Chapter 158: Confession

Feeling the warmth beneath his palm, Chi Nan Yi smiled and said, "Is the Prince drunk? Is my wine too strong?"

Mo Junyan finally gathered his wits and, realizing his lapse in composure, slowly released Chi Nan Yi's hand: "The wine is indeed not bad."

"I've already prepared some for the Prince. I'll have Yun Shan bring it to you later. Though it is wine, it differs from ordinary wine—it has the effect of strengthening the body and fortifying health."

"Strengthening the body and fortifying health? Did you add things like tiger bone to it?"

"Prince, it's not very nice of you to pry into a secret recipe like that."

Mo Junyan saw her eyes sparkling brightly and understood in his heart—she wanted him to bring her wine into the palace again, so that, like the vegetables, it would gain far-reaching renown under the imperial name.

"The Prince just said we met in childhood. What about a few months ago? Before encountering the Prince at the market, had the Prince and I met before?"

Mo Junyan's motion of raising his cup paused, his heart lurching violently—she actually still remembered?

Seeing him say nothing, Chi Nan Yi continued, "Previously, I once saw a gravely injured man in an abandoned courtyard. He seemed to recognize me as well. Thinking back on it now, that man's build and voice both bore some resemblance to the Prince's..."

"That was not an abandoned courtyard." Mo Junyan set down his wine cup and, with a trace of imperceptible wistfulness, said faintly, "That was the former residence of the Bai family—the courtyard of This Prince's maternal grandfather."

"So the man that day truly was the Prince."

"Correct. This Prince was poisoned and pursued by assassins, so I hid in the Bai family's residence. I never expected to encounter you there."

"Then previously, in the Meng Family's back courtyard..."

"Ahem, that was also This Prince." Mo Junyan coughed softly, and Chi Nan Yi keenly noticed the tips of his ears turning faintly red.

Chi Nan Yi looked at him, somewhat speechless.

It seemed that ever since she transmigrated, the frequency of her encounters with Prince Li had grown much higher.

"This Prince..." Being looked at made him somewhat uncomfortable; Mo Junyan's throat felt dry, his voice low and husky, his gaze even flickering slightly as he looked at Chi Nan Yi, his heartbeat quickening by a few beats—would she think he was deliberately approaching her?

That day when he caught sight of her at the Meng Family's back gate, Mo Junyan had also found it quite unexpected.

In his eyes and in his memory, Chi Nan Yi had always been a gentle and quiet young lady; he had even suspected for a time that the woman he saw that day was not her. But when they met again, she was still dressed in men's attire. Though he did not know why she had appeared at the Bai family's place or how she had come to know martial arts, being able to encounter her after being injured meant the injury had not been suffered in vain.

He only did not know whether his approaching her time and again like this would make her suspicious. He wanted to say that all their previous encounters were mere coincidence and not deliberate pursuit, but before he could explain, Chi Nan Yi interrupted him.

"I know."

"You... know what?" Mo Junyan's heart tightened, his burning gaze carrying a trace of panic—could it be that she had truly detected the feelings he harbored in secret?

"The Prince just said General Bai was your maternal grandfather. The Bai family has been loyal for generations, and the men of the family mostly died in battle on the battlefield. No one would believe that the old General Bai had colluded with an enemy state, so there must be more to the story. I imagine you have been investigating the matter of the Bai family from those years. Is what I've said correct?" Chi Nan Yi had not noticed the turmoil in Mo Junyan's eyes at all; her fingertips tapped against the tabletop, her tone exceedingly certain.

Mo Junyan's motion of turning his wine cup paused—was that what she was talking about?

He looked at the clear and open look in Chi Nan Yi's eyes—where was there any trace of romantic feelings? There was only a probing and a thirst for the truth.

Recalling the turmoil and anxious unease in his own heart just now, Mo Junyan could not help but laugh at himself.

It truly was his own wishful thinking.

"What is the Prince laughing at?"

"Nothing." He looked at Chi Nan Yi, withdrawing the complexity and helplessness from the depths of his eyes, and said faintly, "Do you know that the Bai family is a taboo that everyone in Jingcheng is unwilling to mention, especially in front of This Prince? Others avoid it at all costs, yet you seek an answer and the truth right before This Prince—are you not afraid that This Prince will be angry?"

Hearing this, Chi Nan Yi showed not a trace of panic or nervousness in her eyes, her tone gentle yet firm: "The Prince is not a narrow-minded person. The reason you are unwilling to mention it is simply that you do not want the gossiping masses to speculate carelessly. But I believe that the innocence of General Bai and all the soldiers should not be buried just like that. Tens of thousands of soldiers died without fighting—for a soldier, to die without fighting is perhaps the most aggrieved way to die. Moreover..." A faint smile rested on Chi Nan Yi's face, her lips bearing an extremely shallow dimple, her eyes sparkling bright: "Moreover, if the Prince were a suspicious and petty man, then when you saw me in the Bai family's courtyard that day, you should have killed me. After all, I remember clearly that even poisoned and injured, your skills were still above mine."

"You are indeed clever and candid." The smile on Mo Junyan's face gradually faded: "Why do you pursue this matter? Or perhaps This Prince should ask it another way." He looked at Chi Nan Yi with a burning gaze: "Who exactly are you?"

"I am Chi Nan Yi. Does the Prince not already know?"

"You should know what This Prince means." Mo Junyan asked word by word: "This Prince wants to know—what exactly is your relationship with the Chi Family, the Chi Family now in Nanpu?"

Hearing this, the amusement in Chi Nan Yi's eyes deepened: "Since the Prince can ask me about the Nanpu Chi Family, I imagine you have already uncovered something. Since the Prince is candid, I will not hide anything either. I am the maternal granddaughter of Old Master Chi, and my compound surname is Situ."

Mo Junyan's pupils shrank abruptly, his palm clenching tight, his gaze locked firmly on Chi Nan Yi's face: "You are Situ Fu's daughter?"

"If the Situ Fu the Prince speaks of is the deputy general who once served under General Bai, then yes."

Upon hearing her affirmative reply, the expression on Mo Junyan's face was more solemn than ever before—she was Situ Fu's daughter; the bloodline of the Situ Family still remained in this world.

Situ Fu had once been the most capable deputy general under his maternal grandfather's command, campaigning year-round at his side, saving his maternal grandfather's life several times, and rendering outstanding service to Daqi. Yet in the end, he was ambushed midway, and he and several thousand soldiers all died in battle, with not a single survivor. The massacre of the Situ Family was most likely also connected to the Bai family. He had thought the Situ Family was completely wiped out, never expecting...

"Apart from the Chi Family, does anyone else know your identity?" A trace of urgency tinged Mo Junyan's voice—if her identity were leaked, those who had slaughtered the entire Situ Family back then would certainly not spare her.

"The Chi Family, my adoptive parents, and then there is the Prince."

Mo Junyan nodded, his tone extremely solemn: "This matter must absolutely not be made known to anyone else. Do you understand?"

"I naturally know, which is why..." Chi Nan Yi made up her mind and said in a solemn tone: "So, is the Prince still willing to cooperate with me? You investigate the old case of the Bai family, and I can assist from the side—what do you say?"