manner is indeed presumptuous. However, to take my brother away for questioning or to force me to take my own life for the sake of rumors, these are not actions befitting a person of your stature." Master Zhang, you are indeed a prominent figure in this capital, but you have never been married. They know that in this matter, you cannot act with the same decisiveness as you do in the imperial prison, so they deliberately look down on you and mock you. Yang Wan understands that speaking to you in this manner is indeed presumptuous. However, to take my brother away for questioning or to force me to take my own life for the sake of rumors, these are not actions befitting a person of your stature.

Yang Wan said as she pulled out the hairpin, Zhang Luo's blood flowed down her arm. She carelessly rolled up her sleeve and wiped it a couple of times, then turned to Silver, who was stunned behind the screen, and said: "Go fetch the medicine for the wound."

Well

The Northern Town Pacification Office inquires about the court officials, naturally adhering to the regulations of the Northern Town Pacification Office

Yang Wan turned around

What do you want to ask

"Miss, I am here to serve you," said Yin'er as she took over Yang Wan's hand.

Especially when Zhang Luo was staring at her and calling her a "bitch," in modern society, she would have charged at him with claws bared, knowing that even if she couldn't win, the police would come to handle it. However, in this situation facing Zhang Luo, she could only feel anger and remain silent

After speaking, he deliberately coughed a few times to calm the breath that had been disrupted by Zhang Luo.

Say it again, let Yang Lun see me

Zhang Luo coldly said: "The fact that I do not take Yang Lun away today does not mean that I can tolerate you and that wretched slave of the Imperial Secretariat living. I walk within and outside the court with my eyes unclouded, and as long as you are in the capital, your lives are always under my blade."

"If the wife does not do it, do you want to be the prisoner?"

After a confrontation with Zhang Luo, although Yang Wan had a grasp of about seventy to eighty percent in terms of academic and theoretical understanding, she still felt a bit apprehensive at this moment

Yang Wan pressed her hand against the back of her head, not daring to look at him.

Yang Wan tilted her neck back; although her voice was constrained, there was not a trace of fear in her eyes

Daughters of officials in this era indeed live in luxury, untouched by the hardships of life, yet their lives are as fragile as paper

Zhang Luo approached Yang Wan, the plain hemp robe he wore concealed a heavy incense of the spirit hall, which was at odds with the cold aura surrounding him

Zhang Luo was taken aback and said, "Silence."

It is unclear whether it was a deliberate instruction, but the family members standing by were all positioned quite far away

He finished speaking, released Yang Wan's neck, and looked down at his own chest

Yang Wan understood the meaning of that desperate desire to strip away clothes and expose oneself

Zhang Luo retracted the knife and coldly looked at her, "I will not make things difficult for you, let Yang Lun see me"

Even if she could control the overall situation of the twelve years of Zhenning, even if she had some understanding of Zhang Luo's character, and even if she held the advantage in the game of winning people's hearts, the pressure that Zhang Luo imposed on her due to their gender identities was extremely terrifying

Miss, where are you hurt? Why is your face so pale

However, he had seen Consort Ning, Yang Xiu, in the palace; she was a captivating beauty with a charming and affectionate demeanor

Zhang Luo lowered his voice, "You see that I have no sense of shame; do you think you have not made a mistake?"

Yin'er, come here and help her, assist her in sitting down on a round chair

Wretched person

Over time, the local officials gave him a nickname in the underworld, calling him "The Official of the Ghost City." Whenever they encountered him in their territory, they had to be prepared for imprisonment with shackles and chains, and to pass through the gates of hell in a state of complete nudity

Tomorrow, I will enter the palace with your sister-in-law

Yang Wan sighed, forcing herself to extinguish the fire in her heart, and raised her hand to tuck away the stray hair by her ear

Zhang Luo lowered his head and scrutinized Yang Wan for a moment, then suddenly gestured to the side with his finger, causing Yang Wan's face to abruptly turn away.

As he descended the stairs, he brushed shoulders with a servant carrying medicine, causing the servant to lose grip and drop the tray. The medicine bottle shattered, and the grayish-white powder scattered across the ground like ash.

A lady from the Yang family has emerged in the inner court, gentle and well-mannered, enjoying a good reputation in the harem. Yang Wan has also been raised in seclusion by the Chen family since childhood, never exposing herself to outsiders. Up to this point, Zhang Luo has yet to see her.

Yang Wan was taken aback; such a voice is rare.

Just like that silver hairpin, it was precisely thrust two inches away from its vital point

Zhang Luo raised his head, and Yang Wan was walking through the archway towards the main hall

After listening, Yang Wan smiled and said, "If you do not marry into the Zhang family, what else can you do to eliminate the resentment in your heart?"

In the main hall of the Yang residence, there is a white jade sculpture of a peony.

After speaking, he pressed down on the handle of the knife and turned to step out of the main hall

If our Yang family is unwilling to break off the engagement and insists on marrying into your Zhang family, what will you do

Let go ... ...

Zhang Luo cast a sidelong glance at Yang Wan

If you don't let go, I will dare to kill you...

Since he was promoted to the position of the Chief of the Northern Town Pacification Office, the number of people who have died at his hands over the past few years has been truly excessive

"Today is the day that saves me. I truly did not expect that for these eighteen years, the way you have been by my brother's side was actually an act?"

Zhang Luo suddenly kicked Yin away, lifted his robe, crouched down, and grasped Yang Wan's chin, forcing her to look up.

Yang Wan's waist suddenly collided with the acute angle of the Huanghuali wood design, and the pain was truly unbearable. She couldn't hold back for a moment and crouched down, covering her waist.

She already had an old injury on her neck, and this time it hurt her so much that she almost cried out

I have not engaged in any improper conduct with Deng Ying

Zhang Luo, dressed in mourning attire, stood alone before the jade peony, silent and unmoving

You are such a strong-willed woman, why engage in trivial matters? If you have no intention towards me, you may speak frankly; I am not a shameless person who would force you to marry me.

Yang Wan retracted her hand reluctantly, watching the silver fungus busily at work

Yang Wan straightened up, only to suddenly realize that her posture was not steady. Just as she hesitated whether to perform another feminine gesture, unexpectedly, Zhang Luo let out a cold laugh, swiftly unsheathing the dagger from his waist, reversing the blade, and pressing the hilt against Yang Wan's chin. With a gentle lift, Yang Wan was forced to tilt her head back.

Yang Wan was so angry that she spoke excessively, and now her throat was itchy, causing her to cough more and more violently

To speak of his attitude towards Yang Wan, he may not have even considered it himself

Yang Wan was forced to raise her head and said, "Why do you think this way? Can't you tell that these are words I had to say out of desperation?"

Yang Wan coughed several times and said, "That scoundrel just called me a worthless person!"

The breeze flows through the hall and into the sleeves of the two, while the coarse garment on him remains completely unmoved by the wind, yet the silk on her flutters like a butterfly.

Zhang Luo looked into Yang Wan's eyes, yet he could not describe her expression

Although in recent years the Zhang family has risen rapidly in the capital, with Zhang Cong entering the cabinet and Zhang Luo overseeing half of the Jinyiwei, many prominent families are eager to form alliances with the Zhang residence. Even families of lower status are willing to send their daughters to become concubines for him, yet Zhang Luo pays no attention to these matters.

Yang Lun looked at her disheveled appearance, then glanced at the marks on her neck and jaw, and softly asked her, "Are you alright"

So you want me to take my own life, don't you

Yang Wan smiled and said, "Is it really so intolerable to hear those two words? If you are going to interrogate him, you might as well interrogate me."

Are these words taught to you by Yang Lun

Zhang Luo's mother passed away at a young age. Before her departure, she arranged the marriage between Zhang Luo and Yang Wan with the Yang family.

She muttered to herself this phrase, then suddenly recalled Deng Ying, and felt that something was amiss

Hmm... there isn't, I was just thinking, does my brother not like me like this now?

Yang Wan shook her head, "Even if I have made a mistake, the adults should not vent their anger on my elder brother"

Yet it grows increasingly louder

She was lightly wrapped in a lotus-colored silk gauze, her fingers pressed against the cold ground, slender and pale, appearing almost pitiful

No, I have indeed been angry with you for so many days. But when I think about it, the fact that you are alive is already a mercy from heaven towards my brother

Yang Wan raised her head and said, "Does what you say, my lord, mean that my guilt is already determined?"

She bowed her head in greeting to Zhang Luo, and a pair of lotus jade pendants at her waist chimed with her movements, while jade beads lightly swayed by her ears. From her appearance and posture, she indeed resembled the Ning Fei from the palace

After she finished speaking, although there were tears in her eyes, what lay beneath was a smile. "Don't you find it amusing? You are the Inspector of the Northern Town, in charge of the imperial prison. Officials inside and outside the capital fear you. Does the reputation of someone like you really need the life of a woman like me to uphold it? Are your achievements in court and your reputation outside merely illusions?"

He finished speaking and suddenly grasped Yang Wan's throat, pushing her forward against the jade screen. However, what he did not expect was that at the moment Yang Wan's head touched the jade screen, a sharp object suddenly pierced into his chest. He looked down and saw that it was actually a silver hairpin. This was the first time someone had simultaneously countered him while he was making a move.

You are indeed such a person

Yang Wan

Do not move

There is no need to intimidate me in this manner; I am not deserving of imprisonment, and you do not dare to kill me

Is it to inquire about my secret affair with Deng Ying?

If one were to wear such attire and have no household registration in the Ming Dynasty, it would be impossible to move an inch, let alone follow Deng Ying. Thinking of this, one quickly shook their head.

Yang Wan has met Lord Zhang

What are you saying

Wan'er

However, it is said that Zhang Luo is quite filial to his mother

Yin'er saw her pressing her neck again and hurriedly said: "Should I inform Madam to ask Doctor Liu to come and take a look? When Cai saw Lord Zhang choking the young lady, it truly frightened Yin'er to death"

When she came over, she was surprisingly alone

Zhang Luo ground the silver hairpin with her foot, and the sharp sound of metal scraping against the ground made Yang Wan unconsciously clench her teeth

After she finished speaking, she even pushed the silver hairpin in her hand half an inch into his chest.

Looking back, this was the first time Yang Lun called her Wan'er after bringing her back

It's nothing

Why are you not speaking

Yang Wan sat on the ground, striving to force the words "bitch" out of her mind

She spoke as she discarded the silver hairpin, smoothed her skirt, and knelt before Zhang Luo: "I apologize to Lord Zhang and seek forgiveness, pleading for you to spare my brother."

Zhang Luo glanced at the blood that had dripped onto the ground, then looked towards Yang Wan

I cannot tolerate those who insult me living by my side

Yang Lun bent down and gently brushed aside her hair

Although there have been several hundred years of civilizational progress, malicious words always share common characteristics

Yang Wan endured the pain and stood upright, "My lord has come here regarding the matter of our marriage. Even if my lord has any reprimands, it cannot be considered as putting me in a difficult position."

Yang Wan pressed her lips together, indeed not moving at all

I am sorry, I know that this is very unfair to you, and I also understand that because of my actions alone, both you and the Zhang family have suffered a lot of unnecessary shame. So...

Although the wound is not deep, it has already begun to bleed

Yang Wan turned around and said, "Since you have come to see your elder brother, why did you bring the members of the Jinyiwei?"

Zhang Luo grasped her by the chin and lifted her off the ground, then casually threw her aside

Zhang Luo remained silent, but the grip in his hand grew increasingly stronger, causing Yang Wan to feel pain, and her eyes involuntarily turned red

Yang Wan was busy arranging her dress as she stood up

Yang Lun cleared her throat and gently let down her hair

Why am I a soul traveler instead of a body traveler? Given the current situation, it is truly difficult to be an independent female researcher in the Ming Dynasty

Yang Lun's voice came from above.

Zhang Luo's gaze flickered darkly as he stepped closer to her, "What I want to ask concerns the court officials; you are a lady of the household and should avoid this matter"

It is said that Yang Wan and Yang Xue resemble each other greatly, which means they must both be beauties

Zhang Luo crossed his arms and raised an eyebrow