Chapter 69 - Father and daughter

Zi Yuan had washed her face, but the tears on her face were still very obvious. She told him with a straight face that An Jin was in the garden waiting for him, and told him to follow her.

There was a large garden inside the main hall. Because Matriarch loved bamboo, Grand Preceptor An had ordered people to plant nearly three acres of bamboo forest in the garden 20 years ago. When Grand Preceptor An followed Zi Yuan into the bamboo forest, a cool breeze blew gently. No one could tell that it was already early summer outside the forest.

After leading Grand Preceptor An through the forest for a while, Zi Yuan pointed to a corner of a nearby stone pavilion and said, "Grand Preceptor, the young miss is waiting for you there."

Grand Preceptor An walked alone to the front of the stone pavilion. When he saw the figure seated within, he grew a bit nervous. As a father, he didn't know how to face his daughter at this moment.

When An Jinxiu heard the sound of footsteps, she turned around and saw that it was Grand Preceptor An. She stood up and smiled at him. "Father came?"

The smile on her face was as plain as ever, causing Grand Preceptor An to stand there in a daze. How could An Jinxiu still smile at this time?

"Father, why are you looking at me like that?"

"Ah Jin," Grand Preceptor An said, "Are you alright?"

An Jinxiu stood in the stone pavilion without moving. This was the highest point of this bamboo forest, and she could see the entire bamboo forest from here. Eunuch Xie wanted someone to eavesdrop on the father and daughter, but he didn't have the chance.

When Grand Preceptor An saw that An Jinxiu wasn't answering his question, he could only take a few steps into the stone pavilion and ask, "Did His Majesty tell you something?"

"I heard the eunuch say that he found you in the justice courts."

Grand Preceptor An said, "That's right, your father has matters to attend to in the justice courts."

"There's a funeral at home, what's father going to the justice courts for? Could it be that the justice courts are still in charge of the official's funeral? "

The mockery in An Jinxiu's words was so strong that Grand Preceptor An couldn't help but ask, "What are you trying to say to your father?"

"Is it for the crown prince's consort?" "Did she ask Father to go to the justice courts to find the murderer of my entire family?" asked An Jinxiu.

"Ah Jin?" Grand Preceptor An took a step back. How could she know about this?

An Jinxiu turned around, and the smile on her face had disappeared. Her beautiful face was frosty as she said, "But even if our mother are different, I am still your daughter! An Jinyan wants to be Empress to the world, and she wants to be rich and powerful. Have I asked you for these before? "

"I am An Jin. Who else can I be?" An Jinxiu suddenly smiled again. "However, the Grand Preceptor's second daughter has already died, just like that."

"Ah Jini sn't like you," Grand Preceptor An shook his head. "She wouldn't say something like that to me."

"Father," An Jinxiu sneered, "You are not a woman, why would you put on such an attitude? Have you found the justice court's official and discussed who you want to convict as the culprit who annihilated my Shangguan Family? "

Grand Preceptor An was suddenly embarrassed and annoyed. He had wronged An Jin, but he couldn't tolerate her speaking to him in such a condescending manner. It was as if she was the daughter of a sovereign while he was the father of a vassal. I am your father! " "Who do you think you're talking to?" Grand Preceptor An asked.

"Father?" An Jinxiu smirked, "I, An Jinxiu, also have a father? Now that you have accepted me as your daughter, what will the one from the East Palace do? "

"You!"

"An Jinyan wants me to die, but what about you, Father? Do you also think I deserve to die? " An Jinxiu asked.

Grand Preceptor An didn't know what he should answer. Deep in his heart, he truly felt that An Jin shouldn't be living anymore. If this daughter of his, lived any longer, it would be a humiliation to his Xunyang An clan.

An Jin sat on a stone bench in the pavilion. She looked at Grand Preceptor An with a smile and said, "An Jinyan …"

"Crown Princess?" An Jinxiu smiled and said, "She's just a sŀut."

"You little girl!" Grand Preceptor An rose to his feet and raised a hand to slap her across the face.

However, An Jinxiu said, "Now that I'm His Majesty's woman, it'd be best to think about the consequences first if father were to hit me."

"His Majesty's woman?" Grand Preceptor An was anxious. "What about Shangguan Yong?" "Who is the one Shangguan Yong was married to you, and who was the one you gave birth to?"

"Where is Ping An now?" An Jinxiu retorted, "Why don't you just say that I don't follow the path of a woman? Wouldn't it be better to be shameless?" "Why are you still talking about Shangguan Yong?"

Grand Preceptor An was once again at a loss for words.

"An Jinyan wanted me to die, but since I lived past yesterday, I will continue to live." An Jinxiu said, "If you don't let me live, then we will all die together."

"Ah Jin!" Grand Preceptor An suddenly grew flustered. "What are you planning to do?"

"I know that you and Matriarch don't like Yuanzhi and I. But, father, who do you think is more able to make the An clan prosper after generations compared to a daughter as a beloved imperial concubine of the emperor?"

"Help me do something," An Jinxiu said. "After it's done, I'll temporarily forget about An Jinyan."

"Help you?" What do you want me to do for you? "

"In the palace's slave courtyard, there is a female slave called Tian Dou. Father brought her to my side to serve."

"Slave courtyard?" Grand Preceptor An was baffled by An Jinxiu's words. "Have you gone mad?"

"There's a private army hidden in the Eastern Palace," An Jinxiu said. "Did An Jinyan tell Father about this?"

"You, you've gone mad," Grand Preceptor An rose to leave.

"Then father can wager with me," An Jin said. "I'll tell His Majesty this. When they find the private army, father won't blame me for not having a sisterhood with that sŀut An Jinyan."

Grand Preceptor An couldn't take another step forward.

"If father has the chance, why don't you ask the crown prince how Wang Yuan died?" An Jinxiu continued, "Everyone says that the An family is rich, but before the Wang family died, who dares to say that they didn't enjoy wealth and glory?"

At this moment, An Jinxiu also stood up and said, "I'll give father five days. If I didn't see that Miss Tian Dou, I'll just wait to see a good show from the Eastern Palace."

As he watched An Jinxiu walk out of the pavilion, Grand Preceptor An called out to her, "Why do you want this Tian Dou?"

"You don't need to know about this father."

"Do you think it's easy to get a woman from the slave courtyard?"

"It's not easy, but doesn't father have a way? All these years, you have been stuffing money into the palace quite a bit, so when it's time to use those people, why don't you use it, Father? "

"How do you know?"

"I know a lot of things, like the private army in the Eastern Palace," An Jin said. "Father can bet with me this time. We can all bet our lives to see who will be the tougher one."

"Are you really An Jin?"

Grand Preceptor An's eyes were filled with killing intent as he looked at her.

"It's too late to kill me now." An Jinxiu turned around and left. "Remember, I will only give father five days."

Grand Preceptor An suċkėd in a deep breath before catching up with her. "What happened after I got you that Tian Dou?" What are you going to do? "

"I'm the same as An Jinyan, I can also protect the family's wealth."

"The palace is full of beauties, what makes you think you can get Beloved Imperial concubine position?"

"This is also a bet," An Jinxiu said as she walked past him. "Isn't your bet with An Jinyan the same as yours?" Betting that one day, the crown prince would be able to sit on that dragon throne? "Since father is willing to bet on An Jinyan, why don't you bet on me?"

"Have you never thought about Shangguan Yong coming back?" Grand Preceptor An asked.

"Shangguan Ping An is already dead. He will marry again in the future and have another woman bear his children, right?"

Grand Preceptor An stood in front of the stone pavilion as he watched her slowly walk away. The wind in the bamboo forest was gentle, causing the hem of An Jin's dress to flutter slightly. Just by looking at her back, one could see that she was a graceful beauty.

Once he got into palanquin, he thought that An Jinyan would definitely regret sending Ah Jin to the dragon bed. At this moment, Grand Preceptor An was already thinking that the sisters An Jinyan and An Jinyan were likely to become mutual enemies in the future.

"Young mistress, the Grand Preceptor's gone back," she said to An Jinxiu as she ran back to the guest room where she stayed after watching Grand Preceptor An get on his palanquin and leave.

"Mm," An Jinxiu sat by the window and looked out, saying, "Didn't you sprained your leg? "How are things now?"

Zi Yuan was not angry with An Jin for asking about her feet until now. She walked up to her and said, "It's still swollen, but I still can walk now."

"Go rest," An Jinxiu said, "I'll call you if there's anything."

"Miss," Zi Yuan half-squatted beside her and asked softly, "Did the Grand Preceptor agree to let you find that Tian Dou?"

"He could only promise me," An Jinxiu said, "So you don't have to worry about it."

"What's the use of that Tian Dou for Miss?" Zi Yuan, on the other hand, was still squatting down and asking An Jin, "She's a martial arts expert?"

An Jinxiu patted Zi Yuan's head without saying anything.

"You're still hiding this from me." Zi Yuan stood up and told An Jinxiu, "I'll go get Miss some dinner. Miss must eat more today."

Zi Yuan did not wait for An Jinxiu to say anything before limping away. She was still afraid, but with An Jin there, Zi Yuan felt that she could at least live on in peace.