Chapter 27 Barrier

"Do you understand now?"

Seeing his mother's distraught state, Xie Wulu's anger not only did not subside, but burned even more fiercely.

"For the sake of this inescapable position of housekeeping, you have completely offended the Wang family! You have cut off my carefully cultivated path for many years! Tell me, what have you done?!"

These accusations helped Wang recover slightly from the blow, and a wave of grievance washed over her.

She suddenly raised her head, her eyes filled with tears, staring intently at her most beloved son.

"What did I do? Xie Wulu! You still have the nerve to ask me what I did?!"

Wang's voice trembled with sobs: "Whom am I doing this for?! I've done all this for you! For our second branch of the family! To preserve our place in the General's Mansion! To prevent them from driving us out like stray dogs!"

"Yes! I was stupid! I was tricked by that bitch Xie Sangning! But what could I do at the time?! She was pressing me relentlessly! She had leverage over the accounts! She could report this to the Old Madam at any moment! What else could I do but go to the Wang family to ask for money?! Were I supposed to just watch her take away my control of the household? Watch us get kicked out of the house?!"

Wang cried her heart out, as if she wanted to cry out all the fear, grievances and despair of the past few days.

"To raise money, I even pawned almost all of my own dowry and jewelry! I even... I even took a piece of Wuyou's dowry estate!"

"But I haven't touched a single shop or piece of land under your name! I'd rather go after the Wang family, I'd rather give away my own things, than ever think of touching yours!"

She reached out and gripped Xie Wulu's clothes tightly, looking up at him with tears streaming down her face as she questioned, "Because I know! That's your foundation! That's the capital you'll use to make a living in the future! It's the only thing I, as your mother, can protect for you, the most valuable thing I own!"

"I'd rather have nothing myself, I'd rather become enemies with my own family, than lay a finger on you!"

"But what about you? My good son! You come back and without asking any questions, you call me stupid! You call me for cutting off your escape route! You call me for making you lose face! All you care about is your schemes! Your escape route! Your face! Have you ever thought about how much pain I felt when I emptied myself out and broke ties with my family?!"

"Don't worry! I'm your mother! Your own mother! Everything I've done, no matter how foolish or wrong, was for you! For our family!"

Wang cried so hard she could barely breathe, her body trembling violently with agitation and despair: "It's one thing if you don't understand, but how could you... how could you look at me like that? How could you speak to me like that? As if I were some kind of sinner?!"

Xie Wulu was stunned by his mother's sudden outburst and accusations.

He was speechless for a moment.

"Mother..." Xie Wulu's voice lowered, carrying a hint of weariness and irritability.

“It’s not that I don’t understand you. But do you know how much we’ve lost because of your actions? With the Wang family’s connections cut off, I’ll lose a major asset in my future endeavors in Jinling!”

"Xie Sangning's move is simply using someone else to do her dirty work! She did nothing, yet forced us to cut off our own arm and create internal chaos!"

"Then...then what should we do?" Wang looked up at her son with tearful eyes, bewildered.

Xie Wulu's eyes turned sinister: "What should we do? We can only take it one step at a time now."

Now we just have to see what Xie Sangning does and react accordingly.

That move of hers was really ruthless.

"As for the Wang family... since we've already broken off relations, there's no need to hold back anymore. From now on, Mother, just pretend you have no family of your own."

Wang felt a chill in her heart.

She finally understood that Xie Sangning's fake knife had actually caused real wounds.

——

In Kunning Palace, the Empress spoke earnestly, as if she wanted to lay bare her heart to the Crown Prince.

"Don't look down on Xie Sangning. Although she grew up in Xihan, she has a father who holds great military power! She also has immense wealth! And look at that Miss Liu in your heart, what does she have? Besides a pair of eyes that are always shedding tears, what else can she have to offer?"

The Empress grew increasingly anxious, her voice rising slightly: "Yi'er, you are destined to be the Crown Prince, the one who will sit on the dragon throne! You must broaden your horizons and not just focus on these fleeting romantic feelings! Can those tears help you stabilize the court or subdue your brothers who are eyeing you with predatory intent?"

Seeing that Pei Yi remained unmoved, she continued, "I know you're currently infatuated with that Miss Liu. Fine! I won't stop you from pursuing this idea. Here's what we'll do: once you marry Xie Sangning, you can immediately bring that Miss Liu into your household as a concubine! Is that alright? Once you ascend the throne and become the supreme ruler, wouldn't it be easy to give her the rank of imperial consort? Isn't this the best of both worlds?"

Pei Yi listened, but his face was full of disapproval; she was just a country bumpkin.

He scoffed inwardly.

Although he had never met Xie Sangning, he had heard from his sister Pei Mingyue that Xie Sangning was, in his mind, a barbaric woman with a privileged background but no manners.

How can anyone compare to his sister Liu?

Sister Liu is pure of heart. When she first met him, she didn't know he was the eldest prince, but she was still so kind to him and only had eyes for him.

If a woman like Xie Sangning were to become the mistress of the house, wouldn't his sister Liu be torn to pieces by her? After all, Xie Sangning even dared to talk back to a princess.

Sister Liu's father held a low-ranking official position, only a fifth-rank official.

But what does it matter? When he becomes emperor in the future, promoting his father-in-law will be a piece of cake, won't it?

Although Pei Yi was a prince, living a life of luxury and privilege, what he longed for was the kind of free and unrestrained love found in storybooks, where two people were deeply in love.

Sister Liu gave him that feeling.

In front of her, he was not some prince. She was not afraid of him and would not be as timid and subservient as others.

She wasn't even like those lifeless young ladies who were confined to their boudoirs.

Sister Liu once said that she had a dream: when she had money, she would open orphanages all over Daqing!

What a loving person, what a kind woman! This is the kind of confidante Pei Yi wanted!

Looking at her son's absent-minded expression, the Empress felt a surge of anger rush to her head, and her temples throbbed with pain.

The one on the dragon throne now always feels that he is still in his prime, and the position of crown prince is still undecided, with his nine sons all craning their necks to watch!

Even the most useless and idle ninth brother, Pei Zhi, might not be without a chance!

Marrying Xie Sangning is like binding the Xie family's immense military power and wealth firmly to one's own ship—what a tremendous boost that would be!

The emperor doesn't dare openly harm the Xie family now, but if they can find a way to break through Xie Sangning's defenses and make him completely devoted to Yi'er, then Yi'er could request an imperial decree to grant them marriage...

Even if the emperor was extremely disgusted, he had no choice but to agree, even if it meant holding his nose!

"Enough, enough!" The Empress rubbed her temples, her voice weary. "What I'm saying to you now is like talking to a brick wall. Wait until the Empress Dowager's birthday banquet in a few days, then you'll open your eyes and see for yourself!"

"Your sister Liu will definitely be here then, right? Put the two of them together and compare them carefully! See clearly who is the rightful princess consort who can stand by your side and help you rise to the top! Don't regret it later!"