Chapter 287: Examination

Translator: Atlas Studios Editor: Atlas Studios

Fifteen minutes later, the two of them were forcefully brought to a restaurant.

The two of them entered the room at the left end of the corridor.

Inside stood a man wearing a bamboo hat. His face was covered, so his facial features could not be seen clearly. Only his chin could be vaguely seen.

Behind the man was a landscape screen.

The two of them had never seen the world and thought that the man in the bamboo hat was someone who could make decisions.

Old Master Su asked in a panic, “May I ask why you brought us here?”

At this moment, how could Old Master Su still be as noble as before?

The edges of his body were smoothed.

The man in the bamboo hat was none other than Qin Jiang’s trusted aide, Xu Qing.

Xu Qing sized up the two of them carefully and said, “Are you from Qingzhou’s Apricot Flower Village?”

Old Master Su bowed slightly. “Yes, yes.”

Su Dalang helped his grandfather up, feeling flustered and uneasy.

Xu Qing asked coldly, “Did the people from the Marquis of Zhenbei bring you to the capital?”

Su looked at his grandfather, not knowing if he should answer.

Old Master Su said, “Yes.”

Old Master Su said, “…Yes.”

Xu Qing continued to ask, “How many families in your village have the surname, Su?”

Old Master Su answered honestly, “Two families. Our old Su family has lived in Apricot Flower Village for generations. There’s another small Su family that moved into the village more than ten years ago.”

Xu Qing unfolded the portrait in his hand. “Do you know this man?”

Old Master Su looked at the portrait and hesitated.

Xu Qing said in a low voice, “If you want to live, tell me honestly. Do you know me or not?”

Su Dalang was frightened and quickly said, “I know him. His name is Su Cheng. He’s from the Su family.”

Xu Qing took out two other portraits. “Which one is his daughter?”

Old Master Su pointed. “The fatter one.”

There was no mistake.

Xu Qing held two portraits in his hand. One was a portrait of Su Xiaoxiao, and the other was casually drawn.

“What’s her name?”

Su Dalang shrank his neck. “S-Su Daya.”

Xu Qing said, “She has a husband?”

Su Dalang was surprised. “You mean Young Mr. Wei?”

It was impossible for Xu Qing to answer him. He asked arrogantly, “How did he marry Su Daya?”

Brother Su whispered, “He… He was picked up by Su Cheng. Su Daya’s marriage was terminated. Su Cheng went to the village to nab a son-in-law. He didn’t nab one, so he picked someone up from the roadside.”

To be honest, at first, they did not know that Wei Ting had been picked up by Su Cheng and thought that Su Cheng had gone to some village to kidnap him.

It was only after Young Mr. Wei walked around the village that everyone slowly found out.

“Young Mr. Wei was seriously injured. He probably agreed to this marriage to repay her kindness.”

Xu Qing nodded and opened the three portraits on the table. “Which one of these portraits is Young Mr. Wei?”

Brother Su glanced at Old Master Su, who closed his eyes in resignation.

Su Dalang made up his mind and pointed at the middle one.

Behind the screen, Qin Jiang observed their expressions through the gap without blinking.

Xu Qing took a step back and looked at Qin Jiang calmly.

Qin Jiang nodded slightly.

This time, Xu Qing did not continue to interrogate them. Instead, he took out a bag of silver and poured it on the table.

Looking at the white silver ingots, Old Master Su and Brother Su widened their eyes.

Xu Qing said unhurriedly, “Listen carefully. This person’s name is Wei Ting. Before he was picked up by Su Cheng to be a live-in son-in-law, he came to your village to ask about Little Su’s family. Moreover, he was not injured.” Brother Su was stunned. “This…

Xu Qing threatened, “Did you remember what I just said? If anyone asks, you should know how to answer, right? If you do it well, these silver will be yours. I’ll even prepare a carriage for you to return to Qingzhou comfortably. But if you don’t know what’s good for you…”

Xu Qing pulled out the sword at his waist.

“I won’t kill you now, but I guarantee that you won’t be able to walk out of the capital alive!”

At the Marquis of Zhenbei’s Estate.

Su Xiaoxiao came over to change the Old Marquis’ dressing and let the doctor rest for half a day.

When the Old Marquis saw his dear granddaughter, the grandchildren at home instantly lost their fragrance.

He did not care. His sister’s was his. She was his biological granddaughter and he would not accept a retort!

Su Qi and Su Yu stood in the courtyard and watched with jealousy as their grandfather asked about the little girl. He sent her this and that, wishing he could get the servants to empty the storeroom for the little girl to choose.

Su Yu said, “Second Brother, do you think Grandpa knows that the two of us are here?”

Su Qi said, “Go ask Grandpa.”

Su Yu said aggrievedly, “Do you think I didn’t ask?”

His grandfather no longer had him in his eyes. He was not the Little Yuyu that his grandfather doted on the most!

Su Qi crossed his arms and snorted. “When Fourth Brother and Fifth Brother return, this girl will get a lesson she deserves!”

The butler rushed over. “Second Young Master, Third Young Master, are the heir and eldest young master here?”

Su Qi asked, “Why are you looking for my father and brother?”

The butler said, “Someone from the palace came.”

Su Qi said seriously, “I’ll go take a look.”

Su Yu hurriedly said, “I’ll go too!”

When the two brothers arrived at the entrance of the residence, they realized that Emperor Jing Xuan wanted to summon the grandfather and grandson from Apricot Flower Village. Su Qi said to Eunuch Quan, “They’ve already left!”

Eunuch Quan was shocked. “Left?”

Was he going to return empty-handed? Su Qi nodded. “Yes, they’ve been gone for more than two hours.”

Su Yu recalled, “It seems to be more than that…

Eunuch Quan slapped his thigh. “Oh no!”

After more than two hours, they had probably left the capital.

Just as he was burning with anxiety, Old Master Su and Brother Su walked over in a sorry state.

Su Yu looked at the two of them strangely. “Eh? Why are you back? What happened?”

Su Dalang lowered his eyes and said, ‘We… Not long after we left, our money was snatched away… We had no choice… We could only return to the Marquis of Zhenbei’s Estate first… We wanted to see… if we can borrow some money to return to Qingzhou…”

“Qingzhou?” Eunuch Quan looked at the two of them. “Are you the grandfather and grandson from Apricot Flower Village?”

In the imperial study.

The atmosphere was extremely cold.

Emperor Jing Xuan said, “I’ll give you one last chance. Where did you go when you were cultivating in the temple?”

Wei Ting said nothing.

He could not admit that he had left the temple not only because he would be charged with lying to the emperor, or any other crime.

Instead, he didn’t want to expose the three children.

Under normal circumstances, when everyone found out that he had sons outside, they would at most sigh. It turned out that Wei Ting was not a gentleman.

However, if this matter was related to cultivation, it was inevitable that people would think that he had planned it long ago. He had deliberately taken the initiative to go to the temple and fade away from everyone’s sight, but he had actually secretly gone to Qingzhou.

Did he have to go through so much trouble for three illegitimate children?

The answer was no.

Emperor Jing Xuan was suspicious by nature and would definitely investigate the backgrounds of the three children…

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