Chapter 270: The Truth (2)
“I…” Qin Hai looked in the direction of the gambling den and said awkwardly, “I couldn’t help it, right? I just went to gamble twice. I swear that I’ve really changed a lot in the past two years… I haven’t gone to the gambling den for a long time… Just this once… and you caught me!”
Qin Canglan’s eyes were cold. “I’ll settle the score with you later! I came today to ask you what’s going on with Ruan Xianglian and Qin Che!”
Qin Hai’s eyes flashed.
Qin Canglan slapped the table. “You don’t dare to make a sound, right? Qin Hai! Do you want me to hand you over to the Emperor to deal with!”
Qin Hai’s expression changed. “Brother!”
Qin Canglan pointed at his nose and said, “Don’t think that you did it flawlessly. The dirty things you did back then have been discovered long ago!”
Qin Hai’s legs went weak and he knelt down in the carriage. He looked at Qin Canglan pleadingly. “Brother… I… I didn’t do it on purpose… I was confused… That’s why I…”
Qin Canglan did not expect to be able to trick him so easily.
Sometimes, the clues were clearly beside him, but he had been blindsided. At this moment, Qin Canglan did not know if he should blame himself or the instigator.
He looked at Qin Hai in disappointment. “You were really on good terms with Ruan Xianglian… Qin Che is your flesh and blood, isn’t he? How could our Qin family have such a bastard? Come with me to see the Emperor! Tell him what happened back then in front of the Emperor!”
Qin Hai hugged Qin Canglan’s thigh. “Big Brother, I was wrong! Don’t let me meet the emperor! I really know my mistake… Big Brother, I beg you…”
Qin Canglan clenched his fists tightly. “Is it enough to admit your mistake? Although we’re not from the same mother, I’ve never treated you badly. After I lost my son, I even thought of passing the title of Protector Duke to you… I never expected… you to stab me in the back! Was it you who caused the accident between Huayin and Cheng’er back then?”
Qin Hai was stunned. “Brother, what did you say?
Qin Canglan said angrily, “You’re still not admitting it? For the sake of your son with Ruan Xianglian, you didn’t hesitate to kill your sister-in-law and nephew. Qin Hai, has your conscience been fed to the dogs?”
“I didn’t harm Sister-in-law and Nephew!” Qin Hai knelt down and raised his finger. “I swear to the heavens that I didn’t want to harm Sister-in-law and Cheng’er…”
Qin Canglan said, “You didn’t want to do it? But it was done?”
“I… I…” Qin Hail s eyes turned red. He hugged his head and lay on the ground. “I… I don’t know…”
Qin Canglan hated it when a man was so submissive. “What do you mean you don’t know?!”
Qin Hai choked and said, “Back then… Back then, Xianglian… After she escaped from the manor with her child… I couldn’t believe that it was my son at first… But he really looked too similar… Big Brother, you insisted that you had never touched Xianglian… I… I was finally sure…”
Qin Canglan paused and remembered that there was indeed such a conversation.
He asked resentfully, “Back then, you came to me and asked if I had touched Xianglian. So it was just to confirm if that bastard was your flesh and blood?”
Qin Hai shrank his neck.
Qin Canglan gritted his teeth in anger. “What happened after that?!”
Qin Hai did not dare to look at his brother’s anger. “Later… I settled the mother and son down. Che’er was still young at that time… he didn’t remember having called me father for two years…”
Qin Hai was indeed not lying about this.
Qin Che really didn’t remember.
“Che’er is my son’s name… ” Qin Canglan was furious. Qin Hai whispered, “I was used to calling him that.” Qin Canglan really wanted to punch him to death. However, he remembered that he was not here to vent his anger but to find out the entire truth.
He tried his best to suppress his emotions. “What about Huayin?”
Qin Hai lowered his head. “Xianglian left after less than two years. She said that she was going back to her hometown with her son to visit her family. I gave her a sum of money.” “A sum?”
“Ten..ten thousand taels.”
Qin Canglan’s veins twitched. “You’re quite generous!”
Qin Hai did not have the guts to refute.
“After that, Xianglian never returned. I only contacted her once a year later. It was a letter from Qingzhou. It said that she… was seriously ill and needed money for treatment. I… I gathered more money for her… and sent a few thousand taels over.. After another year… I heard that something happened to Sister-in-law and Nephew in Qingzhou…”