The prince noticed the black box in Chu Xinian's hand, but didn't pay too much attention to it. He just asked casually, "What is this?"
Xie Jingyuan guessed that the box might have been stolen by the female thief. He wondered where Chu Xinian got all these tricks from that made people remember his kindness even after being sold out by him.
Chu Xinian looked calm and smiled casually: "Oh, nothing, it's probably a treasure lost from the Shangshu Mansion of the Ministry of War."
His words were like thunderclaps from a clear sky. The prince slipped and nearly fell off his chair. He asked in surprise, "What do you think this is?!"
Xie Jingyuan frowned and repeated, "Didn't you hear clearly? Something was lost in Qin Daoyan's house."
Although the story was very tortuous and bizarre, Chu Xinian still told the prince a rough outline, slightly changing a few details and saying that Qianqian found the box herself. At the end, he looked at the black box in his hand and said, "The secret letters that Qin Daoyan had privately talked with others are all hidden in it. If you have evidence, Your Highness only needs to wait for the right time and present it to His Majesty, and you will naturally achieve great success."
He had not really devoted himself to the prince's teaching, so it was inevitable that people would be surprised when he suddenly gave up the credit. As soon as these words came out, the air in the study room inexplicably became stagnant.
Xie Jingyuan wanted to say something, but because the prince was present, he couldn't open his mouth, so he had to swallow it back. After a long while, he frowned and uttered a few words: "Don't talk nonsense."
The prince stared at Chu Xinian, his expression difficult to read: "You're giving this to me?"
He was probably a little bit unbelievable.
Qin Daoyan was a veteran of two dynasties, and his position was very important. If someone handed over the evidence of his secret dealings with foreigners, it would surely be a great achievement. Chu Xinian could have presented the item himself or given it to someone in the Jin Wang family, and both could have gained infinite benefits from it, but he chose to give it to the crown prince.
The inner room was so quiet that it made people feel uncomfortable.
After a long while, the prince finally said, "But I have nothing to give you."
He was just a poor prince whose mother had died and who was not favored. Except for Xie Jingyuan, no one was willing to help him, and no one believed that he could really become the emperor in the end.
But he still had no choice but to fight, heading towards a dead end with a known outcome.
The prince could not turn back, and neither could Xie Jingyuan. The struggle for power was so cruel, like an invisible giant hand, pushing them forward from behind.
The two people in front of Chu Xinian, one is the prince of Yan Dynasty, a noble, and the other is a general, hard to beat. Who can imagine their final ending in the book.
The prince believed that the most painful way to die was to be strangled, but when the new emperor ascended the throne, he granted him the right to hang himself.
Xie Jingyuan was rebellious and extremely arrogant, but his muscles and veins were completely disabled and he was imprisoned in an unknown dungeon until his death.
Chu Xinian suddenly felt that the box in his hand was heavy, just like the weight of the word "fate". He put the thing on the table and gently pushed it in the direction of Xie Jingyuan: "This is for the general."
As for whether Xie Jingyuan wants to give it to the prince or to someone else, that is up to Fang himself to decide.
Xie Jingyuan thought, wasn't Chu Xinian hiding from him just now? Now he's coming up to give him something. He smiled but didn't really smile, imitating the prince's words and said, "Unfortunately, this general has nothing to give you."
Chu Xinian touched the jade on his neck through his clothes. Although he didn't say anything, the meaning of this action was very clear. Xie Jingyuan had given him something.
The one who really has nothing to give is Chu Xinian.
What did he give Xie Jingyuan
A life of suffering and no good ending.
Seeing that they were silent, the prince looked at Chu Xinian, then at Xie Jingyuan, and his usually closed mind suddenly opened up, and he suddenly realized. These two people... These two people could not be... ? ! !
The prince's Adam's apple rolled, and he suddenly felt as if he knew a great secret. He unconsciously clenched his knees, wondering why he hadn't noticed Xie Jingyuan's homosexuality before.
Whether to liven up the atmosphere or to change the subject, the prince asked, "Can you show me those secret letters?"
Of course it is possible. In fact, treason is a crime that involves so many people that the only person suitable to expose it is the prince.
Chu Xinian said: "The box has been given to the general, so he will decide for himself."
Xie Jingyuan picked up the box and tried it halfway, but found it wouldn't open. He didn't want to lose face, so he was about to use his inner strength to forcibly split it open, but Chu Xinian suddenly took the box from his hand and said, "This thing is made of a special material, it can only be opened with a key. If you damage it by force, you're afraid you'll hurt your hands."
Xie Jingyuan narrowed his eyes and sneered, "I just don't believe it."
He gathered strength in his palm and raised his hand to chop down, but Chu Xinian suddenly grabbed his hand, and the strength in his fingertips disappeared in an instant.
Xie Jingyuan glared at him: "What are you doing?"
Chu Xinian slowly let go of him. He fumbled around on the raised carved patterns on both sides of the box for a while, knocked hard three times, and heard a slight click, and one of the peony carvings actually floated up.
Under Xie Jingyuan's gaze, Chu Xinian pinched the peony petals and gently pulled them out of the box. It looked like a hairpin, long and thin, with a pointed and flat end.
Xie Jingyuan seemed to understand, and squinted his eyes: "Is this the key? Qin Daoyan, this old fox."
Far away, yet close at hand, who would have thought that the key was hidden in the box? If someone didn't know, they would probably still be searching for the key all over the world.
The prince was curious about why Chu Xinian knew the secret: "How did you know the key was hidden here?"
Chu Xinian found a tiny lock at the bottom of the box, inserted the key in and slowly twisted it, unlocking it while saying, "I once read an ancient book that recorded this kind of Thousand Machine Box. It was said that it was carved by skilled craftsmen as a makeup box for women of the royal family. Later, this technique was lost and later generations had no way to find it. I didn't expect Qin Daoyan to be the first one."
The prince said "oh" and thought that it was his lack of education that made him suffer.
Xie Jingyuan was different. He didn't believe Chu Xinian's lies at all. The General's Mansion had a collection of thousands of books, and he had read every one of them. There was no ancient book that recorded the Thousand Machine Box.
As they were talking, the box suddenly popped open with a click, attracting their attention. Chu Xinian took out a thick stack of letters from the box and found not only the secret letters between Qin Daoyan and the Qiang people, but also the peace talks between Dayan and the Hu people in the early years, in which he had interfered.
Xie Jingyuan flipped through the letters quickly, and when he found one of them, he suddenly stopped and his pupils suddenly contracted.
"how?"
Chu Xinian found something wrong and took the letter. However, there was not a single word on the paper, only a picture of the deployment of troops in the imperial palace, with one route drawn in red ink.
The recipient is Qin Daoyan, and the writer is—
Zhou Wenchen!
Chu Xinian muttered to himself: "The commander of the Imperial Guards, Zhou Wenchen?"
This person has appeared in the original novel of "Qian Qiu Feng Hou". Zhou Wenchen is responsible for the defense of Kyoto and is in charge of 100,000 imperial guards. He has unfathomable martial arts skills and is a top-notch soldier under the Emperor of Yan.
He doesn't have many scenes, but his status is not bad.
How could such a person, who was as unshakable and unwinnable as a rock, have correspondence with Qin Daoyan
The prince glanced at the side and was slightly surprised to see the route map. He subconsciously said, "Isn't this the place where General Xie Bi was captured?"
The routes to the palace were complicated, and a route drawn with a red brush led directly from Tai'an Gate to the prince's bedroom. The prince might know some secrets, and he couldn't hide his surprise. Then he looked at Xie Jingyuan, turned his head away and kept silent.
Chu Xinian seemed to realize it, and he touched the old corner of the paper, thinking that the letter was a few years old and had something to do with the rebellion of the Xie family. Just as he was about to say something, his hand suddenly felt empty, and the letter was taken away by Xie Jingyuan.
"Leave this letter here, and give the rest to the prince, and have him present it to the emperor."
Xie Jingyuan looked normal except for the change in his expression just now. He folded the letter and put it into his sleeve.
Chu Xinian raised his eyebrows lightly and smiled: "Why?"
The prince waved his hand casually and sat back in his original seat. "It's just an insignificant letter. It doesn't matter whether you hand it in or not."
They clearly didn't want to talk, so Chu Xinian didn't ask again. Anyway, he never expected Fang to speak out on his own initiative, so it was better to investigate some things himself.
The three of them checked all of Qin Daoyan's letters in the study room and found that in addition to treason, there were thirteen other crimes including buying and selling official positions, accepting bribes privately, etc., which were more than enough to kill Qin Daoyan ten times.
The prince said, "When the imperial palace holds a banquet, Qin Daoyan will surely persuade everyone to agree to trade with the Qiang people. I will find a reason to report him."
Chu Xinian picked up the teacup, used the lid to skim off the foam, and suddenly asked, "Your Highness, do you know that it is not a good thing to make yourself the target of public criticism?"
Xie Jingyuan understood what he meant immediately and looked at the prince: "Find someone to stand up for you and take on some reputation, then you present the evidence."
If such a big thing were to be done by the prince alone, it would not only arouse the emperor's suspicion, but also cause fear among the court officials. It would be safer to involve more people.
It's not that the prince hadn't thought about it, but he had no one to use. The remaining ones were all old officials of the Eastern Palace, stubborn, serious and old-fashioned. They were good at educating people, but they were absolutely not capable of fighting in the court.
The prince looked at Chu Xinian, and his words were full of invitation: "Then according to you, who should I let take the lead?"
Chu Xinian smiled slightly and said only three words: "Gold is like the sea."
If Qin Daoyan wants to facilitate trade between the two clans, he needs the emperor's approval, and he cannot avoid Jin Ruhai, the inspector of the Jin Department. During this period, Qin Daoyan secretly sent many rare treasures to the Jin family, which are all evidence of bribery.
Jin Ruhai owed Chu Xinian a favor. He was the only one willing to expose Qin Daoyan in front of the Ming Palace, and the prince followed closely behind, and everything went smoothly.
The prince thought that this meant he owed Chu Xinian another favor: "Why did you help me?"
Chu Xi remained silent.
The prince hesitated and said, "You... don't you want to become my disciple?"
Without Chu Xinian saying anything, Xie Jingyuan knew it was impossible. He stood up from his seat, looked at the outsiders, and threw a thick stack of letters directly into the prince's arms: "It's getting late, you should return home as soon as possible and write a memorial to Qin Daoyan in front of the Ming Palace."
Writing memorials is actually the same as writing essays in later generations, which requires a lot of brainpower. Not only does it have to be beautifully worded, but it also has to be logically coherent and to the point. The only difference is that if you make a mistake, the teacher will only deduct your points, while the emperor will kill you.
The prince obviously knew that this matter was of great importance, so he took his things and hurriedly said goodbye and left.
At night, Chu Xinian was still thinking about the troop deployment map. There was no doubt that the map must have been drawn by Zhou Wenchen, but why did Fang give the map to Qin Daoyan? And why did he have to draw a route with a red pen
Zhou Wenchen was the most loyal servant of the royal family, and the loyalty of Emperor Yan was beyond doubt. If nothing had happened, he would never have rashly handed over such a heavy thing.
Has Zhou Wenchen's character been changed
Chu Xi was not sure at the end of the year, so he decided to wait until the Ming Palace Banquet to observe carefully before making a decision. He cleared his mind of complicated thoughts and was about to go to bed to rest. When he looked up inadvertently, he saw Xie Jingyuan sitting in front of the mirror with his back to him, lost in thought.
Xie Jingyuan doesn't like looking in the mirror. He rarely does, or even never does.
No reason, maybe he didn't want to see that face.
The silver mask was quietly placed on the corner of the table, and the man's face in the mirror was exposed to the air without any cover. The left side of his face was flawless, but the right side was covered with scars, which looked gloomy and ghostly under the flickering candlelight.
Xie Jingyuan stared at the mirror for a long time, then slowly closed his eyes, unconsciously rubbing the scar on his right cheek. At this moment, he seemed to remember something from the past, and maintained that posture for a long time without moving.
It’s hard to tell whether it’s hatred or resentment.
Chu Xinian looked at his back, inexplicably worried, and frowned: "General?"
"… "
Xie Jingyuan didn't turn around. He saw Chu Xinian sitting on the couch outside again in the bronze mirror. He asked without any emotion, "Are you sure you slept outside?"
Chu Xinian remained silent, so Xie Jingyuan took it as his consent. He slowly picked up the mask and put it on his face without saying a word, covering the crisscrossing scars on half of his face.
Since the Chu Xi year, he had not worn a mask when going to bed late, but now for some reason, he put it on again.
Chu Xinian hadn't figured out how to answer. He thought Xie Jingyuan would squeeze over and sleep with him again, but he didn't expect that he would say nothing and go into the inner room without saying a word.
The curtains fell layer by layer, covering most of the scene inside. When Xie Jingyuan blew out the candles, nothing could be seen clearly.
"… "
Chu Xinian sat alone beside the couch for a long time without moving, not knowing what he was waiting for. Seeing the inner room plunged into darkness, he slowly lay down on the couch to rest, but for some reason, he was not sleepy at all.
He unconsciously paid attention to the movements in the inner room.
After an unknown amount of time, a slight noise suddenly came from inside. Chu Xinian subconsciously lifted the quilt and sat up, frowning and asking, "General?"
In fact, Xie Jingyuan just flipped a page: "..."
Chu Xi couldn't hear his answer for a long time, so he put on his outer robe and went into the inner room. He walked to the bed in the dark, and could only vaguely see a swaying figure. He subconsciously reached out his hand to feel: "General?"
As he was speaking, his fingertips suddenly touched something cold and hard that looked like a mask, and he paused.
"… "
Chu Xinian didn't know whether he should withdraw his hand or not. He slowly sat down beside the bed, his fingertips touched the edge of the mask, but before he could do anything, Xie Jingyuan suddenly grabbed his wrist: "Move—"
His fingertips were chillingly cold, and his voice was hoarse with a hint of warning.
Chu Xinian paused for a moment, then smiled nonchalantly: "… General, why are you wearing a mask again today?"
Xie Jingyuan said nothing, turned his head away from his sight, and said coldly: "Go to sleep."
Chu Xinian suddenly thought of the four words "human nature is mean". He was always worried that Xie Jingyuan would sleep with him, and now he even made up a reason for him to sleep on the couch, but Fang didn't bother him anymore.
I can't explain why, but I feel a little empty inside.
Seeing that he didn't move, Xie Jingyuan finally opened his eyes in the darkness, curled his lips and sneered, his voice was sarcastic: "If you don't leave, I will think you want to sleep with me."
After he finished speaking, Chu Xinian did not respond.
One second,
Two seconds,
Three seconds.
Chu Xinian still had no intention of leaving. He glanced at Xie Jingyuan's blurry face in the dark, not knowing what he was thinking. He only felt that his legs were as heavy as lead and he couldn't move.
Seeing this, Xie Jingyuan's smile finally disappeared. He sat up from the bed, very close to Chu Xinian, their breath blending together in a hazy ambiguity.
Xie Jingyuan stared at Chu Xinian with a narrow gaze, the cold mask on his right cheek almost touching his face, and asked word by word in a low voice: "Aren't you afraid of me?"
Afraid
Chu Xinian finally came back to his senses. He raised his hand and slowly took off the mask on Xie Jingyuan's face. He used his warm fingertips to stroke the scars that crisscrossed his face, and finally stopped at his square chin. He asked back, "General, are you talking about his appearance?"
Xie Jingyuan's face was numb: "So what?"
Chu Xi smiled youthfully: "Of course I'm not afraid."
Xie Jingyuan raised his eyebrows coldly: "I don't believe it."
Chu Xinian didn't fall for his trick and smiled faintly: "It's okay, I just believe it myself."
Xie Jingyuan held his hand tightly, pursed his lips and said, "You said you are not afraid, you need to prove it to me."
Chu Xinian: "General, how do you want me to prove it?"
"… "
Xie Jingyuan slowly approached Chu Xinian in the darkness, his eyes full of emotions. He put his hands close to Chu Xinian's ear, his breath slightly cool, and whispered word by word: "Chu Xinian, kiss me."
He said: "If you kiss me, I will believe you..."
Chu Xinian was stunned.