Chapter 85 Chapter 85: Breaking off the friendship that was once his only wish...
"So I'm actually a child of the Su family, right?"
Yan Zhuo nodded silently.
After receiving a positive answer, Cui Kan couldn't help but take a step back and cover his head in pain.
If what Yan Zhuo said was true, then how ridiculous what he had done over the years would be.
He mistook his benefactor for his enemy and almost killed Cui Cen!
Yan Zhuo sighed silently.
It's all fate that plays tricks on people...
At that time, the old sage was in his twilight years and made many wrong decisions. He even wanted to depose the crown prince out of suspicion. The court was divided into two factions. On one side was the persuasion faction headed by Prime Minister Su, who tried to persuade the old sage to get back on the right track. On the other side was the radical faction headed by Prince Jin, who strongly advocated the dethronement of the crown prince.
Before the old saint could make a decision, Prime Minister Su was implicated in a trumped-up corruption case. Believing the slander of the treacherous man, the old saint immediately ordered the execution of Prime Minister Su and his entire family.
Upon hearing the news, Marquis Dingguo, who was stationed at the border at the time, rushed back as fast as he could, but he could only secretly preserve the last bloodline of the Su family, a one-month-old baby, and brought the child back to the mansion with a changed name as his own, saying only that the child was a bastard whose biological mother was unknown.
This incident caused a huge uproar in the Marquis's residence, alarming even the old lady. Finally, after a long conversation between the Marquis Dingguo and the old lady, she finally agreed to acknowledge her grandson. But this was only the initial hurdle; the subsequent hurdles were even more difficult.
At that time, the Marquis Dingguo had already had an imperial marriage contract with the eldest princess. The eldest princess, who knew nothing about the inside story and had been pampered since childhood, naturally could not accept the fact that she had a bastard son before she even got married. However, the situation at the time did not allow her to refuse the marriage.
One reason is that this is a gift from His Majesty.
The second reason is because of her brother's position as crown prince.
In the chaotic situation at the time, if her younger brother was to secure the throne of Crown Prince, he would have needed the support of Marquis Dingguo. The princess didn't dare gamble on whether this seemingly easygoing Marquis Dingguo would harbor resentment towards her insistence on breaking off the engagement and turn to Prince Jin's side.
I could only marry her with tears in my eyes.
Although her married life was much more comfortable than she had imagined, the Marquis's residence was free from the many restrictions of the palace, and the eldest princess felt the taste of freedom for the first time. Her husband was not as cold-blooded and ruthless as she had imagined, but...
The matter of the eldest son from a concubine had always been a thorn in her heart, hurting her when she thought about it and causing her pain when she touched it. The rift between husband and wife had always been a major problem. It was not until a few years later when the old sage passed away and the crown prince, who had not yet been deposed as the crown prince, successfully became the emperor with the help of the Marquis of Dingguo that the eldest princess's heart knot was slightly untied, and later she had Cui Cen.
Although her heart knot had been opened up a little, it did not mean that she would accept this illegitimate eldest son whose biological mother was unknown. He did not withhold the child's food, clothing and other expenses, but chose to ignore the child, which was already considered tolerance.
Furthermore, the Marquis was often away from home, and when he was at home, he would at most instruct the servants to take good care of the household. Most of the servants were old and wily, and since the mistress was the eldest princess, they naturally followed her lead. Occasionally, there would be one or two servants who would gossip. How could the Marquis, a grown man, understand Nezha's twists and turns?
So in the past few years, Cui Kan had been unloved by his parents and lived like a transparent person in the mansion. He often had no one to talk to all day long. It was not until he reached the age of enlightenment that Marquis Dingguo specially invited a teacher to teach him, and things started to get better.
Marquis Dingguo knew that Prime Minister Su had been wrongly convicted in that case. After supporting the new emperor to the throne, he had been looking for an opportunity to exonerate Prime Minister Su. However, the current situation, with internal and external troubles, did not allow it. Harassment from barbaric small nations, and the constant threat of Prince Jin's followers within, along with constant arguments in the court, the matter was put on hold.
He originally wanted to wait until Prime Minister Su was rehabilitated and Cui Kan grew up before telling the child the truth. However, he did not expect that he would die in battle at the border first. Before his death, he told Yan Zhuo about hiding the Su family bloodline, hoping that he could tell Cui Kan the truth at the right time, or bury the truth forever.
I didn't expect it to evolve into what it is today.
After hearing all this, Cui Kan was silent for a long time.
In his youth, he was treated coldly and instigated by a vicious servant. He even believed that his biological mother was killed by the eldest princess. Although the truth was later revealed and the servant was sold away, his father personally explained to him that this was not the case, but he never found out who his mother was and why she died.
It would be a lie to say I don't blame you.
Once the seeds of doubt germinate in your heart, there is no turning back.
But now, knowing the truth, he feels that he has lived a joke for so many years.
The sky was turning pale, and the camp was so quiet as if nothing had happened. Only the dark brown earth recorded everything that happened last night.
The soldiers who had been busy until midnight yesterday only slept for an hour or so before starting to move camp again.
Cui Cen had stayed outside the main tent all night and rushed forward the moment the curtain was opened.
"Uncle." His voice was a little hoarse when he spoke, "I...he..."
Cui Cen opened his mouth to say something but didn't know what to say.
Yan Zhuo looked up and met his red eyes, feeling a little helpless.
"I have finished the interrogation. The rest of the matter will be handed over to the Dali Temple for handling." He paused and decided it would be better to let the two brothers meet, so he continued:
"He's in there, do you want to go in and take a look?"
Cui Cen nodded.
If it were in the past, he would definitely hesitate whether to go in. But now it was different, there were some things he had to ask for clarification, otherwise he would suffer for the rest of his life if he kept them in his heart.
Yan Zhuo didn't say anything else, but just moved aside to let him in.
Cui Kan was sitting dejectedly on the ground. When he heard some noise at the door, he looked up.
A slender figure stood behind the door curtain, facing the light, making it impossible to see the expression on his face. The morning sun shone from behind him, shining through the gap onto Cui Kan's face. He couldn't help but raise his hand to block it.
Seeing this, the visitor lowered the curtain and strode in.
The candlelight that burned all night in the tent illuminated the face of the visitor.
It turns out that the little boy with red lips and white teeth will also become dark after being exposed to the wind and sun...
For some reason, Cui Kan's first reaction was this.
In the past, he also liked this younger brother. He still remembered that when Cui Cen was just born, he had secretly gone to see him. Who could not love such a cute little baby who was as white as a pink ball?
So when did this love turn sour?
Was it because he was discovered sneaking up on his brother that the wet nurse looked at him as if he was facing a great enemy?
Or was it because he saw his younger brother nestling in his mother's arms and acting coquettishly, but he only gave him a faint look?
Or, his younger brother was able to be taught martial arts by his father himself, but because he was weak and frail since birth, he could only watch enviously from the sidelines?
Or maybe, his younger brother can travel around as the legitimate son of a marquis, while he can only stay in the study all day?
Cui Kan didn't know when his love for him changed from envy to jealousy, and finally to hatred.
Once the seeds of hatred germinate in the heart, they will cloud a person's mind and cause him to do something irreparable.
It was not until today that he understood that the wet nurse was just afraid that if anything went wrong she might lose her head; the eldest princess had never scolded or beaten him, which was already a tolerance; she did not allow him to socialize too much because she was worried that his identity would be exposed.
After a long stalemate, Cui Cen spoke to break the relative silence.
"Brother, was it you who did the kidnapping of me?"
He squatted down in front of Cui Kan and looked at him with bright eyes.
After such a long time, he finally had the courage to ask Cui Kan. Although he had doubts before, he never had the courage to ask since they lived under the same roof.
"Yes..." Cui Kan lowered his eyes and didn't look at the boy's face. He was prepared. No matter whether Cui Cen hit him or scolded him, he would not fight back.
"You are my elder brother, and an elder brother is like a father. I forgive you for that matter."
The boy's voice was neither sad nor happy, so flat that one couldn't tell his emotion.
Hearing that Cui Cen forgave him so easily, Cui Kan suddenly raised his head and met a pair of cold eyes.
"but!"
"How could you lay hands on the disaster relief food? This is the life-saving food for the people of Yanzhou!"
"Maybe our Cui family has wronged you, so I admit that you harmed me. But what did the people of Yanzhou do wrong to suffer such unprovoked disasters one after another? They are so innocent!"
"After all these years of studying, have you learned all these principles of propriety, righteousness, integrity and shame?!"
Cui Cen's words were like heavy punches, hammering heavily on his chest, and his sharp eyes were like sharp blades, leaving him nowhere to escape.
Cui Kan was shocked to realize how outrageous his actions were. If he had really taken the food and supplies, Yan Zhuo would have returned to the capital to receive punishment, and he would have had to re-select the disaster relief personnel and then prepare the food and supplies for the journey. In the time it took to go back and forth, most of the people in Yanzhou would have starved to death!
Hadn't he thought about these interests before?
No, he thought.
But at that time, he was only thinking about making achievements in front of the emperor so as to find an opportunity to seek a title. What did he have to do with the lives of the people of Yanzhou?
He thought back on all these years, as if his heart was blinded by greed. Is he really so selfish?
Cui Kan closed his eyes in pain, but when he opened them again, his expression had changed.
"So what? What do the lives of the people of Yanzhou have to do with me?" He chuckled disdainfully. "Then His Majesty will simply blame Prince Heng for his incompetence. Wouldn't that be more to my liking?"
"As for you, don't call me brother. You treat me as your brother, but I have never treated you as my younger brother."
Cui Cen was furious.
How could this person have such vicious thoughts? How could such a disloyal and unjust person appear in his Cui family, which is full of loyal and brave people!
Seeing that he was so stubborn and unyielding, Cui Cen roared in anger, his eyes reddened, fearing that even ten oxen could not bring him back on track.
"Well, I don't have a brother like you either!"
After saying that, he rushed out the door.
Cui Kan looked up at the departing figure and sat there for a long time.
After a long moment, he chuckled and murmured, "Not recognizing me... That's fine. Since I've committed such a crime, I can't burden Dingguo Mansion any longer."
As for the little Douzi who used to be so tall and short as his older brother, he has finally grown up. If Marquis Dingguo knew about this, he would surely be very pleased to see a son like him.
But why can't the tears stop flowing from my eyes?
That was the father he had always admired...
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