Chapter 17: Negotiation? Taking someone else’s wife, open and aboveboard?
In the restaurant, Yan Siqing's expression was calm: "Your Highness, I naturally believe what you said, but Your Highness cannot understand that feeling."
"It was like being drunk. Waking up was filled with endless regret, especially when my uncle found me... I was already awake, crawling out of the box, and the people outside hadn't had time to cover my father's face."
"I remember the last blow that made him scream was the one that struck him in the face."
"Your Highness, the knife remains on his face."
"My father has always been a very handsome man, and he was quite famous in Chang'an back then."
"Over the years, I can hardly remember what he looks like."
She spoke calmly, as if she was chatting with a neighbor. However, this calmness made people continue to explore and speculate about her inner sadness and pain.
If there is pain but it cannot be seen, then it must be something that is being endured.
Those who endure in silence will inevitably suffer more.
Jiang Hui felt inexplicably uncomfortable, because of his previous sharpness and suspicion. He curled his fingers, picked up the milk tea bowl for the third time, drank it, and put it down again.
In order to change the subject, after thinking for a moment, he asked, "Are you as handsome as me?"
Yan Siqing: “….”
She looked at the tea and milk tea on the table, moved her fingers, and wanted to splash them over, but held back.
Jiang Hui was relieved when he saw that her emotions were slightly fluctuating and not as stagnant as a pool of water.
At the door, Ruozhao came back and naturally switched shifts with Ruoqin. The angle of his small movement just happened to catch Jiang Hui's eyes, which was a secret signal.
Jiang Hui knew it - she really didn't realize in advance that there was another trump card set up on this ship, which would help her escape or have other calculations.
"Since you can't remember what those people looked like back then, that's fine. There'll always be a chance to find the culprit someday. Once we deal with the culprit, those who attacked us will be like grasshoppers after autumn, and we'll just wipe them out."
"Now that you're here with me, preventing you from escaping is one thing, but preventing you from being bullied by others is another."
"Do you believe me, ma'am?"
Yan Siqing glanced at the doorway, but didn't react. She said calmly, "As long as Your Highness is willing and willing to lend a hand, there's nothing I wouldn't do."
This was considered an agreement, so he stopped questioning her and changed his tone, mentioning the more core purpose.
"The fight between my father, Prince Yan, and Prince Qi..."
He did not hide his disguise. After all, she would know the general situation when they arrived in Chang'an. Besides, there would be a lot of hypocritical words to influence her at that time. It would be better to tell her the truth first.
He did not directly address the content of the impeachment.
It's a bit difficult to talk about, and I need to think about it some more.
It would be better to proceed step by step so that she can accept it more easily.
But Yan Siqing could hear this man's attitude: he believed that the two princes' party struggle was not right or wrong, but just a fight. He had never slandered Prince Qi much, no matter his previous arrangement for Lin An and his son, or the means of taking her back to Chang'an now.
It's all just part of the fight.
Who will win? There is only success or failure, no right or wrong.
Yan Siqing was silent for a while, then suddenly asked, "What about my mother?"
The glimmer in Jiang Hui's eyes suddenly dimmed, and when he looked at her again, the look in his eyes lost much of the previous awkwardness and consideration, and became cold again.
He stared at her.
You are not completely ignorant, so you guessed it?
"After the incident, everyone knew that the Yan family was wiped out, leaving only you alive. Why do you suspect that your mother also had a female corpse?"
"As if he thought it was my father who took her away."
"Can't you see outside?"
Unless she saw what was happening behind...his father, the King Yan, arrived.
Would she then think that Prince Yan was the real murderer behind the scenes, and was even present at the scene, killing her entire family with his own hands?
If this is the case, she must have resentment in her heart and will sooner or later turn against him and harm his palace. Then... she cannot be trusted and cannot be kept.
Yan Siqing sensed the prince's coldness, but was not afraid. She just said softly, "Because my father's face was split open, I could recognize him at a glance. No matter how tragic the female corpse was, I would still recognize it was not my mother."
There is no need to explain the rest. No matter why her biological mother survived, how she was taken away, and what she encountered, it must be related to Prince Yan. Whether it was justified or there was another hidden secret, she had no confidence to question it, and she also had to consider her biological mother's dignity and reputation, so she was unwilling to say it openly.
Jiang Hui suddenly thought: the reason why she didn't take any revenge after growing up was probably because she knew her mother was in the hands of others, and she was worried about many things, so she could only remain calm and do nothing.
That was her only close relative.
But did she actually see her father at the scene?
"Your mother was indeed taken away by my father."
"So do you think my father's presence there was a move against your mother or against your family?"
He wasn't being euphemistic.
She couldn't choose either, and couldn't answer.
Because there is no guarantee that this person will not go to the trouble of hunting down Zhou Zhaozhao and others in order to eradicate them completely.
Her life and death are no longer in her own hands, and the future is unpredictable. At least she has to do her best to provide for her daughter.
Denying it all is too fake.
How could she not be suspicious and resentful?
Yan Siqing remained silent, seemingly considering the situation. This seemed genuine, but Jiang Hui slowly continued, "You were indeed in the hidden box in the carriage, but I've read the case files from back then, and they mentioned knife marks on the box, suggesting it was opened by a single blow."
"If it was your uncle and the others who first discovered you, they should have been cautious and aware of the small person hiding inside. Since they didn't find your body, they would have first thought it was you hiding inside. They wouldn't have been willing to use a knife to cut the box open. They would have been worried about hurting you."
"So, my father had already discovered you at that time."
"But I never hurt you."
"Then it must be your mother who pleaded for mercy, and you know about it."
"and you....."
He was very patient because he had the upper hand and was still setting traps for her step by step.
Yan Siqing suddenly interrupted him, his eyes cold and gloomy, with a kind of clarity that made Jiang Hui feel guilty again.
"It's something that can be deduced, and I naturally guessed it, but at the time I only knew that someone had come and taken my mother away, and that they might even let me go because of my mother."
"The box was broken open, and I remained inside, unable to climb out. This can only mean that I was unconscious at the time and hadn't seen the person involved. Otherwise, Your Highness, do you think I could let my mother sacrifice herself to save me, and that I could marry, have children, and live the rest of my life in peace?"
"But over the years, I did think the other party must be a powerful figure in the court. Because such a major case was quietly solved and became an unsolved case, my uncle was worried and anxious, and he pursued a promising official career. However, even though he later had a bright future, he still couldn't shake this unsolved case. He understood the depth of the matter and always looked at me with guilt. I knew that he had no choice but to give in, because there were still relatives left, and me. We all had to survive. He even knew that my mother was still alive."
"We just have to give up."
Because of this delicate choice, her situation on her mother's side is very complicated and difficult to describe.
Because her uncle Xu Junyan is willing to give up and pay for this, others may not be willing to do so, and may even take risks for it, and they are always worried that she will get into trouble.
That would be a disaster that would lead to the annihilation of the entire clan.
She had lived under the roof of her mother's family for many years and knew the etiquette. Only when she grew up did she have other choices.
For example, marrying into the Shen family.
But that doesn't need to be mentioned here.
"Of course, Your Highness, since you've read the file, you should know that it was carefully considered before being recorded. For example, it certainly wouldn't record that the knife that slashed my father's cheek left the seal of your royal family."
"When I saw Lord Ruo Zhao, I saw this mark on his weapon, and I vaguely associated it with it."
"That's why you think I know."
"In fact, it was only after you came that I found out who took my mother away."
"However, now that we have come to this, I am curious about one thing - Your Highness, if you suspect that I believe Prince Yan was the true culprit, then do you believe that your father was..."
clang!
The high-quality sword that was lazily leaning against the edge of the table was unsheathed, the blade against her throat.
Just a stone's throw away.
He didn't say anything, just smiled.
Everyone loves self-interest and everyone pursues his own fairness.
He has his own palace, and she has her own family, her own maternal clan, and even her current husband's family.
People are changing, it just depends on where you are standing at the time.
What a horrible world.
Yan Siqing became quiet, but did not show any panic or vulnerability, nor did he move his throat away.
The scene of them dining together peacefully and harmoniously before seemed like a dream, and now it was almost dead silent.
But under the sword's edge, she quickly continued, "The extermination of my Yan family is naturally not a big deal. It has already been suppressed. In fact, you asked me to go to Chang'an not because of the extermination of my Yan family, but it may be related to the secrets behind my father's assassination. At least many suspicions are piled on your father, which is much more serious than the extermination of the Yan family."
The extermination of an official's family is at most a murder, but when it involves the emperor's power and the imperial court, it is a royal affair.
It has extraordinary significance.
"You are testing whether I know or not."
As for who killed him, how he was killed, how many members of the Yan family died, and who survived, it is not important in itself.
Jiang Hui didn't expect that she would dare to say these things again...
"Actually, killing you is the best option. After all, those people before us took action, so we can just frame them."
"Are you really not afraid? Or do you think that since you've already sent your daughter and the others away, you don't have to worry about your own life or death, and you have nothing to fear."
Yan Siqing: "Your sword's tip is always pointing downward at an angle. Unless I hit it myself, you are not really going to kill me."
He stopped pretending, and she stopped pretending either.
Jiang Hui was silent, then turned his wrist and the sword clanged back into its sheath.
She shouldn't be buried in business matters.
There should be a broader world.
The Shen family is not worthy of her.
But he didn't say this out loud, and the other party might not be happy to hear it.
Yan Siqing also breathed a sigh of relief, raised his hand to hold the teacup, and took a sip.
"The young lady is indeed amazing. She is knowledgeable and calm in times of crisis."
"admire."
"You're right about one thing. I don't know the true story of what happened back then, but as a son, I'm certain that my father is a man of integrity, not the evil, cruel man who would wipe out an entire family of good officials."
Yan Siqing said: "As a child, this is the way it should be. I understand."
Jiang Hui: "But you're also wrong about another thing—I brought you to Chang'an not because of the so-called secret of your father's murder. It was because an imperial censor impeached my father for wiping out an entire family in order to seize another man's wife, and he treated her like a treasure, keeping her in secret for years."
What?
The teacup in Yan Siqing's hand fell heavily on the table.
The tea soaked my fingers.
She glared at him.
Taking someone else’s wife by force, is that fair and aboveboard?
The atmosphere suddenly became tense...it became tense again, or rather, even weirder.
The author has something to say:
----------------------
Continue read on readnovelmtl.com
