When a "Sea King" is Bound to a System [Quick Transmigration] - Chapter 27

Jiang Yan later found out that her mother had set her wedding date to Yuan Zhao for Jiang Zhen’s birthday.

After learning this, she felt that everything was too coincidental. Then she thought, perhaps it was just a lucky date, suitable for everything, with no taboos?

The eighth day of the third month. The flowers had not yet bloomed, and the wind was slightly cold.

This day was Jiang Chengsha’s birthday, and it was also the first time Jiang Yan had seen Jiang Zhen since their last encounter.

She seemed even colder than before, filled with a killing aura. Her eyes were sharper, like a sword flashing with cold light.

The two met at the entrance of the Qingfeng Tower. Jiang Yan took a step back and bowed respectfully. “General, after you.”

Jiang Zhen looked at her, her eyes complex. She opened her mouth, but in the end, she said nothing.

After Jiang Zhen went in, Jiang Yan paused for a moment before slowly following her. Before pushing open the private room door, she forced a smile to make herself look as usual.

Jiang Chengsha was very satisfied with Jiang Zhen, whom he had personally mentored. He would praise her to everyone he met. After the two of them had a few rounds of drinks, Jiang Chengsha held Jiang Yan’s hand and said, “Yan’er, I haven’t been by your side for the past few years, and I’m very sorry for that. When you marry into the Prince of Xiangyang’s Manor, you can’t be as willful as you are at home. Although your uncle and aunt won’t argue with you, they won’t be as accommodating as your mother and I, who will put up with everything you do.”

He was a little drunk and his words were a bit jumbled, but this didn’t stop Jiang Yan from sensing his deep fatherly love.

A warm current ran through her heart, and her nose felt a little sore.

“Father, I’ll remember everything you said. Don’t worry, I’ll work hard to be a good daughter-in-law and never let you or Mother worry about me.”

Jiang Zhen’s hand, which was holding the wine cup, tightened. The wine in the cup spilled out, wetting her black clothes.

“Yan’er is… getting married?”

Jiang Yan hadn’t responded yet, but Yuan Feng quickly answered for her.

“Yes. The wedding date is set for the fifth day of the fifth month. General, please come and have a celebratory drink with us then.”

Yuan Feng had been distant from Jiang Zhen since she returned from the battlefield. After Jiang Zhen was named Grand General, she started calling her “General,” as if she was deliberately trying to cut ties.

Jiang Yan followed her mother’s lead and replied to Jiang Zhen, a faint smile on her face, her eyes calm and indifferent.

“Yes. On the fifth day of the fifth month, I’ll be marrying into the Prince of Xiangyang’s Manor. Will you come and see me off then, Elder Sister?”

Jiang Zhen’s throat moved, and her eyes became even colder.

Jiang Yan, on the other hand, felt a sense of vindictive pleasure. She poured a cup of wine for herself. The spicy liquid went down her throat, and her whole body felt warm.

“Is it your own decision to marry Yuan Zhao?”

Jiang Zhen’s voice came, and Jiang Yan looked at her from the side and replied, “Of course, it’s my own will. Do you think someone is forcing me to marry him with a knife to my neck? Didn’t you say it yourself, Elder Sister? My cousin and I are a perfect match, a pair made in heaven. After I marry into the Prince of Xiangyang’s Manor, we will surely live in harmony and be a loving couple.”

Jiang Zhen crushed the cup in her hand. The shards cut her palm, and blood flowed down onto the table.

Jiang Yan was startled. She quickly took out a handkerchief and pressed it against her wound. Then she realized her loss of composure and took two steps back, deliberately keeping her distance.

Jiang Zhen looked at her, her eyes filled with conflict and pain. A moment later, she gritted her teeth and said, “Then… congratulations, younger sister!”

Jiang Yan lowered her head, her thick lashes covering her eyes, her emotions unclear.

Since that day, Jiang Yan had not seen Jiang Zhen again. She only knew that she was being summoned to the palace more and more frequently, either to play chess with the Emperor of Yu or to hunt with the Fifth Prince.

The Emperor’s favor was great, and his grace was vast.

The rumors of her marriage to the Fifth Prince grew more intense, as if she had already married into the imperial family and become a Princess.

Jiang Yan no longer cared about her affairs, but these rumors still reached her ears, intentionally or unintentionally.

The source was, of course, Qiu Yue.

She was a big chatterbox who couldn’t keep a secret and often gossiped with the young maids in the courtyard. Bit by bit, Jiang Yan was able to piece together the whole story.

In early April, the Grand Tutor Li Tan suddenly died at home. The scene was gruesome.

The Minister of the Court of Judicial Review found a suicide note written in blood on his desk, which confessed to his various crimes.

Including—

Framing Jiang Chengsha’s second-in-command, Jin Chao, leading to his tragic death in Jingcheng and the ruin of his family;

Bribing Jiang Chengsha’s men to lure him into a trap and kill him in a deserted place;

Sending people to hunt and kill Jiang Chengsha’s two daughters;

Betraying Grand General Jiang Zhen’s marching route, causing her to be poisoned;

Colluding with the State of Xia and the Japanese pirates, leaking military secrets for profit, and eliminating his rivals.

Jiang Yan was not surprised by any of this, because this information was what she had secretly provided to Jiang Zhen.

In the three years she spent in the capital, she wasn’t as aimless and indifferent as she seemed.

While Jiang Zhen was fighting on the front lines, Jiang Yan was in the capital, investigating the person who had harmed her and her father and wanted to kill them.

Fortunately, the other party didn’t see her as a threat and didn’t guard against her, which gave her the opportunity to find the evidence of these crimes.

When the news came out, the common people were all shocked, and the Emperor of Yu was furious. He issued an imperial edict, announcing to the world that Jin Chao had been wronged and posthumously honored him as the General of Loyalty. At the same time, he valued Jiang Zhen even more, wishing he could grant her a princedom and a high-ranking position.

Jiang Yan felt no emotion when her father and mother told her about these things. She even felt a little like laughing.

‘If Jiang Zhen were still an unknown young lady from the General’s Manor today, the daughter of a traitorous second-in-command, the edict to clear her name would not have come down so easily.’

‘The current Emperor, although his abilities are mediocre, has not made any mistakes in judging people. He can appoint capable people and is brave enough to admit his mistakes, which is already much better than the rulers of other countries.’

Jiang Yan didn’t know if Jiang Zhen knew that she was the one who secretly sent her that information. She probably did, otherwise her corruption value wouldn’t have been cleared in a single day.

When she heard the system’s notification about the mission being completed, Jiang Yan didn’t feel the joy of success. Instead, she felt a sense of loss.

‘The mission is complete, which means I can leave.’

‘Perhaps this is the best outcome for them.’