Chapter 62
◎The truth was revealed.◎
Yan Ji spat out the dogtail grass in his mouth and said with a smile, "That's true. Will the young master really listen to you and fall into your trap?"
Xie Huaijin responded softly and looked at the distant sky. The weather in Mobei was very good. At dusk, there were large patches of colorful clouds stacked in the sky.
Yan Ji took Xie Huaijin to a courtyard. The Yan family had few servants. Apart from the soldiers guarding the gate and providing protection, there were only a few maids responsible for sweeping the place.
"It's a bit simple, certainly not as good as the Xie Mansion, Master Xie, please don't mind." As he spoke, Yan Ji put his hand on the knife at his waist and looked at Xie Huaijin with a smile, as if he would take action if Xie Huaijin said something dissatisfied.
Xie Huaijin looked at Yan Ji's threat calmly and said softly, "Yeah."
Yan Ji suddenly felt bored and stopped trying to scare people. He turned around and asked, "Miss, is it true that you two are getting divorced?"
The young man was silent for a long time, then said, "Yes."
Yan Ji: "If it were me, I would also divorce you. Miss is really not a good person. My waist injury is still not healed."
Xie Huaijin glanced at Yan Ji calmly and said, "She was the one who asked me for a divorce. Besides, if you had kidnapped her directly, she would have killed you."
Yan Ji was choked and didn't bother to argue with Xie Huaijin: "When will the master come?"
"Another hour." Xie Huaijin looked at the sky and said indifferently.
When Yuwen Fu pushed open the courtyard door, he saw Yan Ji at first sight. He turned around and tried to run, but was caught by Yan Ji. Yuwen Fu wanted to resist, but it was hard to believe that a noble young man could defeat Yan Ji, who came from the barracks. Yan Ji smiled and said, "Sir, don't resist."
Yuwen Fu shouted, "Xie Huaijin!"
Xie Huaijin sat in the shadow of the moon, drinking tea quietly. After swallowing the tea in his throat, he said to Yan Ji, "You have caught the man, you can go and report. Remember to do what you promised me."
Yuwen Fu couldn't believe that the two people in front of him could reach a cooperation. He kicked the stone bench and said, "Let me go, Xie Huaijin, are you still human? I haven't settled the score with you about Ru Zhen yet. Zhu Yi found me and said you were dying and tricked me here, and you turned around and handed me over to Yuwen Shu?"
Yan Ji loosened Yuwen Fu's collar to prevent him from suffocating from anger. The young man in the shadow coughed twice, his face cold, and he didn't want to talk to Yuwen Fu.
When Yan Ji was about to take Yuwen Fu away, Yuwen Fu finally panicked. Yan Ji was fine, but if he was really handed over to the hands of that old bastard Yuwen Shu, he would at least be skinned alive. Recently, there were rumors that he was choosing a concubine for him. Who knows what that old bastard is planning.
Yuwen Fu fought back desperately, trusting himself and Xie Huaijin. When Yan Ji grabbed him like a chicken, the frail young man finally spoke. He whispered, "By the way, I have something to ask him."
Yan Ji glanced at the two of them and stepped out first.
He arrested the young master to get the job done, and the rest had nothing to do with him. He didn't want to arrest him in the first place. That old bastard didn't show it on his face, but he secretly cut off the food supply for the Yan family army. If it really got out of hand, it would be a mess. The Yan family army was already in a panic because of what happened that year, and Yan Ji was helpless.
Just at this time, Xie Huaijin came to him again and said that he could help him catch the young master, and he didn't need to do anything, just turn a blind eye to some things. Yan Ji naturally agreed. It was beneficial to him and had no harm. He had completed the task with the prince, and he didn't have to offend the young master.
In the study, Yuwen Fu watched Yan Ji walk away in the distance, his face not looking very good: "You called me here just to give me to Yuwen Shu as a favor?"
Xie Huaijin raised her eyes slightly, and looked at Yu Wenfu with her beautiful eyes.
He dropped his usual euphemisms and said bluntly, "Tell me everything you've learned about the military talisman over the years."
Yuwen Fu's face suddenly turned ugly: "You want the Yan Family Army, no..." Before he finished speaking, Yuwen Fu had already shaken his head: "Everything else can be discussed, but the Yan Family Army cannot be given to you, no matter how many times you save me."
Xie Huaijin said calmly, "It's not me who wants it, I'm asking for it on behalf of someone else."
Yuwen Fu's face turned even uglier. "You want to use the Yan Family Army as a favor? Don't even mention that I haven't found it yet. Even if I did, I wouldn't give it to you. The Yan Family Army was something my mother and uncle left me. There's no way I'd give it to you. Even if you hand me over to Yuwen Shu now, I won't agree to it."
This was probably the most resolute moment in Yuwen Fu's life in front of Xie Huaijin. He had a grim expression on his face, his hands clenched tightly, and he avoided the gaze of the young man in front of the desk.
Xie Huaijin said calmly, "It's not a favor. Madam Yan and General Yan never said they would leave the Yan family army to you. How can the Yan family's things be yours?"
Yuwen Fu felt that Xie Huaijin was lying with his eyes open: "My mother is dead, my uncle is dead, my grandparents died a long time ago, and the Yan family is left with only the sick and disabled, and there are only a few servants and maids left. If the things in the Yan family are not mine, who will own them?"
Xie Huaijin stared into Yuwen Fu's eyes, as if observing and thinking.
Yu Wenfu felt a creepy feeling in his heart. To be honest, he didn't want to become an enemy with someone like Xie Huaijin. If it wasn't the Yan family army, he would definitely give up other things, but not things related to his mother.
Xie Huaijin watched the change in Yuwen Fu's expression. The young man gently rubbed his fingertips and said in a calm voice, "It's Ciying's."
Yu Wenfu rolled his eyes, somewhat helplessly: "If you want to coax a woman, can you use the Xie family to coax her? At worst, hasn't the Wei family already followed your lead? We are both in the Northwest Army, so wouldn't it be easier for you to get Wei Ran's side?"
As he spoke, Yuwen Fu sat down, poured himself a cup of tea, and tried to persuade her again, as if resigned to his fate. It wasn't that he didn't want to be tough, but the person he was facing was Xie Huaijin. Yuwen Fu knew very well that if he acted tough, there would be no good consequences. He started with Ciying's advice: "Besides, Ciying knows about my things with the Yan Family Army. She hates me so much because of Ru Zhen's matter. How could she possibly want my things?"
Yuwen Fu started talking, took a sip of tea and continued, "You know your wife well, Ciying is not the kind of person who wants other people's things. Let's talk about Xie Huaijin and the Yan Family Army later."
Xie Huaijin's eyes fixed, and he said lightly: "It is because Ciying doesn't want other people's things that I need the Yan family army. If she is willing to have everything in the Xie family, Yuwen Fu, I am not discussing it with you."
There was a moment of silence in the air. After a while, Yuwen Fu finally reacted. He frowned, his peach blossom eyes full of confusion: "What do you mean? What do you mean Ciying doesn't want other people's things..."
"But you want the Yan family army?" Yu Wenfu spoke haltingly, frowning and looking at Xie Huaijin.
The young man looked at Yuwen Fu with cold eyes.
He had always been curious about Yuwen Fu's reaction when he found out. He even stood aside and watched indifferently when Yuwen Fu stood on the opposite side of Ci Ying because of Ru Zhen.
At that time, he had never thought that one day, he would re-examine the relationship between Yuwen Fu and Ciying, but he only cared about whether Yuwen Fu would block Ciying's way.
People's hearts are fickle, so Xie Huaijin didn't dare to gamble.
Giving Ciying enough power and status to protect herself was the safest path he could think of. Compared to the Xie family's power, the Yan family army seemed more legitimate and more acceptable to Ciying.
Xie Huaijin stared at Yuwen Fu and said calmly, "Madam Yan was three months pregnant when she fled. She gave birth to a baby girl at nine months, but the couple who took her in switched her with a stillborn baby. After she was taken back, she couldn't accept the reality and died of depression."
Yu Wenfu's eyes trembled, and he almost lost his voice. He looked at Xie Huaijin in disbelief, trying to find any trace of deception from the young man, but there was none. His whole body was trembling, and he asked softly: "Are you saying that Ciying is my biological sister?"
Xie Huaijin just said "hmm" in a low voice.
Yu Wen slammed his hand on the desk. "Xie Huaijin, don't lie to me with such a clumsy lie. How could I have a younger sister? Mother clearly said that the dead baby was a boy, not to mention that the younger sister was Ciying. Ha, how could such a coincidence exist in the world?"
Xie Huaijin waited quietly for Yuwen Fu to calm down. A quarter of an hour later, Yuwen Fu said with red eyes, "Are you serious?" As he spoke, Yuwen Fu was trembling all over.
Joy, excitement, and fear of the unknown.
If Ciying was his sister, what had he done before? Yuwen Fu didn't dare to think about it. Suddenly, she understood what Xie Huaijin meant by the cold words "If anything happens to Ciying, you will regret it more than I do". Yuwen Fu suddenly opened her eyes and asked in disbelief: "Did you know it at the time? Then why..."
Yuwen Fu hurriedly paced back and forth, and finally said coldly: "It doesn't matter, Ciying won't forgive me, but she won't forgive you either."
After these words were spoken, the study became much quieter.
After a long while, the young man said calmly, "I don't need it."
Yuwen Fu hesitated for a moment, his brows gradually becoming serious. "Even if Ciying is my sister as you said, I can't give the Yan Family Army to her. I have something I must do."
Xie Huaijin stared at Yuwen Fu and asked softly, "How do you calculate it?"
Yu Wenfu gritted his teeth: "You are forcing me to give it now!"
The young man laughed softly and started coughing: "Yuwen Fu, have you found the military token?"
Yuwen Fu's face flushed red, and he lifted up his chair. "I've searched the Yuwen Mansion thoroughly, even dug up the ancestral graves, but I still can't find it. You ask me how I know where the military token is, but I tell you, even if you kill me, I won't give it to Ciying directly if I find it."
After hearing this, Xie Huaijin already knew what was going on. He sneered, "Ciying doesn't need you to give in."
Yuwen Fu also laughed: "Do you think she can find it?"
Xie Huaijin looked at Yuwen Fu's arrogance and conceit, which hadn't changed in the past ten years, and subconsciously looked down on her. There was a hint of smile in his eyes: "Well, I believe her."
Yuwen Fu said warily: "I won't tell you what I know. If you want to fight for Ci Ying, go find her yourself." Having said this, Yuwen Fu's face had become a little ugly. If Xie Huaijin really took action, the information he could find out might not be less than what he did.
Under the candlelight, the young man lowered his eyes, and after a long pause, he said softly, "What belongs to her should naturally be found by her. Once she finds it, it's hers, and no one in the world can take it away. If she can't find it... then there's nothing I can do."
Yuwen Fu felt relieved when she heard that Xie Huaijin would not be involved. She also understood the meaning behind his words and snorted coldly, "If it is true that Ciying is my sister and a member of the Yan family as you said, and she found the military token on her own, then I will naturally accept the loss and will definitely not try to snatch it from her. Don't ridicule me here openly or covertly."
After saying that, Yuwen Fu couldn't help but add, "You trust her too much."
Xie Huaijin remained silent.
There was a knock on the door. Yu Wenfu's face turned pale. Xie Huaijin looked at Yan Ji who pushed the door open and said with a chuckle, "I've finished asking questions. You can take the person away."
Yan Ji looked at Yuwen Fu, then at Xie Huaijin. It was hard to guess who was victorious in this confrontation. He raised his hand, pushed Yuwen Fu out, and said with a smile, "Young Master, you've been away from home for too long. The prince is a little angry. When you see him tomorrow, remember to apologize."
Yuwen Fu started cursing again.
After the two walked away, silence gradually returned to the yard. Xie Huaijin looked at the wide-open door and flattened a piece of paper with his hand. He kept his promise and did not mention anything else. He just copied down what Yuwen Fu had just said. At the end, the ink dripped down when he hesitated, but he did not add a word in the end.
No matter how fickle people's hearts are, the good and evil in them should be separated.
He will leave one day.
When the letter was delivered to Zhu Guang, he read it for a long time without understanding the message inside. However, the next day, she told Ci Ying the news inside, and she repeated it almost word for word: "Ci Ying, I found out that Yuwen Fu has been looking for the military token for many years. He has searched the Yuwen Mansion many times and even dug up the ancestral tomb, but he still can't find it. It may take a long time for us to find it."
At that time, Ci Ying was looking at the topographic map of Yuwen Mansion. She nodded after hearing Zhu Guang's words, and after a long moment, she suddenly asked, "What did you just say?"
Zhu Guang said: "It may take us a long time..."
Ci Ying shook her head: "Previous sentence."
Zhu Guang started from the beginning: "Yuwen Fu has been looking for the military token for many years, but he has searched the Yuwen Mansion many times and even dug up the ancestral tomb, but he still can't find it."
The two looked at each other. Zhu Guang saw that Ci Ying was thinking and asked softly, "Do you need to repeat it?"
Ci Ying shook her head and said no, slowly folded up the map in her hand, and said softly: "Zhu Guang, I need you to help me check some things..."
After saying that, Ci Ying whispered into Zhu Guang's ear.
Zhu Guang nodded one by one and just said that it would take time.
Ci Ying said softly, "No rush. After the banquet, Yu Wenshu will call everyone here. There must be something big going on."
For the rest of the days, Ci Ying acted as a young lady from Chang'an in the mansion, and no one paid attention to her. Zhu Guang became familiar with the maid who delivered meals every day and would chat with her about things in the Yuwen Mansion with a smile. The maid only thought that this young lady from Chang'an was rich and powerful, and did not have the airs of a young lady from an official family. She also liked to talk about interesting things in the mansion.
When talking about Madam Yan, Ciying would listen carefully.
The maidservant said, "Madam Yan is a very good person. Back then, I was still a little maidservant. I was greedy for the fruit on a tree and climbed up, unable to get down. The guards below laughed at me, but Madam Yan flew up the tree and carried me down. At the end, she touched my face and said, 'Do you want some fruit?' I nodded, and like a magic trick, Madam Yan pulled out the reddest fruit from the tree from her sleeve."
As she spoke, the maid began to sigh, "I didn't see Madam Yan very often afterwards. I would occasionally catch a glimpse of her from a distance. Madam Yan was always unhappy, the kind of unhappiness I could sense even from a very long distance away. When I was a child, I told the maids in the mansion about this. They told me to keep my mouth shut and avoid causing trouble, but I couldn't help but talk about Madam Yan myself."
Ci Ying couldn't help but ask, "What did you say?"
The maid bowed to Ci Ying and said embarrassedly, "I disturbed the young lady's rest. It's nothing. The elders in the mansion all know about it."
Ci Ying said softly, "No, I just woke up. Tell me quickly, sister."
The maid's face flushed as she whispered, "Madam Yan used to be very lively and unrestrained. She was the only daughter of the Yan family. Before she got married, General Yan and Madam Yan doted on her and doted on her. After she married into the palace and became a wife and mother, she wasn't as innocent anymore. Then, when General Yan and Madam Yan passed away, Madam Yan cried bitterly and came back like a changed person."
The maid sighed, "Madam Yan is such a good person, but it's a pity that beauty is envied by heaven. The prince has never remarried because of his concern for the lady, and the concubines and maids in the mansion are not allowed to have children. In recent years, there has only been one prince."
"Not even one?" Ci Ying asked.
The maid shook her head: "I haven't heard of any. The madam has been dead for many years and there has been no new madam in the mansion. Apart from the prince, there are no other heirs. If the young lady can marry into the family, the prince will definitely treat her well."
Ci Ying pretended to blush, and Zhu Guang stuffed some silver into the maid's hand, then took the maid out. When he came back, Zhu Guang saw that the expression on Ci Ying's face had disappeared.
Zhu Guang didn't know how to comfort her, so he just closed the door and went out.
In the room, Ci Ying thought of the maid's words, and a vague shadow gradually emerged in her mind.
She leaned over the table and blinked her eyes. Her mother turned out to be such a person. She could climb trees and pick fruits. If... if she had grown up with her mother, it would be great.
But when Ci Ying thought of Yuwen Shu, her brows quickly frowned again. What the maid said about her mother was probably true, but Ci Ying felt that everything about Yuwen Shu was false.
If she really loved her mother so much, why didn't she commit suicide for love? She had concubines one after another, but she didn't have any children other than Yuwen Fu. Does that mean she loved her? Ci Ying felt so nauseous that she almost vomited, and she suppressed the nausea with tea for a long time.
When she talked about Yuwen Fu with Xie Huaijin before, Xie Huaijin once said that Yuwen Shu had only one child, Yuwen Fu, in all these years because he wanted to offset the fear of the late emperor. After all, Yuwen Fu was sent to the palace as a hostage by Yuwen Shu when she was very young.
There are still two days until the banquet.
......
Xie Huaijin never expected to see Ciying at the banquet.
Even though she was completely different from herself, he only took a glance at her and then quietly looked away.
Ci Ying and Zhu Guang sat in the corner at the end and looked at the people at the banquet. Zhu Guang's fake identity was that of a lady from a branch family of a prominent family in Chang'an. According to her background, it was impossible for her to be Yuwen Fu's main wife, so she was only arranged in a remote corner of the hall.
But it was exactly what Ci Ying wanted. She looked at the people in the hall calmly. There were men and women, most of them were very young. Ci Ying did not find anything unusual and even began to wonder if she was overthinking it. This was just a concubine selection banquet.
She was lost in thought, her eyes suddenly fixed as she looked off into the distance. All she could see was the young man's hunched, gaunt back. He was leaning forward, coughing, wiping the blood from the corner of his lips with a handkerchief. He clearly didn't look like Xie Huaijin at all, but Ci Ying subconsciously asked Zhu Guang, "Has Xie Huaijin come to Mobei?"
Zhu Guang was stunned and shook his head: "Ciying, I don't know."
Zhu Guang did not lie. She had been with Ci Ying in the Yuwen Mansion for many days, so how could she know the whereabouts of the young master? She followed Ci Ying's gaze and the young man turned his face to the side, so the two of them were able to see the profile of the sick young man.
Ci Ying's heart skipped a beat and she looked away.
Not Xie Huaijin.
Ci Ying rubbed her temples, not knowing whether she felt relieved or what, and thought that she was hallucinating because she didn't sleep well yesterday. She actually thought everyone she looked at looked like Xie Huaijin. Not only was their faces different, but their figures were also very different.
Apart from the time she rescued him from Yuwen Mansion, Xie Huaijin had never been so sick before. Judging from the time, Xie Huaijin's injuries had healed long ago.
Zhu Guang poured a cup of tea and handed it to Ci Ying. The two of them had planned to leave the banquet and make new plans after a while if they found nothing unusual. The information they had learned in Yuwen Mansion in the past few days was almost enough. For safety, Ci Ying planned to leave first and then look for the place where the military token was.
Zhu Guang asked softly, "Ciying, are you sure you are not in Yuwen Mansion?"
On the high platform in the distance, graceful dancers in uniform costumes were dancing. The dancer in the middle was kicking a drum, and the others were circling around the dancer in the middle. Amidst the clinking of glasses, Ci Ying winked at Zhu Guang, meaning that she was sure.
Yuwen Fu has been searching for it for so many years but still hasn't found it. This can only mean one thing: the military token is not in Yuwen Mansion.
But Yuwen Shu couldn't just put the military token anywhere randomly, so the place where Yuwen Shu could put it was very limited. Ci Ying was stroking the teacup in her hand and didn't notice that the dancer on the stage suddenly drew a sword from her sleeve and stabbed it towards the platform. The scene became chaotic for a while. Zhu Guang pulled Ci Ying to run away, but the lobby was surrounded by soldiers.
Ci Ying's face looked grim, and Zhu Guang protected her behind him. In panic, Ci Ying glanced at the place where the sick young man was. She saw that the young man just put down the teacup in his hand, covered his lips with a white handkerchief, and his chest shook slightly.
Ci Ying didn't know where the panic in her heart came from. She looked around and saw that the soldiers had pinned the assassinated dancer to the prince. Yuwen Shu was furious and smashed the wine glass, saying that he would thoroughly investigate today's assassination and asked all the young men and women in the palace to be patient.
A thought flashed through Ci Ying's mind, and she frowned and looked towards the platform.
There was a hint of unconcealed pride between Yuwen Shu's brows. Ciying looked around and saw that not only them, but everyone around them had been stopped. Soldiers slowly approached them, talking about the banquet to select a concubine for Yuwen Fu. Even when the banquet was almost over, Yuwen Fu, the "protagonist", did not appear...
Ciying's heart beat faster and faster, and when the soldiers walked towards them, Ciying realized that she had fallen into a trap.
Catch the turtle in the jar.
She didn't have time to think about what Yuwen Shu was trying to do, and a trace of worry flashed across her eyes.
Zhu Guang's forged documents would surely be exposed if they were carefully examined. She wanted to gamble that the soldiers wouldn't check so carefully.
Zhu Guang should be able to take her away while the soldiers are not paying attention, but if Zhu Guang takes her away, everything may be exposed.
According to what they inquired, Yuwen Shu was very suspicious. Once he guessed that they came for the military token, he would definitely move the location of the military token.
It would be difficult for her to find the military token again by then...
Ci Ying looked at the soldiers getting closer and closer and made a decision.
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