Before she could finish speaking, Xie Li interrupted her sharply:

"impossible!"

Seeing her devastated expression, Xu Yuan glanced at her with slight sympathy and hesitated to continue.

But then I thought about the purpose of my trip.

She paused for a moment, then steeled herself and continued softly:

“Sister Li, I heard this with my own ears. If you don’t believe me, you can ask your aunt. She knows about this. Moreover, your mother’s death back then had another reason. She didn’t die of natural causes, but was poisoned. And the one who poisoned her was the First Madam…”

Xie Li suddenly covered her ears, shook her head vigorously, and kept muttering:

"Impossible, impossible!"

Her beautiful little face was now ashen, and she bit her lower lip tightly until it bled, but she didn't let go.

Even in this state of dejection, Xie Li's face showed no signs of weariness; instead, she looked pitiful and even more endearing.

A pang of jealousy welled up in Xu Yuan's heart, and she clenched her fists tightly in her sleeves.

Even though she was jealous inside.

But he didn't show any unusual expression on his face, and remained affectionate, looking at Xie Li with a worried look.

"Sister Li, are you alright?"

After the time it takes to drink a cup of tea.

Xie Li finally calmed down. She released her hands from her ears, slowly raised her head, and looked at the woman in front of her expressionlessly.

"Ah Yuan, why did you tell me this?"

Xie Li's gaze was too sharp.

Xu Yuan suddenly had the feeling that she was being seen through by her.

She swallowed almost imperceptibly, her expression suddenly turning tense.

But all of this happened in an instant.

Within moments, she regained her composure, and two glistening tears welled up in her eyes as she choked out a sob that echoed through the room.

“Sister Li, I deeply regret not heeding your warning back then, which led to my current situation where my father disowns me and I was kicked out of the house. Before, when I was trapped in His Highness's backyard, I never dared to tell you about this. Now that I have been abandoned by him, I no longer need to worry about him. Naturally, I don't want you to remain in the dark and continue to treat the murderer who killed your birth mother as family.”

Ever since their home was raided and they were exiled.

Having gone through so much, Xie Li is no longer as naive and innocent as she used to be.

Although the two of them used to be very close friends.

But Xu Yuan had been fighting openly and secretly with the prince's concubines for several years in the backyard of that cannibalistic prince's mansion.

Xie Li dared not gamble.

She remained untainted by the mud, and maintained her original aspirations even in such an environment...

Therefore, Xie Li always maintained a degree of vigilance towards Xu Yuan.

certainly.

She didn't reveal her true thoughts; her face remained calm as she spoke slowly and deliberately:

“Ah Yuan, I won’t believe you without evidence. Perhaps you’ve misunderstood His Highness. The First Madam and my mother are sisters. She would never poison her own sister; it would do her no good.”

Xu Yuan was surprised.

Xie Li used to trust her almost entirely and never questioned her words.

She lowered her eyelids slightly, and when she looked up again, crystal-clear tears were already welling up in her eyes, like a vast ocean, faintly revealing a touch of sorrow.

"Because your mother and the First Madam are not siblings... Your mother was forced to marry Second Master Xie by your maternal grandfather, which you should know. To resist, your mother became pregnant with you before marrying Second Master Xie... You were not premature. Of course, I have no proof of this; I overheard it from His Highness's conversation with his friends. But you can go back and ask your aunt; perhaps she knows something. Sister Li, I have nowhere else to go now; you are my only lifeline. I wish you all the best, so how could I possibly deceive you?"

He met Xu Yuan's sorrowful eyes.

Xie Li's doubts began to crumble. Thinking of the childhood days when the two of them played together, she sighed softly.

“Ah Yuan, I don’t doubt you, it’s just that this matter is too unbelievable. I will go back and ask Auntie. Here is some loose silver, not much, but enough for you to use sparingly in town for a while. I’ll go back now.”

Watching Xie Li open the door and leave.

Xu Yuan clenched her hand tightly around the purse!

"Madam, will Miss Xie really agree to our plan? After all..."

Xiao Hong's voice interrupted Xu Yuan's thoughts. She gently placed the purse on the table, a mocking smile appearing on her face.

"Don't worry, she'll definitely agree. Let's stay in this town for now. She'll come looking for me in a couple of days. Go tell the guards downstairs to keep an eye on Xie Li's movements."

"Yes, madam."

...

Xiaolin Village is located on the border.

So it's not too far from Sichuan, only about 150 kilometers away.

The day after Zhang Li sent out the letter, ten members of the Lin family army arrived at Xiaolin Village at noon.

Because they were all people of status who frequently engaged in escort missions, they did not attract the attention of the government.

The thirty Xie family soldiers that Lin Yan borrowed from Xie Muqing also arrived in Linjia Village at almost the same time.

Until everyone has arrived.

Xie Muqing was still kept in the dark, unaware of Lin Yan's true intentions.

"My wife, what's wrong?"

“Yesterday, Zhang Li and I discovered a gold mine in the back mountain. I don’t want to give it to the imperial court for nothing.”

Lin Yan allowed two groups of people to mine together because she was worried that Xie Muqing's army would secretly pocket the gold behind her back.

Although this possibility is extremely low.

But she couldn't help but be on guard.

Regarding the gold mine.

Although Xie Muqing was shocked, it was nothing compared to the excitement he felt when he heard that Zhang Li and Lin Yan's relationship yesterday was not a secret affair!

Hope rekindled in his eyes.

He suddenly grabbed Lin Yan's hands, his voice trembling, and asked anxiously:

"Was it because of this that you and Zhang Li were late returning yesterday?"

Lin Yan glanced at the boy in front of her, puzzled, and asked him in return:

"Huh? Yeah! What else?"

Looking at his hesitant and stammering manner.

Even though Lin Yan was slow to react, she finally realized what was happening. She suddenly widened her almond-shaped eyes and glared angrily at Xie Muqing.

"You...you don't think I went on a secret rendezvous with Zhang Li yesterday, do you?! Why didn't you ask me anything last night?"

Thinking about my self-pity last night.

An awkward expression crossed Xie Muqing's face as he secretly glanced at Lin Yan out of the corner of his eye.

Seeing that she was looking at him, he quickly put on a sad and mournful expression, blinked his watery eyes, looked pitifully into her eyes, and softly said:

"Everything I have now is given to me by my wife, and I have lied to you before, so it is only right that my wife has changed her mind..."

"Ha! Since you're so generous, how about I find you a few 'brothers' tomorrow to serve me together?"