Chapter 69 Secret Chamber

Chapter 69: The Dark Room

Despite the rising outdoor temperature, the dark room was now filled with a piercing cold.

Silence rose like a tide, touching his ankles, rising past his knees, and threatening to drown him.

Even Jiang Wang himself found it hard to believe the words he had just spoken.

He was here to catch a cat.

But who would chase a cat into someone else's courtyard, let alone all the way into an underground chamber?

Though it seemed unimaginable...

He truly was...

Jiang Wang finally understood the saying: life is often more dramatic than fiction.

He no longer had the upper hand. He dared not utter another word, only staring unblinkingly at Xiao Yan, waiting to see his reaction.

But Xiao Yan remained silent.

Xiao Yan stepped closer, each stride making the air feel thinner to Jiang Wang.

Finally, Xiao Yan stopped beside him.

"You saw everything?"

Xiao Yan's thin lips parted, his voice low—a question phrased as a statement.

Jiang Wang couldn't deny it; not only had he seen, but he had also accidentally spilled some.

The faint, still-visible smudge of black ash on the black jade served as silent evidence.

"Yes," Jiang Wang lowered his head, quite sincere in admitting fault. "But I swear I won't speak of it."

As if remembering something, he patted his chest in assurance.

"Your Majesty, every word I just said is true. If there's even half a lie, may I be struck dead by lightning!"

Their eyes met. Gazing into Jiang Wang's earnest eyes, Xiao Yan's thoughts returned to earlier.

He had just returned from Longquan Temple.

Whenever he felt unsettled or troubled, he would spend a day at Longquan Temple reciting sutras for his elder brother.

All the talk of sightseeing and playing with cats and dogs was just a pretense—except for this.

Recently, obtaining the second bottle of soul-dispersing powder from Chang Wenji had once again stirred up overwhelming unease.

So, seizing the free time today, Xiao Yan went to Longquan Temple to calm his mind.

"Your Majesty hasn't visited in a while."

The Abbot led Xiao Yan to the room reserved for him in Longquan Pagoda, adding as he stepped back,

"That is a good thing."

Though Buddha could relieve the worries of everyone in the world, relief only came after worries arose.

If possible, he wished the temple could be more peaceful; incense offerings mattered little—it would be better if people had fewer sorrows.

He glanced at Xiao Yan inside the room. This man was especially so.

Taking the throne at such a young age, with no support behind him and wolves circling around.

He had once believed Xiao Yan would break down, leading the Great Jing Dynasty into decline.

But Xiao Yan had given him a different answer.

Xiao Yan was worthy of the throne.

This time, Xiao Yan seemed more troubled than before.

The Abbot noticed but said nothing, quietly waiting, believing Xiao Yan would figure out what he truly wanted.

He had entered at dawn, the untouched lunch at the door remained, and now it was already afternoon.

The door creaked open, and Xiao Yan emerged, appearing much calmer.

Xiao Yan bid farewell to the Abbot, who, as usual, escorted him to the temple's back gate.

But this time, the Abbot added a few words.

"The dust of the world is boundless, all phenomena arise from causes, sentient beings are like clouds, gathering and scattering according to karma."

The Abbot's voice was soft, easily lost in the wind, but Xiao Yan caught it and halted.

"What does the Abbot mean by this?"

The Abbot bowed in return, leaving only, "Heaven's secrets cannot be revealed."

His drifting thoughts returned to the present. Xiao Yan looked at Jiang Wang before him—he could see him clearly, yet not clearly.

Jiang Wang was straightforward, clever but not scheming, seemingly transparent at a glance.

Yet, he carried an inexplicable mystery around him.

Xiao Yan averted his gaze, sitting down by the small table, his tone calm. "Would you like to hear the story of my elder brother and me?"

He decided to follow his own heart, to trust his own eyes, to heed the answer he had wrestled with all day and finally sorted out.

He trusted Jiang Wang.

Regardless of whether the mysteries surrounding Jiang Wang could be unraveled, he believed.

Jiang Wang could know all his secrets without reservation.

As the sealed past was unveiled again, he had thought the wound had healed, only to realize it was still raw and bleeding.

*

While Xiao Yan spoke these words calmly, Jiang Wang sensed a thread of pain.

How utterly devastated and helpless Xiao Yan must have been back then...

The grief of losing his brother had not yet faded when he learned the horrifying truth: his brother's death was deliberately orchestrated.

The loss of a loved one turned out to be the outcome of a long-plotted scheme.

"That person... is Chang Wenji?"

Before Xiao Yan could finish his sentence, Jiang Wang had already guessed.

Chang Wenji was a veteran of three reigns, deeply entrenched and powerful; only someone like him could orchestrate something like this.

"Although I had suspicions early on, you're the one who finally confirmed it for me."

"Me?"

Jiang Wang blurted out.

But the next second, he also pieced together the sequence of events.

"Was it Chang Wenji who ordered someone to administer the poison?"

He still remembered Xiao Yan's distressed state that day; his pale complexion was still etched in Jiang Wang's memory.

It was precisely because Xiao Yan recognized that the two were the same poison that he immediately identified Chang Wenji as the mastermind behind it.

This extremely rare black jade, along with the white powder that catches fire on its own when near it, was truly scarce. It was hard to give Chang Wenji the benefit of the doubt.

"Your Majesty, this poison must be extremely rare, right?"

The emperor's meals, clothes, residence, and travel all undergo rigorous checks. If it weren't so exceptionally rare, how could it have gone undetected?

"The soul-dispersing powder and the black jade are both unique to Beixiang."

Black jade?

So this black jade stone was called black jade.

The name had a nice ring to it, but the object itself was nothing good—no wonder he got goosebumps just from glancing at it earlier.

"Beixiang?" Jiang Wang latched onto this term again. "Chang Wenji is also connected to Beixiang?!"

Colluding with the enemy and betraying the country was a grave crime!

But Jiang Wang let it go a second later. If he dared to poison the emperor, colluding with the enemy was nothing in comparison.

"Your Majesty, what should we do to make Chang Wenji confess and be brought to justice?"

Jiang Wang was now full of energy, rubbing his hands together, unlike his earlier nervousness.

Before, he had been afraid of messing up his act and being discovered by Chang Wenji. Now, he swore to act well and definitely root out this threat to the state!

Seeing Jiang Wang's enthusiasm, Xiao Yan's dark mood lifted. He smiled faintly.

"If Minister Jiang goes now, I'm afraid Chang Wenji would chew him up and leave not even bone fragments," he said, glancing at the black jade on the table. "Since Chang Wenji dared to do this, he must have a backup plan."

That made sense. Chang Wenji had been an official for so many years. His residence appeared simple on the outside but was incredibly luxurious inside; he must have made no small fortune.

In ancient times, seizing power came down to soldiers and money.

With one, you were halfway there, but did Chang Wenji dare to do this with only money?

As a mere official, how dare he entertain such ideas? Unless...

"Has Chang Wenji been raising a private army?!"

Jiang Wang's eyes widened like copper bells—this was utterly unforgivable!

Xiao Yan, however, remained calm, as if he had long been prepared for this.

He had already known about Chang Wenji's luxurious residence. Combined with the profits Chang Wenji gained from trade between Beixiang and Dajing, along with gifts from various officials, the total sum likely amounted to tens of millions of taels—wealth comparable to the national treasury.

Yet he only had such a lavish estate, which clearly didn't add up. He must have spent money elsewhere.

However, Xiao Yan hadn't found any clues yet, so he couldn't act rashly.

At the very least, he needed to know what Chang Wenji's backup plan was.

Xiao Yan nodded. "That's a possibility."

And a highly likely one at that.

Just then, a rapid patter of footsteps sounded from outside the secret chamber.

Xiao Yan remained seated calmly, but Jiang Wang instinctively looked around for a place to hide.

Only after crouching behind Xiao Yan did he belatedly realize that the owner of this secret chamber was right here. The owner knew of his presence and had no objections, so why was he hiding at all?!

As Jiang Wang was about to stand up, he heard a shocked yell.

"Xiao Yan! You're actually hiding someone secretly!"

That familiar tone, that robust voice, and the ability to enter Xiao Yan's secret chamber freely—it was undoubtedly Xiao Yan's "partner in crime," Fang Fengshi.

Jiang Wang had just thought about standing up when another remark from Fang Fengshi knocked him back down.

"How can you be two-timing?!"

Half-crouched behind Xiao Yan, Jiang Wang suddenly felt neither comfortable crouching nor standing up.

He hadn't done anything wrong, so why did it feel like he and Xiao Yan were having a secret affair...

Fang Fengshi was frustrated beyond belief.

How had his brother become such a person? When did he turn into someone like this?

He had previously warned him not to slip up about the secret chamber in front of Jiang Wang, and now he was bringing someone else here, with an expression of complete indifference.

No, even though they hadn't interacted much, Jiang Wang was a good person. Even if Xiao Yan was his brother, he had to stand up for the pitiful Jiang Wang.

Fang Fengshi stormed toward Xiao Yan, intending to drag out and chase away the "seductress" behind him.

They hadn't known each other long, and already he was protecting this person—what did that leave for Jiang Wang?!

However, as soon as Fang Fengshi stopped beside Xiao Yan, before he could even reach out to grab the person behind him, he saw a head pop up from behind Xiao Yan, with an awkward grin.

"Commander Fang, what a coincidence, haha, running into you here."

"Jiang Wang?!"

Fang Fengshi exclaimed in astonishment, instantly understanding the reason behind Xiao Yan's earlier expression and demeanor.

Xiao Yan was completely in the know. Sitting there so composedly, he had been deliberately watching the show.

But the only one caught up in the drama was himself.

Xiao Yan had tricked him again!

Of course, aside from his anger, Fang Fengshi also felt a sense of relief—Xiao Yan was still a decent person, not fooling around.

But... why was Jiang Wang here?

Was it Xiao Yan who brought him?

But Xiao Yan had clearly said not to tell Jiang Wang about this.

But if Xiao Yan really did bring him in, then what was with the cat...

However, Xiao Yan paid no attention to Fang Fengshi's puzzled expression.

"Why are you here?"

"Oh, right, right."

Fang Fengshi slapped his forehead. What a terrible memory. Seeing Jiang Wang had made him forget the important matter.

"My father has already arrived at the border, encamped with a hundred thousand troops at Hu Town. Here's the message he sent back."

"No unusual activity on the Beixiang border."

Author's Note:

Xiao Yan has come clean and told Jiang Wang everything!