The Iris Company had trusted confidants in Yuhang. They approached Yuyao and Yu Yan and informed them of the Iris Company's powerful tool.
At first, both of them thought that Yuanxing was Yuhang's way of making money. Yu Yan scoffed at this, as she loathed Yuhang and everything about it. Naturally, she disliked Yuanxing and didn't want to know how it made money.
In contrast, Yu Yao was extremely fond of power, especially money, and remained completely unmoved by Yu Hang's alleged treason.
Seeing this, Yu Hang's confidant secretly handed the kite to Yu Yao and told him the details. Yu Yao was not yet twenty and was afraid of such dark matters, but the continuous flow of gold and silver, along with the assistance from various forces, made him suppress his fear and accept the kite.
"I only found out later that Yuyao had secretly taken over Yuanxing. I was furious at the time. How clean could the way Yuhang made money be, given his despicable character? But Yuyao told me that he had thoroughly investigated Yuanxing to ensure that its money-making methods were legitimate and clean. I also went to Yuanxing and saw that it was indeed as he said, so I trusted him. It wasn't until that incident a week ago, after I thoroughly investigated, that I discovered the true situation of Yuanxing."
Chen Xiao: ...That's hard to say.
Putting aside the fact that this kite-making tradition seems to have been passed down through generations and hasn't been discovered by Chu Qiaoling and Chu Yanxi yet, that's already quite strange. Furthermore, Yu Yan has an excellent reputation; everyone says she's extremely intelligent and a shrewd businesswoman. How could she have been so easily fooled by Yu Yao?
She was somewhat skeptical, but there was no point in Yu Yan deceiving them. Besides, Yu Yan had come to her—no, to Xu Qian—to confess this matter, so why bother making up lies for them?
Could there be someone behind this?
Just as Chen Xiao was lost in thought, he heard Xu Ruyu suddenly ask Yu Yan, "Then what about Miss Yu's affair with men?"
Chen Xiao then came to his senses and looked at Yu Yan along with everyone else.
Yu Yan was taken aback. After a long while, she slowly replied, "This was originally my private matter and had nothing to do with Yuanxing. But I know that my actions were inappropriate. Since His Majesty wants to know, it is fine to tell you."
At that time, Yu Yan had been of marriageable age for a long time but was still unmarried. Her mother in Yu Hang was old and worried, so she selected many excellent men for Yu Yan, but none of them pleased her.
She didn't find someone she liked until she was twenty years old.
She was a very special woman, a businesswoman. The two hit it off and quickly became friends.
Yu Yan fell hopelessly in love with this woman, but just as she bravely confessed her feelings, the woman said that she already had a fiancé and would be getting married soon. Yu Yan offered her blessings with disappointment, unaware of the reluctance in the woman's eyes.
After the woman got married, Yu Yan started doing business and became a businesswoman. She traveled all over the country and rarely returned to her hometown, which was the beginning of her regret.
When she returned to her hometown, she discovered that the woman had already passed away.
After a thorough investigation, it was discovered that the woman was very unhappy after marriage. Her husband often treated her violently, which caused the death of her unborn child. She also became increasingly thin and died of illness not long after Yu Yan left the capital.
Her husband is still doing well, spending his days in brothels and having many beautiful concubines.
"So you avenged that woman by toying with her husband?" Chen Xiao asked.
This was the first time Yu Yan had brought up the matter in front of outsiders. Thinking of her beloved and that hateful man again, her emotions were somewhat turbulent. When she mentioned this man, her tone still carried a hint of hatred: "That's right, he treated A-Lian like that, he deserves to go to the eighteenth level of hell. I will not let him die easily."
The man was initially attracted to her and then fell into her clutches. After learning her purpose, he knew he couldn't escape her grasp, so he told her the truth about the woman's death in an attempt to provoke her.
He tortured the woman to death with his own hands, resulting in the deaths of both mother and unborn child!
He even skinned her, chopped up her flesh and fed it to the dogs, and used the skin to make a drum. Whenever he beat the drum, it was as if he could hear a mournful human voice!
At this point, Yu Yan couldn't help but shed tears.
Upon hearing this, everyone's emotions were quite complex. After a brief silence, Yu Yan's mood gradually improved.
She first focused her gaze on Xu Qian's face, then paused before turning her gaze to Xu Ruyu, who had asked the question, "How did you know?"
Xu Ruyu looked at Yu Yan and Xu Qian, making no attempt to hide anything, and said directly, "I suspected that Father was connected to you, so I went to investigate privately and unexpectedly stumbled upon you burying a man in the ground. Only the man's head was sticking out. You..."
Upon hearing this, Yu Yan nodded in understanding and interrupted Xu Ruyu, completing what he hadn't finished saying: "I used a knife to cut a cross on the man's head, then pulled open his scalp and poured mercury down. He then writhed in pain, and unable to break free, his body gradually emerged from the opening on his head, leaving only his skin in the ground... You were only ten years old at the time? I apologize for accidentally offending your eyes."
...
Seeing Yu Yan calmly recount the detailed process, Xu Ruyan and Yuan Yin, who had never seen the world, were no longer calm and were speechless.
Xu Qian, after all, was of a certain age and official rank, and had seen all sorts of horrific methods. He accepted the story relatively well, but sighed slightly. If he had noticed Yu Yan's strange behavior in time, Yu Yan might not have had to bear the hatred alone for so many years.
Xu Ruyu, as a firsthand witness, recalled the bloody human skin and smooth male corpse that haunted his nightmares when he was thirteen. Now, hearing the firsthand account from the person involved and gaining a different perspective, he felt only regret for the woman.
This was the first time Chen Xiao had met a 'murderer' in real life, hearing him recount the crime right before her eyes. She had only ever seen such stories on her phone or in books before, and it sent a chill down her spine. But seeing Yu Yan's oblivious expression, she didn't know what to say.
Yu Yan didn't care what they thought at all. She took out several letters from her sleeve and handed them to Chen Xiao. "This letter is evidence of Yu Yao and the others' involvement in the Kite Squad. This letter is a map showing the Kite Squad's distribution in various places and its loopholes. As for the last letter, it is my last letter. I hope Your Majesty will give it to Yu Yao after my death... He is my last relative in this world."
After handing over the important items, Yu Yan remembered her original purpose. Looking at Xu Qian, she smiled, a rare occurrence for her: "Lord Xu, it's been many years. You're still as impressive as ever. I originally intended to tell you all these things and then end my own life, but I didn't expect to run into His Majesty... Well, it's all going to be known by His Majesty eventually anyway. It's just a pity that we haven't had a proper chat since we last met, and I apologize for not seeing you back then."
After Yu Yan finished speaking, she pulled out a dagger from her clothes and pointed the blade at Chen Xiao. Xu Ruyu reacted quickly and stood in front of Chen Xiao.
At the same time, Yu Yan turned the blade to herself, and the sharp dagger slashed across her neck. Blood flowed out steadily, and she collapsed into a pool of blood, trembling as she said, "...There's one more thing...I'm sorry...I dirtied...your carriage...I'm so sorry..."
Before she could finish speaking, she fell completely silent.
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