Chapter 73 "Yan Hui, from the moment we got married..."

Chapter 73 "Yan Hui, from the moment we got married..."

“Yan Hui, from the moment we got married, you had no way out. Do you know that your bodyguards have dealt with no fewer than three groups of assassins this year?”

"Qin Ji, do you think I'm stupid? What merit do I have to warrant the dispatch of assassins? Besides, if they want to kill someone, they'll go to Yunzhou to kill you. What's the use of killing me?" Xiao Yan's first reaction upon hearing this was to refute.

But since it concerned her own life, she still became nervous.

"It is indeed true, but there are some strange things about it. Do you remember that stormy night when I sneaked into your yard?"

Although it was a question, how could such a terrifying night be forgotten so easily? So Qin Ji didn't wait for Xiao Yan's reply and continued: "The assassin was most likely the second brother's spy. They bribed and coerced several high-ranking officials in the salt field. At that time, they not only robbed a boat of salt from me, but also used some method to take out the salt-making method."

However, none of those people survived to cross the river and head north. The man who appeared on that rainy night was their leader, who was already being chased to the brink of despair by my men.

At the time, I only thought that his infiltration of the Xiao family to assassinate them was to take someone down with him before he died. The reason he chose you was probably because he thought killing you would be the easiest and most effective way to get revenge. He was just fighting a desperate battle before he died.

Even now, Qin Ji still feels some lingering resentment when he talks about this.

Xiao Yan didn't feel much about the assassin; she was more frightened by Qin Ji's "ghostly" appearance that night. Besides, was it really something that could be said so easily—that everyone would die?

"Logically, things should have ended after that night, but during the year I was in Yunzhou, my family's secret guards kept sending messages to you, secretly carrying out multiple operations against you. Judging from their methods, they were all specially trained assassins."

Thinking about this, a deep worry flashed in Qin Ji's eyes, because he couldn't find any reason why the other party would specifically target Yan Hui. Excellent assassins are not easy to find; training each one requires a large expenditure of money.

If the assassination attempt on that rainy night was a personal act, then the several waves of assassins this year were definitely carried out under the orders of their master. Moreover, although they were called assassinations, judging from the reports of the secret guards, they seemed more like they were looking for something, or seeking an opportunity to kidnap Yan Hui.

"Could it be..." Qin Ji reached out and turned Xiao Yan Hui's face, looking at her seriously: "Yan Hui, have you mentioned salt refining to anyone? Or have you said anything that suggests you can refine white salt?" After thinking it over and over, Qin Ji still felt that the problem lay in salt refining.

Xiao Yan slapped away Qin Ji's hand that was cupping her face, then shook her head: "I know that salt and iron were government monopolies in ancient times. Getting involved with them could mean the execution of your entire family. I was even afraid to make ice myself because I was afraid of offending you, my fellow villager who has connections everywhere and can run a snowflake salt business. I even revealed the salt-making method to others. Am I out of my mind?"

"Perhaps it's because I took over the accounts for this part of your business this year?"

"If the ledgers were truly that important, then the accountants wouldn't be living so carefree. What exactly do they want from you?"

Qin Ji had been worried about this matter ever since Dezhi and his people started targeting Yan Hui. He never expected that even after the two of them had laid everything out on the table, they still couldn't find the reason.

"Could it be because of the glass?" When asked what she had gained, Xiao Yan immediately thought of the glass products that had brought her a huge income this year, but she quickly dismissed the idea.

Currently, her glass workshop is only producing on a small scale, and she has not yet launched higher-end pure glass and glass mirrors. The quartz sand sent to the workshop has also been processed twice. The craftsmen in Jiangzuo City all believe that they are refining inferior glass.

Currently, the huge price difference and immense potential for growth are something perhaps only she and Qin Ji truly understand. To outsiders, while it may seem like a good business, that's about it. No one would resort to extreme measures for these exposed profits.

"Ah! Qin Ji, marrying you was such a loss. I almost lost my life. I guess I should just get a divorce." He couldn't understand it at all, so he pulled his hood back on and wailed, clutching his head.

"Too late, don't even think about it! Once you're on the ship, you're not getting off." After figuring things out, Qin Ji was much more at ease, but the word "divorce" still made him unhappy.

Speaking of losing her life, Xiao Yan Hui remembered something else—the rumor about Prince Cheng killing his wife in the novel.

When the plot reached the point where the female lead, Su Jinyue, accidentally obtained a clue in Jiangzuo that her father might have been wrongfully killed, she returned to the capital intending to find more evidence to overturn her father's case.

Once the female lead returns to the capital, she will inevitably be discovered by the male lead, who has been searching for her whereabouts.

When the Second Prince learned that Su Jinyue had been under the protection of Prince Cheng during her time on the run, and that Su Jinyue even seemed to have a good impression of Prince Cheng, addressing him as "Your Highness" and "My Benefactor" repeatedly, the Second Prince was shocked.

The jealous second prince exposed Prince Cheng's true colors, revealing that he had killed his first wife, who was also of humble origin, just for the chance to marry a noblewoman. However, due to his carelessness, the news leaked out and the noble family found out, leaving him with nothing.

At the time, Su Jinyue did not completely believe the Second Prince's words, but when she thought that Prince Cheng was over twenty years old but his mansion was empty, she couldn't help but have some doubts.

This incident was later brought up again by the noblewomen as a topic of conversation when Su Jinyue attended a banquet after becoming a concubine.

The last time it was mentioned was when the struggle between Prince Cheng and the Second Prince reached its climax. The Second Prince had a lot of dark past information about Prince Cheng, such as wanton plundering of wealthy merchants and noble families in his fiefdom, disregard for human life, collusion with mountain bandits, raising private soldiers, sending beauties into the backyards of ministers to spy on information, and secretly replacing disaster relief grain, to name a few. The matter of killing his wife was mixed in with those things, and the Second Prince fabricated them into various unique rumors that spread widely in the capital.

After this part of the story, the verdict on his murder of his wife can be considered finalized.

Xiao Yan felt it was outrageous, but at the same time, she couldn't help but think of Xiao Quexian.

Xiao Quexian was reborn, so why was she so unwilling to marry Qin Ji? Could it be because she died at Qin Ji's hands in her previous life, and that's why she's so determined to avoid this marriage in this new life?

“Qin Ji…” Xiao Yan raised her head from under her hood and looked at Qin Ji.

What comes to mind?

"No, I want to ask you, if Xiao Quexian were to marry you, and she discovered your identity as Prince Cheng, you..." Would you kill her? The last few words stuck in my throat, and I couldn't bring myself to ask.

"Yes." Seeing the hesitation and surprise in Xiao Yan's eyes, Qin Ji gave a very simple and affirmative answer.

Now that the mask has been torn off, he is no longer willing to continue pretending. He hopes that Yan Hui will see the real Qin Ji from now on, whether good or bad.

"You know what I'm going to ask, so just answer." Hearing this, Xiao Yan turned her gaze away and forced an awkward smile, saying dryly.

“I know what you’re going to ask. If she discovers my identity and gets in the way of my plans, I’ll kill her. But I don’t think she has the ability to get in the way of my plans, so as long as she doesn’t betray me, we’ll probably keep to a distance.”

Unfortunately, Xiao Quexian still betrayed him, and he did indeed kill her.

Thinking about the things about his past life that he had dug out from Xiao Quexian, Qin Ji himself didn't know how to evaluate them. He could only say that some people were destined to be a pair of ill-fated lovers.

According to Xiao Quexian's account, he remained indifferent to her after their marriage. Xiao Quexian found true love and had an affair with Liang Er. She also passed messages to the Liang family and some secret recipes that she could obtain. In the end, she unfortunately died of illness.

Of course, Xiao Quexian always felt that Qin Ji had played a trick on her when she died of illness in her previous life. Although Qin Ji did not have any memories of his previous life, based on his understanding of himself, he also felt that he had played a trick on her.

So there's nothing to argue about on that point.

But... just after saying those cold words, he tenderly took Xiao Yan's hand and held it in his palm: "But I will never kill you no matter what."

What if I betray you?

"That can't be right, I can't bear to see you die." After a pause, Qin Ji finally finished speaking with a doting smile: "But if you choose to stand on the opposite side of me, I really will lock you up and won't let you out until I get what I want."

"After all, in this era, only you can give me the most ruthless backstabbing and inflict the greatest blow, right?"

Qin Ji was a little worried. Perhaps even if he wanted to be honest, he didn't have to be so blunt. Why did his usual high emotional intelligence suddenly fail him? He could have used a more tactful way of expressing himself.

But unexpectedly, when Xiao Yan heard the words "lock up" again, she showed no sign of anger at all.

As Qin Ji nervously tried to guess her thoughts, he suddenly felt her grip tighten in return: "I think you're right. I shouldn't have assumed the scenario of betrayal. It's only natural that betrayers should die a horrible death. Not just for me, but for you too."

"Of course." Qin Ji smiled with a satisfied expression.

"Are you cold? Shall I carry you down?" He felt that although the conversation tonight had been a little complicated, it was a great success overall.

Before coming up, Yan Hui was indifferent to him and had been thinking about getting a divorce, but now they have promised each other never to betray each other!

"Qin Ji, have I been tricked by you?" Xiao Yan immediately realized.

"No, that's not true. We're just clearing up misunderstandings and forming a united front through good communication." Qin Ji reached out to put his arm around Xiao Yan's waist and carry her down, but was stopped halfway.

"I have two more very important questions."

"Go ahead and ask."

"Why are you so determined to get that position? And are you really short of money?"

"If you want that position, you'll always be short of money. But you've seen my ledgers, so I can't really say I'm short of money." If someone like him says he's short of money, then 99% of the people in the world would say he's a beggar.

"As for that position, I was given this one right after I came here. It seems like I can get the identity of that position, but I also saw so many things that I didn't like. So I want to see what I can do if I were in that situation."

Looking down at Jiangzuo City, which was now only faintly lit, Qin Ji smiled, his face showing a rare, enthusiastic and exuberant expression.

"Now that time travel has happened, I thought I should try to get the 'Eternal Wise Ruler' achievement, so that my trip wouldn't be in vain."

"Want to come along?" Qin Ji extended his hand to Xiao Yan Hui.