The corpses in the fire...?
Since the news of Lan Yuanyi and the others' survival came, everyone was so overjoyed and shocked that they all forgot to think about this question.
Now that Caiyu suddenly brought it up, Sheng Jiangli was stunned for a long time, as if unable to come to his senses, and his facial expression changed unpredictably.
After a while.
He finally spoke with difficulty, "...The salt mine execution ground was strictly guarded. The shacks where my father and elder brother lived were very shabby. Those patrolling yamen runners often raided the prisoners' houses. For four or five years, that secret passage should have been discovered, unless..."
Caiyu's heart was pounding. She felt that some truth was about to be revealed. "Unless those yamen runners turned a blind eye and a deaf ear."
But why?
His father and elder brother had already fallen from power. Why did those as - fierce - as - wolves yamen runners in Daye let them off?
Sheng Jiangli's fingertips unconsciously drew circles on the table and said, "The governor of Guangdong and Guangxi is Xu Ziteng, the eldest master of the Xu family."
At the same time, Lan Guangling, who was stationed in the Yangtze River waters, received Han Fen's letter.
He unfolded it and read the bold and flowing letter on it. His resolute face remained serious.
He burned the letter paper, then turned to Han Fen and said, "His Highness the Prince of Yan hopes that I will lend him ships to cross the river? Is he out of his mind? I'm facing him in a military confrontation."
"The prince is not out of his mind." Han Fen bowed and said, "The prince asked me to convey a message. He said that Lord Lan and General Lan are both predecessors he admires. His respect for the two is not only because of the numerous military exploits you've made on the battlefield, but also because of your patriotic and people - caring hearts."
"Back then when the Lan family was in trouble, half of the officials in Daye pleaded for you. Literati and scholars jointly sent petitions for you, and the common people spontaneously compiled ballads to cry out for your injustice."
"The Lan family enjoys extremely high prestige both in the court and among the people, which shows that Lord Lan and the general are highly respected and know what the people want."
"But the young emperor waged war at will for his own self - interest and massacred meritorious officials, causing another wave of disasters in Daye... The prince hopes that Lord Lan and the general can see clearly that the young emperor is just like the late emperor."
"If the Lan family remains loyal to the young emperor, the prince will fight because he doesn't want to see the people suffer, but as the ancients said, once the cunning rabbit is dead, the hunting dog will be cooked. Even if the country is divided by the Yangtze River, when the regime in the south of the Yangtze River is stable, will the Lan family fall into the crisis of extermination again?"
Lan Guangling's eyes flashed, and he let out a "heh" laugh:
"He is really good at psychological warfare... However, although the young emperor is the same as the late emperor, the Prince of Yan also has the blood of the late emperor."
He raised his eyes, looking beyond Han Fen at the vast sky outside the tent, and said, "If my father and I help the Prince of Yan, can we avoid the ending of 'once the cunning rabbit is dead, the hunting dog will be cooked'?"
Han Fen remained calm, "Everyone in Daye knows the character of the prince, just like they know Lord Lan. Heroes cherish heroes. The prince is willing to trust the two of you, so he sent me here with this letter. He also believes that the two of you will cherish each other."
"Moreover, there are three daughters of the Lan family in the north of the Yangtze River. If the two of you are willing, you will also have three sons - in - law... Even General Sheng has never really fought against the prince. We should all be a family. Why should the Lan family be split because of the Yangtze River?"
Lan Guangling sighed, "He has both the righteousness of the country and family affection in his hands."
Han Fen continued, "The prince said that Xu Ziteng, the eldest master of the Xu family, and the second master Xu in the north of the Yangtze River are also brothers. The eldest master Xu must have spent a lot of effort to protect everyone during the four years when the Lan family was exiled to Hainan. Now the Duke of Ding is also on the side of the north of the Yangtze River. If the two of you are grateful to the young emperor for rehabilitating the Lan family and remain loyal to him, how can you ignore the kindness of the Xu family, who secretly took care of the Lan family for those years without the late emperor's knowledge?"
"You're very eloquent!" Lan Guangling rubbed his temples and suddenly asked an irrelevant question, "With his eloquence, will he be able to make Shu'er cry with scolding?"
"What?" Han Fen was stunned by this question and couldn't react for a moment.
The prince making Caiyu cry?
It should be Caiyu making the prince cry out of anger!
Han Fen replied with a rather indescribable expression, "... The prince is like a mute and a fool in front of the third young lady."
Lan Guangling would never believe it. He sneered, "If he was so submissive to Shu'er, why did Shu'er fake her death by jumping into the river? Is she full and has nothing better to do, thinking it's fun to swim in the river?"
Han Fen frowned in distress and didn't hesitate to push Song Yinghuai out:
"Er, General, well, the prince knows his mistake. The past is irrecoverable. The prince has regretted it for two years. Miss Caiyu is also growing up. Now they won't be like before, not understanding each other and only hurting each other."
"General and Lord Lan are also people who have experienced this. You should know how difficult it is for two people to get along well."
Lan Guangling coughed dryly.
Remembering the beloved woman he met back then, because of his seriousness and clumsy words, and because he often led troops on expeditions, the woman always thought that he didn't love her at all. She secretly shed tears every night and finally returned to her natal family when she was pregnant...
Han Fen didn't say anything else either.
He lowered his head and thought about Xiang Ye.
He remembered that not long ago when he finally returned to Yanjing, he thought that the little girl would miss him so much that she couldn't eat or sleep, but he found that Xiang Ye was carefree and didn't understand love at all.
Xiang Ye's family had even found a marriage for her. As soon as he returned to Yanjing, he rushed to "catch the adulterer".
As a result, after beating the man up, they had a big fight. Before he had a chance to communicate with Xiang Ye again, he led the troops to Pengcheng to assemble.
There were always so many misunderstandings and things left unsaid between people.
Moreover, since the people of the Lan family and the brothers who went to Hainan were safe and sound, the anger in his heart had dissipated a lot. He had a deeper understanding and more tolerance for the matter between Caiyu and the prince.
This was: No one is perfect, and everyone makes mistakes.
Both of them were silent for a long time.
After a while, Lan Guangling broke the silence and said, "I can ignore the matter between him and Shu'er, but my father and I can't ignore the lives of Shu'er and A Li."
Han Fen looked up at Lan Guangling in shock...
The snow in the Qinling Mountains was as heavy as that in the north of Yan.
After watching Caiyu fall asleep, Sheng Jiangli lifted the tent curtain and prepared to go to the big tent on one side to rest.
However, a beautiful figure in front made his pupils constrict.
He strode forward. Hearing the sound of footsteps on the snow, the woman slowly turned around and met Sheng Jiangli's eyes.
After standing still, Sheng Jiangli looked at her for a few times, and a hint of amazement flashed in his eyes.
Under the falling snowflakes, the woman's increasingly deep - set features gradually revealed a kind of exotic beauty.
"Dead girl." Sheng Jiangli was used to calling her this and didn't intend to change, "You promised me that you would never appear in front of her again... Did you bring her to find me?"
Qingqing looked at him deeply, as if trying to engrave his face in her heart, and nodded:
"It was me."
A bad premonition suddenly rose in Sheng Jiangli's heart, and his face gradually turned pale. "...Why?"
"Brother Sheng, you're going to attack the city tomorrow. You must be planning to die in the battle, right?"
Sheng Jiangli was annoyed by the topic change. "Who told you to avoid the topic? What on earth did you say to Caiyu?"
That's why Caiyu traveled all the way to the Qin area!
"I told her everything." Qingqing stared directly at him. "She knows everything."
"You!"
"Brother Sheng, you won't die tomorrow. Sister Caiyu gave you the real antidote of Empress Lü. Tomorrow when attacking the city, whether it's in battle or accepting surrender, you have to kill Zhu Xiao. Otherwise, Caiyu won't have the antidote for the third time."
"Ge Qingqing!"
In the silent night sky, there was a thunder - like roar.
The man's big hand suddenly grabbed her slender neck, and the killing intent in his eyes suddenly increased. "I really regret being soft - hearted again and again and not killing you!"