A piece of Japanese incense

Chapter 252 Siqi's Life

After listening to Yu Nian's story, Zhi Yihe realized that his long-investigated grandfather's death and his grandfather's unsolved "disappearance" were both closely linked to the man on the throne. Dog Dad had searched for his grandmother for years in vain, wondering if she, like his grandfather, had suffered the same fate...

Zhi Yihe really wanted to fly to his dog father immediately and pass on this slim but extremely precious hope to him, perhaps it could comfort him a little bit for the torment he had suffered for most of his life.

Unfortunately, they are now in the Western country and the journey home is long.

As her thoughts were in a mess, another fragment of Yu Nian's words popped into her mind: "The queen's daughter is pregnant before marriage."

"Child!" Zhi Yihe's heart sank. "Siqi?! Could it be that Siqi isn't the princess and my father's child?! This is too ridiculous! This is such a shocking, bloody plot!"

Yu Nian said, "Prime Minister Chigan had three sons and five daughters, but his second son, Chigan Yao, died young. If Yan Shaoyu had a close relationship with Prime Minister Chigan, then it's not impossible that the eldest princess knew Chigan Yao."

"Chigan Yao..." Zhi Yihe unconsciously uttered the name.

What does it mean if Siqi is the child of the princess and Chi Ganyao?

Does this mean that the child that the dog father regards as his own is actually the blood of his wife and another man?

Does this mean that the princess's feelings for her father may not be as deep as she imagined?

Does this mean that Zhi Siqi, her brother (at least she always thought so), has the blood of the powerful Xizhe State's Chigan clan flowing in his veins? And his biological father is no longer alive?!

Memories dragged Zhi Yihe back to that night—Zhi Siqi was sick in bed...

At that time, Siqi's body was gnawed day and night by the poisonous insects left by his grandfather, leaving him emaciated. Famous doctors were helpless. The only solution was for a blood relative to use their blood as a lure to lure the poisonous insects, which had been symbiotic for years, into their own body. Forcibly removing them would only cause the poisonous insects to attack and consume the host, killing both them and the host.

She looked at Siqi, who was barely breathing on the bed, and had already made up her mind.

My grandparents, mother, and Aunt Hong all passed away one after another. Every day, facing the seemingly happy "family of three" of Gou Dad, the eldest princess, and Siqi, I, an outsider, felt like an unnecessary existence...

In addition, this was the evil karma planted by her grandfather, so she calmly arranged everything, ready to use her own life to repay the blood debt for her grandfather and put an end to her own existence.

She felt a kind of almost tragic calmness. Dog Dad and the Princess could truly be reunited, Siqi could survive, and she, perhaps, could return to reality and be with her grandmother...

But for some reason, the eldest princess saw through her plan.

The graceful and elegant Princess actually knelt before her. Her lofty eyes were filled with a desperate plea she had never seen before.

"Yihe! Please! Let me do it! The poison in Siqi's body was planted by your mother! She hated me for taking your father away, so she cruelly killed him! When I found out she was pregnant, I sent someone to... kill her unborn child in revenge!" The princess sobbed uncontrollably, "This sin! This karma! It must end with me! You're still so young, you still have a long way to go... Please, let me, your mother, pay it back! Promise me that you will live well and take care of Siqi for me, an unfit mother... and watch him grow up!"

The princess's forehead hit the ground heavily. She was defeated by the sudden truth and the princess's humble plea, and could only nod in confusion.

So, she exchanged blood to induce the poison. She just watched the princess lying beside her son, watching her blood slowly flow out, slowly drawing the poisonous insect that had been parasitic in Siqi's body for many years into her body.

This dusty memory, with its connotations of sacrifice and repentance, was completely overturned by the shocking news that "Zhi Siqi may not be the dog father's biological son."

The princess's tearful confession, her kneeling pleas, and her resolute sacrifice...

Perhaps he really wanted to protect her as an innocent person, but the more likely and core reason was probably to keep the secret of Zhi Siqi's life experience!

If Siqi is really the child of the princess and Chiganyao, and the blood of the prime minister of Xizhe State, then asking her "sister" to exchange blood and induce the poison will definitely not succeed. The shocking secret will be exposed, the princess's reputation will be ruined, and Siqi will be implicated, and it may even cause suspicion between the two countries, and the royal family's reputation will be completely destroyed.

The only way to completely seal this secret is for the princess herself to have a blood transfusion!

Her sacrifice can be interpreted as great maternal love, and it can also perfectly cover up the mystery of Siqi's life experience.

"She was using her own life to silence the gossips, preserve the dignity of the royal family, and protect Siqi's identity and life." After Zhi Yihe saw the truth, her heart was filled with sadness, mixed with the pain of being used. She leaned back on the couch and sighed, "Brother Nian, when can we leave Xizhe?"

"Wait until you've recovered from your injuries and can withstand the long journey. This place is relatively safe for now."

"Ah~" Zhi Yihe suddenly sat up straight, not even noticing the injury. He looked at Yu Nian anxiously: "Brother Nian! I forgot to tell you! Before I came to Xizhe, I was being hunted!"

Yu Nian's eyes suddenly became sharp: "Hunting? When? Where?"

"It probably started during the Lantern Festival that year. Someone stabbed me in the chaos!" She touched the wounded spot on her abdomen.

"As soon as I left Sanchuan, the people who wanted to kill me caught up with me!" She spoke faster, pouring out the dangers along the way: "The clues I found all pointed to Wangchao City, where I encountered Princess Yan giving birth...

Then I boarded the Nu Jiao, and the people chasing me came after me again..."

Zhi Yihe briefly told Yu Nian how she escaped from the post station, how Yu Tuan was poisoned, and how she joined forces with Feng Yan.

Yu Nian listened quietly, his brows furrowed tighter and tighter, and his expression became more and more solemn.

"I see. No wonder that's why I found your lonely, almost falling apart boat in that desolate and untouched sea far away from the main shipping lanes."

Yu Nian looked at Zhi Yihe with a complicated expression: "For the past two years, I have been working for Prime Minister Chi Gan, handling many affairs."

Zhi Yihe was nervous, feeling that the next words would be crucial.

"Not long ago," Yu Nian continued, "I received a secret report. The intelligence mentioned that a group of 'pirates' will come to the west with an extremely important 'Xiqi National Treasure'. The intelligence listed the names of several main characters..." He paused, his eyes fixed on Zhi Yihe: "Among them, there are the three words 'Zhi Yihe'.

It involved Xiqi, and your name was mentioned. Although I thought it was absurd, I was still optimistic, so I took the initiative to accept this mission and went out of the city to meet the pirates and the so-called "national treasure".

As a result, before I even waited for them to reach the shore, I received an urgent report: the ship we were on had been ambushed, the ship had sunk, and the whereabouts of the people on board were unknown!

"Whereabouts unknown..." A chill ran up Zhi Yihe's spine.

"I immediately dispatched personnel to search the relevant waters, extending far beyond the area where the attack occurred. Thank goodness, I was able to find you."

A bold speculation formed in Zhi Yihe's mind: "Brother Nian, do you think that the so-called 'honorable master' could be Prime Minister Chi Gan?"

Yu Nian was silent for a moment, then nodded slowly: "It's very likely."

"But! Why is this happening?!" Zhi Yihe became agitated. "Prime Minister Chigan and I have never met before, and we have no grudges against each other! Why would he go to such great lengths to kill me? First, he sent people to hunt me down in Dongli, and then he tried to silence me on the ship. Why on earth did he want to get rid of me?"

The two fell into a brief silence.

Yu Nian's gaze became profound, and he thought rapidly, deducing the various connections between them.

"It's not that there's no grudge..." Yu Nian said slowly, "Ah He, there are countless connections between you two. Think about it, what do you carry? Your grandfather, your grandfather, both had ties with Emperor Zhaoding, involving the secrets of the previous dynasty. Your grandmother is also one of the truths the emperor wants to cover up. And Siqi's life story is even more related to the confusion of the royal bloodline and the Chigan family. And you are an insider of all these secrets, and even a living witness who can unlock the key to uncovering them!"