Chapter 24: Betrayal for Glory
Upon leaving the Lin Clan, Su Chen didn"t go to the True Jade Pavilion first. Instead, he returned to the Su Clan. His wounds had yet to completely recover, and even the clothes that he wore were servants" clothes given to him by Gu Qingluo. Naturally, he would return home first to change into something more appropriate.
Upon arriving at the Su Clan, to avoid startling anyone else, Su Chen went around through the backdoor. He was very familiar with the route, and could return even with his eyes closed (which was far from an exaggeration). Now that he had recovered his sight, it was naturally even more leisurely and carefree.
Without startling anyone, Su Chen returned to the Dustsift Courtyard.
Jianxin wasn"t there. Not a single person was in the Dustsift Courtyard.
Su Chen directly headed for the inner chambers, taking off his blood-stained bandages and the servant"s clothes, inspecting his own wounds.
The Gu Clan"s Purple Jade Ointment was truly miraculous. The wound had scarred over in just a single night. Although the area surrounding the wound still hurt when he moved, it wasn"t enough to affect him too much. The only thing that was still troublesome was his right arm, which he temporarily could not put weight on. Perhaps he would need to rest for a few more days before it would recover.
In this world, because humans cultivated Origin Energy, their ability to recover was very strong and they rarely fell ill. Adding medicinal supplements meant that as long as the wound wasn"t life-threatening, most people could recover very quickly.
Even so, Su Chen felt restless knowing that he would still need a few more days before he could recover.
After learning what the Lin Clan"s four seedlings were doing, Su Chen felt that time was rapidly running out. In the coming year, he urgently needed to raise the level of his strength.
Just as he was thinking about these things, he suddenly heard people walk in from outside.
At this moment, Su Chen"s entire body was naked, and he was covered in wounds. It would do him no good to be seen like this. Thankfully, the room had a screen, allowing Su Chen to grab his old clothes and hide behind the screen.
Just as Su Chen hid himself, two people walked in from outside, giggling.
One of them was Jianxin. After not seeing him for three years, he had obviously grown. He wore an azure-colored cap, and there was even traces of facial hair at the corners of his mouth.
The other was actually a small maiden, dressed up like a maidservant. Her face was very round, and her appearance could be considered quite good. However, Su Chen didn"t recognize her; he reckoned that she had entered the clan after he had lost his sight.
The two giggled and playfought as they entered the room, and then Jianxin opened his arms wide and went to hug the young woman. That young woman laughed cutely, wanting to dodge him, but yet was unable to. Jianxin grabbed her in one fell swoop and pressed her directly against Su Chen"s sandalwood bed, which had dragons engraved using ivory.
So they are a pair of illicit lovers, Su Chen thought in his heart.
He had lived in his family"s palace for a long time. Although he was only fifteen, Su Chen had heard many stories of this kind before. Especially because he was blind, his hearing had received a supplemental boost after he had lost his sight. Since his ears were sharp, he could hear the things that other people couldn"t hear.
Stories of secret relationships were not rare in any sect, household, clan, or palace. Yan Wushuang had just punished a pair not so long ago for the exact same reason. However, he didn"t expect that Jianxin would also partic.i.p.ate, and would actually run into his own room to mess around.
Even though Su Chen was generous, he was also slightly displeased at the situation.
However, this pair of lovers was caught up in the throes fiery pa.s.sion. At the moment, they had already gotten on the bed and begun fooling around.
Su Chen didn"t expect that after he had just gotten to see Gu Qingluo"s naked body yesterday, his eyes would receive an even better treat and directly see these carnal acts. His heart heated up, but he could only forcefully hold it in and wait, muttering under his breath that he would definitely teach that b.a.s.t.a.r.d Jianxin a lesson next time.
In the end, while youth was vigorous, they didn"t have the stamina to sustain themselves. After not long after, Jianxin could not longer maintain his spear.
The young maiden had just entered the most enjoyable stage only to discover that the other person had already finished. She couldn"t help but feel irritated and pushed him off, "Your thing is useless."
Jianxin laughed, "It"s just that I haven"t seen Junior Sister in so long, I couldn"t resist it for a moment. Don"t worry. When I, Senior Brother, regain my awe-inspiring prestige, I will definitely let you enter a seventh heaven."
That young maiden covered her mouth and laughed, "Then you will also have to work hard, you disobedient little thing."
Just as Jianxin wanted to say the he definitely could, that young maiden lowered her head to glance at something and began to yell, "Aiya not good, your dirty stuff flowed all over Fourth Young Master"s bed."
When Su Chen saw that the sticky white stuff coming out from between the young maiden"s legs had actually landed on his bed, anger filled his heart.
However, Jianxin carelessly responded, "No matter, he"s just a blind man. He wouldn"t be able to see it anyways. I"ll just dry it out in the sun later and it should be fine."
Su Chen was dazed. He knew how lazy Jianxin had become in these years that he had gone blind. However, he didn"t expect that Jianxin"s disrespect for him had sunk to this extent, going so far as to directly call him a blind man.
The young maiden covered her mouth and said, "A blind master really is easy to serve. You can probably do many different things half-heartedly."
"Hmph." Jianxin"s mouth twisted as he said, "There are truly many opportunities to slack off, and even opportunities to embezzle things here and there. However, because of this I have no status. The Fourth Young Master of today is no longer the Fourth Young Master of the past. In the entire Su Clan, how many people do you think place him in their eyes? During last year"s fierce battle to determine the rankings for juniors, when he brutally beat down Su Qian, he completely offended Second Elder again. For me to follow this kind of a master means that I have no future outlook. As such, I can only idle around."
"Look at you, you lazy thing. If you were to just idle around for your entire life, what would I do?" That little girl hit Jianxin.
Jianxin hurriedly laughed apologetically, "I was just speaking casually. Your Jianxin harbors lots of ambition in his heart. One day I will definitely soar like a dragon and experience a meteoric rise."
"Keep exaggerating," The girl rolled her eyes at him.
"I am not exaggerating!" Jianxin became anxious and said, "I"ll tell you the truth. A few days ago, I went to see Second Elder."
"Second Elder?"
Su Keji?
That girl and Su Chen both started at the same time. Su Chen"s heart sank as far as it could go.
The young girl asked, "Why did you go to see Second Elder?"
"Nothing really, I was just taking care of some business for him," Jianxin laughed.
The young girl finally realized how things stood and pointed at Jianxin, "You are betraying Fourth Young Master!"
"Hey, what do you mean by saying that?" Jianxin objected, "This is called "a talented person chooses a backer of integrity". If Su Chen wants to court death, should I die along with him?"
"Courting death? Could Second Elder be plotting a deadly scheme against Fourth Young Master?" The young girl whispered, not daring to believe it.
Jianxin waved his hand and said, "You don"t need to worry about this. In the end, what happened last year caused Second Elder to completely lose his faith in Fourth Young Master. This time he is really going to make a move. At the same time, this is my, Jianxin"s, opportunity. After the matter is accomplished, I will be the Clear Heart Pavilion"s head storekeeper. At that time I will tell Third Grandmother everything and take you as my wife. You will be the head storekeeper"s wife."
When that young girl heard this, her heart blossomed, and she covered her mouth and began to laugh.
It just so happened that right then Jianxin regained his vigor, and the two of them did not avoid the great battle that ensued.
From behind the screen, Su chen"s gaze coldly watched this pair, his heart completely serene.
These few years, he knew how lacking Jianxin"s care for him had been. He knew that Jianxin had taken advantage of his lack of sight to make a profit. All of these things Su Chen had endured.
But today, Jianxin"s actions had crossed his bottom line.
This was betrayal.
Betraying his master for glory!