Yu Mingyong’s residence was also called the Yu Manor, which stood far apart facing the Yu Manor on the other side of the street. However, regardless of its gates’ location, the location of the manor, or its scale, it was more magnificent than the other Yu Manor. After all, it was the Emperor’s favorite consort’s home. Even though Yu Mingyong had not made much progress, he was still able to support the manor.
As soon as Consort Yu entered the yard, she heard Yu Mingyong’s screams. “Ouch, ouch, it hurts! Damn it! Look at the wound carefully before applying the medicine! Are you trying to kill me?”
“Sir, don’t move. The more you move, the more inconvenient it will be for me to apply the medicine.”
“You nasty servant! Get lost! You’re being reasonable?!” There was the sound of objects being pushed over and down, followed by the sound of begging for mercy.
The woman who walked into the yard frowned with displeasure. An older maidservant stepped forward at once and said loudly, “Consort Yu is here.”
There was a momentary silence in the room, followed by Yu Mingyong’s shouts. “Quick, help me to sit up. Come on in, let my sister in.”
Then came a series of noises. After the chaos, Yu Mingyong gave another scream. Now her bother was still messing around. Consort Yu was furious. She held a palace maid’s hand, stepped up the stairs, and walked towards the room. This time, she had specially asked for an edict and secretly returned home to see her only and useless younger brother.
Sometimes, Consort Yu hated the fact that other consorts and beauties all had well-off families that could support them, but she only had a younger brother who would do nothing but get her into trouble. She had just received news from the Emperor that her younger brother had offended King Xuan. Hearing the news, she broke out in cold sweat.
Now hearing Yu Mingyong’s screams, she was angry and embarrassed. Couldn’t he just behave like a gentleman and do well for her so that when the child in her belly was born, it would have an uncle that it could rely on. If he continued to be like this, it would be no good for her child at all.
Touching her belly, Consort Yu made up her mind to teach her younger brother a lesson this time, saving him from provoking people that he could not afford to offend for the time being. How dare he want to have an affair with Consort Xuan? Even if Mo Xuetong was really divorced, it would not be his turn to marry her. There had never been a daughter-in-law in the royal family who had been divorced alive.
“Greetings, Your Highness.” When the door opened, Yu Feng in a navy blue robe walked out and bowed respectfully to Consort Yu.
Consort Yu did not expect Yu Feng to be here. She cast a light glance at him and nodded slightly as a way of greeting. Then, she walked into the room and Yu Feng followed respectfully behind her.
He was now the overseer of the Office of Imperial Kitchen, without any actual power. His position could not be compared with the assistant-head of the Office of Imperial Kitchen. Ever since the incident with Auntie Fang, the Yu Manor and the Mo Manor had officially broken off. Then, even Mo Xuemin had gotten into trouble. After that, Qin Yufeng did not live up to his expectations. All these things caused Yu Feng to have no interest in Mo Manor anymore.
As such, he often buttered up to Yu Mingyong. When he heard that Yu Mingyong had been injured by King Xuan, he hurried over. It looked as if he was visiting Yu Mingyong, but in actuality, he was waiting for Consort Yu to appear. Her only younger brother had been beaten up by King Xuan and such a big incident must have been spread to Consort Yu in the palace. Hence, he had waited for Consort Yu here specially to show how close he was to her brother.
He used to be a local official and was not familiar with the capital. Later, because of Auntie Fang’s incident, no one in the capital was willing to help him and he had no one to rely on. In the past, Consort Yu tried to help him, but because of Auntie Fang, Consort Yu had never sent anyone to contact him again. He had gotten his wife to go to the palace several times to ask for meeting Consort Yu. However, Consort Yu refused to meet her on the pretext of ill health.
“Elder Sister, Elder Sister, you have to help me. You have to help me.” Seeing her come in, Yu Mingyong, who was half lying on the bed, immediately cried out excitedly as if he had seen hope. However, his big moves made him let out another scream. He had no choice but to lower his body and cry out in pain.
“Humph, you’re the one who asked for it. How dare you say that?” Consort Yu harrumphed coldly and glared at Yu Mingyong angrily. How could she not know what kind of person her younger brother was? However, her heart ached when she saw he was lying on the bed moaning plaintively.
“You had just recovered from your injuries. Now, you went to provoke those you shouldn’t. You’ve improved. Are you unwilling to rest until you’re tortured to death?” Consort Yu said angrily. Even though she felt pain in her heart, her expression still darkened.
The palace maid helped her to sit on the wide leaning chair at the head of the bed and carefully put a cushion behind her back. Then the maid stepped back and stood behind Consort Yu.
“You can’t blame me for what happened a few days ago. It was obvious that Ding General Manor had been too flaunting. She was just a slut. How could she be his woman? I heard that she was Sima Lingyun’s woman. You said that children of Ding General Manor were well-bred, but why did they have such a black sheep?” Yu Mingyong said angrily.
He felt aggrieved at the mention of this matter. She was just a slutty woman, and the so-called Second Young Master treated her like a treasure. She was not that pretty, only that she was charming on the bed different from other women. He thought she was from a decent family. Yu Mingyong was really obsessed with such a woman because she was like a woman from a brothel.
When he finally understood that she was just a concubine that had escaped from Sima Lingyun’s Manor, and had hooked up with different men, he felt extremely wronged. There were many women like her in brothels. Furthermore, they were all more beautiful and enchanting than her. He fell for her because she was from a good family.
However, the Second Young Master of Ding General Manor claimed that he snatched her away and even injured him while he had many people. In the end, Yu Mingyong had to apologize. Thinking of this, Yu Mingyong grew even more unreconciled.
“What happened a while ago was not your fault. But what about now? Do you want me to die because of the trouble you made? Who is King Xuan? He is the eighth prince that His Majesty dotes on the most. Few people in the palace dare to go against his will. If he really wanted to kill you, I would not be able to protect you. Why don’t you understand?”
Consort Yu was so angry that she reached out and slapped Yu Mingyong’s hand. Then, she took her handkerchief and wiped away her tears. She said, “Mingyong, why can’t you behave yourself? If something happens to you, who can I rely on in the future? And who can the child in my belly rely on?”
Without a family’s support or with a low status in the palace, it would not be of much use even if the consort gave birth to a prince. Consort Yu had never intended to be the mother of a lazy prince. When she saw how useless Yu Mingyong was, her eyes turned red and she wept.
She really wanted to tie Yu Mingyong up and give him a good beating.
“Elder Sister, don’t cry. You really can’t blame me this time. How could I offend King Xuan on purpose? Everyone knows that he is a cruel bully. I don’t dare to offend him even if I have the guts to do so to others. Elder Sister, I was completely fooled by the He family. How dare they get me to do something like that? Elder Sister, I finally understand. Don’t cry. How can my little nephew in your heart bear it if you cry? Elder Sister, if you’re angry, then hit me to vent your anger.”
Yu Mingyong was a playboy outside, but he was very obedient in front of Consort Yu. When he heard Consort Yu crying sadly, he shook his head and put his head in front of Consort Yu. He closed his eyes, looking as if he was waiting for Consort Yu to slap him and vent her anger. Seeing this, Consort Yu felt bitterer. She could not help but wipe her tears with her handkerchief again.
“Your Highness, don’t cry. First Young Master is really innocent. He’s a sincere man and didn’t know that the He family is so vicious. They wanted to take advantage of First Young Master and make King Xuan angry at you. If King Xuan really got angry and beat First Young Master to death or made him disabled, and then went into the palace and offended you, Your Highness and First Young Master are really in trouble. Fortunately, First Young Master has just suffered physical pain. It’s all right.”
Yu Feng hurried to speak up to comfort Consort Yu, and also reminded her again and again that if the matter blew up, both Yu Mingyong and Consort Yu would be in trouble. King Xuan was not a person who would care about what the consorts in the palace said.
His words seemed to imply Yu Mingyong’s resignation, so Yu Mingyong was pleased to hear that and immediately shouted, “Elder Sister, it’s really the He family’s scheme. Trust me. Besides, the He family has Consort Zhao, right? Elder Sister, you should also be careful in the palace. Don’t be hurt by that woman. Look at the two daughters of the He family. They’re just so young, but they’re so vicious. Who knows what will the elder one do? Elder Sister, you must take care of your health and don’t appear in front of Consort Zhao in the future unless necessary.”
He was truly concerned about Consort Yu, afraid that Consort Yu would not be a match for Consort Zhao, so he did not ask Consort Yu to take revenge for him. Everyone now knew that the He family was backed by Consort Zhao in the palace.
Consort Yu’s eyes grew even tearier when she heard that her younger brother who had been beaten badly was still concerned about her. She wiped away her tears forcefully and asked, “Did the He family really send someone to instigate you?”
“Of course it’s them. The He family’s two elder masters told me in person. I thought why these two were so attentive. Unexpectedly, they are driving me to the road to ruin. Elder Sister, wait and see, when my wound is healed, I’ll lead my men to rush into the He family first. I’ll beat all the young and old members of the He family to death. How dare the small He family to scheme against me and you?”
“You still dare to cause trouble even now? You can’t do that.” Consort Yu was furious when she saw Yu Mingyong gritting his teeth and the self-righteous look on his face. She knew that her younger brother was not a smart person. He might be set up again. He might as well stay quietly in the manor.
“No, Elder Sister, they hurt me like this. If I don’t vent my anger, they will think that our Yu Manor is easy to bully. In the future, even the imperial consorts in the palace will bully you. What can we do then?” Yu Mingyong said. He was still mutinous. He really wanted to kill all the He family members now. At this time, he realized that he was really trapped by the He family.
Consort Yu’s eyes turned red with anger when she heard that Yu Mingyong was not afraid and still dared to go out to find trouble with others. She picked up the cushion beside her and hit Yu Mingyong hard on his head. “You’re already beaten badly, but you still refuse to stay quiet. Do you want to piss me?”
“But, Elder Sister, we can’t be bullied by them just like that.” Yu Mingyong didn’t avoid Consort Yu’s beat. Then he pulled the cushion and said resentfully, his eyes red with hatred. He really felt that he had been bullied by the two useless people, and he could not take it lying down. He turned to Consort Yu, craned his neck, and said hatefully, “Elder Sister, I want to seek revenge.”
