After Being Mistakenly Taken for a Fellow Traveler by Emperor Long Aotian - Chapter 81

The carriage flashed by quickly, only lingering in Zhou Xun’s vision for a few moments. Shangguan Mingjing noticed Zhou Xun looking in that direction and asked, “Did you see something?”

Zhou Xun’s fingers paused on the stone bricks, and finally, he said, “Nothing.”

After Zhou Xun and the others left, only Lu’s mother and Lu Bin remained in the Lu family courtyard. Following the prescriptions given by the doctors, Lu’s mother prepared the medicine for Lu Bin. Lu Bin took a sip and immediately frowned, “This medicine tastes… strange.”

“I added some incense ash to it. Just drink it!” Seeing Lu Bin hesitate, Lu’s mother urged, “Oh, come on, it won’t do any harm. Drinking it all together will be better! One cures the soul, and the other cures the body, how perfect!”

After hesitating for a moment, Lu Bin felt his mother made a good point. He gritted his teeth and drank the whole bowl of medicine.

In the afternoon, as usual, Zhou Xun went to Old Shen’s place and stayed in the bookstore, maintaining his calm demeanor. However, when he came out of the bookstore and met the guards waiting to escort him under the tree, Zhou Xun said, “I want to stroll through the book market. You don’t need to follow me.”

The book market?

The two guards exchanged glances.

The Emperor went to the book market the other day, and now Young Master Zhou wants to go to the book market?

They thought this but didn’t question it aloud. Zhou Xun then went to the book market alone, found it bustling, hesitated for a moment, then relaxed.

Still, he put on a hat and pulled the brim low to cover his face. After walking around the book market for a few laps, he finally stopped at an inconspicuous stall and pointed to a book, “How much for this book?”

He pointed to a poetry collection, deliberately lowering his voice. The stall owner quoted a price, and Zhou Xun, acting picky, said, “This one has been handled by many people and is worn. Find me a new one.”

He had never tried such an arrogant tone before, but it worked well. The stall owner grumbled but turned around to find a new book in the piles. Taking advantage of the moment, Zhou Xun quietly flipped through a few pages of a nearby book while squatting.

…just a few pages.

When the stall owner turned back, he saw the young master with the lowered hat brim blushing. The young master had many demands but paid generously. With a few pieces of silver in hand, the young master left.

—There wasn’t anything particularly interesting.

Zhou Xun thought as he sat in the carriage.

As the carriage drove through the capital’s streets, Zhou Xun was lost in thought but noticed the carriage stopping. A guard lifted the curtain and asked from outside, “Young Master Zhou, should we take a detour?”

Zhou Xun looked outside and understood—the carriage had arrived at Tongfu Lane.

—The location of the Zhou residence.

From a distance, he saw a low wall, and inside the yard, construction was underway. After seeing that yard, Zhou Xun paused and said, “No need for a detour, let’s go.”

The guard obeyed, and Zhou Xun added, “Go through the main gate.”

The guard, taken aback, turned around in surprise. The slender young man just smiled at him, “What’s wrong?”

“After being away from ‘home’ for so long, it’s time to go back and take a look,” Zhou Xun said calmly.

The guard hesitated and finally said, “Young Master Zhou… if it makes you unhappy, there’s no need to force yourself.”

Because of his steady and reliable work, the guard had been assigned by the Emperor to serve Zhou Xun, so he wasn’t really Zhou Xun’s man. Coming from a moderately well-off family himself, he had no particular loyalty to Zhou Xun. But over time…

He had developed some genuine affection for Zhou Xun, and now couldn’t help but offer some advice.

Zhou Xun knew the guard was overthinking.

Seeing the Zhou residence no longer stirred the intense hatred of the past. Today, he wanted to visit out of curiosity, to see the spectacle, and because…

The yard being demolished earlier, if he remembered correctly, was where his mother used to live.

Besides… he also wanted to see what the Emperor’s “eighth of Daxing construction” looked like. If he told the Emperor he had seen his project upon returning to the palace, the Emperor would surely be pleased.

The carriage headed towards the Zhou residence, circling from the back to the front. Zhou Xun saw a Zhou family carriage parked at the side gate, with decorations similar to the one he had seen near Lu’s house earlier in the day.

“Is the Zhou family looking for Lu Bin?” Zhou Xun wondered.

However… he was curious about how the Zhou family would struggle in their final days.

As dusk fell, construction at the Zhou residence hadn’t stopped, with the sound of work occasionally coming from inside.

Zhou Xun remained in the carriage.

He had visited at night previously, but now it was evening—naturally, the streets were bustling. Tongfu Lane was home to many official families, and ordinary people wouldn’t come to watch the affairs of officials. However, the servants of other families passing by couldn’t help but stop and point at the unusual sight.

“…Let’s stay away from this family, it’s very unlucky.”

“…I heard they offended the Emperor.”

“Offended the Emperor? I heard Madam Zhou inside saying last time it was just their family renovating, wasn’t it?”

“Renovating? You believe that nonsense? Who renovates by tearing down walls?”

“…Such sin, who came up with this way to torment people.”

“Sins? It’s just retribution. This family has always acted so high and mighty; they deserve what’s happening today!”

“Keep your voice down, don’t let the Zhou family hear. Everyone knows they’re vindictive. If they regain their power one day, who knows what might happen…”

Zhou Xun just sat quietly in the carriage, listening to the whispers outside. Eventually, he suddenly asked the guard beside him, “How good is your martial arts?”

Guard: ?

The guard’s martial arts were naturally very strong. Zhou Xun then adjusted his robe and got off the carriage. Nearby was the Zhou family’s plaque, but there were no servants to greet him at the door. Zhou Xun knew that this family was too busy with their own troubles to attend to outside formalities.

He didn’t mind this at all. He didn’t come today for formalities.

He was simply revisiting old places out of curiosity.

He strolled in through the main gate. A servant sweeping nearby was yawning but dropped his broom in shock upon seeing him. The servant rubbed his eyes hard, as if doubting what he saw.

Then the broom fell to the ground with a thud. The servant shouted and ran inside.

Tea was served in white porcelain cups. Madam Zhou looked at the middle-aged man before her, maintaining a reserved smile, “This tea is tribute tea from the court, not easily found in Jiangzhou. Cousin, please try it.”

The man she called cousin sat beside her, responding with a faint “hmm.” This middle-aged man had an imposing demeanor, like someone who had been in a high position for a long time. Madam Zhou watched him drink the tea and heard the constant sounds of bricks falling outside. She grabbed her clothes nervously, trying to sit properly.

She gave a look to the maid beside her. The maid, who had been used as a punching bag recently, was covered in bruises and had not slept well for days, naturally dozing off. Startled awake, the maid understood the signal and obediently went to close the door. Only then did Madam Zhou secretly breathe a sigh of relief.

But the more one dreads something, the more it happens. As soon as the maid closed the door, the middle-aged man frowned and said, “Why is it so noisy in the Zhou residence?”

“This…”

A drop of cold sweat fell from Madam Zhou’s forehead. She looked at her cousin, the head of the Ye family, and didn’t know how to answer. In recent years, thanks to Zhou Cai’s smooth sailing, she had gained a lot of face in the family, finally venting the frustration from her youth when she was always oppressed by others.

Everyone in the Ye family knew she was living the best now. But her cousin chose this time to visit, and at her most embarrassing moment!

Madam Zhou forced herself to maintain her dignity as a noblewoman. She smiled lightly, “Some facilities in the residence were old, so we decided to do some renovations recently. Unfortunately, it coincided with your visit to the capital, and we have been a bit negligent…”

The middle-aged man believed her words and nodded, “That’s good then, but such renovations are really not very elegant.”

Madam Zhou kept smiling on the surface, but her teeth were grinding. She changed the topic, “Cousin, did you come to the capital today because of Min’er? Min’er is about the right age for the imperial examinations now…”

“Aside from Min’er’s matter, there are also family issues to deal with. Some young people in the family, not knowing the rules, bought an official position and got detained by the Ministry of Justice.” The middle-aged man said slowly, “You are also part of the Ye family, so this matter…”

If it were the old days, Madam Zhou would have readily agreed—she was always looking for opportunities to flaunt her status in the family. But now…

She could hardly protect herself, so naturally, she showed some reluctance. Madam Zhou wanted to brush it off with a few words, but the middle-aged man said meaningfully, “You better think it over—without the Ye family, can you still be Mrs. Zhou?”

Madam Zhou stiffened at his words, then sneered, “Cousin, that’s not fair. Speaking of mutual help, in the Lin family’s windfall, Ah Rou played no small part.”

“It’s not about forcing you, but that child’s status is unusual, and many account books are hidden with him.” The head of the Ye family sighed, “If we don’t get him out, things will be difficult.”

—This old fox!

Madam Zhou cursed him in her heart. They were about to continue talking when there was a commotion outside. Just as Madam Zhou was about to scold someone, she heard someone shout, “Second Young Master is back! If you don’t believe me, go see!”

Hearing that title was like being struck by lightning for Madam Zhou. Her face turned pale, then red with intense hatred and anger.

“He dares… he dares to come back! The Zhou residence is like this because of him!”

Zhou Xun walked alone into the courtyard where his mother used to live.

His own courtyard had been demolished on the first day—the Emperor, knowing his feelings, didn’t want any trace of him left here. Besides, it had long turned into a storage room. Zhou Xun had no feelings for that place and no intention of looking inside.

But now, seeing his mother’s former residence being torn down, he felt no sadness. The cleaner the courtyard was demolished, the happier he felt.

—Surely his mother also wanted a clean departure.

“Mother, I came to claim my inheritance.” He said softly, squatting down.

His fingers touched a piece of jade pendant in the rubble.