722 Identity, Who is the Traitor?
In the end, I didn’t say it!
It wasn't that Feng Qingchen didn't want to say it, but Wang Jinling's fear and the Ninth Prince's uneasiness made Feng Qingchen unable to speak out. Moreover, when things came to this point, what difference did it make whether to say it or not?
They all knew very well that some things could never be undone once they were said, not to mention that it didn't matter whether they said it or not now. If there was nothing unusual, how would Feng Qingchen know about their tests.
Feng Qingchen standing here questioning them was a disguised admission of their suspicions. She was not the original Feng Qingchen. The original Feng Qingchen was dead!
Silence... deathly silence. Even the secret guards hidden in the dark couldn't stand it. They wiped their sweat quietly. It was a cold day with biting wind, but they were sweating all over without moving. It was obvious how much pressure this scene brought to them.
The gray sky, the monotonous colors, and the three people standing outside the simple farmyard are like a static painting. The picture is beautiful, but the atmosphere is too heavy for anyone to bear.
Finally, the picture moved... but it was not what everyone thought. It was not as if everything was back to normal. Feng Qingchen wiped the tears from her face woodenly, pushed Wang Jinling away, and walked towards her room without looking back. During the whole process, she did not even glance at the Ninth Uncle.
In this way, the dispute about whether to say or not ended with Feng Qingchen's injury, the Nineth Prince's indifference and Wang Jinling's self-blame. Wang Jinling kept chasing Feng Qingchen's back with a self-blaming look, but Feng Qingchen did not turn back and walked away resolutely, silently telling the Nineth Prince that if one day Feng Qingchen decided to leave, she would leave without mercy and never look back...
The Ninth Prince just watched as Feng Qingchen walked further and further away. For a moment, he felt that Feng Qingchen would walk out of his life.
He stretched out his hand, but it was too far... The distance between them was too far, so far that even if he stretched out his hand, he could not touch Feng Qingchen's hair.
The Ninth Prince wanted to chase after them, but Feng Qingchen did not give him the chance. With a bang, he slammed the door shut, locking the two men outside.
The moment the door closed, Feng Qingchen leaned against the door and slid down little by little, hugged her legs with her hands, buried her head in her knees, and cried silently.
Bang... With the sound of the door closing, the Ninth Prince's heart ached. He retracted his outstretched hand and covered his heart with it. His handsome face was as pale as paper, and a tear flashed in his eyes.
It turns out that even if there has been no injury or bleeding, the heart can still hurt to this extent.
Unfortunately, the Ninth Prince and Wang Jinling did not have much time to calm down. An hour later, Cui Haoting and the Cui family guards appeared in the small courtyard as promised.
The Ninth Prince and Wang Jinling quickly calmed down. At least Cui Haoting didn't notice anything wrong with them. After a round of greetings, Cui Haoting went straight to the point and said he wanted to take Lan Yilin away.
No one is stupid. Cui Haoting did not hide Lan Yilin's identity, but he would not say much. How much they could find out depended on the abilities of the Ninth Prince and Wang Jinling.
"Who was the person who spent two hundred thousand taels of gold to hire a killer to assassinate Feng Qingchen?" The Ninth Prince asked directly without any hesitation.
His mood today was not suitable for a battle of wits and courage with Cui Haoting.
"The wife of the Palace Master of Xuanxiao Palace." It was obvious that Cui Haoting came prepared. Even the Cui family had guessed what the Ninth Prince and Wang Jinling would exchange Lan Yilin for, and where their bottom line was.
What these two people care about the most is Feng Qingchen. Now that something has threatened Feng Qingchen's safety, how could these two people not take it seriously.
It was indeed her.
Wang Jinling showed a look of understanding. Cui Haoting was not surprised. He would be surprised if these two people could not guess it. However, both parties understood that this was not the content of the transaction, but just a friendly start.
Cui Haoting picked up the tea on the table and took a sip, waiting for the Ninth Uncle to ask the next question.
The coarse country tea tasted extremely bitter at first, but Cui Haoting didn't even frown. He took a sip of the tea and paused for a moment, letting the tea flavor spread between his lips and teeth. It felt like he was tasting a famous tea.
The Ninth Prince was anxious, but he would never show it at this moment. After Cui Haoting put down the teacup, the Ninth Prince asked, "Her identity?"
"Do you want to know the identity of the wife of the Palace Master of Xuanxiao Palace, or the identity of Feng Qingchen's mother?" Cui Haoting's gentle eyes were filled with a playful smile.
Both sides were anxious, but neither of them wanted to show their anxiety. The Ninth Prince leaned back slightly, invisibly weakening his momentum and revealing a sense of leisure.
“Is there any difference?”
"Of course there is. The wife of the Palace Master of Xuanxiao Palace is now using the identity of Feng Qingchen's mother, so whose identity do you want to know?" In other words, Lan Yilin's value is not high in the eyes of the Cui family. They want to use her to exchange for the identities of two people, which is not possible, so the Ninth Prince must make a choice.
"Whatever you want, Master Cui, you can talk about whoever you want. Master Cui can think about it slowly. I am not in a hurry." The Ninth Prince did not drink tea to show that he was not in a hurry, but closed his eyes and rested.
The Ninth Prince kicked the ball back and let Cui Haoting make the decision, which really did not hurt him at all.
Wang Jinling was just a listener from beginning to end. Although he did not have any flaws on the surface, Wang Jinling knew that he was not in the mood to fight with Cui Haoting at this moment.
He was wondering, after this incident, could Feng Qingchen still be as open-minded and trust them completely as before?
Maybe not. Then how can he make up for this mistake?
One of them had a smile on his face but his mind was nowhere to be found, and the other one closed his eyes and simply ignored him. Cui Haoting knew that he could not talk to these two people in a normal way, or he would be angry to death.
It feels really bad to be ignored. Forget it, he might as well say goodbye early. He will be angry to death if he stays here. Cui Haoting is too lazy to bargain with the Ninth Uncle and Wang Jinling, so he directly states the bottom line of the Cui family.
"The wife of the Palace Master of Xuanxiao Palace is called Lu Yiran. She is a twin sister of Feng Qingchen's mother. They are from the sea. Forty years ago, the Lu family was a pirate leader that dominated the sea. At the peak of their power, even military ships passing by the sea had to give benefits to the Lu family.
Unfortunately... there was a traitor among the pirates, who colluded with Xiling and joined forces with the Xiling army to plunder the entire pirate den. It is said that on that day, the entire sea area was red.
All of the Lu family's wealth was seized by Xiling and deposited into the national treasury. It was with this wealth that Xiling greatly increased its national strength. The silver in the hands of the wife of the Palace Master of Xuanxiao Palace should be the last silver left by the Lu family.
All the countries should have known something about this incident, but on the surface they only arrested the pirates, and no one cared about the others. Xiling did a great job in the aftermath, and since it happened at sea, the other three countries didn't take it seriously. "
It turned out that they were descendants of pirates. No wonder he couldn't find them. At this time, the good qualities of the Cui family were revealed. No matter how far the Cui family stretched their hands in the dark, no one knew about it.
The Ninth Prince opened his eyes and turned to look at Cui Haoting: "Who is that traitor?"
He thought that according to Feng Qingchen's personality, she should find the traitor. Perhaps this incident could ease the relationship between him and Feng Qingchen...
A word to readers: Although it is only one chapter, I think you can understand me...