20 Don't Save Drowning Women

The day before the impending nuptials, the entire Wu Household was in a frenzy. The estate had to be cleaned, the decorations finalised, and every single person who could be roped into helping didn't manage to escape the clutches of Liang Hui and Steward Yang. Even Yan Zheyun's ban from the main compound had to be temporarily lifted so that he could cover some of the menial tasks like being a messenger lackey.

Perhaps out of a sense of retribution, Liang Hui had assigned him to the team in charge of the bridal chambers. But if she'd been hoping to hurt Yan Zheyun's feelings by making him prepare the bed that his supposed lover was going to deflower his new wife in, she was sorely mistaken. Yan Zheyun couldn't be happier for the lovely couple.

Mingyue, though, was a different story. She was helping out here too, as Wu Bin's ex-Chief Maid. After her abortion, it was like the life had gone out of her. Yan Zheyun knew that she wasn't in love with Wu Bin. Quite the contrary. A lot of the respect and idolatry she'd once felt for him had evaporated after becoming his bedwarmer. But it didn't change the fact that she'd still been an expectant mother. And Yan Zheyun knew how important that was for women in this society, how horrible it must have felt to have her child stolen from her, just because of her lowly status.

"Big Sister Mingyue," he murmured, walking over to her after she'd sent some of the younger maids off to rewash the red dates because they weren't clean. "Are you all right?"

She gave him a small, wobbly smile. "Why wouldn't I be?" she said, deliberately avoiding his gaze. "Ah Yun, do you know whether the nuptial wine has been set aside in the kitchens? I'm worried something will happen to it, could you collect it now please?"

It was a forced change of topic, but he didn't press the matter. Mingyue had her pride and Yan Zheyun could respect that.

"Sure, Big Sister," he said, now so used to addressing this girl— who was really 4 plus years younger than him—as 'big sister' that it didn't even feel strange anymore. Without realising, Yan Zheyun had adapted to so many aspects of this world that sometimes he forgot that he wasn't born to this life.

He took his usual long detour between the kitchens and Wu Bin's residences, just because he was persona non grata in the eyes of the Minister of Rites at the moment. He really didn't want to bump into the worst father-son combo ever today of all days. After spending so many blissful weeks apart, he wasn't sure he would be able to stand the sight of Wu Bin anymore.

He was just passing the pond where Yan Yun had drowned in when a figure in pale yellow caught his attention, fluttering in his peripheral vision like a canary. He just barely had the chance to glimpse at her sweet heart-shaped face before she plunged into the waters.

A memory of a conversation with Yan Lixin flashed through his mind.

"Aren't there any nice young women in the Wu Household?" he'd asked with a frown. "Why are all the females villains?"

His little sister had scoffed. "Of course there are," she'd replied. "But they'd all met with horrible fates under Liang Hui's reign. First, she made Mingyue a bedwarmer and then she made Wu Roushu the concubine of her nephew…the Liangs are disgusting, I can see why Wu Roushu chose to drown herself instead of marrying in."

Wu Roushu. An illegitimate daughter of Wu Shengqi, a quiet docile girl who had been kind to Yan Yun whenever she'd come across him. Even though her position in the household was scarcely better than his. Her mother had been a famous southern beauty with soft looks like a fragile flower, and Wu Roushu had inherited her best traits. Liang Hui had intended to strengthen the bond between the Wu and Liang Families by marrying her off to Liang Ming as a concubine. It was, by status, an excellent match for Wu Roushu, as she would otherwise not be able to marry a legitimate son from one of the old noble clans.

But Wu Roushu had been inconsolable. And who could fault her? Liang Ming was infamous throughout the capital for his perversions. Only an idiot would find him husband material.

That being said, Liang Ming was now a cold corpse in an ancestral grave. So why was this young mistress still intent on killing herself?

Someone called out in panic from behind Yan Zheyun, "THE THIRD YOUNG MISTRESS HAS FALLEN INTO THE WATER! HURRY AND SAVE HER!"

The words startled Yan Zheyun into action. Without delay, he leapt into the waters after that slight flailing figure, forgetting in an instant that the original Yan Yun couldn't swim.

Wu Roushu was small, but Yan Zheyun had underestimated the weight of her robes after the water had soaked into them. There was too much fabric in the formal hanfu of young women, let alone the ones designed to protect them against chilly weather. Luckily, Yan Zheyun was a confident swimmer and had also been working hard in the stables. While it still took more effort than he'd expected, he managed to drag her back to the surface of the water, for other servants to haul her out.

He pulled himself onto shore as well, rolling onto his back and coughing out water. He'd swallowed quite a lot of it when she'd fought against him subconsciously, and he prayed that there weren't any strange bacteria lurking in there like listeria. He didn't need to spend the next week in the lavatories, they were the most disgusting place on earth in this century.

"Shu Er!"

A woman's shrill cry rang out in the air, and before Yan Zheyun could sit up, he'd been seized by the collar A sharp burst of pain bloomed over his right cheek as a slap cracked across his face.

What the ever-loving fuck?

Dazed by the sudden assault, he forgot to resist.

"You insolent slave! How dare you lay your filthy hands on the young mistress! I'll have them chopped off, you just wait—"

...and just when Yan Zheyun had thought that he'd become accustomed to the life here too, he'd forgotten how conservative this society was. Male slaves that jumped into the water to rescue their young mistresses would at the same time be accused of taking advantage of them.

Just perfect.

His eyes stung from the pond water. He peered blearily through them at the woman raging in front of him. She was dressed in some simple finery, nothing like the other concubines, so he guessed that she wasn't in favour with the Minister of Rites. Although it was obvious that she'd once been a great beauty, a lot of her looks had withered now.

"Second Concubine," the girl coughed weakly. Even though this was her birth mother, she had to address the woman with the term everyone in the household—including the children—would use for the master's concubines. "Second Concubine, Shu Er is fine, please don't punish the servant, he was just trying to help Shu Er."

"Shu Er." Tears rolled down the woman's cheeks. "Second Concubine knows that you're unhappy, it's my fault for being so useless. But the Liang Family won't be as bad as you think, and if you're a good wife and help the Wu Family strengthen ties with them, your father will be proud of you too."

[…what kind of bullshit reasoning is that?]

Wu Roushu evidently thought the same as Yan Zheyun, because she just shook her head and wept.

Perhaps this concubine needed to vent her anger or perhaps Yan Zheyun had been staring too blatantly at their interaction, but she caught sight of him and snapped, "Audacious slave! How dare you covet your young mistress!" Wu Roushu's only maid had already rushed over with a blanket. Given the layers that she'd been wearing in the first place, it wasn't like Yan Zheyun had caught more than a glimpse of her hands or neck.

But it wasn't like he could say that to defend himself.

"In response to Second Concubine," he said. "This servant acted without thinking because he feared for Third Young Mistress' life."

"Feared?!" she sneered. "I think you're just trying to corrupt my beautiful daughter! You must have seen her fair looks and developed nefarious intentions!"

"This humble servant doesn't dare," Yan Zheyun responded evenly. "Perhaps Second Concubine has forgotten, but this humble servant likes men. And if it's paramount beauty that this humble servant wanted to appreciate, then surely it would be simpler for me to just look at my reflection in the pond?"

"You!!!" she seethed. "How dare you talk back to me!"

But the only reason why Yan Zheyun had dared, was because he'd seen the reaction of the servants around them, in response to her behaviour. While Wu Roushu's maid was actively taking care of her, the others seemed merely content to settle the problem. Like it was just another part of their job. And no one tried comforting or consoling either Second Concubine or Wu Roushu after this ordeal.

So there had been some truth in those soppy historical dramas his mother liked to force the whole family to watch with her during the weekends. If a concubine wasn't favoured, then she was scarcely better than a slave, and could even be bullied by them.

In which case, Yan Zheyun had to stand his ground. The softer he appeared before her, the fiercer she was going to bite him.

"Second Concubine, I am just trying to reassure you that I do not have untoward feelings for your daughter."

"I don't care, you touched her! If word gets out, how will my Shu Er get married?!"

[If I had let her drown, how will your Shu Er get married?]

"Second Concubine!" Wu Roushu's maid cried out. "Let's bring the young mistress back to the house first, she's burning up!"

"Shu Er!!!"

It was like drama at its finest. Yan Zheyun remained kneeling, seemingly untouched by all the chaos, a tranquil expression on his face.

Suddenly, a harsh shout silenced everyone. "What's going on?! Tomorrow is Bin Er's big day, why are all of you behaving like caterwauling peasants?!"

Wu Shengqi strolled in with Wu Bin by his side. Yan Zheyun kept his eyes trained expertly onto the ground, not even deigning to spare Wu Bin one glance. But he knew that Wu Bin was looking at him.

So was Wu Shengqi. The second he saw Yan Zheyun, his face darkened like a thundercloud.

"You again!" he yelled, nostrils flaring in agitation. "You're allowed back into the main compound for one day and already you couldn't keep your cheap ways in check? Now that you've failed to capture the attention of my sons, you won't even spare my daughters?!"

The Minister of Rites had taken stock of the situation and chosen the explanation that would least favour Yan Zheyun.

Second Concubine seemed to realise that she had an ally because she scrambled over to Wu Shengqi with a piteous cry. "Master! You must support Shu Er! Shu Er had her modesty outraged by this impudent slave! If word of this escapes, Shu Er's future will be ruined!"

"Father," Wu Roushu called out weakly. "It isn't the servant's fault, he saved Shu Er…" But her voice was so soft that the Minister of Rites dismissed it completely.

"What do you have to say for yourself?" he asked Yan Zheyun.

Yan Zheyun kowtowed. When he raised his head again, his face was calm, like he wasn't surrounded by enemies who wanted to rip him apart. "Master, Yun Er has nothing to say. Yun Er knows that because Yun Er is innocent, the evidence will point towards this."

"Oh?" Wu Bin spoke up. He had an unreadable look on his face and Yan Zheyun felt his hackles rising. "But Yun Er, do you know the other half of that saying?"

The Minister of Rites, who was about to scold his son for defending his supposed ex-lover, fell silent. Wu Bin's words didn't sound like he was trying to protect Yan Zheyun. On the contrary…

"Those who are innocent will have their innocence proven even if they do not defend themselves. Those who are guilty will have their guilt proven even if they do defend themselves." Wu Bin cocked his head. "I wonder which one you are, Yun Er."

Yan Zheyun's eyes narrowed imperceptibly. So was this it then? After a whole month of waiting for this bastard to strike, this was the moment?

"Yun Er doesn't understand what Big Young Master is implying."

Wu Bin chuckled. "Yun Er also can't swim, am I right?"

…fuck. He'd forgotten. Yan Yun couldn't swim, otherwise, he wouldn't have gone down so easily after Liang Ming scared him into the pond.

But so what? Good swimmers drowned too. Wu Bin couldn't prove anything.

He swallowed past the sudden dryness in his throat and forced himself to appear unaffected. If he so much as let them catch one hint of his fear, they'd go straight for his jugular like a pack of rabid dogs.

"Yun Er can," he said levelly. "But that incident with Young Master Liang troubled Yun Er so much that he panicked and nearly drowned as a result."

Wu Bin shook his head lightly. "Yun Er ah," he said. "You may be a slave now, but you grew up with your big brother. How many times do you think you've told your big brother that you couldn't swim?" He spoke with a fondness that didn't reach his eyes. He didn't hide the possessive greed in their depths as his gaze bore straight into Yan Zheyun's, but there was something else in there as well that looked like resentment.

He resented Yan Zheyun? What for? Not crawling back and begging to be his pet once more?

Everyone in this novel was so fucked up.

Yan Zheyun let a small smile tug on his lips. "Big Young Master," he said, distant and unfamiliar like he was addressing a stranger. "Do you remember telling me that you're not proficient at composing rhyming couplets?"

This question seemed to throw Wu Bin for the loop. "I've never said that," he retorted, refusing to admit in front of his father that there was something he wasn't proficient at.

"Are you certain?" Yan Zheyun continued, to prove his point. "But it's just the word of this humble servant against yours, right? I say that I can swim and have demonstrated so by saving the third young mistress, and yet Big Young Master insists my behaviour is suspicious because I've apparently told you before that I couldn't. But did I really say that? Or does Big Young Master just want to get me into trouble?"

Before Wu Bin could defend himself, Yan Zheyun scooted over right next to Second Concubine and kowtowed deeply at the Minister of Rites' feet.

"Master," he cried out. "Please support this humble servant with your righteousness! I have heeded Master's words completely ever since my punishment that day, but Big Young Master…he—he—" Yan Zheyun reverted to his old technique of biting the inside of his mouth to elicit tears. It always worked like a charm. "After that, I resisted Big Young Master's advances but this angered him and now he's using this incident to try and take revenge on this humble servant. On account of this humble servant obeying your commands, please save me!"

He kowtowed once more before raising his face to gaze up at the Minister of Rites. It was a subservient angle, a great beauty on his knees, with those big innocent eyes half-hooded by long dark lashes. Tears clung to their tips like pearls and rosebud lips trembled with Yan Zheyun's 'despair'. He looked like a poor creature, but instead of comfort, the inexplicable aura of allure around him just brought out the destructive nature of men.

This was a face that men couldn't say no to. Wu Shengqi, who had never once looked twice at a man, felt oddly parched. For the first time in his life, Wu Shengqi found himself believing the words of a slave over that of his son.