I felt a chill, like a cold wind blowing over me after sweating, causing waves of trembling.
This method reminded me of an impersonation case in Qi Kingdom years ago, when the Ministry of Personnel official changed his testimony after talking to An Jin. I could no longer deceive myself.
Emperor Hong looked at me compassionately. “A Yao, think about whose man this prison guard is.”
The black winter night comes especially early…
I will translate the text into English:
“At that time, I thought, since you’d already discovered something, I might as well tell you the truth.” He held me in his arms, patting me intermittently. “You would find out someday.”
“Then why didn’t you just make up an excuse?”
“I don’t want to lie to you, not even a little bit.” He suddenly fell silent.
I emerged from his embrace, sat up straight, and stared into his eyes. “Brother Jin, you will never lie to me, right?”
He was stunned and did not answer for a long time.
I persistently looked into his eyes, determined to get an answer.
Finally, he lowered his head and murmured, “I’m sorry, A Yao. I did indeed lie to you.”
The imperial uncle was right; everything was An Jin’s scheme. He knew I couldn’t bring myself to act against Yun Qiao, so he forced my hand through the golden cup incident. The arrest of the high priest and the upheaval in the Ministry of Personnel were all related to him.
He knew I would go to the high priest about the golden cup matter and had made arrangements in advance. Ultimately, he aimed to force the high priest to implicate Yun Qiao, pushing her into a desperate situation. He planned to produce evidence at the right moment before the three departments, sealing their fate.
I never thought An Jin’s carefully planned scheme would be used against me. I had become another chess piece in his hands, moved as he wished.
“It’s my fault,” I finally said, each word difficult. “A Yao, will you forgive me?”
“Why?” I stared at his embarrassed face.
“I was afraid you would go soft, that Jiang Yun Qiao cannot be left alive…”
“Why have you become like this?” I distanced myself from him. He looked sad, wanting to grab my hand, but I dodged.
