Chapter 43 Transactions and Old Man...
After resting for a night, Yan Yize came to a dilapidated alley. Some houses in the alley had collapsed, leaving only a pile of ruins, which were already overgrown with weeds.
Even the houses that didn't collapse weren't in much better shape; the walls were already mottled, and the corners were covered with a layer of green moss.
Standing at the entrance of the alley, the smell of decay hit him, but Yan Yize stood against the wind without even frowning.
She turned around, her gaze falling on the unfamiliar woman standing behind Hui Xue. Her voice was calm, without a trace of emotion, "Lead the way."
An unfamiliar woman stepped forward, bowed respectfully, and replied, "Yes, Your Highness."
The group walked deeper into the alley, passing over mounds of earth, and finally stopped in front of a rather dilapidated house. The woman leading the group looked at Yan Yize and waited respectfully for her next instructions.
Yan Yize surveyed her surroundings. The weeds in the corners were as tall as a person, and their dilapidated state was self-evident. She couldn't help but frown. The Dingbei Marquis's mansion, a family full of heroes, had ended up like this. How could one not sigh?
"Cough cough~"
The coughing coming from inside the earthen house interrupted Yan Yize's reverie. She turned her head, composed herself, looked at the unfamiliar woman, and gestured for her to knock on the door.
The woman, receiving her signal, stepped forward and tapped her knuckles on the drafty wooden door.
The coughing inside intensified, and a rather childish voice could be faintly heard crying, followed by a comforting voice from an older person. The woman went forward and knocked on the door again.
This time, the person inside heard it. The coughing became suppressed, and a hurried footstep ran towards the door. Not long after, the faded door was opened from the inside, revealing a pair of timid eyes, filled with wariness, and a voice that couldn't hide the fear, "Who...who is it?"
The woman who knocked on the door was about to speak when a hand landed on her shoulder. She turned around and saw that it was His Highness. She swallowed the words she was about to say and took a step back to give him her place.
Yan Yize stepped forward, met those timid eyes, softened his aggression, and smiled gently, "Young master, I mean no harm. May I come in and have a chat?"
Li Huai'an hid behind the door, terrified. Yan Yize's appearance brightened his eyes, and he unconsciously slowed his breathing, staring blankly at her, forgetting even his fear.
This was the first time in Li Huai'an's life that he had seen someone so beautiful. The moment their eyes met, his heart trembled and his face flushed uncontrollably. His grandfather had always warned him to be careful around strangers, but the person in front of him was so beautiful that she couldn't possibly be a bad person.
After a moment's thought, he tightened his grip on the door, widening the gap that had been barely open. Li Huai'an took a step back, secretly glancing at her. His heart started racing again. He blinked shyly and stammered, "Come...come in."
Thank you.
The room was even simpler than Yan Yize had imagined. She glanced at it quickly and then looked away without interest, focusing on the person in front of her who was bowing his head and seemed quite reserved.
Yan Yize felt a moment of dizziness and involuntarily thought of Shang Xu. Shang Xu seemed just as reserved in front of her. He had been away from the manor for many days. She wondered if he was doing well on his own in the manor.
She quickly snapped out of her reverie and her gaze returned to the person in front of her. Li Huai'an's features bore a resemblance to General Li, which was enough to prove that she had not mistaken him for someone else.
However, Yan Yize frowned. According to the timeline, when the Dingbei Marquis's mansion was in trouble, he was still just an infant. So it seemed that the evidence was not on him.
Yan Yize glanced at him and then looked into a darker part of the room. The coughing had subsided a lot, but it still hadn't stopped. It was intermittent and laborious, making one think of an old man in his twilight years.
"Huai'an, who is it?" Accompanied by a weathered voice, an old man with a hunched back slowly emerged from the darkness.
The old man covered his coughing mouth, his steps faltering. His cloudy eyes, when they caught sight of Yan Yize's magnificent robes, flashed a look of panic and sorrow. In the end, he couldn't escape it after all?
The old man stared at Yan Yize with his cloudy eyes for two seconds, then looked past her and at Li Huai'an with heartbreaking grief. Heaven was blind; the Li family, full of heroes, had ended up being accused of treason.
Now, even the last bloodline of the Li family cannot be preserved. Tears streamed down the old man's cloudy eyes. He felt ashamed of the Li family and of the General and the Lord who saved his life.
After witnessing this, Yan Yize raised an eyebrow knowingly. Clearly, the old man had guessed her intentions wrong, but she did not intend to explain. She stepped forward and said with a smile, "Old man, my surname is Yan. I would like to make a deal with you."
Upon hearing the word "Yan," the old man's hunched body trembled. Yan was the imperial surname. It seemed that Heaven truly intended to destroy the Li family. His cloudy eyes glanced at Li Huai'an with reluctance, and in an instant, his hunched body bent even more, and the deathly aura in his eyes intensified. So be it, as long as Huai'an is alive, that's enough.
When he gets to the underworld, he will definitely go and apologize in person.
The old man was silent for a moment, then nodded with a deathly pale face, "Alright."
He looked at Li Huai'an again, and called out with guilt and reluctance, "Huai'an..."
Previously, he felt sorry for Huai'an because he was still young and didn't want him to bear too much burden at such a young age, so he never revealed his background to him. Now, he didn't know whether this was a good thing or a bad thing.
Even though Li Huai'an was unwilling, he was led out of the house by Hui Xue and the strange woman. In an instant, only Yan Yize and the old man remained in the drafty room.
Yan Yize glanced at the slightly ajar door and calmly stated his deal.
...
The conversation between the two was brief. When Yan Yize finished talking with the old man, the old man's eyes were moist, filled with the excitement of avenging a great enemy. Heaven still had pity on the Li family, and when he was about to die, it sent him the opportunity to overturn the case for the Li family.
The old man looked at Yan Yize with tears in his eyes, then suddenly knelt down. "Thank you, Your Highness. I have no way to repay Your Highness's great kindness. If there is an afterlife, I will serve you like an ox or a horse to repay your kindness."
Yan Yize paused in his steps as he walked out, but did not turn around. He replied lightly, "It's just a transaction."
The old woman's tearful eyes instantly burst into tears. Even though it was a transaction, the choice was hers. She could have chosen not to do it, but she did it anyway.
Only after she was out of sight did the old man get up from the ground, wipe the tears from his face, and make up his mind. He was seriously ill and didn't have much time left, so it was time to tell Huai'an the truth.
After that, he stopped accompanying Huai'an.
"Huai'an, come in, I have something very important to tell you."
Li Huai'an obediently approached and grasped his withered hand, "Grandpa..."
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