Guanshan Muyu

chapter 46

The young emperor acted swiftly, and three days after Qi Yan and Chu Anyu entered the capital, he publicly announced the crimes of Duke Chen and ordered his disposal.

Duke Chen used a jade mine for personal profit, deceived the authorities, formed a party in his interests and in order to cover up the crime did not hesitate to assassinate a court official. His crimes were unforgivable, he was sentenced to be beheaded in public, the men in the family exiled and the women sent to the palace as slaves.

The end result was exactly the same as that of Xia Hongxi.

Qi Yan hesitated but decided to tell Xia Xun about it.

To his surprise, Xia Xun did not react much but only asked:

“What about Chen Jingyin?”

Qi Yan said, “Chen Jingyin is fine. Do you remember the young man who accompanied her on the way out of the capital? He obtained a marriage certificate, saying that Chen Jingyin had a marriage contract with him for a long time and could not be considered a member of the Chen family, and His Majesty allowed him to marry Chen Jingyin and decided not to pursue the matter any longer.”

Xia Xun thought of his elder sister Xia Yin; when Xia Hongxi was convicted, the whole family was implicated, but Xia Yin stayed out of the matter because she was married to someone else.

He asked Qi Yan: “Do you know the recent situation of my elder sister? How… is she doing?”

Qi Yan was slightly displeased.

“Do not call her elder sister again, she does not have you as a brother in her heart, she—”

The two of them looked out at the same time.

Outside the house, a woman in a wedding dress rushed in recklessly, the servants hurriedly following her, but no one dared to stop her.

Without having to look closely, Xia Xun could guess that this woman could only be Chen Jingyin.

She was dressed in a green brocade dress, wearing a flower hairpin on her head; her eyebrows and eyes were painted exquisitely and there was a touch of vermilion on her lips.  Clearly dressed for a wedding, she held a fan in her hand.

She was in the sedan chair before running out; today was the day of her wedding but she was as reckless as ever. Full of confusion and questions, she had to find Qi Yan to ask him clearly face to face.

Xia Xun got up and wanted to leave: “I’ll go back.”

Qi Yan told him to stay. “No need to go, I have nothing to hide from you.”

Chen Jingyin had already come to the door, and Qi Yan went towards her, meeting her gaze and giving her a light salute: “Today is Miss Chen’s big wedding day, please go back so that you don’t miss the auspicious time.”

Chen Jingyin’s eyes were red. She was holding back her tears, clutching the fan in her hand.

“Lord Qi, our Chen family has suddenly suffered a calamity. Although my father deserved it, I still don’t understand one thing no matter how much I think about it. If I can’t get your answer, I’m afraid I can’t let it go in my heart.”

Qi Yan said calmly: “I will definitely tell you everything.”

Chen Jingyin’s eyes were wet with tears.

“His Majesty said that you have done a greatly meritorious deed verifying my father’s guilt. I would like to ask you, was your meritorious deed the greatest?”

Qi Yan said, “I don’t think I should call it the greatest. Duke Chen has committed a lot of injustice. Fortunately, Your Majesty was wise and decisive, but… Duke Chen’s fate is his own fault and it has nothing to do with Miss Chen.”