Chapter 714 Fate (Second Update)
As dawn approached, a faint tinge of white appeared on the eastern horizon, and the dim morning light pierced through the thick clouds, gradually shining beams of light onto every corner of the capital.
Han Ye sat on the chair for half the night.
Qi Xuan pointed out his acupoints to prevent him from stopping his second uncle, Han Yong, from going to his death.
Although his acupoints had automatically opened half an hour earlier, he knew it was too late.
He sat there, stunned, as the morning light shone through the window lattice onto his resolute and handsome profile, with iridescent halos dancing in the dust.
creak—
The door was pushed open.
It was Qi Xuan who entered.
Qi Xuan glanced at him, understanding that the acupuncture point had been cleared, closed the door, and said heavily, "Your second uncle is gone."
"Where's the body?" Han Ye asked.
He felt as if his soul had been ripped out; upon hearing this agonizing news, he was no longer shocked, nor could he shed a tear.
Those who were going to be sad have already finished being sad in the past two hours.
He is now filled with nothing but hatred, an endless hatred!
Qi Xuan came up to him and said, "The Han family will handle it, so you don't need to worry about it anymore."
Han Ye's eyes were empty as he sneered, "Was my grandfather really so heartless that he couldn't even give his own son's body a proper burial?"
Qi Xuan sighed: "The king is very angry."
Han Ye clenched his fist: "That's his own son!" He was referring to Han's grandfather.
Qi Xuan added: "A son born out of wedlock."
Han Ye closed his eyes sadly and turned his face away.
A son born out of wedlock.
That's right, his second uncle was a son born out of wedlock, but he was a son born out of wedlock who was more outstanding than the legitimate son. If the Han family hadn't never favored his second uncle, his second uncle's martial arts skills and achievements would have far surpassed his!
My second uncle didn't complain at all. He went to the Xuanyuan family to be a spy, and he poisoned Xuanyuan Li's youngest son.
What has my second uncle done for me?
No, the credit for the great victory all went to his father.
His second uncle quietly stood behind the family, protecting everyone.
Han Ye smiled wryly: "You've noticed, haven't you? My second uncle is a martial arts prodigy."
Qi Xuan nodded: "He learned all of the Tang Clan's sword techniques in one night, whereas it took you half a month."
Han Ye laughed coldly: "My grandfather and father will never know what they missed. Losing my second uncle is the Han family's greatest loss!"
Qi Xuan did not comment on this.
People are born unequal, and there is no basis for comparison between people. Even if Uncle Han is a genius with more outstanding talent than Han Ye, his background destined him to become a stepping stone.
Han Ye is the eldest grandson of the Han family. His very existence is the faith and strength of the Han clan. As long as he is there, the Han family's beliefs will remain.
Qi Xuan patted Han Ye on the shoulder and earnestly advised, "He did it not only for you, but also for the entire Han family. You must not let this incident cause any rift with your grandfather. The deposed crown princess's lineage is not easy to deal with. With such a formidable enemy at hand, you must pull yourself together."
Han Ye asked, "What reason did you give?"
Qi Xuan said, "He had a personal grudge against the Crown Princess and accidentally bumped into the eldest grandson of the Emperor in Shengdu, so he harbored evil intentions. He endured forty-nine tortures to prove that he was not lying."
Han Ye said, "Didn't you say that if someone has been tortured, they won't be held accountable?"
This was a rule set by His Majesty. Torture was used to extract confessions, and no one could endure even half of it. If someone did endure it, the monarch would respect them as a true man and release them.
Qi Xuan remained silent.
Han Ye understood: "It's my grandfather, isn't it?"
A son of a concubine who assassinated the eldest grandson of the emperor would have killed the entire Han family. If he hadn't been punished and had died on the way, it would have been fine, at least it would have appeased the emperor's anger. But he survived, and the emperor's anger had nowhere to go, so he would inevitably make things difficult for the Han family.
Therefore, his grandfather killed his own illegitimate son to demonstrate the Han family's loyalty to the king!
Han Ye punched the pillar beside him!
Qi Xuan advised, "Patriarch Han is also considering the bigger picture."
Han Ye clenched his fists tightly: "I don't believe the appearance of the king was accidental. My plan has not been leaked."
Qi Xuan analyzed, "That means the Crown Prince leaked the news. Someone knew you were going to assassinate Xiao Liulang and deliberately lured the King there. However, Xiao Liulang also had some luck involved. The King arrived late. If you hadn't been delayed by an eagle, you would have succeeded long ago."
Han Ye said coldly, "I will catch and kill that eagle sooner or later!"
Qi Xuan sat down beside him: "One eagle is nothing to fear. The most urgent thing is to figure out why the Crown Prince leaked the news. The Crown Prince doesn't want you to fail, so it must not have been him personally. Either one of his men was careless, or it was intentional. If it's the latter, you and the Crown Prince need to be on guard."
Han Ye clenched his fist and said, "A traitor has appeared beside the Crown Prince!"
Qi Xuan said, "This is very likely. You'd better have the Crown Prince investigate the people around him."
Han Ye said in a low voice, "I understand. Thank you, Master. Second Uncle is leaving. I'll have to work harder for you from now on."
Qi Xuan said, "I'm not suffering much. It's your Han family that's suffering. This matter won't end just because Han Yong confessed and was executed. Your third uncle has been dismissed from his post, and your cousin's newly acquired iron mine has been forced to be handed over. I heard that the Nangong family and the Mu family are both eyeing the Black Wind Riders. You'd better be careful."
Han Ye laughed self-deprecatingly: "How ridiculous. Yesterday, the Han family was still arguing about how to divide up the Nangong family's military power, and today the Han family's Black Wind Cavalry has become fish on the chopping block."
Qi Xuan glanced at him and said, "It hasn't gotten that bad yet, but if you make another mistake, things could get complicated."
...
The Imperial Palace.
The king finally learned about his baldness, and after severely reprimanding the head of the Han family and punishing the two sons of the Han family.
Everyone saw it, but no one dared to utter a sound.
After all, apart from the coachman and Zhang Dequan, they didn't know how the king had gone bald. Wasn't he a mad king? When he went mad, he would shave his own head. What was so strange about that?
The little princess was going to school and came to ask her uncle to take her, only to find that her uncle had turned into a monk.
She opened her innocent almond-shaped eyes wide, her little mouth agape for a long time: "Uncle, are you going to become a nun?"
The king was taken aback and said, "No, there isn't." The young princess then asked, "Then why is your hair—"
The king raised his hand and touched it, and his entire body cracked open!
The king's hair couldn't have been completely bald like a monk; he still had a few strands.
Three, no more.
The king was absolutely furious!
Thinking about the series of events that had happened to him tonight, he no longer believed that Shangguan Yan hadn't deliberately lured him out.
The Han family deserves to die, and Shangguan Yan, that wretched and wicked daughter, must not be tolerated!
The king ordered his men to take the young princess away, drew his sword from the rack, and roared, "Where is Shangguan Yanren? I'm going to kill her!"
Zhang Dequan said awkwardly, "Shangguan Yan hasn't returned since she left the palace..."
Can you reply?
The truth has come out, and you're furious. How can she not go out and avoid the situation?
In fact, the Crown Princess was quite mischievous when she was young. However, since all the sons of the Xuanyuan family were still alive at that time, she didn't target the King alone to cause trouble. Instead, everyone shared the burden of her mischief, making her seem less naughty.
Of course, this time it's not a matter of being naughty or not; the young lady really stepped on the lion's tail.
The king's anger will not subside anytime soon; it remains to be seen whether the crown princess can hide outside.
The king, trembling with rage, roared, "Find her for me! Dig three feet into the ground and find her!"
...
Gu Jiao hasn't been to school for a few days.
This morning, Gu Jiao removed Gu Yan's stitches. She had stitched them up so well that there was only a barely visible suture after the stitches were removed.
To prevent scar hyperplasia, Gu Jiao took out the most expensive scar cream from her first-aid kit.
It's strange, there's never been this kind of scar cream before.
"You can apply it in five more days." Gu Jiao handed the scar cream to Gu Yan. "Tell me immediately if you feel any discomfort in the next few days, and don't scratch the wound."
"Okay," Gu Yan replied. "You'd better hurry to school, or you'll be late."
"Okay." Gu Jiao called Gu Xiaoshun, and the two of them went to Tianqiong Academy together.
Gu Yan happily went to the backyard to brush Black Wind King's fur.
Gu Jiao and Gu Xiaoshun went to Mingxin Hall and Mingyue Hall respectively.
Everyone in Mingxin Hall knew that Gu Jiao had taken leave to accompany Gu Yan to the Imperial Preceptor's Hall for surgery. They didn't know that Gu Jiao was the surgeon and thought that the Imperial Preceptor was treating Gu Yan. They all felt that Gu Yan was very lucky.
Mu Qingchen didn't come.
Gu Jiao sat alone in the back row.
A crowd gathered around.
"How did the surgery go? Was it successful?" Zhou Tong asked from the front row.
"Yes, Liu Lang, how did Gu Yan's surgery go?" Zhong Ding asked anxiously.
Although Gu Yan never attended classes, he had been to the polo field, and quite a few people had seen him.
Since he was Xiao Liulang's friend, everyone was very concerned about his condition.
"Very successful." Gu Jiao nodded.
Everyone exchanged smiles, genuinely happy for Gu Yan.
Zhou Tong asked, "Then, he'll be able to come to class soon, right?"
"Yes." Gu Jiao nodded. "If it goes quickly, it will be in the latter half of the month; if it goes slowly, it will be next month."
"Hey, Liu Lang." Zhong Ding suddenly lowered his voice, glanced towards the door, and whispered, "Let's... go do something after school!"
"What is 'umm'?" Gu Jiao didn't understand.
The students had clearly already discussed it and were all in complete agreement; Zhong Ding was merely acting as a spokesperson.
Everyone was quite reserved, but Zhou Tong's ears turned red.
Gu Jiao thought for a moment: "Go to a brothel?"
Everyone choked!
Zhong Ding hurriedly waved his hands: "No, no, no! It's not like that... It's not a brothel... We are scholars... How can we go to places of ill repute so easily? We have to pass the imperial examinations first."
Oh, so it's not that I don't want to go, it's just that the time isn't right yet.
"I already told you not to go!" Zhou Tong backed down.
It is human nature to retreat when others advance and advance when others retreat.
Zhong Ding cleared his throat, mustered his courage, and said seriously, "We've already agreed, how can we not go? Besides, it's not a brothel, we're not going to seek out women, we're just going to listen to a play, what's wrong with that?"
Everyone touched their noses and scratched their ears, looking at Gu Jiao with a mixture of guilt and excitement.
If this were truly just for entertainment, Gu Jiao would twist Mu Chuan's head off.
Zhong Ding chuckled and said, "You know Tianxiang Pavilion, right? They recently put on a very exciting play, and we'd like to invite you to listen to it."
Oh, Tianxiang Pavilion.
Zhou Tong hurriedly said, "Don't corrupt Liu Lang."
Gu Jiao said, "Okay, let's all go together, you're treating."
The two spoke in unison, leaving Zhou Tong stunned.
Zhong Ding chuckled and said, "No problem, no problem! We'll treat you! It's settled then, no one leaves after school, let's go to the opera together!"
Tianxiang Pavilion's business is booming and its reputation is growing. It's packed with customers not only in the evenings but also during the day.
Xu Fengxian laughed so hard her eyes were almost closed. She sat in the second-floor room, cracking melon seeds and listening to the noisy sounds downstairs. She thought to herself, "I, Xu Fengxian, have finally met my match!"
Just as Xu Fengxian was beaming with joy, a staggering female figure arrived at the entrance of Tianxiang Pavilion.
She didn't come to Tianxiang Pavilion on purpose; she was just passing by.
But as she walked under the scorching sun, her strength gradually wore off, and finally, her vision went black, and she collapsed forward.
"ah--"
The girls soliciting customers at the entrance turned pale.
"Madam! Madam! Something terrible has happened! A woman has fainted at the door!"
Hearing the maid's call, Xu Fengxian put down the melon seeds in her hand, picked up her gorgeous dress, and went downstairs.
She arrived at the door, where the girls and maids had already surrounded her.
"Make way! Make way!"
Xu Fengxian pushed through the crowd and squatted down next to the woman.
The girls began to whisper among themselves.
"Is she dead?"
"Oh dear, her clothes are so tattered, was she beaten to death?"
"What should we do? If someone dies right at our doorstep, won't it affect our business?"
Xu Fengxian shouted sternly, "Shut up, all of you! Be quiet!"
Everyone fell silent instantly.
Just then, a soft, even snore sound rang out: "Whoosh~ Whoosh~ Whoosh~"
The woman was lying on the ground, fast asleep.
Xu Fengxian: "..."
Everyone: "..."
Crown Princess: I'm just taking a nap o(╯□╰)o
(End of this chapter)
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