Chapter 262
Because of Yan Shujin's attitude, the three who were originally prepared to confront her no longer dared to be so relentless. Although their attitudes were still unpleasant, the tense atmosphere had subsided.
One of the older men spoke up, "Princess, please."
Yan Shujin then went inside and waited for the others to sit down.
One person clapped, doing it on purpose, but found that neither Yan Shujin nor the other two people showed any change in expression.
Soon someone brought out tea, but instead of teacups, they brought out porcelain bowls.
The man who clapped his hands said, "We mountain folk only have this kind of wild tea. If the princess doesn't like it, there's nothing we can do."
Yan Shujin smiled upon hearing this, but this time she showed no intention of backing down. The bow she gave before entering the pavilion was because the man had indeed been implicated in the whole affair, but that did not mean that Yan Shujin was easy to talk to or could keep backing down: "It's not a matter of whether I like it or not. I just don't like drinking tea."
“Since the three of you have come to see me, and I am willing to come without any guards, it proves that both of us have noticed something amiss and want to discuss this in detail.” Yan Shujin’s voice was unhurried, without even a hint of anger: “In that case, it would be childish to continue with these things.”
The man clapping his hands had a change of expression. He had only wanted to give Yan Shujin a hard time, but now that he said it like this, it seemed like he was just looking for trouble.
After Yan Shujin finished speaking, she didn't dwell on the matter any further. Instead, she said, "The one beside me is the prince consort, and the other is my younger brother."
Bai Yan's elder brother married Yu Run, who is Yan Shujin's adopted sister. So it's not a lie to say that Bai Yan is the younger brother.
Now that Yan Shujin had finished her introduction, the three clan leaders of the mountain people also gave a brief introduction of themselves. One of them was surnamed Jin, one was surnamed Mu, and the other was surnamed Sha. The one whose wife and daughter had died was the clan leader Mu.
Chief Mu looked much more weathered than the other two, but it was understandable that he had lost both his daughter and wife in such a short time.
Actually, none of the three of them noticed anything strange about the matter until Yan Shujin arrived in Nanzhong and killed the Nanzhong officials. Only after they calmed down did they realize that something was wrong, but they couldn't quite put their finger on it.
Yan Shujin didn't beat around the bush. She had Bai Yan bring out a portrait and said, "Take a look, three of you. Is the person in this portrait that Young Master Wang?"
The portrait was unfolded and placed on the table. When Chief Mu saw it, his expression changed drastically: "It's this beast."
Although Chief Jin and Chief Sha did not speak, they nodded. They had both met this man before. He had visited Mu Village many times to propose to Chief Mu's daughter. When the two got married, they not only held a banquet in Nanzhong, but also invited many people to the village. So they had all met this man before.
At the time, they envied the chieftain's daughter for marrying well... but they never expected that this person would be a beast in human form.
Yan Shujin nodded and said, "Take another look at this portrait."
Han Jing took out another portrait and spread it out. It depicted a woman in palace attire who bore a striking resemblance to the young master Wang. Judging from their appearance alone, one could guess that the two were probably related by blood.
Yan Shujin said calmly, "Do you remember Lord Wang, Madam Wang, and their son looking alike?"
They hadn't noticed this before, but now that they thought about it, it really didn't seem like it. Young Master Wang had an air of nobility about him, and they had thought he was indeed worthy of being from the capital.
Yan Shujin pointed to the woman in palace attire and said, "This is Consort Zheng, a princess from the previous dynasty."
The identity of the woman in the painting was revealed, and the people present were stunned for a moment. They all thought of the person next to the so-called Young Master Wang, especially since Yan Shujin was implied in the painting.
The village chief stared intently at the two portraits and said, "Is that beast a nobleman from the previous dynasty?"
Yan Shujin said, "Besides these two paintings, I have no other evidence to prove these points."
The chieftain said in a deep voice, "It's also possible that you're lying."
Yan Shujin said without the slightest guilt, "I'm just showing you these two paintings. Based on the time when Lord Wang served as an official in Nanzhong, it can be confirmed that he was an official of the previous dynasty."
These are all true.
Yan Shujin always knew that to make others believe something, you had to make it more true than false, and make it seem reasonable. This reasonableness wasn't something she told these people, but something they had to think about themselves and believe that their own thinking was reasonable. Only in this way could she truly deceive them.
The portrait of Prince Wang is genuine, but the portrait of Consort Zheng is fake. It was forged by Han Jing at the behest of Yan Shujin. The woman in palace attire in the portrait was drawn based on the appearances of Prince Wang and Consort Zheng, so it was naturally an imagined image.
Moreover, Yan Shujin was not afraid of being exposed, since these people would never be able to see Consort Zheng.
Even without any evidence, Yan Shujin was determined to smear the remnants of the previous dynasty.
Yan Shujin said, "You are free to believe what I am saying or not."
Chief Jin patted Chief Mu on the shoulder: "Please speak, Princess."
Yan Shujin placed her hands on the table and said, "Do you know the inside story about the 'rebellion' by the southwestern barbarians?"
Jin, the chieftain, frowned and asked, "Is this related to Chief Mu's daughter?"
Yan Shujin calmly said, "Whether it's related or not is for you to judge for yourselves. I'm just telling you what I know."
This attitude made the three leaders of Jin Village listen carefully to Yan Shujin's words. They realized that it was better for them to make their own judgments than for others to tell them.
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