Chapter Forty-Nine: The Matriarch

Such words struck Yun Cui Xian’s heart like a sudden tempest.

In Chu Youcai’s heart, this was how he treated her; he even vowed to love her alone for his entire life. This was the greatest, the most sincere promise he could offer her.

Her mind echoed with this thought again and again. In that moment, she resolved that when she returned, she would confess her feelings to Chu Youcai. She did not wish to wait any longer; she yearned to know his past, to entrust her life to him, holding nothing back.

At that instant, she longed urgently to go home and pour out all her emotions to Chu Youcai.

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Meanwhile, Yan Yunfei laughed heartily, reciting “Bamboo and Stone,” his heart brimming with joy and pride—though such feelings could hardly be shared with others.

Yet, at the same time, he felt sorrow for such a talented man being forced out of the Prince of Chu’s residence. Discontent for the prince’s household grew within him, and he felt a simmering anger toward the lady who now ruled the estate.

He wondered if the household had other schemes regarding Chu Youcai, and so he secretly followed him home. After discovering nothing unusual, he turned his steps toward the prince’s residence.

Arriving at the gates, Yan Yunfei ignored the guards and called out loudly, “Yang Ridan!”

The soldiers nearby, seeing Yan Yunfei shouting at the entrance, were enraged and prepared to rush at him. Yet, at that moment, the young Yang Ridan hurried out and said, “Master, please come in.”

The soldiers were taken aback and quickly restrained themselves. Earlier, when Yang Ridan had arrived, the newly promoted chief steward had treated him with utmost respect, revealing his unusual status.

Now, Yang Ridan was accompanied by an elderly steward, whose hair was white and whose voice was humble as he said, “Master Yan, please come inside and sit.”

This man was the new chief steward.

Yan Yunfei replied coldly, “Sit? Call your third steward out to answer me!”

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The chief steward hesitated and said, “I heard Young Master Yang mention this matter just now. Since the third steward is under the lady’s authority, I have already sent someone to fetch her. Please wait a moment, Master Yan.”

Yan Yunfei, with a cold expression, seized the steward and said, “What, after all this time, do you mean to let that fellow escape?” He turned to Yang Ridan and asked, “Do you know where the third steward lives?”

Yang Ridan replied, “I have already found out. Master, please follow me.”

With Yang Ridan leading the way and Yan Yunfei swift as the wind, they paid no mind to the surrounding soldiers. The chief steward, inwardly lamenting, could only follow desperately behind.

They entered three courtyards, and Yang Ridan stopped at a separate pavilion, saying, “It’s here.” Yan Yunfei walked in at once.

At the entrance, four silver-armored soldiers, despite seeing the chief steward, coldly said, “The lady ordered us to guard here. Without her command, no one is allowed in.”

The chief steward glanced at Yan Yunfei and whispered to the soldiers, “This is Master Yan, sent by the prince.”

The soldiers still refused to allow entry.

Yan Yunfei sneered, raised his hand, and with a single strike sent two soldiers flying, making them cough blood as they hit the ground. With another blow, he knocked out the teeth of the other two.

The four soldiers felt his power like a mountain—how could they oppose? They lay on the ground feigning unconsciousness. Yan Yunfei strode into the courtyard, where he found a servant trembling in a corner.

Yan Yunfei demanded sternly, “Where is your third steward?”

The servant dared not answer, shaking even harder, only able to desperately shake his head.

Yan Yunfei searched the area but found no one else. His gaze sharpened as he thought, “If silver-armored soldiers guard here, the man must be present!” He seized the servant, tore off his cap, and threw it to the ground, saying, “Do you think you can disguise yourself as a servant and I wouldn’t know you?”

The servant cried out in panic, “Spare me, Master Yan! I was wrong! This wasn’t my idea, it was…”

Indeed, the servant was the third steward.

At that moment, a cold voice rang out from afar: “Master Yan, what a display of power! Even visiting princes have never caused such alarm in the prince’s residence!”

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Though the speaker had not yet arrived, a fierce aura swept forth. The soldiers who had been feigning unconsciousness hurriedly got up, endured their pain, and stood with hands lowered at the side.

A woman clad in golden feathers and radiant robes approached; her appearance was strikingly youthful, not yet thirty, her bearing transcendent, her eyes commanding—clearly the result of years in authority.

As she walked forward, an aura of ruthless determination emanated from her, as if all things in her path would turn to ashes.

This was the lady of the prince’s residence, rumored to possess more than two cursed treasures and thirty years of cultivation.

Yan Yunfei’s gaze shimmered when he saw her. He himself had thirty years of cultivation, yet could not see through the lady before him, a testament to her strength surpassing his own.

Still, he too possessed cursed treasures and had cultivated for over thirty years; should it come to a contest, he would not necessarily be at a disadvantage.

Yan Yunfei responded coldly, “I act with a clear conscience—whether in a prince’s palace or anywhere else.”

The lady smiled faintly. The earlier sharpness was gone, replaced by calm. She greeted him and said, “It has been many years since we met; Master Yan’s presence is as dazzling as ever. Please, take a seat.” At her gesture, two maids fetched a chair and respectfully placed it behind Yan Yunfei.

He took his seat without ceremony and said, “By command of Prince Yan, I have returned to Yan Prefecture—not only for the locust disaster, but also to inspect the progress of cultivation among the sons of the prince’s household. I have heard your third steward sent people everywhere to spread tales and slander Third Young Master Chu Youcai. Is this true?”

The lady smiled lightly and said, “Master Yan is famed for his righteousness, punishing only the true culprit, your reputation unmatched. Since you have come for the third steward, you must have ample evidence. Please conduct your interrogation.”

The third steward, head lowered, stood respectfully. No longer flustered, before Yan Yunfei could speak, he declared, “Master Yan, I was blinded by greed. Because I had past conflicts with Third Young Master, I could not let it go. Hearing rumors of his gambling debts and that he meant to sell his wife, I sought revenge and paid Zhu Yuzheng to spread the story. It was all my fault; I await your judgment.”

Yan Yunfei had not expected that, with the lady’s arrival, the third steward spoke so confidently, his words well-structured, as if he had rehearsed—clearly nothing more could be extracted. Yan Yunfei’s gaze bore into him and he said, “Since that is so, do you know my rules?”

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