Chapter 125 Fifth Brother, Are You Being Too Nosy?
Su Muci suddenly looked up, his eyes full of disbelief.
He thought of General Sun's usual cruelty, the rumors of Liang Huaifeng's sudden death, and the manuscripts of poems that he had handed out with his own hands.
If you are really involved in treason, not only your future but also the lives of your entire family will be in danger.
"I... I didn't know it would be like this..." His voice was weak, his face gradually graying, and the composure he had just forced himself to maintain completely collapsed. "I just wanted... to gain a firm foothold in the court in the future..."
Ruan Yunjian said solemnly, "It's not too late to turn back now."
…
In the courtyard.
Su Muyan glanced towards the second floor, feeling uneasy for some reason.
He lowered his voice and asked, "Princess, did my elder brother do something wrong?"
That day in the villa of Prince An's mansion, the princess had made it clear that from the beginning to the end, she only treated him as a younger brother.
He was very surprised when he suddenly received a letter from the princess yesterday, but he was a little puzzled because the princess reminded him in the letter to bring his brother with him.
Thinking back to the previous few meetings, the princess had intentionally or unintentionally inquired about her brother's news.
In addition, Ruan Yunjian deliberately waited here to meet his brother alone without being seen by others, so he must have something important to discuss.
His elder brother knew that he had no ambition to serve in the court, and the two brothers seldom talked about the disputes in the court, but he also vaguely noticed that his elder brother seemed to be leaning towards Prince Duan in recent years.
In this situation, he couldn't help but think more.
Ruan Yunsheng picked up the teacup and gently blew away the foam. "Don't be nervous. Your brother is a smart man and will make the most appropriate choice."
At this time, the waiter in a blue cloth shorts came over to add tea, with a polite smile on his face: "This is the newly arrived pre-rain Longjing tea. Please enjoy it, my two distinguished guests."
Su Muyan responded absentmindedly and took a sip of the teacup.
Not long after, he pressed his hand on his lower abdomen, his face pale. "Princess, I suddenly have some abdominal pain. I need to go to the toilet first. I'll be gone for a moment."
Ruan Yunsheng nodded in agreement.
But after a moment, a familiar dark figure sat down opposite her, took off his hat and placed it on the table, revealing Xie Yanqingjun's face.
"Shengsheng." Xie Yan called her softly, with an imperceptible tension in his voice.
Ruan Yunsheng looked up at him, her eyes sweeping over the cup of tea that Su Muyan hadn't finished, her brows slightly furrowed. "Did you put something in our tea?"
Xie Yan paused and quickly explained, "I just added something to Su Muyan's tea. It's not poison. I just wanted him to stay away for the time being."
"He and I were just sitting and drinking tea, and you want to interfere?"
Ruan Yunsheng picked up his teacup, his tone tinged with sarcasm, "Fifth Brother, aren't you meddling too much?"
She pronounced the word "Fifth Brother" particularly harshly, like a thin needle gently piercing Xie Yan's heart.
Xie Yan's Adam's apple rolled, his expression slightly stiff: "Shengsheng, I don't want to control you, I just want to tell you something. You have been refusing to listen to my explanation, I..."
"Then tell me, in what capacity are you speaking to me now?"
Ruan Yunsheng interrupted him, his eyes half-lidded to hide the emotions in his eyes, "Is it His Royal Highness Prince Xuan? Is it Fifth Brother? Or is it... the fifth day of the first lunar month?"
Xie Yan hesitated for a moment, a trace of confusion flashing across his brows: "...Is there any difference?"
"There's a huge difference." Ruan Yunsheng said in a gloomy tone, "If it were His Royal Highness Prince Xuan, then there would be nothing for you and me to say except pleasantries. If it were Fifth Brother, then we would just talk about family matters between siblings, nothing else would be mentioned. But if it were the fifth day of the lunar year..."
Her face turned slightly cold. "Have you figured out how to explain all this to me?"
Xie Yan's Adam's apple rolled, "Shengsheng, I was wrong. I shouldn't have concealed my identity from you. But I didn't mean anything else. I just wanted to protect you..."
Ruan Yunsheng raised his eyes, his gaze meeting his own with clarity. "Seven years ago, you fell into Yuehua Courtyard covered in blood. You were so badly injured that you nearly died. What happened?"
Xie Yan froze suddenly, his fingertips clenched white.
He imagined countless questions...
Questioning why he lied, questioning whether he had ulterior motives, and even questioning his attitude, which was completely different from that of "Chuwu"...
But he didn't expect that the first thing she asked was why he was seriously injured that year.
How should I answer this?
Should he tell Shengsheng that he secretly picked up her handkerchief and hid it, and Prince Duan saw his shameful thoughts and used it to threaten him, forcing him to enter the Demon Cult alone...
Shengsheng knew that he was Chuwu, and she was so angry that she didn't even bother to talk to him.
Now that they finally had the chance to sit down and talk, if she knew about his dirty thoughts, knew that he had harbored such filthy thoughts since then...
How could Shengsheng possibly forgive him?
Seeing that Xie Yan had nothing to say, Ruan Yunsheng curled the corners of his lips coldly.
You bastard, you don’t even tell the truth!
Ruan Yunsheng stood up and prepared to go find his elder brother.
Xie Yan subconsciously grabbed the corner of her clothes, his voice a little nervous: "Shengsheng!"
Ruan Yunsheng lowered his eyes to look at him and said helplessly, "Go back to Prince Xuan's Mansion immediately and don't let anyone see you leave the mansion without permission."
She calmed down and said, "When you have thought it through, come and explain it to me. But remember, I'm only giving you one chance. You must confess everything you've lied to me about over the years."
"If you're still hiding something, don't see me or talk to me anymore!"
After Ruan Yunsheng finished speaking, he turned around and left.
Xie Yan was so confused that he didn't notice that someone was peeping at him in the corner.
At this time, the conversation between Ruan Yunjian and Su Muci was almost over.
Su Muci looked unwell and in a trance. When he saw Ruan Yunsheng, he forced a smile on his lips.
Ruan Yunsheng gave her eldest brother an inquiring look, and Ruan Yunjian nodded at her, indicating that the matter had been settled.
Then he looked at Su Muci again and said, "Let's go first. You can leave through the side door in half an hour."
Su Muci nodded, "I understand."
It was still early when we left Taoranzhai.
Ruan Yunjian still had to go back to the Hanlin Academy to be on duty. Ruan Yunsheng rarely came out, so he thought of taking a short stroll on the street before going back.
The brother and sister parted at the entrance of Taoranzhai. Ruan Yunjian repeatedly instructed the guards to take good care of him before turning and heading towards the Hanlin Academy. Ruan Yunsheng, accompanied by Zhishu and two guards, walked slowly along the bluestone path.
The shouts of street vendors and the laughter of children mixed in the wind, adding a bit more of a lively atmosphere than in the Marquis' Mansion.
Not long after walking, a burst of faint crying suddenly came from behind.
When Ruan Yunsheng turned around, she saw a little girl about four or five years old running towards her sobbing, with two shiny tear marks on her face, looking very pitiful.
Zhishu naturally couldn't let her offend the princess, so he quickly stepped forward, squatted down, and stopped her, saying softly, "Little sister, why are you crying like this? Are you lost?"
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