Chapter 165: I Once Saw That Tassel    Yan Weiyi wasn’t a herbivore. Without Jing Rong’s reminder today, he would have remained a chess piece in Jing Yi’s hand and probably wouldn’t realize it. Jing Yi was an unscrupulous man, thus he vaguely felt that Yan Weiyi wasn’t in the right frame of mind at this moment. He frowned while asking, “Teacher Yan, did you see someone today?”

“Yes. I went to Peach Blossoms Spring.”

Jing Yi’s expression immediately changed because the Peach Blossoms Spring was Jing Rong’s territory. “Why did he meet you?” Logic stipulated that this matter might not be a coincidence.

Yan Weiyi remained silent as he slowly sat down in front of Jing Yi. Then, he stared straight at the person opposite of him and spoke. “Prince Rong knew about the matter of the northern tangerine tree. However, I’m unsure where he got his information. It should have been impossible for him to link the shiban poison to me as it’s common knowledge that the northern tangerine trees are extinct and I was extremely careful when growing the trees.”

“He only mentioned about this matter?” Jing Yi didn’t care much about what with the matter of the northern tangerine trees.

“No. He told me that he already sent people to uproot all the trees I had. Those trees were to receive the punishment I ought to receive for my crime.”

“So to say, he knew that you were the one who sent the assassins to Liang mountain?”

At this moment, Jing Yi unexpectedly still wanted to push all the blame for the failed assassination on to his head. He was obviously acting on Jing Yi’s orders. It was clear that Yan Weiyi was merely a chess piece from this question.

“No. Prince Rong had no idea about it and the matter about the shiban poison wasn’t exposed yet. He only knew about the assassination at Jinjiang’s memorial hall. But how did Prince Rong know that shiban poison was used at that time?” Yan Weiyi’s tone was dejected without much hint to his real state of mind.

Jing Yi froze for a moment before strongly reacting, “It is because we both overlooked ‘him’? That clever man must know about the shiban poison.”

The person Jing Yi referred to was none other than Ji Yunshu.

Yan Weiyi wasn’t concerned about Jing Yi’s words. Instead, he took a jade pendant from his waist and presented it to Jing Yi. He explained, “Prince Rong had some words that he wants me to pass to you: In the future, don’t leave such obvious evidence. This jade pendant is something Prince Rong found on your suicide soldiers.” As he was done speaking, he got up and saluted Jing Yi, “From now on, if your Highness wants to kill someone, please do it yourself. Although we are on the same side, the only reason I want to kill Prince is to avenge my son. I have no intention to involve myself in the struggles between the princes.” Without waiting for Jing Yi to respond, he quickly departed from the room.

The shock could be seen on Jing Yi’s face. Then, he carefully scrutinized the jade pendant in his hand.

Dou Quan didn’t notice Jing Yi’s mood. However, he cautiously said, “It appears that Prince Rong said something to Yan Weiyi with the intention to sow discord between him and you. May I suggest that we pay more attention to that man in the future?”

Jing Yi was a bit absent-minded but still replied, “This jade pendant is indeed the one I made for the suicide soldiers to wear. How did that end up in Jing Rong’s hand?”

“Could it be that when he went to assassinate Prince Rong, it was accidentally lost?” Dou Quan proposed.

“You should be very clear that when this Prince dispatched those suicide soldiers, it’s impossible that I would allow them to wear such an obvious jade pendant that could trace back to me. Let’s suppose that Jing Rong really took this from a suicide soldier we sent, it means that he had long since known that the mastermind of his assassination is me. So, today, he was simply using Yan Weiyi to parry me.”

“Your Highness, all the dispatched suicide soldiers are dead.”

“Strange… This is very strange…”

Jing Yi narrowed his eyes. He felt that there was more to this situation than meets the eyes. For suicide soldiers to wear a distinctive accessory was against logic.

…………………

Meanwhile, at the same time Jing Rong left the Rong estate, Ji Yunshu also departed. For her destination, she went to a certain restaurant in the capital; It was the restaurant that she brought Wei Yi to eat meat the other day.

As soon as she went in, she heard the melodious song “The Caged Woman” being sung on the restaurant stage. Following her line of sight, the singer from the other day, Mei Xiang’er, stood on the stage and sang with a moving voice, plucking her audience’s heartstrings, yet making them feel comfortable as they listened to her.

As Ji Yunshu darted her gaze towards the stage, she accidentally encountered Mei Xiang’er’s gaze which showed surprise upon contact. Underneath her surprise, there was a vague hint of what appeared to be bashfulness.

Ji Yunshu coughed. She cannot afford stirring romance. Therefore, she quickly escaped to the second floor.

After she reached the second floor, she saw Li Shiyan sitting at a table outside. He sported a demeanor screaming out “I am the coolest!” In one hand, he used chopsticks to repeatedly tap on the table. While his other hand was idly resting on the wooden railing of the balcony. His appearance left Ji Yunshu speechless.

She walked up to him and when she arrived next to him, she patted his back. “Young Master, I’m here.”

Pop!

The chopsticks were dropped on the table. Then, he slowly got up and looked at Ji Yunshu with his peach blossoms eyes. His mouth drawn back into a smile.

‘Huh? Didn’t they say that he was seriously injured? He doesn’t even look like he was injured at all!’

“I thought you wouldn’t come. You’re late by almost the time it takes for a whole joss stick to burn.” Li Shiyan grumbled.

“There was a delay.”

Ji Yunshu sat in front of him. As soon as her butt touched the wooden chair, she stretched her hand toward Li Shiyan and solemnly said, “Now, can you give me back that thing?”

“Why are you in such hurry? Let’s eat first.”

“No need. I don’t have much time to spare.” Ji Yunshu was firm with her answer.

Li Shiyan’s expression turned into one of grievance. He pressed his hand on his shoulder and whined, “Don’t tell me that you don’t even have the time to inquire about my well-being? I received a heavy injury because of you. The wound on my shoulder is still not healed yet.”

Ji Yunshu wasn’t a heartless person; If it wasn’t because of Li Shiyan’s assistance, her life would have been jeopardized. She opened her mouth and spoke with concern, “Remember not to soak the wound in water. Don’t eat spicy food or…”

“I lied to you. I’m not injured.”

“What?” Ji Yunshu was bewildered.

Li Shiyan smiled at her and used his hand to pat his shoulder. “You really underestimate me. Those people couldn’t have injured me. Although, I did hurt my arm when I tried to go down the valley to find you two. I got careless, tripped and tumbled down instead. I ended up dislocating my shoulder, but everything is good now.”

‘Oi, oi, oi! Are you trying to act funny like a monkey?’ Li Shiyan really made her head hurt.

Li Shiyan narrowed his eyes and leaned forward. He asked with great curiosity, “I really want to know what is your relationship with that prince.”

Faced with that inquisitive expression, Ji Yunshu let out a deep breath. She bluntly answered, “I can’t follow your thoughts. I’m here because I need you to return that thing to me. Please give it back now.”

“If I don’t want to?”

“Then, I will risk everything to get it back.” Ji Yunshu spoke those words without hesitation.

Her words shocked Li Shiyan. ‘That thing is that precious to her?’ After pondering a moment, he took out a tassel from his sleeve. This was something that he stole from Ji Yunshu when they were in Liang mountain. That’s right! He stole it! He swayed the tassel in front of Ji Yunshu. His coquettish appearance turned into a serious one as he inquired the origin of the tassel. “Is this tassel really yours?”

“Of course it’s mine.” As she spoke, her fingers reached for the tassel.

However the next moment, Li Shiyan abruptly spoke shocking words. “I once saw that tassel before.”

Her hand paused in the air right before her fingers could brush the tassel. “What did you say?” She asked in a trembling voice.

“I said that I once saw that tassel.”

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