Chapter 450: Family Scandal!【1】

Nighttime.

The noisy Prefect's Mansion quieted down as night fell, and the insects and birds ceased their chirping.

Servants and maids extinguished half the candles in the corridors, preparing for sleep.

In Dong Yi's room.

With the help of the maids and Dong Yi, Duan Yu took off his robe and sat in a wooden tub filled with hot water to bathe.

Warm water washed down over his sturdy shoulders.

"Husband..."

Dong Yi, wearing an apologetic expression, stood beside the tub and gently scrubbed Duan Yu's arms.

"Husband, I'm sorry." Dong Yi said, keeping her head low.

Duan Yu turned back and smiled, then waved his hand at the maids, dismissing them from the room.

Sitting in the tub, Duan Yu turned over and leaned against the rim.

During the day, when welcoming Dong Huang's party at the east gate of Jixian, Dong Huang's words had made Dong Yi feel very embarrassed.

If Dong Yi hadn't been there, and if Dong Zhuo's mother hadn't been there,

Duan Yu would have taught Dong Huang how to behave.

And it was only during the evening banquet to welcome Dong Zhuo's mother that Duan Yu learned Dong Huang's true purpose for coming here.

It turned out Dong Huang had come to seek an official position.

Dong Zhuo's son had died young, and Dong Huang was the only remaining heir of the Dong family.

Because he was the only heir, he had been spoiled rotten over the years.

He was even more arrogant back at the ancestral home in Lintao.

Coupled with Dong Zhuo's rising career over the past two years, Dong Huang had become increasingly unruly in Lintao.

He had committed many acts of bullying and extortion, and his reputation in Longxi was terrible.

The path of being recommended as a filial and incorrupt official was certainly closed to him.

So he had to rely on the path of direct recruitment.

But Dong Zhuo seemed to know what kind of person his nephew was. Although Dong Zhuo's career had been smooth lately, he still had to watch the Yuan family's reactions, so he couldn't afford any mistakes.

Therefore, Dong Huang had begged Dong Zhuo several times to let him serve under him, but Dong Zhuo had refused every time.

Yet Dong Huang was determined to be an official.

So he thought of having the Longxi Prefect, Fan Jian, recruit him.

The Longxi Prefect, Fan Jian, was from Jingzhou, not Liangzhou. Originally, Fan Jian was supposed to be the Hanyang Prefect, but because Duan Yu had requested the Hanyang Prefect position, Fan Jian was transferred to Longxi.

Dong Huang, thinking Fan Jian was not a local, had approached him with great arrogance.

Unexpectedly, Fan Jian had scolded him and hadn't given Dong Zhuo any face at all.

Fan Jian, coming from a major Jingzhou clan, was a proper scholar-official.

He already disliked local power-brokers like the Dong family, and with Dong Huang's arrogant attitude, he naturally wouldn't give Dong Zhuo any face.

Failing to get an official post, Dong Huang thought of a shortcut.

He begged Dong Zhuo's mother, Dong Yi's grandmother.

"Husband, if this is difficult for you, you don't have to agree. My brother is used to being spoiled; if he causes trouble for you... it would only harm you."

Dong Yi said, biting her lip while helping Duan Yu scrub his back.

Duan Yu smiled and said: "I started from nothing, just a village patrolman."

"My current status is inseparable from you, Yi'er."

"Now that people from the ancestral home have come, it seems they are asking me, but they are really looking for your influence, Yi'er."

"If I refuse just like that, wouldn't that be the same as not giving you face, Yi'er?"

"How would those people back home view your status by my side?"

"I don't care about Dong Huang at all; I only care about you, Yi'er."

"I cannot let others think you are not valued here by me, Duan Yu."

Dong Yi, who was scrubbing Duan Yu's back, paused slightly, her eyes filled with gratitude as she looked at him.

"Husband..."

Duan Yu smiled and touched Dong Yi's hand: "Don't worry, this is nothing."

"I certainly won't let my Yi'er lose face in front of her grandmother."

"How about this: let Grandmother and the others stay in the mansion for a while. After the Mid-Autumn Festival, when they return to Lintao, I will write a letter to the Longxi Prefect, Fan Jian, for them to take back. I believe Fan Jian will give me this small favor." Duan Yu said with a smile.

Dong Yi, moved, had tears in her eyes.

Duan Yu, finished with his bath, stood up from the tub.

He then swept Dong Yi into his arms and walked toward the bed.

Dong Yi let out a soft cry and nestled into Duan Yu's embrace.

"Husband... I... I can't right now. Why don't you... go to Suhe's place instead?" ===== CHAPTER 452 =====