10: Family Law

Actually, everyone had some idea of the answer. It was nothing more than Yan Zhuohua feeling guilty, thinking he had let everyone in the family down, believing he should simply disappear from the Yan Family's world, and also harboring a desire to escape. This guilt had started with Yan Jinming's passing. It had erupted once back then, and after a beating, he had settled down a bit. But then the whole child-swapping incident happened, essentially a repeat performance, and a super-charged one at that.

Everyone could understand. They also knew that, even though he didn't show it, these two events had ultimately taken a heavy toll on Yan Zhuohua's psyche. The agreement they had reached back then, the tacit understanding to let Yan Zhuohua leave temporarily, was precisely to allow him to escape this environment. They had even agreed to let him 'repay the debt' just to soothe the pain in his heart, to prevent him from developing even more severe psychological issues under the pressure of his guilt. The scheduled phone calls and visits were merely to monitor and gauge Yan Zhuohua's mental state, to ensure nothing happened without their knowledge.

This was the child they had cherished for fifteen years. Every laugh, every scolding was filled with care. They had thought that letting go temporarily would ease Yan Zhuohua's psychological burden. But not only did the psychological issues remain unresolved, he had even gone completely off the grid. Even so, until yesterday, they had even considered indulging his behavior of not contacting home, as long as he sorted out his feelings internally. But clearly, Yan Zhuohua was not cooperating at all.

Since letting go wasn't the right solution, then they could only resort to 'spare the rod, spoil the child.' With no father present, Yan Zhuoyang, as the Eldest Brother, had to step up and take responsibility.

Yan Zhuohua trembled under Yan Zhuoyang's gaze but refused to utter a single word.

'You're really stubborn, just like when you were ten and father had just passed away.' Yan Zhuoyang waited a moment, finally losing patience. He raised the family discipline ruler and brought it down on Yan Zhuohua's back.

The sound of the Wooden Ruler striking the clothing was somewhat dull, not seeming too severe. However, the beads of sweat gradually forming on Yan Zhuohua's forehead showed he was truly in pain.

After ten strikes, Yan Zhuoyang asked again, but Yan Zhuohua remained stubbornly silent.

The sound of the beating started once more. Yan Qinghe couldn't sit still any longer. He rushed to Yan Zhuohua's side, blocking Yan Zhuoyang's ruler, and pleaded, 'He definitely knows he's wrong, he's just too embarrassed to say it. Big brother, please let him off!'

Yan Zhuoyang hadn't really intended to continue beating him anyway. Seeing this excuse, he was ready to quickly step down from the situation. 'Qinghe is right, isn't he, Zhuohua?'

He never expected Yan Zhuohua to refuse the offered way out, actually saying with righteous indignation, 'No, I'm not wrong.'

'You're really asking for it.' Yan Zhuoyang raised the Wooden Ruler again. Seeing Yan Qinghe hastily try to intervene again, he said to him, 'I haven't settled the account of you two getting married secretly yet. Wait your turn over there.'

Under Yan Zhuoyang'sdeterrence, Yan Qinghe reluctantly sat back down.

The family discipline continued to fall. After another ten strikes, Yan Zhuohua remained stiff and silent.

This time, it wasn't just Yan Qinghe; the others also switched sides and began to plead.

Yan Jinming had long been heartbroken. He spoke up, 'He genuinely doesn't understand. You could beat him to death and he still wouldn't get it. Why not give him a pass for now? We'll explain it to him properly. Once it's clear, won't that solve it?'

Aunt An Qingman quickly chimed in, following her husband's lead, 'Yes, let's explain it to him first. If he still doesn't admit his fault after that, punishing him won't be too late.' As she spoke, she nudged her sister-in-law, Jiang Fuyue, urging her to help persuade them.

Yan Zhuoyang had missed his chance to step down when the first opportunity was offered. This time, he simply didn't ask for Yan Zhuohua's opinion. Not waiting for further pleas, he directly 'yielded to popular demand' and put down the family ruler.

'I'll let you off for now!' Yan Zhuoyang stepped down but didn't forget to put on a fierce front.

Without waiting for Yan Zhuoyang's instruction, Yan Qinghe quickly helped Yan Zhuohua up. Yan Zhuole and Yan Zhuoyi nearby hurriedly stood to make space so Yan Zhuohua could sit on the sofa. Jiang Fuyue watched, her heart aching so much she nearly shed tears. She took the tissue Yan Zhuoyan handed her and gently wiped the sweat from Yan Zhuohua's brow.

Yan Zhuoyang hadn't actually hit him very hard. He had exercised restraint, estimating the injuries would just bruise for a few days before disappearing completely.

But the injuries not being severe didn't lessen his affection for his younger brother. Yan Zhuoyang had originally planned to take his brother upstairs himself, but at the last moment, he changed his mind and said to Yan Qinghe, 'Take him back to his room first. Apply an ice pack for the swelling, then put some medicine on it.'

Yan Zhuohua followed Yan Qinghe upstairs.

The room was exactly as he had left it: clean and tidy, clearly regularly cleaned. To make it easier to apply the cold compress and medicine later, Yan Qinghe had Yan Zhuohua sit on the edge of the bed.

As soon as he sat down, there was a knock at the door. It was Second Brother Yan Zhuoyan bringing up the ice pack and medical kit.

Yan Qinghe took the items and said to Yan Zhuohua, 'Take off your shirt.'

Hearing this, Yan Zhuohua's ears instantly turned red. He stammered, unable to form a sentence.

Yan Zhuoyan, sharp-eyed, noticed the redness on his third brother's face and teased, 'What are you shy about? One of us is your brother, the other is your soon-to-be official husband. It's just a shirt, what's the big deal?'

Yan Zhuohua grew even more embarrassed. Yan Qinghe shot Yan Zhuoyan an annoyed look.

Seeing one person's face turn even redder and the other bursting with possessiveness while pretending nothing was wrong, Yan Zhuoyan wisely decided to leave first. 'It's not like I haven't seen it before! I even gave him baths when he was little! Who knows what you two are thinking. Filthy minds! Hmph!'

Once again, only the two of them remained in the room.

'Hurry up and take off your shirt. Let me see the injuries.' Worried about his condition, Yan Qinghe urged Yan Zhuohua to undress quickly.

The injuries had to be examined eventually. Seeing no way out, Yan Zhuohua steeled himself and quickly took off his shirt.

His skin was pink where it should be pink, fair where it should be fair, smooth and delicate, covering a layer of lean muscle. It was clear he hadn't given up on maintaining his physical fitness. Yan Zhuohua was the perfect example of looking slim in clothes but well-built without them.

After being stared at for a while, and with the gaze not staying in appropriate places, Yan Zhuohua pushed Yan Qinghe away in flustered annoyance.

Yan Qinghe regretfully withdrew his gaze and walked around to examine the injuries on his back.

On the originally fair and smooth skin were several somewhat alarming bruises, appearing even more frightening against the pale skin. However, they only looked severe. The bones were unharmed, and the skin wasn't broken—just simple superficial wounds that would disappear completely within half a month with some ointment.

Yan Qinghe finally felt relieved, though his heart still ached a little. He gently pressed the ice pack in his hand against Yan Zhuohua's back. The moment it made contact, Yan Zhuohua shivered from the cold.

'It's not serious. It'll heal in a while. But it might swell a bit and still hurt for the first couple of days. Use the cold compress first, then switch to a warm compress after 48 hours.'

While carefully applying the cold compress, Yan Qinghe also thought to himself, *Thank goodness it's summer, or he'd definitely catch a cold from this.*

After applying the cold compress for a while, Yan Qinghe found a towel and gently dried the water droplets on his back. Then, he retrieved some bruise ointment from the medical kit and began to apply it.

Yan Zhuohua trembled even more.

Yan Qinghe thought it was from pain and quickly lightened his touch. 'Does it hurt? I'll be gentler.'

Yan Zhuohua's voice was soft. 'It's fine, it doesn't hurt.' Yan Qinghe's technique was quite skilled; it really didn't hurt much. It was just the sensation of fingers moving across his back that made him feel ticklish.

Each of them had their own thoughts flashing through their minds. After what felt like a long time, Yan Qinghe finally finished applying the medicine meticulously (or rather, dragging it out). He reluctantly withdrew his fingers, finally breaking the quiet andambiguous atmosphere in the room. 'All done,' he said to Yan Zhuohua.

Yan Zhuohua had been barely holding on. He reached for the shirt beside him, ready to put it on, but was stopped. 'Don't put it on yet. The medicine will get on the clothes. This is special medicine from Mom's Cousin's Hospital. It absorbs quickly. Wait a bit for it to absorb, wipe it clean, then get dressed.'

Yan Zhuohua awkwardly put the shirt down again.

Seeing the person before him looking like he wanted to crawl into a hole, Yan Qinghe finally spoke up, as if his conscience had kicked in. 'Don't wear the dirty clothes for now either. I'll go to your Walk-in Closet and find you another set.'

Yan Zhuohua nodded.

With Yan Qinghe temporarily out of sight, Yan Zhuohua slowly let out a sigh of relief. He relaxed and looked around.

The Yan Family Main Residence covered a large area. It had five above-ground floors, and an elevator had been installed later. The Main Residence primarily housed only the immediate family of the head of the family. Moreover, as the children grew up, many often moved out to live separately, only returning home on weekends. With few people and ample space...

The top floor of the residence was for storing important documents and items. There was also an infrequently used but highly secure study and several empty rooms with no designated purpose yet. Only the dedicated elevator with the code could access the fifth floor. Typically, only the family head, the head's wife, and theDefault heir had the code.

The fourth and third floors were for master bedrooms. The entire Main Residence had ten master bedrooms of roughly similarSpecification aside from layout, nine of which were on the fourth and third floors. In the past, when the family was more prosperous, ten master bedrooms might not have been enough. Later, as families had fewer children, even with this generation's main branch juniors combined from two families, plus the fake young master Yan Zhuohua making six—which was considered a lot—there were still two rooms left empty. The master bedrooms were very spacious, each equipped with its own large Walk-in Closet, bathroom, and additionally ample living and resting space.

The second floor had one master bedroom, one commonly used study, and four guest rooms. The guest rooms were much smaller, each less than half the size of a master bedroom. However, given the generous base size of the master bedrooms, even the guest rooms were as large as the master bedrooms in ordinary homes, each with its own bathroom.

The first floor housed the live-in housekeeper and butler's quarters, which were even smaller, only four rooms. The majority of the space on this floor consisted of common areas like the living room, kitchen, dining room, etc.

There were also two basement levels, serving as spaces for leisure, entertainment, and storage.

Outside the residence was a somewhat miniature garden, and not far away stood two three-story buildings. The closer one was for guests, the other for the housekeepers and Bodyguards.

Yan Zhuohua's room was on the third floor. He had decorated it to his taste in a simple and elegant style. Besides the Walk-in Closet and bathroom, he had divided the living space into two using a partition. The inner area held the bed for resting, while the outer area was a simplified study with a desk, a small sofa, and a tea table.

The side of the partition facing the study was decorated by him as a display shelf, filled with items he liked, including some Legos and figurines. He hadn't taken any of these things with him when he left.

Having entered in a hurry earlier, he hadn't looked closely. Feeling nostalgic, Yan Zhuohua simply stood up and walked over to look.

Those items were still there, clearly regularly and carefully cleaned, free of dust. Unexpectedly, besides the various items he had collected himself, there were now some new additions that hadn't been there before. The new items were placed alongside the original ones, which was why he hadn't noticed them at first. He didn't need to think hard to know these were gifts his family had given him over the years.

Yan Zhuohua's eyes suddenly felt a bit sore. He really had been somewhatcapricious.