Ning Dao Covered with Snow

Chapter 384 All crows are black
As the carriage traveled through the city streets, Yan Ciwan sat inside and spoke to Dong Li outside through the carriage door.

"Can I ask you to look into something?"

Dongli sat on the carriage shaft, looking ahead, and replied as he drove, "What is it?"

"I want to know where the Fu family's ancestral home is?"

This is not an important matter; it's a piece of cake for the Inner Guard. Dongli said directly, "I'll tell you once I find out."

"Then please."

An hour later, the carriage returned to Qingping Residence.

Nie Xiayun breathed a long sigh of relief when she saw her beloved granddaughter return safely.

“You’re finally back! I heard that a lot of things happened outside today. First, the Fu family’s house caught fire and Old Master Fu died in the fire. Then the Crown Princess suddenly died. I was so scared at home that I was afraid you would get involved.”

Yan Ciwan gently comforted her, "Don't worry, I'm fine, nothing's wrong."

As Nie Xiayun pushed her beloved granddaughter forward, she asked, "Crown Princess... I mean Yan Tingyu, how exactly did she die?"

Yan Ciwan glanced around to make sure no one was around before roughly recounting her conversation with Yan Tingyu.

After hearing this, Nie Xiayun couldn't help but curse, "That Yan Hengyu is a real scoundrel! Even if Yan Tingyu isn't his biological daughter, he watched her grow up, and he doesn't show any affection at all, letting her plunge headlong into a fire pit. And the current emperor is a bastard too!"

Yan Ciwan made a shushing gesture, careful that no one could hear her.

Nie Xiayun had no choice but to shut her mouth, but after thinking about it, she still felt indignant and said indignantly.

"All crows are black, and all men are the same!"

Yan Ciwan looked at her with amusement: "Isn't Grandpa a good person too?"

Nie Xiayun slapped her on the back in an annoyance: "How can you talk like that? Grandpa is your elder!"

Yan Ciwan said innocently, "I was just going along with what you were saying."

“Your grandfather is different from other men. He is loyal and keeps his promises. He said he would protect me for life, and he really did protect me for life. I’m telling you, when you get married in the future, you have to marry a man like your grandfather. Don’t end up like your mother, who married a heartless and ungrateful man.”

Yan Ciwan replied helplessly, "I know."

Nie Xiayun pushed her to the shade of a tree. In front of them was a babbling brook, where several mandarin ducks were playing. There were also many flowers and plants planted along the brook, creating a vibrant spring scene.

“Now that Yan Tingyu is dead, your old grudge with her is over. Shouldn’t we leave Chang’an now?” Nie Xiayun suddenly asked.

Yan Ciwan lowered her eyes to look at her reflection in the stream and said softly, "Let's wait a little longer. There are still some things I haven't figured out yet."

"what's up?"

"I want to find out why Fu Hui died."

Nie Xiayun was puzzled: "We don't know Fu Hui at all, why are you so concerned about him?"

“What I care about is not Fu Hui, but his father Fu Zheng. This man must be hiding a secret. If we can find out this secret, we may be able to uncover the truth about the murder of Crown Prince Renxian twenty years ago.”

Nie Xiayun still didn't understand: "Even if we find out the truth, what then? These things have nothing to do with us."

“Crown Prince Renxian has nothing to do with me, but he has something to do with Xiao Liulang.” Nie Xiayun suddenly realized: “So you’re doing this for Xiao Liulang!”

“It’s not entirely for him. I also want to try to see if I can prevent the war from happening,” Yan Ciwan said slowly. “The emperor has already made up his mind to get rid of the King of Xizhou, and the King of Xizhou will certainly not let the emperor go. I am powerless to change their decision. Since we cannot solve the problem itself, we can only deal with the people who created the problem.”

Nie Xiayun gently placed her hands on Yan Ciwan's shoulders and said.

"Although I don't quite understand what you mean, I trust your judgment. Since you've made up your mind, go for it! I fully support you!"

Yan Ciwan said sincerely, "Thank you, Grandma."

……

Many people were injured in the fire at the Fu residence, but only one person lost his life: Fu Zheng's father.

The emperor issued an edict posthumously conferring upon Fu Zheng's father the title of Duke of Enguo, and allocated funds from his private treasury to build a mausoleum for the Duke. In addition, he specially vacated one of his villas for Fu Zheng to stay in, and Fu Zheng would move back in after the Fu residence was renovated.

Fu Zheng had just lost his son, and now his father had also died. The successive blows caused him to fall ill, and he spent a long time recuperating at home. The funeral arrangements for his son and father had to be handled by the housekeeper.

The emperor even took the time to visit Fu Zheng and comfort him.

On his way back to the palace, the emperor made a detour to Qingping Residence to visit Yan Ciwan, who was still recovering from his injuries.

Unfortunately, Xiao Wang happened to be in Qingping Residence at that time.

Xiao Wang had been busy dealing with family matters all day yesterday. As soon as he had some free time today, he rushed to Qingping Residence, intending to talk to Yan Ciwan about what had happened in the past two days. However, the two had just met when they heard that the emperor had arrived.

Yan Ciwan did not want the emperor to run into Xiao Wang face to face. She wanted Xiao Wang to hide somewhere else first, but she quickly rejected the idea.

The Qingping Residence was filled with the emperor's people, including Qiu Shuang. They all knew that Xiao Wang had come to the Qingping Residence, and even if Yan Ciwan didn't say anything, the emperor would find out sooner or later.

Since that's the case, we might as well let them meet openly and honestly, so as to avoid the emperor having any doubts.

Yan Ciwan specially invited Nie Xiayun over as well, and they joined Xiao Wang in welcoming the emperor.

When the emperor saw Xiao Wang, his eyebrows rose slightly: "Why is Xiao Liulang here as well?"

Xiao Wang lowered his eyes and respectfully replied, "Yesterday, I was supposed to accompany Ning Ci to Tianyuan Tower to see the Crown Princess, but due to family matters, I had to leave Ning Ci behind and depart early. I feel deeply guilty about this, and I have come today to apologize to Ning Ci, hoping she can forgive me for leaving without saying goodbye yesterday."

The emperor said meaningfully, "So that's how it is. The fact that Aci let you accompany her to see the Crown Princess shows that Aci really trusts you."

“I met Ning Ci in Xiangzhou and we traveled together to Chang’an. We went through many hardships and dangers along the way, and we have become friends who have gone through thick and thin together. We trust each other very much.”

The emperor laughed: "I am very pleased that Aci has such a good friend as you. I hope that you can trust her as much as she trusts you in the future."

"I certainly will."

Yan Ciwan spoke up at the opportune moment: "The Xiao family must have a lot going on these past two days, Xiao Liu, you should go back quickly."

"Well, I'll take my leave now." Xiao Wang bowed to the emperor, and after receiving his approval, he stepped over the threshold and left.

He hadn't gone far when he heard the emperor and Yan Ciwan talking behind him.

"Aci, I think Xiao Liulang is a very good person. Aren't you tempted?"

"I have no such intention at the moment, so please don't make fun of me anymore, Your Majesty."