Chapter 472 Two Bet
Tang Ning had been nervous since he came to the Cao family. He had thought of all kinds of situations and was thinking about how to deal with them, but he didn't expect to see this scene after he arrived.
The years are quiet and the room is filled with the fragrance of chestnuts.
As Cao Dejiang sat there and waved to them, he looked relaxed as if he was greeting someone he had already made an appointment with.
Tang Ning pursed her lips and said nothing, but Xiao Yan looked at the man next to Cao Dejiang meaningfully, reached out and pulled Tang Ning to the stove, and sat down opposite them.
"Of course I have to eat the chestnuts roasted by Mr. Shi and Mr. Cao."
Xiao Yan casually moved some of the chestnuts that Cao Dejiang had gathered to Tang Ning, and then spoke:
"Mr. Shi has been in the capital for so long that my Privy Council and my spies have turned the capital upside down. I was wondering why you have been missing for so long, but it turns out you were hidden by Lord Cao."
"Mr. Cao, it's not right for you to do this."
Shi Changan?!
Tang Ning felt something was wrong when he saw the man next to Cao Dejiang just now. Now looking at his appearance, he was exactly the same as Mr. Shi, the man who had white hair overnight and a broken arm that Cao Dejiang had mentioned.
Shi Changan was originally recommended to her by Cao Dejiang, and Cao Dejiang also mentioned him to her several times, saying that he would help her find him. Who would have thought that Shi Changan had been in Cao's house all this time.
No wonder she couldn't find this person for a long time. Every time she went to find out some information, she was always one step behind.
Tang Ning couldn't help but say, "Mr. Cao has deceived me so badly."
"I've been keeping the position of the academy's principal for Mr. Shi, which has caused a lot of speculation. I heard that after Mr. Shi came to Beijing, he searched all over the country for someone based on the information you gave him, but you ended up hiding him here."
"Brother, we need to eat more of these chestnuts. We can't let Cao Gong get away with them."
The two spoke casually, and even if they had some complaints, they were just like younger generations talking to their elders. Tang Ning even spoke with a hint of anger and coquettishness.
Xiao Yan also agreed with this and simply took all the chestnuts in front of Cao Dejiang. He also "stole" a few of his peeled chestnuts and stuffed them into Tang Ning's hands.
Cao Dejiang smiled and glared: "You guys are going too far!"
He spent a long while peeling these chestnuts.
Xiao Yan glared at him, "Who's wrong? Lord Cao has completely deceived Tang Ning and me. If it weren't for this accident, I'm afraid you would have kept us in the dark until the end."
"Now I only eat a few chestnuts from you, and I haven't even lifted the roof off the house. I think it's a good deal for you, old man."
Tang Ning stuffed the chestnut into his mouth with approval, his cheeks puffed up.
"that is!"
Fortunately, she felt a little guilty when she took advantage of Cao Dejiang before, but in the end she was the one who was tricked.
Tang Ning bit the chestnut in his mouth fiercely: "Old Madam Fu always said hello to you, but you are so disrespectful and make fun of me and my brother. I will complain to her later."
Cao Dejiang got a headache when he thought of his nagging sister with an overly strong sense of justice. He simply reached out and gave all the chestnut meat in the teacup lid to Tang Ning.
"Okay, okay, it's my fault. I'll give you all the chestnuts. Okay?"
…
The expected tension was not there at all, and no arguments or confrontations occurred.
Several people were eating chestnuts around the stove, and they chatted with each other as if jokingly, brushing aside the things that Cao Dejiang had deceived them about before, and even silently averted the dispute that should have arisen.
Shi Chang'an on the opposite side looked at Xiao Yan in surprise. He thought that His Royal Highness the Emperor's eldest grandson would question Cao Dejiang, or at least test him a little.
Shi Changan knew some things about Xiao Yan's past. He was born noble, suffered a disaster in his childhood, and survived many dangers to get to where he is today.
The intelligence of this eldest grandson of the emperor and the vindictiveness he has always shown in his actions do not make him seem like someone who can be too tolerant. Moreover, he must be extremely defensive and suspicious.
But since Xiao Yan stepped into here, his words and actions were completely beyond his expectations.
Shi Changan made two bets with Cao Dejiang. One was whether Xiao Yan could detect the abnormality in the palace, follow Feng Lai to find Cao Dejiang, and how he would react after knowing the truth.
He guessed that Xiao Yan would hide his identity and test him secretly, using the incident of that year as an opportunity to completely drag the Cao family into the "rebellion" ship and force Cao Dejiang to act with him.
Cao Dejiang said that Xiao Yan would not do that, and that he would come directly to find him after meeting Feng Lai.
The second is to bet on Xiao Yan's arrogance as the eldest grandson of the emperor, and the conceit of "Lord Xiao". He is powerful and ruthless in the court. In recent years, he is the only one who has calculated others. If he knew that he was teased by Cao Dejiang and his life was almost in the hands of others, would he blame Cao Dejiang and be dissatisfied with him?
But who would have thought that he didn't win either of the two bets.
Shi Changan turned the chestnut over with the tongs and asked, "Grandson of the Emperor, don't you blame this old man surnamed Cao for teasing you?"
Xiao Yan pinched the chestnut shell and heard the "provocation" in Shi Changan's words.
The statement that the emperor's eldest grandson had exposed his identity meant that Cao Dejiang had known who he was for a long time, and even Shi Changan had not concealed it. In other words, Cao Dejiang was not the only one who was secretly watching him "laugh at himself".
Xiao Yan said, "When I first learned about it, I was a little angry and frightened, but after the fear, I felt grateful."
The round chestnut shell cracked open, and he held it in his palm, raised his head and said seriously:
"Since I had noticed what happened back then, I should have been more suspicious and cautious, but I thought I was being cautious and took risks. If Cao Gong hadn't taught me a lesson, how would I have known the extent of my mistake?"
"I'm not perfect, nothing is absolute. Before the great thing is accomplished, any omission may cost me my life."
"It's only because Lord Cao held back that I'm safe today. If it were someone with malicious intentions, I would have been dead long ago. Lord Cao is teaching me that arrogance is not the way to succeed."
Xiao Yan spoke with particular sincerity, "Besides, Lord Cao risked the wrath of the world to save my life and cover my tracks. The fact that my father and the remnants of the He family were able to find me later must have been thanks to Lord Cao and Grand Tutor Rong."
"Lord Cao has left the Eastern Palace lineage with a chance of survival. This is a great favor. I am already grateful, so how can I complain?"
Shi Changan calmed down and looked at the woman beside Xiao Yan: "The princess is not angry either?"
"How is that possible? I am annoyed."
Tang Ning, with a chestnut in his mouth, said very frankly: "I am not as insightful as my brother, and I am also narrow-minded."
"Mr. Cao clearly took the initiative to tell me about Mr. Shi, and praised you to the skies. I was looking forward to you coming to help me manage the academy and educate the students. But who would have thought that he had been fooling me the whole time."
"You don't know that when I heard about your appearance at Lingyun Temple that day, I almost took my men to chase you. Then you disappeared again. I even complained to my brother that I was not good enough and that was why Mr. Shi refused to show up."
After saying that, she glared at Cao Dejiang angrily.
"Mr. Cao has gone too far!"
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