The way

Shangguan Zeyu gently pulled Jiang Yan to sit on the soft couch, and his hands never let go of Jiang Yan's right hand, and he would occasionally pat the back of Jiang Yan's hand gently with his right hand.

"Ruyi, I will not hide it from you."

Jiang Yan looked at Shangguan Zeyu expectantly and eagerly, waiting for him to say what he was going to say next.

Shangguan Zeyu smiled bitterly and said, "If we talk about loyalty to the Emperor, then father-in-law, I am undoubtedly loyal to the Emperor. But if we talk about the Emperor's trust in his subjects, then I am certainly not as good as father-in-law." Then he smiled bitterly again and looked at Jiang Yan.

Jiang Yan wasn't sure if her understanding was correct. It sounded like the Emperor didn't trust Shangguan Zeyu. Wasn't it just a rumor that the Emperor valued, trusted, and relied on his only younger brother, Shangguan Zeyu? Wasn't it said that the expansion of territory and the defense of the borders were inseparable from Shangguan Zeyu?

"Is it hard to understand?" Shangguan Zeyu smiled slightly, lowered his eyes, and gently patted Jiang Yan's hand twice. He then said, "I feel like a joke, and I always have been."

"Your Highness, His Majesty will understand your loyalty."

“My brother will not understand, nor will the Emperor, nor will he want to understand.”

Judging from his words, it's clear that the Emperor is targeting him.

But why?

It was said that Prince Su disobeyed the emperor's order and took the soldiers stationed at the border back to the capital without authorization. Moreover, they were stationed outside the city and were reluctant to enter the capital. So why would the emperor point the finger at him?

Jiang Yan didn't remain confused for long before she understood.

The imperial family has always had a saying: "His merits overshadow the emperor's." Shangguan Zeyu's reputation among the people is so great that the emperor must be very angry and want to get rid of him as soon as possible. So it seems that Shangguan Zeyu is too immersed in his role.

Jiang Yan glanced at Shangguan Zeyu's dejected expression, then grasped his right hand in return: "Your Highness, what do you intend to do?"

"What does Ruyi wish me to do?"

Jiang Yan was very cautious and vigilant. Hearing his question, her heart jumped into her throat.

Shangguan Zeyu did not insist that she answer the question, but instead said to himself, "If I wanted to rebel, I would certainly have a chance of winning, but in that case, I would lose my family forever." He smiled bitterly and continued, "But if I don't rebel, I will not only lose my family, but also you, and my own life."

Is Shangguan Zeyu making plans to rebel?

Wouldn't she have to find another way out quickly?

Shangguan Zeyu smiled slightly as he looked at Jiang Yan: "Why are you so nervous, Ruyi? Are you afraid that I can't protect you?"

Jiang Yan chuckled awkwardly, "No, no, no, I was just wondering if Your Highness could help you?"

Shangguan Zeyu remained expressionless, speaking as if he were discussing someone else's affairs, and asked, "Does Ruyi think she would?"

Jiang Yan didn't know how to answer the question, so she chose to remain silent when she saw his smiling face.

Shangguan Zeyu hugged Jiang Yan again, sighing as if he were talking about something trivial: "Ruyi, if I were to die in the end, what would you do?"

Of course she wouldn't die with him! Nor would she... How should I put it? He had saved her from the several life-threatening incidents she encountered at the Prince Duan's residence. It wouldn't be an exaggeration to call him her second father. However, she simply couldn't bring herself to be buried with him, commit suicide for love, or remain a widow for the rest of her life.

Life is only once, and she doesn't belong to this era; she doesn't want to waste her life innocently.

Call her an ingrate, call her heartless, call her indifferent—but ultimately, once she's dead, she's truly dead. It doesn't really matter, especially not for something so vague and unreal.

However, in order to survive, Jiang Yan dared not say that.

“Your Highness, please don’t belittle yourself. You are a man of great fortune, how could you die so easily? Your Highness will surely live to be a hundred years old and enjoy a long life like the Southern Mountains.”

After Shangguan Zeyu let out a few low laughs from deep in his throat, he said nothing more. But this only made Jiang Yan more uneasy.

If what Shangguan Zeyu said was true, then she couldn't stay in the Prince Duan's mansion no matter what. She had to leave before he ran into trouble. But if she did that, she would seem like a spineless person, someone she herself would despise.

But she really didn't want to die.

That evening, Shangguan Zeyu did not stay overnight. After chatting with Jiang Yan and sitting for a while, he went back.

But Jiang Yan couldn't sleep that night.

That night, her mind was like a turbulent flood, never still for a moment. She went through everything she could think of, but she couldn't figure out a single thing.

"My lady, you don't look well. Did you not sleep well last night?" Huang Ying came to serve Jiang Yan early in the morning. Seeing that her eyelids were slightly lowered, her eyes were dark and her face looked like it was covered with a layer of gray gauze, she asked worriedly.

Jiang Yan replied nonchalantly, "It's nothing," and got out of bed.

As Huang Ying helped her dress and wash, she asked, "My lady, was the prince angry yesterday?"

Jiang Yan's mind, which had been foggy from being asleep, suddenly cleared up and the image of Shangguan Zeyu appeared in her mind, causing her heart to beat wildly.

"My lord, if I may be so bold as to speak, it is so late, why doesn't Your Highness stay at Pear Blossom Residence?"

"Of course, he's afraid his other women will be jealous."

Yesterday, Shangguan Zeyu told her that nothing had happened between him and Xiao Yiqing, and that he didn't know why he had fallen into a coma or why Xiao Yiqing was in his bed.

Jiang Yan didn't believe him at all; she didn't believe a single word or tone of his voice.

However, from another perspective, Jiang Yan also confirmed one thing: she absolutely could not believe Shangguan Zeyu's words, not to mention anything else, just his claim that he only loved her.

"What delicious food do you have today? Bring it up quickly, I'm going to study behind closed doors today."

Huang Ying paused involuntarily with her right hand, which was inserting a golden hairpin into Jiang Yan's hair, and then laughed: "Master, what kind of learning are you doing?"

Are you making fun of me?

"No, this servant wouldn't dare. This servant is just curious, why does Your Highness suddenly want to study?"

"Of course, it's to save my life." Jiang Yan took the hairpin from Huang Ying's hand, found a suitable place to insert it, and then walked to the dining table and sat down.

Huang Ying didn't understand what she meant, so she went over and asked in confusion, "What you're saying is so strange, my lady. I don't understand."

Jiang Yan sighed almost imperceptibly: "If you don't understand, you don't understand. It's nothing. Let's eat quickly. I didn't eat anything yesterday and I'm starving."

Jiang Yan ate a delicious breakfast, then nestled in her rocking chair, lost in thought about her future.

Huang Ying had been busy running around, and just as she sat down to rest after finally finishing, she was pulled aside and asked, "Huang Ying, tell me honestly, what exactly is the relationship between Liu Xiangyi and Prince Su?"

“Master, I told you yesterday that the master only often drinks and composes poems with Prince Su. I don’t know anything else.”

"Huang Ying, have you heard? Why is Prince Su stationed outside the city and not coming in? It's been almost half a month now. Isn't His Majesty worried?"

"This... I don't know. Master, shall I go and inquire?"

Jiang Yan seemed to think for a moment, then waved her hand to stop him.

Huang Ying suddenly seemed to remember something and hurriedly said, "Master, but I heard that Young Master Chen seems to be very close to Prince Su."

"Chen Run?"

"Yes, I heard that Young Master Chen originally resisted entering officialdom, but recently, for some reason, I heard that he joined Prince Su's staff for the sake of his beloved woman."

"My beloved woman?" Could it be because of "her"?

"My lord, it's strange. The Emperor values ​​our Prince so much, so why doesn't he let our Prince handle this matter? Instead, he lets our Prince rest in the manor."

"The Emperor has forbidden the Prince from attending court? When did this happen?"

Seeing Jiang Yan so agitated, Huang Ying hurriedly said, "It's something that happened in the last three or four days."

"How come I didn't know?"

"Master, this news only spread yesterday; no one in the manor knew about it before."

It seems that Shangguan Zeyu was not lying to her. The person the Emperor really wanted to deal with was not Prince Su, but Shangguan Zeyu himself!

But why did he tell her?

Did they want her to persuade Liu Xiangyi and Chen Run to let him off the hook?

Was he unaware of the so-so father-daughter relationship between her and Liu Xiangyi? Was he unaware that she and Chen Run didn't have that kind of relationship? Or did he actually know, but still want to use that to get her to help him?

If that's really the case, he could just say it outright. What's the big deal? She's not asking him to repay her kindness.

Jiang Yan thought that Shangguan Zeyu was probably confiding in her to save his life. After all, even the most powerful person would value their life. She never imagined that Shangguan Zeyu might confide in her simply because he trusted and believed in her.