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Once Grand Preceptor Zhuang was gone, An Junw.a.n.g quickly got up and pressed his ear against the crack in the door.
The steward whispered, "My Lord, Jiang Ping has returned. He says he has something to report to you. Should this servant bring him over?"
Glancing back at the slightly ajar door of the study, Grand Preceptor Zhuang calmly said, "Forget it. Let him wait for me in the tea room."
"Yes."
When Grand Preceptor Zhuang returned to the study, An Junw.a.n.g had already respectfully resumed his kneeling position. Grand Preceptor Zhuang glanced at the landscape painting on the wall, hesitated for a moment, then told An Junw.a.n.g, "You can go back now!"
"Thank you, grandfather." An Junw.a.n.g bowed respectfully, then helped himself up with the support of the desk.
After he left the courtyard, Grand Preceptor Zhuang went to the tea room on the other side of the corridor.
Meanwhile, An Junw.a.n.g took a stroll outside and then returned.
"I dropped my jade pendant inside."
He told the servant guarding the courtyard.
An Junw.a.n.g was originally a very special presence in the Zhuang Family, able to come and go freely in Grand Preceptor Zhuang"s courtyard. Plus, the fact that he was just escorted back by Grand Preceptor Zhuang himself indicated that the conflicts between the grandfather and grandson had been resolved. The servants dared not stop him and let him in.
An Junw.a.n.g hurriedly went to Grand Preceptor Zhuang"s study. Without searching anywhere else, he headed straight for the landscape painting hanging on the wall opposite the desk.
He noticed that his grandfather had glanced at this scroll painting thrice while reviewing the doc.u.ments, once on his way out to speak with the steward, and once before sending him back to his courtyard.
Knowing his grandfather well, there must be something behind this scroll painting!
He took the scroll painting down, but to his disappointment, behind it was just an ordinary wall.
There were no hidden compartments or cracks.
An Junw.a.n.g puzzled, "What"s going on? Could it be that I"m overthinking? Does grandfather simply like this painting? Is it extremely valuable?"
It did seem to be an antique painting, quite valuable.
An Junw.a.n.g furrowed his brows, "No, something must be wrong. How could someone with such a high vision like grandfather be so nervous about an antique painting?"
Thunk!
An Junw.a.n.g"s hand slipped, and the scroll painting fell to the ground, causing the upper rod of the scroll painting to unexpectedly loosen.
He quickly bent down, picked up the scroll painting, and removed the seemingly solid but actually pieced together upper rod of the scroll painting.
The upper rod was hollow!
And there was something inside!
An Junw.a.n.g tilted the scroll painting downward, and a rolled-up yellow decree dropped out.
Upon unfolding it, An Junw.a.n.g discovered it was a blank imperial decree from the late Emperor, stamped with the imperial jade seal.
If something were written on this, it would become the late Emperor"s posthumous edict!
With this, deposing the current Emperor and enthroning Ning w.a.n.g or any other imperial prince or other princes would be an easy task!
Was this the item Jiang Ping brought back from those Yan people?
Was it the trump card left by Imperial Concubine Dowager Jing for Qin Fengyan?
Since Imperial Concubine Dowager Jing possessed such a powerful item, why hadn"t she brought it out earlier to save her life?
There was no time to ponder these doubts. An Junw.a.n.g only knew that such a terrifying item must not fall into his grandfather"s hands!
He pocketed the decree and hung the scroll painting back intact.
He reached the doorway.
After a moment"s thought, he gritted his teeth and turned back.
……
It was a dark and windy night.
An Junw.a.n.g hurriedly walked out with the decree in his chest.
"Junw.a.n.g."
Along the way, many servants and maids greeted him, but he ignored them all, heading straight for the Zhuang Residence’s main gate.
"Junw.a.n.g, it"s so late. Are you going out?" Asked the gatekeeper.
An Junw.a.n.g"s eyes flickered, and he replied casually, "This prince has some matters to attend to."
"Do you want someone to accompany you?" The gatekeeper asked.
"No need." An Junw.a.n.g refused.
The gatekeeper didn"t press further and stepped aside to let him pa.s.s.
As An Junw.a.n.g stepped over the high threshold, just as one foot hadn"t yet touched the ground, he heard Grand Preceptor Zhuang"s stern and icy voice behind him, "Stop!"
The sudden sound made An Junw.a.n.g"s heart thump, and his body involuntarily trembled.
This reaction naturally didn"t escape Grand Preceptor Zhuang"s eyes.
Grand Preceptor Zhuang looked at his figure with cold eyes and asked, "Where are you planning to go at this late hour?"
An Junw.a.n.g forced himself to calm down, slowly turned around, and tried to appear calm as he said to Grand Preceptor Zhuang, "I... I dropped something outside and I’m going out to look for it."
Grand Preceptor Zhuang looked at him dangerously and asked, "Is that so? What did you drop that you need to go out in the middle of the night to find?"
An Junw.a.n.g broke out in a cold sweat on his forehead and stammered, "I... I dropped my token, the Zhuang Family"s token."
"Is that right?" Grand Preceptor Zhuang walked towards An Junw.a.n.g.
An Junw.a.n.g felt tremendous pressure and intimidation from Grand Preceptor Zhuang. More sweat formed on his forehead, and fear crept into his throat.
Grand Preceptor Zhuang stopped in front of him and reached for his waist, pulling out something, "Then tell me, what is this?"
An Junw.a.n.g"s eyes flickered, and he said awkwardly, "Was... was my token hanging on my waist all this time? I thought I lost it..."
Grand Preceptor Zhuang said icily, "Zhuang Yuheng, how much longer are you going to pretend?"
An Junw.a.n.g said, "Grandfather, what are you talking about? I don’t understand."
Grand Preceptor Zhuang gritted his teeth, "Don"t understand? Fine, let me ask you, what were you doing in my study just now?"
An Junw.a.n.g"s chest heaved heavily, and the guilt he tried so hard to suppress couldn"t be hidden in his eyes. He glanced at the token in Grand Preceptor Zhuang"s hand and said, "I was looking for this!"
Grand Preceptor Zhuang was almost infuriated, "Could there be a more feeble excuse than dropping a token from outside the residence to inside? Zhuang Yuheng, you"re after all my grandson, can"t you even tell a simple lie?"
An Junw.a.n.g tried to open his mouth, “Grandfather…”
Grand Preceptor Zhuang coldly stared at him, "This is the entrance to the residence, with so many servants watching. I don"t want to embarra.s.s you! Just hand over the item honestly!"
An Junw.a.n.g avoided Grand Preceptor Zhuang"s sharp gaze and said, "What item? This grandson doesn"t understand, grandfather."
Grand Preceptor Zhuang shouted, "Now you"re calling yourself "grandson"?! Zhuang Yuheng, you"re still too green to play tricks in front of me! Are you going to hand it over yourself, or should I have my men search you? This is your last chance! Don"t think just because you"re my grandson, I won"t touch you! If you dare to defy me again, I"ll treat you as if you were never my grandson!”
"Empress Dowager Zhuang!?" An Junw.a.n.g shouted loudly, looking behind Grand Preceptor Zhuang.
Grand Preceptor Zhuang subconsciously turned his head to look.
An Junw.a.n.g bolted!
Grand Preceptor Zhuang was furious. He clenched his fists until they cracked, and his shoulders trembled uncontrollably, "Get him back here!"
Two guards rushed out, and An Junw.a.n.g was captured after a few steps.
They brought An Junw.a.n.g back to the entrance.
"Close the gate." Grand Preceptor Zhuang didn"t want anyone pa.s.sing by to see.
The servants nervously closed the gate. Just now, they almost let Junw.a.n.g go; they didn"t know if their Lordship would be angry with them because of this.
At this moment, Grand Preceptor Zhuang didn"t have time to punish these servants. He dismissed them and left only two trusted guards.
He looked at An Junw.a.n.g, who was restrained in front of him, and said, "Do you think you can successfully leave with that item? Do you think you would have escaped before I found out? Zhuang Yuheng, who gave you such confidence?"
An Junw.a.n.g didn"t answer his question but asked, "Grandfather, why are you colluding with the people from the State of Yan?"Raz P."s Thoughts
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