historical

Chapter 185: Uncovering the Scars

Li Hong Yuan saw him appear as if having lost his soul, his anger seemingly leaking out from his body little by little, and to say that he would just die here on the spot, probably wasn’t anything surprising either. However, these all weren’t in Li Hong Yuan’s scope of consideration. “Regarding Qi Yuan’s western borders, what do you have to say?”

This one line had the dispirited Min Yu Han pulled back, his gaze towards Li Hong Yuan changing, “This commoner doesn’t understand what wangye is saying.” Prior to this question, he still hadn’t figured out this Jin Qinwang’s purpose in ‘inviting’ him here. Even if some hidden truths had gotten pulled out, that was still just an accident, and unlikely the primary goal. But now, he vaguely understood. However, it was precisely because he just understood vaguely, he thus couldn’t help producing a cold sweat.

“It doesn’t matter if you don’t understand. Since you’ve already stated your origins, then among those from the same lineage and same clan as you, there will eventually be one that understands. If not, then there’s still Jiangnan’s number one illustrious clan, the Pei clan. This clan already has over ten thousand members in itself, in addition to the in-laws, and also the various student-teacher and such relations, the amount of people, on the lower end, should still be at least a hundred thousand, right? With this many people, there will eventually be those few that understand. This prince might as well just spend some time asking one by one. Say, should this prince start asking from the core of the Pei and Min clan, or start asking from the edges?”

Min Yu Han’s eyes widened in anger, abruptly getting up, and just charged towards Li Hong Yuan. Leaving aside the fact what kind of threat this middle aged man, who still had his hands tied, his body even appearing not that strong, can cause for Li Hong Yuan, An Yi and them that were guarding to the side weren’t useless either. If they were to even let such a person get near master, then they also don’t need to live anymore.

In merely a step, he was already subdued, his upper half entirely pressed onto the ground, and his head, further ruthlessly stepped on.

That bit of meaningless struggle of Min Yu Han’s didn’t have the slightest effect.

“Bas......that’s your maternal clan, how can you be this ruthless? As expected, you’re his spawn..........” He also hated himself for being too careless. Because the other party was Guan Guan’s son, and because he thought the other party knew his identity, in addition to deliberately wanting to disgust the other party, he thus rashly revealed his identity. But, even if he didn’t say, will the other party really be unable to find out?

Li Hong Yuan waved his hand. An Yi had the person dragged up, but his hand still pressed onto his shoulder.

“Just now, you were preparing to call this prince a bastard, right? The feeling of having to forcibly swallow it back must be unpleasant. However, your rationality seems to still be intact, so it should still be manageable. Although the people that curse this prince in secret aren’t in the minority, those that have cursed in front of this prince probably are all dead. This prince for better or worse is still an imperial son. The imperial family’s face and prestige are still needed.” Li Hong Yuan took a sip of tea, “As for the maternal clan you speak of, speaking from my foster mother’s side, the maternal clan should be the Su family, but this prince has never been interested in the Su family. And speaking from my birth mother’s side, she’s just an orphaned girl, so what is this maternal clan you speak of? Twenty some years, yet this prince has never even seen the Pei family’s shadow before. Now that you’ve made a mess, implicating the Pei family, you have no shame in claiming relations with this prince? How many people scold this prince for being shameless, yet clearly, this prince is nowhere near as shameless as you all.”

Li Hong Yuan was still in that nonchalant manner, yet stabbed Min Yu Han to the point where his complexion was colorful like a paint palette, exceptionally interesting. Don’t know whether it was feeling ashamed more, or angry more.

“The Pei clan, never mind in Jiangnan, even in the entirety of Qi Yuan, it’s still considered the number one illustrious clan. Even if they don’t have anyone serving in court as an official, the Great Ancestor’s imperial decree still exists. Unless the Pei clan commits a great crime like rebelling, the Li imperial clan must not trouble the Pei family. The Min clan can’t compare to the Pei clan, yet still have deep intertwining roots, so how would it be that easy to uproot? Imperial father that year used your two clans as a threat? That’s just a huge joke. If you all really were to stand firm till the end, at the time, he was merely just a qinwang, what can he do? Just based on him alone, he’s able to have your two clans eliminated? If he’d managed to, then he might even be able to have all the large influential families pushed to his opposing side. By that time, never mind dealing with your two clans, letting him be reduced to a commoner, or even getting expelled from the clan would all be possible.

(T/N: I just remembered in chapter 87 the Empress once said that because of LHY’s birth mother and the Pei family matter, Le Cheng Emperor was once almost demoted into a commoner.)

Saying something like she was unwilling to see the two clans suffer misfortune, and thus voluntarily gave herself over, if you all don’t allow, would she even be able to run away on her own? At the end of it, it’s nothing more than the fact that she’s also someone that can be casually abandoned. Never mind announcing to the outside that she ‘suddenly died’, for the sake of displaying your so-called loyalty, firmly refusing to have relations with the Li imperial clan, you all even had her, a ‘dead person’, expelled from the clan, cutting off her relation with the Pei family. To be able to be this hypocritical is sure something, practically fearing that outsiders won’t know there’s something fishy inside.”

“What do you know, if not possible on the surface, would it not be possible in the dark? Who doesn’t know how to put on an act? Even if at the time he was just a wangye, he had an emperor father. Taking one’s anger out on the innocent, this kind of thing, you all, as members of the imperial family, should be exceptionally skilled at, right? The Pei clan have the so-called ‘protective talisman’, but my Min clan doesn’t..........”

“Since that’s the case, then you also inwardly approve of her doing that, right? In your heart, the Min clan is far more important than her. For you to still assume a look of ‘deep feelings without regret’ even now, who are you showing off to?” Li Hong Yuan suddenly overflowed with vicious currents, the teacup in hand also smashed out. “If you didn’t run to the capital for no reason, would she have died? If she didn’t die, would this prince be born as a ghost child, and from birth, just stripped of the right to inherit the throne, to the extent that one can only operate in the dark? Even wanting to marry a woman one likes all need to spend great effort and energy.”

If Li Hong Yuan’s mother didn’t die, then in his past life, he would have certainly walked a completely different path. As the saying goes, ‘the child relied on the mother’s honor’. Just based on Le Cheng Emperor’s degree of fondness towards his mother, from birth, he will already have a great deal of people willing to pledge their loyalty to him. In fact, even Le Cheng Emperor will all pave the road to the throne for him. And his life, afraid, will have never crossed with Jing Wan’s in the slightest. That’s why, this was just adequately venting his anger. To say the people of the imperial family excelled at taking their anger out on the innocent, bold and self-confident, really wasn’t false in the least.

Min Yu Han, however, was like as if he’d gotten clutched by the throat by someone. Even if he wanted to retort, wanting to deny, he wasn’t able to utter a single word. And his face was further like a pile of dead ashes. That year, when Guan Guan left, he had gotten locked up by his family. This confinement lasted for three years long, but aside from the initial death-wishing pain, to afterwards, where even if his spirit was still lacking, he nevertheless still accepted this reality, seemingly as if powerlessly accepting this fact, but in reality, it was just as Li Hong Yuan said, it was just because he lost his true love. From the start, he never felt his family clan should fight to the death for him to save Guan Guan. All these years, he had never realized this problem, but now, it got exposed in one word by someone. Turns out, he was this kind of person? Turns out, everything was all his fault?

For Li Hong Yuan, who’d sunken into a violent state, to have not directly gone forward and have Min Yu Han slaughtered, it can also be considered his good fortune.

However, probably because his current state was too terrifying, the time in which Min Yu Han sunk into depression wasn’t long. Then again, having such a death god like person present, how many can completely sink into one’s own thoughts and not be disturbed? Because he was clear-headed, Min Yu Han also finally realized another important point from Li Hong Yuan’s mouth————ghost child!

A prince being born as a ghost child, from the moment he was born, just lost the most important birthright as a prince. To say hate, he should be the one that had the most right to hate, right? It was also fortunate that Le Cheng Emperor didn’t go to the extreme, giving him the honor and glory a prince should have, else what kind of days would he be living? Whether or not he would be able to live until now was all a big question.

He was Guan Guan’s child! As soon as he thought of Li Hong Yuan possibly living that kind of life, he suddenly just heartached to the extreme————-Because knowing that it wasn’t Li Hong Yuan that killed his mother, in addition to the source of that other half of blood in his body actually belonging to his enemy that killed his mother, the hatred that originally was piled on Li Hong Yuan collapsed.

In this moment, Min Yu Han was unprecedentedly clear-headed. He had muddily passed by that many years, and in this moment, seemingly finally found a purpose————Guan Guan, I will do whatever I can to help your son obtain everything he wants, and afterwards, I will come find you.

Because his mindset changed, his gaze towards Li Hong Yuan also changed, even becoming not all that effected by his terrifying aura, carrying an elder’s love towards the younger generation, even imagining, if Guan Guan had married him, this would be his son.

Thus, after Li Hong Yuan calmed down, he just clearly saw Min Yu Han’s gaze towards him becoming increasingly strange. From the initial love of an elder, to later, unknown as to what all he’d imagined, even carrying a bit of pity. Even Li hong Yuan couldn’t help raising an eyebrow, yet immediately afterwards, coldly sneered. One has to know, even on Noble Consort Su, he has never seen that kind of look before. Who was he, Li Hong Yuan, to still need others to come pity?

Truthfully speaking, someone like Min Yu Han’s way of thinking, Li Hong Yuan personally believed he was unable to comprehend. Originally, after letting him learn of things that he shouldn’t know, he didn’t plan on letting him live. But now, perhaps he can reconsider.

“Take him down, and let him sober up again.” Just this current appearance of his, it was just annoying to look at.

The floor was very quickly cleaned. Eunuch Mu had personally set to the task. Ghost child and whatnot, ah, he completely didn’t hear.

Li Hong Yuan quietly sat in his original spot, seemingly looking to a certain place, lost in thought.

Min Yu Han was very quickly brought back again. This time, his hair was cleaned and newly combed again. Everything else aside, that vitality indeed returned, and the feeling he gave off was completely different, even appearing a few years younger.

The Min clan although couldn’t compare with the Pei clan, it was still an illustrious clan. Min Yu Han was similarly the di branch’s di son, so the upbringing he received naturally was all the very best. Taking back that style that belonged to the children of influential families, his bearing was also first class. “Greetings wangye.” Although his gaze towards Li Hong Yuan was still gentle, it was no longer the same gentleness as from before.

Li Hong Yuan just indifferently looked to him.

Min Yu Han however voluntarily and consciously spoke of the matter regarding the western borders. In reality, the matter originally was just somewhat showing signs of developing. He had just happened to come across it and just secretly pushed along the waves, having the matter stirred up even more. As for his aim, it was naturally just giving the Li imperial clan trouble. If it can bring about a civil strife, or even topple Qi Yuan, then the better. No matter who becomes the Emperor, it was all better than the current one.

This matter, Li Hong Yuan was roughly clear about, so didn’t really need for Min Yu Han to explain in detail. Thus, he directly waved his hand to interrupt him, “Do the surviving members of the previous dynasty’s imperial family have relations with the Pei clan?”

“Yes, and the Min clan too. However, this commoner doesn’t really know much, just having heard once by chance in one’s youth. And it was also just a word or two of. As for how many there are, and what kind of relationship they have with the Pei clan and Min clan, all unclear. If wangye wants to know, this commoner is willing to return to Jiangnan to have this matter investigated clearly.”