In the summer of the 34th year of Zhaowu, Yan Zilian, the chief minister who assisted three emperors, the Grand Academician of Wenyuan Pavilion and the Chief Assistant of the Cabinet, died suddenly in grief and resentment.

Although Yan Sikong was grief-stricken, he was also happy for the Yan family. If Yan Zilian had not passed away so "on time", Xie Zhongren would have quickly dealt with the Yan family after destroying the Feng family. Yan Zilian's illness and old age made Emperor Zhaowu retain his last bit of mercy. In consideration of his decades of hard work, he buried him with the ceremony of a prime minister and even wrote a personal eulogy. Otherwise, Yan Zilian might not have had a good end.

But he knew that once Yan Zilian left, disaster would begin for the aristocratic family.

When Yan Sikong went to attend the funeral, rumors about his close relationship with Xie Zhongren were already spreading in the capital. Many of his fellow students looked at him strangely. The Jinshi who entered the officialdom at the same time as him now have different situations. Some are still small Hanlin scholars, but he has been promoted rapidly. Out of jealousy and suspicion, many people call him "Prince Consort Yan" in a weird tone.

During the worship, Yan Sikong's eyes were red, and he kowtowed several times, silently saying in his heart: "Teacher, your unfinished will will be inherited by your students. You will definitely wipe out the treacherous and corrupt officials, clean up the government and the country, and restore the peaceful and prosperous times in the Central Plains of China.

After the worship, Liang Sui pulled him aside, looking as if he wanted to say something but hesitated: "Sikong, there have been a lot of gossips about you in the capital recently. I think they are all hearsay, and they must be malicious slanders by the eunuchs. Can you..."

Yan Sikong interrupted him rudely: "Brother Liang, you and I have always been good friends. I don't treat you as an outsider. I have a few unpleasant words of advice."

Liang Sui was stunned.

Yan Sikong looked at his fellow disciples who were also stealing glances at him, and said in a low voice: "With the passing of our teacher, Eunuch Xie has seized power. He will certainly carry out a purge of the aristocratic family. A bloody storm is unavoidable. A gentleman does not stand under a dangerous wall. I hope Brother Liang can protect himself." He knew that Liang Sui was not an upright person. Even if he did not say anything, Liang Sui would be the first to take action. Moreover, with this person's status and talent, he would not be in Xie Zhongren's eyes at all. The purpose of his words was to test Zhou Mixing and the Shuntian prefect behind Zhou Mixing through Liang Sui.

"You..." Liang Sui looked at Yan Sikong in disbelief and couldn't utter a complete sentence for a long time. He probably didn't expect Yan Sikong to be so shameless. His mentor who had promoted him all the way was still dead, but he had already turned against him as the rumors said?

Yan Sikong bowed, turned around and said goodbye.

——

As soon as Yan Zilian's funeral was held, an invisible war broke out in the court. As time passed, the court entered the scorching hot summer.

Emperor Zhaowu suddenly issued an edict, setting the wedding date for Yan Sikong and Princess Wanyang, shortly after the Empress Dowager's annual sacrifice.

At the same time, Xie Zhongren led the eunuch party to carry out a bloody massacre of the gentry. The gentry was now led by the new chief minister of the cabinet, Huo Li, but he was dull and indifferent to power, which was completely different from Yan Zilian, and was simply not up to the task. The six ministries and nine officials also split into two factions and attacked each other. The gentry was leaderless and was defeated by the eunuch party.

Yan Weiming had no great ambitions, but he knew his own limitations. Before Xie Zhongren came to discipline him, he had already resigned from his post on the grounds of Ding You, intending to move back to his hometown in Jiangnan to farm. However, Xie Zhongren had been resentful of Yan Zilian for half his life, so how could he let him off so easily? He dug up the old account of Yan Zilian's second son and made a big fuss about it, wanting to confiscate Yan Zilian's house on the charge of corruption. In the end, the ministers dissuaded him, and Emperor Zhaowu, for the sake of his reputation, only withdrew all the rewards given to Yan Zilian, and ordered the Yan family to immediately return to their hometown and never return to Beijing again.

It is really heartbreaking that a veteran minister of three dynasties and a great prime minister was dismissed just after the Lunar New Year.

During this period, Yan Sikong did not say a word for the Yan family.

Similarly, Xie Zhongren dragged down officials from the gentry one by one, killing some, dismissing some, and demoting some. The court was filled with grief and resentment, and Yan Sikong remained silent from beginning to end.

He could only remain silent, a heart-wrenching silence, because he knew that even if he died ten thousand times, nothing would change at this moment.

And he must live.

Shen Hexuan, who had been forgotten for a long time because he had no time to pay attention to him, wrote a letter to impeach Xie Zhongren from thousands of miles away, listing more than a dozen of his major crimes to vindicate Yan Zilian. Perhaps because the war was fierce, or perhaps because his words were of little importance, this impeachment did not cause much splash, but it made Xie Zhongren so angry that he jumped to his feet. He dug deep into the ground but could not find any handle on Shen Hexuan. He could not kill him, so he demoted him to a remote small county in Qiannan as a county magistrate on the charge of false accusation. It was almost impossible for him to turn over.

The second person in the more than 200 years of Da Sheng history to win the top three honors in the imperial examinations had a ruined future.

Not long after, Yan Sikong also received a letter from Shen Hexuan, in which he mercilessly denounced him for deceiving his teacher and ancestors for the sake of personal glory and wealth, and for being a beast in human form and shameless. He was cursed to be listed in the "Biography of Flatterers", to be infamous and to be cursed by everyone.

Yan Sikong read the letter word by word and thought that the letter was extremely well-written and worthy of being written by Shen Zhuangyuan. He burned the letter silently, but he had a very good memory and was afraid that he would never be able to forget it even if he wanted to.

The next day, the servant brought a simple jewelry box. When the box was opened, there were some gold and silver jewelry that matched the box very well, and a note. When the note was unfolded, there were eight words written in beautiful handwriting: Neither of us owes each other anything. Take care of yourself.

The servant said cautiously, "It was sent by Madam Shen. They left today and said they were going back to their hometown in Suzhou."

Yan Sikong sighed softly: "Call Ali over."

Xie Zhongren is narrow-minded and vindictive. Even if the dog doesn't move, the journey to Suzhou is long and the orphan and widow could be in danger. He wants Ali to find She Jun and send someone to look after them secretly.

In addition, he also needed to know how She Jun's plan was going.

He has given She Jun all the information about the imperial prison that he obtained through Yan Zilian, and he also paid a large sum of money to bribe the chief guard who took him to see Feng Ye last time. They know exactly where Feng Ye and Feng Jianping are being held, and the method of robbing the prison and the route to leave the capital are being perfected step by step to ensure that nothing goes wrong.

He knew very well in his heart that when Xie Zhongren had purged the aristocratic faction and no one in the court dared to speak up for the Feng family, that would be the time to strike. And they had to complete this task as soon as possible, because once Meng Duo fell from power, there would be no one to take care of the father and son in the imperial prison. He was afraid that even if they succeeded in robbing the prison, the people they rescued would be disabled.

He told himself every day that no matter how much he suffered, it would not be more painful than being trapped in the wilderness at this moment, so no matter how dangerous the path he chose was, no matter how many cold stares and contempt he received, no matter how humiliating it was when he knelt down to flatter Xie Zhongren, he could endure it.

As long as Feng Ye survives.

——

Yan Sikong had not seen Chen Yi since the Spring Hunt. First, there was the case of Feng family treason, and then Yan Zilian passed away. He made excuses not to teach Chen Yi. One reason was that he was too busy to do so, and the other was that he did not know how to face Chen Yi because he had no time to take care of Chen Yi at this time. He also found it difficult to answer the questions that Chen Yi wanted to ask him.

But today was the second time Chen Yu had sent someone to invite him, and he could no longer refuse, so he went to the East Palace with gritted teeth.

When they met Chen Yi again, there was an inexplicable sense of strangeness between them. Chen Yi no longer smiled as he did before, but looked at him from a distance and called him stiffly, "Sir."

"Your Highness the Crown Prince, I pay my respects to you." Yan Sikong said as he was about to kneel.

"No need to be so polite." Chen Yu interrupted him, "Come in with me."

Yan Sikong sighed in his heart, he really wanted to pay his respects, but he was afraid that calling him "Prince" would be too much.

The two of them walked into the palace. Chen Yi waved his hands and turned to look at Yan Sikong: "Is your health better, sir?"

"Thank you for your concern, Your Highness. I am fine now."

Chen Yu pursed his lips, seeming to want to say something but stopped himself.

Yan Sikong asked, "Your Highness, are you doing well these days?"

"Do you think I can get better?" Chen Yu said self-deprecatingly, "I watched the people standing in front of me fall one after another, and I don't know when it will be my turn."

Yan Sikong couldn't think of how to comfort him for a moment.

Chen Yu stared at Yan Sikong intently, hesitated for a moment, and then walked over, stood in front of him, looked up and looked into his eyes: "They all said that you turned against us and joined Xie Zhongren when Yan Ge was seriously ill."

Yan Sikong's eyes did not move and he remained silent.

Chen Yu's voice suddenly became a little excited: "Don't you want to explain?! Xie Zhongren killed my mother, he did so many evil things..."

Yan Sikong looked back into Chen Yi's eyes and said, "If I say this is a temporary solution, and I am trying to survive for the sake of revenge, will Your Highness believe me?"

Chen Yu stared at Yan Sikong in astonishment: "Really? Do you know what others say about you behind your back? Are you willing to be spit on by the world, but still... go down this path?"

Yan Sikong smiled bitterly: "Yes, I want to take this path."

"You...what about me?" Chen Wu trembled, "What will happen to me? What should I do?"

Yan Sikong stared at Chen Yi for a long while, then suddenly reached out his hand, touched Chen Yi's face, and said softly, "Yi'er, this is the last time we meet."

Chen Yu's expression changed drastically, and he grabbed his hand and shook it hard: "What do you mean by that?"

"Once Xie Zhongren has dealt with the nobles and the Feng family, you will no longer be able to keep your position as the heir apparent."

Chen Yuhun shuddered. Although he had expected this, he did not expect Yan Sikong to say it so bluntly. He was at a loss, panicked, angry, and powerless: "You...how dare you..."

Yan Sikong's knees softened and he knelt in front of Chen Yi.

Chen Yu's eyes turned red, and he collapsed to the ground, falling into Yan Sikong's arms, choking with sobs: "Sir..."

Yan Sikong hugged Chen Yu and said in despair: "Your Highness, I am incompetent and cannot assist you."

Chen Mi shed hot tears.

"Chen Chun is about to come of age, and the Emperor will definitely change the throne before he reaches adulthood. Your Highness must not resist, only in order to save your life..."

Chen Yu was filled with hatred: "Why, why did everything turn out like this!"

"Teacher has spent his entire life trying to kill the eunuch, but I have not given up." Yan Sikong said hoarsely, "It's just that from now on, I can no longer walk side by side with His Highness."

"I don't want to give the throne to Chen Chun, I don't want to!" Chen Mu cried, "I hate it, sir, I hate it!"

Yan Sikong hugged Chen Yu tightly and said with a trembling voice: "I hate him too, but hatred alone will not help. We have to live. Only by living can we have hope."

"What hope is there?" Chen Yu gritted his teeth and said, "Even if he doesn't kill me, he will definitely throw me to a remote place and make me an idle prince. I will live a life of mediocrity and depression... It would be better to kill me now!"

"Your Highness, don't think like that." Yan Sikong held Chen Yu's face and said sternly, "As long as you have the green mountains, you will not be afraid of running out of firewood. Even if Your Highness goes to the fiefdom, you must not give up on yourself. You are still young and have a lot of time. One day, if I can get rid of the treacherous and turn the court around, Your Highness can't be completely unprepared!"

Chen Yu looked at Yan Sikong deeply: "Are you serious? Is it still possible for me to become the emperor?"

Yan Sikong said solemnly: "In my heart, only Your Highness can be the emperor. As long as I am still alive, I will not give up, and Your Highness must not give up either."

Chen Yu bit his lip and nodded with difficulty, his eyes blazing with flames of hatred, pain, and ambition beyond his age.

Yan Sikong helped Chen Yu up and said, "From now on, I can no longer teach you, Your Highness. Your Highness, remember my words, obey the emperor, and save your life. When you get to your fiefdom, secretly raise the people and recruit soldiers. One day, you will be able to use your skills!"

Chen Yu said firmly: "Okay, I'll wait for you."

The two looked at each other, and saw in each other's eyes the determination to never regret.

Chen Yu thought of something and said sadly, "Sir, you are going to marry... the emperor's sister."

Yan Sikong said in a deep voice: "Only by marrying Princess Wanyang can I protect myself and..."

"What talent?"

Yan Sikong did not intend to tell Chen Yu about his plan to rob the prison, and he almost let it slip. He changed his words and said, "Only in this way can I fulfill my teacher's last wish and make a future appointment with His Highness."

Chen Yu opened his mouth, looked deeply into Yan Sikong's eyes, and said harshly: "I..."

Yan Sikong looked at Chen Yu quietly, waiting for him to finish speaking.

Chen Yu hesitated for a long time before lowering his eyes: "We say goodbye today, and I don't know when we will meet again. I can't bear to leave you, sir."

"I also can't bear to leave you, Your Highness." Yan Sikong pressed Chen Yu's shoulder, "But you and I will definitely meet again."

Chen Yu hugged Yan Sikong again, tears rolling down her cheeks: "Call me Yu'er again."

"…Mian'er."

Chen Yu closed his eyes. It was a young man's first experience of sorrow, and it was so heartbreaking.