Chapter 468 — An Inquiry

Miao Zhi, who knew her brother's temper well, had no choice but to say, "Though we have moved out of the Yingzhenguo estate, we are still, for better or worse, people of the estate. Before we left, the Lord of Zhenguo instructed the Second Master that he must not damage the estate's good name, and that he is under no circumstances to meddle in matters of business. I fear we must disappoint your kind intentions, Brother!"

Miao Anping flung his sleeves and stormed off.

Miao Zhi could not help but heave a long sigh.

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Song Yan, too, had a headache now.

Just before the office closed, the Crown Prince had Cui Yijun summon him. Dismissing the attendants, he took Song Yan to the warm chamber and asked in a low voice, "What exactly happened when your cousin was carried off? Don't try to fob me off with half-truths. The carriage from the Yingguo estate bore silver chi-dragon embroidered ribbons. For the servants of great households in the capital to travel abroad, the first thing they must know is the rank and insignia of every official. Did you cross someone you couldn't afford to offend, and so used this tale to put everyone off?"

Who said the Crown Prince was weak and incompetent?

These few sentences alone were worth their weight in gold.

Song Yan felt that whatever he said would be wrong, so he simply gave the Crown Prince a bitter smile.

The Crown Prince fell silent for a long while, then said gloomily, "I understand." Then, his expression darkening, he took up his tea.

Song Yan very much wanted to ask the Crown Prince, "What is it that you understand?" But seeing that look on his face, as though he were mourning his own parents, Song Yan felt an inexplicable complexity of emotion.

After he left the Eastern Palace, Cui Yijun's smile gradually faded, and he said to the Crown Prince with a grave air, "You truly should not have summoned Song Yantang here for questioning. A man like him will say nothing at all."

The Crown Prince said gently, "If it were me, I would say nothing either. Besides, Yantang grew up in the palace. I am the Crown Prince, and so he is in fact more distant from me; that one is merely a prince, yet before outsiders he always wears an air of openhearted generosity. He is also skilled at archery and riding, and was always able to keep company with Yantang. The palm is flesh, and the back of the hand is flesh too. What would you have him say? That he did not deny it today, and did not beg me for help, is already his way of helping me. Do not speak such words again; there are matters you do not understand. Yantang is like a younger brother to us, and there is a rift between us brothers. Whom should he, the younger, side with?"

There was no one in this world more cunning than Song Yantang, yet the Crown Prince saw him as honest and magnanimous.

Cui Yijun's hand clenched tightly into a fist; he could only bow his head and assent with bitter resentment.

The Crown Prince rose and went with a smile to the Crown Princess's quarters. "Chong is different every day now, and amusing beyond words. Yan Tang's boy He is only a day apart from Chong, and must be growing into quite a character as well. The Crown Princess should summon the Yingguo Duke's heir's wife and have her bring He into the palace to visit more often."

Cui Yijun's eyes lit up, and he hurriedly smiled and assented.

Early the next morning, the Empress Dowager Yi issued a decree summoning Dou Yan to bring Yuan Heng into the palace for an audience the following day.

Song Yan had already told Dou Yan about the Crown Prince's summons, and Dou Yan had a faint sense that this matter was connected to that audience.

She calmly made her preparations for entering the palace.

But a cold, piercing light flashed in Song Zhi's eyes.

Dou Yan could understand Song Zhi's anger.

Perhaps because he had broken with his father, he had always valued family and kinship above all else. First the Prince of Liao had threatened Jiang Yan, and now the Crown Prince had issued a veiled warning; in his heart it must have felt like a fire burning.

Dou Qu held Song Zhi's hand and said gently, "When Yan was carried off, did we not also assume it was the Prince of Liao's doing? I have not yet seen the Empress Dowager Yi or the Crown Princess; some things cannot be taken for granted."

Song Zhi's emotions slowly calmed.

He gave a cold snort. "They had best be scheming against you, or I will not let them off lightly."

One was the Crown Prince, heir to the realm; the other a prince, born of the Empress herself. Even if Song were furious, what could he do to them?

Dou Yan took it that Song Yan was merely comforting him.

Song Yan said with a solemn face, "I am not speaking in anger. His Majesty is advanced in years, and what he fears most is unfilial sons. They are all sons in the prime of life, and His Majesty cannot be entirely without misgivings about them. It is only that such a course would likely 'slay a thousand of the enemy while losing eight hundred of our own.' Unless it comes to that, we need not fight them to the bitter end."

Dou Yan was astonished.

Song Yan was more calculating than she had imagined.

Was that why, in his past life, he had done so many shocking, outrageous things that roused the wrath of gods and men, and yet the Prince of Liao could do nothing against him?

Dou Yan gently embraced Song Yan.

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Sisters and brothers, here is today's update. I will fix the typos shortly.

on_no~

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