The gentle breeze was like the subtle sway of brilliant crape myrtle flowers. Such a calm and disarming An Jin could easily bewitch anyone. Even Ran Yan, who was accustomed to thinking rationally, could hardly imagine that the man before her, appearing to be untainted by the mortal world… was the initiator of the bloody storm that had engulfed Chang'an, so crazed, so… hysterical.

Ran Yan was not one to speak in elegant verses, and the only phrase in her mind that seemed pale in comparison to the current scenic beauty was "the epitome of beauty."

Perhaps due to undergoing castration at a later age, An Jin still possessed many prominent male features, not appearing as purely feminine as ordinary eunuchs.

Ran Yan averted her gaze and sat up from the couch, "What exactly do you want by bringing me here?"

"Xiao Xuanzhi told me you have in your possession a piece of evidence of Li Tai's rebellion," An Jin said.

It was good that he wanted something. Ran Yan looked up at him, "You want that?"

An Jin clenched his fist and rested his chin upon it, emitting an enigmatic grunt from his nostrils, while his other hand was tapping on his knee with a booklet, "Your Xiao Family truly produces talents. I'm sure Lady Xian would never have guessed that everything started because of Xiao Xuanzhi."

Ran Yan was startled deep down; indeed, she had never doubted Xiao Xuanzhi, and she felt that no one in the Ministry of Works would suspect him either. Ran Yan looked down, weighing how much truth there was in his words.

In this affair, indeed, a shadow of Xiao Xuanzhi loomed. He simply presented a piece of evidence of Li Tai's conspiracy to the Crown Prince. There were no other traces of his involvement to be seen.

Seemingly discerning Ran Yan's thoughts, An Jin began to speak casually, "Xiao Xuanzhi is really on par with your husband. He indeed didn't plot any strategies, but his subtle driving force behind all this ensured that everything continued at the most opportune moments, unbeknownst to the Crown Prince."

His tapping with the booklet paused slightly, "The son of Lady Dongyang is really not bad either. Ha!"

An Jin let out a soft chuckle, slowly sat up, and changed into a more comfortable position.

"And you?" Ran Yan's heart felt that she might as well understand the whole situation, since there was no immediate chance of escape.

"Lady Xian always maintains her composure in the face of danger, which I quite like. There's no harm in acquainting you with the truth," An Jin said, "Xiao Xuanzhi just happened to need to use me, and I, coincidentally, needed to use him. That's all there is to it."

With a little thought, Ran Yan connected the dots and understood the sequence of events.

It was easy to understand why Xiao Shilang acted the way he did; he always felt that his mother was heartless. Yet, only at the end of her life did he have the chance to realize that his mother simply did not know how to relate to him.

Reflecting on Lady Dongyang's life, aside from loneliness, there was only sorrow. Her son was her sole consolation; how could she truly neglect him?

Xiao Xuanzhi, knowing the full story, would understand the thoroughness of his mother's secret protection of him. Such a mountainous maternal love appearing so abruptly must have been too much for him to bear at first.

The hatred for Li Ke, who killed Lady Dongyang, must have become even more unstoppable.

It was natural for Xiao Xuanzhi to intend to use the Crown Prince to eliminate Li Ke. However, as Xiao Xuanzhi was not a Court official, it wasn't easy to meet with the Crown Prince regularly, so An Jin facilitated the communication between them.

"Did Xiao Xuanzhi tell you that his mother still had a group of former subordinates?" Ran Yan inquired.

"Correct," An Jin replied.

"So that means, you lured me into the secret passage on Xiao Xuanzhi's deliberate arrangement?" Ran Yan furrowed her brow. The possibility had crossed her mind, but if everything was orchestrated by Xiao Xuanzhi alone, he was far too frightening.

"Xiao Xuanzhi? Heh!" An Jin's brows lifted slightly, a glint of charm passing by, "Xiao Xuanzhi just informed me that group could be of use. Those fools actually imagined they could control me, ha, I… may not be free, but I'm not someone anyone can control!"

Toward the end, a murderous look flashed through An Jin's eyes. Even his overly calm demeanor showed some cracks.

An Jin clearly lived in his own world; what he wanted to say, he would say, without being swayed by others. To this point, Ran Yan had asked many times but still couldn't grasp what he really wanted by bringing her here.

He seemed to have no desire to kill her, nor did he seem to want to extract anything from her. This left her uneasy, and she attempted to probe indirectly, "An Jin…"

"Don't call that name," An Jin coldly cut her off.

The garden quieted down, filled with the sounds of cicadas. After a moment, An Jin finally said, "Duan Yunzai."

If you find any errors ( broken links, non-standard content, etc.. ), Please let us know < report chapter > so we can fix it as soon as possible.