Chapter 95 The truth emerges: Am I someone you can give up on at any time? ...
The light was dim, and the boy's sharp eyebrows and features had grown wider over the years, but he had not lost his indomitable determination.
Jiang Cichen said in a hoarse voice: "I really like your voice, why don't you call me more? Anyway..."
Only a faint candlelight shone through the bed. His eyes were dark and unclear: "Only I can hear it."
Luo Wan's mind was in a mess. He couldn't make sense of anything and didn't know how to answer.
*
The window frame was half open, and the cool air carrying the fresh scent of grass and trees came in, slightly dispelling the dullness caused by the indoor heater.
The Yun army captured Lin'an City and had less than half a month to rest before they were ordered to march to Jingzhou.
Excluding the round-trip journey from Lin'an to Yunjing, Jiang Cichen's time in Yunjing was short. Given this, Luo Wan often complied with his wishes, allowing Jiang Cichen to enjoy a particularly comfortable time.
That day, Luo Wan released the assassin who was imprisoned in the woodshed.
They didn't actually tell him to leave directly, but rather removed half of the guards outside the woodshed and extended the shift change intervals. Sure enough, the assassin took advantage of this opportunity and quietly escaped over the wall.
However, the secret guard who followed him soon came back to report that the assassin was killed by a man in black shortly after he left.
Luo Wan had expected this result a long time ago, and was not surprised when he heard it. He just calmly ordered the secret guards to retreat.
A chessboard was set between the two men. Jiang Cichen placed a piece and whispered, "Since they sent him here, they've already planned to make sure he never returns. If they succeed, they'll die. If they don't, they'll also die. Dying outside is better than dying in the East Palace."
Not only did he die in the Eastern Palace, but he also brought bad luck to the Eastern Palace.
"For the past three months, there have been assassinations almost every day." Luo Wan frowned. "The young prince is still so young."
"It's because he's young that it's easier to take action," Jiang Cichen said. "The Queen's family and the Crown Prince's old subordinates are determined to help the young prince ascend to the throne, so some people are naturally restless."
During the few months that Luo Wan had been in Yunjing, he had more or less understood the situation in the Yunjing court. When the Yun Emperor was vying for the throne, he promised that the position of crown prince would belong to the son born to him and the queen, in exchange for the queen's family working hard to help him ascend the throne.
Luo Wan had heard this from the Crown Princess, and it wasn't widely circulated in Yunjing, so its authenticity remained to be determined. But judging by the successive assassins, it was likely true.
Luo Wan had never thought that she, who was born as an assassin, would have been catching assassins in the East Palace for three months.
Aside from situations where personal protection was required and the Eastern Palace guards were unable to react quickly, within the heavily guarded Eastern Palace, the Crown Princess and the young prince didn't actually need her protection much. Nowadays, the Eastern Palace strictly prohibited outsiders from entering and leaving, and those who could sneak in were few and far between.
Luo Wan suddenly asked: "Do you have any women with good skills around you?"
Jiang Cichen paused for a moment while holding Zi's hand, then slowly raised his eyes: "Have you ever seen other women around me?"
Luo Wan was slightly stunned and thought carefully.
Jiang Cichen no longer had any of his old subordinates. The only personnel he could mobilize in Yunjing were soldiers from the Yun Kingdom who obeyed the General's Seal. It would probably be difficult to find women in the military camp.
Luo Wan pondered and said, "Then I'll have Tingyu Tower send two skilled warriors over."
"You want someone?" Jiang Cichen raised his eyebrows.
Luo Wan nodded: "I said before that I would go back to Tingyu Tower after Lin'an was captured, but the East Palace needs personal protection. Men are not convenient, and you don't have any women with you, so I can only transfer two people from Tingyu Tower. But this will take some time."
"Wait a little longer before you leave," Jiang Cichen said, "wait until I capture Jingzhou."
Luo Wan didn't understand: "Why?"
He was silent for a moment. It wasn't a long silence, but in Luo Wan's perception, it seemed to be invisibly stretched out. A familiar, unsettling premonition crept into his heart, as if he had experienced it before.
"Jiang Cichen, you are hiding something from me." Luo Wan narrated calmly.
Because she quickly realized where she had experienced this feeling before. It was in her previous life, when Chu Lin first mentioned Su Qinghuan in front of her.
Is it going to repeat the same mistake again? Luo Wan felt uneasy and couldn't help but guess other reasons why Jiang Cichen hadn't replied for half a month.
But she still said calmly: "Even if two people have experienced a lot together and done a lot, it doesn't mean that they will eventually get together and grow old together. Life is long. At the age of 20, your life and mine have just begun."
Jiang Cichen frowned slightly, as if he couldn't understand what she was going to say.
"I said before that I don't accept deserters, but if there really is a deserter, I can't do anything about it. Maybe I used to be obsessed with an answer, obsessed with a person, but not now. If you meet someone new, I will never entangle with them."
She used to be very stubborn and obstinate, but people always change. She was willing to love Jiang Cichen because he loved her. If even Jiang Cichen didn't love her, she could always withdraw.
After listening to this, Jiang Cichen not only did not explain whether he had concealed anything, but instead asked: "Am I someone you can give up at any time?"
Luo Wan was not led astray by him and just said, "Shouldn't you explain to me what you are hiding first?"
The air seemed to be stagnant, and the black and white pieces on the chessboard were in a stalemate.
Jiang Cichen was about to speak when there was a gentle knock on the study door. A servant came in with a message, saying that Emperor Yun was very angry about the memorial submitted by Jiang Cichen and ordered him to enter the palace immediately.
"Don't overthink it. There's no new person." Jiang Cichen rubbed the top of her head. "It's hard to explain right now. I'll explain it to you when I get back."
The game is only half played, leaving a stalemate.
*
Inside the Xuanzheng Hall, Emperor Yun was furious, throwing memorials all over the floor. The old eunuch was about to bend down to pick them up when Emperor Yun sternly stopped him.
As soon as Jiang Cichen stepped into the palace, he saw King Sheng standing leisurely on the side with a faint smile on the corner of his lips.
A memorial suddenly flew towards him and hit him hard on the brow.
"Do you know what you wrote?!"
Emperor Yun's furious voice resounded throughout the hall. The eunuchs and guards standing inside and outside all held their breath and lowered their heads. Jiang Cichen, on the other hand, knelt down and saluted without any emotion.
Prince Sheng looked like he was enjoying a good show, and he said slowly, "General Lingyun, you actually dared to persuade my father to spare Shen Zhiyan's life. Have you forgotten whose blood is on Shen Zhiyan's hands?"
Emperor Yun glared at Jiang Cichen and said, "Tell me your reasons. Give me a reason not to kill him."
"There's no reason." Jiang Cichen said calmly, "I just feel that a talent like him shouldn't die in vain. Perhaps he can serve the Yun Kingdom in the future."
Even Jiang Cichen, who said it, found the last sentence a bit ridiculous.
"Jiang Cichen, do you think everyone is you? You are the son of the eldest princess of Yun State." King Sheng sneered, "Shen Zhiyan set up a trap to kill Xiao Ce. Do you think he will still work for Yun State? Why would he work for Yun State?"
There is absolutely no possibility that Shen Zhiyan would commit treason, and Jiang Cichen is not sure that he can really persuade Emperor Yun to spare Shen Zhiyan's life.
Who in the North Country killed Xiao Ce? Who in the Yun Country did Shen Zhiyan kill? These two things were not that difficult to handle, but it was Shen Zhiyan who killed Xiao Ce, and everything became difficult to reverse.
Now that the order of Emperor Yun has been passed on to Beiye Ji, he does not need to sentence Shen Zhiyan's nine clans to death. As long as Shen Zhiyan is torn into pieces by five horses, the Yun Kingdom can temporarily suspend the war.
However, in the memorial submitted by Jiang Cichen, he stated that he was willing to personally lead the army to capture Jingzhou and the capital directly, and exchange his military achievements for Shen Zhiyan's life.
Why?
Why?
Once he submitted this memorial, even if Emperor Yun did not suspect that he had ulterior motives, people in and out of the government would inevitably make a big fuss about his life experience.
When Emperor Yun asked him the reason, he just perfunctorily said "Shen Zhiyan is a talent" from beginning to end. How could this not make Emperor Yun furious?
"Word has already been passed on," Emperor Yun said coldly, "Even if I don't want his life, do you think he can still survive?"
The sudden change of heart by the Yun Kingdom's Ninth Five-Year Supreme Leader made it hard for others not to speculate on the reasons behind it.
Beiye Ji was extremely suspicious, and even though Shen Zhiyan was completely loyal, he could not avoid some speculation.
The entire Jiang family is a lesson for Shen Zhiyan. Just because Jiang Cichen has half Yun Kingdom blood, Bei Yeji wants to kill the entire Jiang family.
Jiang Cichen said, "I only want Your Majesty not to kill Shen Zhiyan."
He will take care of the rest.
He would send Yanyun Pavilion to rescue Shen Zhiyan, as long as Shen Zhiyan was willing to disregard the mountains and rivers of the Northern Kingdom and the people of the Northern Kingdom and follow Chen Beizhe away.
It was only recently during a battle that Jiang Cichen learned that the military advisor of Jingzhou was Shen Zhiyan.
He didn't want Luo Wan to be involved in this matter.
Saving Shen Zhiyan's life was not a difficult task. But once it involved Xiao Ce's death, it was no longer something he could control.
The nobles in the court have always looked down on people from the underworld. Now is the critical period of the struggle for the crown prince, and various forces are fighting openly and secretly.
Jiang Cichen already had many enemies due to his support for the former princelings. If Luo Wan was dragged into this, the censors would surely make a big fuss about her identity.
In the eyes of Emperor Yun, love can always be sacrificed for power. Once he began to doubt Luo Wan's intentions, her motives for approaching Jiang Cichen, and her purpose for infiltrating Yunjing.
Even if Jiang Cichen loves her again, Emperor Yun will never show any mercy to her.
*
The setting sun gradually slid to the west. Luo Wan saw Qi San first before he saw Jiang Cichen.
Qi San handed her the letter from Tingyu Tower.
No matter what Jiang Cichen said, Luo Wan would not change her mind. She must go back for revenge.
She didn't understand how her return to Tingyu Tower was related to his capture of Jingzhou, but when she opened the letter, she understood everything.
The letter first reported that the task assigned by the poster had been arranged.
Shen Zhiyan was mentioned at the end. The Northern Kingdom secretly sent Shen Zhiyan to Jingzhou, but the secret agents in the capital failed to notice him. It was only after the Yun Kingdom captured Lin'an that they learned of Shen Zhiyan's whereabouts.
Xiao Ce died in a trap set by Shen Zhiyan.
In order to avenge the death of Crown Prince Xiao Ce, Yun State asked Beiye Ji to order the execution of Shen Zhiyan. However, Shen Zhiyan was, after all, the counselor sent by Beiye Ji to Jingzhou. As the ruler of a country, Beiye Ji had to have some face and would not agree easily, so the matter has not been settled yet.
Luo Wan's head suddenly exploded, as if the whole world had collapsed in an instant.
It turned out that she was wrong from the beginning.
The one who wanted to kill Shen Zhiyan was never Bei Yeji, but Emperor Yun!
She had personally handed the map to Jiang Cichen, speeding up the Yun Kingdom's attack on the Northern Kingdom, and indirectly contributed to Shen Zhiyan's death.
The sky had become completely dark. For some reason, even the moon could not be seen today, as it was covered by thick clouds, and the yard was also pitch black.
When Jiang Cichen came back, he saw Luo Wan sitting silently in the yard, staring at him blankly.
The moonlight was like a curtain, covering her with strands of light.
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