Chapter 1182 He deserves to die!
Yuwen Ye said, "We can't find anything."
"..."
"No matter how I send people to investigate, we can't find anyone named 'Liang Youying'. It's as if she appeared out of nowhere."
Jiang Xingdao said, "And who are you—"
Yuwen Ye said, "Then I can only start with you. But after investigating, I found that you and she are not related at all. She is not your cousin. Even your whereabouts are a bit strange."
"..."
“You claim to be a horse trader, but you only frequent the Luoyang and Wanggangzhai areas year-round, and upon closer inspection, you haven’t even met a single person who has done business with you.”
"..."
"Given that you and she both practice martial arts... I can't help but suspect your identities."
Shang Ruyi, who was standing to the side, picked up her teacup and took a sip.
Hearing the commotion from her side, Yuwen Ye glanced at her, then calmly looked back at Jiang Xing. He noticed that Jiang Xing's expression had become increasingly serious. She said, "So, you suspected all along that we were from Wanggang Village."
Yuwen Ye nodded.
Jiang Xingdao asked, "Then why—"
Yuwen Ye tapped one finger on the rim of the teacup, gently drawing circles, and calmly said, "The art of war dictates that if the enemy does not move, I do not move."
"..."
"Besides, I don't think that those who come from Wanggangzhai are necessarily my enemies. I have many people from Wanggangzhai around me, such as Shen Tu Tai and Shan Tong'er, who have now become my confidants."
"..."
Jiang Xing lowered his head and remained silent.
Yuwen Ye continued, "Moreover, you didn't do anything after you arrived in Chang'an."
Jiang Yan said, "So, the person you sent to Tangquan Palace to meet with Young Master Pei only told him that Youying and I are from Wanggang Village."
Yuwen Ye paused for a moment, then said, "That's not all."
Upon hearing this, Jiang Yan frowned again: "What else did you find out?"
Yuwen Ye said, "You and Liang Youying are from Wanggang Village. After Wanggang Village split up, the people who stayed behind should have all gone to Luoyang with Xiao Yuansui, but you two did not. Instead, you went to Chang'an."
Jiang Xing frowned even more: "Can't we just not go?"
Yuwen Ye said, “Of course you can. But there should be a reason for this ‘unwillingness.’ After all, the world is in chaos, and people like you should carefully consider every move you make, otherwise you could easily bring about your own demise.”
"..."
"So I guess the reason you don't want to go to Luoyang is because there are people in Luoyang that you don't want to see."
"..."
“For example, Liang Shide.”
As he said this, a subtle smile appeared on Yuwen Ye's lips, as if he himself felt a little proud of it, or rather, lucky: "Then it suddenly occurred to me that no matter what, my people couldn't find out Liang Youying's identity. Could it be because her name is fake?"
"..."
"So I had someone investigate Liang Shide's family, and sure enough, I found some clues."
"..."
"Liang Shide was originally a subordinate of Qiu Zhongwen, the Grand General of the Henan Army. Due to personal grudges, he killed Qiu Zhongwen and led his troops to defect. This is something that many people know publicly. But there are some things that people don't know and no one cares about - what happened to his family after he led his troops to defect."
"..."
“My men discovered that he led his troops in a defection, but did not take his wife and daughter with him. The two women were implicated and were pursued by the imperial court. Later, his wife died in prison, but his daughter took the opportunity to escape.”
"..."
"This daughter's name is—"
"Liang Chong".
Before he could finish speaking, another deep, somewhat hoarse voice took over. The three people in the hall immediately looked up and saw Liang Youying standing at the entrance of the hall, her face pale, with Pei Xingyuan by her side. He had obviously accompanied her all the way here. At this moment, his eyes were full of concern and worry as he looked at her. His cautious and expectant look was just like that of a big dog that had done something wrong and was afraid of being discovered.
But Liang Youying only looked at the three people in the hall: "It's me."
Upon seeing her, Jiang Yan immediately stood up: "Why are you up? Didn't I tell you to rest?"
As she spoke, she glanced at Pei Xingyuan again, seemingly blaming him for not keeping a close eye on the person.
Hearing his words, Liang Youying smiled faintly, walked in while holding onto the door frame, and said softly, "Fourth Brother, you don't need to hide it from me, nor do you need to have him watch over me. I know you're here to talk to the Prince of Qin and the others, but since it's about me, don't hide it from me."
Although she was a martial artist and agile, she stumbled as she stepped across the threshold, and Pei Xingyuan quickly steadied her arm.
"careful."
"..."
Liang Youying glanced back at him, shook her head with a conflicted look in her eyes, pushed his hand away, then turned to Yuwen Ye and Shang Ruyi, and bowed to them: "Greetings, Your Highness Prince Qin, greetings, Your Highness Princess."
Shang Ruyi sighed softly and said, "Since Young Master Jiang just said that he wanted to be frank with everyone, that's good. Now that everyone is here, we can say everything we need to say."
After saying that, he glanced at Yuwen Ye, who then raised his hand and said, "Sit down, everyone."
Everyone took their seats in turn, but Pei Xingyuan remained cautiously seated next to Liang Youying. Yuwen Ye glanced at him, a hint of helplessness in his eyes, but said nothing, instead addressing Liang Youying: "You—"
Liang Youying sighed softly and said, "Your Highness Prince Qin is indeed wise, but there are some things you have not been able to investigate clearly."
"oh?"
Yuwen Ye said, "For example."
Liang Youying said, "He did indeed kill Qiu Zhongwen and then led his troops to defect. He did not care about my mother and me. He didn't even tell us anything in advance. When the soldiers came to our house to arrest us, my mother didn't even know what was happening."
"..."
"But to protect me, she hid me under the bed and was arrested and imprisoned by herself."
"..."
“After that, I always wanted to rescue her, but I was all alone. Even though I knew some kung fu, breaking into the prison was as difficult as climbing to the sky. After several failures, I decided to go find him; after all, he left with his men and soon formed a huge rebel army. If we could work together, maybe we could rescue my mother.”
"..."
"And the government officials sentenced my mother to immediate execution in order to catch him, hoping to lure him out."
"..."
"Then I heard that he and his rebel army were really preparing to fight back. At that time, I was overjoyed and eagerly wanted to go out of the city to meet him and show him the way. But—"
Her voice was very hoarse and dry. Every word she spoke seemed to have been ground out from rough sand and gravel. In the end, every word was imbued with blood and sweat, making it very painful to listen to. When she heard the last sentence, Shang Ruyi seemed to sense something and couldn't help but frown, unable to bear listening any longer.
Seeing her like this, Liang Youying felt a pang of bitterness and pain in her heart.
She couldn't understand how the person who had been by her side day and night could do something that even strangers who had never met her mother couldn't bear to listen to.
She opened her mouth, but several times she tried to speak, but her words were blocked by a lump in her throat. As if sensing her difficult breathing, Pei Xingyuan beside her said softly, "Don't say anything."
Liang Youying did not listen. He coughed twice and then continued, "He did lead men into the city, but not to rescue my mother. Instead, he took advantage of the fact that the government officials were all stationed at the execution ground and the guards were lax to rob the treasury."
"..."
“My mother was beheaded just like that; and he left without even a glance.”
"..."
"When I caught up with them, all I heard was their loud laughter, that sound—"
That sound was like a knife.
Over the years, no matter how she changed her name, no matter how far she went, no matter how much respect she gained, she could never wake up from the laughter that faded into the distance in the blood-red sunset that evening. Her soul was being tortured again and again, as if the punishment for failing to save her mother had left her covered in wounds.
She couldn't continue speaking, and the people in the lobby fell silent.
In the ensuing silence, a voice rang out through gritted teeth: "He deserves to die!"
Liang Youying suddenly opened her eyes wide and looked at Shang Ruyi, who had spoken. She saw that Shang Ruyi was also looking at her, her eyes full of tenderness and sympathy, but she said in an extremely solemn tone: "It's your turn to kill!"
"..."
"But thankfully, it wasn't you who killed him."
"...!"
Liang Youying suddenly felt the heaviness in her chest ease.
She understood what Shang Ruyi meant.
Liang Shide's actions back then disqualified him from being called a husband or a father. Since he was neither a husband nor a father, his wife and daughters did not need to regard him as a husband or father. Therefore, it was only natural for her to kill the unfaithful man for her mother's sake today.
However, Liang Shide was, after all, her father.
If she were to do it today, she would forever bear the infamy of patricide. Her mother died because of her father, and she herself killed her father. Such a tragic human drama would likely crush her.
She did nothing wrong.
She simply couldn't do it any better...
Liang Youying's large eyes filled with hot tears, glistening several times as if about to fall, but she swallowed them back and said softly in a sour voice, "Thank you, Your Highness."
Shang Ruyi's words undoubtedly freed her.
None of the men in the hall spoke, except for Pei Xingyuan, who kept looking at Liang Youying with a compassionate gaze.
After saying those words to Shang Ruyi, Liang Youying turned back, swallowing her tears and appearing much calmer. She said to Yuwen Ye, "What His Highness Prince Qin told him at the Tangquan Palace that night was about my background. You want to take advantage of that, don't you?"
Pei Xingyuan's face immediately turned pale.
Just now, when he overheard the conversation inside the lobby, he already knew that some things could not be hidden, but at this moment, he still felt like he had finally reached the edge of a cliff.
He said, "I—"
Yuwen Ye said, "It wasn't us, it was him."
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