Chapter 116 Chapter 116 Please, please start from the beginning...
Xu Wangshi's house remained as it was before, with a faint scent of sandalwood burning in the incense burner in the corner.
As soon as Xie Ji entered the room, his gaze darted back and forth between Cui Yanwu and Wang Jingya.
He knew that his uncle had a past relationship with this Xu Wangshi, but just now he said, "Jingya greets Brother Cui."
This is no ordinary old thing!
Could it be that this Xu Wangshi almost became his "aunt"?
Cui Yanwu: "His Majesty's reply has arrived."
He hasn't forgotten his promise from back then; he won't pursue the matter of you killing Wang Jingzong.
Wang Jingya's gaze remained fixed on Cui Yanwu, her affection undisguised, even softening the fine lines around her eyes.
But Cui Yanwu acted as if it were commonplace, saying, "His Majesty sent me to ask you about the ins and outs of everything."
A smile appeared on Wang Jingya's lips, a smile that carried a touch of girlish radiance.
“Brother Cui, just ask whatever you want to know.”
"Did you instigate Wang Heng to incite Xu Ren to kill Xu Fengyan?" Cui Yanwu asked without any preamble, directly posing the most crucial question.
His gaze was fixed on Wang Jingya, without a trace of probing, only pure inquiry.
Wang Jingya's smile faded slightly. "It wasn't me."
I didn't explicitly instruct him to do this.
Upon hearing this, Cui Yanwu sighed softly, his thumb habitually rubbing the hilt of his sword. "You know my temperament."
I really don't want to beat around the bush with you anymore.
Upon hearing this, Wang Jingya's eyes lit up, and that girlish radiance returned to her face.
"Brother Cui is still the same as before."
I don't want to beat around the bush with people I trust.
I never imagined that after all these years, you would still believe me.
She paused, a hint of grievance flashing in her eyes, "But if you trusted me, why did you only come to ask me now?"
Cui Yanwu's gaze fell on the window. He was silent for a moment before slowly speaking: "People change. They can change several times a year. In more than twenty years, they can change many times."
I won't lie to you.
If it were simply about Wang Jingzong, I would never doubt you.
But I'm afraid—afraid that you're using me as a pretext to bring down the Cui family, all to help the Wang family.
Upon hearing this, Wang Jingya's smile vanished completely.
She nodded gently, a hint of sadness flashing in her eyes, but she didn't refute it: "Brother Cui didn't lie to me."
She took several deep breaths, as if to expel all the grievances in her heart, and when she spoke again, her voice had regained its calmness.
"The things Wang Heng did were not ordered by me."
But he did do it himself because he sensed my dislike for Xu Fengyan.
"Disgust?" Cui Yanwu frowned.
As far as he knew, Wang Jingya had been married to Xu Fengyan for over twenty years and had always presented herself as a virtuous wife and loving mother. Even when Xu Fengyan took a concubine, she never did anything to show jealousy or resentment. Why would she suddenly feel disgusted?
"Yes, it's disgust." Wang Jingya's voice turned colder, and a hint of fierceness appeared in her eyes.
There's nothing wrong with merchants pursuing profit.
But Xu Fengyan shouldn't have reduced the supplies I was sending to the army just to curry favor with the Wang family.
"Military supplies?" Xiao Yunzhan asked in surprise.
Although the Xu family were imperial merchants, there were no records in the imperial court of the Xu family providing military supplies.
"You're delivering supplies to the military? Which military unit are you delivering them to?"
Wang Jingya turned to look at Xiao Yunzhan, her tone calm: "The garrison where Brother Cui is stationed."
I regularly send supplies to any place he has been.
For over twenty years, it has never stopped.
Upon hearing this, Pei Zhiwei and Xie Ji were both stunned.
Xie Ji's mouth dropped open. He looked at Cui Yanwu, then at Wang Jingya.
Cui Yanwu traveled all the way from the border to Huainan, and the places he stayed in were all key locations in Daliang. The number of people he sent could not have been small. She said that she had been sending people for more than 20 years without interruption. How much money must that have cost?
Moreover, this behavior was enough for the court to honor the Xu family, so how could so much silver be poured in and not a sound be heard?
But Cui Yanwu remained calm, as if he had known all along.
Seeing his expression, Wang Jingya was somewhat surprised: "I thought Brother Cui never paid attention to these details, but I didn't expect you to have known all along."
Cui Yanwu shook his head, his voice tinged with confusion: "I really didn't pay attention to these things."
I only found out a few days ago after they arrested some of the shop assistants at your dowry shop and questioned them.
Why is it that in the past twenty-odd years, I only endured hunger and cold during the first winter of my military service?
Later, no matter which post we were stationed at, we were always well-fed and warmly clothed.
He sighed again as he spoke, his gaze falling on Wang Jingya with a hint of barely perceptible guilt. "You shouldn't have chosen to marry a merchant for these reasons."
Upon hearing this, Wang Jingya suddenly burst into laughter.
The laughter was loud, carrying a hint of relief and a touch of bitterness. As he laughed, tears welled up in his eyes.
She raised her hand to wipe the corner of her eye, but her tone was light: "Brother Cui, all these years, only you have never treated me as a disabled woman who is 'infertile'."
Xie Ji couldn't hold back any longer. He moved between the two of them, his face full of despair, and clasped his hands together above his head: "I know it was wrong of me to interrupt, but please, elders!"
Since we need to clarify things anyway, can we start from the beginning?
My mind is a complete mess; if I don't sort it out soon, I'm going to be strangled!
Pei Zhiwei and Xiao Yunzhan exchanged a glance and nodded slightly in tacit agreement.
But as soon as they nodded, they both quickly lowered their heads again.
After all, this is the elders' privacy, and it's really impolite for them to be so curious.
Pei Zhiwei unconsciously twisted the strap of the brocade bag with her fingers, but her ears were perked up, afraid of missing a single word.
Xiao Yunzhan suddenly realized something was wrong; he and Cui Yanwu were of the same generation.
Thinking of this, he picked up his teacup with a straight face and pretended to drink tea, but his eyes kept glancing at Wang Jingya out of the corner of his eye.
Seeing their expressions, Wang Jingya couldn't help but laugh out loud: "We were going to start from the beginning anyway."
These events today are inextricably linked to events from over twenty years ago.
She walked to the window, feeling the cold wind, and her tone gradually became serious. "Back then, His Majesty was only the Crown Prince, and it was the most dangerous year for him."
The Wang family appears to be neutral, not taking sides with any of the princes, but they do not interfere with the clan members' secret choices.
This includes Wang Jingzong.
She paused for a moment, as if she were seeing those unwanted memories again, and a layer of frost settled on her face.
"Wang Jingzong was close to the second prince at the time, and the two conspired to bring the crown prince down on the grounds that he had violated moral principles."
To this end, they designed a banquet, inviting many young masters from prominent families, as well as the crown prince.
They drugged me and those young masters from noble families, intending to later frame the Crown Prince for leading the charge...
"To do such a despicable thing."
At this point, Wang Jingya gripped the windowsill tightly with her fingers, her knuckles turning blue and white.
"He was afraid that I would leave behind something I shouldn't have, so a few days before the banquet, he gave me a drug that would prevent me from having children."
"May I never have children in my life."
Pei Zhiwei blurted out, "Wang Jingzong is your own brother!"
She simply couldn't believe that a brother could use such a vicious trick on his own sister.
“Yes, he is my own brother.” Wang Jingya gritted her teeth, her voice filled with hatred.
"It's precisely because he's my older brother that I didn't put up with him..."
After he drugged me, I was locked in a room until the day of the banquet when I was thrown in front of the already infatuated Crown Prince.
Neither Pei Zhiwei nor Xie Ji spoke again.
They all knew that the Crown Prince later successfully ascended the throne and became the current Emperor, and that banquet certainly did not go as Wang Jingzong and the Second Prince wished.
Even so, the thought of what Wang Jingzong did back then still sends chills down my spine. He was no brother; he was a wolf in sheep's clothing.
Wang Jingya's gaze returned to Cui Yanwu, her tone softening slightly: "Fortunately, nothing happened."
Brother Cui saved us.
Cui Yanwu calmly retorted: "I saved the Crown Prince and those young masters from noble families."
You weren't drugged at all. You had already made plans: if they dared to touch you, you would kill them all.
Then they falsely accused the Wang family of conspiring with the Second Prince to assassinate the Crown Prince, dragging the entire Wang family down with them.
Pei Zhiwei, Xiao Yunzhan, and Xie Ji looked at Wang Jingya in surprise.
Although they knew this woman was ruthless, they never expected her to be this ruthless, sacrificing herself and dragging her entire clan down with her.
Wang Jingya laughed, "That's right."
My own brother treated me like this, and the Wang family doesn't care or care. Why should I let them have an easy time?
At the time, I thought, since I'm already in this state, I might as well drag those who harmed me down to hell with me.
Xiao Yunzhan frowned. "Given His Majesty's temperament, how could he have spared Wang Jingzong back then?"
His Majesty's temper is not good by any standard, especially in matters like this.
Although Wang Jingzong did not achieve his ultimate goal, judging from his words, he still succeeded in drugging His Majesty.
Based on his understanding of His Majesty, it was already a miracle that Wang Jingzong was still alive, let alone that he was openly serving as an official.
Wang Jingya: "Because of the Wang family."
Although Xiao Yunzhan is still young, and he wasn't even born more than twenty years ago, he was the youngest son of the late emperor and was raised by the current emperor.
Therefore, the past and present lives discussed in the imperial court were not only told by His Majesty, but also by the Crown Prince's tutor when he was studying with the Crown Prince.
After only a brief moment of contemplation about the political landscape at the time, he instantly understood, and his fingers idly twirled the thumb ring on his thumb.
"The Wang family is not protecting Wang Jingzong, but your uncle Wang Che, who was the Minister of Revenue at the time."
The banquet must have been held at Wang Che's house, which is why Wang Jingzong was able to drug everyone so easily. Therefore, if something really happened, Wang Che would be implicated.
In order to protect Wang Che and the entire family, the Wang family had no choice but to completely side with the Crown Prince, clearing away many obstacles for him.
His Majesty spared Wang Jingzong only because the Wang family was still of use.
Wang Jingya nodded, "Your Highness guessed correctly."
However, our Emperor is still too upright at heart.
He felt guilty towards me for this, so he later promised me that if he became emperor and Wang Jingzong broke the law again, I could personally kill him without bearing any responsibility.
"And then?" Xie Ji quickly pressed for an answer.
He had completely forgotten about etiquette; his mind was filled with curiosity: why wasn't she his aunt? And how did she marry Xu Fengyan?
Wang Jingya looked at Xie Ji with a hint of a smile in her eyes: "Later, when my parents found out about this, they only scolded Wang Jingzong a few times and made him kneel for a day, and that was the end of it."
I was so heartbroken at the time that I thought I might as well die, but your uncle happened to save me.
Her gaze then turned to Cui Yanwu, and she said softly, "He told me at the time, 'You're not missing any limbs, and Wang Jingzong didn't succeed in that matter in the end, so why are you so upset?'"
It's just offspring, what's the big deal?
There were so many orphans on the battlefield, and many families were so poor that they couldn't afford to eat and had to sell their children.
Even if they didn't want to raise these children, there were also those nobles who were secretly pregnant and didn't want children.
If all else fails, you can adopt the child of your husband's concubine and raise it under your own name. Isn't that the same thing?
They're all children anyway; as long as you teach them with care, you'll eventually develop a bond with them.
Pei Zhiwei, Xiao Yunzhan, and Xie Ji all looked at Cui Yanwu. Good heavens, who would have thought that Lord Cui was such an enlightened person?
The three of them gave Cui Yanwu a thumbs up.
Xie Ji suddenly looked at him with a "this isn't right" expression and subconsciously asked, "Then why are you..."
Upon hearing this, Wang Jingya's smile deepened.
She returned to the table, poured herself a cup of tea, and slowly sipped it. "Because your uncle doesn't care about me."
Xie Ji was taken aback by her bluntness, and her face flushed.
Wang Jingya seemed not to notice Xie Ji's reaction, but looked at Cui Yanwu and said frankly, "But I am in love with him."
When I learned that he had gone to join the army, I secretly went to see him.
I told him that I didn't ask to be his wife, I would be happy to be a concubine or a maid.
As long as I can stay by his side, I don't care about titles or status, and I will never overstep my bounds.
She smiled, then deliberately let out a loud sigh: "But he refused."
He said that one 'mad dog' is enough for a family; no more than that.
He also said, "I should find a more suitable person to marry and live a stable life."
"Crazy?" Xie Ji asked, puzzled.
Wang Jingya didn't answer, she just smiled.
Cui Yanwu then spoke, "She was only a teenager at the time. She was locked up for a few days, but she managed to fool Wang Jingzong and not be drugged with aphrodisiacs."
Instead of seeking help, she harbored the thought of 'killing everyone and dragging the Wang family down with her.' What is this if not madness?"
Pei Zhiwei, Xiao Yunzhan, and Xie Ji exchanged glances, each thinking to themselves: It seems... that makes sense.
Cui Yanwu ignored them and just looked at Wang Jingya: "Didn't you tell me back then that you would listen to me, find someone of equal social standing to marry, and live a good life?"
How could she suddenly marry Xu Fengyan, a merchant, just for supplies?
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