Chapter 279 Are the two of them about to go their separate ways?

Xie Yunchuan was ordered to secretly investigate Haijin. Could it be that he discovered that the Zheng family was involved, or that the second branch of the Zheng family was related to some director in Haijin, which is why Xie Yunchuan felt troubled?

Besides that, Sheng Sheng couldn't guess any other reason. It couldn't just be that the two of them were having a childish cold war. Sheng Sheng didn't think such a childish thing would happen between Xie Yunxiang and Xie Yunchuan.

Sheng Sheng thought about it more and more and felt that it made sense. After sharing her thoughts with Xie Yunwen, Xie Yunwen pondered for a moment and analyzed, "I wonder if it's because the Crown Prince and the Empress have some grudges and their relationship with the Zheng family isn't very close. However, the previous head of the Zheng family, who was also the Crown Prince's maternal grandfather, passed away a long time ago, leaving only the Crown Prince's maternal grandmother to support the Zheng family. The old lady is quite old, but she has been guarding the entire Zheng family for her deceased husband, so the Crown Prince respects her very much."

This was the second time Sheng Sheng had heard about the Zheng family. The first time was when she heard that the second branch of the Zheng family was in business and had become imperial merchants thanks to Xie Yunshang and Empress Zheng's relationship. Their business had been quite successful.

So even though the Zheng family's official career declined after Old Master Zheng's death, they still managed to maintain their original status by relying on their wealth.

Sheng Sheng nodded, then asked Xie Yunwen hesitantly, "Fourth Brother, if it's true that the officials of Haijin and the second branch of the Zheng family are secretly colluding, I'd like to try to find out. But this is, after all, a matter of court politics, and it's not good for me to get involved. However, I don't want my Crown Prince and my brother to develop any grudges because of this. What should I do?"

Driven by personal motives, Sheng Sheng naturally wanted to quickly learn the details so that he could make some adjustments.

However, it is indeed not easy to interfere, and Sheng Sheng knows that the court is a complex and intertwined place, and she cannot do whatever she wants.

Xie Yunwen said gently, "Why don't we wait and see? The Crown Prince and my second brother are both reasonable people. Even if the Zheng family is involved, it may not necessarily be related to the Crown Prince. I think the Crown Prince is more in a dilemma."

On one side are her own family members, and on the other side is official business; it is indeed difficult to mediate.

He nodded repeatedly, and had no choice but to patiently take another look.

As Xie Yunwen said, both Xie Yunchuan and Xie Yunwen are wise people. Sheng Sheng originally thought that after a while, the matter of Haijin would be clarified, and the relationship between the two would return to what it was before.

Even after the Rejuvenating Grass that Sheng Sheng planted began to sprout, there was no news of the two getting along better. In fact, there were even rumors that the two had a big argument in the Wenhua Hall, which made Sheng Sheng even more worried.

Classes have already started in Wenhua Hall. Everyone except Shengsheng has gone to Wenhua Hall. Usually, only Shengsheng plays with Shitou and Yanhu by herself, and spends some of her time studying the Rejuvenating Grass.

At first, when Sheng Sheng planted the Rejuvenating Grass, he was extremely nervous and wished he could sit on a small stool and observe it every single hour of the day.

But gradually, as the Rejuvenating Grass began to sprout new buds, Sheng Sheng realized that growing it was no different from growing ordinary flowers and plants. Sheng Sheng was no longer as nervous as before and began to tend to the Rejuvenating Grass as if it were an ordinary flower or plant.

The rejuvenating grass had just begun to sprout, and it wasn't the time when Sheng Sheng needed to pay the most attention. So, Sheng Sheng took care of Xiao Hei and his brothers and sisters' three meals a day and asked them to look after them for her.

Whether it was because Sheng Sheng was just lucky, or because the little mice took such good care of her, Sheng Sheng's sporadic care was actually more effective than the 24/7 care provided by the Imperial Hospital.

Some of the Rejuvenating Herbs planted by the Imperial Medical Academy died in the soil before they even sprouted.

Some of the buds that finally sprouted were so fragile that they broke off their "necks" with a gust of wind.

Sheng Sheng was very puzzled by this, because she had not encountered any of the situations mentioned by the Imperial Hospital.

Upon hearing that all her rejuvenating herbs were growing healthily and vigorously, Physician Li and his companions immediately and respectfully invited her to the Imperial Hospital to offer her some guidance.

Sheng Sheng was also very puzzled, so today she took the two little ones to the Imperial Hospital.

Adhering to the principle of "since we're already here," Sheng Sheng had previously only gone to Jingyue Pavilion to visit Pei Ji. Now that she had finally made it a long trip, she thought she might as well go to the East Palace to find Xie Yun.

The reason is simple: although Xie Yunchuan didn't say it, he could tell from her words that Haijin was indeed connected with the second branch of the Zheng family.

For the sake of public affairs, Xie Yunchuan should report this matter to Xie Yuxiao, who will then order a further thorough investigation.

But doing so would have a very negative impact on Xie Yunyang.

Empress Zheng is under house arrest. If the Zheng family were to suffer another misfortune, the family, which is already struggling to survive solely through its merchants, would be severely damaged if the second branch of the family were to collude with officials in Haijin to embezzle funds. This collusion between officials and merchants would also put the Crown Prince, Xie Yun, under duress.

As everyone knows, besides Crown Prince Xie Yun, Xie Yuxiao is most satisfied with Second Prince Xie Yunchuan.

Xie Yuxiao's previous order to confine Empress Zheng had already sparked speculation. If Xie Yunchuan were to bring this up again, it would be difficult for the outside world not to stir up trouble once more, with speculation that Xie Yuxiao intended to replace the crown prince.

The emperor's mind is inherently unpredictable, and once public opinion takes hold, it will have an even greater impact on the relationship between Xie Yunyang and Xie Yunchuan.

Unfortunately, Xie Yunchuan took on this task himself, and at first no one expected that the Zheng family was involved in this matter, leaving Xie Yunchuan in a dilemma.

Sheng Sheng knew that Xie Yunchuan was wary of Xie Yunyang, which was why he hadn't told Xie Yuxiao about it. Instead, he kept investigating deeper, trying to find evidence that the Zheng family was also involved.

I've heard that Xie Yun-yang hasn't even been to the Wenhua Hall lately because of this matter, and has been secretly investigating the Zheng family.

After all, it was her maternal family, and Xie Yun-yang respected Old Madam Zheng. She certainly didn't want to see anything happen to the Zheng family.

Perhaps that's why the two of them argued in the Wenhua Hall.

When news broke that the two had a public argument, many people believed it signified a complete break between them.

After all, Empress Zheng and Consort Rong were at odds, and Xie Yunchuan was the Emperor's most favored son, while Xie Yunyang was the Crown Prince. It seemed that from any perspective, the two should be at odds.

Now, an opportunity has finally been found for them to confront each other.

"Sigh, brother is considering the Crown Prince's situation. The Crown Prince probably doesn't want to put brother in a difficult position either." Sheng Sheng sighed, somewhat saddened. "But if something happens to the Zheng family, the Crown Prince's respected Old Madam Zheng will be greatly affected. Old Madam Zheng is already old and may not be able to withstand the blow. Even if it's just for Old Madam Zheng's sake, the Crown Prince certainly doesn't want anything to happen to the Zheng family. Moreover, he is the Crown Prince. From his perspective, he should indeed protect his own power. The Zheng family is also his maternal family... Sigh."

Is it true, as others have said, that the two are about to clash and go their separate ways?