My Gentle and Pure Sect Leader Husband - Chapter 30

Hua Family Fortress, also known as Peach Blossom Fortress, was located in the relatively warm region of Jiangnan. The Hua Family had spent a fortune to maintain the beautiful scenery of peach blossoms blooming in three seasons of the year except winter.

However, when Hua Ruling asked about Yan Hongyin’s preferences, she politely expressed her desire for a courtyard without peach blossoms.

“You don’t like peach blossoms?” Yu Luocha, once again being boiled in a medicinal tub by Yan Hongyin, faced the window, looking at the hawthorn trees standing quietly in the courtyard in the evening glow.

Beyond the thick courtyard walls, a faint, delicate scent of peach blossoms still drifted in.

The prosperity of the Hua Family was evident in the medicinal bath tub that allowed Yu Luocha to practically lie in the medicinal liquid, but this also added some unnecessary trouble for Yan Hongyin when measuring the herb quantities, causing her to make the heat slightly too intense.

The autumn breeze blew in coolness from outside the window, yet his body was being cooked in scalding medicinal broth. Yu Luocha almost felt that Yan Hongyin might not be preparing a medicinal bath, but rather a medicinal stew.

“Datura flower stewed Yu Luocha, hmm, not bad,” Yu Luocha mumbled quietly.

Yan Hongyin got up and casually closed the window, then with a twist of her foot, kicked another piece of firewood under the medicinal tub.

“You should be grateful for the pain-relieving numbness brought by the datura flowers,” Yan Hongyin said coolly. “If the Hua Family hadn’t sent these datura flowers, I would have considered tying you up and pinning you to the medicinal tub.”

Today’s medicinal bath temperature was indeed very high; this was evident from Yu Luocha’s hair strands winding along the tub’s edge, already soaked with sweat.

“So, Wife, are you planning to change the method of interrogation?” Yu Luocha sighed softly with a resigned posture. “Alright, alright, I confess… hmm, by the way, what did you want me to confess again?”

“Can’t you be quiet for a moment?”

Yan Hongyin’s gaze remained fixed on Yu Luocha’s face, but his endurance far exceeded her expectations.

Even though he should now be experiencing numb meridians with constant gnawing, tingling pain due to the medicinal effects, he still smiled with an annoying, carefree expression.

“Your non-cooperation makes it difficult for me to adjust the herb dosage.”

When Yu Luocha heard Yan Hongyin say this, he almost laughed out loud. “Beloved, if you could occasionally be frank and tell me that you just want to see your husband in a miserable state, you might achieve your goal faster.”

“Fine, I do want to see it,” Yan Hongyin admitted promptly and decisively, before Yu Luocha had even finished speaking.

Yu Luocha choked a bit, his chin hitting the damp lid of the medicinal bath tub, his expression rather helpless. “Alright… then could Wife first tell me, do you really dislike peach blossoms?”

“So many messy forms of address,” Yan Hongyin murmured, then answered, “It’s not about liking or disliking them. It’s just that having scents linger on the body for too long can be somewhat troublesome.”

Except when required for missions, Yan Hongyin never used rouge or powder in daily life. Even the items she used for bathing, disguise, or washing clothes were all odorless. Yan Hongyin could not accept any possibility of accidentally exposing her whereabouts or identity.

–Having her identity as Zhenfushi exposed by Yu Luocha wasn’t a big deal. In fact, Yan Hongyin hadn’t tried hard to hide it, and more profoundly, the Zhenfushi identity allowed her to more effectively conceal her true identity.

Besides the Zhenfushi identity that served as a target identity for outsiders, whether it was Imperial Princess or Jinyiwei Commander, once exposed, either would be a fatal danger to Yan Hongyin.

“That’s really an expected answer,” Yu Luocha’s tone didn’t reveal whether he was satisfied or dissatisfied, as he hummed lightly, “Are all Jinyiwei as boring as you? Hmm, for example, the possibly existent or non-existent…..legendary other Jinyiwei Commander?”

In front of Yan Hongyin was a plate of hawthorn fruits that she had made Yu Luocha climb trees to pick that afternoon. The fully ripened fruits were bright red, and she was now using a small knife to remove the stems and cores, her movements flowing smoothly without any pause. “You should ask Lu Gang about that question.”

“Seriously, hasn’t Ah Yin heard about such a mysterious commander existing?” Yu Luocha shifted his chin in Yan Hongyin’s direction, looking at her eagerly, “Let’s chat about it. I can’t do anything in this state, it’s really boring.”

Yan Hongyin glanced at Yu Luocha and said flatly, “Within the Jinyiwei, ranks are clearly defined, and my background doesn’t allow me to interact with the capital’s nobility. Most government institutions are like this. Asking about something you don’t know would be more interesting.”

“Oh, but I still think that an organization that’s difficult to infiltrate no matter how one threatens or entices would be more… unusual compared to the Liu Shanmen,” Wet hair strands clung to his cheeks and forehead as Yu Luocha gazed at Yan Hongyin with upturned, affectionate eyes, showing no sign of painful endurance, but rather full of teasing, “Over these years, the martial arts world has lost quite a few interesting people.”

“A person leaves traces from birth to death, yet these people somehow vanished without a trace, as if they were erased completely. That’s very interesting,” Yu Luocha chuckled softly, like a dangerous and cold water spirit crouching by the shore, beautiful and alluring, “If I were that Commander, having gone to great lengths to recruit people for the court, how could I not make full use of them? So, how do these people… coexist with those Jinyiwei from noble family backgrounds?”

Yan Hongyin raised an eyebrow and calmly replied, “Do you need me to write a memorial to be reported up level by level? Perhaps that possibly existing Commander might see it.”

“That won’t be necessary, since I’m a low-profile person who dislikes causing trouble, and I especially hate dealing with the Emperor’s hounds,” Yu Luocha wrinkled his nose, as if remembering something, showing visible disgust in every exposed part of his skin above the medicinal tub, “Their temperaments are extremely stubborn and difficult, completely impossible to talk to, truly detestable.”

“I’m just wondering what the Jinyiwei gave Ah Yin that made you so wholeheartedly devoted to them?”

Yan Hongyin, who had just been openly insulted, lightly placed her hand on the plate and, instead of answering the question, casually picked up a not-very-red but large hawthorn fruit and forcefully stuffed it into Yu Luocha’s mouth.

Yu Luocha’s face twisted in sourness, and after a while, he spat out two hawthorn cores, both pained and aggrieved. “There were riper ones with the cores removed!”

“Yes, there were,” Yan Hongyin said, “But I didn’t want to give them to you.”

Yu Luocha humbly asked for advice. “…What have I done to offend you this time?”

Yan Hongyin smiled. “Your breathing offends me.”

Yu Luocha: “…”

Today’s Ah Yin is still so unapproachable.

****

Little Master Hua had been in poor health since childhood due to his mother’s advanced age and premature birth. Now, having suffered this sudden misfortune, the care that the Hua family had meticulously provided since his youth had gone to waste.

After much persuasion from the enthusiastic Hua Ruling, Yan Hongyin finally agreed to stay at Hua Family Fortress for half a month to treat Little Master Hua’s condition.

During this half month, Yan Hongyin barely went out, and Yu Luocha also behaved quite obediently, staying in the courtyard.

But they both knew very well that in a certain house, the renovation of rooms by subordinates from both factions was nearing completion.

There seemed to be nothing of interest to Yu Luocha in the Hua Family Fortress. Every day, besides regulating his breathing, meditation, and sleeping, he spent the rest of his time following Yan Hongyin, almost never leaving her side.

Because of this, he discovered some… very incongruous things.

“I’ve noticed that you’re very concerned about that Little Master Hua.”

Yu Luocha slowly sipped the hawthorn water in his cup. This was dried by Yan Hongyin during this period, and it must be said that these fruits were more to Yu Luocha’s taste when dried and steeped in water.

Since Yan Hongyin had refused the servants’ attendance, there were no other people in the courtyard where they were staying, which in a way facilitated their daily conversations.

Yan Hongyin also seemed to like the sweet and sour taste of hawthorn water. After some thought, she tossed a few more dried hawthorns into the brewed teapot. “Have you heard of the Young Master Fu who appeared in the martial arts world a few years ago?”

“Yuan Suiyun?” Yu Luocha thought for a moment, his expression immediately becoming somewhat subtle.

He had indeed only personally set foot in the Central Plains in the past two years, but that didn’t mean he was completely unaware of what had happened in the Central Plains martial arts world.

Not to mention that Young Master Fu Yuan Suiyun had once caused a huge uproar in the martial arts world, which had led to the previously famous Wuzheng Mountain Villa, Wanfu Wanshou Garden, and Emei Sect, three major forces, to retreat from the jianghu.

Yu Luocha was a very intelligent person, and he almost immediately understood what Yan Hongyin was thinking.

“I’ve seen him before,” Yan Hongyin slightly narrowed her eyes.

That was a long time ago. Her master had been invited by the Villa Master of Wuzheng Mountain Villa, who had called in a big favor to have him examine Yuan Suiyun. At that time, the young Yan Hongyin had accompanied him.

“Yuan Suiyun was not born blind, but became so at the age of three due to a serious illness and persistent high fever. After becoming blind, he became a gentleman in the eyes of the world, accomplished in both literary and martial arts, proper and amiable. Before the truth about Fu Island was revealed, anyone in the martial arts world who had met him would praise him as being honest in nature, and possessing great benevolence and talent.”

Yu Luocha didn’t speak, but just silently gazed at Yan Hongyin while holding his water cup, his eyes flickering with indescribably complex emotions.

“The Fu Island tragedy not only shocked the martial arts world, but it was also an extremely rare case of brutality even in the Jinyiwei archives. Chu Liuxiang and the others only saw the pitiful people trapped on Fu Island on the surface, but they couldn’t see what the Jinyiwei discovered when they uncovered Yuan Suiyun’s veil of filth during the clean-up afterward.”

“That was the longest mission since I became a Jinyiwei,” Yan Hongyin lowered her eyes, as if reminiscing, her gaze steady but her eyelashes trembling slightly, “The living, the dead, the half-dead, those living worse than death, and… those who were unaware that they were in purgatory.”

“Chu Liuxiang was already shocked and pained, feeling immense pity when he saw those women with sewn eyes on Fu Island. But beneath the Fu Island case, there were countless people who, after the truth was revealed, fought back with all their might, almost suicidally attacking civilians, going insane because their ‘deity’ had died.”

“They were victims, pitiful people, and no one understood this better than the Jinyiwei. But what could be done? Chu Liuxiang didn’t kill people, he could leave a good name in the jianghu and depart elegantly, but the Jinyiwei couldn’t.”

“Those people would cause more innocent deaths if they remained alive. If you don’t remove the roots when cutting the grass, it will grow again with the spring breeze… so the Jinyiwei killed them,” Yan Hongyin tugged at the corner of her lips, self-mockingly, “No wonder the common people and you martial artists call the Jinyiwei the court’s hounds, the executioners of the nobility.”

“And indeed they are.”

“So I’m not surprised that Lu Gang chose to establish merit by following the dragon,” Yan Hongyin slowly took a sip of hawthorn water, her expression briefly twisting due to the more sour taste after adding hawthorn, but she quickly recovered, “If one has a beloved woman, and perhaps adorable children in the future… who would want to be a Jinyiwei?”

The Jinyiwei led by Lu Gang were mostly from noble families. Noble families had their own arrogance. Although Lu Gang was nominally the Jinyiwei Commander, receiving the salary of a first-rank official of the court, in the real court, Lu Gang, with his humble origins who seemed to be deeply favored by the Emperor, was like a powerless target.

Especially when Yan Hongyin was the commander who truly held the real power of the Jinyiwei, Lu Gang’s existence seemed very awkward and conspicuous in the eyes of those in the know.

Yu Luocha, however, rested his elbow on the stone table and asked Yan Hongyin with a smiling expression. “Wife~”

Yan Hongyin paused.

“You seem to lack a certain degree of reverence for this Commander Lu~”

Yu Luocha’s tone was full of the smugness of “caught Ah Yin’s small mistake.”

Yan Hongyin looked toward the kitchen in the courtyard and began to consider the dinner menu.

Having not personally cooked for so long, perhaps she could try making a dish… how about Mapo Tofu?

The Western Regions had a spice called Sichuan pepper, both numbing and spicy. Yu Luocha, being from the Western Regions, would surely be moved to tears of joy when tasting this familiar flavor?

Yu Luocha, who suddenly shivered for no apparent reason, rubbed his arms, still chattering, “So just because of Yuan Suiyun, you’re being cautious about this little master?”

Yan Hongyin neither confirmed nor denied. “They’re very similar, aren’t they?”

The same wealthy and prestigious background, both once possessed light but lost it, both displaying a naturally detached yet gentle and elegant demeanor… Yan Hongyin didn’t think her cautious attention was wrong, after all, a tragedy like Fu Island was enough to happen just once.

Yu Luocha stretched out his two long legs, stretching like a sleek, well-groomed big cat, suddenly switching to a seemingly unrelated topic. “When I passed out before, I deliberately chose to roll toward Ah Yin’s direction.”

Yan Hongyin: “…?”

“Unlike Ah Yin’s luck in picking up people, I can recognize at a glance who is the safest type of person in a crowd,” Yu Luocha raised a hand and waved his fingers in front of Yan Hongyin, saying leisurely, “Although I often work against you all, I must say, when in a dangerous situation and having to entrust one’s life to someone else’s choice, I still quite like you good people who restrict yourselves to the point of harshness.”

“After all, the abyss always loves the sun, don’t you agree?”

Yu Luocha winked at Yan Hongyin, then with a powerful twist of his waist, he flipped up and quickly walked away, disappearing around the corner of the courtyard wall.

Shortly after, Yan Hongyin saw him with his hands under Little Master Hua’s armpits, bringing over the little master who should have been sleeping in his room and hadn’t even had time to put on his shoes, along with his blanket.

Yan Hongyin: “…”

Having been abruptly moved, the dim-eyed Little Master Hua struggled to extend his arms from the bundle of blankets, tentatively feeling around in front of him, finding nothing. His toes, exposed outside the blanket, also carefully explored up, down, left, and right, not finding the ground, leaving his expression full of confusion and helplessness.

“Yu… Young Master Yu?” Little Master Hua’s voice trembled. Getting no response, he sniffed and said softly, “Doctor… Doctor Yan?”

The two adults who were making eye contact exchanged glances, Yan Hongyin frowning, waiting to deal with Yu Luocha’s trick.

Yu Luocha pushed the confused little master toward Yan Hongyin, smiling brilliantly. “Why keep looking at bad things? Occasionally, you should look at something soft and fun.”

“Come to think of it, Ah Yin, aren’t we missing a little one in our family? Ordinary families are all three people, I want one too!”

The Little Master Hua, known for his intelligence and having the reputation of a child prodigy, tried hard to understand, attempting to figure out what “soft and fun” thing Young Master Yu was referring to, his delicate little face full of bewilderment.

The little master, who had inevitably been melancholic these days after completely losing hope of regaining his sight, suddenly had a feeling that he might be at an important, fateful crossroads.

Yan Hongyin was stunned: “…?”

“Ah Yin, don’t stare into the abyss for too long,” Yu Luocha’s voice carried a dangerous warning, yet also had a light, joking tone, “After all, being dragged down wouldn’t be good~”

“Ah Yin is more interesting when warm and bright like this~”