Ning Dao Covered with Snow

Chapter 441 Father and Daughter (Part 1)

Yan Ciwan sheathed his sword.

Lu Jinshu thought he had escaped a disaster and had just breathed a sigh of relief when he saw Yan Ciwan raise her hand and shoot a crossbow bolt at him.

The crossbow bolt struck him squarely in the shoulder, and he immediately felt all his strength drain away. He collapsed to the ground, unable to move, and could only watch helplessly as Yan Ciwan left.

Yan Ciwan was extremely familiar with Mi City; he could find the Xizhou Royal Palace even with his eyes closed.

In no time at all, she had arrived near the Xizhou Prince's Mansion.

Yan Ciwan used her lightness skill to scale the courtyard wall and silently sneak into the Prince's mansion. She skillfully avoided the patrolling guards and successfully arrived at the Hundred Herbs Garden where the Prince of Xizhou resided.

Originally, this place was called Yunhai Residence. Because Ning Qingyang liked to study medicine, she replaced all the ornamental flowers and plants in the courtyard with various medicinal herbs, so the place was renamed Baicao Garden.

Yan Ciwan noticed that many of the medicinal herbs in the courtyard had withered, which showed that they were rarely taken care of.

She pushed open the door and entered the living room. The furnishings were the same as before, with basically no changes, except that the portrait hanging on the wall was gone.

Previously, Yan Hengyu had commissioned a famous artist to paint a portrait of himself and Ning Qingyang as a couple. He specially hung the portrait on the living room wall so that everyone who came here could see the picture of the couple holding hands as soon as they entered the door.

Looking at the empty walls, Yan Ciwan recalled the happy times her family of three had shared. Those beautiful memories brought her joy, but also sadness.

Because she knew very well that everything was irreversible.

Then suddenly a series of hurried footsteps came from behind.

She turned around and saw a group of Ulan riders rushing into the Hundred Herbs Garden.

Yan Ciwan looked at them and asked, "Where is the King of Xizhou? I came here alone, and he didn't even dare to show his face. Isn't he a bit too cowardly?"

The Ulan cavalrymen remained silent, simply making way for Yan Hengyu, who slowly stepped out.

He was extremely tall, with broad, straight shoulders, long eyebrows, and a high nose. His dark, inky eyes seemed unfathomable, and his gaze toward Yan Ciwan was extremely sharp, like an eagle locking onto its prey, full of powerful pressure.

"I didn't expect you to have the guts to come back."

Yan Ciwan said calmly, "I want to talk to you."

Yan Hengyu's gaze towards her was devoid of any warmth, filled only with indifference and hatred.

He originally thought she was his and his wife's child, an extension of their love, but later he learned that it was all a lie. His wife had been having an affair, and his daughter became proof of her betrayal.

Now, whenever he sees Yan Ciwan, he is reminded of his foolish experience of being kept in the dark all these years.

He wished he could kill her right now!

"We have nothing to talk about." Yan Hengyu said coldly, raising his hand to order the arrest.

Yan Ciwan spoke first: "Li Baizhou is already dead."

Yan Hengyu paused, then said coldly, "I've already heard about this. That bastard Li Baizhou should have died long ago. He deserved to end up like this."

Yan Ciwan pressed further, "Since your enemy is already dead, why are you still raising an army to declare war?"

“Li Baizhou is dead, but that doesn’t mean I have to stay in this remote place of Xizhou forever. As long as I don’t sit on that dragon throne, I will be ridden on by others. I’ve had enough of this humiliating life.”

"But do you know that the one who has inherited the throne is Li Wang? He is the only child of Crown Prince Renxian and his wife!" Yan Hengyu was slightly taken aback: "How is that possible? When did Crown Prince Renxian have a child?"

"Back then, the Crown Princess gave birth to a baby boy in the Xu family. After the Crown Prince and the Crown Princess passed away one after another, the child was hidden by Xiao Wenyi, who raised him with great care. This is evidenced by the imperial edict left by Emperor Wen!"

After Yan Ciwan finished speaking, she took out the imperial edict from the bundle she was carrying. She had specifically asked Xiao Wenyi to lend it to her before she left Chang'an.

Yan Hengyu ordered someone to bring over the imperial edict. He unfolded the edict and quickly read through all its contents.

His expression didn't change much, but his slightly raised tone revealed his true feelings at that moment.

“I once secretly returned to Chang’an, but I was completely unaware of this matter.”

“The situation was very chaotic at the time. Xiao Wenyi didn’t know who was secretly plotting against Crown Prince Renxian. In order to protect the safety of the eldest grandson of the emperor, he had to keep the matter a secret,” Yan Ciwan explained.

Yan Hengyu clutched the imperial edict tightly, his mind in turmoil.

He longed to ascend the throne, but he couldn't bring himself to kill the only heir of Crown Prince Renxian.

Although he and Crown Prince Renxian were only cousins, they got along well and were as close as brothers. After learning of Crown Prince Renxian's murder, he was filled with remorse and blamed himself, regretting that he had not been by Crown Prince Renxian's side when he needed him most. He felt that if he had been there, Crown Prince Renxian might not have been killed.

He had kept quiet all these years in order to find out the truth about the murder of Crown Prince Renxian and to avenge him.

Now that his enemy is dead and the orphan of Crown Prince Renxian has inherited the throne, Yan Hengyu seems to have no reason to send troops.

He said, “I don’t understand. Given your relationship with Li Baizhou, you should really want me to lead troops into Chang’an and kill Li Wang to avenge your father.”

Yan Ciwan retorted, "What makes you so sure that Li Baizhou is my father?"

When this matter was mentioned, Yan Hengyu's expression darkened again.

He glanced at the large group of Ulan cavalry following behind him. As the saying goes, family scandals should not be aired in public. He did not want others to know about his family's dirty deeds, so he gave the order.

"You all go outside and wait. If anything happens to me, you must immediately send troops to attack Chang'an at all costs."

"Yes!"

The Ulan cavalrymen all retreated, leaving only Yan Hengyu and Yan Ciwan in the Hundred Herbs Garden.

Now that there were no outsiders around, Yan Hengyu no longer needed to hold back and said directly, "I have already read the letter Li Baizhou wrote to your mother. The two of them have been secretly having an affair for a long time."

Yan Ciwan sneered: "You only know that Li Baizhou wrote a letter to my mother, but are you sure that my mother replied to Li Baizhou with a single word?"

Yan Hengyu fell silent.

The only way for Li Baizhou to send letters into the Prince's mansion was through Ji Songluo. If Ning Qingyang wanted to reply, she would definitely have to go through Ji Songluo. However, he had already questioned Ji Songluo, and Ji Songluo said that she had never sent any letters for Ning Qingyang.

After a long silence, he finally spoke: "Even if your mother didn't reply, it's a fact that she had an affair with Li Baizhou."

Yan Ciwan was even angrier when she heard this.

If it weren't for the greater good, she would never want to say another word to this person in her life.

She suppressed her anger and said, "What makes you so sure they had an affair? Just based on Li Baizhou's one-sided account?"

"With the letter, Li Baizhou also sent a piece of light red clothing fabric. When your mother and I got married, she wore a light red dress the day after we went to the palace to express our gratitude. The fabric was exactly the same."