Chapter 49: Dare to eat poison?

Yue Tang asked, "What did you discover?"

"Aside from the sacrificial text you left in the brazier, there is the Du family's determination to conceal the truth at all costs. Ever since the He family incident, the Du family has been doing everything in their power to cover it up.

"When I first heard about the He family, I was merely guarding against Du Minghuan committing corruption behind my back. Who would have thought that following the trail would lead me all the way to Feiyun Temple.

"For the past few years, I have kept secret sentries outside the Du residence day and night. I may not know every single detail of Du Minghuan's background, but I know eighty to ninety percent of it.

"He does not have the strength to orchestrate the entire ambush, let alone hide it so seamlessly until now.

"Therefore, I am certain there is a mastermind behind him. But my people have watched him for years and have failed to even detect the power behind him, which shows just how tight their security is. It was with the intention of entering the tiger's den that I made this trip today."

At this point, he glanced at Yue Tang's expression and cleared his throat. "Of course, you must have already anticipated that this was not the Du family's doing, which is why you have lived under a pseudonym until now."

Coming from similar backgrounds, he could understand Yue Tang's logic; for children like them, born to face the various deceits of the world, such thinking was natural.

Only by letting the world continue to believe that the Princess of Yongjia had long since died—and by letting the killer believe their conspiracy had succeeded—could she gain the upper hand right under her enemies' noses.

Yue Tang gazed silently at the doorway, then asked, "Does the Du family know of 'Wang Huan'?"

"Naturally not," Yan Bei replied. "Your actions were so secretive that I suspect that, aside from discovering there was another true culprit in the He family matter, he knows nothing else. And if I hadn't recognized your handwriting, I wouldn't have associated you with the Prince Duan's Manor."

Yue Tang paused briefly to reflect on the phrase "recognized your handwriting," then nodded.

Yan Bei studied her expression and asked in a low voice, "Do you believe me now?"

Yue Tang turned to glance at him, then looked back out at the courtyard of this Marquis manor.

Her earlier suspicion of the Prince Jingyang Manor had no substantive basis; it was merely a matter of stance, automatically placing Yan Bei in the Du family's camp.

Now that A-Li had been rescued by him and was being raised so well, she could no longer claim that the conspiracy from three years ago was inevitably linked to him.

However, she did not answer immediately.

Instead, she watched Lan Qin, who was gently playing with A-Li beside the chrysanthemum bushes.

The preciousness reflected in Lan Qin's eyes was no less than what Yue Tang felt herself.

If not for that accident, Lan Qin, who was already at the age for marriage, should have had a husband and her own children by now.

The people around her now had all their hopes in life pinned on Yue Tang.

If anything were to happen to Yue Tang, everyone would fall into ruin.

After a moment of silence, she withdrew her gaze. "Speaking of which, I owe you an apology. I wronged you regarding the matters of the past."

Yan Bei was indifferent to this.

If one were to speak of the past, everyone had their own motives; no one was pure.

Judging by the methods she used to retaliate against the He and Zhang families, and the knife currently hidden in her sleeve, she was certainly not the type of person who felt the need to apologize to him.

This only proved that she still viewed him as an outsider.

But then again, since she had personally written the letter of divorce back then, it meant she had already decided to part ways.

Regardless of whether she was Wang Huan or the Princess of Yongjia, the fact remained that he had been cast aside.

At this thought, Yan Bei's expression darkened again.

He had been in the capital for three years, and he had grown weary of hearing the late Emperor's promise that the Princess of Yongjia would marry a man to bear children and establish her eldest son as the heir to the Prince Duan's Manor.

A-Li was the heir she had given to the Prince Duan's Manor, which meant that her interest in his body and her repeated marriage proposals were nothing more than a scheme to bear his child!

And since all she wanted was a child, it meant she had planned to abandon him from the very beginning.

After all, the late Emperor never said she wasn't allowed to bring a husband to the manor!

And since the manor had announced to the world that Yongjia was marrying a man to bear children, didn't that make him, Yan Bei, not even a legitimate husband, but merely a matrilocal son-in-law?

So, was this "apology" meant to address the fact that he was just a live-in husband?

Seeing his grim expression, Yue Tang knew he had figured it out. She smiled again, rubbing a small pill between her fingertips. "It's not good to be constantly angry."

"I'll be angry to death by you sooner or later," Yan Bei rolled his eyes.

Yue Tang's smile deepened, and she suddenly asked, "Do you know of the Hua family?"

Yan Bei froze. "A member of the Hua family is with you?"

How could he not know the Hua family? He had been searching for them for three years!

Yue Tang said, "The Hua family possesses an ancestral poison called Bone-Eroding Powder. Depending on the dosage, it has different durations of effect.

"The one in my hand will cause no harm to the body for three months after ingestion. But once the three months are up, it will erode the bones and sinews, causing the person's blood vessels to rupture and leading to death."

As she spoke, Yue Tang dropped the pill into his teacup. "You already know that I intend to deal with the Du family next.

"Three months should be just enough time.

"If everything you just said is true, then drink this tea and guarantee my safety for three months. How about it?

"Once I have uncovered the person behind the Du family, I will naturally give you the antidote."

The pea-sized pill dissolved instantly upon contact with the water, quickly turning the green tea into a crimson soup.

Yan Bei's gaze shifted to Yue Tang's face.

The Hua family's medicine was their unique specialty.

Setting aside all the entanglements of the past, as long as Yan Bei drank this tea, he would naturally have to do everything in his power to ensure her safety in order to obtain the antidote.

Even if he did not actively assist her, he would certainly not reveal her identity or work against her in secret before she provided the antidote.

A poison with a three-month limit could both eliminate the hidden danger of the Prince Jingyang Manor acting as the Du family's backer, while simultaneously securing his own safety. This move was nothing short of brilliant!

And how could Yan Bei refuse?

If he refused, his sincerity would vanish.

All the words he had spoken earlier would be nothing but lies.

In her eyes, he would become a complete fraud.

If he truly dared to do that, he feared that after the Du family was destroyed, he, Yan Bei, would be next!

But this was the first time Yan Bei had encountered a woman so clear-headed and ruthless.

He laughed.

Then, he picked up the cup and drank it in one gulp.

The crimson hue of the tea stained his cheeks as he showed her the bottom of the cup. "How is it?"

Yue Tang's eyes flickered slightly. After a long pause, she looked at him and smiled.

"I stand corrected."

Under the autumn light, her smile was as radiant as a flower, leaving Yan Bei momentarily dazed.

"Are you not angry?" Yue Tang asked.

Yan Bei brushed back his sleeves. "When facing matters of survival and safety, one must be this decisive. If I were you, I would be even more overbearing!"

Yue Tang's smile deepened, and she fell silent.

Having grown up under the protection of imperial power, she understood the intricacies of the court better than anyone.

The Prince Jingyang Manor and the Du family still had conflicting interests; unless the Yan family completely severed ties with the Du family, no one could guarantee there would be no variables.

The person she had once known and respected was Cheng Qi, not the powerful Prince Jingyang.

Unless she was absolutely certain, rather than blindly trusting the word of others, she believed it was safer to keep her own safety in her own hands.

However, Yan Bei's decisiveness and magnanimity were indeed unexpected.