Chapter 114 : You Carry the Blame

Madam Xue noticed someone was looking at her, and when she turned her gaze, she saw a man dressed like a Taoist priest.

This man had a gentle and modest demeanor.

Madam Xue assumed he was the head of the household and nodded slightly, asking, “Has the matter been concluded?”

But where was Qingyin? Madam Xue thought to herself.

Ning Que’s eyes lingered on the woman’s hair bun for a moment, and only then did he respectfully bow, asking, “What matter does the madam refer to?”

Madam Xue looked at him with confusion and realized she may have misunderstood.

She moved her lips but hadn’t spoken when—

“Mother,” Xue Qingyin hurried into the garden, “Mother, sorry for making you wait.”

Madam Xue naturally turned to greet her daughter, smiling, “It wasn’t too long, so it’s not a big deal. This house is very skilled with landscaping; I’ve been admiring the rockeries and water features, and it’s so refreshing. I can’t help but admire the artistry.”

When Ning Que saw her smile, he felt that her whole face seemed to come alive. The faint lines at the corners of her eyes didn’t show signs of age but added a touch of charm instead.

It seemed she was not only married but had children as well.

The thought quickly flashed through Ning Que’s mind.

Xue Qingyin cheerfully said, “Mother, if you like the scenery, you can ask Uncle to design something like this in the future.”

Madam Xue shook her head. “Why trouble him?”

In just a few words, Ning Que noticed something unusual.

Why did she say to ask her uncle to arrange the garden, not her father? It seemed that they were living at her maternal home and would be staying there for a while.

It was rare for a married woman to stay long at her parent’s house; even if the parents were ill, it would be the brothers in the family who would take care of them.

Unless… she had already separated from her husband.

Madam Xue politely nodded at Ning Que, acknowledging his presence, and then left the garden with Xue Qingyin.

Ning Que listened to their quiet conversation as they walked away, watching them until they were out of sight.

It wasn’t long before a servant called out, “Lord Ning?”

Ning Que asked, “Is that the new guest who just arrived at the manor?”

The servant nodded. “It should be. I’ve been serving Lord Ning, so I don’t know much else.”

Ning Que then asked the servant who had been with Madam Xue, “Do you know which family that lady belongs to?”

The servant shook his head. “Master didn’t mention it. But… it might be related to the East Palace.”

“The East Palace?”

Since the Crown Prince fell ill, the East Palace had been quite inactive.

The late Queen’s family was almost completely gone, and the Crown Princess’s family was far in the Huainan region. Ning Que didn’t have any leads for now.

“Where is your master?” Ning Que asked.

“Since the matter was discussed, he should be coming to look for you soon.”

Ning Que smiled. “It seems like a misunderstanding. Let’s go, we’ll find your master.”

Ning Que eventually met with Master Lin in the study.

In less than half an hour, Master Lin seemed like a different person. His eyes were bloodshot, his eyelids drooping, and he appeared much more haggard.

Ning Que, concerned that there might be something wrong, asked, “Has something troubling happened?”

Master Lin opened his mouth and then closed it again, thinking it was better if fewer people knew about it.

After all, it was the Crown Prince who had done something wrong, and he was the son of the Emperor. If the matter got out of hand, it would damage the Crown Prince’s reputation, and the Emperor’s face would be tarnished too.

This was the downside of being related to the royal family—if anything happened, everyone would suffer.

Master Lin suppressed his chaotic thoughts and quickly made up a lie. “Lord Ning, you might not know, but I have a close relationship with the Xiao family of Huainan. I just heard that the Crown Prince vomited blood again the other day, which made me worried. If the Crown Prince dies, it will cause chaos, and the Xiao family’s daughter will face a difficult situation.”

The lie was a mix of truth and fiction, and even if it spread, there wouldn’t be any errors.

Ning Que frowned. “The Crown Prince’s illness has dragged on for so long, hasn’t anyone in the palace been able to treat him?”

Master Lin sighed. “We are far from the palace, how would we know what’s going on inside?”

Ning Que nodded, feeling the sincerity in his words.

Master Lin looked like he might cry.

Ning Que changed the subject and asked, “Was it someone from the East Palace who came with the message today?”

Master Lin immediately became defensive, vaguely answering, “Yes.”

Ning Que was a straightforward person.

But then Master Lin remembered that his mentor was Xu Qin.

Xu Qin was the grandfather of Concubine Wan.

No matter how it looked, Ning Que was seen as aligned with the Xu family, part of the Wei Wang faction.

If Wei Wang could use his influence to bring down the Crown Prince, it would be a great achievement.

But perhaps they would use the Crown Princess as a pawn and not care about her well-being. In fact… her death might bring even more benefits to them.

Because that would cause the Huainan Xiao family to completely sever ties with the Crown Prince, leaving no room for reconciliation.

Various thoughts flashed through Master Lin’s mind.

In the end, he chose not to say anything more to Ning Que.

Ning Que felt disappointed but also knew it was not appropriate to press further. He noticed Master Lin seemed absent-minded and decided to take his leave.

He said, “We will play chess another time.”

Master Lin agreed, holding back his unease, and respectfully saw Ning Que out.

Ning Que couldn’t afford to offend him.

If the method of King Xuan’s concubine doesn’t work… then I’ll have to boldly take the more certain route!

Still, Huainan is too far away… Master Lin sighed heavily in his heart.

Xue Qingyin didn’t know what was going on here; she went straight to send Madam Xue back to the Xu family.

Xu Qi, upon hearing that his younger sister had returned, ran over quickly. “Sister, I missed you so much!”

When he arrived outside the door and saw that Xue Qingyin was also there, he beamed even more. “Qingyin, I missed you too!”

He didn’t even bother to change his words.

Although Xu Qi’s words were cliché, his excitement was genuine.

He said, “Qingyin, you don’t know, since you left, the Zhaoguo’s household has occasionally sent people to find your cousins and go play together. That’s playing with the young lord!”

Aunt Gui, standing nearby, stammered, “We must thank Qingyin.”

Xue Qingyin said nothing. She took two steps forward and saw He Songning’s figure.

He Songning also looked over at her.

Xue Qingyin was surprised. How could He Songning already be waiting at the Xu family, just as Dong Xia had left?

“I guessed you’d bring your mother back to the Xu family,” He Songning walked forward.

Xue Qingyin understood. Oh, so he was specially waiting for her.

“You’re not afraid of your father at all now,” He Songning said affirmatively.

Xue Qingyin looked at Xu Qi and his wife. “Looks like Uncle is more afraid than I am.”

Xu Qi, who had been exposed, awkwardly smiled and said, “Although I’m afraid, I still know how to listen to your words.”

He Songning raised an eyebrow, his tone low. “I don’t know when it started, but now even your maternal family has to listen to your words. Qingyin, you’re really quite capable.”

Madam Xue thought his tone was strange and was about to frown and speak.

But Xue Qingyin smiled brightly and said, “I’m still far from my eldest brother. Eldest brother, I actually have something I need your help with.”

He Songning: “…”

He hadn’t expected Xue Qingyin to climb so quickly.

Xue Qingyin walked up to him, tugging on his sleeve and pulling him aside. “Come, come, let me tell you something, eldest brother.”

Xu Qi let out a big sigh of relief. “The sibling bond is still strong.”

But Madam Xue frowned and said, “I originally thought that Ah Ning was clever and capable, with a calm mind. If I’m not around in the future, he could still take care of his sister. But now it seems…”

Xu Qi asked in surprise, “What? Is Ah Ning getting dull?”

Madam Xue gave him a glance. “What do you mean dull? I think his sister is the truly smart one. Ah Ning… Ah Ning… He seems a bit indifferent.”

Xu Qi tried to advise, “Men, who’s not indifferent? He’ll definitely treat his mother differently.”

Madam Xue felt that there was no point in talking with this foolish brother, so she stopped.

Meanwhile, He Songning let Xue Qingyin hold onto his sleeve and said, “With King Xuan’s immense power, what is it that he can’t handle that you need to ask me for help?”

Xue Qingyin thought to herself, this guy is really becoming more and more sarcastic. I should let him sit with the crown prince and argue.

She frowned slightly and said in a sweet voice, “What am I? I’m just a concubine. I’m not even the main wife. If I want to stay in King Xuan’s residence long-term, I can’t rely on him for everything.”

He Songning’s expression softened noticeably.

Xue Qingyin thought, this guy just wants to see me suffer, doesn’t he?

She continued, “As for closeness, it’s naturally not as much as eldest brother. If I need help, who else can I turn to except for you?” She bit her lip, her eyes filling with tears. “If you don’t want to, fine, then forget I have a sister. After all, once you get married, you’ll care even less about me.”

He Songning used to dislike this kind of manipulation.

But he furrowed his brows, looking at the tears in her eyes, shimmering but not falling…

“Tell me, what’s the matter?”

Now was the time to repair his relationship with Xue Qingyin so that she would willingly become his link within King Xuan’s residence in the future.

Xue Qingyin said, “I remember before, the business in Huainan and Jiannan was all managed by eldest brother.”

He Songning smiled. “Oh? Do you want to take over the industries in those two areas?”

Xue Qingyin snorted. “What do you think of me? Managing the industries was originally for eldest brother. … I remember your people go to these two places every month to inspect the industries. Can’t I just ask eldest brother to send a few things for me?”

“Just send things?”

“Otherwise?”

He Songning fell silent. It seemed he had misunderstood.

His expression softened significantly. “Once you hand the things over to me, who do you want me to send them to?”

Xue Qingyin wiped the corner of her eye. “To the Xiao family in Huainan, it must be delivered to Master Xiao San. Don’t lose it. Eldest brother, your abilities are extraordinary, so this shouldn’t be hard, right?”

She handles things.

The risks will be borne by He Songning.

She thought this was quite good.