Upon seeing the person, Su Wenyuan's first question was, "Did you put the letter here?"

Wan Yanzhong bluntly stated, "No, I only knew in advance that there were forged letters. Knowing they were fake, why would I get involved? If they investigate thoroughly, they will definitely find me."

Apart from the Emperor and that mysterious man, everyone else felt that the forged letter wouldn't be able to harm Marquis Anle.

Those on the front lines and in Jincheng also knew that the message that Marquis Anle had betrayed the country was only sent back from the front lines because they had no other choice.

They never expected it would actually come true.

Sheng Jingyu pressed further, "If it wasn't you, why are you admitting it?"

"The rest of my Wan family have already left the capital, haven't they?" Wan Yanzhong asked instead of answering.

Su Wenyuan replied, "No, it's still early. Exile takes time to prepare; you can't just leave whenever you want. But the women and children who are expelled from the capital should be able to leave sooner."

Sheng Jingyu said, "Protecting them is your reason for admitting it?"

Wan Yan smiled bitterly, his back hunched over without him noticing, his eyes filled with despair and defeat.

“I’ve come to understand some things these past few days. From the moment I sent out my assassins, I was destined to meet a bad end. No matter how I try to justify myself or try to find a way to survive, it’s all in vain.”

He thought he could get away with it by not admitting it, but in the end he realized that the emperor had already become suspicious, and even if he didn't do it, he couldn't explain it away.

Su Wenyuan ignored the sadness in his words.

He sent assassins to kill him, and he's still making sentimental remarks about it.

"Just admitting to this one thing is enough to make the Emperor release the children and women of the Wan family? That doesn't make sense, does it?"

Wan Yanzhong slightly raised his head to look at Su Wenyuan, his expression containing a hint of appreciation, and praised, "You and your mother really look alike, but your personalities are quite different. If your mother were here, she might not have insisted so much..."

Su Wenyuan interrupted, saying, "There's no need for your dying lament. You don't need to feel aggrieved here. You're not a loyal minister or a good general. Don't act like the emperor can't tolerate you. It's your own fault for committing so many evils."

"At the same time, you don't need to mention my mother. After all, you and my maternal grandfather weren't that close. If you bring up the past, most of the things you did were quite unsavory."

Sheng Jingyu added: "Among the officials in the court who were imprisoned and about to be beheaded over the years, there were always some who looked righteous and awe-inspiring, as if they had seen through the ways of the world and were ready to die. In reality, they would not have died unjustly even if they had died a hundred or eighty times."

The two of them, working in unison, ruined the tragic atmosphere that Wan Yan had created.

His face, which had been deathly pale, turned red and then white as they spoke, before turning ashen again. Finally, he snapped in anger and embarrassment, "What exactly did you come here to ask?"

How could he possibly admit that he deserved his fate after his family had fallen into such a state?

I wanted to have a heart-to-heart talk with Su Wenyuan, reminisce about the past, and think about those beautiful memories.

Su Wenyuan exposed him, insisting that he had been despicable in the past and had committed many heinous crimes.

Seeing that he finally stopped pretending, Su Wenyuan let out a cold laugh.

"What else did you say?"

"Why should I tell you?" Wan Yanzhong retorted bluntly.

When he tried to talk to them properly, they wouldn't cooperate. After insulting him, they would ask him questions like this.

Sheng Jingyu said coldly, "Sheng Yuanhe was exiled to Wangshan in the northwest. While passing through a deserted area, he was ambushed by wild beasts. His fate is unknown, and the news has not yet reached the capital."

Su Wenyuan was terrified, but she didn't show it on her face.

Sheng Jingyu didn't say anything about this, so it's uncertain whether it's true or not; it might just be something he used to scare or threaten Wan Yanzhong.

Even a prince in exile is in danger of losing his life, let alone a group of women and children without protection.

Wan Yanzhong suddenly stood up, his voice trembling, and said, "You never implicate innocent people. They did nothing wrong. My wife was involved in many things, but she suffers from a serious illness, this..."

Sheng Jingyu sighed and said, "I didn't want to either. Actually, all you need to do is answer a few questions honestly."

With the Wan family so defeated, he couldn't muster any backbone.

"The Emperor already knows about the map of Prince Qi's tomb; it was I who told him." Wan Yanzhong admitted that he used this information to save the lives of the rest of the Wan family.

The two exchanged a glance, looking rather helpless.

The Emperor must have been shocked too, not knowing about such an important matter.

It's one thing if they didn't know, but the Duke of Wanguo knew and didn't tell him, and the Marquis of Anle also knew and didn't tell him either.

Neither Su Wenyuan nor Sheng Jingyu told him.

They had been keeping this news hidden from the emperor.

Wan Yan asked expectantly, "May I ask a few questions?"

"Ask away," Su Wenyuan sighed.

Now that things have come to this, there's nothing to hide, and I'm not afraid of others finding out.

The question has shifted from whether or not it can be said to whether people will believe it if it is said.

"What exactly is that picture I saw before?" Wan Yanzhong asked.

He hid it for many years, not daring to let anyone see it, yet unwilling to throw it away; this thing had troubled him for over a decade.

If he hadn't seen that picture back then, he wouldn't have ended up in that conflict with Marquis Anle, and he wouldn't have indirectly caused the deaths of his entire family.

Su Wenyuan was about to speak when she realized something was amiss and asked, "Didn't you give the map to the Emperor?"

Wan Yanzhong replied, "When the Emperor besieged the Wan residence for the second time, I burned the map. I only told the Emperor that Marquis Anle knew about the map of Prince Qi's tomb, and it seems that the late Emperor told him about it."

Sheng Jingyu said, "The map of the Qi King's tomb may not exist. Even if it did, it would be lost after so many years. What you saw at the Marquis of Anle's residence was just a marker drawn by the Marquis of Anle."

The location of the hidden compartment in the mansion was marked, and scrap metal was hidden inside.

Such an ethereal thing was something he had been thinking about for many years.

This exchange was straightforward and open, with neither side holding anything back.

Whether the Marquis of Anle's hoarding of that pile of junk was a private act or a cover-up for the royal family, the answer was finally found in the case of the Duke of Wan.

He only recently came to understand that when the late emperor was alive, he had inadvertently said that the position of Marquis Anle was unshakeable and that the Yu family had always borne important responsibilities.

Although it was said unintentionally, it has been said more than once.

Wan Yanzhong once thought that the late emperor was simply praising the Yu family's loyalty throughout the generations, and did not think of anything else.

"Not only the late emperor, but all emperors throughout history have known that this thing is illusory and unreal. But since it has been passed down from generation to generation, we can't just hand it over to someone else," Wan Yanzhong sighed again.

Su Wenyuan couldn't stand his worldly-wise appearance. After thinking for a moment and realizing there was nothing to ask, she pulled Sheng Jingyu away.

I breathed a sigh of relief after I got out; the smell in the prison was really not good.

Sheng Jingyu said, "You and I have always said that those things are junk, but have you ever seen junk that you can't just throw away?"