Chapter 55: Old Past Affairs

Mo Junyan stepped forward slowly, waved a hand, sat opposite him, the mask on his face shimmering with a cold hue, the corner of his lips curling as he said, "Rare to see you so interested."

Zhao Anqi whispered, "Prince, the child's illness has improved, so his mood is pleasant, which is why I ordered the servant to heat a pot of wine."

"Sit," Mo Junyan said lightly, "We are old acquaintances; no need to be so restrained." He added, "When you were young you once taught This Prince martial arts, so you were half a master."

"A commoner dares not…"

"Ha, the mighty Protector of the Nation Grand General, when did you become so literary?"

Zhao Anqi heard that, a strange hue flashing in his eyes, bowed his hands, and sat opposite Mo Junyan.

Mo Junyan lifted the wine jar, poured him a cup of wine, and Zhao Anqi, with a knowing look, also poured him a cup.

"Prince, a commoner offers you a cup."

After speaking, Zhao Anqi tipped his head and drained the cup.

Mo Junyan merely raised his eyes to look at him, saying nothing.

Zhao Anqi poured another cup, "Today to see the Prince here, my heart is stirred." After speaking, he again tipped his head and drank.

"The third cup…"

Mo Junyan smiled, "Is this wine a millennia‑old brew?"

"Hm?"

"It's not. Why do you hate not being able to drink the whole pot at once? Your family is prosperous now; you can't be short of a pot of wine money, can you?"

Zhao Anqi blinked and set the cup down.

"It's just that you want to use wine to shut This Prince's mouth." Mo Junyan gave a faint laugh, "This Prince is not here today to send you back to the court."

Hearing that, Zhao Anqi couldn't help but be startled.

"Then Prince, on this trip…"

"Other matters." Mo Junyan cut him off, "You just said your son's illness has improved?"

"Exactly." Raising the matter, Zhao Anqi's eyes flashed with a glimmer, "I never imagined that in my lifetime a commoner could still see the young son recover."

Mo Junyan lifted his wine cup, took a light sip, his expression shifting, "I wonder where you found the doctor?"

"It's a coincidence; she's a young woman." Zhao Anqi recounted the day's events, "That girl is also bold; I am hot‑tempered, yet she wasn't scared at all. I was too impatient then; now that I think of it, I indeed owe that young girl."

At that moment, Zhao Anqi felt a chill sweep his neck.

He looked up at Mo Junyan opposite him; his eyes were lowered, gazing at the wine in the cup, thoughts unknown.

Could it be that he misperceived? From where did that cold gaze actually come?

"Continue."

"That young woman, I don't know where she learned her medicine; my unworthy son's chronic ailment actually improved with her remedy, so tonight we can finally sleep soundly."

"So, that girl is a benefactor to your Zhao family?"

"Naturally."

"Since she is a benefactor, you must remember to repay her properly."

"Yes, yes, yes."

Zhao Anqi's hand holding the cup paused, "Prince, have you met that young woman?"

"Never met."

Zhao Anqi blinked; he hadn't even said who the girl was, yet claimed not to know? Moreover, the Prince's words after circling around were clearly to curry favor with that girl.

"Really don't know?"

Mo Junyan lifted his eyes to glance at him, and Zhao Anqi then realized he had overstepped.

"Have you ever seen a young woman by This Prince's side?"

"No, not at all."

"This Prince doesn't even know a single girl, how could he be acquainted with the medical expert you mentioned?"

Indeed.

Zhao Anqi nodded in agreement.

"Prince, on this visit, if there is anything a commoner can do, just command it; I have always stayed by the old General's side, and now the old General is gone…"

"Ha, now you bring this up with This Prince." Mo Junyan smiled, "Your maternal grandfather passed years ago; it's hard that you still remember him. Now in the capital, mentioning the Bai family is a forbidden taboo."

Zhao Anqi clenched his fists, whispered, "Prince, when the old General died, the matter was suspicious, the Noble Consort also… a commoner is powerless to investigate the truth."

"If they didn't want you to uncover it, there are a hundred ways." Mo Junyan waved his hand, and Yun Shui placed two wine jars on the table.

Looking at the familiar wine jars, Zhao Anqi's eyes flashed with a glimmer.

"What is this…"

"This is the wine you and your maternal grandfather buried under the old locust tree after the great victory at Yuqing Pass. You left the capital in a hurry back then, and This Prince thought you must be missing this taste, so I brought it for you."

Zhao Anqi's eyes reddened, his trembling hand gently caressed the wine jar.

With a splash, he knelt down.

"I am incompetent! Please, Prince, punish me heavily."

Mo Junyan heard this, smiled, "No longer calling yourself a commoner?"

Zhao Anqi lowered his head, tears falling drop by drop onto the ground, his clenched fists' knuckles turning white, his body trembling slightly.

"When the General died, my wife just gave birth and also died unexpectedly; that child has been frail since birth. My leaving the capital was unavoidable!"

"You mean you suspect your wife and child were plotted against?"

Zhao Anqi nodded, "Leaving only Prince in the capital made my heart uneasy; several times I slipped back to the capital and was sabotaged, nearly losing my life. Later I heard you went to the border passes, repeatedly earning battle merits, and that eased my mind."

"Rise!"

"Prince, if you wish to investigate the deaths of the old General and the Noble Consort, I am willing to lay my liver and brain at Prince's feet."

"No need." Mo Junyan said lightly, "Investigating matters so ancient is far from easy; your life is now stable, better not get entangled. As for today's meeting with This Prince, consider it never happened." He lifted his cup, drained the now‑cold wine in one gulp, "This Prince has other matters, I must depart."

"Prince..."

Before he could finish speaking, Mo Junyan left with Yun Shui.

Zhao Anqi kowtowed to his back, then after standing up, holding the wine jar, he murmured: "General, I, your subordinate, will surely uncover the truth of those years and never let you and your fallen comrades be wronged; it is my incompetence and cowardice, sorry."

He looked at that jar of wine, his gaze gradually becoming resolute: "This wine, I will wait until the day the great grudge is repaid, then I, your subordinate, will take it out to celebrate victory!"

At that moment, Chi Family.

This time, what was placed in the middle of the table was no longer scattered silver, but three silver banknotes.

The household was extremely quiet; even the sound of a dropped needle could be heard.

"Originally, the silver banknotes look like this." Chi Zhiqiu swallowed his saliva: "Three hundred taels, if converted to silver, how much would that be!" He gestured with his hand for a while: "It should be about this much."

"Older brother, that's too much." Chi Nan Yi looked at his gesture reaching his own neck, couldn't help but laugh: "Three hundred taels sounds like a lot, but silver is heavy, so it's just this little."