Once upon a time, if someone had asked Su Qing what a treacherous court official was,
Su Qing would surely have answered that those who embezzled, oppressed the common people, played political tricks, and deceived the emperor were all such villains.
But now, this answer had begun to waver.
The Wang family had formed a clique, with its followers spread throughout the court. Before, they had even used Yan Huan's hand to firmly control the capital's military. They had also repeatedly pressured the emperor through the mouths of the common people and court officials to achieve the goal of eliminating their political opponents. Compared to Cang Xuan, these people seemed more like treacherous officials.
Take that magistrate whose hands were crippled last night. He had brutally killed innocent women and committed the crime of murder. Such an end could only be seen as retribution.
And the queen, who had inexplicably killed a troupe of actors, was cruel and ruthless. She was truly not innocent.
By this logic, Cang Xuan's two actions could even be seen as doing good deeds.
However, was he really that kind - hearted?
After a moment of thought, Su Qing spoke up, "I, Su Qing, since the moment I picked up my great - sword and mounted my war - horse, have sworn to defend the territory of the Great Chu, protect the common people, and safeguard the peace of the world with my life. I am loyal to my country, my sword, and most importantly, my heart. No matter who sits on the throne, it cannot change my stance and attitude."
"But I want to know. You went so far as to use the celestial phenomenon to frame me and claim that I would rebel, forcing my whole family to come to Shengjing. What on earth is your purpose?"
"Lord Cang, since things have come to this, I hope we can be honest with each other and stop hiding anything. After all, mutual trust is the first step if we want to form an alliance, isn't it?"
His gaze was like a blood - stained sword drawn from its scabbard. The aura was that of a military general who had fought his way out of a sea of blood on the battlefield.
Trust?
Cang Xuan lifted the corner of his lips and smiled.
"Let me tell Uncle Su a story."
...
After Su Yuanyuan left the front hall, a servant led her to a flower - hall on the other side and asked her to take a seat.
But waiting alone was truly unbearable. Before long, she couldn't sit still anymore and got up to go out.
Relying on the presence of Xiao Ba and being certain that she was in no danger, Su Yuanyuan strolled around the Prince Cang's Mansion aimlessly.
The Prince Cang's Mansion was very large. The winding corridors and courtyard walls divided the mansion into many parts. The landscaping was different from other mansions she had seen, exuding a deep sense of Zen everywhere.
She had been to the mansions of several princes, but none of them could compare to the Prince Cang's Mansion.
It was important to know that this mansion had only been the residence of the chief minister of the cabinet before.
It was probably only slightly inferior to the Eastern Palace.
Su Yuanyuan couldn't help but think, but the next moment, she laughed at herself for being so bold as to compare a prince's mansion with that of the crown prince.
Throughout this walk, Su Yuanyuan didn't trigger any traps. But as she walked, Xiao Ba suddenly said in her mind, [Little Yuanbao! Xiao Ba senses a fluctuation related to the master! It's in the southwest direction!]
Su Yuanyuan's expression turned solemn. Immediately following Xiao Ba's instructions, she quickened her pace towards the southwest.
Before long, Su Yuanyuan arrived at the place Xiao Ba had guided her to. It was an attic deep in the courtyard. Looking up, she saw the words "Thousand - Machine Pavilion" written above it.
Looking at the tightly closed door in front of her, Su Yuanyuan couldn't help but feel nervous.
[Could it be that your master is in the Prince Cang's Mansion?]
[It's not the master, but an item the master once used.] Xiao Ba said.
[There's an item that the master of Xiao Ba once used inside. Cang Xuan is indeed related to Xiao Ba's master!]
[Let's go in and take a look.]
Su Yuanyuan raised her hand to push the door. Just as her fingers were about to touch the door, Tian Shu's voice came from behind, "Miss Su Si, so you're here. It took this humble one quite a while to find you."
Su Yuanyuan was startled. She withdrew her hand, turned around, and showed a bright smile.
"Sorry, I got lost just now."
Tian Shu pretended not to see that she had just intended to break into Cang Xuan's Thousand - Machine Pavilion and said with a smile, "It doesn't matter. You'll get familiar with the way after walking around a few more times. The paths in our prince's mansion are quite easy to recognize. Oh, right, Miss Su Si, our lord requests your presence."
Cang Xuan requests her presence? Does this mean they've reached an agreement?
Just in time. She should also ask him about what happened on the night of the sixth of July at the mass grave.
When Su Yuanyuan returned to the front hall, she saw her father had already left the room. He was standing outside with his hands behind his back, his head down and his brows tightly knitted as if in deep thought.
Su Yuanyuan lifted her skirt and ran over, calling sweetly, "Father!"
Su Qing came back to his senses and turned to look at her.
The tightly knitted brows immediately relaxed, and a smile appeared on his face, "Little girl, why are you running around in someone else's mansion?"
Su Yuanyuan stuck out her tongue, "I was bored sitting alone."
Su Qing raised his hand and stroked Su Yuanyuan's hair. He found that the fever on his daughter's body had subsided a lot compared to when they were at the Duke Yong's Mansion. A look of relief appeared on his face, and he said to her,
"Alright, go in quickly. Your... Brother Yunjian is waiting for you inside."
Hearing this address, Su Yuanyuan's eyes widened slightly. Even her father was calling him "Brother Yunjian" to her?
What on earth had they talked about just now? How could it have caused such a huge change in her father's attitude towards him?
As if knowing the doubts in Su Yuanyuan's heart, Su Qing took the initiative to say, "Father has taken Cang Xuan as his adopted son. From now on, you'll have one more elder brother."
Su Yuanyuan stared at him with wide eyes, disbelief written all over her face, "Adopted son?!"
What was going on? Why, all of a sudden, had her father taken in an adopted son?
...
A quarter of an hour ago.
After listening to the story told by Cang Xuan, Su Qing was so shocked that he stood up from his chair.
Because he got up too quickly, his sleeve knocked over the teacup on the table. The tea in the cup immediately spilled all over the table and dripped down the table corner.
He looked at Cang Xuan's peerlessly handsome face. No wonder he always felt that Cang Xuan looked a bit familiar. It turned out that in some angles, he did bear a resemblance to the emperor when he was young.
"Then you're actually... actually..."
Coming back to his senses, Su Qing immediately knelt on one knee in front of Cang Xuan, "Your subject, Su Qing, pays respects to..."
However, before his knee could touch the ground, his elbow was held by someone, who pulled him up.
"Uncle Su, what are you doing?" Cang Xuan said calmly.
"Your subject doesn't deserve this title, Your Highness—" Su Qing blurted out subconsciously.
"Uncle Su, be careful with your words." Cang Xuan said, "There's no Highness here, only a prince."
That's right. There was no Highness here. Cang Xuan's mother, Shu Moyun, was already "dead". No one knew she was pregnant when she "died", and she had left no mark in the palace. There were very few people in the world who knew of her existence. Even though Cang Xuan looked similar to his birth - mother, who would dare to believe that he was of the imperial bloodline?
Looking into Cang Xuan's dazzling eyes like glass, Su Qing's heart skipped a beat, and he finally calmed down completely.