What Jian Hong said was true. She couldn't act impulsively. Jian Yang looked at Xia Hou with a hint of apology and said through gritted teeth, "Let's go."
"I never expected that General Jian, who always prides himself on being a gentleman, would sacrifice others for his own benefit. How ironic," Zhou Jing'an said with a sneer.
Ignoring the sarcasm in his words, Jian Hong pulled Jian Yang and walked out. Zhou Jing'an did not stop them and let them leave.
Jian Yang remained silent throughout the journey. He realized that he had underestimated his opponent and dragged Xiahou Riyue into the mess, and now Xiahou had been kidnapped by Zhou Jing'an.
“Ayang, you don’t need to blame yourself. Zhou Jing’an won’t do anything to Xiahou. We need to report this to the Emperor as soon as possible,” Jian Hongdu said to Jian Yang.
The two rode at full speed and arrived at the palace.
When Zhou Jingzhi received a report from his scouts that Zhou Jingan had led a group to besiege the inn, he became quite uneasy.
Seeing Jian Hong and Jian Yang walk in, Zhou Jingzhi breathed a sigh of relief. Fortunately, Jian Yang was alright, but Jian Yang looked somewhat grave, and Jian Hong was also injured.
"How is the situation?" Zhou Jingzhi asked.
While treating Jian Hong's wounds, Jian Yang quickly recounted what had happened that day.
"How did Xiahou Riyue get involved?" Zhou Jingzhi frowned.
Jian Yang shook her head. At first, she also thought that Zhou Jing'an had some other scheme, but upon closer reflection, it seemed that he originally just wanted to use Xiahou to test her.
As for why she later kidnapped Xiahou but easily let herself go, she really couldn't figure it out.
“Zhou Jing’an is probably at his wit’s end and wants to use this to restrain me,” Jian Yang said after a moment of silence.
Before Zhou Jingzhi and Jian Hong could speak, Jian Yang hurriedly said, "Brother, we can't let Lord Xiahou stay in Zhou Jing'an's hands forever. We must find a way to rescue him as soon as possible."
Jian Yang hadn't thought about it carefully before, but now that she thought about it, Zhou Jing'an was not the kind of person who would let things go easily. If pushed too far, he might do anything.
Moreover, Zhou Jing'an had ulterior motives towards Jian Yang and was already very dissatisfied with Xiahou Riyue. If he fell into Zhou Jing'an's hands, even if his life wasn't in danger, he would still be severely injured.
"If Lord Xiahou were to suffer any harm because of me, I would never be at peace with myself for the rest of my life." Jian Yang stared steadily at Zhou Jingzhi.
"Ayang, don't worry, I will definitely find a way to rescue Xiahou Riyue," Zhou Jingzhi said.
Seeing how much Jian Yang cared about Xiahou, Zhou Jingzhi was not without jealousy, but there were priorities, and this was not the time to dwell on such things.
Jian Hong nodded and said, "Zhou Jing'an is a vicious man, and he will inevitably torture Lord Xiahou. We must act quickly."
Seeing that Jian Yang still had a furrowed brow, Zhou Jingzhi took out a letter from his pocket and handed it to Jian Yang: "This is a letter I found that Wang Shi and Zhou Jing'an's people were communicating with each other. Take a look and see if it is her handwriting."
Jian Yang hurriedly took it. The letter contained her traces written in delicate, elegant calligraphy, undoubtedly in Wang's handwriting.
"With this letter, Father will surely believe us. Wang cannot remain in the Prime Minister's residence," Jian Hong said.
Upon hearing this, Jian Yang expressed her agreement: "My brother and I will return to the Prime Minister's residence first to inform our father of this matter. As for Xiahou's matter, we will leave it to His Majesty."
After saying that, Jian Yang and Jian Hong took the evidence and headed to the Prime Minister's residence.
Meanwhile, Xiahou Riyue was taken to the Chen Prince's Mansion by Zhou Jing'an and imprisoned in the dungeon.
Zhou Jing'an had no kind intentions towards Xiahou Riyue; he was planning to thoroughly torment this man who dared to try and take advantage of Jian Yang.
When Jian Yang and Jian Hong returned to the Prime Minister's residence, Prime Minister Jian was in his study dealing with documents.
"Hong'er, what happened to you?" Prime Minister Jian asked with concern upon seeing the injury on Jian Hong's arm.
Jian Hong shook his head: "Father, I'm fine, just a minor injury. A-Yang and I have something important to tell you."
Prime Minister Jian looked at his two children with suspicion. He wondered what they had been up to these days, acting so mysteriously and even suspecting their mother for no reason.
Thinking of this, Prime Minister Jian said, "If you still want to say that your mother is a spy in the mansion, then there is no need to say it."
Jian Yang was speechless. Her father was really being completely fooled by that concubine. She rolled her eyes and handed the letter to Prime Minister Jian.
"Father, please read this letter first."
Prime Minister Jian took the letter and saw that it mentioned Jian Yang's return to the mansion. He recognized the handwriting all too well; it was none other than Wang Shi's. She used to write poems for him often.
Thinking of this, Prime Minister Jian's face flushed red and then turned pale. After a long pause, he said, "Impossible! Handwriting can be imitated. I don't believe she would be that kind of person!"
Jian Yang hadn't expected that even with all the evidence laid out before him, he would still deceive himself and refuse to believe it. "Heavens, what kind of love-struck brain is this?!" Jian Yang lamented inwardly.
On the surface, however, she wore a serious expression: "Since Father doesn't believe me, shall we take this letter and confront Aunt together? If we have wronged her, then I will never have any more complaints about Aunt again." After saying that, she winked at Prime Minister Jian with a serious expression.
Upon hearing this, Prime Minister Jian flicked his sleeves, still quite confident in his judgment of people.
"Let's confront each other then. I see you won't shed a tear until you see the coffin, spending your days finding these ways to frame her." With that, he led them into the Wang family's courtyard.
"Dongmei, where is Madam?" Prime Minister Jian asked.
"Reporting to Master, Madam just said she's not feeling well and should be resting in the room right now," Dongmei replied respectfully.
Upon hearing that Lady Wang was unwell, Prime Minister Jian's suspicions about Jian Hong and Jian Yang intensified, and he hurriedly went to Lady Wang's room.
He was stunned by what he saw: the cabinet door was wide open, clothes were scattered all over the floor, and Wang Shi was nowhere to be seen.
Prime Minister Jian stepped forward and opened the drawer. Sure enough, one of the boxes inside was missing. If he remembered correctly, the box contained some house deeds and land deeds, as well as the silver notes that Wang had saved up over the years.
The room was thoroughly ransacked; even the gold and silver jewelry had been "snatched away."
Prime Minister Jian wanted to deceive himself into thinking he had been robbed, but there was no way to do so. After all, there were fewer clothes in the room, and they were all Wang Shi's favorites. He thought to himself, "She must have run away because she felt guilty."
Seeing her adoptive father looking so heartbroken, Jian Yang didn't know how to comfort him and glanced helplessly at Jian Hong.
“Hong’er, Yang’er, it was your father who misjudged people and wronged you,” Prime Minister Jian sighed.
Hearing this, Jian Yang felt a little sorry for the old man. He had been cheated out of his money and his feelings by a woman. He was quite pitiful.
She patted Prime Minister Jian on the shoulder and said, "Father, there's no need to be too sad."
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