novelraw Chapter 373
Chapter 373
Only the two of them remained in the tent.
Amidst the crackling candlelight, Yan Zheng grasped her hand and said, "Ayan, I don't want to hide it from you. There are also people from Western Frontier around Yun Zihao."
Chu Ruoyan's heart gave a violent leap. "Western Frontier?"
That was the place that taught Meng Ji the art of puppetry and caused the Noble Consort Dowager's face to rot and fester. Just thinking about it made her scalp prickle.
A thought instantly flashed through her mind. "Are you saying my eldest brother... Yun Zhao, he was also likely controlled by some secret art from Western Frontier?"
Remembering his dull, vacant expression at the time, wasn't it exactly the same as Yan Zhao's condition before?
Yan Zheng nodded.
The young lady immediately sat up. "Then my second brother, isn't he in danger?"
"Ayan!" Yan Zheng instantly steadied her shoulders. "If something had happened to your second brother, with so many people in the Bai Xiao Pavilion, news would have surely reached us. Besides, though he is impulsive, his martial arts skills are still present, not inferior to Shadow's. Please, set your mind at ease!"
Chu Ruoyan let out a heavy sigh. "That fiend Yun Zihao is truly formidable! He managed to draw away the people around me one by one before capturing me, and he even enlisted someone from Western Frontier to control my eldest brother..."
"Not only that. Do you remember Imperial Son-in-law Cao?"
Chu Ruoyan was taken aback. "You mean Cao Dong, the second son of the Cao family?"
Yan Zheng gave an affirmative hum. "That time he captured Wen Jing and took him to Cuiping Mountain, and you and Yun Lang went to rescue him. Didn't he use news of your eldest brother to threaten Yun Lang into standing by? That information was provided by Yun Zihao to An Sheng, who then told Cao Dong."
Chu Ruoyan's heart clenched in shock. "That early?"
Yan Zheng was silent for a moment, a self-mocking smile tugging at his lips. "Perhaps even earlier... Ajiao was probably also sent to the Marquis of Pingjing by Yun Zihao."
Ajiao... It had been so long since that name was mentioned. Chu Ruoyan was stunned for a moment before she remembered, and then exclaimed in a hushed voice, "What?"
Yan Zheng rubbed his temples wearily. "Back then in the Fengtian Hall, the Marquis of Pingjing claimed that Ajiao had come to him offering to help him succeed. At the time, we all thought it was an excuse to shift blame. But later investigations revealed that she did indeed seek him out on her own..."
Chu Ruoyan murmured, "No wonder her confession came so easily with just a few words. If she was Yun Zihao's person, then everything makes sense. Whether it was destroying the Yan family to rob the Emperor of his right-hand man, or exposing the Marquis of Pingjing and implicating the Eldest Princess, both would severely damage the royal family's prestige. So, he was the one pulling the strings behind it all..."
She paused here involuntarily.
The Marquis of Pingjing, the Eldest Princess, and now Yun Zihao.
A net spread from heaven to earth, leaving the Yan family with no escape!
The man's profile looked extremely stern in the candlelight. A pang of heartache struck Chu Ruoyan, and she reached out to embrace him. "Yan Zheng, it's all in the past now."
The man nodded, his voice hoarse. "Ayan, it's been so long, I didn't want to bring it up again, but—"
"I know, I understand everything." Chu Ruoyan covered his lips. "You're telling me this only because Yun Zihao is my cousin. He caused the Crown Prince's death, and you will never let him go. That's why you're explaining it to me beforehand... I understand."
Yan Zheng gazed at her intently, as if waiting for a verdict.
Chu Ruoyan couldn't help but laugh softly. "What on earth are you thinking? He has tried to harm my second brother several times and turned my eldest brother into that state. Do you think I would let him go?"
The boulder pressing on his heart vanished, and Yan Zheng finally let out a sigh of relief.
But the next moment, the woman looked at him solemnly. "But Yan Zheng, there's something I need to ask you. Think carefully before you answer."
Yan Zheng was slightly taken aback, then heard her say, word by deliberate word, "Are you hiding something from me?"
The tent fell deathly silent.
As if the very air had frozen solid.
Yan Zheng instinctively opened his mouth to speak, but she pressed a finger to his lips. "Think clearly before you speak. I won't ask again after this."
This was the only chance. The man who had always remained unflappable even with Mount Tai collapsing before him felt nervous for the first time.
He hadn't expected her to guess so quickly...
Was it because of the move against the Pei family? But he wasn't the only one who could act against the Pei family. Why did she guess it was him so quickly?
Yan Zheng's throat worked several times before he finally let out a bitter laugh. "Ayan, I've said more than once how perceptive you are, but I never imagined to this extent. Yes, as you suspect, I will rebel."
He used the word "will," a definitive statement.
Hearing him say it out loud, Chu Ruoyan's heart settled instead. "So it's true. The Pei family was your doing."
Yan Zheng admitted it. "Correct. The Pei clan of Yuzhou produced the legitimate Empress, who has a prince capable of succeeding to the throne. Why would they rebel? I hesitated earlier, wondering if it would be better to start from Kaifeng, since the Yellow River floods are severe and public resentment there is more intense. But before I could consider it further, news arrived from the capital that your father was to be executed. That's when I knew there was no choice. I had to start with the Pei family, to stir discord between the Emperor and the Empress!"
Having said it, his reservations melted away.
Yan Zheng looked at her and continued, "Ayan, I am not an ambitious man. But I am a man. At the very least, I must have the means to protect you and our child! This expedition, while it repelled the Southern Barbarians, also showed me how the people suffer unbearably due to heavy taxes from years of warfare. The Emperor, who craves grandeur and achievement, is no benevolent ruler. I originally thought of supporting the Prince of Qin, but..."
Here, he gave another bitter laugh.
Chu Ruoyan understood his meaning and pressed her own temple. "Never mind that the Prince of Qin hasn't woken up yet. Even if he does, he would rather die than usurp his elder brother's throne."
Yan Zheng sighed softly. "Indeed. The Emperor's suspicion grows heavier by the day, and my options grow fewer. So, before returning to the capital this time, I had already sent Old Xu to Yuzhou, asking him to coordinate and take action there."
That was why news of the Pei clan's rebellion arrived at such a critical juncture.
That was also why it stirred the Emperor's suspicion, throwing the capital into chaos...
Chu Ruoyan pressed her lips together tightly, not making a sound.
In her dream, this was the very path of carnage Yan Zheng had taken.
Now, after all these twists and turns, was he destined to walk the same road again?
Yet, raising her eyes, she saw her own reflection in his pitch-black eyes.
No, it's different.
This time, she was by his side. He would definitely not tread the same old path as his previous life!
She raised her hand to caress his face. "Yan Zheng, no matter what you do, I will be by your side."
These words were more beautiful than heavenly music.
Yan Zheng had been anxious and conflicted for so long. After all, she was taught by that loyal minister, Chu Huaishan. After all, her heart was so kind, unwilling to see the people suffer. So when he spoke, he had prepared himself for her scolding and condemnation.
But instead, there was none of that. She only said she would be by his side.
Through mountains of blades and seas of fire, she would accompany him.
"Ayan! Ayan!" Yan Zheng could hardly contain his joy. He picked her up and spun her around.
Chu Ruoyan gasped in surprise. After being spun around several times, he set her down. She was just about to speak when her father's weary, aged voice came from outside the tent. "Chief Councillor, might this old man have a word with you in private?"