The Aloof Lord's Mysterious Wife
Chapter 260: Beaten to Death with One Fist

Chapter 260: Beaten to Death with One Fist

The superiors at the Hanlin Academy couldn’t help but admire him greatly and, regardless of his relationship with the Ninth Prince, began to use him more prominently. But standing out would inevitably invite the jealousy of others.

The Hanlin Academy served as a stepping stone for officials to rise to prominence in the cabinet, and with numerous officials, there was bound to be competition.

Officials like Chu Huan, who came from noble families, were known as the aristocratic faction. Meanwhile, those whose families had declined or were from farming backgrounds were referred to as the commoner faction.

These commoner faction members had been praised during their days in local private schools and were often the only promising descendants in their families, thus they tended to be arrogant and proud.

However, upon entering the capital and serving in the Imperial City, their pride was trampled into dust. After all, in the vast capital, there were countless royal and noble families who were already well-acquainted and supportive of each other.

For people like them, with no background, it was as if they were ants that could be crushed by a casual flick of someone’s finger.

When Chu Huan received a prominent position, the commoner faction saw it as merely him riding on his good fortune. Not only was he born into a marquisate, but he also had a good sister married to the Ninth Prince. Deep down, they despised Chu Huan.

Chu Huan didn’t care. As long as he did his job well and didn’t cause trouble for his family and his sister, that was enough.

Recently, the cabinet issued an order for the Hanlin Academy to compile some documents into books. So, Xu Hanlin assigned Chu Huan and Sun Yaozu as assistants to work on it together.

Chu Huan had been in the library for a long time and hadn’t returned yet. Some junior officials were starting to worry. One of them hesitantly suggested, "Brother Sun, Chu has been gone for so long. Could it be that he’s overwhelmed with work? Should I go check on him?"

Sun Yaozu, who had studied diligently for many years and only became the top scholar at nearly thirty years old, was not truly free of jealousy towards Chu Huan. He stopped writing and snorted coldly, "I didn’t see you offering to help before. Why are you suddenly volunteering today?"

The junior official looked embarrassed. "Brother Sun, let’s not openly or secretly target Chu Huan in the future. Haven’t you heard? Even if Jiang Yang pushed Chu Shuo into the water and chopped off his hand, if Chu Huan complains to the Ninth Prince, we won’t be able to escape unscathed."

"Jiang Yang had malicious intentions. What did we do? If Chu Huan wants to complain, he’ll have to catch us in the act," Sun Yaozu said disdainfully. "These noble sons in court are like big insects devouring rice. The Ninth Prince has always protected and indulged them. Sooner or later, they will ruin the country."

"Hush!" The junior official was frightened. "Brother Sun, how dare you say such things! Even the Crown Prince has to consider the Ninth Prince’s opinions nowadays."

"These people just got lucky," Sun Yaozu sneered, though he also felt a bit scared and didn’t dare to continue. The junior official sighed. "Who says they didn’t? How did Chu Huan get so lucky? He has a good father and a good sister." If he had such a family background, would he still have to work hard every day?

Sun Yaozu suddenly grinned slyly. "Perhaps Chu Huan and the An’yang Marquisate’s good days are coming to an end."

"What do you mean?"

"Chu Nanli has been married to the Prince Yu’s residence for quite some time now, but I heard that she and the Ninth Prince have never consummated their marriage!" Sun Yaozu said, sounding quite excited.

The junior official was shocked. "How... how do you know this? This is such a private matter!"

"You don’t need to worry about it. That’s just how it is," Sun Yaozu said. "Guess whose fault it is?"

The junior official quickly looked around. There was no one else in the room, but he still felt worried and afraid. "Brother Sun, can we really talk about this? Please, stop talking about it."

He wasn’t someone who liked to gossip, especially since he didn’t want to die.

Seeing his apprehensive expression, Sun Yaozu frowned. "What are you afraid of? There’s no one else here. I guess it’s the Ninth Prince who’s at fault. He probably dislikes Chu Nanli’s rural upbringing and doesn’t want to touch her. Men, who doesn’t like fair and tender skin? Chu Nanli looks good, but her skin must be rough all over. The Ninth Prince chose her for her ability, but who knows what will happen in the future..."

Before he could finish his sentence, the door, which wasn’t closed properly, was kicked open.

Before they could react, Sun Yaozu was punched by Chu Huan.

Although Chu Huan wasn’t a martial artist, he came from a family of military generals. Coupled with his anger, the punch made Sun Yaozu’s nose bleed, and he fell to the ground.

"You... Chu Huan, have you lost your mind? How dare you hit someone!?" Sun Yaozu said, wincing in pain as he spoke.

"Sun Yaozu, I didn’t mind how you usually treated me, but how dare you... how dare you insult my sister like that!" Chu Huan glared at him.

"I’ll report you to the cabinet!" Sun Yaozu said, covering his face. "You assaulted a colleague. You won’t be able to work in the Hanlin Academy anymore!"

"Then go ahead. When the time comes, let’s see if you can still keep your tongue," Chu Huan sneered.

Sun Yaozu was immediately frightened and didn’t dare to say another word. He knew that if the Ninth Prince found out what he had said today, losing his tongue would be the least of his worries!

Chu Huan didn’t act impulsively. He considered the situation and concluded that Sun Yaozu wouldn’t dare to speak up, so he rushed in and hit him.

Sun Yaozu could only accept his bad luck and try to get up. However, as soon as he moved, he felt a sudden pain in his chest, which made it impossible for him to straighten up or even breathe properly.

He looked up at Chu Huan, wanting to ask for help, but his tongue was stiff and he couldn’t utter a word.

"What’s wrong with you?" Chu Huan noticed something was off and hurried over to check on him. But as soon as he touched Sun Yaozu, he felt like his heart had been struck. Sun Yaozu spat out blood, and Chu Huan couldn’t avoid it, getting blood on his face and clothes.

Looking back at Sun Yaozu, who was now lying on the ground with wide eyes and no breath, Chu Huan was stunned.

Just then, the panicked cries of the junior official drew the attention of many people.

Xu Hanlin came over and, upon seeing the situation, was also stunned. "Chu Huan, did you really kill Sun Yaozu?"

Chu Huan’s head was spinning. He looked at Sun Yaozu, who was now lifeless, and then back at Xu Hanlin. "I... I didn’t..."

The junior official, with red eyes, pointed at him and shouted, "What do you mean you didn’t? You’re the one who killed Brother Sun!"

Chu Huan didn’t know how to defend himself. While he had used force, could a single punch really kill someone?

It was the first time such a serious incident had occurred in the Hanlin Academy, and everyone was at a loss. It was the eunuch who saw the severity of the situation and hurried to inform the Emperor’s side.

Coincidentally, Emperor Muwu was discussing state affairs with Ye Siheng.

Upon hearing the eunuch’s report, Ye Siheng suddenly stood up, his face dark. "The Imperial Guards should go there first and protect the scene. No one should be allowed to disturb anything inside."

Search the lightnovelworld.cc website on Google to access chapters of novels early and in the highest quality.