Chapter 168 The Appearance of an Old Friend

Jiang Yi came as expected.

Daya brought two cups of sweet drinks, "Dad, Miss Jiang, it's late, so I took the initiative to replace the tea with sweet drinks to avoid having trouble sleeping."

Jiang Yi glanced at her. She was a fourteen-year-old girl with a hawthorn wood hairpin in her hair. The head of the hairpin was carved into the shape of a trumpet creeper, and the workmanship was a bit rough. She was wearing a half-worn sky-blue shirt that had been rained on, and she looked like a tall green bamboo.

Looking at her appearance again, she had an oval face and skin whiter than snow. Her eyebrows were not as delicate as those of a lady, but rather like unsharpened scissors, slanting into her dark black temples, making her eyes look even clearer.

The hands holding the tea were a little rough, probably because he often did housework.

Jiang Yi didn't know if she was overthinking it, but she felt that the girl in front of her seemed to be reminding her that she shouldn't stay for too long.

"Okay." Xiao Yan said, "Take Sanya to bed first. What about Erya? Is she asleep already?"

"Er Ya was tired from helping move things today, so she went to sleep right after dinner." Daya said with a smile, "San Ya hasn't memorized today's poem yet. I only have a little work left, so I'll go clean it up. Dad, Miss Jiang, you guys chat."

After saying that, she returned to the kitchen.

The light in the kitchen was dim as a bean. She took San Ya to peel new garlic and taught San Ya to recite poems word by word.

The sound was neither loud nor soft, but it was enough to alert people outside that the two of them were there.

Jiang Yi found it interesting.

In particular, Daya's appearance gave her a sense of familiarity, but she couldn't put her finger on it.

She didn't beat around the bush and said straight to the point, "I've come to your house today because I have something to ask of you. My younger brother, Jiang Quan, is seventeen years old this year and has decent riding and archery skills, but—"

"Black Armor Army selection?" Xiao Yan asked.

Jiang Yi nodded. "He admires you very much and has always wanted to join the Black Armor Army. Unfortunately, his luck wasn't so good during this year's selection, so he wasn't selected. I also went to see Jiang Xuan, but he avoided me. I originally said that we could take the exam again next year, but Jiang Quan was unhappy, so I thought..."

"No." Xiao Yan refused firmly, making his words very clear, "Even if I were here, I wouldn't accept anyone who came through the backdoor. I wouldn't interfere with Jiang Xuan's selection of candidates if I wasn't here. Also, bad luck is sometimes just a lack of strength."

Jiang Yi let out a long sigh and smiled, "As expected, you are still you."

Even the rejection was so ruthless.

He could have made an excuse, saying he was powerless.

But no, what Xiao Yan meant was that he could indeed find Jiang Xuan, but he wouldn't.

"Okay." Jiang Yi nodded. "Indeed, my request was too presumptuous. I just wanted to try my luck. Now it seems that my luck, oh no, my strength is not enough."

"Forgive me." Xiao Yan said lightly.

"I'm sorry for being so presumptuous. In that case, I won't bother you anymore." Jiang Yi stood up and bowed to Xiao Yan. "Goodbye."

"Zhao Zhao, please see the guests out for me." Xiao Yan said.

Daya came out of the kitchen with a calm expression, "Miss Jiang, take care."

Immersed in candlelight, her eyebrows and eyes were picturesque, and there was a faint smile on the corners of her mouth.

Jiang Yi suddenly understood where that sense of familiarity came from.

It turns out that he has the appearance of an old friend.

"This is for you to play with." Jiang Yi was about to take the bracelet off her wrist when she suddenly realized she hadn't worn it today. She felt a little embarrassed. "I'll give it to you next time."

"Thank you, Miss Jiang, but it's rude not to reciprocate. Given my family's current situation, I'm afraid I can't return your gift. That being the case, I dare not accept your gift, lest my mother worry day and night about returning the favor."

Daya is graceful and elegant, neither humble nor arrogant.

Jiang Yi couldn't help but look at her twice more.

After all, he is not an old friend.

Although there is a sense of familiarity, the temperament is completely different.

This girl is really well raised.

Jiang Yi didn't stay for long. He quickly went out, jumped on his horse, and disappeared into the night.

After receiving Daya's instructions, San Ya ran into Lu Qi's mother's room.

"Mom, that aunt is looking for my dad to do something! My dad didn't agree."

"Little Ears." Lu Qiniang tapped her between the eyebrows. "From now on, when your father talks to others, you must not eavesdrop or imitate his words, understand?"

"It's okay." Xiao Yan also walked in, "San Ya just spoke for me."

"What can she ask you to do?" Lu Qiniang asked in confusion.

If Xiao Yan had that kind of ability, would he still be sold out?

Moreover, the five taels of silver were "unsaleable".

Xiao Yan told Lu Qiniang the whole story.

"You can't control the Black Armor Army!"

"The Black Armor Army is now in charge of Jiang Xuan. Jiang Xuan is my old subordinate and I promoted him. He is loyal to me." Xiao Yan explained.

"So you're good at talking?"

"It's useful." Xiao Yan did not hide his influence.

"Then why didn't Jiang Xuan come to rescue you?"

"Because I won't let him come."

"ah?"

"Abandoned Mother," Xiao Yan sighed, "Back then, I made a very serious mistake, and I never learned from it. At that time, I was angry with the Emperor and my family, and I probably had some very childish thoughts—"

"After I die, time will give a fair judgment."

This was Xiao Yan’s naive thought at the time, and he didn’t think he was wrong.

He even contradicted the emperor to his face.

The emperor did not kill him but spared his life, just to dampen his spirit and reduce his pride. This was probably because the emperor knew at that time that he did not have much time left.

The emperor couldn't bear to part with him and wanted to leave him to the prince.

Because Xiao Yan is a man of integrity, not a rebellious one.

Perhaps only an emperor in this state would give him a chance to start over.

Xiao Yan never thought there would be such an unexpected turn of events.

He was determined to die, so he prepared for the worst and asked Jiang Xuan to restrain his old subordinates and not to contact or rescue them.

"You're so bold." Lu Qiniang was shocked. "If it were us, we wouldn't be able to say a word when we saw the emperor."

Xiao Yan thought to himself, not only did you say something, you also talked a lot.

"No, what grave mistake did you make? Did you surrender to the enemy? Then the Emperor cannot forgive you."

"Quite the opposite." Xiao Yan smiled bitterly. "The Emperor ordered me to withdraw my troops, but I refused. So I drove the Hu people a thousand miles away in a rage, but the follow-up supplies didn't keep up, and it almost caused a disaster."

"It almost happened, but it didn't happen, did it?" Lu Qiniang spoke up for Xiao Yan, "I think this is a good thing!"

Your Majesty is making a big deal out of nothing. Wouldn't a warning be enough?

After all, the military achievements are real.

"I also killed the military supervisor sent by the emperor."

"Ah? You killed the emperor's men?"

This is indeed a bit... reckless.

"Well, although there were reasons for it, I acted first and reported it later, which also angered the emperor. I didn't think my crime deserved death, but later I gradually realized that the emperor had done his utmost to me by giving me another chance."

Being young and arrogant, he didn't know his place and offended many people without realizing it.

If he continues like this, something bad will happen sooner or later.