The steam from the hot tea blurred her features, yet her beauty remained, even more stunning than when she was clearly visible, shrouded in mist and elusive.
Zhou Yanzhi felt a sudden, inexplicable unease, as if he were experiencing a run of bad luck.
Why do I keep running into weird people lately?
The woman's voice beside him was soft and gentle, yet contained an indescribable sharpness: "A word to Commander Zhou: those who do many evil deeds will surely perish. If a person is too scheming and opportunistic, his end will not be good."
As soon as she finished speaking, Yan Ling led Jiang Xue Ning in.
Yan Ling raised an eyebrow. "What are you two talking about? Who won't have a good ending?"
Seeing the two of them, especially Jiang Xuening's threatening expression, Zhou Yanzhi held back his temper, even though he wanted to lose it.
He chuckled and said, "It's nothing, it's nothing. I was just joking with Miss You."
Yan Ling and Jiang Xue Ning stopped asking questions, but clearly, neither of them believed Zhou Yanzhi's explanation.
The former refers to a carefree, smooth-sailing youth who is somewhat arrogant and conceited.
Jiang Xuening was more curious about Chu Yuan. As for Zhou Yanzhi, she knew him well enough in her previous life. Now she had no choice but to use him, but she was also wary of him. So she wished she could have eyes on him and keep an eye on him all the time.
But she always had other things to do, so she didn't have much time to spare.
"You are hostile towards Zhou Yanzhi."
Inside the pavilion, Yan Ling and Zhou Yanzhi were tending a fire together, while Jiang Xuening sat next to Chu Yuan, neither too close nor too far. Suddenly, she started fiddling with her nails and said something.
Chu Yuan wasn't surprised. She leaned on the stool and looked at the ground. "It's because I don't like it."
Someone like him, from the Xingwu Guard, with his shifty eyes and cunning nature, suddenly getting close to the Prince of Yan, who is at odds with the Xingwu Guard, suggests that even if he possesses great skills, his cunning is likely far greater than his abilities.
Although both Xingwu Guard and Yan Family Army were under the emperor's command, one was led by Duke Xue and the other by Yan Ling's father, Yan Mu. As a result, the two families were ranked as the two most powerful families in the Great Qian Dynasty, and their power was at its zenith.
Many years ago, the two families were related by marriage. Yan Mu's eldest sister married Xue Yuan. At that time, Xue Yuan was just an insignificant illegitimate son of a duke's mansion. After marrying Yan Mu's sister, he benefited from the power of the Yan family and was gradually valued by the old Duke Dingguo. Eventually, he inherited the title and became the duke.
However, when Prince Pingnan staged a coup that year, Xue Yuan's younger sister—now Empress Dowager Xue—forced Xue Yuan's son, Xue Dingfei, a child who was only seven years old, to impersonate the young emperor and deceive Prince Pingnan in order to protect the young emperor.
The Prince of Pingnan was bloodthirsty and tyrannical. When he learned that Xue Dingfei was not actually Shen Lang, he was furious. He used Xue Dingfei to threaten Xue Yuan at the city gate, preventing him from attacking the city. However, Xue Yuan only cared about military merits and did not care about his son's life or death, nor did he consider his beloved wife, Lady Xue, who loved her son dearly.
When the war ended, a great fire burned for several days and nights, and countless corpses were reduced to ashes in the fire, including Schrödinger.
Madam Xue was heartbroken by the innocent death of her son, divorced Xue Yuan, and soon passed away in depression.
Within a month of Madam Xue's passing, Xue Yuan married his current second wife, Madam Xue Xiao, and less than seven months later, Xue Shu was born.
These events took root in the hearts of the Yan family like thorns, and from then on, the two families had no more kinship ties. In addition, Xue Yuan was constantly vying for power and profit, and his aggressive actions further fueled the signs of them turning against each other.
Upon hearing this, Jiang Xuening's eyes suddenly lit up. "I didn't expect Miss You Yue to have such a keen eye for people."
You're right, Zhou Yanzhi isn't a good person this week.
Unfortunately, I spoke to Yanling many times in private, but he was so confident in his upright character that he believed no petty person could find a way to exploit him, and therefore never took it to heart.
Chu Yuan took a sip of tea. "I wonder if Miss Jiang has heard a saying?"
"What did you say?" Jiang Xuening asked, her expression becoming more serious.
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