Chapter 217: then translation of chapter title

An Chengren didn't quite understand Gu Jiu Ling's meaning, and his expression gave a slight twitch.

Gu Jiu Ling gave him a light smile: "Lord An, although your elder brother and the An family have fallen out beyond reconciliation."

But breaking the bone also severs the sinew; you can't write two "An" characters in one stroke.

I heard that General An Chengu's remains were later collected by your An family and buried in your ancestral tomb.

An Chengu didn't know why Gu Jiu Ling brought up these matters, so he could only nod slightly.

Gu Jiu Ling shifted the conversation: "I heard that your elder brother, while alive, especially cherished this daughter of yours who lives far away in Longzhou."

Although this daughter was never entered into the An family genealogy, she still carries your An family's blood.

Your elder brother's spirit also hopes to give his daughter justice, don't you agree?

An Chengren's expression shifted slightly, and he furtively glanced at Xiao Yin.

These past years, if it weren't for the Ninth Imperial Uncle, he and his younger brother would have been crushed to death by the capital's powerful nobles, and the An family would have ceased to exist in this world.

The reason the An family can still live peacefully and prosperously to this day is entirely because Xiao Yin has been looking after them from the sidelines.

At this point he had no room left to argue, and could only say in agreement: "Back then, my father and elder brother severed their father‑son ties over this matter, but our brotherly bond remains unbroken; this affair indeed ought to give my elder brother an explanation, and I ask the Prince and Princess Consort to decide on behalf of the An family."

Gu Jiu Ling breathed a sigh of relief; indeed, the Prince had been right earlier—the two An brothers already understood the Prince's kindness to their family, and this time she was simply following his lead.

Very well, since Lord An has put it that way, let us today give General An's spirit an explanation.

Come! Go fetch the capital's best coroner.

As soon as Gu Jiu Ling finished speaking, everyone was startled—why would we suddenly ask for a coroner out of the blue?

Following Gu Jiu Ling's words, the situation became even more chilling.

Lord An, in a moment I will have the capital's best coroner open your An family's ancestral tomb, exhume General An's remains, and send them to the Third Prince's residence.

An Chengren was left speechless, his face turning slightly pale—what kind of joke is this?

Leaving aside whether the Prince Rui's mansion would dare to dig up the An family's ancestral tomb, this is utterly outrageous; moreover, today is the Third Prince's wedding day, to dig up the An family's bones and send them over—what is this if not an invitation to offend someone?

Now the An family is weak and insignificant; if they offend this tiger‑wolf of a Third Prince, the consequences would be unthinkable, so he hastily refused outright.

Princess Consort, it's not that I, An, am unreasonable; it's that the matter you've raised is simply too shocking and outrageous, so I must decline to comply.

The people around also murmured in disbelief—who would come to a banquet and then start digging up someone's ancestral tomb?

And they want to move the bones to the Third Prince's residence—knowing that this place is currently hosting a celebration, it seems Prince Rui has come today to smash the Third Prince's mansion's façade.

Xiao Wei stepped forward, staring coldly at Gu Jiu Ling: "Gu Jiu Ling, you harbor ulterior motives! What is your reasoning?"

Today is my wedding day, and you still want to cause trouble? Come on! If you don't wish to wait here, then get out! See them out!

Obviously, Xiao Wei intended to use this pretext to drive Gu Jiu Ling and the others out of the Third Prince's mansion.

Unexpectedly, Xiao Yin slowly drew a token from his bosom.

As soon as Xiao Yin produced the token from his bosom, everyone stared in astonishment—it was actually a death‑waiver medal left by the former emperor.

Throughout history, emperors have rewarded capable individuals with death‑waiver medals before sieges; this is not unheard of.

Even as a child, Xiao Yin already showed the potential to become the war god of Southern Qi, but back then his temper was violent and his personality somewhat arrogant, caring for nothing, fearing neither heaven nor earth.

Even the Empress Dowager Ning'an, whom he most revered, and the present Emperor Longqing, he held in no regard.

The former emperor actually favored this young son, but being old and frail, with several princes already of age, he did not find it convenient to let Xiao Yin ascend the throne, lest it cause turmoil in the court.

But after his death, his sons still stirred up a bloodbath in the Southern Qi palace; at that time the former emperor especially loved Xiao Yin for his pure nature, and so gave him this death‑waiver medal.

Previously, Emperor Longqing dared not act against Xiao Yin, also because of this death‑waiver medal left by the former emperor; Xiao Yin had always kept it as a talisman, hidden on his person, never showing it to anyone.

Thus the citizens of Shang Jing had long believed the tale of the former emperor granting the Ninth Prince a death‑waiver medal was merely a jianghu legend; but now, seeing the medal with their own eyes, every face underwent a dramatic change.

Xiao Yin slowly pinched the medal in his hand, showing little reverence, even playing with it between his fingers; even the arrogant Xiao Wei couldn't help but start slightly upon seeing it.

He dared not defy this medal, for the Southern Qi royal family has always upheld filial piety; not only him, but even his father facing his grandfather's medal would not dare to speak against it.

No wonder Xiao Yin is acting so arrogantly today—he had prepared for everything in advance; at this moment Xiao Wei found himself on the defensive.

Xiao Yin waved the medal before the guards of the Third Prince's mansion, then stood beside his wife.

The two of them, fighting side by side, could even pierce the heavens of Southern Qi's capital.

Xiao Yin glanced at Xiao Wei and smiled faintly: "My good virtuous nephew, if your eyes aren't blind, you should have seen this medal before, though whether you actually have is another matter."

Xiao Wei's face darkened; he hadn't expected the imperial great‑grandfather to be so partial, giving such an important medal to the Ninth Imperial Uncle, while his own father might not have received such a gift.

Xiao Yin continued: "As your elder, whether you take wives and concubines is of no concern to me as your uncle, but the wife you have taken is a utter beast; letting such a beast into the royal family would be utterly intolerable."

Beside her, Su Wanrong's expression shifted slightly; hearing Xiao Yin repeatedly call her a beast made her feel uneasy.

Xiao Wei hadn't expected that for this scheme Xiao Yin would even drag out the imperial great‑grandfather; at this point he didn't know what to do.

Xiao Wei then turned his gaze toward the wavering, terrified An Chengren.

Lord An, what do you think? Are you really going to let your brother's remains be dug up again and humiliated? Moreover, your An family's ancestral tomb is so worthless that anyone could just run over it.

Xiao Wei's words clearly carried a strong threat.

An Chengren dared not oppose the capital's hot‑shot Third Prince, so he hastily bowed his head and assented.

Just then, a middle‑aged scholar stepped forward—none other than An Chenggui, the minor clerk who does simple editing at the Hanlin Academy.

An Chenggui's eyes resembled those of An Chengu more closely; as he stepped forward and stood before his second brother, he loudly declared: "Reporting to the Princess Consort, since today's matter involves the Prince, we of the An family cannot simply ignore it."

We of the An family have no other demands; we only wish to give the elder brother's daughter justice, and to give her an explanation as well.

"Third Brother!" An Chengren hissed in a low voice, "What do you mean by saying that?"

What he failed to grasp was that offending Xiao Yin was even more dangerous than offending the Third Prince; at this moment only the An family's third son perceived this danger.