Chapter 288 The Pain of Losing a Beloved Daughter
Qi Qingyuan seemed unsure whether he should speak or not, and then carefully examined Mu Xi for a few more moments.
After hesitating for a long time, not knowing what to think, a resolute look flashed in his eyes: "Speaking of which, whether the Marquis of Junhou is from the Mu family or which family Marquis Shen Lun of Yongguo is, it has nothing to do with this old man. If my daughter can come back to life, this old man is willing to give everything to turn back time. I regret that I should have trusted Shen Lun so much, and I should not have involved my daughter in this."
"Is there really more to your daughter's death than meets the eye?" Mu Xi sensed something amiss in his words and was greatly surprised.
Overwhelmed with grief, Qi Qingyuan no longer concealed the truth: "Back then, when Qianyan was weak, Shen Lun, who was then the son of the Prime Minister, took the initiative to befriend me and lamented the dire situation, which convinced me completely. For many years after that, my Qi family in Xiangnan has always helped the Marquis of Yongguo, both openly and secretly. Even after the prince was born in the north, he approached me and asked me to borrow my daughter, who was also not long after her birth. I agreed, almost as if possessed."
"The Marquis of Yong is insightful and shrewd; it's not surprising that he could be misled by him," Mu Xi said, though she understood the situation perfectly well.
Qi Qingyuan was likely swayed by Shen Lun back then with the intention of taking a gamble, but there's not much to say about that. If she were in Shen Lun's shoes, she would have done the same to ensure the long-term development of the Qi family business.
Qi Qingyuan shook his head in regret, but didn't say much. Instead, he steered the conversation back to the main topic: "To be honest, although the Marquis of Yongguo used my daughter's name back then, he didn't actually do anything harmful to her. However, as my daughter grew up, the prince also grew up and went to the Western Border. To prevent the prince's identity from being exposed, Shen Lun further concealed the prince's identity as 'Princess Shuoting.' At that time, I was already afraid that my daughter would be in danger, so I asked the Marquis of Yongguo to order someone else to replace her. Unexpectedly, the Marquis of Yongguo introduced the prince to my daughter at that time, and my daughter fell in love with the prince at first sight. Alas..."
At this point, Qi Qingyuan sighed deeply and could not continue.
Mu Xi didn't urge them, but instead had Cao Pan'er behind her replace the cold tea in front of them with a fresh cup.
Qi Qingyuan gazed at the freshly steamed teacup that had been replaced, and after a long while, he continued, "Now that I think about it, my daughter's first meeting with the prince, and the frequent opportunities she had to spend with him afterward, were mostly orchestrated by the Marquis of Yong. His purpose at the time was clearly to confuse the issue, so that if the prince's identity were ever exposed, it could be attributed to my daughter. But at that time, I only saw the Marquis of Yong introduce my daughter to a few former officials of the Yan state, and he didn't do anything else, so I didn't think much of it."
"Lord Shen's actions have indeed put your daughter in danger. I never expected that Elder Qi, who loves his daughter so much, would agree to this. But I suppose at that time, Elder Qi must have had a way to protect your daughter even if he didn't want to, right?" Mu Xi didn't know how to comment on this matter.
Initially, it was definitely a matter of mutual consent, but things only got complicated later on.
"It's all my fault, it's all my fault..." Qi Qingyuan nodded heavily, looking remorseful, as if he had thought of something else. "When the Marquis of Yong borrowed my daughter's name, he promised that if the prince were to successfully restore his kingdom one day, he would marry my daughter as a reward. That's why I was so blinded by greed and wanted to rise to the top in one step..."
"XXX..." Mu Xi cursed inwardly. Shen Lun knew that she and Mu Xun had a formal marriage agreement, yet he still "promised" him to so many other people.
But now is not the time to stab Qi Qingyuan in the heart again. Since he was unaware of the "Golden Box Alliance" that Wangsun had made back then, it was as if he had never entered the core of the former officials of Yan. Shen Lun had only ever used him as an "ATM".
Therefore, Mu Xi could only comfort the other party in return: "What's done is done, Elder Qi, there's no need to blame yourself too much."
Qi Qingyuan had clearly been blaming himself for a long time. He forced a smile, which made him look old: "Yes... what's the use of blaming yourself? It won't bring Ying'er back. Ying'er is in love with Wangsun. Even after she learned about Wangsun's identity, she not only didn't shy away from him, but also wanted to protect him."
"Ah... has something happened to Mu Xun?" Mu Xi immediately made the connection.
Qi Qingyuan's face was filled with a bitter smile mixed with sorrow: "Your Excellency just asked me how the Prince was doing in the mountain villa. I can answer now. To say that he was healthy and had no worries about food and drink is perhaps not enough. But he was like a caged bird, constantly trapped by the Marquis of Yong, and longed to escape. That was truly bad. My daughter risked her life to help him escape, but she was chased and killed along the way. She risked her life to save the Prince, but unexpectedly, she fell victim to the Marquis of Yong's cruel hand."
"Ah..." Mu Xi's mind was in a mess, and it took her a while to sort things out, but she asked incredulously, "Elder Qi, are you saying that the person who chased Mu Xun and your daughter was Marquis Shen?"
"Who else could it be but the Marquis of Yong?" Qi Qingyuan said, his resentment overflowing and no longer concealing it.
Mu Xi was still in shock and doubt: "Although Lord Shen is... how could he be so ruthless? Isn't he afraid of hurting Mu Xun? I mean, Mu Xun is the former grandson of the Prince of Yan."
Qi Qingyuan chuckled coldly: "Heh, if he dared to imprison the prince for so many years, why wouldn't he be afraid to use even more methods? As far as this old man knows, he has moved the prince to different places many times over the years, and each time the prince tried to escape, but was always kept under close watch by his men. In order to control the prince, he has spared no effort in using drugs, beautiful women, and witchcraft..."
"What? There's witchcraft too?" Mu Xi was shocked.
Qi Qingyuan didn't explain further and continued, "At that time, I didn't know these methods, nor did I know what my daughter was thinking. My daughter acted on her own, spending a lot of money to hire people to help her, but the people Shen Lun sent to guard the prince were no ordinary people. My daughter has always been spoiled by me and doesn't know anything. In the conflict, although the prince and my daughter temporarily escaped, they were quickly caught up by Shen Lun's men. Those people dared not harm the prince, but they could use my daughter to blackmail him. The prince had no choice but to comply, and my daughter was released. But not long after she was released, my daughter contracted a strange illness, and no medicine could cure her, and she died."
"This is..." Mu Xi didn't quite understand for a moment.
Qi Qingyuan finally found someone to confide in, and his deepest secret burst forth: "Before my daughter helped the prince escape, she asked me to propose marriage to the Marquis of Yong on her behalf. I agreed to give it a try, but no matter what conditions I proposed, the Marquis of Yong refused, making all sorts of excuses. So my daughter took the risk, and right after her escape failed, she suddenly contracted a strange illness. Who else could have done that?"
"Ah..." Upon hearing this, Mu Xi suddenly felt a sharp, stabbing pain in her chest and clutched her chest.
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