Chapter 135 No One Will Compete with You

After feeling a little relieved, Xi Jianan signaled Aunt Liu to call Xi Zhong over. A moment later, hurried footsteps were heard outside the door, and a burly middle-aged man walked in quickly: "What are your orders, my lord?"

Xi Jianan took a deep breath and handed the letter to Xi Zhong, a servant who had grown up with him and was absolutely loyal to him.

Xi Zhong didn't understand why, but he still took the letter obediently. After reading it, he immediately raised his head and said, "Master, this!"

Xi Zhong's hands trembled slightly, and the thin piece of paper seemed to weigh a thousand pounds. He read it again in disbelief, and cold sweat gradually seeped out of his forehead.

"Master, this..." Xi Zhong's voice changed, "How could the two ladies..."

"That's why I asked you to go back and take a look. You should leave for the capital immediately." Xi Jianan said in a low voice, "Go and check whether the two ladies are as the letter said." He paused, a trace of pain flashed in his eyes, "especially where Qingwu is now."

Xi Zhong also knew that this matter was of great importance, so he immediately clasped his fists and said, "Yes, I will do it right away."

"Wait a minute," Xi Jianan stopped Xi Zhong and instructed, "This matter must be investigated secretly, and no one should be alerted. If you discover...if you discover that the two ladies have really swapped identities, write to me immediately!"

Xi Zhong bowed and was about to leave when Xi Jianan called him back, "Wait." He pulled out a jade pendant from his desk drawer and said, "If Qingwu is really in the palace..."

His voice suddenly choked. "I'll try to see her, give her this, tell her I'm sorry, and tell her... just tell her to be patient for now, and when I return to Beijing, I'll do my best to make the decision for her."

When he said this, Xi Jianan felt even more ashamed, but he was not only a father, but also the head of the Xi family. He had to consider the Xi clan.

Unless summoned by the emperor, a provincial governor could only return to the capital to report on his duties at the end of the year. "At the latest, I will return to the capital before the New Year."

Aunt Liu's eyes welled up as she watched from the side. She had never seen her master like this before. A provincial governor, a high-ranking official, was so vulnerable at this moment.

After Xi Zhong left, silence returned to the study. Xi Jianan unfolded the letter again, reading it over and over again. He wanted to make the decision for his daughter, but how could he do that?

If someone bullied his daughter, he would definitely retaliate with thunder and lightning, but the person who bullied his daughter was his closest relative. What should he do?

If it really was changed, what should I do? Should I ask them to change it back? But it had already happened two months ago...

Xi Jianan just thought about it for a moment and felt it was extremely absurd, and he felt a headache coming on.

Having his wife replaced was such a humiliation, any man with some blood in his veins couldn't accept it, right? What if this got to the emperor...

"Master..." Aunt Liu called softly.

"You go down first." Xi Jianan waved his hand with difficulty. "Write another letter to Qingmian, telling her to pretend she doesn't know and not to show any strangeness. I... I need to be alone and quiet to think about it."

Aunt Liu hesitated to speak, and finally bowed and retreated. As she gently closed the door, she faintly heard a suppressed sigh from inside.

She returned to her room, quickly finished writing the letter, and stuffed the shoes she had made for her daughter into her pocket, muttering, "They're a little bigger, but they should fit." At the same time, she was thinking about Xi Jianan.

Although Aunt Liu was a concubine, Xi Jianan treated her well, and now that something like this had happened, she couldn't help but worry about it. After thinking it over, she decided to send someone out to call a doctor.

She had originally planned to keep it a secret for another month, but now... she decided to make him happy.

Madam Zheng is thousands of miles away. Even if she has spies in the governor's mansion now, by the time the news is passed back, she will be pregnant. It will be too late to wait for her instructions to reach Jingzhou.

Soon, news reached Xi Jianan that Concubine Liu was pregnant with another child. This was a child born in old age, and Xi Jianan felt a little relieved. However, his worries were only temporarily suppressed, and the more time passed, the more fear he felt.

Mrs. Zheng didn't know what had happened in Jingzhou yet. She was sitting in the flower hall, holding a book and talking to Xi Qingbai.

"You have reached adulthood this year and passed the imperial examination. It's time to consider marriage."

If Mrs. Zheng had previously planned to wait three years for her son to pass the imperial examination before choosing a new wife for him, then her mind had changed after agreeing to exchange her two daughters.

Madam Zheng was no fool. She had agreed to the swap because she favored Qingtong and was overcome with emotion. But as time passed, and everything returned to normal, just as Madam Zheng had hoped, she began to feel a sense of unease.

She couldn't help but think about what would happen if this matter got out and the royal family blamed her. The more she thought about it, the more uneasy she felt. She decided to find a wife for her son first. Even if the worst came to the worst and the royal family was furious, her in-laws would be there to mediate.

So, Mrs. Zheng called her son back from the academy and told him about all the girls of marriageable age in the capital that she had her eyes on.

Xi Qingbai had no objection to this, but he did have some reservations when he heard about the girls' family backgrounds. Most of the girls on the list had fathers who were only fourth-rank officials. If they were from aristocratic families, they were only legitimate daughters from the side branches, and seemed a little inferior to the girls that Madam Zheng had occasionally mentioned last year.

Seeing the confusion in her son's eyes, Madam Zheng sighed, "Although your father has been promoted to Governor, your sister... has been deposed as the Crown Prince..."

Many aristocratic families already have their own princes and sons to support, so how could they easily get involved with the Xi family? It is already a good thing to be able to form such an in-law now.

Madam Zheng carefully explained the pros and cons to her son, and patiently advised, "But your mother has already chosen for you. The fathers and brothers of these girls all have potential. There is still a long time to come..."

But as they talked, Mrs. Zheng noticed that her son was distracted. His fingers unconsciously stroked the rim of the teacup, and his eyes fell on a pot of orchids in the corner of the hall.

"Qingbai?" Madam Zheng frowned and called out, "Are you listening to what I'm saying?"

"Mother..." Xi Qingbai came back to his senses and hesitated for a moment before speaking, "I was wondering...how is my sister Qingwu doing now."

Madam Zheng's expression changed slightly, and she slowly closed the list in her hand: "Why mention her?"

Xi Qingbai whispered, "Son, I just think that the way we treated Qingwu back then was..." too much.

Before he could finish his words, Madam Zheng interrupted him sharply, "Shut up!"

She was already feeling uneasy, so how could she be willing to hear that her son also had regrets?

Mrs. Zheng then softened her tone again: "Qingwu also agreed to that. How did we do that to her? Didn't we give her both the betrothal gift and the dowry?"

Seeing that Xi Qingbai still had a look of reluctance on his face, Madam Zheng paused and said, "Are you willing to watch Tong'er suffer in the palace?"

When asked this question, Xi Qingbai immediately shook his head: "Mother, I'm naturally reluctant to let Tong'er go to the palace, but that doesn't mean what we're doing is right. If father knew... he would definitely be furious. He would definitely think that I don't have the demeanor of the Xi family's eldest son and am unfit to shoulder the family's heavy responsibilities."

Rather than feeling sorry for Qingwu's poor life and feeling regret and guilt, Xi Qingbai was more worried about his image in Xi Jianan's heart.

He was Langjun, the eldest son of the family. Logically, since Xi's father was not at home, he should have been the head of the family and should have stopped this from happening. But he followed his mother's wishes and hid in the back.

This was also what Madam Zheng was most worried about, but she still forced herself to remain calm and said, "As long as we keep it a secret, and wait until your two sisters each give birth to children, will your father still insist on exposing this matter? He can only help us conceal it and acknowledge the child together."

She stood up and sat beside her son, looking at his handsome son with more loving eyes:

"You don't have to worry about your father blaming you. Even if he does, it will only take a few days. There's no such thing as an overnight grudge between father and son. Your father only has you as his legitimate son. As for Qingfeng, he's a bastard, young and motherless. No one in this family will compete with you."