Chapter 125 Feigned Surrender
"What do you mean by that?" Su Wenxuan looked at Jiang Hai, full of confusion. "As far as I know, you seem to have known my second brother for a long time..."
“Indeed.” Hearing Su Wenxuan say this, Jiang Hai nodded, then seemed to fall into deep thought. He looked at Su Wenxuan and slowly recalled, “Speaking of which, when I met the Second Prince, the Second Prince… was just a child.”
As he spoke, Jiang Hai shook his head. "I remember back then, there was a famine in my hometown, and I fled to Duyang. At that time, the Second Prince was being enfeoffed as the Prince of Jin and went to the Prince of Jin's residence in Duyang City."
At this point, Jiang Hai's expression turned somewhat unpleasant, as if he were recalling those difficult days. After a long while, he looked at Su Wenxuan and said, "I remember that day, it was snowing heavily. I was exhausted and cold, and I collapsed by the roadside. Just then, the Second Prince's carriage passed by. Perhaps he took pity on me." As he spoke, Jiang Hai sighed, "I saw his carriage stop, and then he had his servant give me a bag of silver."
“So that’s how it is…” Su Wenxuan frowned and looked at Jiang Hai.
“That’s right.” Jiang Hai nodded, then gave Su Wenlan a pale smile. “If it weren’t for that bag of silver, Jiang Hai would be dead long ago.”
“Young Master Jiang in his youth…” Su Wenxuan shook his head, his face full of regret, “was truly pitiful.”
“Those difficult days, I still managed to get through them.” Jiang Hai smiled, looked at Su Wenxuan, and then said, “With that bag of silver, I survived. Later, I met my master. When I saw the Second Prince again, it was five or six years later.” As he spoke, Jiang Hai pursed his lips. “At that time, I realized that the Second Prince was having an exceptionally hard time, so I made up my mind to protect him.”
“My second brother’s background is indeed tragic.” As he spoke, Su Wenlan sighed, seemingly saddened. He looked at Jiang Hai, and as if he had thought of something, he frowned. “If that’s the case, then you and my second brother should be very close friends, like brothers who would risk their lives for each other. How come you can’t even be considered confidants?”
“That was before.” Jiang Hai looked at Su Wenlan and smiled bitterly. “When the Second Prince had not recovered, he and I were like brothers. But after that day when we came back from the bottom of the cliff, he was like a different person.”
"What do you mean?" Su Wenxuan was taken aback, looking at Jiang Hai as if he didn't quite understand his words. "I think... there's no difference..."
“The Second Prince has changed.” Jiang Hai shook his head. He looked at Su Wenxuan, as if he had been thinking deeply for a long time, before he spoke: “His thoughts are much more complicated than before, probably because the Princess Consort treats him very well. Others may not know, but I can see it in my heart. He cherishes the Princess Consort very much.”
“Young Master Jiang, what are you saying?” Su Wenxuan smiled, then shook his head helplessly. “Since they are husband and wife, that’s only natural.”
“No.” Jiang Hai shook his head, looked at Su Wenxuan with a determined look in his eyes, and said, “It’s not the same as before, Your Highness, you don’t know…” As he spoke, he looked around and then looked at Su Wenxuan, saying with unusual caution, “The Second Prince seems to want to keep the Princess Consort in his grasp. The feeling he gives me is that if he doesn’t have the Princess Consort, he can’t live.”
"How could that be?" Hearing this, Su Wenlan smiled awkwardly, seemingly not believing Jiang Hai's words. "My second brother couldn't possibly be so irrational..."
"Didn't the Crown Prince see what just happened?" Jiang Hai frowned and looked at Su Wenxuan in a deep voice, "If the Second Prince hadn't been in a hurry to find the Princess Consort, and if you, Crown Prince, hadn't pleaded for me, I would probably have been executed just now."
“This…” Su Wenzhen lowered his eyes, recalling Su Wenzhen’s reaction just now, which seemed to be just as Jiang Hai had said. He looked up at Jiang Hai and frowned, “Then, what is the meaning of what Young Master Jiang said to me?”
"It meant nothing." Jiang Hai looked at Su Wenlan, his eyes flickering. He took a step back, then knelt down in fear. "Please forgive me, Your Highness!"
Caught off guard by Jiang Hai's sudden action, Su Wenlan was startled. He paused, looking at Jiang Hai with a puzzled expression, "You..."
"I misspoke just now! I... I only said those things because of the Crown Prince's kind heart! I hope the Crown Prince will not... will not..." As he spoke, Jiang Hai's body trembled.
"Young Master Jiang, please get up quickly." Seeing this, Su Wenxuan hurriedly stepped forward to help him up. "What are you saying? What did you just say? I didn't hear anything!"
“Your Highness…” Jiang Hai bit his lip, looked up at Su Wenyi, as if he had made up his mind, “Perhaps Your Highness doesn’t believe me now, but…” As he spoke, Jiang Hai’s eyes suddenly darkened, “I wholeheartedly want to accompany a wise leader in his grand scheme, but the Second Prince only thinks of that Princess Consort. Although she saved my life, I believe that I have repaid her kindness over the years, and now…”
Jiang Hai sighed, looking at Su Wenxuan with burning eyes, "Now the Second Prince no longer treats his subordinates as his own people, I wonder if the Crown Prince..." As he spoke, Jiang Hai knelt down with a "thump", "I am willing to go through fire and water for the Crown Prince!"
“This…” Su Wenxuan frowned, looking at Jiang Hai, seemingly somewhat troubled.
"Your Highness, what is this..." Jiang Hai looked up at Su Wenxuan and saw the troubled look on his face. Then, he closed his eyes in disappointment. "So be it. All my skills have been wasted. In the end, I have no wise ruler to follow. In the end, it is all my fate."
With that, Jiang Hai laughed twice, his voice lonely and desolate. He looked at Su Wenxuan and shook his head. "I am grateful to the Crown Prince for being so kind as to be my confidant. But this prison is an unlucky place. Your Highness, you should not linger here!"
Seeing that Jiang Hai's words implied that he was seeing the guest out, Su Wenlan stiffened. He looked up at Jiang Hai, paused for a moment, and then said, "Young Master Jiang, it's too early to say that. You are still in your prime, how can you waste your skills?"
As soon as Su Wenzhen came out of the Ministry of Justice prison, he saw Su Wenyan waiting for him outside the door.
"Second Brother."
Su Wenzhen nodded, his brows still furrowed. He gave Su Wenyan a look, and the two of them got into the carriage. After a moment of silence, Su Wenzhen looked at Su Wenyan beside him and asked, "How's the investigation going?"
“That incense is indeed from the Qiang Kingdom.” Su Wenyan frowned, looking at Su Wenzhen for a long while before finally speaking, “Second Brother, could it really be…”
“Impossible.” Su Wenzhen closed his eyes and leaned against the side to rest. “Su Wenliang should be thinking about escaping right now. Besides, he shouldn’t even be in the Qiang Kingdom yet. The assassin’s arrival was strange and premeditated. It couldn’t have been someone he sent.”
“If that’s really the case…” Su Wenyan bit his lip. He already had a hunch. He looked at Su Wenzhen with unease, “Then what about my sister-in-law…”
“Don’t worry.” Su Wenzhen suddenly opened her eyes and looked at Su Wenyan. “They won’t do anything to her.”
"How do you know..." Su Wenyan pursed her lips, looked at Su Wenzhen, and muttered softly, "I would rather it was Third Brother, at least his kidnapping of the Empress Dowager wouldn't harm her."
“They’re after me.” Su Wenzhen smiled and then said, “They know that if they hurt Wan Ning even a little, I will never let them get away with it.”
“But…” Su Wenyan frowned, still somewhat uneasy in his eyes, “I really don’t understand, why did you accept the Crown Prince’s wine yesterday, deliberately get yourself drunk, and today… and even get Jiang Hai to surrender…”
"Nothing ventured, nothing gained." Su Wenzhen suddenly laughed, a strange smile curving his lips...
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