It’s Time

Duanmu Chen took a sip of the cold tea, and the teacup was placed on the table, making a dull clash sound. His eyes flickered with a bit of coldness, "Grandpa, tell me everything you know this time, and I can ignore the Xiao family's concealment of me in the past."

Xiao Qi looked ugly, "You misunderstood, I didn't want to hide it from you, it's because..."

Duanmu Chen said coldly, "Grandpa, at this point, I just want to hear something useful."

Two years ago, Duanmu Chen respected Xiao Qi and hoped that the Xiao family would fully support him.

But this time is different.

Xiao Mulian died, Duanmu Chen was fully grown, and the Xiao family could only support him.

This is also the main reason why Xiao Qi dared not hide it anymore when Duanmu Chen pressed him.

You know, this is not the first time Duanmu Chen asked Xiao Qi about this matter, but he had been perfunctorily dealt with before.

Xiao Qi sighed deeply, "You are my only grandson. If you were a few years older, I would have arranged a marriage for you and Mu Lian earlier. As long as the emperor doesn't object, it would be best to marry a relative."

Duanmu Chen remained silent. He just listened to this.

After all, he is Xiao Qi's direct grandson, and his biggest backer is the Xiao family.

Before, the Xiao family had established a relationship with the prince's faction through marriage in addition to him.

Duanmu Chen is not stupid. He never thinks that it is because Xiao Mu Lian is older than him and it is not suitable to marry him. Because Xiao Mu Lian can marry someone else, not necessarily to enter the royal family.

To put it bluntly, Xiao Qi is smart and wants to make preparations for both situations.

"The prince first fell in love with Mu Lian. We thought that the prince would ask for an imperial decree to grant the marriage, and the Xiao family had no choice, so they accepted it." Xiao Qi's face was bitter, "Who knew that the imperial decree to grant the marriage really came, but it was not the prince, but the second prince."

"Why?" Duanmu Chen asked. He was in a period of keeping a low profile at that time, and he did not have much presence in the royal family, and it was also to protect himself. Therefore, he knew what happened in many things, but he did not know the reasons, and he did not dare to interfere casually, so as not to cause trouble to himself.

Xiao Qi sighed again, "Mu Lian met the second prince in Changchun Garden. The second prince coveted her beauty and went to the palace to ask the queen mother and the queen to marry her."

Duanmu Chen thought it was not that simple, and asked again, "Did the prince do nothing?"

Xiao Qi shook his head, "The imperial decree of marriage has been issued, what else can the prince do? You can't let the emperor and the people of the world watch the two brothers fight for a woman."

"I remember that my cousin lived a good life after marrying Duanmu Ao." Duanmu Chen said.

Xiao Qi smiled bitterly, "Mu Lian also likes the prince in her heart. There are many women in the second prince's mansion. Mu Lian is not living well. She just forced a smile in front of outsiders."

"What did my cousin and the prince do behind Duanmu Ao's back?" Duanmu Chen asked.

Xiao Qi looked very unhappy, "It's because the Xiao family didn't teach their daughter well. Mulian was wronged by Duanmu Ao, and the prince went to tease her, so... Alas! Mulian often went to Changchun Garden to listen to operas before she got married, and the prince arranged for her to have a tryst with her in Changchun Garden several times."

"How did grandpa know?" Duanmu Chen found the problem. Xiao Mulian couldn't let anyone know about such a shameless thing, including her family.

Duanmu Sheng was indeed a frequent visitor to Changchun Garden before, but he hadn't been there for the past two years.

It sounds incredible that he and Xiao Mulian dared to have a tryst in Changchun Garden and do illicit things. But Duanmu Chen knew that there were many such dirty things among the royal family and aristocrats, and they were all shameful. Some people have many means to satisfy their own selfish desires and don't care about morality at all.

"That day, Mu Lian suddenly returned to her parents' home, looking very bad, and found her mother and told her that she might be pregnant. This should have been a good thing, but Mu Lian was very scared and wanted to abort the child without telling the second prince. She was afraid of being discovered in the second prince's mansion, so she had to go back to her parents' home." Xiao Qi said coldly, "Under questioning, she said that if the time was counted, the child should be the prince's. If the second prince found out, she would be dead."

"You helped her abort the child?" Duanmu Chen asked.

Xiao Qi shook his head, "Before it was too late, the second prince came to take her back."

"What happened next?" Duanmu Chen asked. The fact that Xiao Mu Lian was pregnant is still a secret until now, and he didn't know it before.

Xiao Qi sighed, "The next time we heard about Mu Lian, someone from the Second Prince's Mansion came to report that Mu Lian had an acute illness and was dead. There was only a three-day gap. We don't know what happened in those three days. Because Mu Lian had wronged the Second Prince first, the Xiao family felt guilty and didn't dare to make a big fuss, so they could only admit it."

"What happened to Su Yuanzhou?" Duanmu Chen asked the key question.

Xiao Qi frowned and shook his head and said, "I don't know why Su Yuanzhou was implicated and his whole family was gone. I guess that the Second Prince found out about Mu Lian's affair with the Crown Prince and couldn't tolerate her, but she suddenly died in the Second Prince's Mansion, which was unacceptable, so he asked Su Yuanzhou to take the blame. For this kind of thing, of course, you can't ask the imperial physician. Su Yuanzhou is a good doctor and has a good reputation, but he is just a commoner, so it's best to deal with it."

Duanmu Chen knew that this was not the case. He learned from Huang Bo that Su Yuanzhou was killed because he knew the secrets of the nobles.

If what Xiao Qi said was true, then Su Yuanzhou might have been unlucky enough to see Duanmu Sheng and Xiao Mulian having a tryst, or even accidentally learned that Xiao Mulian was pregnant with Duanmu Sheng's child.

Duanmu Chen didn't plan to share this with Xiao Qi, "Is there anything else you want to tell me?"

Xiao Qi sighed deeply, "This is all I know about Mu Lian. I don't know anything else, and I don't dare to ask the Crown Prince and the Second Prince. I didn't tell you the truth at the beginning, not because I don't trust you. First, it's a shameful thing, and I don't want to mention it again. Second, it's to protect you. At that time, your mother was excluded by the Queen Mother and the Queen in the palace, and the Emperor didn't value you. What can you do if you know that? If you do something impulsive, the Crown Prince and the Second Prince will not let you live."

"Grandpa is very thoughtful, I understand." Duanmu Chen said this, but he knew in his heart that Xiao Qi was just coaxing him.

The Xiao family is just a pawn to Duanmu Chen, and they are only worthy of being pawns. The so-called sincerity, neither of them has.

Xiao Qi said seriously, "Do you really want to win over that Su Liang? How do you plan to do it?"

"I need to think about this matter again." Duanmu Chen said, "Who else knows that my cousin is pregnant except grandpa and my uncle and aunt?"

Xiao Qi shook his head, "No one. The maids and servants who served Mu Lian disappeared after her death. I think they were dealt with by the second prince. At first, I was worried that the second prince would take action against the Xiao family, but he did nothing. But there is no need to do anything. How could the Xiao family spread such scandals?"

...

Duanmu Chen left Prime Minister Xiao's mansion and returned to the Fourth Prince's Mansion. He asked Chang'an to see where Su Liang was.

At this time, Su Liang and Ning Jing were flipping through the medical books borrowed from the Huguo Temple. They first flipped through them in general to see the general content, and then decided whether it was worth copying a copy.

There were five books in total, Su Liang flipped through three books, and Ning Jing read two books.

Both felt that these books were treasures and had to be copied down and read slowly.

"Let's each pick a book to copy first." Su Liang said, "The rest will be decided based on time."

Ning Jing nodded in agreement.

They each picked a book that they thought was most useful at the moment, and put the other three away.

In the next room, Nian Jincheng was eating the vegetarian food that Yan Yu brought back from Huguo Temple.

Nian Jincheng knew that it couldn't be that Ning Jing and Su Liang were thinking about him, it must have been prepared by Yan Yu, so he thanked her.

"You're welcome, we are friends, aren't we?" Yan Yu smiled.

Nian Jincheng nodded seriously, "Yes."

"Once you learn the art of disguise, you can go outside. Su Liang said he would teach me self-defense, and I'll have to trouble you to teach me martial arts in the future. Although I may not be able to learn it well, I will try my best." Yan Yu said.

"I will try my best too." Nian Jincheng pulled the corner of his mouth.

Nian Jincheng was eating, and Yan Yu was thinking about what to say to break the silence, so he mentioned the new friend he met today, and praised the two young masters of the Lin family for their good looks.

"Miss Qin and Mr. Lin are a match made in heaven." Yan Yu sighed sincerely.

Nian Jincheng agreed, "Indeed."

In fact, it would be a lie for Yan Yu to say that she didn't envy Lin Xueqing and Qin Yujin when she saw them. If she had a choice, she wouldn't want to become a lonely person, fighting with relatives, fighting with managers, fighting with malicious strangers, always on guard against people deceiving her and harming her.

Yan Yu felt that Qin Yujin and Lin Xueqing were enjoying life, while she herself just wanted to live a decent life.

But envy aside, Yan Yu also knew that everyone has their own destiny. And the person she really admired was Su Liang, who was also her role model.

Hearing Su Liang calling them, Yan Yu and Nian Jincheng went over.

Ning Jing went to the study to copy books, and Su Liang taught Yan Yu and Nian Jincheng how to change their appearance, and first demonstrated it on Nian Jincheng's face.

Originally, Nian Jincheng had a handsome and tough face, but after Su Liang changed his appearance, he became ordinary.

Yan Yu took a look and made some suggestions, "I think it's a bit strange. His appearance and temperament don't match."

Su Liang nodded, "Indeed. You do it."

Yan Yu was stunned, "I don't know how to do it yet."

"I say, you do it." Su Liang encouraged Yan Yu to get started directly, "Don't be polite, he's thick-skinned, he can't be bad."

Nian Jincheng:... Su Liang is sure he's not scolding?

So, Su Liang told Yan Yu how to do it, and Yan Yu followed Su Liang's method to disguise Nian Jincheng. She made a few mistakes in the middle, making Nian Jincheng's face asymmetrical and looking funny. She and Su Liang were laughing, and Nian Jincheng sat silently, just thinking he was a sculpture...

Finally, when Yan Yu finished, she was very satisfied with herself, and Su Liang thought it was good.

Find a bronze mirror for Nian Jincheng to see for himself, "What do you think?"

Nian Jincheng looked at the unfamiliar face in the bronze mirror. It was a handsome man with a refreshing temperament. It was far from his original appearance, but he always felt a little familiar.

"Do you feel like you've seen this face somewhere?" Su Liang asked with a smile.

Nian Jincheng nodded, "I seem to have seen it, but I can't remember it."

Su Liang pulled Yan Yu closer and put it side by side with the bronze mirror, "Take a look, do you look alike?"

Yan Yu and Nian Jincheng looked at each other and were stunned.

"Looks like me?" Yan Yu was surprised, "I didn't deliberately imitate my face."

"People tend to like faces that are similar to themselves." Su Liang chuckled, "It's normal, this is the look you are most used to and most comfortable with. I think it looks good, Xiao Nian, you can use this face for the time being."

Yan Yu also smiled, "It's really unintentional, if you don't like it, you can change your appearance yourself."

Nian Jincheng looked at the appearance in the bronze mirror again and shook his head, "There's nothing to dislike, so let's just leave it like this."

"Then can I tell others that this is my long-lost half-brother? Give him a new identity?" Yan Yu asked.

Su Liang thought it was okay.

Who knew that Nian Jincheng objected, "I don't want to be anyone's brother anymore."

His two biological sisters left him with a great psychological shadow.

Yan Yu heard about this and said she was just joking.

"In that case, you can be sworn brothers and sisters like me and Ning Jing." Su Liang suggested.

Yan Yu blinked, "But he doesn't want to be a brother, then, sworn brothers and sisters? I'm willing to be a sister."

Nian Jincheng looked a little embarrassed, "You are all younger than me."

"That's not important." Su Liang shook his head, "If you don't object, it's settled."

Yan Yu laughed, "To be honest, I don't want to have a brother anymore."

Her biological brother Yan Feng has a bad character, and her half-brother illegitimate brother Yan Wu is even more cruel and ruthless. Yan Wen was accused by Yan Yu's relatives of seizing the Yan family's property. After helping Yan Yu get the Yan family's business back on track, he stopped interfering in the Yan family's affairs and lived the life he wanted.

"Xiao Nian, call me sister." Su Liang half-jokingly.

Nian Jincheng shook his head, "I can't say it."

"It doesn't matter. You can think of a pseudonym for yourself." Yan Yu said.

Nian Jincheng frowned, "I can't think of anything suitable for the moment."

"Then call it Yu Yan." Su Liang said. Yan Yu's name is a homophone, which is much easier.

Su Liang taught the two people the art of disguise and let them practice on each other's faces.

Yan Yu was very generous, but Nian Jincheng felt a little embarrassed. He didn't dare to do it at first, and Yan Yu urged him, saying that it was okay, they were all friends, and for the sake of business, don't think too much.

Su Liang was about to prepare more disguise medicine when he heard Chang'an's voice coming from outside.

Nian Jincheng immediately got up and hid behind the screen.

When Su Liang went out, she saw Chang'an standing in the courtyard, "Miss Su is at home, that's great. My master wants to invite Miss Su to come to the house for a chat."

Su Liang's heart moved, "Did the Fourth Prince go to Prime Minister Xiao's house today?"

Chang'an nodded, "Yes, he went to the Xiao family."

"Okay. I'll go there tonight." Su Liang thought that the matter must have been resolved.

...

In the dead of night, Su Liang entered the Fourth Prince's house with ease.

She knew that Ning Jing followed secretly, but did not show up.

When she saw Duanmu Chen, there was a pot and two cups in front of him.

"The Fourth Prince is looking for me, it seems that things have progressed?" Su Liang got straight to the point.

Duanmu Chen poured two glasses of wine and handed one over.

Su Liang took it and put it down again, "I don't like drinking."

Duanmu Chen smiled, "Are you afraid that I will poison you?"

Su Liang shook his head, "I just don't like it, I think it doesn't taste good."

"Forget it." Duanmu Chen remembered that he had known Su Liang for so long, and she rarely drank. After drinking a glass himself, he spoke again and told Su Liang the information he got from Xiao Qi today.

The two have been working together so far, and they can basically communicate without talking nonsense.

After hearing the last part, Su Liang's face darkened, "The royal family did something shameful. In order to cover it up, do they want innocent people to be buried with them?"

Duanmu Chen sighed, "At this point, my grandfather should not dare to lie to me again. Although I still don't know how your grandfather was involved, I sympathize with him and your other family members who died in vain. What do you plan to do?"

Su Liang's eyes were cold, "What does His Royal Highness the Fourth Prince want me to do?"

Duanmu Chen lowered his eyes and poured wine, "I don't need to tell you what result I want, you naturally understand. But I don't care what you want to do, just don't involve me."

...

Su Liang left the Fourth Prince's Mansion, returned home, entered from the back door, stopped in the garden, and called Ning Jing.

Ning Jing appeared behind her.

Su Liang turned around and looked at him, "Is there a black mist between my eyebrows?"

Ning Jing shook his head, "You want to kill someone?"

Su Liang nodded, "It seems that God doesn't want you to stop it, great. I want to hear what Duanmu Ao has to say, and it's time."

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