Chapter 65: Will You Not Let Me Die?

Li Zhong handed the tray to the servant beside him, picked up the wine pot, and filled the wine cups...

Seeing his action, Jiang Jiarong was so terrified that she fell silent. Seeing Li Zhong walking towards her with a wine glass in his hand, she shouted:

"Why are you treating me like this? It's not like I'm the one who wants to change my identity. If I don't kill Jiang Jiamu, what if one day people find out that he is the legitimate son?"

They know the secret that I'm not the legitimate son. If I don't do what they say, they'll tell everyone that I'm not the legitimate son and that I poisoned Jiang Jiamu. What can I do? What can I do? I want to be a good person too, but you won't give me the chance.

"It's not my fault, it's Aunt Zhao's fault, it's Father's fault, it's Grandfather's fault, it's all your fault. I did nothing wrong, so why should I die? It's Jiang Jiamu and Jiang Yunkang who deserve to die. If they don't die, I can't inherit the title in peace. They deserve to die, they deserve to die..."

He struggled and shouted, but Li Zhong still walked up to him with his wine cup in hand and said, "Young Master, it seems this old servant can only see you off."

He looked at the two burly men who were restraining Jiang Jiarong and said, "Hold him down tighter."

The two burly men nodded, their grip tightening even more, rendering Jiang Jiarong completely immobile. Li Zhong pried open his mouth, placed the wine glass to his lips, and poured it down his throat. Jiang Jiarong tried to spit it out, but Li Zhong pinched his chin with one hand and his nose with the other, forcing the wine down his throat.

Li Zhong gestured for the two burly men to release him, and Jiang Jiarong collapsed to the ground. He was completely powerless, but he still murmured, "I did nothing wrong. If I didn't kill him, I couldn't inherit the title. I did nothing wrong, it's all your fault... Ahhh..."

The medicine took effect, and he rolled on the ground in pain. He raised his neck, looked at Jiang Chengye, whose face was pale with fear, and said, "Father...Father...save me, I don't want to die, I don't want to die."

Jiang Chengye watched as blood flowed from his seven orifices, his face contorted in agony, as he reached out and crawled toward him. Terrified, Jiang Chengye retreated, backing away, tripping over his own feet in his panic, and fell to the ground with a thud. But he felt no pain at all, trembling as he shrank back into the corner.

He didn't want to, and dared not, look at the suffering Jiang Jiarong, but his eyes were involuntarily fixed on him. He watched as blood gushed from Jiang Jiarong's eyes, nose, and ears, more and more, his body convulsing, until finally, he became still...

He then watched as Li Zhong bent down to check Jiang Jiarong's breath, then checked the artery in Jiang Jiarong's neck, and finally said in a flat voice, "Pack up."

Then, he saw Li Zhong stand up and look at him. Jiang Chengye cried out in terror, "I can't die! I want to see my father!"

Looking at his spineless appearance, Li Zhong sighed inwardly, thinking he was far inferior to the young lady, but said aloud, "The Duke said that you should reflect on what you have done over the years."

Jiang Chengye was stunned, as if he couldn't believe Li Zhong's words. After a while, he cautiously asked, "Don't...don't let me die?"

Li Zhong nodded. Jiang Chengye wiped his face hard, then laughed, before burying his face in his knees and crying again. After a while, he looked up at Li Zhong and asked, "You just said Jia Rong was a son of a concubine, not a legitimate son. How did he poison Jia Mu?"

He was not present when the Duke of Chu and Jiang Yu interrogated Jiang Jiarong, so he was unaware that Jiang Jiarong and Jiang Jiamu had been switched.

Li Zhong looked at him with some sympathy, and after a moment he told him everything that Aunt Zhao had done, including the fact that Aunt Zhao and Lan Mudan, the madam of Qimenglou, had known each other for a long time.

Jiang Chengye wiped his face again and asked, "So, in other words, her approaching me and asking me to redeem her from her servitude was all a deliberate arrangement?"

Li Zhong nodded. "That should be true."

"So Jia Rong was also trying to harm me on purpose?" Jiang Chengye asked again.

Seeing Li Zhong nod, Jiang Chengye's face contorted. After a while, he asked, "Does Madam know?"

Li Zhong shook his head, "I don't know yet, but I'll find out soon."

Jiang Chengye leaned against the wall, seemingly silent. After a long while, he finally said, "I'm sorry to her, I'm so sorry to her."

Even a scoundrel or a spoiled brat knows who treats him well. He has seen all that Lu Yifang has done for him and for the Duke's mansion over the years. When he was away for a long time, he thought about living a good life with Lu Yifang, but that was just a thought. When he came across something new and interesting, he would be attracted to it again.

It's quite rare for someone to feel sorry for his wife now.

"Your Highness, please rest well. This old servant takes his leave." Li Zhong bowed to Jiang Chengye and then withdrew. After walking quite a distance, he heard Jiang Chengye crying again.

He shook his head. Even if the young master realized his mistake and corrected it, it was too late. He could only hope that he wouldn't cause the young lady any more trouble in the future.

Prince An's Mansion

The eldest prince was granted a fiefdom and title at the age of twenty. Four months earlier, on his twentieth birthday, the sixth prince, Qin Jingwei, was also granted the title of king by the emperor, with the honorary title of An. On the same day, the emperor also entrusted the Embroidered Uniform Guard to him.

The Embroidered Uniform Guard was directly under the emperor's control, seemingly a sign of his high regard for him. But everyone knew that the Embroidered Uniform Guard were cruel officials; how could a cruel official become emperor?

Therefore, from that moment on, the sixth prince, Prince An, had no chance of inheriting the throne.

At this moment, Prince An, Qin Jingwei, was practicing his sword. In the darkness of the night, his silver sword gleamed with an imposing aura, accompanied by the sound of wind being cut through.

"Your Highness!" A man dressed in black walked over and greeted him respectfully.

After sheathing his sword, Prince An tossed it to a servant beside him, took the handkerchief the servant handed him, wiped the sweat from his face, and walked toward the room, with the man in black following behind him.

Upon entering the study, Prince An sat reclining in his chair and asked, "What is it?"

The man took out a letter and respectfully presented it: "This was given to me by someone today."

Prince An took the letter but did not open it. Instead, he asked, "Who is that person?"

The man blushed and said, "That person was very fast; I couldn't catch up."

Prince An lowered his eyes and looked at the four words "To be opened by Prince An" on the envelope, and said, "What kind of person is this that even you couldn't catch up with?"

"I believe they are secret guards," the man said.

Prince An tapped the envelope lightly with his finger, and after a while said, "Secret Guards? There are quite a few families in the capital with secret guards. It's really a crude yet safe approach. However, the other party knows that you are the slowest among the Embroidered Uniform Guards, so they came after you."

"I know I was wrong." The man immediately knelt down on one knee.

Prince An looked at him for a while, then waved his hand, "Get up, no one is perfect."

"Yes." The man stood up.