Yun Family.
The night gradually deepened, and except for the occasional sound of the watchman’s clapper, the whole courtyard was unusually quiet.
Within the spirit tent, incense smoke curled around, and a small oil lamp emitted a dim glow.
Yun Yuan kneeled before the spirit, his face sallow, and he had become noticeably thinner.
Keeping vigil is indeed a strenuous task, especially when the initial emotions fade, it becomes unbearably tedious.
After all, Yun Hao had long found an excuse to leave, most likely hiding somewhere to sleep now.
Only Yun Yuan was left in the spirit tent.
Every now and then, he had to get up to replenish the incense in front of the spirit.
The rules of the Yan Capital City state that during the period of keeping vigil after a person’s death, the incense before the spirit cannot be interrupted.
Moreover, the person responsible for replenishing the incense must be a direct descendant.
But as time passed, especially after the world became unstable, few people took these customs seriously anymore.
Many noble families would have servants perform such tasks.
But Yun Yuan was different. He had been doing it all by himself these days without ever slacking off.
At this moment, after adding oil to the lamp and lighting a new grass incense, Yun Yuan leaned against the coffin and closed his eyes to take a nap.
These days, he had been forcing himself to persevere in this manner.
Possibly due to extreme exhaustion, Yun Yuan soon fell into a dream.
He dreamt again of his childhood, when his mother was still alive and his father was still young.
He was the most cherished child in the family.
What a wonderful time it was.
But just when Yun Yuan was indulging in the dream, finding it hard to extricate himself, a sudden sound of footsteps startled him awake.
Yun Yuan opened his eyes and turned his head to look.
He saw a maid carrying refreshments walk into the spirit tent.
"Young Master Yun, please have some food," the maid said softly.
Yun Yuan nodded, reached out to take the refreshments, but suddenly cast a curious glance at the maid.
The maid looked about seventeen or eighteen years old. Though not strikingly beautiful, her peach blossom eyes were particularly charming.
Especially under the dim light, she appeared even more enchanting.
"Why haven’t I seen you before?" Yun Yuan asked.
"I only entered the residence a few days ago, so Young Master Yun hasn’t met me," the maid replied softly.
Yun Yuan nodded.
The Yun Family was a large family with many servants, and it wasn’t uncommon to have new maids joining regularly.
He picked up a pastry and started eating it slowly.
At this moment, the maid approached Yun Yuan from behind.
"Young Master Yun, you’ve worked hard these days. Let me give you a shoulder massage."
"You know how to massage?" Yun Yuan asked curiously.
"Yes, I learned a bit before," said the maid.
"Then go ahead," Yun Yuan did not refuse.
So the maid placed her hands on Yun Yuan’s shoulders and began to gently knead them.
There was no denying that the maid’s massage technique was quite good.
The balance of pressure and gentleness was well-placed.
After the exhaustion of these days, Yun Yuan felt so relaxed that he almost fell asleep.
But at this moment, he sensed the maid’s hands becoming restless.
The hands originally kneading his shoulders began to slide stealthily down and soon slipped into Yun Yuan’s collar.
Not only that, Yun Yuan also felt a ticklish sensation by his ear, clearly the maid’s mischief.
Yun Yuan did not make a sound, merely closed his eyes, pretending to sleep.
But just as the maid’s hand continued its downward movement, he suddenly grabbed her and then opened his eyes to look at her.
"Who sent you?"
The maid never dreamed that Yun Yuan would suddenly awaken.
She had thought Yun Yuan had taken the bait, which was why her hand had been so bold.
Yet unexpectedly, Yun Yuan opened his eyes the very next second.
A hint of panic flashed through her eyes, but she tried to maintain her composure, saying, "Young Master Yun, I don’t know what you mean. I only saw how tired you were and wanted to serve you well."
"Serve me? How?"
"Or are you suggesting I engage in disgraceful acts in front of my father’s spirit?" Yun Yuan said coldly.
The maid was speechless.
At that moment, Yun Yuan released his grip.
"Leave, and don’t let me see you again. Also, tell those who are directing you from behind not to play such despicable tricks in the dark."
The maid, as if greatly relieved, hurriedly ran away.
Watching her back, Yun Yuan’s gaze deepened.
Although unspoken, Yun Yuan knew very well that the person directing this maid must be related to his stepmother.
She wanted to tempt him into committing an act of indecency before the spirit.
Even though, in this age of declining morals, the children of noble families indulged themselves in one ludicrous event after another, this sort of thing wasn’t actually rare.
But some matters weigh four ounces off the scale but weigh a thousand pounds on it.
Yun Yuan believed if he really succumbed to temptation and committed such an act, his stepmother would definitely seize the opportunity to blow it out of proportion and use it to undermine his rightful inheritance.
Her intentions couldn’t be more malicious.
However, such a scheme was probably not her own idea; there must be someone advising her from behind.
Thinking about this, Yun Yuan couldn’t help but sigh.
As time went by, the disadvantage of his solitary position became increasingly apparent.
This time, I escaped, but what about next time?
At this thought, a strong sense of crisis surged in Yun Yuan’s heart.
No way.
I can’t just sit and wait for death; I need to think of a way.
As Yun Yuan was frowning and pondering how to break the deadlock, in a secluded courtyard of the Yun Family, a little maid knelt on the ground, her hair disheveled, with two bright red palm prints on her face.
"Useless, you can’t even handle such a small task. What’s the use of you?" Mrs. Yun was almost fuming with anger.
She originally thought this would be a simple matter.
After all, Yun Yuan was in the prime of his life and had been abstaining for these days; if she just sent a maid with some charm to seduce him a bit, he would surely lose control and ultimately commit a scandalous act.
But she never expected this attempt to fail.
Moreover, Mrs. Yun understood that after this probe, Yun Yuan would definitely be more vigilant, making it harder to use the same method next time.
Thinking of this, Mrs. Yun grew even angrier and was about to punish the little maid again when Lin Shizan stopped her.
"Alright, hitting her to death is useless. This matter wasn’t something that could be easily accomplished anyway. Even if Yun Yuan is foolish, he should understand the current situation, so it’s not something a mere maid can alter."
"Then what to do? Do we just give up?" Mrs. Yun asked, unwilling to concede.
"Not give up, just change the approach," Lin Shizan replied.
"Change the approach?"
"Yes, isn’t Yun Yuan very rational? Then find a way to make him less rational," Lin Shizan said with a cold smile.
The next day, just as Zhao Ya was about to head to the Golden Saber Institute, he suddenly received a letter.
The person delivering the letter was someone Zhao Ya recognized, the guard who had welcomed Yun Yuan outside Changting Town in Yan Capital City.
The guard said nothing, just handed over the letter and quietly left.
Zhao Ya opened and read it, a slight cold smile appearing on his face.
"What’s up?" Shang Luoluo asked.
"Nothing, just some issues over at the Yun Family."
Saying this, Zhao Ya handed the letter to Shang Luoluo.
After reading it, Shang Luoluo couldn’t help but frown.
"Are all the tactics of these noble families so dirty and despicable?"
"But you have to admit they’re quite effective. Last night, Yun Yuan held his ground, but what if he hadn’t, and really fell into temptation and made a mistake?"
"I believe this news has already spread throughout Yan Capital City today!" Shang Luoluo sighed.
"Exactly, which is why this matter isn’t over." Zhao Ya casually crushed the letter and tossed it into the fish pond in the courtyard, watching it gradually dissolve and sink.
"So what do you plan to do?"
"Naturally, I’ll lend him a hand. Tonight, I’ll pay a visit to the Yun Family."
Regardless of the right or wrong of this matter, just based on the Black Flood Dragon Dried Meat Yun Yuan gave Zhao Ya, he felt obliged to help.
So that day, Zhao Ya spent the daytime in the library of the Golden Saber Institute.
However, he didn’t rush to the third floor but continued to browse on the second floor.
Yesterday, he had only read the secret manuals on saber techniques collected on the second floor, and there were many other secret manuals he hadn’t seen yet.
With this rare opportunity, Zhao Ya naturally wouldn’t miss it.
Compared to those saber technique secret manuals, the other manuals on fists or body refining were much inferior.
Many were simply copied excerpts.
This wasn’t surprising, as the Golden Saber Institute was primarily known for its saber techniques.
Zhao Ya wasn’t seeking high-level secret manuals; what he lacked was perspective and knowledge in martial arts.
So he devoured the content eagerly.
He read until evening, then declined Wang Tiancheng’s invitation to dine and first returned home.
After dinner, practicing a set of exercises, Zhao Ya then quietly headed to the Yun Family.
With Zhao Ya’s current body technique, he could enter not just the Yun Family, but even the imperial palace.
He smoothly reached the courtyard where Yun Yuan was staying.
Although white cloth was hung throughout the courtyard, there wasn’t much sorrowful emotion; many people coming and going wore smiles on their faces.
After all, Yun Anbang had been dead for several days; no one could stay in mourning forever.
Zhao Ya found a deserted corner to hide.
As the night deepened and people became fewer, the courtyard grew quiet.
Yun Hao couldn’t contain himself again.
Staying in the spirit tent all day was worse than death for him.
So he feigned a cold and slipped away quietly.
Soon, only Yun Yuan remained in the spirit tent.
He was adding oil to the lamp when a breeze flickered the flame, and suddenly Zhao Ya appeared before him.
Even though he was mentally prepared, Yun Yuan was startled by this sudden scene, nearly dropping the oil jug.
"Zhao... Young Hero Zhao!" he said, forcing himself to remain calm.
Zhao Ya nodded, "I saw the letter you had sent through someone. What do you plan to do?"
Yun Yuan shook his head with a bitter smile.
"I don’t know what to do either. In three days, it will be the time for the funeral. As long as I can hold on for these three days, it will be a success. But my stepmother definitely won’t let things slide, so these three days will surely be eventful, and I’m isolated with no help, that’s why I thought of you."
"I said I would help you, so I will. Now, I just want to know your intentions. Should we kill your stepmother and brother, or...?"
"No killing!" Yun Yuan was startled and quickly replied.
"Oh? Why not kill them?" Zhao Ya asked.
Yun Yuan took a deep breath and said with a bitter smile, "Because if they die, I will be the first to be suspected, leading to more complications."
"So what do you mean...?"
"Just as long as we don’t kill them," Yun Yuan said solemnly.
Zhao Ya nodded, "I understand. Since the funeral is in three days, they will certainly make a move during this time. I will assist you from the shadows during this period."
"Thank you!"