Chapter 1057 Real or Sham, Who Had the Whip Hand?

Wen Xichi followed the shop-boy who led the way and walked slowly to the stairs. When he reached the landing, he turned slightly, and his eyes met the eyes of Yan Xi, who was watching him below. They looked at each other and quietly looked away.

Wen Xichi recognized Yan Xi, a party to Wang Shengxue’s case.

Yan Xi also knew Wen Xichi, the Number One Scholar of the last exam and a current official of the Ministry of Justice.

Wen Xichi continued going up while Yan Xi lowered his head thoughtfully…

He went up to the fourth floor, pushed open the door of the private room, and saw Chu Liuyue sitting there with a gloomy face, holding a glass of wine. Immediately, he took two steps forward and bowed to him. “Your Highness!”

“Yuanqing, don’t stand on ceremony. Please sit down!” Chu Liuyue reached out to press his forehead and said with slightly relaxed eyebrows.

Wen Xichi went straight ahead and gracefully sat on the chair opposite Chu Liuyue. A set of cups was there. The young eunuch dressed as a servant came over and poured a cup of wine for him. Then, the eunuch retreated aside.

“Your Highness, what’s the matter?” Instead of raising his cup, Wen Xichi observed Chu Liuyue’s expression and asked.

“You and I grew up together and have been friends since we were young. Since you’re supporting me wholeheartedly, I won’t hide anything from you. Nothing has happened to the Prince Chen’s Mansion. Yuanqing, please help me analyze the matter. How could they remain entirely unscathed? Didn’t my father find the prohibited item in the Prince Chen’s Mansion?”

Chu Liuyue spoke out the doubts in his heart.

The brocade box had a considerable bearing on many significant matters and people. Therefore, even before Wen Xichi, he just dared to mention it vaguely. He only said that he occasionally got a prohibited item related to the previous dynasty.

Chu Liuyue and Mr. Liu decided on this matter, but they did not hide it from Wen Xichi when discussing it in the study.

“Is Princess Chen fine?” Wen Xichi asked calmly.

“Nothing serious. She feels slightly uncomfortable, but it should be a minor physical problem. This is not what I wanted. I thought my father must have taken Princess Chen into custody and intended to put her to death!” Chu Liuyue frowned and said.

Previously, there was no news about Shao Wanru, so he thought his father had locked her up but told the others that she was sick. Then she would be executed. The others would only think she died of illness before Chu Liuchen returned to the capital city. Such a result would be much more reasonable and acceptable than sudden death.

“If there is nothing wrong with Princess Chen and no change in the Prince Chen’s Mansion, your plot didn’t work,” Wen Xichi said lightly, “You’d better not act rashly at the moment. Although Prince Chen is not in the capital city, your plot has drawn the Emperor’s attention to the Prince Chen’s Mansion. Perhaps, you’d better think more about how you got this so-called prohibited object.”

“I got it by chance.” Chu Liuyue narrowed his eyes in horror, his pupils dilating. Suddenly, he felt he seemed to have missed something important.

“Are you sure you obtained it accidentally? Someone might deliberately let it end up in your hands. You should figure it out!” Wen Xichi said, “Maybe this is why the whole plan went wrong!”

Chu Liuyue’s heart wildly thumped twice, and he asked tentatively, “Do you mean that some people were scheming against me…”

“You should know best if someone is plotting against you!” Wen Xichi said.

Chu Liuyue’s face changed. He didn’t know what was in the brocade box, either, but he saw his mother’s countenance change. Then she warned him not to open it and asked him to send away this troublesome brocade box, saying it was the source of trouble. If the Emperor found out who had it, the person would be doomed.

After Chu Liuyue got this mysterious brocade box, he utilized it to plot against others. Could it be that someone sent this box to him on purpose?

He got this brocade box in the Palace. Back then, he saw a little eunuch running out in panic and happened to run into him. So, Chu Liuyue’s servants caught him. However, the little eunuch banged his head and killed himself without saying anything, leaving only this brocade box. Seeing the rust on it, Chu Liuyue was cautious then and didn’t open it. After that, he went to visit his mother, Consort of Virtue.

His mother seemed to know something about it, but not the whole thing. When she saw the brocade box, her face was distorted by fear.

If someone in the Palace wanted to plot against her, it was most likely to be the Empress.

He believed that it was just a coincidence. Then he was astonished by Consort of Virtue’s ghastly expression, so he didn’t have time to think about other possibilities at that moment.

Wen Xichi’s remark awakened Chu Liuyue to the reality. Immediately, he realized that he might have fallen into the trap of the Empress and her son.

He was not the only one who wanted Chu Liuchen to marry Princess Yutao of the Xu State. The Empress and her son should have a much stronger desire to make this marriage come true.

He slammed his hand on the table so hard that all the dishes on the table jumped up. Chu Liuyue sprang to his feet, paced up and down twice, and stood still. “I walked into a trap!”

“Your Highness, if the brocade box’s appearance were strange, the following changes would be normal!” Wen Xichi said, his eyes cool as if he did not see the anger on Chu Liuyue’s face.

“Please teach me, Yuanqing!” Chu Liuyue bowed deeply to Wen Xichi.

Wen Xichi hurriedly stood up and saluted back.

The two of them sat down again.

“If the brocade box is of questionable origin, someone else also intends to plot against the Prince Chen’s Mansion. They may enjoy a good show aside or reveal your trick to the Prince Chen’s Mansion. Once Princess Chen knows what happened in her mansion was done by you, the confrontation between you and the Prince Chen’s Mansion will begin!” said Wen Xichi in detail.

“Opposing the Prince Chen’s Mansion? Going against Chu Liuchen?”

When Chu Liuyue thought of Chu Liuchen, his heart twitched for no reason, and a jealous and resentful look rising like a black mist darkened his eyes. “I am the biological son of my father, but why does my father concern this invalid more than he cares about me?”

“They should be enjoying a good show. It is impossible for them to expose my plot to the Prince Chen’s Mansion.” Chu Liuyue shook his head and said decisively.

“Since they watch the fun aside, they may do something else in secret. Maybe the people of Prince Chen’s Mansion will get some clues. Since you didn’t make any mistake, the other secret party must have leaked the news,” Wen Xichi said unhurriedly.

Chu Liuyue was shocked, but after thinking carefully, he felt it made sense. He nodded repeatedly and said, “I didn’t do anything wrong, and no one has come to investigate me. It seems that there is a third party behind this matter. They wanted to watch me plot against the Prince Chen’s Mansion in the dark but didn’t expect to be exposed.”

It could explain what had happened in the Prince Chen’s Mansion.

Chu Liuyue was so pissed off that his face turned livid. He had always thought that he had been plotting everything smartly behind the scene. At this time, he finally learned that in this elaborate plan, he was the one standing right in the forefront of the struggle and had already been spied on in the beginning.

Wen Xichi did not leave with Chu Liuyue but left the private room first.

After going downstairs, he somehow met Yan Xi’s gaze again. As they looked at each other, Yan Xi smiled gently at him, silently raising the wine cup in his hand to Wen Xichi.

Wen Xichi went downstairs and walked straight to Yan Xi. After giving him a fist and palm salute, he greeted, “Number Three Scholar Yan?”

“Lord Wen!” Yan Xi was stunned for a moment. Then he put down the wine cup in his hand, stood up, and saluted Wen Xichi with joined hands.

Everyone around Yan Xi was startled. Someone who recognized Wen Xichi whispered to the people around him, “This man is the Number One Scholar of the last exam, the Third Young Master of the Mansion of the Prime Minister.”

“Third Young Master Wen!”

“Lord Wen!!” The scholars who came with Yan Xi stood up together to greet Wen Xichi.

Candidates of the imperial exam respected the Number One Scholar the most. Moreover, Wen Xichi was still young. It could be seen how famous he was back then.

Wen Xichi bowed with a smile and said to Yan Xi, “Childe Yan, could you please treat me to a small cup of wine?”

“Making an appointment is not as good as meeting by chance. I should invite you first, Lord Wen, please!” Yan Xi said. He looked around and saw there happened to be an empty table by the window. Then, he hurriedly led Wen Xichi there.

The shop-boy had cleaned up the table quickly. The two of them went over and sat down, and the shop-boy served tea.

“Lord Wen, is it about the previous case?” Yan Xi asked as soon as he took his seat.

“It is indeed about this. I want to ask you something.” Wen Xichi said lightly.

“Please go ahead!” Yan Xi looked a little nervous, guessing there might be a follow-up to the previous case. When Wang Shengxue died, this matter came to an end. It was said that Wang Shengxue was the chief plotter. And Ning Caixian, his accomplice, was exiled to a distant land.

At this point, the matter had been ultimately settled, but Yan Xi thought it should not have ended like this.

“Childe Yan, do you think Wang Shengxue’s case has anything to do with the Marquis Xing’s Mansion?” Wen Xichi asked directly.

Yan Xi’s eyes fell on Wen Xichi’s face. He tried to compose himself and said carefully, “Does the Ministry of Justice have any other doubts about this case? But the official of the Ministry of Justice said that this matter was settled. It had nothing to do with anyone else except Wang Shengxue!”

That was what the official of the Ministry of Justice said at that time. After saying that, he turned around and left without giving Yan Xi any chance to ask more about it.

“The Ministry of Justice has already closed the case, saying that it was all done by Wang Shengxue, but I feel there are still a few questionable points in the case. Do you think it has anything to do with Princess Chen?” Wen Xichi asked again, locking his sharp eyes on Yan Xi.

“How could it have anything to do with Princess Chen?” Yan Xi’s face also darkened, and he looked at Wen Xichi suspiciously.

“So, it has nothing to do with Princess Chen?” Wen Xichi asked again.

“Absolutely not!” Yan Xi answered decisively because he sincerely thought so.

“Then is it related to the Marquis Xing’s Mansion?” Wen Xichi’s expression softened and he asked with a smile.

“I don’t think so!” Yan Xi relaxed, shook his head, and said with a bitter smile, “I had stayed in the Marquis Xing’s Mansion for some time, for my elders asked me to live there. During that period, I had been concentrating my effort on studying and only met Marquis Xing a few times. Why would he hurt a junior like me?”

Wen Xichi observed his expression closely. After a long while, he slowly spoke up, “I worried too much, thinking there was something hidden behind Wang Shengxue’s case. Since there is nothing, I’m sorry to have disturbed you!”

As he spoke, he stood up and cupped his hands to salute as an apology. While Yan Xi also stood up to return the salute.

“You’re so polite!”

Again, Wen Xichi’s thoughtful eyes fell on Yanxi’s face. He was in a trance for a moment because he seemed to have seen Yan Xi in a dream. Therefore, he couldn’t help wondering Yan Xi’s relationship with him…

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