Chapter 265: Etched in the Heart

"I only ask you once—this matter, should you agree or refuse?"

Meng Hui clenched his fists, his whole body shivering.

If he were to bring this up publicly again, his own future and the Meng Family's future would be ruined; but if he refuses, Chi Nan Yi, holding his leverage in her hand, would force the Meng Family onto a dead end, even exterminating the whole clan and implicating nine families.

No matter how he chooses, the Meng Family will not meet a good end.

From the start, what she wanted was not the Meng Family's wealth, but to rise high and fall heavily, watching with open eyes as the Meng Family gradually declined, watching them struggle in agony.

"Why! Even though we once schemed against you, the Minister's Residence has treated you kindly for over a decade; how can you be so ruthless? After all, you are the adopted daughter of the Meng Family—if the Minister's Residence falls, what benefit does that bring you?"

Chi Nan Yi said nothing, only her icy gaze fixed on him.

She knew that what she said was all in vain.

Meng Hui's temples bulged with blue veins as he stared at Chi Nan Yi's cold eyes, finally realizing that from the start he had never had a choice.

He closed his eyes, anger, resentment, and fear swirling in his heart; after a long while, those emotions turned into a helpless sigh. Meng Hui opened his eyes and said gravely, "Fine, I agree."

Having received the answer she wanted, Chi Nan Yi nodded and produced several black pills.

"What does this mean?"

"I cannot trust Meng Xiang's character."

Meng Hui's face twisted; he picked up a pill and swallowed it.

"Tomorrow, I'll be waiting for news about Meng Xiang. By the way, don't even think of hanging yourself— even if you die, this matter won't end there. You still have family, you still have clan members; if you want them to be buried with you, you could simply end your own life."

When she finished speaking, Chi Nan Yi no longer stared at the twisted expressions of the Meng Family members, turned and walked toward the main gate: "No need to see me off; I know the way."

As she left gracefully, the entire Meng Family fell into an eerie silence.

"Minister..."

Jiang Clan trembled and staggered to Meng Hui's side, her face already streaked with tears: "We... the Meng Family..."

Meng Hui said nothing, turned and headed toward the study.

Just watching his back, it seemed as if he had aged a dozen years, and the matriarch who always thought herself shrewd was now unable to utter a single word.

Entering the study, Meng Hui's foot caught the doorframe; a faint sweet‑bitter taste rose in his throat, but he forced himself to swallow it back.

What a Chi Nan Yi!

What a ruthless girl.

After years of navigating the officialdom, he finally lost to her.

In fact, from the moment she left the Minister's Residence, his defeat today was already fated.

Jiang Clan outside the door wept silently, and the servants in the courtyard dared not even breathe.

Meng Qinghe's fingers clawed tightly at the window; she heard the courtyard conversation crystal clearly.

Her newly restored face was now a ghastly pallor.

She must get her father to overturn the case for the White Family, and also find evidence of the Crown Prince colluding with foreign powers herself.

Everyone knows the injustice of the White Family's death, yet no one has raised a retrial, because the forces behind the plot are massive and cannot be provoked.

Now, those who can single‑handedly dominate Jingcheng are few.

One of them is the Qin family.

"The Qin family is the Empress's maternal clan; Grand Tutor Qin is the Crown Prince's maternal grandfather. If this matter involves the Qin family, hasn't my father infringed upon Qin's interests? Then why would the Crown Prince agree to marry me? If I cannot enter the Crown Prince's Residence, how can I obtain what that scoundrel wants?"

For a moment, Meng Qinghe felt countless deadlocks tangled before her.

On the carriage returning.

Mo Junyan and Chi Nan Yi sat opposite each other.

A scorching gaze fell on her, and Chi Nan Yi found it hard to act as if she hadn't seen.

"You..."

"Yi Er."

"Hm?"

"Thank you."

Along with that whisper came a scorching, slightly trembling embrace.

Chi Nan Yi leaned against his body, feeling his chest's fierce heartbeat; the corners of her lips curled slightly, her palm pressed to his back, gently patting, "What, moved?"

"Hm."

Sensing his mood, Chi Nan Yi whispered, "Don't shoulder everything on your own; this isn't your fault. My actions aren't just for you, but also for myself, for the Chi family, for those innocent soldiers who died in vain." She grasped his cold hands again, stars blooming in her eyes: "Together, we'll make those people pay."

"Fine, all according to you."

The carriage interior was silent; outside, the bright moon hung high, and the sky over Jingcheng was finally about to change.

The Left Minister's Residence study stayed lit through the night; outside the Minister's Residence not even a bird could pass, and dozens of Dark Guard lay in wait in the darkness, sealing the Minister's Residence tightly.

Two secret agents who fled the Minister's Residence to report a secret died silently in an alley not far from the Minister's Residence.

Qing Shan leaned against the wall, a stalk of grass still clenched in his mouth.

His eyes held a dim, unclear expression.

"Heh," Ji Bai let out a light sigh and turned to look at him.

"Didn't expect that girl to be quite capable."

"What the miss did today is all for the White Family and the Situ Family. If you are disloyal to the miss, I will certainly not let you go."

"Do you want to hear what you're saying? I'm the White Family's Young Master, not a real guard," he sneered, turning his head awkwardly to the other side. "But I'm not ungrateful; I've noted that girl's kindness."

Suppressing the slight redness at the corners of his eyes, Qing Shan murmured, "Etched in the heart."

"But where did all these Dark Guard come from?" Qing Shan looked around; these people were neither from Prince Li's residence nor the Chi family.

Yet their skills were not weaker at all, even surpassing the Chi family's Dark Guard.

Ji Bai shook his head; he was also not very clear.

The hidden guards of the Dark Pavilion were all specially trained by Lanxi according to Chi Nan Yi's requirements, and thus they differ from ordinary Dark Guards.

Early the next morning, the Meng family study's doors stood wide open; Meng Hui wore a purple-robe chancellor's uniform, his complexion ashen, his eyes filled with bloodshot veins.

"Master." Jiang Clan's eyes swollen like walnuts: "Master, what are we to do? Are you really going? Once today's matter is settled, our Meng family will..."

Meng Hui patted her shoulder, said nothing, and hurriedly walked out the door.

Chi Nan Yi sat in the Pavilion, his fingers brushing the zither; his fingertips glided across the strings, and the clear, resonant notes flowed out like water, carrying a hint of solitude. As the force on the strings increased, each pluck emitted a sound that hid a sharp edge, as if a blade were being drawn from its sheath.

Old Master Chi sat in the main hall, his expression cold and solemn yet tinged with a hint of anticipation.

"Father." Chi Xianshi whispered: "Today..."

"Hmm."

"If we can overturn the case, Jingcheng will surely be thrown into a great uproar; those lurking in the dark will likely be unable to stay still."

"We've had peace for too long; it's their turn to be unsettled."

At the imperial court, Mo Junyan unusually attended the morning audience.

Seeing him, the emperor could not help but startle.

How did this brat come here?

Just as the officials were about to pay their respects, they heard the emperor say with concern: "Your legs are not healed; with the weather so cold, why bother coming to the morning audience?"