Being stared at for such a long time gave Xiang Han goosebumps and he hurriedly struggled to break free. Removing the bracelet, he gave a low cough, "Wifey…"
"Yan Ze." Xu Yan Ze held the bracelet, his expression revealing a trace of pity as he heard those words and interrupted him.
"What?"
Perhaps it was his tone that was too lofty, but Xiang Han wasn't able to understand. Xu Yan Ze sighed, repeating, "Call me Yan Ze in the future."
He simply couldn't stand the word 'Wifey' but 'Yan Xiao Ze' was too… feminine. It was better to use his original name. In any case, his original name sounded the same as Yan Ze1.
"…Alright." Xiang Han reluctantly agreed, feeling that it was a pity he hadn't used that name enough.
"Then… Yan Ze, shouldn't we meet the servants?"
Xu Yan Ze felt extremely satisfied by this greeting, but suddenly recalled the rich second generation who had pushed him into the crowd of zombies. It would seem that that lad also used to call him as such. It was a pity that Xu Yan Ze had only kissed him once before the other person pushed him to become zombie food.
Now that he'd recalled this matter, Xu Yan Ze felt depressed. It was clearly that lad who had approached him first, using his bright and shiny eyes to entice him. Employing all sorts of seductive mannerisms, how could he just change his mind like that?
When his frustration reached the peak, he directly threw the bracelet aside and ordered the servant to store it properly before turning back to Xiang Han, "Why do we have to meet them?"
"Cough, it's like this. My grandmother said… it's for you to learn how to manage the household, starting from our small courtyard." Xiang Han's sense of schadenfreude was strong.
Standing by the side and waiting upon them, Jin Cui's expression grew tense. She looked over at Xu Yan Ze.
Xu Yan Ze laughed humorlessly, "No need. Whoever managed it in the past can continue doing so."
He wasn't sure how long he would stay with the Jin family; moreover, he used to be a senior manager who was in charge of hundreds of people. He simply couldn't be bothered to manage this tiny courtyard.
On the other hand, Jin Cui let out a breath of relief, silently glancing at Xiang Han's reaction.
Failing to create trouble for Xu Yan Ze, Xiang Han inadvertently felt disappointed. But he didn't have the time to persuade him before the old madam called for him.
Xiang Han didn't dare delay, quickly following after his wet nurse. After all, her grandson had just recovered, it wasn't surprising for her to want to see him.
Xu Yan Ze didn't follow him. Rather, he quite enjoyed this sort of peaceful lifestyle, lying on the rattan chair and sleeping away the afternoon.
When the old madam saw him, she couldn't help but praise him, saying 'good child' and 'my baby'. Despite this being their second meeting in just one day, she still cried loudly.
When it came to consoling older female relatives, Xiang Han had a lot of experience. But he had to go through great pains in order to coax a reluctant grandmother.
After crying, the old madam pulled at him as she said, "Baby, you don't need to think too much about the tea ceremony. It wasn't that I didn't want to let your father out, it's just that his disease had flared up again, so it wasn't convenient. Let's wait until he's better before telling him the matter about your recovery. Who knows, this good news could cure him…"
Xiang Han smiled, "I'll listen to grandmother."
Hearing his words, the old madam felt pained. Her grandson had been a fool for many years and her son was crazy. The father and son pair hadn't seen each other for a long time; they grew estranged.
She couldn't help patting Xiang Han's hands and urging him, "You probably don't know this, but when you were born your father loved you dearly. He couldn't even study properly and would often pick you up and hold you every hour."
The more she spoke, the sadder she became. It wasn't long before she began sobbing. Xiang Han only feigned surprise, "Is that so? I don't remember…"
The old madam suddenly laughed, flicking the tip of his nose, "You were just born, how could you remember?"
Saying so, her voice grew dim, "Sigh, if only your mother hadn't gotten into an accident, your father wouldn't have ended up the way he is today."
Xiang Han was surprised, "My mother… didn't she die of birth complications?"
The old madam's expression froze slightly, a trace of hesitation flickering across her face.
By the side, Wang Shi grew anguished, "Aiya, Young Master. You were always muddle-headed, so you don't know this. The third young miss…"
"Enough, what is there to know or not know. Isn't it just birth complications?" The old madam suddenly interrupted. Looking at Xiang Han's face full of doubt, she continued, "These are all things of the past, there's no need to mention them."
Then, she changed the topic, "Xiao Bao, the Jin family is bound to become yours. You need to take care of your body. Wait for a little while, Grandmother still needs to hand over other external matters to you."
Seeing that she didn't have any intention of continuing the topic, Xiang Han also didn't pursue it and only nodded in agreement. However, he couldn't help feeling curious in his heart. The death of the original host's mother in the storyline was said to be due to birth complications, but could it be false?
He waited until he returned to Chenghui Courtyard after dinner to call his wet nurse over and asked about the original host's mother.
Wang Shi must have been harshly instructed by the old madam; she didn't even dare let out a pip. Xiang Han had to use his spiritual force before she finally revealed the truth.
The original host's mother didn't die of birth complications, as stated in the storyline. Instead, she met with an accident on the way back to her maiden home and was coincidentally saved by the regional commander's brother-in-law. However, this person was a lascivious womanizer and upon seeing the original host's beautiful mother, he wanted to humiliate her. His mother had an unyielding character; she would rather die than be disgraced and in the end, she perished in a beautiful death.
The regional commander was the head commander of Fan Zhen, a buffer state, with control over the two countries of Jin Wu and Shuofeng. He had already assembled his own army, such that even the Emperor couldn't say anything about it. In the face of such a situation, the Jin family was powerless and could only use their fortune to suppress this matter and endure their anger.
Coincidentally, the original host's mother had just given birth not too long ago and in order to cover up this matter, it was announced to the public that she had passed away due to birth complications.
The original host's parents were childhood sweethearts, basically made for each other, and were extremely loving even after marriage. After this incident occurred, the host's father couldn't swallow the indignance. All this happened just as the Emperor was looking to expand the scope of the imperial examinations and Jin Wu was also included in it.
Perhaps the host's father thought the only way he could seek revenge was by becoming an official, so he began to study without rest. However, he was simply not cut out to become a scholar and failed the examinations every time. In his confusion and despair, he slowly sunk into insanity.
In the original storyline, the Jin family was merely cannon fodder and thus, these details weren't included. There was only a simple line to summarise the death of the original host's mother due to birth complications, as well as his father's insanity due to overwork.
Even though she was under the effect of Xiang Han's spiritual force, Wang Shi couldn't help sobbing after she was done speaking.
Xiang Han sighed, attempting to console her, "Nanny, rest assured. In the past, I didn't know of this, but now that I do, I'll definitely take revenge for my mother."
Although this was a virtual world, how could he completely treat all these people as fake now that he was living in it? At the very least, it could be considered as repaying the other person for using his body.
After sending away the wet nurse, Xiang Han began to break things down. The regional commander, Xue Qing Lin, had great power and authority. Rumour has it that various towns and states were also under his jurisdiction and the taxes collected were used to fund the military. He only needed to offer the Emperor a tribute instead of handing over this sum, building a state within a state beautifully.
There were two ways to deal with such people. One was through assassination and the other was to simply have more power than them. Xiang Han carefully calculated and realised that neither seemed possible. He sighed.
Little did he know, Xu Yan Ze had always been on the other side of the window. He'd heard everything from start to end, only leaving when he heard the sigh.
Unable to devise a proper plan of action, Xiang Han could only return to his room to rest. However, the moment he entered his room, he saw Xu Yan Ze lying on the bed.
"You're not sleeping on the couch?" Xiang Han asked as he walked forward.
Xu Yan Ze rolled over, resting his elbow on the bed as he looked at Xiang Han with a teasing grin. "We're already married, yet you want us to sleep separately. How cold is that?"
"Eh…" Xiang Han was momentarily struck speechless. Although he'd already decided to take the lover's path, frankly speaking, he had no idea how he should do so. After all, the lover's route he'd taken in all the previous world had happened without him knowing.
However, to foster good feelings, it seems that he shouldn't continuously reject the other person, right?
Xiang Han glanced at him and determined the other person wasn't joking around before mustering his courage, "Since Wifey… Yan Ze is willing, this husband will respect your wishes."
Xu Yan Ze had the sudden urge to punch the bed. Looking at the little fool's cocky face and the way he self-righteously called himself 'this husband', he couldn't restrain his smile.
After Xiang Han finished bathing, he came out wearing an inner robe and prepared to go to sleep. However, Xu Yan Ze was sleeping on the outer side, his expression barely able to contain his laugh as he showed no intention of moving.
Xiang Han had seen such petty tricks before and didn't take it seriously at all. He directly crossed over.
The bed was unlike a classroom desk. Xu Yan Ze also wasn't the year three Shen Ze. Watching Xiang Han lift his leg as he prepared to cross over, a hand abruptly shot out and grabbed his calf, pulling it.
In an instant, Xiang Han had lost his balance, falling face first with a look of horror. Xu Yan Ze quickly reached out his other arm and hooked it around his waist as Xiang Han fell onto his body. Then… there was a low grunt of pain.
"Why are you so heavy?" Xu Yan Ze had forgotten about his weak body and asked moodily.
Xiang Han shoved him aside without hesitation, "You're lucky I didn't fall onto the floor, otherwise…"
"Otherwise?"
"Otherwise you could stand guard all night," Xiang Han said huffily.
Xu Yan Ze was speechless. He had really been blind earlier to feel worried over this little fool after hearing about his family's matters.
Having grown accustomed to bullying Xiang Han, he couldn't help pulling Xiang Han back into his arms, touching him from face to thigh. He hummed softly, "You're so plump, shouldn't you lose some weight?"
Who was the one who said it felt good to touch this morning? Xiang Han glared at him furiously.
Xu Yan Ze stroked his hair and rubbed it until it became a bird's nest before he warned, "Little Fool, revenge is something that needs careful planning and foresight. You can't do anything rash, like rushing to your death."
Xiang Han was stunned and hurriedly asked, "You heard? Why didn't I… notice?"
Xu Yan Ze snorted, silently thinking to himself, When this grandpa holds his breath, even zombies can't find me. How could you possibly notice?
This rascal was so stupid, who knows what month and year it would be by the time he takes his revenge? If only he still had his abilities, it wouldn't be impossible to help this little fool seek revenge. However, he could only offer suggestions as of now.
Speaking of which, this was strange. He'd only known this little fool for less than a day, yet why was he so concerned? Xu Yan Ze simply couldn't understand.