Fake Book (Revised)
There are five young masters in the Wenren family. Wenren Cuo is the eldest son. At the age of sixteen, he followed his father, General Wenren, to garrison in the northwest. Four years later, General Wenren returned to the court and was appointed as the Grand Marshal and granted the title of Marquis of Hengyang. Wenren Cuo then took full charge of the important military affairs of the northwest border and guarded it for another four years.
Si Pei said, "He has been in the northwest for eight years. It is reasonable for him to return to the capital to recuperate. This was the decree issued by the emperor before he became paralyzed."
After all, the emperor has been in power for many years, and he understands the art of balancing power better than anyone else.
"Besides, the Wen family themselves have a tradition of sending their sons abroad for training."
Si Pei lowered his head and rubbed the girl's cheek.
The one who has now taken over Wenren Cuo's position to guard the northwest is Wenren Yu, the third son of the Wen family.
"Oh, I remember him." Jing Yao suddenly exclaimed when he heard the name.
Si Pei was just surprised: "You know him?"
Jing Yao smiled mysteriously: "Wen Renyu, he's very famous."
Wenren Yu is half a year younger than Si Pei. He is a well-known playboy in Shanghua City and should be the most unruly one in the Wenren family.
Jing Yao had once gone to Yaoyue Tower for a drink and witnessed this young master spending a fortune to win the smile of the courtesan in the Zuichun Tower next door.
"People outside say that the Wen family has strict family values. I never guessed that the man would be the young master of the Wen family."
Si Pei smiled knowingly: "He has no status in the Wenren family, and Da Sima doesn't care about him, so he is naturally free."
"Oh, I heard that he was actually the son of a maidservant of Madam Su, the wife of the Grand Marshal. Is that true?" Jing Yao had heard some rumors, but apart from that, there was no other news about his so-called biological mother. Wen Renyu had always been raised by Madam Su, who liked him very much.
"Yeah, really." Si Pei changed to a more comfortable lying position: "He and I went hunting together before, and he was very frank."
Is he so "frank" just with a fellow traveler? Jing Yao shook his head in his heart, wondering if Wen Renyu was trying to curry favor with Crown Prince Si Pei.
Si Pei looked at her thoughtful expression and smiled: "He wants to make friends with me, but we don't have any other interactions. The Wen family is a neutral faction, and Da Sima won't let him have too much contact with me."
"However, the rumors about his origins are true." Si Pei looked at the roof beams. "I heard that it was the maid who drugged Da Sima."
Jing Yao's eyes widened in shock: "How can Madam Su tolerate him? Where is his biological mother?"
Si Pei replied, "His mother had a difficult labor and died shortly after giving birth to him. As for what Madam Su thought, I don't know."
Jing Yao shook his head after hearing this. This maidservant risked her life just to give birth to a son that the Grand Marshal didn't care about. What was she trying to gain?
However, Madam Su is also kind-hearted and treats Wen Renyu, the child born by the maid who betrayed her, as her own son.
"Why did the Grand Marshal send Wen Renyu to the northwest when he didn't value him?"
Could it be that the playboy was actually quite skilled in military warfare? Otherwise, given his past absurd performance, how could the Grand Marshal trust him with such an important task?
Si Pei rubbed the girl's head and said, "Although Wenren Yu is not as strong as Wenren Cuo, and not as smart as Wenren Ju in studies, his ability to lead troops is probably not inferior to Zuo Yuanwu."
"He's so amazing."
Jing Yao thought to himself, you really can’t judge a book by its cover.
"Wait, that's not right."
Jing Yao thought of something wrong, and Si Pei was puzzled: "Why?"
"Wenren Cuo is the eldest, Wenren Yu is the third, shouldn't the second one to take over be the Second Young Master?"
Jing Yao's theory was correct and there was no problem with it. Si Pei was helpless: "Yao Yao, do you still remember who the Second Young Master of the Wen Family is?"
"Who? ...Oh!"
Jing Yao clapped his hands and something suddenly clicked in his mind.
She must have been soaking in hot water for too long and her brain was not working well. She actually forgot that the second son of the Wenren family was the famous Wenren Yao.
Unlike all his other brothers, although Wenren Yao is very powerful, he has no ambition to be a general and lead troops in battle. If he is the only one who has this idea, there is nothing that can be done. Sima Wenren will definitely tie him up and take him to the military camp.
However, Wen Renyao was extremely talented and capable. After being appreciated by the emperor, he was directly appointed as the Inspector General. At that time, he was inspecting Xijing and investigating local corrupt officials.
"The Emperor wants to suppress the Wen family, so why does he still use Wenren Yao?"
"He is indeed a useful talent, and he...has a bad relationship with the Wen family."
Jing Yao was surprised at first, then nodded in understanding. Wen Renyao's vow not to join the military camp was a violation of the Wenren family's ancestral rules. The Grand Marshal would undoubtedly view him as a rebellious son and might even want to sever their father-son relationship.
However, if this is not their intention, you cannot force them. If parents only want their children to follow the path they have arranged for them, it may only bring disaster.
Jing Yao thought of his father for no reason, and in the end he just sighed.
"Unhappy?"
Si Pei saw that she was not in a good state, and Jing Yao did not want to talk about the dead Jing Chen with him, so he smiled and changed the subject: "I remember that Master Yao was a famous handsome man in Xijing, but I haven't seen him for a long time."
A popular tabloid ranked the handsome men of Xijing, with Wen Renyao beating out a host of other young men to take second place, just behind Baili Wenfu. Fu Linjun, despite retiring to the Wei family's backyard but still maintaining his fame, came in third. And fourth was... who was fourth?
Jing Yao's memory is sometimes good and sometimes bad. He couldn't think of it and doubted whether there was a fourth person in the folk.
She was about to ask Si Pei if he knew, but when she saw the man's slightly resentful eyes, she suddenly choked.
It seems that if I ask him who the four most handsome men are, wouldn’t it be too hurtful to him?
Jing Yao felt that he should be gentler towards Si Pei, so he gently raised his hand and touched the man's chest to comfort him.
"Do you think Wenren Yao is good-looking?"
Si Pei's tone was as sour as vinegar fresh from the cellar. Jing Yao laughed so hard that she shook her head and threw herself into his arms, unable to get up. However, Si Pei was still feeling resentful, staring at her with his eyes: "Am I prettier, or is he?"
Jing Yao straightened up and looked at Si Pei's face carefully, and came to a conclusion that she always insisted on - if the tabloids dared to write it, Si Pei should be the most handsome man in Xijing.
However, others certainly did not dare to judge the appearance of the current crown prince, so few people really compared him with the others, and naturally they did not know how stunning his appearance was.
"Beautiful." Jing Yao commented very seriously, her eyes narrowed with a smile, "Xiao Li, you are the prettiest."
Si Pei hugged her, with an uncontrollable smile on his face.
Si Pei heaved a sigh of relief. He had always known that Jing Yao liked handsome men the most. Fortunately, Yao Yao also thought he was good-looking and was very satisfied with his appearance.
That means Jing Yao won't get tired of him for the time being and will continue to like him.
Si Pei suddenly thought that he should ask the Imperial Hospital to research more products to preserve the skin and nourish the skin. Otherwise, what if his appearance deteriorated in the future and Yao Yao no longer liked him?
The two chatted about other gossips, mostly about the Wei family, which was in a turbulent time at the moment and the situation was uncertain.
"The foundation built by the Wei family over hundreds of years cannot be collapsed."
Si Pei poured himself a cup of scented tea, "But it's hard to say who will be the head of the family."
The white porcelain teacup was placed against Jing Yao's lips. She took two sips from Si Pei's cup and asked, "Will anything happen?"
"It's okay. It doesn't matter who is in power. Just pay your taxes."
The glory and wealth earned by the Wei family were naturally due to their abilities, and Si Pei and every king before them gave them preferential policies in exchange for greater profits after a win-win situation.
A considerable portion of the Xijing treasury's income came from taxes paid by the Wei family, and Si Pei only valued this aspect of the Wei family.
"Do you think I'm profit-driven?"
Si Pei raised his hand and hooked the tip of Jing Yao's nose, who was in a daze in his arms. Jing Yao slapped his hand away: "No way, this is called the wisdom of a king."
"Jinyan, I haven't become a 'king' yet." Si Pei corrected her with a smile, but Jing Yao disagreed: "Isn't it just a matter of time?"
The emperor has been paralyzed in bed for almost a year without any signs of improvement. Now he is just relying on countless high-quality medicines to stay alive.
"Things in this world are hard to predict. Sooner or later, something unexpected might happen."
"Stop saying such unlucky things, Your Highness!" Jing Yao interrupted him. She now really liked to call him "Your Highness" with a hint of sarcasm when she spoke to him in a serious manner.
Jing Yao had rarely used honorifics to address Si Pei before, so it was considered a blessing that he didn't scold him.
Si Pei thought it was adorable that she cared about him like this, and couldn't help but kiss Jing Yao on the forehead: "Got it."
Little did she know that Jing Yao was horrified when she thought of the "accident" in her previous life. She absolutely, absolutely did not want to die again.
In order to avoid repeating the same mistake, this time Si Jue, Yue Ningning and Wen Rencuo, the three of them must be dealt with.
In the end, Jing Yao admitted that she had some selfish motives. She really felt that Wen Rencuo's obvious feelings towards her were a bit disgusting.
It was indeed clever of Si Jue to secretly erase all traces of his preparations for rebellion, but she did not believe that Si Jue's methods could be so sophisticated as to take into account every detail.
Besides, there is Yue Ningning, who will always be able to catch some flaws.
Speak of the devil, the secret guard sent by Si Pei to investigate finally returned with the "Hidden Dragon" that Jing Yao had been thinking about day and night.
"Your Highness, Madam Jing. After much effort on the part of my subordinates, the bookstore owner has compiled the manuscript of all three volumes of 'Hidden Dragon.' He said he is offering this book as an apology for the shock you received at Yushan Bookstore."
After saying that, the young eunuch beside him stepped forward, took the three novels, and quickly handed them to Jing Yao.
Jing Yao was naturally surprised, but still felt a little bit unbelievable.
Yue Ningning actually dared to hand over "Hidden Dragon"?
Isn’t she afraid that Si Pei will notice something strange?
This doubt became even stronger when he saw the book cover. Something was wrong... Jing Yao felt uneasy and subconsciously opened the first volume and read a few pages - and sure enough...
Jing Yao threw the book back on the table with a cold look.
Si Pei noticed that she was in a bad mood. Since she liked "Hidden Dragon" and had always asked to read it, why was she not interested in it now that she had it in her hand?
Yao Yao had never encountered such a situation before.
"Yaoyao, is there anything wrong with this book?"
Jing Yao gritted his teeth. It was more than just a problem... this was a huge problem!
This book "Hidden Dragon" is not the one she wants at all.
Aside from the names of the characters, everything else is different.
It was not difficult for her to guess that this was Yue Ningning's doing.
Fortunately, she was able to get the entire manuscript in such a short time, or she had actually prepared this emergency solution a long time ago.
How could Jing Yao give up just like that? Si Pei's people should have gone to investigate Yue Ningning, so she had to verify her previous guess.
"Xiao Li, this book is different from the ones I read before."
Jing Yao leaned into his arms with a melancholy look on his face, and his distressed look made people feel pity for him.
Si Pei felt even more distressed and wished she would agree to everything she said immediately.
"Why is it different? Did you remember the wrong title?"
"No!" Jing Yao said aggrievedly, "I remember this is the title of the book, but the content is different. I think the bookstore owner is guilty!"
Si Pei frowned. He never doubted Jing Yao's words. If Jing Yao said no, then it was definitely not right.
But... why go to so much trouble over just one book? What was in it that made the bookstore owner willing to tamper with it, even at the risk of being charged with deceiving the emperor?
Jing Yao knew he had to add some more material to convince Si Pei. "I remember it was about the struggle between two princes born to the same mother, but now it's different. I'm afraid they don't dare show us the rest of the story. I told you I liked this book before, so I wanted you to bring it back."
Her hint was not subtle, and Si Pei still understood what she meant. Perhaps the plot of the book was alluding to him and Si Jue. Jing Yao saw the problem and wanted him to deal with it.
He turned around and asked the guard on standby, "Has Yushan Bookstore found anything unusual?"
The secret guard shook his head. "Nothing unusual has happened. This bookstore has been very popular in the capital since it opened, and there have been no other problems. The only conflict that occurred in the bookstore a while ago was between the General of Chariots and Cavalry and his younger brother."
"Where's the boss? Have you checked?"
"Your Highness, I have also sent people to investigate. He is a new businessman who started out in Jiangru. He is very famous and has business interests in various southern states. However, the brothers who investigated this matter said that Yue Ningning and Prince Lin have no dealings and are not acquainted with each other."
Si Pei frowned: "Jiang Ru..."
Obviously Si Pei had noticed this. The result of the secret guard having nothing was just as Jing Yao expected. Yue Ningning also had a flawless and extremely clean identity.
But no matter how clean their traces are, they cannot hide one thing - they all come from the Jiangru area.
One is a prince of a fiefdom, and the other is a famous businessman in his fiefdom, but the two have no intersection at all. This most innocent point has become a suspicious point.
"Keep searching, and use all means to find the first draft of 'Hidden Dragon' for me."
"yes."
Jing Yao listened to Si Pei's orders and just lay silently in the man's arms.
If Si Pei were to conduct a thorough investigation, perhaps he could force the other party to make some response.
She was looking forward to seeing how Yue Ningning and Si Jue would respond.
Continue read on readnovelmtl.com
