Secret Affair

“Young Master Zheng, be careful.” A maid carefully supported a man dressed in a blue and white long robe. The man hung his head low, long hair covering his face, and his steps were unsteady.

Zheng Shanci let the maid help him. Today, he had gathered with friends and booked a room at the tavern. Now, it was probably the staff seeing he couldn’t stand properly, helping him back to his room. He followed the maid step by step.

The maid spotted a private room, her eyes lighting up. She lowered her head obediently, supporting Zheng Shanci, and pushed open the door with one hand, helping him onto the bed in the room.

“Young Master Zheng, please rest for a bit. Master knew someone would drink too much today, so he had sobering soup prepared in the kitchen. I’ll go fetch a bowl for you right away.”

Zheng Shanci’s mind was fuzzy, so he didn’t respond, just burrowed himself deeper into the bedding.

The maid quietly closed the door and left.

Today was the birthday of Old Madam Pei, mother of Assistant Minister Pei from the Ministry of Rites. 

Quite a few people had come to offer their congratulations. Old Madam Pei’s birthday happened to coincide with the end of the imperial exams, so many new jinshi had pulled strings to come and wish her well, hoping Assistant Minister Pei would recommend them and help them secure an official post soon.

After passing the imperial exams in Da Yan, the results would split the jinshi into three classes. The first class had three people: the Zhuangyuan (top scorer), Bangyan (second), and Tanhua (third). They usually entered the Hanlin Academy as officials, considered “future prime ministers.”

The second and third class jinshi would be assigned posts by the court based on their results. Second class usually became department heads in the capital or local prefects, while third class mostly became county magistrates. This was the path for outstanding jinshi or those with family connections.

Passing the exam only gave you the qualification to be an official; some jinshi still had no post and needed recommendations from high-ranking officials, then had to go through the Ministry of Personnel’s evaluations. If they passed, they’d get an appointment.

Jinshi from humble backgrounds didn’t get Pei Shilang’s family’s invitation and could only tag along with others. They had to pay a fee to the host family for this. There were a lot of jinshi today, all bowing and smiling, looking for powerful officials to help recommend them.

The Pei family’s banquet was set in the garden, full of blooming flowers. Old Madam Pei wore a festive red silk dress, her eyes full of smiles. She loved watching opera, so Assistant Minister Pei had even invited a famous troupe from the capital to perform for her birthday. His filial piety was admirable, making people envy Old Madam Pei for raising such a successful son.

Male guests, female guests, and ge’er sat at separate tables. Those with higher status sat at the front.

At the front table, Yu Lanyi saw a familiar maid helping Ye Yunchu away. His face lit up with joy, but afraid others would notice, he quickly took a sip of wine, using his wide sleeve to hide the smile at the corner of his mouth.

Yu Lanyi waited a while before leaving his seat, with Jin Yun supporting him as they left the garden.

“I’ll go in myself. After half a quarter of an hour, call Lü Jin to come find me.”

Lü Jin was his close friend.

Jin Yun looked worried and tried to persuade him, “Young Master, if you really do this, your reputation will be ruined.”

“Just do as I say, you don’t need to worry about the rest.” Yu Lanyi waved her off and headed straight for the private rooms, running into the maid he’d bribed on the way.

Yu Lanyi lifted his chin, “You did well. Once this is done, I won’t treat you badly.”

“Thank you, Young Master Yu.” The maid beamed, “Young Master, go in quickly. Once you’re inside, I’ll lock the door. The window’s already nailed shut—even if it’s the Heir Ye, he won’t be able to escape.”

Yu Lanyi pulled a silver ingot from his sleeve and handed it to the maid, his eyes gleaming. He hadn’t expected the maid to be so thorough. “Well done.”

With that, he ignored the maid and went into the room. There were no candles lit inside, pitch black, you couldn’t see your hand in front of your face. By the faint light from the window, Yu Lanyi could make out a shadowy figure on the bed.

The maid locked the door, let out a sigh of relief, and left.

With the door locked, the two were alone in the room. Yu Lanyi’s face was flushed. He found a stool and sat down. Today was Assistant Minister Pei’s mother’s birthday, so he wore a purple brocade robe, a white jade pendant at his waist, looking dazzling and elegant, as beautiful as a peach blossom. He just wanted people to see him and Ye Yunchu, two men alone in a room, not really planning to do anything. People outside would gossip, and after he married Ye Yunchu, if life went well, it’d just be a romantic story.

Ye Yunchu clearly knew he liked him, yet still treated him so coldly, favoring his illegitimate brother Yu Shiyan instead. What was so good about someone like Yu Shiyan?

Thinking of how Ye Yunchu treated Yu Shiyan so well and intimately, Yu Lanyi’s eyes turned red with jealousy. Just then—

“Water…” Zheng Shanci was a bit thirsty, and subconsciously muttered out loud.

Yu Lanyi heard and lit a candle, quickly pouring a cup of tea and bringing it over, speaking softly, nothing like his usual arrogant self.

“Ye Lang, drink—” Yu Lanyi hadn’t finished his sentence when he saw the man’s face. The teacup slipped from his hand, spilling tea all over Zheng Shanci’s robe, the scent of tea filling the air.

Zheng Shanci heard someone bringing water, so he lifted the covers himself, planning to take it. He’d drunk too much, his body was hot, and he needed to cool off.

Getting doused with hot tea snapped him back to his senses. Zheng Shanci lifted his black eyes in shock, staring at Yu Lanyi.

By candlelight, the man raised his head, his black eyes sparkling, his face as bright as a star, handsome and elegant, with a hint of drunken flush, like jade with a rosy glow.

Yu Lanyi was dazed for a moment. He liked Ye Yunchu not just for his status and power, but also for his good looks.

But now wasn’t the time for that. He glared at Zheng Shanci, “Who are you? Why are you here? Where’s Heir Ye?!”

As soon as he finished, there was a commotion outside the door, and the sound of several people’s footsteps. Yu Lanyi cursed inwardly, wanting to hide.

Zheng Shanci looked at Yu Lanyi’s clothes, then glanced around at the antique furnishings, and looked down at his own long robe, now stained with tea.

His head throbbed, memories swirling in his mind.

He’d transmigrated into a book. This book was about the love story between the Heir of Zhen Nan Wang, Ye Yunchu, and Yu Shiyan. There was a vicious male side character who was always unhappy about the main couple being together and kept causing trouble. That was Yu Lanyi, a total drama queen, spoiled in the Marquis’ household, arrogant and overbearing. The person he’d become was Yu Lanyi’s cannon-fodder husband. Because Yu Lanyi wanted to create a scandal by being alone with the male lead Ye Yunchu, he ended up locked in with the wrong person. The original owner and Yu Lanyi were found together, and for the sake of reputation, the Yu and Zheng families became in-laws.

The original owner was a third-class jinshi, about to take up a post in the county. Yu Lanyi wasn’t suited for county life and looked down on Zheng Shanci. Zheng Shanci couldn’t take it and ended up conspiring with his close friend to kill Yu Lanyi.

The original owner faked Yu Lanyi’s death by illness, played the role of a grieving widower, gained the trust of the Changyang Marquis’ household, and climbed up the ranks, only to be exposed and executed in the end.

The story’s finale was the main couple, Ye Yunchu and Yu Shiyan, living happily ever after. The novel focused on their love and hate, mostly from Yu Shiyan’s perspective. Yu Shiyan was the illegitimate ge’er of the Changyang Marquis, bullied and cold, but vengeful. Messing with him was like hitting a steel plate.

This time, it was Yu Shiyan’s scheme that made Yu Lanyi fall hard, and later, he and the original owner got married and never recovered.

He worked in a library, and when sorting books, he saw a cannon-fodder character with the same name as himself, so he finished reading the book—never expecting to end up inside it.

“The door to this room is still closed. Could it be some wild couple having a secret meeting?” a woman’s voice said in surprise.

“Acting so brazenly on someone else’s turf, can’t hold back. Go get the key and open the door, let’s see which wild couple it is,” Old Madam Pei said sternly.

“Who’s scheming against me? I’ve never seen you in the capital!” Yu Lanyi heard the voices outside, then the sound of the lock being opened, and was instantly scared out of his wits.

The door swung open. Yu Lanyi, mortified, used his sleeve to cover his face, glaring at Zheng Shanci.

In his mind, nothing had gone wrong—except that the man wasn’t Ye Yunchu, but a stranger. It must be this man scheming, trying to climb up by attaching himself to the Marquis’ household. Despicable!

“Let me see which shameless person this is, even knows to cover their face with a sleeve, doing such things on someone’s birthday—do you have no shame?!” Madam Li, who couldn’t stand such things, was the first to scold.

Just before everyone came in, Zheng Shanci stood up—if he’d still been on the bed, it’d be even harder to explain.

Lü Jin saw the man wasn’t Ye Yunchu and calmly said, “It’s probably just a young man and a ge’er talking. With so many of us barging in, even if they were innocent, it looks bad now.”

“Young Master Lü, there’s a bed here—how could this be innocent! Hah, you’re an unmarried ge’er, you don’t understand. We’re older and married, look at the water stains on the man’s clothes!” someone chimed in.

“Talking about this in public, Fulang Zhang, aren’t you embarrassed? But this ge’er’s clothes look familiar.”

“Isn’t that the same outfit Yu Lanyi was wearing in the main hall? It’s a new release from Golden Clothes Pavilion.”

“It’s Yu Lanyi, he’s not at the banquet!”

Yu Shiyan started sobbing in the crowd, “Brother, how could you do such a foolish thing? You’ve shamed our Yu family!”

Yu Lanyi was so angry he was grinding his teeth, but didn’t dare speak.

Everyone recognized Yu Lanyi, and their expressions turned odd.

Yu Shiyan stepped forward, trying to grab Yu Lanyi’s hand and pull away his last shred of dignity. His heart was full of malice and satisfaction, but just as his fingers were about to touch Yu Lanyi’s sleeve, someone stopped him.

That hand was strong, unwavering.

He spoke gently, “Second Young Master Yu, since he doesn’t want to see you all, don’t force him to be criticized.”

Keeping the sleeve over his face at least spared him from total humiliation. Zheng Shanci felt bitter inside, but still had to protect Yu Lanyi.

Yu Lanyi’s eyes flickered.

Yu Shiyan was blocked, and everyone’s attention shifted to him. He shouted, “Let go of me!”

“This young master is really protective of Young Master Yu. The feelings are mutual, but they’re too unruly. Now they know to be shy and cover their faces, but when sneaking around, where was their shame?” Madam Li, who never got along with the Yu family, was determined to tear Yu Lanyi’s reputation apart.

“If you’re truly in love, go through the proper three letters and six ceremonies, send a matchmaker to propose. That’s the right way. Sneaking around like this, you’re just asking to be laughed at.”

Yu Fulang rushed over, and seeing it was his own ge’er, his heart sank.

Everyone knew what he was wearing today, and the hairpin on his head was unique to him. Yu Lanyi always liked it and wore it every day—there was no denying it now.

“You’re killing me! How could you do such a thing!”

Zheng Shanci noticed that although Yu Fulang was scolding Yu Lanyi, he kept glancing at him.

Yu Lanyi lowered his sleeve, looking dejected and ashamed, not knowing how to argue back, like swallowing a bitter pill. He secretly made a note of the most vocal madams and fulangs, planning to get back at them someday.

Everyone wasn’t just blaming Yu Lanyi, but also him. Zheng Shanci thought of the original plot and felt bitter.

“You’re a ge’er, how could you be so shameless? You said your brother sent you to deliver something, but who knows which black-hearted person locked the door from outside. Now, even if you’re innocent, it’s impossible to explain,” Yu Fulang scolded.

Yu Lanyi followed his lead, “I don’t know who locked the door either?”

Yu Fulang saw his son hadn’t lost his mind and nodded secretly. Then he turned to Zheng Shanci, his eyes full of warning.

The others whispered behind their fans, their eyes darting to Zheng Shanci.

“This young master’s clothes aren’t even straightened, look at the wrinkles, and the bed’s still a mess. If nothing happened, who’d believe it?”

“We have mouths, we’ll talk. If you dare do it, don’t be afraid of gossip.”

Yu Lanyi was getting angry, “Aren’t you all talking right now? I’m not stopping you!”

Zheng Shanci heard Yu Lanyi’s words: “…”

This is just too much.