Chapter 83 Bribery

As Xiao Yuxuan came out of the main courtyard, she saw the young eunuch from the Censorate standing respectfully against the wall.

Upon seeing her come out, he immediately jogged forward, a smile plastered on his face, and said:

"Why did Miss Xiao come out so quickly? Won't you stay and chat with Madam Xiao for a while?"

He was used to flattery and hadn't quite recovered from the situation of the Xiao family. After speaking, he lightly slapped his mouth and chuckled awkwardly:

"Miss Xiao, please don't be offended. This servant was ordered by His Highness the Crown Prince to deliver this item to you."

He took out a statement and a letter sealed with wax from his sleeve and handed them to Qin Yuan.

"His Highness the Crown Prince said that this testimony is in duplicate, so that if one copy is 'accidentally' lost, the other copy can be made to replace it. Please keep it safe, Miss Xiao."

The young master gave a few words of advice and then left.

Xiao Yuxuan didn't open the letter until she returned to Lanting Pavilion.

Inside was only a thin sheet of paper with a single sentence written on it in a flamboyant style:

"There may be something fishy about your sister's background."

After reading it, she wondered why the Crown Prince would concern himself with such a trivial matter. She then walked to the candlelight and burned the note to ashes.

The Crown Prince loves his country and its people, and devotes himself to their well-being. Where would he find the leisure to meddle in the affairs of officials' families and children?

Half an hour ago, at the Eastern Palace.

Qi Jun finished his official business early today and picked up a travelogue to read slowly.

This year has been blessed with favorable weather and abundant harvests. The usual pests and diseases have not occurred this year, and there have even been good news from the southwest. This is why General Xiahou was able to return to the capital to report on his duties, hoping to be promoted and ennobled.

He was in a fairly good mood, and his travelogue included a simple landscape painting: peaks reaching the sky, barely an inch away, and withered pines hanging upside down against sheer cliffs.

What should have been a magnificent scene of one man holding off ten thousand, he looked at and his gaze pierced through the paper, landing on the paulownia flowers in full bloom outside the window.

The paulownia flowers were the same yesterday.

Petals and raindrops fell on the umbrella. The girl, who was not petite to begin with, appeared delicate under the wide umbrella. She walked quickly, lifting the hem of her green skirt, and disappeared into the misty rain in an instant.

I thought she would like that umbrella and keep it with her.

But before leaving the palace, she carefully returned the umbrella to the guard, saying that she would thank Sun Miao in person another day.

The guards recognized the umbrella as being from the Eastern Palace's regulations and sent it back early in the morning, but he was lost in thought about the umbrella for a long time.

He roughly understood what she wanted.

She suffered injustice and had a hard time in the Xiao family, but she wanted to use her own efforts to bring those people down.

The Qilin Guard reported something.

He hesitated for a long time about whether or not to tell Xiao Yuxuan.

If he spoke up, she would naturally achieve twice the result with half the effort and get to her goal immediately. However, she might not appreciate it and might even think he was meddling in her affairs. Yet, if he didn't speak up, Qi Jun felt somewhat reluctant.

She was only fourteen years old, not even of marriageable age yet.

Qi Jun always felt that she was still a child. Ordinary wealthy families at this age would still be thinking about clothes and food, but she wanted so much.

So he came up with a compromise: if she didn't refuse his help, she would naturally find a way to ask—whether through the princess or by him going to her in person.

The eldest princess told him yesterday that she had given Xiao Yuxuan a small mare from the Western Regions, a pure white mare with a very gentle and obedient temperament.

Qi Jun still remembers the first time he met Xiao Yuxuan, she said she was afraid of heights.

Perhaps because she couldn't find a suitable candidate, the eldest princess asked him if he was free and could take some time to teach Xiao Yuxuan how to ride a horse.

He agreed.

The Xiao residence.

Xiao Yuxuan changed into an inconspicuous outfit, put on a veil, and quietly left the Xiao residence through the back door.

The carriage was already waiting at the back door. Xiao Yuxuan got into the carriage, and the horse drove through several streets before stopping again.

At this moment, a girl dressed in drab gray with a hemp-colored headscarf walked out of the alley. After making sure that no one was around, she quickly got into the carriage.

"Fifth Sister".

As soon as she got into the car, she knelt down, her voice trembling slightly.

"Have you made up your mind?"

Xiao Yuxuan lowered her eyes and looked at Mu Jin, who had a bitter expression on her face.

Some time ago, Xiao Yuyao, suspecting there was a mole in Baozhen Courtyard, sent Mu Jin away.

Mu Jin's parents were originally servants of the Xiao family.

Within just a few days, her father broke his leg, her mother had her head broken, and she herself was nearly hit and killed by a speeding carriage. Only then did she realize who wanted to kill her.

Apart from the Fourth Sister, her former master, there was no one else.

The Fourth Sister is narrow-minded and malicious. Although she is not a confidante, she knows quite a lot. The Fourth Sister will definitely not let her leave unscathed.

Just then, Xiao Yuxuan found her and tried to bribe her.

At first she was unwilling. Having finally escaped from the conflict between the two masters of Baozhen Courtyard and Lanting Pavilion, how could she possibly want to go back?

But her second uncle lost money gambling yesterday and actually wants to sell her to a brothel to pay off his debts!

She resisted fiercely, almost scratching her face, before finally getting her second uncle to give up for the time being. But if this continued, it was only a matter of time before she was abused.

Mu Jin finally couldn't resist and went to Xiao Yuxuan.

"This servant is willing to obey Fifth Miss's orders, but I beg Fifth Miss to have mercy and save this servant's mother. Her head is injured and it hasn't healed. This servant can't afford a doctor or medicine..."

The blows of the past few days have been relentless. Mu Jin's voice was hoarse. She blinked her dry eyes, and tears were almost impossible to shed.

"Don't worry, I'll take care of the rescue. What I need you to do is keep an eye on one person."

Xiao Yuxuan's face was hidden behind a veil, making it difficult to see clearly.

Mu Jin looked up, feeling a pang of panic, but even more so, an urgent sense of relief that her mother was about to be saved.

Let alone just keeping an eye on someone, she would do anything, even kill someone, without hesitation.

"No. 21, Lane 22, Elm Tree Lane, there's a family that grows peach trees. I need you to keep a close watch on them every single day, and report to me immediately if there's any disturbance. Can you do that?"

Mu Jin: "No problem!"

She readily agreed, without asking who the family was or how long it would take. As long as her mother could be saved, she was willing to do anything.

"In addition, these are things that I secretly brought out from Baozhen Courtyard. If Fifth Miss needs them, please feel free to take them."

As if she had made up her mind, she took out several letters from her bosom.

“These… should be letters between the Fourth Miss and the Eldest Young Master. Originally, I was thinking that if the Fourth Miss continued to pressure me, we would just fight to the death and neither of us would benefit. But my mother can’t wait any longer.”

Mu Jin is a smart person, and smart people naturally have ways to protect themselves.

However, Xiao Yuyao's methods were unexpectedly ruthless, so Mu Jin had no chance to use the letter to gradually retaliate, and might even have completely enraged her, causing her to do something even more outrageous.

Xiao Yuxuan took it, and a slight smile finally appeared on her lips:

Thank you.