Xiang Quan was the old beggar that Shen Danru met while eating at the mutton soup restaurant.
When Xiang Shui first saw Shen Danru's face, she was so frightened that she fell to the ground.
From that moment on, Shen Danru recalled the time when she first arrived at the border and met the old beggar at the mutton soup restaurant; they had almost the same expression.
She guessed that it must be related to her grandmother.
So she secretly sent people to find the old beggar.
Unexpectedly, this person was indeed Xiang Quan, whom her grandfather had mentioned to her these past few days.
Shen Danru appealed to his emotions and reasoned with him, finally persuading Xiang Quan to speak.
Shen Shi asked, "A-Quan, where have you been all these years? What exactly happened back then?"
Xiang Quan's eyes reddened as he recalled the events of that year.
“General, when the enemy attacked, Madam had just given birth to the young master and was still very weak. You asked Xiang Shui and me to take good care of Madam at the manor, but…”
He choked up as he said, "A group of men in black suddenly broke into the mansion. These men in black seemed to be professionally trained and were extremely skilled in martial arts."
"They seemed to have come only to take the lives of the madam and the young master. After knocking out the people in the mansion, they went straight into the madam's room."
"At that time, I was instructed by my wife to inquire about the battle situation. As soon as I returned to the manor, I saw my wife fighting with these men in black. My wife told Qiu Shuang to take the young master away first, so Qiu Shuang had no choice but to carry the young master and flee in a hurry."
"Later," Xiang Quan said with a pained expression, glancing at Xiang Shui, "it was Xiang Shui who ran over to tell the lady that the general had been defeated and killed by the enemy."
"The lady was already seriously injured. She coughed up blood and was then hacked to death by those men in black."
He took a deep breath and continued, "I don't know why those men in black didn't intend to kill me. They just attacked me from behind, and I pretended to be unconscious by lying on the ground."
"Afterwards, I overheard Ah Shui conspiring with these men in black, and they seemed to mention the Second Master, and later the Young Master..."
“These men in black are searching everywhere for the young master’s whereabouts. I know that Qiu Shuang has some close girlfriends. She has nowhere else to go, so she must have hidden with one of the young ladies.”
"So, I secretly found Qiu Shuang and told her to take the young master and escape quickly. Don't go to Shengjing. Go back to Ningzhou and go to the Lan family first."
Shen Shi's eyes sharpened, and he asked, "Continue speaking, or I will skin you alive if you utter a single lie."
“General, I’m sorry, I deserve to die. I found Xiang Shui and questioned him about why he colluded with outsiders. However, when Xiang Shui found out that the matter had been exposed, he told me that you killed our mother and that he was avenging her.”
“Those men in black were all hired by the Second Master. He and Xiang Shui are working together to prevent you from having any offspring, so that his own son can inherit the title. Once the Madam dies, given your relationship with her, the General will definitely not remarry, and you will have no heir.”
"Xiang Shui actually tried to poison me to stop me from telling you the truth. He's my own brother! I never imagined he could be so cruel. But I'm lucky to have survived."
Shen Shi's face was flushed, and the veins on his forehead were throbbing slightly, as if he was trying to suppress his anger.
"If you're not dead, why don't you come to me and explain the truth to me?"
With reddened eyes, Xiang Quan said, "General, he is, after all, my only younger brother. I know I have wronged you. Over the years, I have been disguised as a beggar in order to gather intelligence on the enemy country and make up for the mistakes Xiang Shui made back then."
Shen looked at him and asked, "Did you provide all that intelligence about enemy countries?"
Xiang Quan nodded, tears of reluctance streaming down his face: "General, I only want to ask you one thing: was it really you who killed my mother?"
Shen Shi narrowed his eyes. It seemed he was wrong, terribly wrong. He decided he would never protect his half-brother again.
He said coldly, "That winter, it was Shen Kuo who pushed the wet nurse into the pond, which caused her to catch a cold and her condition gradually worsened, eventually leading to her death."
Xiang Shui's eyes instantly became empty and lifeless, and she stood there stunned as if lost in thought.
"Impossible, impossible! If you didn't kill Mother, why are you so kind to us?"
Shen Shi sneered, "How could I disobey my wet nurse's dying words?"
Xiang Shui felt as if he had been struck by lightning. His mind was in complete chaos, and he realized that Chen Tuo was their mother's killer.
Xiang Quan suddenly stood up, and at the moment when everyone was protecting Shen Shi, he suddenly rushed towards Shen Yutang's sword.
"Thud~" The sound of a sword piercing through a chest rang out.
Xiang Quan looked at Chen Shi, his eyes filled with pain and reluctance.
"General, it is my fault for failing to protect the lady and the young master. I deserve to die. Please do not save me. Let me die."
Xiang Quan looked weakly at Xiang Shui: "Ah Shui, you've hated the wrong person. I'll use my life to make you realize your mistake. You were wrong about what happened back then. You must confess to the general."
After saying these words, Xiang Quan passed away, never to breathe again.
Xiang Shui shook his head in disbelief, and said firmly:
"No way, no way, he's lying to you, he's lying to you."
Shen Yutang stomped on Xiang Shui, knocking him to the ground, and Xiang Shui spat out a mouthful of blood.
"Fool! You're about to die and you still don't know how to repent. Believe me, I'll make you wish you were dead. Tell me, was it you who poisoned Grandfather?"
Xiang Shui was stunned. He glanced at Chen Shi, then at Chen Danru, and then burst into maniacal laughter:
“Chen Shi, it seems your granddaughter is quite capable; she was able to detect this kind of poison. But what good is it if she can detect it? There is no cure for this poison, and you will soon lose your life.”
Shen Danru sneered, "Uncle Shui, you don't need to worry about that. Grandfather's poison has already been cured."
Xiang Shui stared wide-eyed at Shen Danru in disbelief: "Impossible, how could you possibly cure this poison?"
It has now been confirmed that Shen Tuo is the mastermind behind this, so whether or not Xiang Shui's life is spared is no longer of much importance.
Shen Shi glanced coldly at Xiang Shui and ordered, "Men, drag this scoundrel away and execute him by dismemberment."
At this moment, Xiang Shui was truly frightened. He tried to crawl over to beg for mercy from Shen Shi, but unfortunately, he was not as strong as Shen Yutang and could not struggle at all.
"General, I'll confess everything, I'll confess right now. Please spare my life for the sake of our childhood friendship."
He pleaded with the water.
She remained unmoved and never wanted to look at him again.
Shen Yutang suddenly kicked out again, this time knocking out his front teeth.
“You dog slave, when you killed my grandmother and hurt my father, why didn’t you think of the bond you shared with my grandfather when you grew up together?”
If it weren't for my father's good fortune, he would have been dead long ago. You're only now begging for mercy, but it's too late.
Shen Yutang said angrily.
Then, two soldiers came in and pushed the water down.
Shen Danru noticed Shen Shi's worried expression and stepped forward to ask, "Grandfather, what's wrong? Have you found any other clues?"
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