Li Shiyan was too lazy to expose him.
“Father, I’ll say it one more time—I don’t have Miss Zhu in my heart. Even if she truly marries into the manor in the future, I won’t treat her well. Why ruin a young lady? She’s a good person.”
The Marquis of Kangding wouldn’t listen to his nonsense: “Feelings between two people can be slowly cultivated. Your mother and I didn’t even meet before we married, yet we were fine afterward.”
“Every person is different.”
“How are they different? Stop talking nonsense.”
Li Shiyan gritted his teeth and said: “Father, I already have someone else in my heart. There’s no room for Miss Zhu.”
Heh heh!
The Marquis of Kangding gave a cold snort, completely disbelieving: “I’m perfectly clear about who you interact with normally. There aren’t many young ladies around you—who could possibly be in your heart? You can deceive others and perhaps they’ll believe you, but I’m your father. How could I not know?”
Indeed, all these years the Marquis of Kangding had watched him almost constantly, even arranging informants. So who Li Shiyan contacted and who was around him—his father knew everything clearly.
Li Shiyan discovered there was a generation gap between him and this old man!
No, a deep chasm!
A chasm deeper than the abyss!
He didn’t want to continue this conversation, because no matter what he said, his father remained completely impervious and would never understand him. He simply shifted to the side, not wanting to speak anymore.
Suddenly the carriage stopped.
The Marquis of Kangding called out: “What’s going on?”
The driver turned back and said: “Master, the carriages ahead have all stopped. It seems… I don’t know which household’s carriage has a problem and can’t move.”
“A problem at a time like this? How troublesome!”
Li Shiyan’s first reaction was to think it was Su Ziluo, since something similar had happened when going up the mountain.
He stuck his head out, straining to look ahead, murmuring: “Could it be Ziluo’s carriage again?”
The driver leaned toward him and said: “Doesn’t seem like it—General Su’s carriage is behind ours.”
Oh!
Li Shiyan was about to sit back in the carriage when he suddenly thought of something and grabbed the driver, asking: “By the way, where is the Zhu manor’s carriage?”
“Just a bit ahead.”
Hearing this, Li Shiyan jumped down from the carriage.
Seeing this, the Marquis of Kangding immediately called out: “Where are you going?”
“To find Miss Zhu!”
Hearing he was going to find Zhu Yao, the Marquis of Kangding naturally wouldn’t stop him. He even smiled secretly, thinking his son had perhaps come to his senses and decided to follow his words and properly salvage the marriage arrangement between the two families. He said: “Then go ahead.”
Li Shiyan hurried toward the carriages ahead, finding the Zhu manor’s carriage.
Inside the Zhu manor’s carriage, Zhu Yao’s complexion was poor, her eyes still brimming with tears.
Minister Zhu felt heartache watching her and comforted her: “Enough, don’t be sad anymore.”
Zhu Yao stubbornly threw out: “If Father doesn’t want your daughter to be sad, then agree not to cancel the engagement between Shiyan and me.”
“I already said we’d discuss this matter after your health improves.”
“But if Father doesn’t agree, your daughter’s illness will never improve—I’m afraid grave illness will afflict me.”
“Don’t talk nonsense.” Minister Zhu lightly scolded. In his heart, his daughter had always been very obedient and would never do anything to defy him. But now, for someone who didn’t love her, she was so obsessed she didn’t even care about her life. It truly made him both angry and helpless. But in the end, he couldn’t escape responsibility either! After all, this marriage arrangement was one he had settled with the Marquis of Kangding without consulting his daughter. Now that his daughter was deeply trapped in this relationship, to cancel the engagement settled between the two families was indeed cruel. But prolonged pain was worse than short pain—he didn’t want to watch his daughter become a sacrificial piece, didn’t want the entire Zhu family to become the Li family’s stepping stone.
So this engagement had to be canceled no matter what!
But now with his daughter being so stubborn, they would probably need Madam Zhu to intervene.
After all, speaking between mother and daughter would be more convenient!
Suddenly, a voice came from outside: “Miss Zhu.”
It was Li Shiyan’s voice.
Zhu Yao immediately lifted the curtain and saw Li Shiyan standing outside with a tense expression.
“Shiyan?”
“I have something I want to ask you. Is it convenient?”
“It’s convenient!”
Zhu Yao nodded. Completely disregarding her weak condition, she was about to get off the carriage, but Minister Zhu grabbed her: “You’re not going!”
“Father…”
“I said you’re not going!” Minister Zhu sternly informed Li Shiyan: “Young Master, if you have something to ask, ask it here. Yao’er is unwell and cannot get off the carriage.”
“Father, I’m fine!” Zhu Yao broke free from her father’s hand and still insisted on getting off the carriage.
Sigh!
Li Shiyan pulled her to the side.
Zhu Yao gazed at him with deep affection: “What do you want to ask me? As long as I know, I’ll tell you everything.”
She was so good! Li Shiyan asked: “Earlier in the hall, you used another method to detect blood traces on the pouch. How did you know this method? You said you knew Wang Huai’s skull had been struck twice, but how would you examine a corpse? Tell me—who taught you?”
Zhu Yao admitted she truly didn’t understand those things. She would even be afraid seeing blood.
But—
She had promised Ji Yunshu she wouldn’t say.
“I… can’t say.”
“Then I’ll ask you, just nod or shake your head.”
“……”
“The person who taught you to say these things—is her surname Ji?”
Uh!
Zhu Yao looked stunned: “You… how do you know?”
Of course he knew!
“Where is she now?” Li Shiyan anxiously grasped her slender arm and asked.
Zhu Yao’s arm hurt, but she didn’t struggle: “So, you know Miss Ji?”
“First tell me—where exactly is she now?”
“I only know… she came to the manor with the two young masters of the Wen family.”
“Surname Wen?”
“Yes.”
Li Shiyan released her: “Thank you for telling me this!”
After speaking, he prepared to go find the Wen family’s carriage, but Zhu Yao pulled him back: “Shiyan, where are you going?”
“To find someone!”
“That Miss Ji? Who exactly is she? Why are you so worried about her?”
“Don’t ask so much. Get back in the carriage.”
Li Shiyan broke free from her hand and hurried away.
When Zhu Yao instinctively reached out again to pull him, her fingers could only grasp a wisp of cold sleeve wind……
Watching helplessly as the person she loved walked away like this!
And she was powerless to do anything.
Actually, she had already vaguely sensed it—Li Shiyan said there was someone in his heart all along. Presumably that person deeply hidden in his heart… was Miss Ji?
No wonder Miss Ji went through all kinds of schemes to find evidence and came to ask her to act as a messenger!
Thinking about it now, what belated realization!
Thinking of this, her eyes couldn’t help but redden. If not for being under everyone’s gaze, she might have already burst into tears.
Cai’er quickly jumped down from the carriage and walked over, supporting her young lady’s arm, saying worriedly: “Miss, are you alright?”
Her heart was breaking—how could she be alright?
She could only gaze at that retreating figure in silent grief.
……
Because Wen Cong was also descending the mountain together with the Wen brothers, they had specially prepared two carriages. Due to the “traffic jam,” they were stopped one after another on the mountain road.
Wen Che rode with his uncle Wen Cong.
Luo Yang rode with Wen Yu. The two of them in one carriage compartment seemed very awkward. Although Luo Yang, that brat, had tormented Wen Yu for over ten days in the southern desert, later Luo Yang had saved him and protected Prince Jing’an’s remains, thus sparing the Wen family from being held accountable. So with losses balanced by favors, Wen Yu couldn’t calculate everything anymore.
Let it be.
Luo Yang deliberately sprawled out.
Wen Yu was almost squeezed out of the carriage.
Finally unable to bear it anymore, he kicked at Luo Yang’s shoe sole and said: “Can you sit properly? What kind of behavior is this?”
“What behavior? I don’t care about such things.”
“If you want to sleep, go sleep on the driver’s board outside.”
“I’m not an idiot. Why would I go sleep outside?” Luo Yang continued lying like a corpse, completely ignoring the eye-roll directed at him.
Wen Yu secretly clenched his fist: “Really can’t understand how someone like you could have any future.”
These caustic remarks—Luo Yang had heard them all the way to Yanjing.
He sat up and said: “Surname Wen, you owe me your life. You’d better treat your lifesaver better. Be careful—next time something happens to you, no one will save you.”
Wen Yu glanced at him: “Ever since I met you, nothing good has happened.”
Luo Yang said angrily: “What do you mean nothing good happens when you meet me? Clearly it’s me who hasn’t encountered a single good thing since meeting you.”