The Blood Crown - Chapter 248

Only a few days remained until Feng Ye’s wedding.

Yan Sikong heard rumors that upon learning of Emperor Zhaowu’s deposing of Chen Chun and Chen Mu’s intention to ally with the court, the Prince Yong realized he had made a wrong choice and started to waver. As a result, Feng Ye did something astonishing—he ordered Wang Shen to lead 50,000 troops to “escort the bride.”

This was no escort; it was clearly a kidnapping.

Prince Yong, realizing he couldn’t back out, had no choice but to obediently hand over Princess Yunlong. At this moment, the army was on its way back to the city, and they would not miss the auspicious date.

As for Yan Sikong, ever since the ritual, he had been staying in his room nearly every day without going out.

First, Feng Ye had sent people to follow him everywhere, and second, Feng Ye had quietly stripped him of his authority, reducing him to almost nothing.

The two couldn’t come to an agreement over Chen Mu, so they remained at an impasse. Recently, Feng Ye had been preoccupied with his wedding and had no time to attend to him.

Moreover, Yan Sikong had no desire to leave the house. The sea of red decorations and the strange looks from the servants were too glaring for him.

However, even though he confined himself indoors, his thoughts were constantly wandering outside. The current situation left him with no way forward or backward, and he could not sleep all night. He tried to deduce his fate and the fate of Dashing from the smallest details, even though he knew it was futile.

Feng Ye’s ambitions, Chen Mu’s betrayal, Shen Hexuan’s schemes, the court’s restrictions, and even the mysterious appearance of the drunkard with the iron staff—these all made him uneasy, as if a sharp guillotine hung above his head, waiting to fall at any moment.

Soon, his worries came true.

When Wu Liqi came to him, looking uneasy, saying that Feng Ye wanted to see him, Yan Sikong felt that something had gone wrong.

“Why would the Wolf King want to see me at this hour?” It was nearly midnight. If Feng Ye wanted to see him, he wouldn’t need to send someone to summon him; he would come directly.

Wu Liqi glanced at Yan Sikong anxiously. “Your servant, A Li, has been caught by the Wolf King.”

Yan Sikong was startled. “Why?”

“I don’t know. Please, you must come quickly.”

Yan Sikong didn’t have time to put on a thick coat and hurried to Feng Ye’s manor.

As he rushed into the courtyard, he saw that the lights in Feng Ye’s room were brightly lit. The door was wide open, and two groups of guards stood outside, each holding a torch in one hand and a sword in the other.

The atmosphere was unusual.

Yan Sikong stormed into the room and saw that both Feng Ye and Yuan Nanyu were present. Feng Ye’s face was cold and chilling, while A Li was kneeling on the ground, bound tightly.

“What’s going on?” Yan Sikong called out loudly. “What did A Li do?”

A Li looked at Yan Sikong, his mouth opening and closing as if trying to speak but unable to make a sound. He was on the verge of crying.

Feng Ye looked at Yan Sikong with eyes that seemed devoid of warmth: “What did A Li do? Shouldn’t you know best?”

Yan Sikong spoke in a low voice, “Please, Wolf King, enlighten me.”

Yuan Nanyu stared at Yan Sikong, his eyes full of complexity. His lips moved slightly, but he didn’t speak.

“Why did you send him to find people from the Jianghu?” Feng Ye asked coldly.

“Those were people from She Zhun’s side. To gather information from all corners, I have always been in contact with She Zhun. What’s wrong with that?” Yan Sikong replied.

“Do you think you can fool your way through this?” Feng Ye said, his voice cold. “The man he went to find has already confessed in prison. It was you who sent A Li to hire someone to kill. The target was a drunkard known as ‘Iron staff.'”

Yan Sikong stared blankly at Feng Ye.

Feng Ye slammed his fist on the table and growled, “Is it true or not?”

“…It’s true.”

A Li began to struggle fiercely, making inhuman sounds as he tried to break free. His strength was so great that it took several guards to hold him down.

“Why?” Feng Ye gritted his teeth and demanded. “If you lie, I’ll have him disemboweled!”

Yan Sikong had already sensed that things were more complicated than they seemed. If the only evidence was that he had hired someone to kill, it wouldn’t be a big deal—unless Feng Ye had discovered that the drunkard was secretly communicating with Chen Mu, which led to a misunderstanding. He took a deep breath and said, “This matter might not warrant such fury from the Wolf King. There must be another reason behind it.”

Yuan Nanyu couldn’t help but speak up, “Master Yan Sikong, you should just tell us everything. If there’s a misunderstanding, I believe the Wolf King won’t wrong you.”

Yan Sikong narrowed his eyes. “What exactly do you want to say?”

Feng Ye glared at Yan Sikong with such intensity, as if he wished he could swallow him whole. He clenched his fists. “Que Wang, speak.”

Yuan Nanyu rubbed his hands awkwardly, glancing at Feng Ye and then at Yan Sikong. In a low voice, he said, “Today, scouts captured a messenger who was delivering a letter to Prince Chu. The letter contained military secrets, and under intense interrogation, the man confessed that Iron staff had instructed him.”

Yan Sikong’s mind exploded in a roar. His scalp seemed to crack open, and all the doubts he had previously felt were suddenly connected—Iron staff was trying to frame him for secretly communicating with Chen Mu!

Feng Ye’s cold voice cut through the air. “The secrets in that letter were known by fewer than five people in the entire army. You were one of them, and many were even handled by you. Why, then, did you send A Li to hire an assassin to silence him? Moreover, you had people check into Iron staff two months ago. Is it or is it not true?”

Yan Sikong took a deep breath, trying to calm himself, but he knew that whoever was framing him had been plotting this for a long time. At first glance, it seemed flawless. He spoke in a low voice, “I did have people check Iron staff, and I did want to kill him, but I have never betrayed you. Someone is framing me.”

“Framing you?” Feng Ye sneered. “That day you went to pay respects to your father and deliberately asked me to send away the accompanying guards. Iron staff ran into you in the street and even touched your military pouch. Is that also just a coincidence? Why are there so many coincidences surrounding you?”

Yan Sikong looked at Yuan Nanyu.

Yuan Nanyu’s Adam’s apple moved, and he spoke softly, “My elder brother is also present… I must report honestly.”

Yan Sikong felt a chill spread through him. He whispered, “All of that is true, but I did not betray you. Iron staff does indeed have connections with Chen Mu, and he even approached me secretly. After I investigated him, I planned to use him to probe Chen Mu’s movements. But after running into him in the street, I realized he had an agenda I didn’t know about, so I decided to kill him to prevent future trouble.”

Feng Ye’s eyes flashed with a dangerous light. “There is a spy of Chen Mu’s in the city, and you didn’t tell me?!”

“He’s not a spy for Chen Mu; he’s just a hired thug from the Jianghu. Before he posed a threat, I didn’t want to stir things up. Besides, you and Chen Mu are already sworn enemies. I didn’t want to pour oil on the fire and let your anger cloud your judgment…”

“Utter nonsense!” Feng Ye suddenly stood up and slapped Yan Sikong, sending him crashing to the ground.

Yuan Nanyu also sprang to his feet, shouting, “Wolf King, don’t act impulsively! The matter hasn’t been fully investigated yet!”

Yan Sikong lay on the ground, his face burning hot, his head ringing, nearly stunned by the slap. But this pain seemed trivial compared to the heartbreak he felt. He stared at Feng Ye, his vision blurring.

“Is it not clear enough?” Feng Ye’s eyes were bloodshot. “He claims to be planning for me, yet everything he does favors Chen Mu. He didn’t even tell me about the spy Chen Mu planted inside the city. All the evidence points to him! How much clearer can it be?” He shouted by the end.

Outside the door, the guards knelt in unison, too frightened by the wild fury to raise their heads.

Yuan Nanyu pulled Feng Ye aside, urgently saying, “Feng Ye, what if he’s truly being framed? Perhaps this is Chen Mu trying to sow discord between you two.”

Feng Ye glared at Yuan Nanyu. “Do you know how many times he’s deceived me? So many that I’ve lost count. This man lies through his teeth and is full of scheming. If you remember how he treated you back then, after all this, would you still trust him?”

Yuan Nanyu bit his lip. “No matter what, this matter should wait until Iron staff is captured and interrogated thoroughly.”

Yan Sikong climbed up from the ground, staring fiercely at Feng Ye, his eyes pitch black. “Feng Ye, you fool! Can’t you see this is a scheme by Chen Mu to sow discord? I didn’t betray you! I, Yan Sikong, will never harm you!” He shouted this out, feeling as though his guts were being torn apart.

Feng Ye glared at him with crimson eyes, “I want to believe you, again and again, but you’ve shown no mercy, stabbing me in the back time and time again. What did I owe you in my past life? And now you want to deny it? You are well-versed in history, always ready with words to clear your name. If you want to argue, let me show you something. If I hadn’t seen this, I would never have believed that you could truly betray me for Chen Mu!”

Yuan Nanyu turned his face away.

Feng Ye shouted, “Bring in Yuan Shaoxu!”

At the mention of that name, Yan Sikong’s face drained of color.

Soon, Yuan Shaoxu appeared before them. Feng Ye ordered the guards to take A Li away, leaving only the four of them in the room.

Yuan Shaoxu cupped his hands. “Wolf King.” He gave Yan Sikong a cold and venomous glance.

“I have a question for you.” Feng Ye grabbed a cloth bundle from the coffee table and pulled out an object. “Do you recognize this?”

Yan Sikong focused his gaze and felt as though he had been struck by lightning.

It couldn’t be… No, it couldn’t!

In Feng Ye’s hand was a dagger, its sheath inlaid with gold and precious gems, clearly expensive.

It was the very dagger that Feng Ye had given Yan Sikong as a token before he left all those years ago!

Yan Sikong couldn’t believe his eyes. This dagger had been pawned twenty years ago for fifty liang of silver. He had given it to Yuan Weiling. His family’s pillar was gone, and they needed money for medicine and food. He still remembered the pain and reluctance he felt as he pawned it, and to this day, he could still recognize it at a glance.

How could it be here? How could this happen?!

Yuan Shaoxu stepped closer, eyeing the dagger closely. After a moment, he exclaimed, “This… Could it be the dagger that the Wolf King gave to Yan Sikong all those years ago?”

“How are you so sure?”

“I’ve never seen a dagger so exquisite. It was the most valuable item in our Yuan family. I borrowed it a few times to admire it.”

“And then?” Feng Ye’s voice trembled.

“Then…” Yuan Shaoxu glanced at Yan Sikong, then at Yuan Nanyu. “Then Yan Sikong was exiled in place of Nanyu. He couldn’t bring such a precious item with him, so he left it at home. Afterward…” He looked at Yan Sikong again. “When Nanyu left home, he secretly took the dagger with him.”

“Yuan Shaoxu,” Yan Sikong glared at him, wishing he could burn him with his gaze, “Even if we’re not on good terms, we are still brothers. Do you hate me so much? Do you dare stand before our father’s spirit and repeat the lies you’ve told?”

Yuan Shaoxu lowered his head, speaking softly, “Nanyu, after so many years apart, my elder brother… really doesn’t recognize you anymore.”

Yuan Nanyu looked at them in confusion, his face anxious, but he didn’t know what to say or do.

Feng Ye held up the dagger, stepping closer to Yan Sikong. “Didn’t you tell me you pawned the dagger? Why is it now in the same place as that letter, sent to Chen Mu? The handwriting in the letter is strange, obviously written with the left hand, but with this dagger, Chen Mu would believe its contents. How many more lies do you have for me?!”

Yan Sikong stared at Feng Ye, feeling as though his heart had been ripped out. Tears silently rolled down his face.

(I hate this ho shaoxu so much i wanna k-ill hm)