Hearing this, Sir Jibei’s facial muscles tautened and his heart suddenly was filled with disgust, “My second brother has been partial to you all these years. His children and grandchildren have suffered a lot for so many years. But I never saw you make any allowances or show sympathy for them! If you had felt for them and known the truth of being self-restraint and forbearing, the third branch and the fourth branch would have had less resentment. So how can you have today’s woe?”

“Now I want to help the fourth branch to get rid of it for the sake of the overall situation. You are glibly professing that I treat Jiang Tianchi as my real son. You should kneel down and cry in public. Do you imply that I’m unfair?”

In such a situation that Jiang Tianao cried heartfeltly and Jiang Tianqi followed to kneel down and beg, Sir Jibei felt very sad, “What’s the purpose of me to plan so painstakingly and rush around regardless of my old age, infirmity, and injuries? It’s all for you. No matter who wins out at the end of the fight among the first branch, the third branch, and the fourth branch, I only have the sixth branch irrelevant to all matters! How much can I be affected? You think I’m biased and selfish, don’t you?”

He was so furious that he smiled instead, “In that case, I’ll give Xing and Ling Zui, as well as all the people who have come back with me, to you to interrogate personally, okay? You can torture them at will regardless of their life. Is that alright?”

Even a fool could realize that Sir Jibei was really angry!

Madame Ou’s face changed. She whispered, “Cool down… Pay attention to your health!” As a great-grandfather, he had just experienced a long journey. If he couldn’t restrain his emotions, something might go wrong!

Marquess Qin also knew this. He eventually didn’t sit on the sidelines. He laid down the tea bowl with moderate strength and said to Sir Jibei, “Listen to Madame Ou!” After that, he glanced coldly at Jiang Tianao and Jiang Tianqi, “Do you think your third uncle owes you as he has travelled thousands of miles away?”

“I don’t dare!”

“I don’t dare!”

Jiang Tianao and Jiang Tianqi were so frightened that they didn’t dare to make any more trouble. They answered carefully together.

“If so, stop your petty intrigues!” Marquess Qin scolded mercilessly, “Either listen to us or get out of here and don’t step in forever! Don’t offend elders just because of your third uncle’s good temper!”

“Yes!” Jiang Tianao and Jiang Tianqi bore the humiliation and suppressed the resentment. They kowtowed to Sir Jibei, “We are not filial to you. Please forgive us!”

Of course, Sir Jibei could see their real mood after they atoned by apologizing. He just felt so discouraged. After a moment of silence, he said, “Have you read the blood-written letter of Qizheng?”

“Yes…”

“So, what did it say?” Sir Jibei asked faintly.

Jiang Tianao and Jiang Tianqi looked at each other. Finally, the Seventh Young Master Jiang Yayi came out and answered, “My eighteenth younger sister said that the first branch and our branch jointly harmed her. How is this possible? This is definitely…”

“Right. That letter is forged!” Although he was discouraged, Sir Jibei still forced himself to deal with problems for all branches. He had to plant the deaths of Jiang Yayue and Jiang Yaqing on Prince of Cai. Of course, the attack on Jiang Qizheng’s party couldn’t be blamed on the first branch and the third branch. So, the letter must be false.

“According to my personal inquiry of Qizheng, the reason why she wrote the letter was that she worried about her reputation once she fell into the hands of enemies. Moreover, she was concerned about her husband and her child, and thus she wrote the letter to say goodbye to him and entrust her child to Jiang Yadan and Jiang Yashuang and his wife.”

“How could Xing and Ling Zui write such a blood-written letter together?” Madame Ou was afraid her husband was too tired and so she continued, “They took care of Qizheng and kept her from taking a wrong road. Our family should thank them!”

You are reading story Real Empress from a Noble Family at novel35.com

Jiang Tianao said in a low voice, “So, Madame Dou… Did she really die wrongfully?”

As soon as hearing his words, Sir Jibei could hardly hold up and shout abuse. He thought, “I’ve made painstaking efforts to rescue you but you should feel emboldened and even so aggressive. Are you afraid of not losing shamefully enough?”

It was a foregone conclusion that the Western Army and the Northern Army belonged to the fourth branch. Days of the old generation’s backers are numbered. In this case, Jiang Tianao’s smartest behavior was to feign ignorance and magnanimity going along with the statement of Sir Jibei! This was the long-term plan for avoiding troubles for his own branch!

“What do you want?” Sir Jibei steadily stared at the nephew with mixed feelings, “Do you think that my second brother is partial to you and thus he will eradicate the fourth branch for your branch? They are trueborn sons and grandsons of him! My second brother has spoiled you so much that you turn out to be like that! Is it a satisfying result for you to force him to kill his offspring?”

Even though Sir Jibei was used to seeing people’s sinister hearts at his age, he never saw such an ungrateful person as Jiang Tianao!

At this time, Jiang Yashuang seemed to say casually, “Uncles suspected that my wife’s brother saved people but now you are doubting that my sister’s letter is forged… But in my opinion, the most suspicious matter is the attack on my sister’s party, right?”

His eyes swept around the crowd cynically and then he looked at Sir Jibei, “At the beginning, the aim of requesting my youngest grand uncle to Shazhou was to investigate this matter! Unlike in central plains, Shazhou is a vast territory with a sparse population. It’s common for people not to see a wisp of smoke of the dwellings in a day or two! Although the party didn’t deliberately hide their whereabouts, there hadn’t been so much movement that could draw all people’s attention! Moreover, before they entered Shazhou, Kuang Qingwu was on the rampage for a time. Wouldn’t they guard against him? However, they were not only beguiled into Kuang Qingwu’s ambush but also utterly defeated. In the end, only Jiang Yadan broke through under the cover of more than a dozen bodyguards!”

“You should know that there were many elite guards of the Northern Army in my sister’s party. Kuang Qingwu was just a stray dog. If he didn’t thoroughly know the team like the back of his hand, how could he defeat the party so easily? His team even left no trace after retreating.”

“There is a more suspicious thing. I was ordered by my mother to meet Jiang Yadan yesterday. He told me that after my sister and other people were captured, Jiang Yayue and Jiang Yaqing received the news and took men from Shazhou to the nearby place where they were attacked. They set up camps and scattered to look for them! But so many good hands spread out to search in these days, there was even no one clue!”

“Was Kuang Qingwu so brilliant, or were Jiang Yayue and Jiang Yaqing’s men too incompetent?”

“Or, is there another inside story?” Jiang Yashuang said coldly, “I’m so fool that I cannot understand the reason! Please make it clear to me!”

Sir Jibei said expressionless, “What you think is right!”

He didn’t bother to mind the dark faces of the first branch and the third branch after hearing these words and said, “Of course the attack on Jiang Yadan and Jiang Qizheng’s party was due to traitors! The men of Jiang Yayue and Jiang Yaqing couldn’t find them later because those traitors were definitely bribed!”

“Jiang Yadan told me that Jiang Yayue and Jiang Yaqing brought a lot of people!” Jiang Yashuang said slightly, “But after so many days that were enough to comb out the entire Shazhou, no one brought back any news! My youngest grand uncle, what do you think about it?”

“Because most of those people were bribed!” Sir Jibei said impressively, “A few people who were completely in the dark made great efforts to find them, but they were deliberately sent to the places far away from Kuang Qingwu’s hiding place. Though they found some clues occasionally, they would be deceived by others. How could they bring back useful news?”

Jiang Yahong couldn’t help but ask with “grief and indignation”, “So, were these people responsible for the deaths of Jiang Yayue and Jiang Yaqing? How was this possible! These people were arranged by father and my third uncle! Would they murder their trueborn sons?”

This time Jiang Tianao didn’t scold him because that was what he wanted to say, but he didn’t dare to speak in that he was just berated by Marquess Qin for forcing Sir Jibei. Now when his son asked what he thought, he couldn’t help feeling touched, “Fortunately, there is still Jiang Yahong!”

His eldest son and eldest grandchild were all trapped in Kui County, and the second son died miserably in Shazhou. Other grandchildren were still young. Although he brought them here today, they were too frightened to breathe. How dared they step forward and help? He would fight alone today without the son of a concubine!

But he didn’t know what Jiang Yahong was thinking at the moment, “Before father condemned the fourth branch for the death of the first mother. And then Jiang Yashuang raised the doubtful points about Jiang Qizheng’s party being captured. The youngest grand uncle’s answer was that the people around Jiang Yayue and Jiang Yaqing were bribed! Obviously, this is not only to pave the way for the deaths of Jiang Yayue and Jiang Yaqing, but also to exculpate the fourth aunt from the death of the first mother!”

For now, was it necessary for Sir Jibei and Jiang Yashuang to talk about how to exonerate Madame Zhuang.

So, he thought, “It is time for me to say so! Anyway, my first mother’s family has already gone.”

Sure enough, Sir Jibei replied without looking up, “It’s true. The bodyguards were arranged by Tianao and Tianqi, but Jiang Yayue and Jiang Yaqing are trueborn sons. It was understandable for a mother to get their luggage ready and prepare some intimate people for her sons…”

Speaking of this, he paused and talked slightly, “Maybe Madame Dou was cheated at the beginning. She thought that the Dou Family begged her to arrange those people around Jiang Yayue just to give them a way out. But she didn’t realize that the Dou Family bore grudges about what happened in past years and hated our family deeply. They set up such a big trap and even Jiang Yayue was involved!”

“Of course, Madame Dou was unexpected to know that the rest of her family were so crazy that they even turned around to cooperate with the remaining members of Gu. Didn’t you know Gu’s people wanted our family to collapse so much? But in today’s situation, unless we get the internal strife, they can only think in vain!”

Sir Jibei looked at the younger generations sternly, “Do you understand? The remaining members of the Dou family and Gu were the masterminds who kidnapped Jiang Qizheng and murdered Jiang Yayue and Jiang Yaqing! If I hadn’t come here in person this time, you would have been fooled by them and fought against each other awfully, right?”

The sudden deafening scolding made the whole study silent deathly for a few seconds!

A moment later, Sir Jibei looked at the first branch and the third branch. They had to suppress their anger without saying anything. He shook his head slightly, “I know you are deeply estranged from each other! You firmly believe that I show partiality to the fourth branch again, right?”

He waved his hand to stop their argument, saying to his attendants, “Bring the evidence!”