Wen Guanyu’s words hung in the air, plunging the entire study into an eerie silence.
Rong Tan froze in place, instinctively turning his head to glance at Wu Ciyun, his expression betraying undeniable panic.
Yet Wu Ciyun didn’t even raise her head upon hearing the words; she simply helped the two siblings straighten their clothes.
Wu Mingzhu, curious, glanced around at the others in the room and asked in a childish voice, “Big Brother, who is His Highness Xun Wang?”
“None of your business. It was just a careless joke.”
Wu Ciyun reached out her hand to Wu Liangyu, who was leaning against Rong Tan, and gently said, “Alright, it’s getting late. Big Brother will take you back to your rooms to sleep first.”
Wu Liangyu nodded at her words.
Just as he was about to walk over to Wu Ciyun’s side, Rong Tan suddenly reached out and grabbed him tightly.
“Don’t go…”
Rong Tan’s eyes reddened slightly as he struggled to make his expression appear a little more natural.
He didn’t dare look at Wu Ciyun’s face and pleaded softly, “The roads are slippery in the dark. Let me take them back.”
Wu Ciyun frowned slightly at his words and said softly, “Liangyu, come here.”
Wu Liangyu glanced back at Rong Tan once, but in the end, he withdrew his hand and quietly threw himself into Wu Ciyun’s arms.
Rong Tan was indeed important, but Wu Ciyun was the person closest to them.
No matter when, he and Wu Mingzhu would choose Wu Ciyun without hesitation.
Rong Tan watched helplessly as Wu Liangyu left his side. His heart shattered, his legs trembling as he barely steadied himself on a nearby antique shelf, preventing himself from collapsing to the ground.
He anxiously looked at Wu Ciyun’s face and murmured, “A Yun, I…”
“I’ll take Mingzhu and Liangyu back to the room first.”
Wu Ciyun didn’t hear the rest of Rong Tan’s words. She took the two children and left the study without looking back.
Wen Guanyu watched the scene before him with a half-smile, savoring the sight.
Just moments ago, Rong Tan was brimming with happiness, but now he was completely forsaken.
The anger that had been burning in his heart finally dissipated like smoke.
He didn’t feel he had done anything wrong.
After all, all he had done was help them peel back that layer of hypocrisy.
Wu Ciyun was fully aware of Rong Tan’s identity but pretended not to know, even planning to use him as leverage.
Meanwhile, this His Highness Xun Wang thought that concealing his identity would solve everything and even dreamed of family bliss. What a fool.
Chu Mingyi was clearly shocked by this unexpected news.
His gaze flicked between Rong Tan and Wen Guanyu with suspicion, as if still questioning the truth of the revelation.
His Highness Xun Wang had grown up away from the capital and kept to himself, rarely appearing in public. He had truly never seen this person before.
But he never imagined that this man would serve as a lowly steward in Sheng’s household.
Or more precisely, Rong Tan had given up the luxury of Liang Capital and traveled thousands of miles just to become Wu Ciyun’s nameless, statusless male companion, painstakingly serving the entire family.
If someone from a humble background did this just to find a way up by lying with his master, that might be one thing—but Rong Tan was noble-born and still put on this pitiful act. It was utterly disgraceful.
He probably wasted all his education on nonsense.
If any of his own brothers had done such a thing, he would rather see them dead than endure such a worthless sight.
Chu Mingyi found it difficult to understand Rong Tan’s behavior, but knowing etiquette must be maintained and that his father had always tried to win Rong Tan over, he couldn’t act too harshly.
Thinking this through, he rose slowly and cupped his hands in a bow. “Forgive my poor eyes, but I failed to recognize Your Highness…”
Rong Tan ignored Chu Mingyi completely, his red-rimmed eyes turning to Wen Guanyu as he grit his teeth and hissed, “Wen Guanyu, are you determined to oppose me?”
He had already warned Wen Guanyu not to reveal his identity, but who would have thought Wen Guanyu would blatantly disclose the truth right in front of Wu Ciyun?
His A Yun, his children, the home he should have had, and the peaceful days he longed for—all destroyed by this despicable man!
Rong Tan’s expression darkened, his handsome face shadowed like a venomous snake lurking in the dark.
“Since you insist on bringing trouble upon me, I won’t let the Wen family live easy either. I keep my word.”
He really was too kind-tempered; now anyone dared to trample over his bottom line.
He had avoided these power struggles before, but that didn’t mean he was unaware.
Wen Guanyu acted cautiously, so it might be hard to catch his faults immediately, but the old bastards of the Wen family and their fence-sitters?
He would not let them off lightly. He would strip the Wen family bare to relieve his deep hatred.
“Your Highness, forgive me.”
Wen Guanyu was completely unfazed.
He offered a light apology and showed no concern for Rong Tan’s threats.
He and Wu Ciyun had a long-standing grudge, and Rong Tan was now wholly focused on Wu Ciyun, so naturally, he would support her against Wen Guanyu.
Even if Wen Guanyu kept silent on some things, it wouldn’t change the outcome.
In that case, it was better to add fuel to the fire and enjoy his own satisfaction.
“Your Highness, I have already warned you before—Wu Ciyun is not as simple as you think.”
He spoke slowly, “Since you don’t believe me, I’ll be clearer today. Wu Ciyun is originally from Liang Dynasty. Ten years ago, he studied in Liang Capital…”
If Wen Guanyu hadn’t mentioned it, Rong Tan would not have recalled what Wu Ciyun had said.
But now, hearing it, his gaze at Wen Guanyu filled with even more hatred.
Chu Mingyi looked at Wen Guanyu in surprise.
“Wu Ciyun is from Liang Dynasty?”
No wonder his brother was inexplicably infatuated with Wu Ciyun.
Could it be they had met before…?
Wen Guanyu ignored Chu Mingyi. Seeing Rong Tan’s expression, he suddenly stopped speaking mid-sentence.
Wu Ciyun had obviously already taken the initiative, no doubt twisting the truth behind the scenes.
Rong Tan’s voice was tinged with coldness as he said, “You don’t mean to tell me that you and A Yun were classmates?”
Chu Mingyi was stunned, eyes wide.
“They were classmates? Wu Ciyun was at Zhaofeng Academy too?”
Rong Tan paid no attention to Chu Mingyi. Looking disdainfully at Wen Guanyu’s sanctimonious face, he said, “A Yun has always been honest with me. You, a hypocrite, have no need to sow discord here.”
Wen Guanyu showed no anger in response. Instead, he suddenly chuckled softly, staring fixedly at Rong Tan, unwilling to miss any expression.
He said slowly, “Is that so? Wu Ciyun was completely honest with you?”
He smiled and asked, “So did he also tell you how he snuck into the academy, how he fawned over me endlessly, how he even got into my bed, sharing it with me?”
Chu Mingyi was shocked. He instinctively turned to Wen Guanyu and expressed his current thoughts in one word:
“Ah?”
Rong Tan felt as if he had plunged into an ice cave.
Looking at Wen Guanyu’s faintly smug smile, the rage suddenly flaring in his heart completely overwhelmed his reason.
He grabbed a vase from the antique shelf beside him and hurled it at Wen Guanyu.
Wen Guanyu dodged slightly. The vase shattered on the table, shards flying and cutting a shallow line across his cheek.
Chu Mingyi was startled, but Wen Guanyu remained perfectly calm, looking at Rong Tan with a smile.
“Your Highness, why so angry?”
“Could it be that Wu Ciyun didn’t tell you everything?”
“Shut up!”
Rong Tan threw whatever he could reach at Wen Guanyu.
The refined gentleman he’d shown moments ago was gone. He wished they could die together.
On the wall hung a simple antique sword, a gift from Su Wuke a few days ago, said to ward off evil and deceit. Rong Tan drew the blade and raised his hand to strike at Wen Guanyu.
Chu Mingyi was horrified and quickly drew his own sword to block Rong Tan’s.
“Your Highness, what are you doing…?”
“Your Highness, I forgot to tell you last time—Wu Ciyun already knows your identity. He’s only keeping quiet to use you.”
Wen Guanyu smirked, “Otherwise, why do you think he took you to the Palace Banquet? It can’t be out of genuine affection.”
“Wen Guanyu, can you shut your mouth already! His Highness Xun Wang! Calm down, there must be some misunderstanding here.”
Chu Mingyi was caught in the middle, trying to stop the frenzied Rong Tan and quiet Wen Guanyu. It was an impossible position to be in.
But, just as before, no one paid any attention to him.
After sending the two siblings back to their rooms, Wu Ciyun returned to the study slowly. Upon opening the door, a teacup was hurled and smashed at her feet.
She froze for a moment and, seeing the chaotic scene inside, almost fainted.
Her antique ornaments and famous calligraphy and paintings—treasures bought with real gold and silver—were all ruined!
“What are you doing?!”
Rong Tan heard Wu Ciyun’s voice and dropped his sword with a clatter.
He turned to look at her for a long moment before tears spilled down his cheeks.
“Your Highness, you…”
Seeing Wen Guanyu about to speak again, Chu Mingyi quickly clamped his hand over Wen Guanyu’s mouth, fearing he would push Rong Tan to madness.
Wu Ciyun felt as if her heart was bleeding. She walked over and picked up the antique sword, but before she could say anything, Rong Tan clung to her tightly.
“A Yun, I’m sorry. I didn’t mean it. Please don’t abandon me…”
He dared not look at her expression, burying his face in her neck as he kept apologizing pitifully, like a wounded little beast.
Wu Ciyun wanted to slap this good-for-nothing, but she held herself back.
She sighed softly and said gently, “I’m not blaming you. Actually, I’ve known your identity for a long time.”
Rong Tan looked up in surprise. Even Wen Guanyu, who had been prepared to watch the show, was incredulous that Wu Ciyun would admit it so directly.
Chu Mingyi frowned in confusion.
“When did you find out?”
He recalled the incident when Wu Ciyun punished Rong Tan with a kneeling sentence in Ning Prefecture, then inexplicably reconciled later.
Surely she hadn’t discovered it then.
Wu Ciyun ignored him. From the moment Wen Guanyu appeared, she knew this day would come.
So she held Rong Tan’s hand tightly and said with feeling, “What matters to me is you, not your identity or status. I didn’t say anything before because I was afraid it would trouble you.”
System (quietly listening): [……]
Unable to bear it any longer.
Rong Tan blinked, surprised to hear such words from Wu Ciyun.
A wave of immense joy surged through him like a tide, washing away everything that had just happened.
Wen Guanyu pushed Chu Mingyi’s hand away from his mouth. Seeing the two openly embrace, he sneered, “Your Highness, surely you don’t believe such nonsense?”
Rong Tan said nothing, for he truly believed it.
He whispered, “A Yun would never go back to Liang Dynasty with you.”
Their family must stay together forever, so every obstacle in their path must disappear.
Wen Guanyu, bored of the lovey-dovey scene, regained his calm expression as if the cruel words from moments ago had nothing to do with him.
He walked past Wu Ciyun and said indifferently, “I’ll be waiting for you.”