All Hail Cousin Brother

363 Heir Yin Huaixi

Mr. Hu Shan was old friends with Old Master, so he was willing to come to the residence to teach his brothers.

Since their relationship was different, they were more casual.

However, Mr. Xian Yun had nothing to do with the Yu Residence in the past. He had only borrowed a place to stay to visit his friends, so it had nothing to do with the Yu Residence.

After Mr. Xian Yun entered the residence, it was not easy to grasp how to greet him.

If they were too solicitous, they would lack the bearing of a scholarly family. Mr. Xian Yun was also a scholar, so no one underestimated him.

However, she couldn’t take it lightly. It would be disrespectful and upsetting to the guest.

She had to be especially careful.

Yu Zongshen also said, “After Madam Yao received the invitation, she didn’t dare to make it public. She immediately sent someone to the government office to report to me and wait for me to come back to deal with it.”

Old Madam Yu nodded. “Your wife did things appropriately.”

The smile on Yu Zongshen’s lips was elegant. He looked handsome and gentle, but he seemed to be separated from everyone else by a layer. He treated everyone with a trace of distance. Even when his wife was mentioned, his emotions did not fluctuate at all.

The smile on Old Madam Yu’s face faded, and a hint of defeat appeared on her face. “Are you still blaming me for not…”

“Mother.” Yu Zongshen’s tone was also filled with warning, completely unlike how a son treated his mother. “At this point, be careful not to cause trouble with your words.”

Old Madam Yu held her breath and clutched her chest, panting.

Yu Zongshen had already returned to his usual handsome and gentle self. “Mother, you have to take care of yourself.”

Old Madam Yu picked up the teacup in front of her and took a few sips before feeling a little better. “Mr. Xian Yun is going to enter the residence. How did you arrange it?”

Yu Zongshen said, “Madam Yao is young. I’ll have to trouble Mother to move to the West Mansion tomorrow to keep an eye on her, in case anything goes wrong.”

“Alright, I’ll be there early tomorrow morning.” Old Madam Yu thought for a moment and said, “Tell your wife that everything in the residence will continue as usual tomorrow. Don’t let anyone know. Mr. Xian Yun is a carefree person. He’s free and unfettered. He doesn’t follow strict rules. Don’t mess things up.”

Yu Zongshen nodded.

The inner room was silent for a while. No one took the initiative to speak. It was as if the mother and son had nothing else to say.

Old Madam Yu tightened her grip on the prayer beads in her hand and said, “The last time Mr. Xian Yun entered the capital was after King You’s rebellion. He took in Song Mingzhao, the heir of the Marquis of Zhen, as his disciple. After that, he left freely like a wandering crane. Now that he has entered the capital, he probably has a deeper meaning.”

On the surface, accepting Song Mingzhao as his disciple had nothing to do with the royal court.

In reality, that was not the case!

The Marquis of Zhen’s Residence was a meritorious family that had contributed greatly to the country during the time of their great ancestors. They had taken root in the capital for many years and had deep roots, representing the interests of the old and noble.

Most of the old nobles were from the royal faction. Unless it was absolutely necessary, they would not interfere in the struggles of the royal court, let alone take sides.

It was also because of this that the old nobles were passed down their status generation after generation.

However, there was also a bad thing.

The old nobles were deeply rooted and their power was intertwined. Once they took over the power, it was easy to threaten the imperial power and they were usually not placed in an important position. However, they still cared about the meritorious deeds of generations.

After King You’s rebellion, the Marquis of Weining’s Residence took over the military power and rose up. In addition, there was Imperial Consort Lu in the harem, who was like the sun in the sky. It was inevitable that she would threaten the interests of the old nobles.

Mr. Xian Yun had nurtured Song Mingzhao. When Song Mingzhao shone brightly in the imperial examination, he would be placed in an important position by the Imperial Court as soon as he entered the court. With such a capable young talent on the old and noble side, it would be like adding wings to a tiger. The two sides would be on par.

Mr. Xian Yun was using the Marquis of Zhen’s Residence to balance the Weining Marquis Residence.

Now that King Ping had entered the capital on his own, there was a commotion in the imperial court.

Mr. Xian Yun probably had a deeper meaning for entering the capital at this time.

Yu Zongshen’s expression also turned serious. “I heard that more than three years ago, Mr. Xian Yun had traveled to Youzhou and set up an unprecedented precious chess game in Youzhou. When they found out about this, all the scholars in the world rushed to Youzhou. Mr. Xian Yun’s door was also crowded, but no one had cracked this chess game in Youzhou for more than ten days.”

Old Madam Yu frowned. Second Brother meant that Mr. Xian Yun’s return to the capital this time was probably related to Youzhou.

Yu Zongshen paused for a moment and said, “In the end, this game was cracked by a mysterious young man who came anonymously. There were rumors that Mr. Xian Yun wanted to take this young man as his disciple. For some reason, it was left unsettled in the end.”

When Old Madam Yu heard this, her heart skipped a beat. She was a little wary of this young man’s identity. “Did you find out the identity of this mysterious young man?”

Yu Zongshen said, “According to the information obtained by the spy, it’s very likely that the young man is…” At this point, he couldn’t help but feel cautious. “The heir of King You, Yin Huaixi.”

“What?” Old Madam Yu sat up straight in shock. She did not even care that the prayer beads in her hand had fallen to the ground. “How confident are you about this news?”

“40-50%,” Yu Zongshen said solemnly. “The spy is proficient in some disguise techniques. Although that young man hid his identity, when he left, the spy saw him. Yin Huaixi can be said to be very high profile in Youzhou, so he became suspicious.”

Old Madam Yu’s lips trembled. 40-50% confidence was probably a conservative estimate. It seemed that the mysterious young man was most likely the heir of King You, Yin Huaixi. “More than three years ago, the Di clan invaded the north wantonly. The emperor ordered the Marquis of Weining to be the commander-in-chief, and the Marquis of Changxing to be the general of the expedition to the north. He will follow the army and help the north.” She closed her eyes. When she opened them again, her eyes were already deep. “Now, the vassal lord has entered the capital on his own. The Marquis of Changxing’s Residence is like the sun in the sky. Everything is related to Youzhou.”

Yu Zongshen said solemnly, “Mother, the royal court is going to be chaotic.”

The Marquis of Weining was a new noble, so he might not be able to intimidate the vassal lords.

The two of them chatted for a while longer before Yu Zongshen left. Old Madam Yu looked at his distant and cold back and couldn’t even hold her prayer beads anymore.

All these years, the mother and son had become strangers. Other than the matters in the royal court, their mother-son relationship was never mentioned.

Nanny Liu quietly entered the house and brought over a cup of medicinal tea. “Old Madam, have some tea.”

Old Madam Yu shook her head, her expression ashen. “Second Brother still blames me in the end. I originally thought that he…” Old Madam Yu suddenly paused, and even her breathing became chaotic. “It was just a thought. When his delicate wife enters the family and his children are around him, he’ll be able to let go of it. I didn’t expect that he would be so unlucky. He died at the prime of his life, and Second Brother missed him for many years.”

Nanny Liu’s heart skipped a beat. She wished she could cover her ears with two balls of cotton. How could she dare to continue listening? She hurriedly lowered her head and recited the Heart Sutra in her heart.

Old Madam Yu said dejectedly, “Back then, Second Brother was in the rankings and entered the Hanlin Academy. However, he did not enter the cabinet. His future was very bright. How could I let him marry a businesswoman and hinder his future?”