To facilitate Wen Yanhe's daily martial arts practice, the Wen family had specially reserved a courtyard. At this moment, he and Xun Ying were standing right in the middle of it.
Both of them were unarmed.
Wen Yanhe stepped forward and launched an immediate attack. After all, his younger sister's safety was at stake, so he fought very seriously without holding back the slightest bit.
Xun Ying took on the attacks with ease but didn't rush to counterattack.
It wasn't until Wen Yanhe started to frown that he finally spoke up, "My apologies, Young Master Wen."
As soon as the words left his mouth, Xun Ying began to strike back. His movements instantly became swift and fierce, and he quickly regained the initiative.
Xun Ying had once been trained as a secret guard, so most of his moves were not only ferocious but also carried a sense of disregarding his own life.
In contrast, Wen Yanhe's moves were much more reserved.
Finally, Xun Ying's hand lightly landed on Wen Yanhe's neck, pretending to choke him.
The two immediately stopped their fight.
"You're very skilled," Wen Yanhe said admiringly as he straightened up. His tone was calm, showing no sign of dissatisfaction.
Seeing this, Wen Xun's look at Xun Ying also changed.
He was indeed a promising talent. If such a person had been born into a good family, he might have become a new noble in the court by now.
Hearing Wen Yanhe's praise, Xun Ying remained calm. He said in a soft voice, "Can I stay by Miss Wen's side now?"
As he spoke, his eyes didn't look at Wen Yanhe but directly at Wen Xun.
Apart from being loyal to his master, Xun Ying didn't have much of a sense of hierarchy towards others.
Wen Xun hadn't been looked at so straightforwardly for a long time. He was slightly taken aback but then nodded, "As long as you can protect Wen Yu well, the Wen family will surely meet any of your requests for rewards."
"I don't need any rewards," he had already been longing for this.
His answer was straightforward, and Wen Xun was taken aback again. "Go back and rest first."
---
The next day after the court session, Wen Xun gave Wen Yanhe a look. The latter understood and rushed back to the Wen Mansion without delay.
Although Wen Yu had Xun Ying by her side, he would still feel more at ease with her older brother around.
As for Wen Xun, he directly turned his steps towards the Eastern Palace.
"Lord Wen," Ji Yundan looked at Wen Xun, who had suddenly come to visit, in surprise. After a moment of confusion, he quickly understood the purpose. "Lord Wen, come with me to the study and we can talk there."
Wen Xun didn't object to this.
After entering the study, just as Ji Yundan was about to speak, Wen Xun rudely interrupted him. "Your Highness, are there really only you and me in this study now?"
"Don't let this old man find out that there's someone else eavesdropping."
If someone else had said this, Ji Yundan would surely have been displeased.
But the person in front of him was Wen Xun, who was just as rude when talking to the emperor and was also his former teacher.
When he said this, Ji Yundan didn't feel the slightest bit of displeasure. Instead, he waved his hand.
"Lord Wen, now there's only you and me. You can speak your mind freely," Ji Yundan said with a faint smile on his face. Seeing that Wen Xun wasn't in a hurry to speak, he asked again, "Did Lord Wen come today because of Miss Wen's matter?"
Hearing this, Wen Xun gently nodded.
Now that Wen Yu's matter had come to light, although the Empress Dowager had ordered it not to be spread that day and the common people in Shengjing didn't know the details yet, the royal family and various noble families were well aware of it.
It was quite normal for Wen Xun to come looking for him about this.
"Your servant and Miss Wen did have a cooperation. I heard that Miss Wen has returned to the Wen Mansion. I wonder how Miss Wen is doing now? Is she injured?" Ji Yundan openly admitted that he had known about it from the beginning and then showed appropriate concern.
Wen Xun silently sized him up. Seeing that his expression was normal, he then said, "Since Your Highness knew about it from the beginning, why did you go along with a little girl's mischief?"
"She didn't want to tell this old man the truth, and Your Highness also helped her keep it a secret?"
"Now that such a big thing has happened, has Your Highness ever thought that if there had been the slightest mistake, this old man would be sending a white - haired person to see off a black - haired one."
Wen Xun's tone was a bit solemn, carrying a hint of accusation.
Hearing this, Ji Yundan's expression remained unchanged. He let out a soft laugh and gently shook his head. "My cooperation with Miss Wen was actually a win - win situation."
"Miss Wen didn't want to tell her family. She must have had her own reasons, and I didn't think it was appropriate to make decisions for her."
Although these words sounded sincere, they were actually just evasive.
Wen Xun knew his thoughts.
If he had directly told the Wen family the truth from the beginning, he wouldn't only have been unable to use Wen Yu to achieve his own goals but would also have had a hard time getting on good terms with the Wen family.
Instead, now that the Wen family knew that he had protected Wen Yu, even though Wen Xun still refused to take sides, if Ji Yundan encountered any trouble in the future, the Wen family would surely come to his aid to repay this kindness.
Ji Yundan was a student he had personally taught. When it came to politics, Wen Xun couldn't help but admire him.
But it still made Wen Xun a bit unhappy that he had calculated against his own daughter like this.
"Teacher, there's no need to be so angry. Although I didn't tell the truth, I did send someone to protect Miss Wen. I suppose teacher has already met Xun Ying, right?" Ji Yundan deliberately changed his address in an attempt to ease the atmosphere.
He had a faint smile on his face and took the initiative to pour tea for Wen Xun, putting himself in a very humble position.
Seeing this, Wen Xun still looked calm.
"Protect? If the Crown Prince really wanted to protect my daughter, why did he allow her to do such a dangerous thing in the imperial temple?" Wen Xun deliberately mentioned the incident at the imperial temple and then looked at Ji Yundan's face, carefully observing his every move.
Hearing about the imperial temple, Ji Yundan couldn't help but let out a sigh. There was a hint of fear in his eyes. "To be honest, I was coerced by her in this matter."
"Miss Wen has always been very bold. In the previous incident at the Moon - viewing Tower, it was Miss Wen who took a huge gamble and thus resolved the crisis."
"This time, I was caught off guard by her. Since I couldn't stop her, I could only go along with her wishes. At least this way, there would be a better chance of success."
After saying that, Ji Yundan described the scene of Wen Yu's negotiation with him to Wen Xun.
If Wen Yu had discussed it with him from the beginning, he naturally wouldn't have agreed to such a risky move.
But she had acted first and informed him later. If Ji Yundan had refused to help, Wen Yu's situation would have been truly difficult.
He had agreed to such a plan out of helplessness.
Wen Yu had also mentioned this yesterday, but she had only said that she had coerced and tempted him without going into details.
It wasn't until today when he heard Ji Yundan explain the ins and outs that Wen Xun couldn't help but turn gloomy.
For a moment, he didn't know what to say. Wen Yu's personality was exactly like his.
"Did teacher come here today just to ask about this? Has Miss Wen still refused to tell the truth?" Ji Yundan couldn't quite figure out Wen Xun's thoughts.
Hearing this, Wen Xun came back to his senses. His gaze fell on the teacup still emitting steam. Suddenly, he said in a low voice, "Has the Crown Prince never thought about what would happen to Your Highness if my daughter had been reckless but the plan had failed and Your Highness was involved?"