Сhарtеr 112: Unwilling to Disclоsе
Тhird Sistеr hаs always bееn straightforwаrd, courаgеоus, аnd rеsоurceful. Whу would she do something so аbsurd tоdaу? It must be rеlаtеd tо Hаn Shiуuаn.
Тhinking this, Zhu Yаn went tо Han Shiyuаn's rоom аnd pushed the dоor oрen.
Hаn Shiуuаn lооkеd unwеll, as if he hаd just wоken uр.
Sееing Zhu Yan аrrive, hе initiаlly stoоd uр pоlitely and nоdded, but was immediаtеlу stunned bу Zhu Yan's words.
"What is уоur rеlatiоnshiр with thе реоplе in thе pаlaсe?"
Zhu Yan gоt straight tо thе рoint. Наn Shiуuаn's exprеssion changed instantlу, and he turned his hеad to thе side. "Is thе Siхth Miss hеre to ask me this? I have nothing to say."
"What do you mean, 'nothing to say' at a time like this?" Zhu Yan was furious. She stepped forward, grabbed Han Shiyuan's collar, and demanded, "If it weren't for you, our Zhu family wouldn't have ended up like this. You'd better tell me everything clearly, or I won't let you off."
Faced with Zhu Yan's threat, Han Shiyuan merely glanced at her dismissively. "Hmph, isn't the Sixth Miss clever? Figure it out yourself."
"You—" Before Zhu Yan could finish, a figure suddenly pushed the door open again.
"Why are you here?" Zhu Yan was somewhat puzzled by Shen Du's arrival. Could it be that he followed her?
Shen Du ignored Zhu Yan and walked directly to Han Shiyuan's side. "Speak. What exactly is going on?"
Han Shiyuan's face was ashen, and he still showed no intention of answering.
Zhu Yan was exasperated. Just as she was about to take action, Shen Du grabbed her wrist and pulled her aside. He stepped forward himself, seizing Han Shiyuan's collar.
"Even if you don't tell us, they won't let you off either."
Shen Du's words were full of threat, but Han Shiyuan remained resolute, showing no sign of speaking.
His pale face looked sickly, but at this moment, to Shen Du, it seemed like an invitation for a beating.
With a loud "thud," a fist struck Han Shiyuan's face hard. Han Shiyuan collapsed onto the bed, making no move to fight back.
Zhu Yan was shocked and hurried forward to pull Shen Du back. "What are you doing? He's still a member of the Zhu family. How can you hit him?"
Shen Du was annoyed, but Zhu Yan didn't understand why he had suddenly become so angry.
At that moment, Han Shiyuan suddenly let out a light laugh. "Lord Shen, that punch was too light. How about another one?"
"Are you insane?" Zhu Yan shouted at Han Shiyuan. "He's a martial artist. A few more punches from him could kill you."
"What does death matter?" Han Shiyuan's eyes grew misty as he lay on the bed, looking utterly helpless.
"Speak," Shen Du continued to interrogate coldly, while Zhu Yan felt increasingly helpless.
"I do know Zhang Baohuan, but I don't want to have any entanglement with them."
As he spoke, a fierce glint flashed in Han Shiyuan's eyes, and his fists clenched tightly.
"Why?" Zhu Yan asked.
Han Shiyuan took a deep breath, his voice filled with resignation. "I didn't want to owe them any favors, but who dares disobey His Highness the Prince of Ying's orders? I rejected her, so naturally, there would be no good outcome."
"What?" Zhu Yan was taken aback by Han Shiyuan's words, as if she had understood something from them.
"Did Princess Yongan express her feelings to you?" Even Shen Du seemed surprised.
Han Shiyuan nodded, a clear tear sliding down the corner of his eye. "I refused, and from then on, there were no more good days. It's fine if it's just me, but I even implicated Caiwei. I am truly guilty of a great sin."Zhu Yan's delicate brows furrowed tightly. If this was related to His Highness the Prince of Ying, then things were indeed complicated.
After leaving Han Shiyuan's room, they had only taken a few steps when Shen Du suddenly stopped. He said coldly, "This case ends here. You are not to interfere any further."
Zhu Yan was speechless, momentarily failing to grasp Shen Du's meaning.
"Why?" Zhu Yan pressed, but Shen Du remained as cold and emotionless as ever. "No reason. I said you are not to investigate, so you are not to investigate."
With that, he offered no further explanation to Zhu Yan and left alone.
Zhu Yan was helpless. Just because he said not to investigate, did that mean she couldn't? Her sister had almost been framed; she had no choice but to look into it!
Returning to the Shen residence, Zhu Yan continued organizing the case files in the study.
It seemed almost deliberate—she rearranged the previous files, then sorted them again.
Shen Du did not question her, as if merely keeping her company, allowing this woman to stay there as she pleased.
At that moment, Jing Lin arrived with Zhu Mojie.
As soon as Zhu Mojie entered, it was as if he had discovered a new continent. He looked at Shen Du with a delighted expression and said, "Guess what I found out?"
Shen Du's brows suddenly furrowed, and Zhu Yan, standing nearby, also pricked up her ears in surprise.
"Han Shiyuan and that Zhang Baohuan indeed have a connection, and it's no ordinary one."
Upon hearing this, countless unsavory scenes instantly flashed through Zhu Yan's mind.
The corner of her mouth twitched, her face full of disbelief. How could things have developed this way?
"Is there anything else?" Shen Du asked coldly, but Zhu Mojie shook his head repeatedly.
"It's only my first day there. It's already quite an achievement to have found this out."
Shen Du took a deep breath and waved his hand. "You may leave."
Zhu Mojie was led away by Jing Lin, and only then did Zhu Yan understand.
No wonder Shen Du had sent Zhu Mojie into the Hongwen Academy—he had already laid his pieces in advance.
But why was the relationship between Han Shiyuan and Zhang Baohuan so awkward?
After pondering for a while, Zhu Yan looked at Shen Du and asked, "So, what exactly is the relationship between Han Shiyuan and Zhang Baohuan?"
As she spoke, her hands were still organizing the files, as if she had asked the question casually.
Shen Du glanced up at her but did not respond.
Zhu Yan could no longer sit still. Angrily, she walked over to the desk and fixed her gaze on him with a questioning look. "I'm asking you a question. Didn't you hear me?"
Only then did Shen Du look up and meet her eyes. "When asking questions, one must have the right attitude. Are you speaking to me?"
The corner of Zhu Yan's mouth twitched, but she was also quite helpless.
Quickly gathering her words, she forced a smile onto her face. "Husband, what exactly is the relationship between Han Shiyuan and Zhang Baohuan?"
The corners of Shen Du's lips lifted, revealing a meaningful curve, but the answer he gave nearly made Zhu Yan stumble.
"I don't know."
Zhu Yan was stunned, a feeling of being toyed with surging in her heart. At that moment, Shen Du stood up.
He said to himself, "I didn't know the reason Han Shiyuan could enter the Hongwen Academy before. I investigated because I thought Princess Yongan had arranged for him to enter. But now it seems I might have been looking in the wrong direction."
Hearing Shen Du's words, the anger in Zhu Yan's heart gradually subsided.
"So, does that mean the trail is about to go cold again?"
Shen Du nodded, then looked at Zhu Yan again. "This case is not as simple as it appears. From today onward, you are not to interfere."
Shen Du naturally understood Zhu Yan's temperament. Even though he had warned her today not to investigate the case, Zhu Yan would still secretly look into it.Rather than letting her act on her own without telling me, it would be better to speak openly now and persuade her to stop.
Seeing Shen Du discussing it with her, Zhu Yan also looked troubled. "Don't you know me well enough? Even if I promise you now, once a clue appears, I won’t be able to resist investigating. Instead of making you blame me later, I might as well tell you now—I will pursue this case to the end. And don’t worry, I won’t hold you back or become a burden to you."
Zhu Yan’s words left Shen Du somewhat speechless. He wasn’t worried about her holding him back or becoming a burden—he was only concerned for her safety.
If this case truly had something to do with the Shen family’s case from years ago, the investigation process would undoubtedly be complex and dangerous. Why couldn’t this woman just accept his concern?
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