Chapter 293: Tonight, Father Grand Chancellor cannot possibly not come!

"Everyone, dispense with the formalities!"

Yuwen Hu slowly raised his right hand, pressing it down with his palm facing the floor; his movement was gentle yet carried an unquestionable majesty.

"Many thanks, Grand Chancellor!"

Everyone straightened their bodies and thanked him respectfully.

"You all should go out and wait for now!"

Yuwen Hu, with the stride of a dragon and the pace of a tiger, stopped before Chen Tongyuan's corpse and spoke.

He paused, then continued: "A Yan, stay behind..."

"As you command."

Chen Yan replied and stood his ground, while the others quickly retreated from the prison.

"Why did the Grand Chancellor come here too?"

"And why did he keep Big Brother behind alone?"

As Li Tan turned to leave, his peripheral vision caught the two of them, and he vaguely sensed something unusual.

The Grand Chancellor had likely arrived long ago, and he cared deeply about Chen Tongyuan's death; just now, he had even smiled quite heartily...

"A Yan, you did very well!"

"Very well!"

Yuwen Hu's tone was flat, yet one could hear clear joy and anger; a trace of satisfied warmth rippled in the depths of his eyes as he praised: "Your mother's spirit in heaven will surely be comforted!"

Borrowing the hands of Meng Wan Yi and Chen Gu Bai to end Chen Tongyuan's life...

Not only did he avenge her without incurring karma or inviting gossip, but he also completely inherited everything of the Wei Duke Mansion without the slightest flaw—it could be called perfect!

For A Tang to have such a son, what more could one ask for!

"Grand Chancellor, if only Mother could have seen this with her own eyes..."

Chen Yan wiped the corners of his eyes with his sleeve, his eye sockets heating up uncontrollably.

That sour, aching sensation surged more and more violently.

A tear slid down his cheek, hitting the back of his hand and instantly blurring into a small patch of dampness.

Following that, a second drop, a third drop...

The tears were like beads with a broken string, unable to be stopped any longer.

His voice was shattered and broken, mixed with a heavy nasal tone.

"A Yan, you child, why are you crying when everything is fine?" Yuwen Hu walked forward slowly, raising his hand to rest on Chen Yan's shoulder, his fingertips touching the trembling of his tense muscles.

The sobbing suddenly turned into a suppressed roar; Chen Yan slammed down onto his knees, his kneecaps hitting the hard brick floor with a dull thud. "I have failed my mother!"

His hands clutched his own lapels tightly, his knuckles turning white from the force, as if he wanted to tear this skin and flesh apart along with his bones.

"Back then, it was I who didn't protect her well!"

"It's all my fault!"

His voice was as hoarse as if it had been ground by sandpaper, mixed with a heavy crying tone, every word weeping blood.

Within his words was a regret that could not be told.

However, this expression of emotion was three parts true, six parts acted, and one part deliberate.

The tears that came so easily were because he had wiped tear-inducing medicine on his cuffs beforehand.

Because Chen Yan had long since anticipated...

Tonight, Father Grand Chancellor could not possibly not come!

"How can this be your fault?"

Yuwen Hu took a deep breath, supporting Chen Yan, who was almost collapsing, feeling immensely moved. His palm pressed onto his still-trembling back, the force heavier than before, as he comforted him: "How old were you back then?"

"To be able to endure like that was already truly not easy!"

"It is all my fault!"

"I blame my own incompetence back then for not being able to protect your mother completely!"

His voice carried a trace of imperceptible hoarseness.

Between the lines, it was all heartache for the child of his old friend, and resentment toward himself.

If he had possessed today's power back then, then all these tragedies would never have happened...

"Grand Chancellor, I miss my mother!"

Chen Yan hugged Yuwen Hu back, burying his face in the lapels of his python robe; his tears instantly soaked that patch of fabric, and he cried even louder, more and more heart-wrenchingly.

It was not that Chen Yan had a performative personality, but that he had to cry...

When he had stated the cause of his mother's death to Chen Tongyuan earlier, he had appeared too calm, which meant he was heartless!

Crying now indicated that he had been suppressing it all along...

"A Yan, don't cry!"

Yuwen Hu raised his hand, resting it gently on Chen Yan's trembling back, patting it lightly, one time after another, carrying a silent comfort. "I will take good care of you for A Tang!"

Yuwen Hu let him hug him, let those scalding tears soak his lapels.

He remembered that bright, beautiful face of his mother...

Pity that the person was gone, leaving only her child!

No matter what, he would protect her child well!

"After the Grand Imperial Rectifier finishes the case, drag Chen Tongyuan's corpse to the mass grave and have people watch the wild dogs and wolves eat him clean, inch by inch!" Yuwen Hu's gaze landed on Chen Tongyuan, his eyes flashing with ruthlessness as he ordered his personal guards behind him.

"As you command," the personal guard replied with a bow.

"Father Grand Chancellor really does hate Chen Tongyuan!"

"Especially since Chen Tongyuan exaggerated Mother's cause of death just to provoke me..."

Chen Yan straightened his body, wiped his eyes, and thought to himself.

The hatred of stealing a wife, the vengeance of killing a wife—Chen Tongyuan had brought this upon himself and could not be saved...

Copying the homework of Cao Pi and Li Er was indeed correct; with this crying, he not only dispelled any potential misgivings Father Grand Chancellor might have had but also further consolidated his position in his heart.

Yuwen Hu seemed to feel that it wasn't enough to vent his hatred; he gritted his teeth and continued: "Collect Chen Tongyuan's bones, burn them to ashes, and place them in an urn as a sacrifice to A Tang!"

"As you command!" The personal guard nodded and replied again.

The next day.

Wei Duke Mansion.

The afterglow of the setting sun spilled onto the mottled vermilion gate, the green rust on the copper rings glowing with an aged luster in the light.

Chen Yan stood under the old locust tree across the street, looking at that plaque, and sighed: "Wei Duke Mansion!"

"Revisiting an old place, things are already different from the past!"

"The changes in the world are truly fast!"

The first time he came to the Wei Duke Mansion, it was still vivid in Chen Yan's mind...

That was just after coming out of the Heavenly Prison Death Prison, temporarily holding the post of Zhuque Mirror Keeper, sneaking in by climbing over the wall without a sound.

He had held a blade to Chen Cijiu's neck to threaten and blackmail Chen Tongyuan...

Time passed truly fast; both of those people were no longer in this world!

"Indeed!"

Zhu Yi nodded slightly upon hearing this, echoing him.

He paused, then continued: "However, from now on, Young Master is the master of this place..."

"Oh no, that's wrong, it's Duke!"

You Xian, standing to the side, saw this and immediately bowed: "Greetings, Duke!"

Chen Yan was amused; he pointed with his finger and laughed: "Zhu Yi, You Xian, since when did you two become so glib?"

"The imperial decree for the title hasn't even come down yet, you can't just call me that!"

"Let's go!"

After saying this.

Chen Yan stopped lingering in sighing and emotion, instead leading the group toward the mansion where he had lived for over a decade in his memories.

Passing through the corridor and circling the rockery, they saw dozens of people standing in the garden from afar, old and young, who had long been waiting there. Seeing Chen Yan walk over, they all bowed respectfully: "Greetings, Prince Heir!"

"Greetings, Prince Heir!"

The Embroidered Attire Envoy, who had long since come to notify and gather the people, walked up and reported: "My Lord, the maids and servants of the mansion have all arrived!"

Chen Yan turned his head to look at You Xian and asked: "Have you thoroughly investigated those who were close to Chen Tongyuan, Meng Wan Yi, Chen Cijiu, and Chen Gu Bai?"

"My Lord, the register is all here!" You Xian, who had been fully prepared, took a stack of registers from his bosom and held them up with both hands.

"Good."

Chen Yan nodded, took them, and handed them directly to Dantai Mingyue, who had come along, saying softly: "Mingyue, the affairs of this Duke Mansion are fully entrusted to you to handle!"

"Rest assured, Young Master!"

Dantai Mingyue swept her gaze over those servants and smiled: "I will tidy up the Duke Mansion properly; there won't be any worries left behind!"

How could she not know the reason why her Young Master had specifically brought her along?

It was for her to use sharp methods to deal with those in this mansion who had ulterior motives.

"That's good." Chen Yan nodded and smiled with tacit understanding.

"Big Brother, are you calling for Little Brother?"

A youth dressed in plain white mourning clothes walked over slowly, the hemp thread tied in a simple knot at his waist.

Chen Yan raised an eyebrow, sizing up the person who had arrived, and asked: "Boqiao, you are..."

"Wearing mourning clothes for your mother?"

"Yes."

Chen Boqiao nodded, replied, and said: "Back then, Mother died at the villa in the suburbs and was buried in a hurry; Chen Tongyuan did not allow it to be publicized, and I, as a son, could not fulfill my filial duty..."

"Now is just the right time to make up for it!"

A good child with filial piety... Chen Yan narrowed his eyes and agreed: "This is as it should be!"

He paused, then continued: "Back to the main point, Boqiao, do you want to enter officialdom?"

"Yes!"

Chen Boqiao's eyes lit up, and he said solemnly.

Besides wanting to take revenge, he had joined his Big Brother to secure a future, achieve merit, comfort his mother's spirit in heaven, and make her proud of him.

"But if Big Brother asks you to wait a little longer, would you be willing?" Chen Yan changed the subject.

"I am willing!"

After Chen Boqiao pondered for a moment, he said decisively: "Now is not the time to enter officialdom!"

"Little Brother will follow Big Brother's arrangements in everything!"

Chen Boqiao was a smart person; how could he not know the reason why his Big Brother said this?

At present, they hadn't yet defeated the two Grand Pillars of State...

Entering officialdom rashly would easily make him a pawn in their chess game.

"Very good!"

Chen Yan nodded with satisfaction and said: "In a few months, Big Brother will arrange a marriage for you with a daughter of the Six Surnames!"

"Many thanks, Big Brother!" Chen Boqiao's face lit up with joy upon hearing this, and he thanked him hurriedly.

Zhu Yi saw someone coming from afar, leaned close to Chen Yan, and reminded him: "Young Master, Chen Zhunxu and the others have arrived!" ===== CHAPTER 294 =====