Chapter 030: Clearly an Innocent Youth

“People from the Capital Prefecture?” Hua Yun was taken aback, and without bothering to ask what had happened, she turned quickly and hurried back.

By then, Hua Wenshan had already been helped by the servants into the flower hall and was resting on a couch. The physician had not yet arrived; he lay half-conscious on the soft pillows, groaning. His face was both frightening and comical—his nose was swollen and red, one eye was bruised, and there was a large lump on his forehead filled with blood, making the sight rather repulsive.

Hua Yunhua had also heard the news as soon as she entered the estate, arriving even earlier than Hua Yun. “Father!” Hua Yun stepped through the door and was startled by her father’s condition. She turned to ask Hua Yunhua, “What happened to Father? How did he get hurt like this?”

In truth, Hua Wenshan’s injuries were even worse than they appeared. His face merely bore the lightest wounds, for he had only received two kicks there. His body was covered in countless bruises, and his right arm was dislocated, hanging uselessly at his side.

Hua Yunhua herself had just been provoked by someone, her anger still simmering. Seeing her father in such a state only made her feel more frustrated. “I—” She opened her mouth, about to say she didn’t know, when a young officer from the Capital Prefecture bowed and explained, “Just two streets from your distinguished residence, we received a report of a robbery. When we arrived, we found all four of Grand Tutor Hua’s sedan bearers knocked unconscious, and the Grand Tutor himself assaulted. Seeing his injuries were severe, our captain feared delaying his treatment, so he ordered us to bring him back without delay.”

“Robbery?” The two sisters frowned in unison.

Hua Yun asked, “What about the assailant? Did you catch him?”

The officer looked embarrassed and said, “Well—Grand Tutor Hua’s head was covered at the time, so he didn’t see who attacked him. The four sedan bearers are still unconscious and were taken away by our captain. Please don’t worry, ladies; once they regain consciousness, their testimonies might provide some clues.”

Such matters were truly not something for young ladies to involve themselves in.

The officer glanced again at Hua Wenshan. “Now that Grand Tutor Hua is safely home, I’ll take my leave and return to the yamen to report.”

“Thank you very much!” Hua Yunhua was clearly not herself today, her gaze wandering. Hua Yun didn’t mind, signaling Nan Zhi to hand over some silver coins.

She gave a grateful smile. “Thank you for bringing my father home. It’s cold tonight—please buy yourselves some wine.”

“You’re too kind, miss!” The officer accepted the silver without hesitation, and the group departed in haste.

Not long after they left, Lady Hua, Tian, was escorted in, trembling, by her attendants.

Her health was poor; she seldom left her chambers due to chronic illness. Now, anxious and flushed, she hurried in, her face unnaturally dark red, breathing heavily as she called, “Husband! How is he?”

“Mother!” Hua Yun rushed forward to support her. “It’s late—why did you come?”

“I heard your father—” Tian clutched her daughter’s hand, her fingers cold as ice. Peering past her, she caught sight of Hua Wenshan’s battered form and nearly fainted on the spot.

Hua Yun quickly helped her to a chair and comforted her, “It shouldn’t be life-threatening. The physician will be here soon. Please don’t worry, Mother, don’t worry!”

But Tian was frantic, gripping her daughter’s hand as she gazed at her. “How did it come to this? I heard it was a roadside robbery? Who was the villain?”

To her, losing a few belongings was nothing, but beating someone so badly was outrageous.

“We don’t know yet. The Capital Prefecture is investigating…” While soothing her mother, Hua Yun kept glancing at Hua Yunhua out of the corner of her eye—this woman was behaving abnormally. Ordinarily, she would act the dutiful daughter, personally tending to her father, but now her mind seemed elsewhere, almost guilty.

Hua Yunhua’s distraction was real, but not from guilt. The timing of Hua Wenshan’s misfortune struck her as too coincidental. Though she had no evidence linking it to Wu Tan and her brother, suspicion gnawed at her.

After all—

Wu Tan was a true madwoman, capable of anything!

Meanwhile, the four officers had left the gates of the Hua estate.

The wind had picked up, and the night was indeed chilly. One of them asked, “Are we heading back to the yamen to question the sedan bearers for clues?”

The young officer spat, “Clues? What clues? Five victims at the scene, not a single coin missing. Robbery? Who ever heard of a robbery like this? Do you really believe that nonsense?”

The others, slower to catch on, exchanged puzzled looks. “What do you mean…”

“Five people—those bearers were knocked out immediately, but Grand Tutor Hua got the worst of it. What does that tell you?” The young officer raised his brow, clearly enjoying the spectacle. “I bet he offended someone, and they came to settle the score.”

“Ah?”

The others finally saw his point and began discussing it animatedly.

“Grand Tutor Hua is the Crown Prince’s mentor, renowned for his virtue. Who could he have offended to warrant such a vicious attack?”

“Haha! That’s nothing. It’s often those scholars who are the most deceitful. Don’t be fooled by their dignified airs and lofty words—behind closed doors, they’re no better than thieves or seducers.”

“True enough!”

“So, what do you think Grand Tutor Hua did to offend someone?”

“A man like him… always with his nose in books, what trouble could he cause? Maybe it was a lover’s quarrel, fighting over a woman?”

“Alright, enough! Are we done here? Let’s go, let’s drink!”

“….”

The four walked off, laughing and joking, disappearing into the night.

By the time they’d finished their drinks, the next morning saw the streets, teahouses, and taverns abuzz with scandalous tales of Crown Prince’s Grand Tutor Hua Wenshan—the salacious exploits of Master Hua.

Lei Ming, meanwhile, learned almost immediately of Hua Wenshan’s public beating on his way home, but since it didn’t concern him, he didn’t tell Xiao Yue. The next morning, when the story had escalated, he reported official business to Xiao Yue and, for amusement, brought along a freshly printed teahouse storybook—thus informing him of the matter.

“Pfft…” At the time, Xiao Yue was nestled in the warm chamber, sipping tea. He had barely turned two pages before bursting out laughing, nearly reopening the wound on his chest that had only half healed.

Lei Ming wiped tea off his face, wondering why he’d brought trouble upon himself, and was about to withdraw, when he saw his master laughing uncontrollably. “How old is Hua Wenshan, and yet he’s said to have three trysts? Whoever wrote this is clearly a novice…”

Lei Ming: Heh…

This book is published first here. Please do not reproduce.