The Double-Chapter 736 - 221 Shock_3

"Prince Cheng’s matter is pressing, so it is only natural that the Prince of Xia County would seek to make his mark," Jiang Li responded, "Has Father ever considered that perhaps even if the issue with Prince Cheng did not arise, the Prince of Xia County might have returned to the capital someday? His Majesty simply used the situation to his advantage, as if he was closing the door to beat a dog, keeping the Prince of Xia County under his watchful eye. If there were any moves to be made, they would be clearer to see."

Jiang Yuanbai frowned as he stared at Jiang Li, feeling that she might know more. Her stance towards the Yin Household had always been evasive, as if she knew they were trouble from the start. But Jiang Li was a sheltered young lady, how could she know so much? In the entire Yanjing City, aside from the Jiang Family, Ye Shijie was the only official she knew. But if even he was not privy to some matters, then Ye Shijie was even less likely to know. Could it be... Jih Heng?

Jiang Yuanbai felt a headache coming on again. Jiang Li had repeatedly stated that she had no connection with Jih Heng, but his intuition told him otherwise. However, his daughter was tight-lipped, and he could not force the truth out of her, so he could only worry helplessly.

"Father," Jiang Li asked, "why did the Late Emperor send the Prince of Xia County to Northwest Yunzhong back then?"

That was something Jiang Li had been unable to find out, no matter how hard she tried. Jih Heng and the old general had both told her not to get involved. She thought that maybe Jiang Yuanbai would know something.

Jiang Yuanbai shook his head, "When the Late Emperor made that decision, I was not yet the Chief Senior Scholar and was unaware of the details. So many years have passed and no rumors have come to light. This suggests that very few people knew about it and the Late Emperor didn’t tell anyone else."

His words only made Jiang Li more suspicious. There must have been something that caused a rift between them without reason, as she had heard the Late Emperor had a very good relationship with the Prince of Xia County, closer than brothers despite being half-blooded. There must have been something which caused their estrangement, but not serious enough for the Late Emperor to have the Prince of Xia County killed outright, leaving a sliver of hope which led to the current chaotic situation.

Jiang Li’s words seemed to also remind Jiang Yuanbai, and he stopped asking about other matters, lost in thought.

Jiang Li waited for quite a while, but Jiang Yuanbai had nothing more to say. After a while, he looked at Jiang Li and said, "Never mind, you better go back for now. I will try to find out about these matters slowly."

Jiang Li nodded and was about to leave when Jiang Yuanbai suddenly called out to her.

He said, "Little Li... The marriage bestowed by His Majesty cannot be changed. Marrying Duke Su... Jih Heng, the rumors about him are not good; he’s capricious, and marrying him may not be as glorious as it seems... Are you willing?"

"Father, what matters is not whether I am willing, but the fact that there is no room for turning back," Jiang Li turned her head and said indifferently, "When Father hoped I would marry Yin Zhili, you never concerned yourself with whether I was willing, even when I showed resistance."

Jiang Yuanbai moved his lips, struck speechless by his daughter’s words.

"Duke Su, Jih Heng is just rumored to be a bit bad, but the Yin Household is praised by all and yet is guarded against by His Majesty. That is what could drag the Jiang family to an irredeemable abyss. Since I am already one of the Jiang family members, I cannot escape the fate of being a part of this, so I might as well choose to stand with the side that seems to have the best chance of winning. From the matter of Prince Cheng, Father might see that His Majesty is not to be underestimated, I believe His Majesty has the upper hand over the Prince of Xia County."

Having said this, she bowed to Jiang Yuanbai, left the study, and did not look back as she departed.

...

In the Ye Residence, as Xue Huaiyuan heard the news, he was discussing literature with Ye Shijie. The elder and the younger got along even better than a real father and son, with Ye Shijie admiring Xue Huaiyuan’s wisdom and breadth of knowledge. Whenever he encountered difficult problems, he would go to Xue Huaiyuan for guidance. Xue Huaiyuan never held back, greatly admiring the integrity Ye Shijie possessed, and willingly taught him all that he knew.

By contrast, Xue Zhao was far less interested in those books than Ye Shijie. Though he was no longer as agile as before, his mischievous nature remained unchanged, preferring to spend time with Ye Mingyu. When Ye Mingyu practiced martial arts in the courtyard, Xue Zhao watched with envy. Knowing that Xue Zhao had a talent for martial arts, it was a pity that Princess Yongning had crippled him. Ye Mingyu tried all sorts of weapons that could be used while sitting in a wheelchair and also attempted to teach Xue Zhao the whip technique, to learn to use a whip while in a wheelchair. With a good handle on whip technique, he wouldn’t be completely passive.

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