Free Web NovelChapter 633: Chapter 632: It’s Good to Find Out the Truth
Xia Sichen faced his father’s dark expression and said righteously, "A son does not despise a mother’s ugliness, how could we be so unfilial? We just think it’s time for you, father, to enjoy your golden years!"
The brat almost made him spit out a mouthful of wine in anger, but Xia Wanqing couldn’t be bothered to argue.
Ever since Huangfu Yuxuan visited them in prison that day, he had some suspicions, just unwilling to think in that direction.
But Xia Wenjin kept bringing it up, and if he didn’t consider it, wouldn’t that be avoidance?
Investigate, then. It’s good to get to the bottom of it.
Xia Wanqing was a bit lost; if it turned out to be true, then it would be a clean break, no further entanglements, no debts. But if it was merely Wenjin’s bias, and the truth wasn’t so, then he would owe a favor.
Xia Wanqing shook his head, dismissing all thoughts. Thinking about this now was premature; he’d think about it after the results came out.
Xia Wenjin returned a bit late.
However, she was in good spirits, with a faint smile on her lips. She had the doorkeeper open the door and tiptoed into the courtyard.
Deciding to let go of something and some concerns felt like pushing away a mountain over her head, and she felt a sense of relief.
Considering Huangfu Jingchen’s current situation seemed unsafe, the two of them didn’t go shopping outside. They first had dinner, a sumptuous and delicious roast, then had the waiter clear the tableware and replace it with tea.
After letting go of her entanglement, Xia Wenjin confided her concerns to Huangfu Jingchen.
Apart from her experience of living two lifetimes, which she kept secret, she shared everything else openly. It wasn’t intentional to keep it hidden, but it was too unbelievable to say it out loud and scare people.
Only then did Huangfu Jingchen understand why the clever and responsible girl he knew in the Jianghu had changed once she came to the Capital City; she had been bearing so much.
He pitied her, regretting that he wasn’t strong enough to be the one she could completely rely on and that she had to be so busy and tired.
The two talked about many things.
Of course, Xia Wenjin also inquired about Huangfu Jingchen’s current situation.
Huangfu Jingchen had nothing to hide and shared his suspicions and findings with Xia Wenjin.
It was pretty much in line with what Xia Wenjin had gathered and suspected.
Huangfu Jingchen found that Prince Zhuang had sent assassins on several occasions, and astonishingly, those assassins were all targeting him.
He recalled those black-clad men in Jiazhou’s Tangsong County who had attacked Xia Wenjin.
Those people were out for him, but they were not Zhuang’s men.
That is to say, besides Prince Zhuang, there was another force in the Capital City that wanted him dead even earlier than Prince Zhuang.
He shared this result with Xia Wenjin.
He held Xia Wenjin’s hand earnestly, saying, "Wenjin, the more I investigate, the more frightened I become. I’m not afraid of them succeeding against me, but of when you faced those dangers. Thankfully, you narrowly escaped them! Otherwise, what I owe you would truly be unrepayable!"
Xia Wenjin found it amusing, with a mischievous glint in her clear eyes: "Actually, you don’t owe me. If I hadn’t tricked you back then by stealing your Silver, clothes, and horse, those people wouldn’t have mistaken me for you. So in this matter, you owe me nothing!"
She silently wondered if in her previous life, the unprepared Huangfu Jingchen was ambushed in this way?
Because of her rebirth, because of the intersections between her and Huangfu Jingchen, had that inadvertently changed the course, thus averting Huangfu Jingchen’s doom?
According to Mo Qingfeng’s reading of the Nine Lives One Death hexagram, his merits canceled half of it. Counting from the attack in the small woods, Huangfu Jingchen had already gone through four dooms, meaning he would face at most one more?
Next time when she met Mo Qingfeng, she would definitely ask him!
She asked Huangfu Jingchen, "You found out that one of those forces was Prince Zhuang, did you discover who the other was?"
Huangfu Jingchen shook his head and said, "Not yet, but there are some guesses."
Seeing Xia Wenjin looking at him, Huangfu Jingchen continued: "I initially thought it was Grandfather, so after arriving at the Capital City, I followed that lead. But later, I realized it wasn’t him. Wenjin, do you know? I found out something interesting."
Xia Wenjin smiled, her gaze warm as she looked at him: "What is it?"
When speaking of business, the boy’s expression was somewhat serious, and his thoughtful manner gave him a steadier presence. Yet, his warmth prevented this steadiness from appearing old, instead making him look wise.
In the past, in the Jianghu, she viewed the seventeen-year-old Huangfu Jingchen with a twenty-four-year-old mindset, forgetting that she was herself just a fifteen-year-old girl and always regarded Huangfu Jingchen as a child!
Back then, the newcomer to the Jianghu, Huangfu Jingchen, was unfamiliar with its ways, making her witness many funny moments.
Thinking back, setting aside her "veteran" perspective, Huangfu Jingchen handled matters quite well—experienced and meticulous.
And now, after almost two years of growth, Huangfu Jingchen, even from her twenty-four-year-old point of view, could no longer be considered a child.
The young man matured swiftly, with rapid and detailed thinking. Although somewhat awkward and clumsy when it came to emotions, when discussing matters seriously, he seemed a completely different person.
Isn’t that a manifestation of his innocence?
Receiving Xia Wenjin’s approving gaze, Huangfu Jingchen’s lips also curved up, and he said, "After Grandfather’s grand birthday celebration that time, the imperial grandsons returned to their Vassal Lands, during which three not-so-small incidents occurred! Uncle Zhuang’s illegitimate son, Huangfu Hongzhi, fell ill on the road and died en route! Uncle Lu’s young son, Huangfu Taihe, only eight years old, missed an inn for lodging during travel, camped outside, but was bitten by a venomous snake and died. And another incident involved Uncle Li’s third son, Huangfu Jinglun, who drowned in the Yingdu River!"
Xia Wenjin said, "Accidents?" Then shook her head, "Too many accidents! One could be an accident, two might be accidents, but three happening almost consecutively are unlikely just accidents!"
Huangfu Jingchen smiled, "Exactly! When the news reached the Capital City, it was indeed labeled as accidents, but as you said, three happening consecutively, how could that be accidental? Grandfather also sent people to investigate this matter, but in the end, it was inconclusive!"
Xia Wenjin hadn’t paid much attention to court affairs, especially things from her early rebirth, so she inevitably asked, "The Emperor personally sent people to investigate, how could it be left unresolved?"
A deep and obscure light flickered in Huangfu Jingchen’s eyes as he slowly said, "Because back then, the former Crown Prince committed a grave mistake and was demoted to Prince Liang, while Prince Zhuang had just been established as the Crown Prince. And the clues and evidence sent back by the people Grandfather dispatched all pointed towards Prince Zhuang."
