An Jin’s revenge lasted three hours. After I had finished pouring out my emotions with Yuanxiao, I crawled into a thin blanket and found his arm reaching out, pulling me back into his embrace.
I thought he was sleepwalking and didn’t dare move. His eyes opened slightly, and he bit my shoulder like a hungry wolf. “Where did you go? Making me wait so long?”
I pushed him in confusion. “Weren’t you asleep?”
He looked frustrated, tugging at my clothing belt. “Couldn’t you be more aggressive?”
Suddenly, I understood. He had been pretending all along, waiting for me to take the initiative.
I sighed, retaining some presence of mind, and said earnestly, “If you want something, you need to say it. How would I know if you don’t speak? I won’t chase after you if you don’t want me, but if you want me, of course, I’ll give in—umph!” This beast… didn’t even let me finish!
His promise overturned my reasoning. Such profound questions were indeed not suitable for me to ponder. Seeing me dejected, he quickly comforted me and affirmed my efforts to think actively and communicate appropriately. I seized the opportunity to request those erotic picture albums.
He flatly refused. After a moment of contemplation, he warned me not to sneak a peek at those albums in his study. If he hadn’t mentioned it, I wouldn’t have known they were hidden there. The next day happened to be a day off.
To enjoy private time with An Jin, I left my study in Que’er’s care, not expecting An Jin to leave early with the excuse of urgent matters. Before leaving, he warned me not to enter the study. Driven by curiosity and a rebellious mindset, I soon went to the study.
His study was usually locked, yet it was unlocked that day. Yuan Xiang crouched at the door to keep watch, and I pushed the door open. I rarely entered his study due to painful memories, but this time I was determined to find the albums and return them to Chen Piao. Revisiting the space stirred psychological shadows, and I even thought I heard An Jin’s voice.
I took deep breaths, reminding myself he could not be there. After several attempts, I began searching. His study was large but simply arranged. I found the erotic pictures almost effortlessly on the bottom shelf of the bookcase.
Excitedly hugging them, I accidentally bumped something, causing the entire bookcase to tilt. Startled, I clutched my head and called out, “Husband, I was wrong!” But there was no response; An Jin was not there at all.
Tears streamed down my face; I was quite the unique wife, being this timid. Beside the tilted bookcase, a wall shifted, revealing a small path paved with blue stone bricks, sloping downward and looking somewhat eerie.
Should I go in? I hesitated, not wanting to go alone, and decided to restore the bookcase. After searching for a long time, I couldn’t find the mechanism to return it to its original position. Something about the whole situation felt slightly off. At the entrance of the dark passage, I saw a yellowish package on the ground not far away. Curiosity overcame fear, and I carefully walked into the tunnel, deciding to examine the item and then return.
The package was close to the entrance. Upon approaching, I realized it was far from what I had expected. I had thought something hidden in such a concealed place must be a treasure, but instead, it was a package of hot, fragrant sugar cakes. I swallowed, suddenly remembering I hadn’t eaten breakfast and was somewhat hungry. Just then, the wall behind me boomed shut. I realized this was a trap to lure me deeper.
Such careful planning, using sugar cakes as bait, revealed deep scheming and malicious intent. I felt more at ease and continued walking with the sugar cakes. The path sloped downward, and after some time, I reached level ground. As I ventured further inside, the light around me brightened, and soon it opened up completely.
I never imagined that beneath the An residence, there was such a magnificent secret room. Nearly ten zhang high, it was more spacious than the square in front of the Hall of Supreme Harmony. Dozens of massive dragon-entwined pillars stood in the room, each with a dragon head holding a pearl that emitted a dim light, like a rare night-luminous pearl.
Oil lamps carved with dancing auspicious cranes hung on the walls at intervals, resembling the legendary eternal lamp. If not for the neatly arranged tall dark wooden shelves, I might have thought I had entered an imperial tomb.
The shelves were arranged in two rows, with space wide enough for two people to walk side by side. The wood’s deep, rich fragrance filled the air, and the shelves were packed with drawers marked with strange numbers and symbols.
One drawer was open, and I leaned over to peek inside, finding several scrolls tied with silk ribbons, with a “Su” character written on the rightmost scroll.
My heart stirred as I took out the scroll and unrolled it. Su Quan, originally named Su Kuang from Xiongzhou in Xiliang, relocated with his wife Wang and their children, Wu Xi and Su Hui. They bribed Feng City officials and forged household registrations.
It had been nearly ten years since the fifth year of An Ming. If this record was true—Superintendent Su Quan and his family had deliberately hidden in the Great Qi Kingdom for nearly ten years, and Su Quan and Su Xi had risen to high positions.
I tied the scroll back and returned it to the drawer, my heart pounding. What kind of place was this?
The passage between the shelves, wide enough for two people, seemed like a shortcut to the truth. Having come this far, I couldn’t turn back. I waited to look calm and then proceeded along the passage.
At the front was a heavy stone door that opened with a light push. Inside was an empty stone room with doors on both sides, leading to unknown destinations.
An Jin stood in the center of the stone room, his back to me, wearing a light blue robe that outlined his slim waist and long body. He appeared pure and self-possessed, with traces of severity.
“I once swore before my ancestors’ memorial tablets that I cannot reveal the An family’s secrets to anyone, including my closest loved ones.”
I quietly watched his back. “Since you discovered this yourself, it doesn’t count as me breaking my oath.” He turned around, eyes glinting with cunning, a smirk on his lips, like a cat that had caught a mouse. The previous calm had been an illusion… To lure me in, he had gone to great lengths, even using my collection of erotic art.
“Yaoyao, this is the An family’s secret. It stores all the confidential information of the Great Qi Kingdom since its founding, and the identity passed down through generations of the An family,” he gazed at me calmly. “I am the master of the kingdom’s secret department, the highest commander of all spies in the three kingdoms.”
Chapter Thirty-Nine: Husband’s Intentions
“According to unofficial historical records, the founding emperor of the Great Qi Kingdom was a cut-sleeve, in love with a man, and reportedly ennobled him to manage the kingdom’s secrets…”
While unofficial histories cannot be fully trusted, they often contain a kernel of truth. Whether the founding emperor of the Great Qi Kingdom was truly a cut-sleeve is no longer verifiable, but the man who managed the kingdom’s secrets, Ancestor An Honglie, did exist.
An Honglie was a remarkable talent characterized by his intelligence, eidetic memory, meticulous thought, and exceptional strategic skills. He became the right-hand man of the Ancestral Emperor, forming a deep bond that transcended kinship. The Ancestral Emperor entrusted An Honglie with managing the core of the Qi Kingdom and designated his descendants as hereditary inheritors of these secrets.
