Ning Dao Covered with Snow

Chapter 388 Collusion
When Yan Ciwan heard Xiao Wenyi say this, she also felt that things seemed too coincidental.

She asked, "So you also think that Yan Hengyu might be the real culprit who murdered Crown Prince Renxian?"

Xiao Wenyi gently shook her head: "I don't know."

Yan Ciwan said, "Based on my understanding of Yan Hengyu, he is not the kind of person who can be easily bribed."

"Yan Hengyu was detained in Chang'an as a hostage at the time. He should have known that his situation was very dangerous. If you were in his shoes, would you want to get out of that situation? If someone offered to entice him to cooperate with them on the condition that the King of Xizhou could stay in Xizhou for generations, do you think he would refuse?"

Yan Ciwan fell silent.

In the past, she would have trusted Yan Hengyu without hesitation; he was definitely not the kind of person who would betray his brothers for his own benefit.

After witnessing Yan Tingyu's suicide, Yan Ciwan no longer dared to trust Yan Hengyu.

That man is too cruel.

Xiao Wenyi took a sip of tea, then put down the teacup and continued, "Actually, there is another possibility: the person who secretly bribed Yan Hengyu back then was not the Second Prince Li Mingguang, but the current Emperor."

Yan Ciwan's first reaction was that it was impossible. Yan Hengyu deeply hated the emperor; how could the two of them possibly cooperate?!
But she quickly calmed down and realized that this was actually the most logical possibility.

Back then, Yan Hengyu was unaware of the past relationship between Ning Qingyang and Li Baizhou. If Li Baizhou had proposed a collaboration, Yan Hengyu might have agreed.

Xiao Wenyi said, "There's something else you might not know. After the current sage ascended the throne, he bestowed a very grand honor upon Yan Hengyu, and their relationship seems to be very good."

Yan Ciwan pondered for a moment. Although all signs indicated that there might be a conspiracy between the emperor and Yan Hengyu, she did not make a judgment immediately. Even if she disliked Yan Hengyu now, she could not assume that he was responsible for all the bad things.

She said cautiously, "These are all just speculations. Perhaps the truth is not so. We need evidence."

Xiao Wenyi smiled with satisfaction: "Yes, before we find evidence, we can't take any guesses seriously. I'm glad you weren't misled by appearances and made a hasty judgment."

Yan Ciwan said, "It's because Xiao Gongfang just reminded me that this matter is of great importance and we must have evidence."

“I was actually quite worried that you and Liulang, being young and impulsive, might act rashly. But now it seems I was overthinking it. Liulang is very meticulous, and you are very cautious. The two of you are quite well-matched.”

Yan Ciwan was pleasantly surprised: "Lord Xiao has agreed to let me be with Liu Lang?"

Xiao Wenyi smiled and said, "I didn't object to you two in the first place, but I was worried that your backgrounds were too complicated and would cause trouble for each other."

"We're not afraid of trouble!"

Xiao Wenyi instructed, "You can continue to investigate the matter of Crown Prince Renxian, but be very careful not to be discovered."

Yan Ciwan nodded vigorously: "I've got it."

"Have some tea." Xiao Wenyi poured another cup of tea and pushed it in front of her.

Yan Ciwan picked up her teacup, took a sip, and then asked, "I have something I'd like to ask Master Xiao."

"What's the matter?"

"It's about the Fu family. I heard that the Fu family moved to Chang'an from somewhere else. I wonder where they were originally from?"

Instead of answering, Xiao Wenyi asked, "Are you investigating the Fu family?"

“Hmm, I suspect Fu Zheng has a secret, and I want to find out what it is.” After a moment of thought, Xiao Wen said, “Wait here for a moment, I’ll go get something to show you.”

"it is good."

Xiao Wenyi got up and left the tea room. Yan Ciwan sat there, drinking tea and waiting. Not long after, Xiao Wenyi returned and placed a piece of paper in front of Yan Ciwan, gesturing for her to take a look.

Yan Ciwan picked up the paper. It was a document from the Dali Temple. Fu Zheng had signed this document, which meant that he had personally taken away Fu Hui's body.

Her gaze fell on the lower right corner of the document, where Fu Hui's signature was. At the same time, the letter Fu Zheng wrote to his mother came to her mind, with Fu Zheng's signature at the end of the letter.

She compared the two names side by side and came to a startling conclusion—

Their handwriting is different!
Xiao Wenyi asked, "You should have noticed the problem by now, right?"

Yan Ciwan looked up at him, her face showing undisguised shock.

Xiao Wenyi slowly said, "A person's handwriting may change with age, but what's interesting is that the signature on this document looks very similar to that family letter at first glance, but any expert in calligraphy can find the difference by comparing them carefully. Do you know what this means?"

Yan Ciwan said softly, "This means that it's not that Fu Zheng's handwriting has changed, but that someone is imitating Fu Zheng's original handwriting."

"This must be the secret you've been looking for."

Yan Ciwan murmured, "So, the deaths of Fu Hui and Old Master Fu were both because of this secret."

She then raised many questions: "If Fu Zheng were someone else, outsiders might not know, but how could Old Master Fu be completely unaware? If he knew the truth all along, why didn't he say it all these years? That's his own son!"

"You'll have to ask the person involved."

Since one of the parties involved, Old Master Fu, had passed away, Fu Zheng was unlikely to reveal the truth. Yan Ciwan had no way of knowing the inside story. She put down the documents in her hand and asked, "Can this matter be reported to the Emperor?"

Xiao Wenyi shook her head: "It's best not to do that."

"Why?"

"It is difficult to convict Fu Zheng based on just a signature. Over the years, Fu Zheng has been deeply favored by the emperor, who regards him as his right-hand man. Even if the emperor knows that his identity may be problematic, he probably will not investigate further."

Yan Ciwan said in a deep voice, "But this secret involves many lives!"

"Those lives combined don't even amount to the weight Fu Zheng carries in the Emperor's eyes."

Xiao Wenyi's words were extremely cruel, but that's the reality.

The emperor, high above all others, would not sever his right and left arms because of a few lives.

Yan Ciwan frowned; she was unwilling to give up.

"The reason the sage was unwilling to punish Fu Zheng was because Fu Zheng had not yet threatened his own interests. If one day he realized that Fu Zheng might pose a threat to him..."

Xiao Wenyi looked at her: "What do you want to do?"

"When Crown Prince Renxian was killed, the poisoned arrow that struck him came from the Shence Army, and at that time, Fu Zheng happened to be serving as a Lieutenant General in the Shence Army. Assuming that arrow came from Fu Zheng, it would explain why Fu Zheng was able to be highly valued and rise rapidly in rank after the current emperor ascended the throne. The mastermind and the accomplice are not bound by trust, but by a shared secret. If this secret were made public, how do you think they would react?"