Pitying Yin Yan (Part Two)
“You are certain about what JiuGe said about Yin JiYao and Liu TingTing looking similar, but how similar?”
Gu ShuBai reported what Gu JiuGe had discovered, and Gu HuaiJiang took it very seriously. This made him notice something a little strange.
“Second brother said that it was a seventy percent resemblance. For people who are not related, it’s impossible for them to look so similar. He felt that Yin JiYao’s unmentionable mother was Liu YinYin. Do you think that this is possible?”
Before meeting with Gu HuaiJiang, Gu ShuBai felt that this was impossible.
She was a female general who committed suicide on the battlefield, so how could she possibly become Prime Minister Yin’s concubine and give birth to Yin JiYao?
After meeting with Gu HuaiJiang, he clearly saw a look of acceptance of Gu JiuGe’s theory in his father’s eyes.
Gu HuaiJiang fell silent for a moment, “There is something that father forgot to tell you. Liu YinYin and Liu TingTing of Western Kun’s Liu family, like Gu Xiang and Gu Yi, are twins.”
“Twins? That’s to say Liu YinYin and Liu TingTing look exactly the same?”
Liu YinYin and Liu TingTing looked exactly the same, and Yin JiYao greatly resembled Liu TingTing. That meant that it was very likely that she was the daughter of Liu YinYin.
Gu HuaiJiang said: “If not for Gu JiuGe mentioning it, father would have nearly forgotten about it. Back then, Liu Kuang executed 300 prisoners of war, including people from the Gu family’s army. At that time, we were elated and thought that we could bring those prisoners of war back, but then those prisoners were suddenly executed. The soldiers were furious, and the situation got messy. Liu YinYin’s corpse disappeared.”
“At that time, father thought that the soldiers were resentful, so they secretly abandoned her corpse in the wilderness. Or it was a group from Western Kun that secretly retrieved her corpse without us knowing. Thinking back on it, Liu YinYin was pretending to be dead, or the poison was treated after. Both of these are possible.”
Gu ShuBai sarcastically laughed, “So that’s why. It’s no wonder Prime Minister Yin hid the secret of his concubine from the brothel so fiercely. It turned out that she wasn’t from a brothel. Instead, she was a famous female general from Western Kun!”
How did Liu YinYin, as a female general from Western Kun, end up leaving with Yin Yan then pass away early…
It was likely that these mysteries would never be solved.
Gu HuaiJiang looked up. He understood his son. There were not many things in this world that could make Gu ShuBai have this sort of reaction.
He was truly angry.
“ShuBai, why are you so angry?”
Gu ShuBai looked into his calm eyes. It was as if he had a bucket of cold water poured on his head, and he quickly calmed down.
“Father, it was I who got too agitated. Son just feels that you have been wronged! You have allowed Yin Yan to do as he pleased for so many years, and you have endured being suspected and envied by him. You have endured being incited and insulted. In the end, we find out that he is the reason for the unclear relationship between Western Kun and us! Father, are you not angry?”
Gu HuaiJiang shook his head with a smile.
Not only was he not angry, but he was actually quite relaxed.
The moonlight poured into the room like water, coming in through the tent’s skylight. It landed on the map of the border region, giving it an elegance similar to an ink painting.
It was as if this was neither a military tent on the border nor on the battlefield. Instead, it felt like a family home in Jiangnan.
“In the past, father felt guilty. I earned many achievements on the battlefield and stole Prime Minister Yin’s glory in court. As the prime minister, he should have been at the top of hundreds of officials, but my merits passed him. It’s natural that he would feel unhappy. Father allowed him to do as he pleased in other ways because father knows that I can’t resign from this position.”
“As long as Western Kun continues to have its ambitions, and as long as the flames of war continue to burn on the border, father can’t even retire to the capital. The so-called military merits will continue to pile up. This was father’s choice. His envy and actions were the results of father’s choice.”
Gu ShuBai’s lip twitched. He wanted to say something, but Gu HuaiJiang stopped him, “Today, I finally understand why YinYan opposed me and opposed my Gu family’s army. He was afraid that the relationship between him and the female general from Western Kun would be uncovered. Once that was discovered, his title as a loyal prime minister would become a joke. That is the reason that he opposed Marquis Gu’s Manor. It does not really have much to do with father.”
From the way that Yin Yan protected Yin JiYao, to the point that it could be called imprisonment, it could be seen just how much this worried him.
Yin JiYao’s birth mother only had a stone tombstone with no writing on it. He did not even dare write a pseudonym on it, much less her real name.
Over the past decade, Yin Yan’s mind was like that unmarked tombstone. It looked to be calm, but it was actually soaked with blood and tears.
In an instant, Gu HuaiJiang pitied him.
“This matter doesn’t really concern father, but the previous prime minister and Yin Shuo do not see things this way. The Liu family’s siblings also don’t see it this way. Does father not feel that Liu Kuang came quite ferociously this time for the sake of living up to what he said back then?”
Back when he had executed 300 prisoners of war, he held up a bloody sword and decapitated head and proclaimed that he would get revenge against Gu HuaiJiang for his little sister. After a decade-long gap, he had finally come.
Gu HuaiJiang tilted his head back and looked out through the skylight. A crescent moon hung in the sky.
“Is today the second?”
Gu ShuBai followed his gaze and looked out, “That’s right. It will be the Mid-Autumn Festival in a few days. Unfortunately, we won’t be able to celebrate the festival as a family at the manor. I wonder if they will make mooncakes in new shapes this year.”
“We won’t be able to enjoy any mooncakes, but father will do my best to allow you guys to get back in time to eat osmanthus cakes.”
Osmanthuses were most fragrant during the ninth and tenth months. This meant…
Gu ShuBai rejoiced, his pursed lips curling into a smile, “Everything is ready. We’re just waiting for Liu Kuang to make his move!”
Pitying Yin Yan (Part Two)
“You are certain about what JiuGe said about Yin JiYao and Liu TingTing looking similar, but how similar?”
Gu ShuBai reported what Gu JiuGe had discovered, and Gu HuaiJiang took it very seriously. This made him notice something a little strange.
“Second brother said that it was a seventy percent resemblance. For people who are not related, it’s impossible for them to look so similar. He felt that Yin JiYao’s unmentionable mother was Liu YinYin. Do you think that this is possible?”
Before meeting with Gu HuaiJiang, Gu ShuBai felt that this was impossible.
She was a female general who committed suicide on the battlefield, so how could she possibly become Prime Minister Yin’s concubine and give birth to Yin JiYao?
After meeting with Gu HuaiJiang, he clearly saw a look of acceptance of Gu JiuGe’s theory in his father’s eyes.
Gu HuaiJiang fell silent for a moment, “There is something that father forgot to tell you. Liu YinYin and Liu TingTing of Western Kun’s Liu family, like Gu Xiang and Gu Yi, are twins.”
“Twins? That’s to say Liu YinYin and Liu TingTing look exactly the same?”
Liu YinYin and Liu TingTing looked exactly the same, and Yin JiYao greatly resembled Liu TingTing. That meant that it was very likely that she was the daughter of Liu YinYin.
Gu HuaiJiang said: “If not for Gu JiuGe mentioning it, father would have nearly forgotten about it. Back then, Liu Kuang executed 300 prisoners of war, including people from the Gu family’s army. At that time, we were elated and thought that we could bring those prisoners of war back, but then those prisoners were suddenly executed. The soldiers were furious, and the situation got messy. Liu YinYin’s corpse disappeared.”
“At that time, father thought that the soldiers were resentful, so they secretly abandoned her corpse in the wilderness. Or it was a group from Western Kun that secretly retrieved her corpse without us knowing. Thinking back on it, Liu YinYin was pretending to be dead, or the poison was treated after. Both of these are possible.”
Gu ShuBai sarcastically laughed, “So that’s why. It’s no wonder Prime Minister Yin hid the secret of his concubine from the brothel so fiercely. It turned out that she wasn’t from a brothel. Instead, she was a famous female general from Western Kun!”
How did Liu YinYin, as a female general from Western Kun, end up leaving with Yin Yan then pass away early…
It was likely that these mysteries would never be solved.
Gu HuaiJiang looked up. He understood his son. There were not many things in this world that could make Gu ShuBai have this sort of reaction.
He was truly angry.
“ShuBai, why are you so angry?”
Gu ShuBai looked into his calm eyes. It was as if he had a bucket of cold water poured on his head, and he quickly calmed down.
“Father, it was I who got too agitated. Son just feels that you have been wronged! You have allowed Yin Yan to do as he pleased for so many years, and you have endured being suspected and envied by him. You have endured being incited and insulted. In the end, we find out that he is the reason for the unclear relationship between Western Kun and us! Father, are you not angry?”
Gu HuaiJiang shook his head with a smile.
Not only was he not angry, but he was actually quite relaxed.
The moonlight poured into the room like water, coming in through the tent’s skylight. It landed on the map of the border region, giving it an elegance similar to an ink painting.
It was as if this was neither a military tent on the border nor on the battlefield. Instead, it felt like a family home in Jiangnan.
“In the past, father felt guilty. I earned many achievements on the battlefield and stole Prime Minister Yin’s glory in court. As the prime minister, he should have been at the top of hundreds of officials, but my merits passed him. It’s natural that he would feel unhappy. Father allowed him to do as he pleased in other ways because father knows that I can’t resign from this position.”
“As long as Western Kun continues to have its ambitions, and as long as the flames of war continue to burn on the border, father can’t even retire to the capital. The so-called military merits will continue to pile up. This was father’s choice. His envy and actions were the results of father’s choice.”
Gu ShuBai’s lip twitched. He wanted to say something, but Gu HuaiJiang stopped him, “Today, I finally understand why YinYan opposed me and opposed my Gu family’s army. He was afraid that the relationship between him and the female general from Western Kun would be uncovered. Once that was discovered, his title as a loyal prime minister would become a joke. That is the reason that he opposed Marquis Gu’s Manor. It does not really have much to do with father.”
From the way that Yin Yan protected Yin JiYao, to the point that it could be called imprisonment, it could be seen just how much this worried him.
Yin JiYao’s birth mother only had a stone tombstone with no writing on it. He did not even dare write a pseudonym on it, much less her real name.
Over the past decade, Yin Yan’s mind was like that unmarked tombstone. It looked to be calm, but it was actually soaked with blood and tears.
In an instant, Gu HuaiJiang pitied him.
“This matter doesn’t really concern father, but the previous prime minister and Yin Shuo do not see things this way. The Liu family’s siblings also don’t see it this way. Does father not feel that Liu Kuang came quite ferociously this time for the sake of living up to what he said back then?”
Back when he had executed 300 prisoners of war, he held up a bloody sword and decapitated head and proclaimed that he would get revenge against Gu HuaiJiang for his little sister. After a decade-long gap, he had finally come.
Gu HuaiJiang tilted his head back and looked out through the skylight. A crescent moon hung in the sky.
“Is today the second?”
Gu ShuBai followed his gaze and looked out, “That’s right. It will be the Mid-Autumn Festival in a few days. Unfortunately, we won’t be able to celebrate the festival as a family at the manor. I wonder if they will make mooncakes in new shapes this year.”
“We won’t be able to enjoy any mooncakes, but father will do my best to allow you guys to get back in time to eat osmanthus cakes.”
Osmanthuses were most fragrant during the ninth and tenth months. This meant…
Gu ShuBai rejoiced, his pursed lips curling into a smile, “Everything is ready. We’re just waiting for Liu Kuang to make his move!”
