The immortal of the Tang Dynasty, but the game starts at Xuanwu Gate?

"Sir, have you accepted Miss Feng?"

Yunyan came in to tidy up the room and asked a question out of curiosity.

"Why do you say that?" Chen Huai'an asked, puzzled.

Yunyan smiled and said, "Sir, I've been following you for so many years, so I know some of your habits."

"If you only see Miss Feng as a marriage partner, let alone giving her the jade hairpin now, it's hard to say whether she'll even receive it after the marriage."

"Even if we could get it, it would definitely be prepared with the help of the Lady of the County. You certainly wouldn't care about such trivial matters."

Chen Huai'an clicked his tongue in amazement: "Is it that obvious?"

"It's not obvious to others, but it's quite obvious to the Lady and me," Yunyan explained with a smile.

Chen Huai'an didn't say anything, but he agreed in his heart.

In this world, no one truly understands me better than Chen Sujin and Yunyan.

To put it simply, Chen Huai'an initially viewed Feng Qiao'er only as a potential marriage partner.

Because their engagement was essentially a political alliance.

Chen Huai'an agreed entirely because the other party's father was named Feng Ang, and he valued their influence in Lingnan.

No one understands his uniqueness better than him, so he has always been preparing backup plans and escape routes for himself.

Lingnan is clearly a very suitable place.

Otherwise, it would be virtually impossible for him to get married.

Everything is based on self-interest.

But as the saying goes, everyone has a heart, and he had seen everything Feng Qiao'er had done during this time.

She knitted clothes for Xiao He by hand, often came to chat with Chen Sujin, and when the accident happened, she was always thinking about how to help him.

When he faked his death, Feng Qiao'er's red-rimmed eyes and emaciated body were undeniably convincing.

"That's fine, it's good enough." Chen Huai'an murmured, lost in thought, seemingly pondering something.

After an unknown amount of time, Wang Bai rushed over, hesitated for a moment, and then gritted his teeth to ask, "Sir, what does His Majesty intend to do with me?"

Chen Huai'an looked at the uneasy Wang Bai and said with a strange expression, "His Majesty originally intended to execute you, and perhaps even your whole family. However, you are lucky. I pleaded for your life, so His Majesty has decided to show leniency and only imprison you for thirty years."

"How's it going? Are you happy?"

Wang Bai: "..."

You'll only be locked up for thirty years...

Thirty years!

Wang Bai felt as if the sky had fallen.

"Sir!" Wang Bai cried out, "Won't thirty years be too long? By the time the thirty-year period is over, I'll be over sixty years old. Will I even be alive?"

"I might end up dying in prison."

"Then should I have His Majesty behead you?" Chen Huai'an said with a half-smile. "The saying goes, a short pain is worse than a long one. You've been locked up for thirty years, which is indeed quite painful. It would be better to just behead you and give you a quick death."

"I'll also chop up your family members while I'm at it, so you'll have company on your journey, how about that?"

Wang Bai: "..."

died!

Wang Bai's heart was completely dead.

"Sir..." he said bitterly, "In that case, let me be imprisoned for thirty years. I only ask that after I am imprisoned, you take care of my family in consideration of my dedication to you."

"Your subordinate is extremely grateful!"

Chen Huai'an looked at Wang Bai, who was kowtowing, and said irritably, "Cry, cry, cry! What are you crying about all day long, you're such a big man?"

"Don't even mention locking you up for thirty years, what difference would fifty years make?"

"Don't forget, His Majesty grants general amnesties at the drop of a hat. The thirty-year period is just a formality. What do you have to worry about?"

"The locust plague is coming soon, and His Majesty will probably have to issue an edict of self-reproach and grant a general amnesty. You'll only be in jail for three months at most, so what's there to cry about?"

"a shame."

Wang Bai: ? ? ?

His mind went blank for a moment, and he was a little confused about the situation.

Originally, he was to be beheaded for the crime of deceiving the emperor, but Chen Huai'an pleaded for him and saved his life.

He had already accepted it, as long as his family was safe and sound.

But now, Chen Huai'an suddenly told him that the thirty years was just a formality, and he would be imprisoned for a maximum of three months.

Wang Bai was overjoyed: "Is what you're saying true, sir?"

"When have I ever lied to you?" Chen Huai'an glanced at him sideways. "Don't you understand the principle of turning big problems into small ones, and small problems into nothing?"

"You've committed the crime of deceiving the emperor! Even I was stripped of my title and given a spanking. This is only because of all the merits I've accumulated in the past. You want to live? You need something of real power, do you think you can survive?"

"You'd better behave yourself and go to the Ministry of Justice prison. I'll find someone to take care of you and make sure you don't suffer. You'll stay there for three months."

Wang Bai wasn't stupid; once he understood what was being said, he immediately burst into tears of joy: "Sir, I knew you were the best! Thank you, sir, thank you so much!"

"I'll be right there."

As he spoke, Wang Bai happily and eagerly planned to settle his family and then report to the Ministry of Justice.

Chen Huai'an rubbed his forehead, at a loss for words.

This is the first time I've seen someone so happy about going to jail.

On the other side, Li Shimin walked out of the Chen residence and looked back. Only then did he realize that the plaque above had been changed to read "Chen Residence".

He didn't even notice when he arrived.

Zhang Anan, standing to the side, was somewhat amused and exasperated: "Your Majesty, Mr. Chen... is probably prepared to have his title stripped."

Li Shimin, of course, understood the matter. He glanced at it, shook his head, and chuckled, "Chen Huai'an, Chen Huai'an!"

"..."

"Chen Huai'an! Chen Huai'an!!!"

Upon hearing the report from his subordinates and seeing the coffin, large bell, and various funeral supplies sent by Wang Bai, Zheng Yuanzhu nearly coughed up blood and almost died of anger!

"Why did he send these things over? Weren't they meant for himself? Why did he send them over?!"

"Your subordinate... Your subordinate doesn't know either," the servant replied in a panic.

Zheng Yuanzhu flew into a rage: "You know nothing, what use are you to me?!"

"Aren't you going to investigate for me?!"

"Yes...yes." The servants quickly all left.

Zheng Yuanzhu closed his eyes in anguish. In Chang'an, he was practically the only surviving member of the Zheng family.

Logically speaking, he should have been killed, but for some reason, Li Shimin didn't lay a hand on him.

Zheng Yuanzhu couldn't understand it, and he didn't want to think about it anymore.

His blood relatives were almost all slaughtered. In just a few days, the losses suffered by the Zheng family cannot be described in a few words.

Thinking of his cousin and other relatives, Zheng Yuanzhu sat in his chair, looking as if he had aged ten years in an instant.

The atmosphere in the entire mansion was terrifyingly oppressive.

I don't know how much time had passed, maybe an hour, maybe three hours, when the servant who had gone to investigate returned.

Upon entering, he knelt on the ground in fear: "Master, there's news that..."

"What did you say?!"

The servant, drenched in cold sweat, stammered, "There's news that... Duke Anguo, Chen Huai'an... isn't dead at all."

There was a moment of silence in the room. Zheng Yuanzhu was first bewildered, then seemed to have figured something out, and his face immediately became extremely distorted and resentful.

"ah!!!"

"Chen Huai'an!!!"

"He's heartless! How could he be so heartless?!"

"Chen Huai'an! I curse your ancestors for eighteen generations!!!"

"..."