Chapter 72 Prince Chu, Please Behave Yourself
Tang Xinuan had a sense that everyone, including Erlang, her brother, aunt, and cousin, knew about her enemy, and that this enemy might even be right next to her.
But none of them would tell her.
She has grown rapidly in the months since leaving the Marquis's mansion, and has learned to analyze human relationships and social customs.
Either the enemy is too far away, and even knowing the truth, she cannot take revenge.
Either the enemy is too powerful, and her strength is too small for her to contend with.
When her father sent her to the Marquis's mansion, he repeatedly told her that she was a fool and that only fools could survive.
Her father was telling her to pretend to be crazy on his deathbed, which shows that the other party was powerful enough to crush her at any time.
She grew up in the Marquis's mansion, and even her aunt, who was the Marquis's wife, could not contend with her and had to pretend to be deaf and dumb.
That person is at least more powerful than the Marquis's mansion.
The Three Dukes and Nine Ministers.
The six ministers.
Imperial relatives.
emperor?
The Marquis's mansion might be wary of the Three Dukes, Nine Ministers, and Six Ministries, but the Second Prince would never be.
Her enemies must be either princes or the emperor.
She knows several of the princes who now hold great power.
Prince Duan and Prince Rui were only a few years older than her; they were just children a dozen years ago.
That leaves only the Emperor.
Could her enemy be the Emperor?
Tang Xinuan couldn't make a hasty conclusion; it seemed that the only person Erlang might be wary of was the Emperor.
“Perilla, forsythia,” Tang Xinuan gestured for the two men, who were on the verge of exchanging blows, to step back, “and let my cousin come over.”
Chu Yannuo finally had a chance to get close to his cousin. He couldn't contain his excitement and rushed to her, wanting to hug her.
However, her cousin coldly and ruthlessly avoided her.
Tang Xinuan untied the weapon hanging from her waist, aimed at the century-old tree by the roadside, and pulled the trigger.
A steel needle, faster than an arrow shot by an archer, was launched from her weapon in an instant, piercing straight through the century-old tree.
The century-old tree was left with a cracked hole.
If it were a human, they would definitely be pierced through the skin.
Even non-fatal areas need two to three months to fully heal.
If you hit a vital spot, you'll see your great-grandmother in an instant.
Tang Xinuan didn't want to use such a brutal weapon on her family.
But if her cousin insisted against her wishes, she wouldn't mind making him the first person to experience the weapon.
This was the first time Chu Yannuo had ever seen such a powerful weapon.
It was his weak and helpless cousin who emitted it.
He could hardly believe his eyes.
"cousin……"
Tang Xinuan, her pale face tense, said earnestly, "No matter what you want to say, you must abide by these conditions, otherwise next time I won't just shoot at the tree."
Hearing that his cousin was going to aim a weapon at him, Chu Yannuo felt as if someone had ripped a bloody hole out of his heart.
How could the little girl he raised treat him like this?
"cousin……"
Tang Xinuan said firmly and calmly: "First, you are not allowed to let me go back with you. Second, you are not allowed to use your kindness to blackmail me. Third, you are not allowed to sow discord between me and Erlang or speak ill of Erlang."
If you can't do these three things, I won't listen to anything you say.
"Erlang..." Chu Yannuo felt a pang of heartache. This man, who considered himself always strong, couldn't help but let tears well up in his eyes.
"If he's your Erlang, then what am I?"
He pressed hard against his shattering heart. "Haven't I been good to you? Are all our decades-long relationship just a thing of the past? You've only known him for a few days, but we've had a relationship for over a decade. And I'm still your cousin..."
Tang Xinuan understands herself. Although she has made great progress in the past few months, she is still quite different from ordinary people.
She couldn't keep up with her cousin's thinking, nor could she understand his reasoning. If she listened to him continue, she couldn't guarantee what she might do in a moment of panic.
She suddenly raised her weapon and aimed it at the opponent's left leg.
"Cousin, if you keep talking nonsense, I'll press the button."
Undeterred by threats, Chu Yannuo stepped forward against the light towards his cousin, his heart aching as he said, "I am your cousin. What have I done to offend you that you would point a weapon at me? Do you want my life?"
Without you, I'd rather be dead. Don't shoot my legs, aim for my heart and see if I'll flinch in fear.
Tang Xinuan knew she was no match for her cousin.
With just a few words, he had cornered her with no way out.
"Forsythia, Perilla, drive him away."
She sheathed her weapon, turned to Xiaoqian, and said, "Let's go."
Chu Yannuo's skills are indeed superior to those of Zisu and Lianqiao.
But it's only slightly higher.
With Zisu and Lianqiao joining forces, he couldn't gain any advantage. Seeing his cousin about to leave and hide back in the Prince's Mansion, with no idea when they would meet again, he had no choice but to settle for second best.
"Cousin, I was wrong. Don't go. I won't say anything more. Don't go. I'll tell you about my enemy right now."
Although Tang Xinuan didn't quite believe it, she stopped in her tracks in order to find out who her enemy was as soon as possible.
"Get to the point. I still consider you a relative, otherwise don't blame me for treating you like a stranger."
Although Chu Yannuo was heartbroken, she gradually calmed down.
He reacted quickly, knowing that he couldn't take his cousin away now, but he wouldn't let the Regent get away with it either.
"It's not convenient here, let's find a quiet place to talk slowly."
The group arrived at a nearby teahouse.
Xiaoqian followed Tang Xinuan into the private room without leaving her side.
Perilla and forsythia stood guard at the door.
Chu Yannuo closed the door, staring at his cousin whom he had been thinking about day and night, unable to speak.
My cousin came into the family when she was five years old, and they lived together day and night for fourteen years.
He thought that he and his cousin would support each other until old age, be buried together in the same coffin after death, and be together again in the next life.
He never imagined that one day his cousin would leave him.
They left so decisively, without giving him any chance to adjust.
Now, she has another man, whom she affectionately calls Erlang.
She never called him Chu Lang.
"cousin……"
Tang Xinuan didn't want to listen to his nonsense, worried that she wouldn't be able to distinguish right from wrong and would be led astray by him.
"Cousin, you'd better just tell me directly, otherwise I'll never see you again."
Chu Yannuo nodded resignedly and desperately, "How could I possibly keep such a big thing from you? I would have told you long ago if you had just asked."
Tang Xinuan frowned: "Who are my enemies? Who killed my whole family?"
Chu Yannuo's mind raced. "The masterminds... the masterminds are the Grand Tutor and the Empress."
He wasn't lying.
Tang Xinuan thought it was some prince, but it turned out to be the Grand Tutor and the Empress.
Erlang is not afraid of the Grand Tutor.
She knew that the little princess had knelt in the Hall of Diligent Governance, begging Erlang to spare the Grand Tutor.
But the empress was his sister-in-law, so he naturally couldn't bring himself to kill her.
"There are accomplices? Who are the accomplices?"
Chu Yannuo, angered by Zhou Chuanxing, was determined not to let him escape unscathed. "The accomplice is... the Emperor."
I simply don't believe that Zhou Chuanxing would betray his own brother, the emperor, for a woman.
Actually, when the Tang family had their troubles, the "Supreme One" was not yet the current emperor.
The month after the Tang family was executed, Zhou Chuanxing's father was forced to ascend the throne.
But he was timid. He only reigned for one day when the rebel army stormed the capital. He was so frightened that he died on the dragon throne.
The current emperor, as the eldest son of the legitimate wife, had no choice but to ascend the throne.
At that time, Zhou Chuanxing, Zhou Chuanjin, and Chao Li, who was still an infant, were all fish on someone else's chopping board.
He could be killed at any moment.
Marquis Wu'an was originally a fourth-rank military officer in the enemy camp, ordered to hunt down his brothers.
But he took pity on the children and not only released them but also provided them with shelter.
This is why Zhou Chuanxing and his brothers were grateful to Marquis Wu'an.
Without Marquis Wu'an, those brothers would have been wiped out long ago.
It was precisely because Marquis Wu'an defected on the battlefield that the Emperor was able to secure his throne.
Marquis Wu'an, having betrayed his former master, has always had a bad reputation.
Having lost the protection of their former master and being feared by the Grand Tutor's faction, the Chu family had been on the fringes of power for more than a decade.
...
This was the first time Chu Yannuo had deceived his cousin, a blow akin to swallowing a mouthful of bitter herbs.
It was so bitter that his mouth went numb.
But what could he do?
If he didn't do this, his cousin would leave him completely.
"Cousin, Zhou Chuanxing won't help you. He's his own brother."
He likes you now and protects you simply because you are beautiful and easy to fool. But if he knew the truth, he would not hesitate to side with the emperor.
When that time comes, you'll be all alone and helpless, and he'll have no choice but to bully you.
Cousin, in this world, I'm the only one who's truly good to you. Trust me, come home with me..."
Tang Xinuan suddenly raised her weapon and aimed it at Chu Yannuo's heart.
“I told you, you are not allowed to sow discord between me and Erlang. If you say another word, I will shoot you through the heart.”
His cousin, whom he had raised with his own hands, wanted to kill him. Chu Yannuo was filled with despair. "Cousin...you really are my good cousin!"
Tang Xinuan absorbed too much negative energy today and is now physically and mentally exhausted.
She didn't want to say anything more to her cousin and decided to return home immediately.
"Cousin, I will investigate the truth myself. If I find out that you lied to me, I will settle all the scores between us."
Xiaoqian, let's go.
She took two steps outside, then suddenly remembered the inkstone. "Cousin, the inkstone that my grandfather left me. I will send someone to the Marquis's mansion to retrieve it in a little while. I hope you will return it to me without hesitation."
When Lian Qiao first sneaked into the Marquis's mansion at night, she was caught by Chu Yannuo, and he guessed that his cousin was going to secretly pledge her life to another man.
Afterwards, he hid the inkstone in a place where no one could find it.
Lianqiao went several more times, but as expected, she found nothing.
At this moment, his cousin was asking him for it personally, as if she were asking him for his life.
His cousin refused to go back with him, and that inkstone was the only thing she left him.
He would never let his cousin marry someone else.
"I don't know where I put it, but I'll return it to you when I find it."
"That would be best," Tang Xinuan said without hesitation as she left the private room.
Chu Yannuo chased after him closely, but was ruthlessly stopped by Zisu and Lianqiao.
"Young Master Chu, please have some self-respect!"
Chu Yannuo watched helplessly as his cousin disappeared before his eyes, as if his life was being slowly drained away.
He rushed to the window and shouted downstairs, "Cousin, I'm waiting for you. No matter when, I'll wait for you."
Tang Xinuan seemed not to hear and resolutely left the teahouse.
All she wants now is to find out the truth about what happened back then and avenge her parents.
When Tang Xinuan arrived downstairs, she bumped right into Zhou Chuanxing, who was rushing over to find her.
He had just come out of the examination hall when he heard that the young girl had been taken away by the Crown Prince of Chu, so he no longer cared about court affairs.
Politics was merely his career; young girls were his lifeblood.
You can live without a career, but how can you live without life?
"Warm and cozy..."
He grabbed the person and examined them closely. "Did he bully you?"
Tang Xinuan misses her parents, but worries that she is not capable enough to seek justice for them. She is in a state of utter distress.
Seeing Zhou Chuanxing made her feel both wronged and sad.
"Erlang..."
The little girl's tears fell in quick succession, each drop landing on Zhou Chuanxing's heart.
He held the person tightly in his arms and gently comforted him, "Don't be afraid, no matter what happens, Erlang is here for you."
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