Nan Yi sat slumped by the brazier, waiting for Li Yi to bring food. When the curtain outside was lifted, she smiled, thinking it was Li Yi. But upon closer inspection, she saw that Fourth Uncle had a cold face. He grabbed her from the ground and dragged her outside.
She pulled her hand away, staring at Yinzhen's profile. "Hey, what have I done to offend you again? Where are you taking me?"
Yinzhen kept walking. "Come with me first, we'll talk when we get there. But you need to be prepared."
Nan Yi was completely confused and looked puzzled. "What preparations? Why should I be mentally prepared?"
"I don't know how to tell you this, but you'll understand when we get there." Yinzhen sighed inwardly. All twenty-three members of his family had perished.
He was even somewhat afraid to face the Tong family. Speaking of Du, he also bore responsibility for this matter. He had not managed his household properly, which had implicated the Tong family. If the Tong family had not left the capital, they would not have been slaughtered by the bandits.
Yinzhen's mind was a bit confused.
The massacre of the Tong family is shrouded in mystery and the whole affair is too suspicious. If Quanfu hadn't returned home to report the news, he wouldn't have believed it.
The Tong family has already been demoted to commoners, and their fate has been miserable enough. They pose no threat whatsoever. Who would hate the Tong family so much that they wouldn't even let them go after they've become commoners?
The first person he suspected was Xu Huaiyu, the leader of the assassins who had not yet been captured.
This person knows the Tong family. His assassination attempt on him and his eighth and ninth brothers failed. In his anger, will he target the Tong family members, after all, they are just ordinary people?
If that's truly the case, then we'll also be burdened by him.
Yinzhen dragged Nan Yi through the mansion. The fact that the master, who was clearly in the other courtyard, suddenly appeared in the mansion startled not only the servants but also Nala and Nian.
Although the Emperor had not publicly announced Tong's disappearance, Nala and Nian knew it all along. Now, she was right under their noses, and they were completely unaware.
Ms. Nian locked herself in her bedroom, so angry she almost ground her teeth to powder.
The people sent out searched the capital thoroughly, but they couldn't find Madam Tong. She had been hiding in the mansion without a word from the master, keeping it a secret from everyone.
And she was even smug about it.
Tong tricked them; what was she planning to do?
Thinking of the people her brother had sent, Lady Nian suddenly stood up and hurriedly called to the maid outside the door, "Yuexiang, come in."
When Yuexiang entered the room, Madam Nian ordered her to go to the Nian residence immediately, inform her brother to stop, and recall everyone.
Yinzhen rode his horse with Nan Yi towards Tongzhou at high speed. No matter how much Nan Yi pressed him for answers, Yinzhen was determined not to speak.
"Would it kill you to reveal it? You're driving me crazy!" Nan Yi turned her head and glared fiercely at Fourth Master, whose mouth was as hard as a saw.
Normally, upon hearing Nan Yi use words like "death" and "life," he would have reprimanded him. However, this time, Yinzhen's expression and behavior were unusually abnormal.
He refused to reveal a single word, leaving Nan Yi feeling uncertain and agitated.
Yinzhen stared intently ahead, his dark eyes fixed on the distance, pondering how to appease Lady Tong.
With the Tong family gone, and given Yi'er's personality, the Nian family, who indirectly caused the Tong family's demise, will likely not let things go well.
However, the Nian family was no ordinary help to him. He had high hopes for Liang Gong, who was a man of great vision and talent.
His father, Nian Xialing, was highly regarded by the Emperor, and by extension, the Emperor had high expectations for Nian Gengyao, who did not disappoint his father.
Nian Gengyao doted on his younger sister, and he knew this better than anyone else, but he absolutely could not tolerate her meddling in his affairs.
He needs time.
He pulled the person in front of him closer and spoke softly, with a hint of promise, "Yi'er, you have to believe me."
Nan Yi scoffed, "I don't believe it."
She uttered those two words with a firm and resonant voice.
Nan Yi believed in Xiao Xi, A Tang, and Zheng Yong, but he didn't believe in the Fourth Master. As the future emperor of the Qing Dynasty, power was always the most important thing to him.
He always tried to get her to trust him, but the things this guy did... well, let's just say, "I couldn't trust him before, and I don't dare to have any hope for him in the future."
Upon hearing this, Yinzhen felt a heavy jolt in his heart, and sighed rather awkwardly, "Is my lord really that unworthy of being appointed prime minister?"
"What do you think?" Nan Yi retorted sarcastically. She had no idea what she had done; in her opinion, her misdeeds were too numerous to recount.
Yinzhen closed his eyes briefly, suppressing his reluctance, and said in a cool and aloof tone, "If that's the case, then I'll have to endure this injustice once more."
Nan Yi's heart skipped a beat, and an indescribable grief surged forth like a torrent. What was wrong with her? Why was she so heartbroken?
She had long seen through the Fourth Master's ruthlessness, so what was there to expect? Pshaw, wasting her youth and tears on a man's heartlessness.
"Is the master revealing something to me?"
"Whatever you think is true."
Nan Yi fell silent, filled with regret. Every time she left, she knew she didn't have to come back, but her legs seemed to have a mind of their own, uncontrollably drawing her closer to this man.
What was her reason?
He suffered the consequences.
They haven't suffered enough hardship or endured enough injustice.
What a great opportunity! He could have just died out there. The Fourth Master would have blamed Xu Huaiyu. Nan Yi regretted it so much that he beat his chest and stamped his feet, having given up a once-in-a-lifetime opportunity.
Xiao realized she had missed a good opportunity. On the way back, Nan Yi looked dejected and didn't say a word.
Until they arrived at the village in Tongzhou.
The Tong family hadn't been living here for long, and Nan only knew that this estate was part of her dowry. It was the largest estate in her dowry, just right for the dozens of people in the Tong family.
After the Tong family settled down, she had Xiao Shunzi acquire some more land, bringing the total area of the estate and farmland in Tongzhou to nearly a thousand acres.
It was the dead of winter, the fields were empty, and apart from a few tenant farmers, there were not many villages nearby.
There were few pedestrians on the road leading to the village, but with Quanfu leading the way, they arrived at the village without incident.
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