Chapter 221 (1/2)

Shi Junhe glanced at Shi Qingxue, to find that she was still playing dumb, so he was annoyed but felt laughable.

He didn’t rebuke her but turned to Mo Junyang, joking. “Does she act shamelessly in this way in front of you?”

Mo Junyang got astonished as he was asked suddenly. Then he finally understood the hidden meaning in Shi Junhe’s words.

He stood straight and nodded at Shi Junhe seriously. Then he smiled. “She is nice, great.”

It seemed that Shi Qingxue should act so shamelessly in front of them.

Shi Junhe was silent for a long while and finally couldn’t help but laugh. “Only you can endure her.”

He shook his head and sighed. “Well. Let’s go back first.”

While speaking, he led the two back to his study.

As soon as Shi Qingxue entered the study, she asked Shi Junhe about what happened in the Shou’an Hall.

“What can she say? She just said something like, I am Juncai’s brother and can’t leave him alone anyway.” Shi Junhe sat in the chair and rubbed his forehead in pain while sighing helplessly.

Shi Qingxue understood but soon looked at Shi Junhe cautiously. “Father, what do you plan to do?”

Shi Junhe shook his head with a hesitant expression. Obviously, he had no way for now.

“Do you plan to help Uncle get away with it?” Shi Qingxue asked with displeasure.

“The evidence of his crime is solid. How can he get away with it?” Shi Junhe stated coldly, in a resentful tone.

Although Shi Junhe was not close to Shi Juncai, after all, they were brothers and blood was thicker than water, so they had the ties of kinship.

Moreover, he once hoped that his brother could be promising.

But so many years had passed, and Shi Juncai was just an official at the imperial court all the time because of the ancestors. He didn’t finish anything by himself. No matter how Shi Junhe pinned his hopes on him in the past, he was disappointed after a long time.

Now Shi Junhe just hoped that his brother could do his own job and live a life honestly without ruining their father’s fame.

Unexpectedly, Shi Juncai couldn’t even do such a simple job.

He disobeyed the orders on the battlefield and escaped. It was a serious crime, and even if Shi Junhe committed it, he couldn’t pay for it with his life.

Shi Juncai didn’t have military exploits or outstanding achievements, so he didn’t have a chance to be dealt with leniently.

More importantly, on the battlefield, the Shi Army was brave and battlewise.

Shi Juncai’s behavior humiliated the Shi family.

Even Shi Junhe couldn’t forgive Shi Juncai’s disgusting conduct, let alone asking for mercy for him.

Hearing Shi Junhe’s words, Shi Qingxue raised her brows and glanced at Mo Junyang, seeming to say, “See, I have said that my father won’t ask for mercy for my uncle.”

“But in this case, Princess Royal might not give up, right?” Mo Junyang changed his attitude as an onlooker and asked.

He hit the nail on the head.

Shi Junhe’s face stiffened and he sighed with frustration after quite a while. “Right. My mother insisted on telling me to ask His Majesty for mercy and said that I should protect my brother anyway.”

Shi Qingxue was quite clear that Mo Shujun was partial to Shi Juncai, and she pouted unhappily. “What if no?”

Shi Junhe stayed silent again.

After a long while, Shi Qingxue even thought that he wouldn’t say anything.

Then Shi Junhe whispered, “If I don’t agree, she won’t take me as her son!”

And she would spread the news in the capital and let all people know that Shi Junhe was unfriendly to his brother and folded his hands while seeing his brother die.

Shi Junhe didn’t speak out the last words.

But only what he said was enough to make Shi Qingxue explode.

“She has gone too far! How can she do that?” Shi Qingxue shouted angrily.

Shi Qingxue didn’t care about Mo Shujun’s insincere kinship, but Mo Shujun even said that she would disown Shi Junhe. If the news spread, others wouldn’t say that Mo Shujun was not kind but would just say that Shi Junhe didn’t respect his mother so she didn’t want to take him as her son.

The Mo Country paid attention to respecting the elders. Mo Shujun just wanted to ruin Shi Junhe.

Shi Qingxue trembled with anger and shouted “It’s too much” several times successively, but under Shi Junhe’s silent and serious expression, she couldn’t say something more excessive.

But if she didn’t say, she felt absolutely suffocated.

She was too furious.

Mo Junyang patted her shoulder from behind and comforted her quietly. Then he turned to Shi Junhe and asked, “Since Princess Royal said that, she was sure that you can save Third Master Shi. But His Majesty is in a rage and it would only make things worse if you enter the palace now to ask for mercy. It is impossible for Princess Royal not to think of this possibility.

“So what’s her route of retreat as she prepared?”

Shi Junhe was stunned and didn’t say anything for a long time.

He was convinced by Mo Junyang’s logical argument indeed and admired him to a higher level.

He just said a few words, but this young man had guessed what he wanted to conceal, which made General Shi have nowhere to hide.

He was embarrassed but relieved.

He didn’t hide it anymore but turned to look at Shi Qingxue with his sad eyes. “Juncai committed a serious crime this time. Even if he won’t implicate our family, he may escape from death but can’t go unpunished.”

Shi Qingxue was confused as her father gazed at her. “He can stay alive. Isn’t it great? What else do they want?”

Shi Junhe remained silent.

Mo Junyang laughed playfully and helped Shi Junhe answer her. “What do they want? Of course he wants to be released and regain his official position.”

“Are you joking?” Shi Qingxue opened her eyes wide in astonishment and could hardly believe what she had heard.

But the two men’s expressions told her that she didn’t mishear it.

She was more speechless and thought those people were so greedy.

But on second thought, she believed it was impossible.