Chapter 41 The party struggle is about to break out!
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Yan Siqing drank the medicine. Xiaoshan took the bowl out and came back later with some drinking water. He chatted with Xiaoyun for a while.
"It's raining heavily outside. I wonder if it will stop tonight."
"Ruozhao and the others are already checking the waterways to prevent water from clogging up the inn."
"The kitchen is boiling water. I'll bring two pots for Madam. It will be more convenient if Madam gets up at night and is thirsty."
They have been with him for quite a while and know that Yan Siqing would not order them around unless necessary.
Yan Siqing agreed and drank it right away, but she held the cup with her fingers and listened to the two people chatting while cleaning up. She couldn't deny that she was still worried about Jiang Hui's injury.
It's true that cartilage powder is poisonous, but they definitely have an antidote. If Jiang Hui had internal injuries, he must have been forcibly suppressing them with his internal energy, which would have led to more serious internal injuries. He wouldn't be able to recover quickly by taking the antidote.
Deep down, she didn't want Jiang Hui to return to Chang'an injured. After all, Prince Qi...
Xiaoyun and the other person also talked about the medicine for injuries.
Xiaoshan: "I just asked Ruozhao, and he said that he's fine. His Highness has strong internal energy and a good physique. As long as he doesn't fight any hard battles in the near future, he should be able to recover in half a month. However, he did drink a lot of water."
"That's strange. The medicine I boiled doesn't have any thirst-quenching properties. Could it be that I ate too much salt for dinner?"
Yan Siqing was surprised and didn't quite understand, but her eyes inadvertently fell on the cup.
Paused.
Let it go.
——————
That night, Jiang Hui saw...her...and two other people he didn't know or had never seen before.
Hidden jade.
Sea wealth.
The bedroom is where husband and wife bond, a match made in heaven, inseparable.
In the secret room, allies talk privately, beautiful jade is given as a gift, and the ambiguity is hard to describe.
Crash.
Jiang Hui suddenly woke up, his injured cheeks were pale and stained with redness, and his joints were white.
He looked at the dark room expressionlessly, turned his head, and saw her room next door.
It was a dream.
But the former is her past.
It's true.
The latter...will it be her future?
Will it be true in the future?
But no matter her past or her future, it has nothing to do with him.
Only the heart-wrenching pain and fear at this moment are real.
Even though he knew very well that Yan Siqing had never shown any ambiguity with other men - she didn't choose you, nor did she say she would choose other men.
But he knew better that with her personality, no matter who she was thinking about in her heart, she would never show it on her face or say it out loud, and it could only be seen from the details - she was difficult to trust people. If she knew that the other party gave her the beautiful jade out of kindness, and was willing to entrust the safety of her only daughter and her own future and life to him, then at least she would put the other party at the top of her list of options.
Jiang Hui withdrew his hand that was grabbing the bed sheet.
Just because jealousy crawled all over his bed.
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It rained heavily all night and there were frequent thunderstorms.
The medicine used contained a sleeping pill, and Yan Siqing was tired, so she slept well. When she woke up early in the morning, she saw that the light outside the window was fine, it seemed no longer dark, and the sound of rain was also quieter.
Xiaoyun heard the noise, came in, and pushed open the window, allowing her to see the green color outside.
"It's still raining, and I don't know if there will be mudslides or landslides. Madam, I'm afraid you'll have to wait for two more days, otherwise it won't be safe."
Xiaoyun spoke seriously, but Yan Siqing was half-sitting, leaning against the couch, watching the wind and rain outside the window. He glanced at her vaguely when he heard her words, but did not refute.
Xiaoyun was secretly delighted to see that she did not object, but Yan Siqing did not intend to leave the room and rested in the house as if she was tired.
So he avoided the meeting with Jiang Hui.
It was not until the afternoon that Fuyi came to see her with her maid.
The two came to express their gratitude for saving their lives.
Yan Siqing: "It was His Highness and his men who saved people. I was also saved. Miss Fuyi, there is no need to be so polite."
Fu Yi looked at her expression, but did not ask her who she was, and continued to call her the Ninth Young Master.
"Young Master looks much healthier, so he should be fine. Actually, I came here because when we set off for Baixiu Wharf, we may have to leave by water."
She is not going to Chang'an anymore.
Otherwise, the Chang'an governor and the Chen family might not let her go.
After all, Chen Jiao...
Even though everyone knows that the responsibility does not lie with her, these powerful people don't care about it.
Even though Fu Yi did not complain, Yan Siqing understood her suffering and danger and could understand her.
Their destinations may not be the same, but they may be heading in the same direction when leaving Zhanglin County at Baixiu Wharf.
Two days later.
The sun was shining brightly, and after surveying the mountain road to make sure there was no risk of mudslides, everyone started their journey.
Baixiu Wharf is on a different road from the Chang'an official road, but Jiang Hui wanted to see him off.
It was said to be a gift for Xiaoyun.
Yan Siqing had nothing to say and could only thank him politely, but he noticed that the man's face didn't look very good, with some blue under his eyelids.
Is the injury so serious?
Are those medicines useless?
Yan Siqing was suspicious. He didn't know much about martial artists and was too embarrassed to ask.
When Jiang Hui got on his horse with a gloomy expression, he found that there were several other people from the post station who had followed him.
The Fuyi master and servant, and...Liu Wuzheng.
Jiang Hui's expression became even more gloomy.
Ruo Zhao quickly glanced at his own prince and asked, "Liu Candidate, if you are not going to Chang'an to take the imperial examination, why are you going to the dock? This place is not far from Chang'an."
Liu Wuzheng bowed and said, "Brother Jiang has been murdered. Regardless of whether I am involved or not, as brothers and classmates, we must pass on the message. We must go to Chang'an and apologize to the Jiang family. However, our teacher lives in the White Horse Temple outside Chang'an, next to the Baixiu Wharf. We must visit him first..."
The White Horse Temple is one of the most famous temples in the world. If it is a festival, many dignitaries and common people in Chang'an will go there to worship and pray.
It is not a holiday now, but there are some celebrities who have lived in seclusion in the mountains for a long time. Liu Wuzheng and the other two have different hometowns, but they can become classmates and close friends. It is obvious that they have a common teacher.
That makes sense.
Jiang Hui was speechless for a moment, but when he glanced at Yan Siqing, he found that she was looking at Liu Wuzheng, as if she was thinking about something.
But Qiu Moyu got angry first.
"Liu Wuzheng, what do you mean?!"
"Want to report me to the teacher?"
"How dare you say you don't have any malicious intentions? Do you think I don't know that you and Jiang Lingxin had a quarrel today? Even more fiercely than the one you had with me. I just told him not to get involved in the affairs of Chen Jiao and the singing woman. After all, they have the governor behind them. Why bother to cause trouble? Even if he's not afraid of retaliation, we can easily be implicated."
"But you, do you dare to say that you didn't argue with him about that woman? I clearly heard it. You just... because of a woman..."
"Just for a woman who sang a song!!"
Qiu Moyu was handcuffed, but he had already lost his composure. He struggled with the handcuffs and tried to attack Liu Wuzheng, screaming and shouting in anger.
Liu Wuzheng's face looked grim, and the others were surprised to hear what he said.
Many people looked at Fuyi, their eyes seemed to be looking at a beautiful woman who was a disaster.
Fuyi: "..."
There were indeed few women in the entire post station, and she was famous, so she had a lot of admirers. The blame was firmly placed on her.
And no one else knew that there was another "woman" in the post station.
She was a sensitive person and thought of something. She glanced at Liu Wuzheng lightly, but ultimately did not explain that she did not know these three scholars at all.
Yan Siqing knew that if what Qiu Moyu mentioned was true, then the source of the quarrel between Liu Wuzheng and Jiang Lingxin was most likely herself - because she and Liu Wuzheng did know each other, the latter might recognize her and know her situation, and although Jiang Lingxin didn't know the reason, he knew that Jiang Hui and his group were not people he could afford to offend, so the two had a verbal dispute.
This was her speculation based on some previous clues, and she was not quite sure.
But Qiu Moyu's accusation...
"You scholars, is it popular nowadays to kill people after a quarrel?"
In one word, the whole audience fell silent.
Qiu Moyu's lips trembled as she stared at Yan Siqing, and Liu Wuzheng also looked at her.
Yan Siqing's expression was indifferent, and his words were extremely cold: "Why are you looking at me? If it's not popular nowadays, then your teacher must have taught you so."
It is said that His Royal Highness the Crown Prince is full of poison. Now it seems that those who are really good at using poison can actually kill people as soon as they open their mouths.
She understands people's hearts too well.
Qiu Moyu's face turned pale in an instant. He had refused to admit his mistakes for a long time and even felt that his words and actions were reasonable, but in the end he was defeated.
If Jiang Lingxin helped him a lot in his personal relationship, which made him grateful and jealous, it became a demon.
As a student, I have received so much kindness from my mentor.
There is no conflict of interest with the mentor, so what you gain is purer and the favor is more difficult to overturn.
Qiu Moyu really couldn't use sophistry to offset his "teacher's kindness".
But the kindness and grace taught by his mentor became a joke to him.
Qiu Moyu suffered a crushing defeat and became extremely depressed. He no longer blamed or resented others.
Liu Wuzheng was also ashamed and kept his head down without saying a word.
——————
Ruozhao brought a group of people to escort Lin An and others to Chang'an via the official road, while Jiang Hui brought a group of people to escort Yan Siqing and others to Baixiu Wharf.
It was very quiet all the way.
Jiang Hui was in front and behind, hurrying on his way. Xiaoyun thought that her prince would delay time so as to extend the time he spent with Yan Siqing.
Actually not.
Jiang Hui observed the sky and the conditions of the mountains along the way, and observed the rivers along the road. He sped up and sent the people to Baixiu Wharf in less than half a day.
The dock is usually very busy. After all, it is the nearest waterway outside Chang'an, stretching to various cities outward. Many people come here to transfer by water, but because of the heavy rain in the past two days, many people have reduced their travel and dare not take risks, so fewer people come here.
The minor official who ran the wharf was surprised when he saw Jiang Hui and the others.
It was not because there were so many people and the tall horses made a huge noise, but because Ruoqin directly threw a token over.
As soon as he saw it, the man bowed and without saying anything, he quickly arranged the ship and the crew.
The momentum is not small, but the efficiency is extremely high.
Whether it is the captain, the crew or the ship, they all use the best.
Yan Siqing understood it at a glance - is this Baixiu Wharf the power of Jiang Hui or Prince Yan's Palace?
At least he is trustworthy and easy to drive.
Jiang Hui had avoided Yan Siqing before, rarely meeting or speaking to him, but now he came over, untied the bag on his horse and handed it to his subordinates to assemble on board.
"There are written orders here. Using them can save a lot of time every time you pass a checkpoint."
"And you've probably noticed that the people here do recognize me. Five years ago, a rebel army threatened the capital, and I led my troops to pursue them. At the time, the territory we were defending included this place, as it was a transportation hub. Later, when the situation was pacified, I received orders from the monarch to build a defense line, and this place was one of them."
It is hard to say whether it was the territory he had taken. After all, the country only belongs to the monarch. It would be a great rebellion to insist that sensitive places such as the docks and the government seat near Chang'an belong to the princes of the same surname.
But with such past events, it was inevitable that Baixiu Wharf would recognize Jiang Hui, and it was impossible for Jiang Hui to arrange for his political enemies to govern this place.
"Thank you, Your Highness." Yan Siqing bowed to express his gratitude and then wanted to take Xiaoyun on board.
Fuyi and his servant were actually on the same route as Liu Wuzheng. The latter was going to the south of the Yangtze River, and the White Horse Temple was also in the downstream area.
But Jiang Hui said, "Miss Yan is in a hurry and is going straight down. She is not going to the same place as you guys, so we can't delay her. You should go to that ship."
Fu Yi and Liu Wu Zheng turned to look at the second ship that was arranged, with expressions of forbearance and they could only obey.
"Thank you, Your Highness."
"Thank you, Your Highness, for your thoughtful arrangements."
Madam is good at being decent, Your Highness is never considerate, but if the time comes and you refuse, it will definitely be indecent.
The people present had different expressions, but they could only follow Jiang Hui's arrangements.
Jiang Hui: "Miss Yan, do you have any objections? Unless you want to go with them."
It was an unnecessary question, and it was like testing someone during a battle.
Yan Siqing: “…”
She didn't say anything, and he regretted it. He was afraid that she would be angry, so he added something.
Jiang Hui: "It's fine if you want to go together, we can still have two ships."
Yan Siqing knew that he was young and adept at both political schemes and battlefields, but he was always awkward when it came to matters between men and women. She didn't demand anything of him, but said calmly, "Your Highness, this arrangement is very good and righteous. It's getting late, so we'll say goodbye."
"However, this is my internal letter and statement, with my bloody fingerprint and signature on it. It serves as a confession, demonstrating my impartiality and honesty with Your Highness. The investigation is entirely up to the judges of the Dali Temple. If you have any requests, please send someone to the narrow city to interrogate me and cooperate with the investigation."
"If I'm not in Narrow City anymore, you can contact me through the code of the shops. It's explained there."
"I'm not a shunning rat. Unless it's life-threatening, I won't run away."
She was always complete. Even if she didn't believe Jiang Hui now and was unwilling to sacrifice her life, she had no intention of abandoning her biological mother.
She made a choice.
Jiang Hui was silent for a moment, then took the letter and asked curiously, "Since we're breaking up, why not be open and honest?"
"In fact, you noticed Lin An hiding in the box early on, but you didn't tell me. You just watched me arrange everything with a cold eye. It was actually a test. The final result of the test was that you believed that I would only consider the situation and arrange everything based on the interests of the palace, and could not guarantee your safety."
"But I also know that you're not actually afraid of death, so this certainly isn't the reason you decided to leave—at least not to the point where you gave up on seeing your mother and chose to return to Narrow City."
"Do you have any other concerns?"
Jiang Hui thought about this many times, but still couldn't understand her decision.
Yan Siqing was silent for a moment. "Your Highness looks like you haven't slept well for two days. Your eyelids are blue. Are you worried about this?"
Jiang Hui's expression froze slightly, unable to describe the details of his repeated nightmares. He said vaguely, "Maybe."
Yan Siqing didn't care about his perfunctory attitude. She turned her head to look at the boats that had docked, and also at the other people who had moved away in the distance. Here, next to the reed marsh, there was only her and the distressed Crown Prince.
When the wind blows, the reeds sway.
She said softly, "Your Highness, if there is any truth in my Yan family's case that requires the court to compel, there is no need to start with the prince's clean reputation."
No one cares about the destruction of the Yan family. All these ramblings are just about destroying the palace, and there are also secret cases in the palace involved.
That's not something they, mother and daughter, can get involved in.
The Dali Temple that intervened would not delve into the Yan family case.
She had already prepared for this fact, but the closer she got to Chang'an, the more she saw.
"It's been so many years now, and if we don't pursue this sooner or later, and it starts with the prince's personal morality, and it involves party disputes, this matter is at most a prelude. If the Yan Palace wins, the ending will definitely be handled lightly. It's just a love affair between a man and a woman, and my mother's reputation is the only loss. The prince is just a little playboy."
"What if the Prince Yan's Mansion...even if you don't like it, at that time, it would mean a complete loss, and we would all die together. The only difference would be the location and the name of the liquidation. Before that, I must make arrangements for my daughter and others and do my best to protect them."
Jiang Hui was silent for a moment. "I had always thought your talents weren't limited to business and economics, but you were also knowledgeable in politics, and it turned out to be true."
She saw the beginning and the future.
We also see the role that the mother and daughter play in this.
Whether it is the imperial court or Prince Qi's faction, they will only treat them as "related to the case" and "chess pieces" to be manipulated.
"But you should have noticed that it all started because my father wanted to find you."
Then it's about her mother.
Jiang Hui always felt that Yan Siqing made very calm choices between the identities of "mother and daughter".
Yan Siqing: "The earlier cause was also my mother. The prince asked Your Highness to come to me because of my mother. Otherwise, it wouldn't be so sudden... If the calm water surface is disturbed, it must be a stone that has fallen."
"But Your Highness, you probably don't know—as a mother, she would never want to put her only daughter in danger. My mother didn't want me to go to Chang'an, but used your presence to remind me that danger has arrived and to protect myself."
"So whether I go to Chang'an or not has nothing to do with what my mother wants. It all depends on what I can do for my mother by going to Chang'an - to help her escape and live a better life, or to bring hope to the truth behind the Yan family's extermination."
"All this time, I wasn't observing you or testing you, but rather observing and testing the imperial court."
"The results are clear."
"I didn't change my mind about going to Chang'an because of what you or Lin An did, but because of Guan Liangshan."
Why are we suddenly talking about Guan Liangshan?
But Jiang Hui instantly understood Yan Siqing's intention - she had no intention of leaving, and had decided to go to Chang'an to see her mother and take care of the affairs of the palace and the Yan family. But when she saw Liu Guangyu appear at the post station, she was so smart that she knew at a glance that the latter was really the head of the county police, and guessed that the county magistrate of Zhou County in Chang'an had become a running dog of King Qi.
This is not a trivial matter, it is a glimpse into the big picture.
The two parties were fighting so fiercely that no one was pretending, and even the monarch had lost the ability to suppress the two parties.
He even dared to assassinate Jiang Hui outside Chang'an.
This shows how fierce the struggle in Chang'an was.
No one will seek justice for the Yan family case, and no one will care about the situation of the mother and daughter. They will only continue to attack and slander them.
Seeing no hope, she decided to escape.
"If I go to Chang'an, my words and actions can prove to your father that he has nothing to do with the annihilation of the family, clearing his name. Naturally, the Qi family will be unhappy about this. Someone will then use my status as the only survivor of the Yan family to bring discredit to my mother, accusing her of not upholding her husband's family's interests. There's even a high possibility that she might have colluded with an adulterer to curry favor with the powerful, ultimately leading to the annihilation of her husband's family..."
"You officials from the Yan Palace, in order to clear the palace of any connection, the best way is to throw dirty water on my mother, making the world think that she seduced your father."
"My mother may appear gentle and intelligent, but she's actually quite strong-willed. If I enter Chang'an and get caught up in the chaos, it's going to be irreversible. For the sake of our reputation, she might even commit suicide."
"You can fight as you please, but the only one who will die is my mother."
Yan Siqing was like a chess player, constantly predicting the moves of both sides based on the changing situation, and then judging the fate of his mother and himself. He was extremely calm and said bluntly in front of Jiang Hui: "Please read the back of the letter."
Jiang Hui has already seen it.
It contained the follow-up to her confession: the Yan family was wiped out, and no one survived except her.
What this means is that she doesn't believe that her mother is still alive, and thinks that she is the only one who survived the massacre.
It was also mentioned above that the bodies of the Yan family members have been claimed one by one...without any omission.
Her biological mother was indeed dead.
This is the way to break the deadlock.
As long as the woman that Prince Yan secretly kept was not Xu's mother and had another identity, and in the end it was just a matter between a man and a woman and had nothing to do with anything else, the censor would not be able to impeach him.
It will be able to stop the attack of King Qi and his men.
It not only saved Xu's mother, but also stopped the crisis in the palace.
"Actually, I've already had private contact with my uncle along the way. Some evidence regarding my mother's identity has been destroyed. As long as we both deny it, we can both preserve our identities."
Jiang Hui was stunned and stared at her, "Don't you regret it?"
Once this confession was released, it ruled out the possibility of her and Xu's mother recognizing each other in the future, and also ruled out the possibility of her mother providing evidence for the Yan family case in the future.
In this whole world, Yan Siqing is the only one who survived. All the clues lie with her.
It is indeed a precise and unique move.
Yan Siqing smiled faintly.
"Your Highness, not all truths in this world can be forced upon you, especially when there are weaknesses. If you insist on it, you will only lose everything and gain nothing."
She turned and got on the boat, her back looking sad.
Doesn’t she care about the truth behind the Yan family’s massacre?
Care about.
There's just no way.
Xu's mother, the Xu family, the Shen family, and her daughter.
These living people are all innocent, and she doesn't want to get involved.
In fact, it would have been better if Jiang Hui and the others had not come. She would not have seen hope in disaster and disaster in hope.
She had already accepted her fate.
So I got married and had daughters, thinking that my life would be over.
Who would have thought?
Yan Siqing got on the boat and watched the sails rise. She felt complicated and noticed that someone was staring at her, but she didn't look back.
——————
Jiang Hui watched Yan Siqing get on board with his back to the boat, and suddenly realized: excessive wisdom will lead to harm.
She was too smart, but she couldn't bear to increase the casualties, and she couldn't go against the world situation, so she was sad.
He also has to bear the injustice of the Yan family alone.
Turn away.
Jiang Hui mounted his horse and looked up at the ship about to set sail on the dock. He knew that this was their farewell.
It would be difficult for him to see her again in this life.
I dare not, I cannot, otherwise it will be difficult to control myself.
And she didn't want to.
Jiang Hui suddenly smiled, pulled the reins, and wanted to leave first.
But his arms seemed to be poisoned and stiffened, unable to move, and his eyes were fixed greedily on the figure's back.
It was as if I was back to the time when I left Yancheng and caught a glimpse of it across the river outside the wild forest.
At that time, he only saw her silhouette from behind.
It turns out that was the beginning and the end.
The ship is finally leaving the shore.
......
But why does the ground shake when the ship leaves the shore?
The horses were agitated, the people were startled, and everyone heard a chaotic yet orderly sound...
Jiang Hui's expression suddenly changed.
"alert!!"
The cavalry is coming!
Yan Siqing at the bow reacted and looked under the railing, and saw Jiang Hui riding his horse and leading his men to charge to the intersection outside the dock.
"The ship is on its own."
"Go!"
Fu Yi and others also saw the turmoil on another ship, and from a higher position on the ship, they could see that a large group of fierce cavalrymen were indeed coming to the road outside the woods near the dock.
Moreover, the uniforms are uniform, which means they are definitely not unconventional.
Imperial troops?
Has the party struggle reached this point?
How is that different from rebellion?
Yan Siqing was puzzled and his expression became a little colder.
Jiang Hui and others made preparations for battle... as if they were going to fight to the death, but he heard a sound from the ship behind him.
"Your Highness, get on board!"
He was stunned and wanted to turn around to confirm if it was Yan Siqing who called him, but he didn't.
Instead, he led the charge forward, sword drawn.
All the subordinates behind him followed and charged out.
The war is about to begin!
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