TUMBT : Chapter II – 24

Author: Chai Jidan

Translator: Renkun27

Proofreader: Zeraphiel25

Yuwen Tao was nearly forty years old. He had thick eyebrows and big eyes, had an impressive bearing, outspoken and was not afraid to say what was on his mind, and full of confidence. The Third Prince did not understand how Imperial Tutor Mu, who was an elegant and unrestrained gifted scholar, became bosom friends with a person, who seemed to be like a man of great physical prowess.

However, when Mu Xueshi‘s air of charming naiveté came to the Third Prince’s mind, he thought that every time Mu Xueshi dealt with things, he would jostle and elbow his way and never conceal it.

When Yuwen Tao saw the smiling expression that emanated from the tips of the Third Prince’s eyebrows, he could not help but ask, “Your Highness, could you think of any clues? As far as I can see, Young Master Xue does not appear to be like a vicious and merciless person. Although Young Master Xue has been reticent and reserved since he was a child, he‘s been doing things in accordance with the rules. Moreover, Young Master Xue often comes and goes alone and rarely contradicts people!”

There was not a bit of expression on the Third Prince’s face as Yuwen Tao was gabbling nineteen to the dozen here for an awfully long time. The expression in the Third Prince’s eyes softened in a split second the moment that he remembered Mu Xueshi, but for the rest of the time, his expression was cold, making Yuwen Tao more indignant the more that he spoke.

“It‘s a bit far-fetched to absolve Mu Xueshi from his charge based on his temper alone…” The Third Prince deliberately said.

When Yuwen Tao heard these words, he sighed heavily in one breath and gritted his teeth.

“I think this seems to be something that Wu Cai would do. That man has an odd temperament and often makes fun of innocent servants. There’s no one in the manor who doesn’t resent him. Only Brother Mu favors him. He’s even shameless. Shortly after Brother Mu passed away, he was everywhere acting all licentious. People like him should be hacked to pieces.”

After Yuwen Tao finished speaking, he heavily slammed the table with his hands, making a loud noise.

The Third Prince gave him a look. As if he was not listening, he said: “Everyone in the manor knows that before Tutor Mu met with this unfortunate event, Mu Xueshi had an argument with him. Moreover, at the same time, someone saw Mu Xueshi in Tutor Mu’s room. Even if it was not his doing, not trying to save someone who’s in mortal danger is also counted as a crime.”

Yuwen Tao heard this and immediately turned red. With a hoarse voice, he argued, “But the one who witnessed it at that time was only Wu Cai, you can’t just rely on Wu Cai’s words…”

All of a sudden, while Yuwen Tao was talking, there were servants who reported outside and said that something bad happened to Mu Xueshi.

Upon hearing this, the Third Prince’s unparalleled calm way of dealing with matters in the past seemed useless. He immediately stood from his seat and by the time Yuwen Tao looked at the door, the Third Prince had already arrived at the scene of the incident.

Hearing that the noise came from the study, the Third Prince immediately breathed a sigh of relief and no longer had the desire to go there to the rescue.

Mu Xueshi was wildly straddling on Wu Cai’s body, and slammed his fist toward his chest. There was a strong fire that was set ablaze in his eyes, his little mouth pursed up, and his teeth were rigid, as if he had a bitter and deep-seated hatred with this person.

Wu Cai was not only a pretty face. Although he was born weak, his movements were much more flexible. On top of that, Mu Xueshi’s body was not strong. In just a short fight, he was already pressed back by Wu Cai. Wu Cai gave a punch to Mu Xueshi’s face and Mu Xueshi was screaming.

In the end, Wu Cai stopped his hand first, and Mu Xueshi thought that Wu Cai was afraid so Mu Xueshi raised his fists and flailed his arms around, not caring whether or not he hits Wu Cai.

Later on, when he noticed that something was strange with Wu Cai, Mu Xueshi looked back and saw that the Third Prince was standing there with a gloomy face.

Mu Xueshi was a bit foolish this time. When he pondered over it, he pretended to have a grievous innocent look and limped toward the Third Prince, then he held the Third Prince’s arm and said, “Look for someone to teach him a lesson. Just use the board that hit me last time. He even dared to fight with your person [1]!!”

([1] The actual word used here was 内人 or nèiren which would mean “my wife.” However, basing on the context of the story, he actually meant “insider” or “people in his circle.”)

As soon as these words were spoken, Mu Xueshi’s arse suffered from a heavy slap. The strength of the Third Prince’s hand was no less than the cane. To be hit on the bottom like this, Mu Xueshi almost jumped up.

“Why did you hit me?” Mu Xueshi made an uproar with disappointment. “He’s an outsider. I’m your person. How could you turn your elbows out!! [2]”

([2] The metaphor refers to doing things that could damage your friends, relatives, or company.)

Mu Xueshi deliberately showed his anger. He was coarsely gasping for breath. Finally, he saw that the Third Prince did not react at all. Mu Xueshi gritted his teeth and said, “I finally understand you thoroughly. How could you treat me like that! Hum! Humph!!”

There was a flash of cold light in the Third Prince’s eyes. As soon as Mu Xueshi saw this, he quickly changed his tone. He laughed a few times and said to the Third Prince, “Actually, there’s nothing wrong with this. I was just teasing you. I know that you definitely won’t neglect me.”

After that Mu Xueshi pointed to Wu Cai. He was unwilling to give up so he complained, “A moment ago, he was looking for trouble with me. I just got into the fight!”

After listening to this, Wu Cai replied fearfully, “I didn’t deliberately look for trouble with Young Master. Today, the moment he came, he broke a colored glaze oil lamp and two small emerald bottles in the main hall. Those were Young Master’s favorite thing during his lifetime; he stole some of the ritual dishes for Master from the kitchen, he even took the precious wine’s carved ladle, then he threw it onto the grass and broke it into half; Master’s collection of Winter Battle Array Scheme [3] in the back wing were all messed up by Young Master, the clothes were all thrown away and it was very difficult to restore. And not only that, in the study, I just saw Young Master secretly hiding a book in his sleeve and preparing to take it out from the manor. I venture to ask, Young Master, what are you up to?”

([3] We’re not really sure about this one. This is a new term in this story and it was never explained in detail. We’ll edit this once it has been explained in the latter chapters.)

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