Chapter 730 - 731: Who Planted It?
Chapter 730: Chapter 731: Who Planted It?
The "family banquet" didn’t end until late into the night.
During the meal, Princess Qingyang, with her worries resolved, drank to her heart’s content. King Yan Nan and Ye Yunfeng, however, had to return to the military barracks, so they didn’t touch a single drop of alcohol.
Nevertheless, the atmosphere was warm and joyful, and everyone left in high spirits.
Ye Chutang had intended to send an escort with them, but King Yan Nan politely declined.
"We’ll take Yue’er back to her residence first, then head straight back to the barracks," King Yan Nan said. "We’ve already caused you enough trouble today."
Ye Chutang understood his unspoken meaning.
At this very moment, countless eyes were watching them, both in the open and from the shadows.
The news that King Yan Nan had visited the Ye Family with his daughter, stayed for a long time, and only left in the middle of the night would likely spread like wildfire before morning.
If Ye Chutang’s people were seen accompanying them, it would surely give rise to even more speculation.
Ye Chutang, however, didn’t seem to mind. She gave a casual smile. "My friendship with Princess Qingyang is already common knowledge in the capital. And King Yan Nan has shown great kindness in mentoring A Feng. My family can never fully repay you, so what’s the big deal about a single banquet?"
King Yan Nan was taken aback for a moment, then burst into laughter. "Well said!" he boomed.
Their two families were already on good terms. If someone with ill intentions wanted to make trouble, this one dinner wouldn’t make a difference.
Better to be open about it than to be secretive and evasive!
King Yan Nan felt both ashamed and impressed, his gaze toward Ye Chutang filled with even greater admiration.
’It was I who was shortsighted. Though Ye Chutang is a woman, her breadth of mind and spirit far surpasses that of countless men!’
Perhaps because the poisonous insect in his body had been cleared out by Ye Chutang, King Yan Nan felt a sense of ease throughout his entire being.
He collected himself and smiled. "Well, we’ll take our leave then. I had originally planned to take Yue’er to the palace tomorrow, but she’s quite drunk, so we’d best not. A Feng didn’t drink, so he can come along."
Ye Chutang understood immediately.
Tomorrow, when the Southern Hu people arrived, there would inevitably be a great deal of trouble.
King Yan Nan was planning to have a good, long talk with them.
And in this matter, A Feng was in an extremely unique and crucial position.
So, whether he wanted to or not, he was bound to be dragged into this mess.
Ye Chutang curtsied and said earnestly,
"A Feng is young and still naive. I can only rely on you to guide him."
King Yan Nan made a gesture to help her up, not accepting her formal bow.
"Second Miss Ye, you’re too kind. A Feng is my subordinate. He is also a valiant warrior who won the highest merit. It is my duty to protect him."
Ye Chutang’s heart settled with relief.
"Then... thank you very much."
...
After seeing King Yan Nan and the others off, Ye Chutang returned to her room with Xiao Wu.
The moment they stepped inside, Xiao Wu ran around to face Ye Chutang, tugging on her hand and looking up at her with pleading eyes.
’Big Sister, will Fourth Brother get bullied tomorrow?’
Although she was young and didn’t understand many things, she had heard every word of the conversation between her sister and King Yan Nan.
Ye Chutang tapped her on the nose and teased with a light chuckle,
"Nothing gets past you, does it? But don’t worry too much. Besides your Fourth Brother, many others will be going to the palace tomorrow. Even if someone targets him, it won’t be a problem."
After hearing this, Xiao Wu’s little brow furrowed.
’Fourth Brother is so good, why would anyone target him?’
The only answer she could think of was... the Nanhu!
Xiao Wu started gesturing with her hands, a look of indignation on her face.
’Is it just because Fourth Brother captured those people?’
Ye Chutang pondered for a moment.
"It’s just a guess."
Tuoba Yu has a special status. After suffering such a huge loss, he will never let the matter rest.
They won’t openly move against King Yan Nan, but A Feng is a different story.
They might see A Feng as a soft target. Even if they can’t do anything to the others, they’ll at least want to make an example of him to vent their anger.
Of course, this was all just Ye Chutang’s speculation.
It all depended on...
"I wonder if the Family Head of the Shui Family is a smart man."
Seeing that Ye Chutang truly wasn’t too worried about it, Xiao Wu finally relaxed and turned over to fall into a deep sleep.
...
「The night was deep and silent.」
Xiao Chenglin, however, could not sleep. The lamp in his study burned like a single bean, and he had been sitting motionless in his wheelchair for a long time.
"So, you’re saying the poisonous insect in Fan Chengzhuo was planted by neither Shui Xingqiu nor that other person?"
Xiao Chenglin spoke slowly into the quiet night.
"Correct." Chang Sui bowed his head and replied respectfully. "During this time, that person has remained in their room and hasn’t gone anywhere."
Xiao Chenglin’s brow furrowed, unable to make sense of it.
"If it wasn’t the work of either of them, then... who could it be?"
"Your Highness, starting this afternoon, rumors have been flying around in the capital. The news that Fan Chengzhuo was afflicted with a poisonous insect has completely spread, and... it seems to be a very potent type. Not just in the Capital City, but even in Nanhu, there are probably very few who possess such a skill. How about I go and investigate further? Since we’ve narrowed down the scope, we should be able to find—"
Xiao Chenglin raised a hand.
Chang Sui immediately fell silent.
Xiao Chenglin narrowed his eyes slightly and glanced sideways at him. "If you’ve heard this news, then naturally, so have others. For the entire Capital City to learn of this in such a short time shows that those in power had no intention of hiding it. In fact, they may have deliberately spread it."
Chang Sui was stunned, vaguely realizing something. "Your Highness means... there’s something fishy going on? But Fan Chengzhuo and Zheng Baosu committed capital crimes. His Majesty was furious and sentenced them to extreme punishment; there seems to be nothing wrong with that. Besides, this news was impossible to keep secret anyway. Isn’t it better to use this opportunity to make an example of them?"
His words did seem to make some sense.
Yet Xiao Chenglin merely curled his lip into a cold, mocking sneer.
"You still don’t understand him well enough. You don’t actually believe that a man who has sat firmly on that throne for decades can’t even control his own temper, do you?"
Chang Sui froze.
"Xie Anjun was also involved in this matter, yet he was dragged out and beheaded immediately. But Fan Chengzhuo and Zheng Baosu were both spared. Could it be that their lives are more valuable than that of Xie Anjun, who had only just inherited his title?"
The Duke Zhongyong Mansion followed him in conquering the realm back then, earning glorious military merits. Even now, they still hold influence in the army.
But even so, wasn’t Xie Anjun executed without hesitation?
The great Duke Zhongyong Mansion was dismantled in an instant. Compared to that, why would he show any hesitation over the likes of Fan Chengzhuo and Zheng Baosu?
Chang Sui said hesitantly, "...I heard it was to force Fan Chengzhuo to reveal the person backing him?"
Thinking of it that way, everything did seem to make sense.
The smile on Xiao Chenglin’s face gradually vanished, as if covered by a thin layer of ice, chilling and oppressive.
"You’re not wrong, but... Fan Chengzhuo has already been afflicted with a poisonous insect. When he dies is now entirely up to the whims of the person who planted it, isn’t it?"
Chang Sui suddenly understood something, his eyes flying wide open. "Of course! Even if he’s locked up and tortured daily, his life and death are completely out of their control! Unless... unless—"
A cold glint flashed in Xiao Chenglin’s eyes.
"Unless... the poisonous insect was planted by the very person who imprisoned him!"