"Second Brother, are you alright?" Yue Ran hurried over to Xiao Man, pulling him to check him over carefully. Only when he confirmed Xiao Man was unharmed did he let out a sigh of relief.
"Mother, what are you doing?" Yue Ran demanded angrily. "What do you want to do to my friend?"
Madame Yue was stunned by Yue Ran's barrage of questions. In her memory, Yue Ran had always been obedient to her, never even raising his voice. Now, for someone he'd known for such a short time, he was questioning her!
"A'ran!" Xiao Man smacked Yue Ran on the head, pushing his head down for him to apologize to Madame Yue. "How can you speak to your mother like that? Madame Yue was merely inviting me for tea. Hurry and apologize to your mother."
"Mother, I'm sorry, I thought..."
Xiao Man smacked Yue Ran on the head again. "What did you think? Apologize sincerely."
"Mother, I was wrong, I won't do it again!"
Madame Yue slowly sat down, watching from behind the screen as her tall, strong son was made to apologize by Xiao Man, with no resistance. Her eyes were filled with complex emotions. She had never seen Yue Ran so obedient and well-behaved. Even when he was obedient to her before, it was because he needed something from her.
"Have you had breakfast?"
"Yes, Second Brother and I have. We won't disturb Mother any longer. We'll be going now and will visit again another day." With that, he pulled Xiao Man and quickly left Madame Yue's courtyard.
Madame Yue wanted to stop them, but Yue Ran had already dragged Xiao Man away, leaving her no chance to speak.
Jing Shu, who had gotten up from the ground, watched as Madame Yue emerged from behind the screen. She quickly wiped the blood from the corner of her mouth.
"Madam, this servant has never seen the Young Sect Master so enraged. When he broke in just now, his gaze towards this servant was as if he wanted to kill me," Jing Shu said, still trembling with fear. When Yue Ran, burning with anger, appeared before her, for a moment, she felt as though she had seen hell.
Madame Yue's eyes were filled with confusion. "Strange, so strange."
"Madam, what is strange?"
"Ran'er's attitude is so strange." Madame Yue frowned, her mind swirling with questions. Yue Ran was her son, after all, and she had some understanding of his thoughts. This protective demeanor, as if he was afraid she would trouble Xiao Man, was not how a friend would act. It was more like how one would protect their beloved!
A preposterous thought flashed through Madame Yue's mind: Could Ran'er be gay?
The thought startled Madame Yue. "Jing Shu, go and select a few beautiful and thoughtful maids to send to Ran'er's courtyard."
"Madam, the Young Sect Master doesn't want any servants."
"Who told you they were for Ran'er?" Madame Yue said slowly. "Send them to attend to Xiao Qin."
"Madam, aren't you being too kind to her?"
"If I am kind to her, then she, in turn, will be more attentive to Ran'er out of gratitude for my kindness. Besides, do you think there's any other way to get someone into his service?"
"This servant understands. This servant will prepare immediately."
As Yue Ran pulled Xiao Man out, they saw Yang Wei waiting anxiously outside. Yue Ran couldn't help but look confused. "Why are you here?"
"I went to find Liu Han this morning and happened to see you being taken away. I was afraid something would happen to you, so I went to find the Young Sect Master. Are you alright?" Yang Wei asked with great concern. "Did they trouble you?"
"Let's go back first." Yue Ran pulled Xiao Man and started walking back. He had a dark expression the entire way, as if someone owed him a lot of money that hadn't been repaid, and he had been beaten while trying to collect it.
Yang Wei trotted behind them, acting like a sycophant. The eldest young master was under house arrest, and the Young Sect Master was short of people to attend to him. If he could seize this opportunity to curry favor with the Young Sect Master, then his future would be bright indeed!
Xiao Man looked at Yue Ran's back as he suppressed his anger, not rushing to speak. Instead, he obediently followed him back to the courtyard.
"From now on, no matter who asks you to go to my father's or my mother's, you are not to go. Close your door tightly and wait for me to return!" Once they were inside the courtyard, Yue Ran released Xiao Man's hand and looked at him earnestly.
"A'ran, this is the Heavenly Sword Sect. I am just an insignificant person. I cannot refuse anyone, whether it's Sect Master Yue's people or Madame Yue's people. Otherwise, when you return, you will only see a cold corpse."
"They wouldn't dare!"
"What wouldn't they dare?" Xiao Man said calmly, looking at Yue Ran. "To those in high positions, human lives are like weeds. Killing someone is no different from crushing an ant. What I can do is preserve myself before you arrive to save me."
"What if you can't make it in time to save me?"
"Naturally, I would do my utmost to preserve my own wretched life," Xiao Man said, attempting to joke. "At that time, I might have to harm your loved ones to protect myself. A'ran, would you kill me then?"
"I would not harm you," Yue Ran replied after a moment of silence. Xiao Man simply smiled knowingly upon hearing this.
"Senior Brother Liu Han, please bring up the warm food from the kitchen. A'ran hasn't had breakfast yet." Xiao Man looked at Liu Han, who was standing by, and instructed him.
"Understood."
Xiao Man pulled Yue Ran into the dining hall and sat down. He then wrung out a cloth to wipe Yue Ran's hands. "Why are you so angry? Madame Yue, as your mother, it's natural for her to want to know what kind of person your friend is. She merely invited me for tea and asked some ordinary questions. Stop being angry."
"I don't worry about Mother. Mother is very approachable, but the people around her are adept at stirring up trouble."
Xiao Man merely smiled upon hearing this. How could a master be so easily manipulated by their servants? The servants' actions were always with the master's tacit approval. When it was time to take the blame, the servants would step forward to bear it for the master, leaving the mastermind clean while those who acted on orders were deemed wicked.
"Hurry and eat breakfast." Xiao Man placed chopsticks in Yue Ran's hand and urged him to eat. Although Yue Ran knew there were many sordid affairs within the sect, he was unaware of some matters, as Madame Yue had done her best to protect him.
However, sometimes, only by experiencing it himself would he understand that the world had many shades of color, not just black and white. People were not simply good or evil. Human nature was complex; one might have a conscience, but also malice. Their attitudes and methods differed when dealing with different people.
"Did you eat?"
"Yes." Xiao Man placed food on Yue Ran's plate. "Your mother's breakfast was quite lavish. Why didn't you eat there?"
"If I had stayed to eat, it would have been another lecture, which you definitely wouldn't have liked, so I lied to Mother and said I had already eaten." Yue Ran replied to Xiao Man as he ate. "These past few days might not be peaceful. I yelled at my mother, and my father definitely won't let me off. I'm in big trouble!"