As the Fang Family and Xie Family were enjoying the delicious fruits, they did not forget to come and express their gratitude.
Especially little Xie Lin, the sweet-talking child smiled at He Zhiran and said, “Thank you, auntie. When auntie has a little brother in her family, Lin'er will definitely play with him.”
Hearing Xie Lin’s words, everyone around burst into loud laughter.
Some even started jokingly asking He Zhiran if there were any movements in her belly.
He Zhiran did not think much about Xie Lin’s childish words at first. However, when the adults started teasing her, she immediately blushed in embarrassment.
Standing not far away, Mo Jiuye watched all this and fell into deep thoughts.
He thought that the child he and He Zhiran would have must be very good-looking. At that time, the whole family would gather around the little one and play together happily. Just thinking about that scene made him delighted already.
As Mo Jiuye's thoughts drifted further away, countless images of him and He Zhiran with children and grandchildren around their knees appeared in his mind unknowingly...
He Zhiran's blushing only lasted for a moment. In order to cover up her embarrassment, she casually sat with everyone, chatting and laughing.
Watching them get along so well from afar, He Zhiyuan felt that his intestines turned green with regret.
He should have learned from the Xie Family and the Fang Family to curry favor with Mo Jiuye earlier.
That way, wouldn’t his He Family also be able to enjoy such delicious fruits?
Thinking of this, He Zhiyuan unexpectedly went to Mo Jiuye according to his own intention.
Mo Jiuye glanced at him but had no intention of talking to him.
He Zhiyuan thought that since he took the initiative to come over, even if Mo Jiuye was unwilling, he would at least ask, “What are you here for?”
But Mo Jiuye did not.
He Zhiyuan acted on impulse when he came this time. Now faced with this situation, he was caught in a dilemma.
Since he already came, he could not leave without saying anything.
After thinking for a moment, He Zhiyuan gritted his teeth and spoke up, “Mo... Master Mo.” It suddenly occurred to him that addressing in this way would be more appropriate.
Mo Jiuye raised his eyebrows but still did not speak. He just signaled him to continue.
He Zhiyuan looked mysterious. After taking a furtive look around, he whispered, “In fact, someone instigated me when I withheld the grains and fodder from the border pass back then.”
Even without He Zhiyuan saying it, Mo Jiuye was clear in his heart.
However, deliberately pretending to be unaware in front of He Zhiyuan, he wanted to see what tricks He Zhiyuan was playing.
"It looks like Master He is ready to sell out his boss?" Mo Jiuye spoke with an icy tone that contained extremely obvious mockery.
Although the tone made He Zhiyuan a little embarrassed, the arrow had left the bowstring. Since he already started talking, he did not think of continuing to conceal anything.
Whether he could make up with Mo Jiuye depended on this move.
Hence, He Zhiyuan also became serious.
“I’m afraid Master Mo can’t imagine that the one who instructed me to withhold grains and fodder back then was Second Prince Prince Rui.”
Hearing this, Mo Jiuye’s eyes suddenly became profound.
“You’re saying it was Prince Rui?”
He Zhiyuan nodded, “It was indeed Prince Rui.”
This was completely different from what Mo Jiuye had guessed before.
Back then, it was clear to him that someone must have instigated He Zhiyuan’s withholding grains and fodder to the border pass. However, they speculated the person was Nan Heng.
By then, the situation in court was pretty clear. Nan Heng was born to the principal wife of Emperor Shunwu, the legitimate crown prince. His ability was slightly lacking, but his position was auspicious. Those who supported making him the crown prince took up half the court halls.
Nan Qi was born to Concubine Yuan, with a status second only to that of Nan Heng.
However, Nan Qi’s superb conduct won the support of many ministers, half of whom became his faction.
As for Nan Rui, whom He Zhiyuan had just mentioned, his mother was not favored, nor did Emperor Shunwu like this son. He seldom had any presence in front of others since young.
His usual performance was showing no interest in politics and being engrossed in poetry and painting with scholars all day.
If what He Zhiyuan said was true, Mo Jiuye could not understand for the moment what Prince Rui’s intention for doing so was.
To confirm whether He Zhiyuan's words were true or false, he asked, “Why would he do so when we have no enmity at all?”
It was as if he had hit Mo Jiuye’s trigger, and He Zhiyuan’s expression immediately changed upon hearing this.
He gave a sinister laugh. As he started to explain, his words also carried more confidence than before.
“Master Mo is a smart man, you must know the purpose of my telling you these.”
Watching He Zhiyuan with his petty face, Mo Jiuye just wanted to slap him.
Nevertheless, to extract some useful information from him, Mo Jiuye clenched and relaxed his fist and held back his anger.
“I’m merely a simple warrior who does not understand those winding tricks. So Master He should speak plainly with me.”
He had thought that upon saying this, Mo Jiuye would immediately change his attitude and try to please him.
However, the result was completely opposite from what he imagined. Not only did Mo Jiuye not show any intention to fawn on him, he even intimidated him with that icy cold gaze.
Seeing Mo Jiuye's cold eyes, He Zhiyuan could not help shuddering.
He even associated it with Mo Jiuye possibly taking some drastic measures to force him to yield if he did not disclose everything he knew today.
As for what measures, He Zhiyuan dared not imagine. With Mo Jiuye’s decisive and ruthless means on the battlefield, he would definitely suffer.
After so much trouble, he still had to confess in the end...
Having figured things out, He Zhiyuan decided not to worry about gains and losses any longer. He did not believe that after revealing such a huge secret, Mo Jiuye would remain indifferent.
“The poetry and painting Prince Rui engages in every day is just a front. His intention is to make Prince Heng and Prince Qi lower their guard and think he would not become a stumbling block on their path to being the crown prince.
How would they expect that Prince Rui has secretly rallied many ministers in private? On the surface, those ministers still belong to either Prince Heng or Prince Qi’s faction, but they are actually working for Prince Rui.
Back then, his intention of asking me to withhold grains and fodder on the way to the borders was to make Prince Qi suspicious of Prince Heng. This was meant to intensify conflicts between them to the point of drawing swords against each other.
And indeed, things went just as Prince Rui predicted. Prince Qi’s subordinates submitted many impeachments against Prince Heng repeatedly. As a result, the two became like fire and water and even started oppressing each other secretly.”
At this moment, Mo Jiuye still could not distinguish the authenticity of He Zhiyuan’s words.
However, what he said was reasoned and plausible; it was not impossible.
“What benefits did Prince Rui promise you that made you so willing to be used by him?”
This question was key. If He Zhiyuan’s answer was reasonable, Mo Jiuye would overturn all his prior cognition.
“I won’t hide this from Master Mo, but I have an illegitimate daughter named He Meiyu who has been raised outside ever since she was young. Meiyu is talented and accomplished. She got to know Prince Rui by chance at a poetry party once, and they developed feelings for each other. After Prince Rui learned of her status, he personally proposed to me.
He promised that Meiyu’s position would be the principal wife, so I considered that no matter whether Prince Rui had ulterior motives or not, he was a prince after all. For my little illegitimate daughter to become a principal wife would be a blessing that I would never achieve even after three lifetimes of cultivation.
After I agreed, Prince Rui put forward another condition that after entering his residence, Meiyu must take on a new identity so that outsiders would not think there was any connection between us.
His intention was that he did not want others to accuse him of forming factions and private interests.
Two months later, Prince Rui brought Meiyu home as promised. Meiyu's identity was merely the daughter of a wealthy merchant.”
