Tang Ning had been worried since she came to Cao's house. She thought about all kinds of situations and how to deal with them, but she didn't expect to see this scene after arriving.
The years are quiet and the room is filled with the fragrance of chestnuts.
When Cao Dejiang sat there and waved to them, he looked as comfortable as if he was greeting someone he had made an appointment with.
Tang Ning pursed her lips and said nothing, but Xiao Yan glanced at the man next to Cao Dejiang thoughtfully, reached out and pulled Tang Ning to the stove, and sat down opposite the two of them.
"Of course I want to eat the chestnuts roasted by Mr. Shi and Mr. Cao."
Xiao Yan smoothly moved some of the chestnuts that Cao Dejiang had picked up in front of Tang Ning, and then spoke:
"Mr. Shi has been in the capital for so long. My Privy Council people and secret spies have almost turned the capital upside down. I was wondering why you have been missing. It turns out that you were hidden by Duke Cao."
"Mr. Cao, what you do is unethical."
Shi Changan? !
Tang Ning felt something was wrong when she saw the man next to Cao Dejiang just now. Looking at him now, he looked exactly like the Mr. Shi who had turned gray overnight and had a broken arm as Cao Dejiang had said.
Shi Changan was originally recommended to her by Cao Dejiang, and Cao Dejiang also took the initiative to mention it to her several times, saying that he would help her search. Who would have thought that Shi Changan would be at Cao's house all the time.
No wonder she couldn't find this person for a long time. Every time she found some information, she was always a step late.
Tang Ning couldn't help but said: "Mr. Cao deceived me so hard."
"My position as the headmaster of the academy has been reserved for Mr. Shi, which caused a lot of speculation from outside. After learning that Mr. Shi came to Beijing, he went all over the world to find someone based on the information you gave him. As a result, you hid the person here safely. .”
"Brother, let's eat more of these chestnuts, and we can't take advantage of Mr. Cao."
The two of them spoke casually, and even if they complained, they were just like a junior speaking to an elder. Tang Ning even had a hint of resentment and coquettishness.
Xiao Yan, who was standing by, agreed quite a bit and simply took all the chestnuts in front of Cao Dejiang. He also "stole" a few of the chestnuts he had peeled and stuffed them into Tang Ning's hands.
Cao Dejiang smiled and glared: "You guys are going too far!"
It took him a long time to peel the chestnuts.
Xiao Yan looked at him: "Who is going too far? Mr. Cao has deceived me and Tang Ning. If it hadn't been for this accident, I'm afraid you would have been kept in the dark in the end."
"Now I'm just eating a few chestnuts from you, and I haven't even lifted the lid on the roof. It's an advantage for you as you get older."
Tang Ning stuffed the chestnuts into her mouth with full approval, her cheeks bulging.
"that is!"
Fortunately, she still felt a little guilty when she used Cao Dejiang before, but in the end, she was the one who was plotted.
Tang Ning bit the chestnut in her mouth fiercely: "Mrs. Fu always says hello to you, but you are so disrespectful. You are just laughing at me and my brother. I will complain to her later."
Cao Dejiang's head hurt when he thought of his nagging girl with an excessive sense of justice. He simply reached out and gave Tang Ning all the chestnut meat in the lid of the tea cup.
"Okay, okay, it's my fault, I'll give you all the chestnuts, okay?"
…
There was no tense situation at all as expected, and no arguments or confrontations occurred.
Several people gathered around the stove and ate chestnuts, and in a few words it was like a joke, telling them all the things that Cao Dejiang had deceived before, and eliminating the disputes that should have arisen silently.
Shi Changan, who was opposite him, looked at Xiao Yan in surprise. He thought that His Highness the Emperor's Grandson would question Cao Dejiang, or at least test him.
Shi Changan knew some things about Xiao Yan's past. He was born into a noble family, suffered disasters when he was young, and survived a narrow escape to get to where he is today.
The intelligence of the emperor's eldest grandson and the vindictiveness he always showed in his actions did not seem to be too tolerant, and he should be extremely defensive and suspicious.
But since Xiao Yan stepped here, his words and deeds were completely beyond his expectation.
Shi Changan made two bets with Cao Dejiang. The first was whether Xiao Yan could detect the abnormality in the palace, follow Feng Lai to find Cao Dejiang, and how he would react after knowing the truth.
He guessed that Xiao Yan would hide his identity, test secretly, and use the events of that year as an opportunity to completely drag the Cao family onto the ship of "rebellion" and force Cao Dejiang to act with him.
Cao Dejiang said that Xiao Yan didn't know how, saying that he would come directly to look for him after meeting Feng Lai.
The second is to bet on Xiao Yan's arrogance as the eldest grandson of the emperor, and the arrogance of "Governor Xiao". He has power in the court and is ruthless in his methods. He is the only one who has plotted against others in these years. If he knew that he was being teased by Cao Dejiang, he would be in danger even if he lived or died. Will he blame Cao Dejiang and be dissatisfied with him after being almost put into human hands?
But who would have thought that he didn't win any of the two bets.
Shi Changan turned the chestnut over with a pair of pokers and asked, "Don't you blame this old man named Cao for teasing you, the eldest grandson of the emperor?"
Xiao Yan pinched the chestnut shell and heard the "provocation" in Shi Changan's words.
The sentence about the emperor's eldest grandson exposing his identity means that Cao Dejiang already knew who he was, and even Shi Changan did not hide it. In other words, Cao Dejiang was not the only one who secretly watched his "joke".
Xiao Yan said: "When I first learned about it, I was a little angry and a little frightened, but after the fright, I was grateful."
The round chestnut shell cracked open. He held it in his palm and raised his head and said seriously:
"Since I was aware of what happened back then, I should have been suspicious and more cautious. However, I thought I was careful and took risks. If Cao Gong hadn't taught me a lesson, how could I have known how big of a mistake I had made."
"I am not perfect, and there are no absolutes. Before the big thing is accomplished, any omission may kill me."
"Today it was only Duke Cao who kept me safe so that I could be safe. If it were someone with malicious intentions, I would have been dead a long time ago. Duke Cao is teaching me that I can't be conceited and arrogant."
Xiao Yan was particularly sincere when he spoke: "Besides, Gong Cao risked the world's injustice to save my life and cover my tracks. Later, my father and the remnants of the He family were able to find me. It must be thanks to Gong Cao and Taifu Rong."
"It is a great favor that Mr. Cao has left the East Palace family alive. It's too late for me to be grateful, so why should I blame you?"
Chang An calmed down for a moment and looked at the girl next to Xiao Yan: "The princess is not annoyed either?"
"How is that possible? I'm annoyed."
Tang Ning put chestnuts in her mouth and said very calmly: "I am not as thorough as my brother, and I am also petty."
"Cao Gong clearly took the initiative to talk to me about Mr. Shi, and praised you to the best of heaven and earth. I was full of hope that you would come to help me take charge of the academy and educate the students in the academy. But who would have thought that he would always be in charge of the academy? Fool me."
"You don't know that when I learned about your appearance in Lingyun Temple that day, I had to lead people to chase after you. Later, you disappeared again. I was still annoyed with my brother that I was not good enough, so I let Shi The gentleman has been refusing to show up.”
After saying this, she glared at Cao Dejiang angrily.
"Mr. Cao has gone too far!"
