Luoxuan Pavilion, the central city of Wuming Island.
Madam Xie returned home in a panic, startling Xie Baochai, who rushed to the main hall to inquire, "Mother, what happened?"
"You may all leave!" Seeing the worry on her face, Xie Qianshi waved her hand to dismiss the servants and maids. Under Xie Baochai's service, she shook her head and sighed, "Prince Rong is going to force the entire Xie family to their deaths!"
"Mother, don't panic. This is exactly what I expected. It's just that when I mentioned it before, you and my two younger brothers didn't believe me!" Xie Baochai said with a smile, no longer worried.
What was bound to happen has finally happened!
No one knows a daughter better than her mother. Seeing her daughter's bright smile, Xie Qianshi felt a surge of hope: "Daughter, are you making some preparations behind the family's back?"
"Mother is overthinking it. Your daughter has not done anything to hide anything from the family." Xie Baochai was slightly startled and her smile faded as she denied the emergency measures.
The main reason is that she knows her mother too well; she's timid, easily frightened, and easily influenced.
If the fate of the family were to be decided by this matriarch, it would surely lead to the demise of the entire clan.
After all, the Xie Clan Chamber of Commerce had long been under the control of Prince Rong, which was retribution for the mistress's cowardice back then.
At present, Prince Rong's activation of the Golden Hairpin Plan means abandoning the Xie family, making them scapegoats, cannon fodder, and sacrifices.
Madam Xie didn't believe her daughter's insincere reply at all: "Daughter, I know you are a good daughter who is thoughtful, resourceful, and capable."
If it weren't for your advice and strategies, the Xie Clan Chamber of Commerce would have been devoured by Prince Rong long ago, leaving not even a trace of bones.
Prince Rong is a heartless man. Mother never expected him to protect the Xie family. The reason we chose to submit to him was simply to do everything we could to help you and your brother grow up, hoping that there might still be a way out for the Xie family.
This path forward was a plan devised by your father when you were born, using the golden hairpin that accompanied you. The plan was to gather the strength of the entire clan to assist you in your cultivation, hoping that you would achieve enlightenment and protect the entire Xie clan.
Therefore, your mother has been supporting your spiritual practice both openly and secretly all these years…
"Mother, please stop. I know what to do. I'm not telling you because I'm worried that some cultivators might use soul-reading spells on you and expose my plans!" Xie Baochai said helplessly.
This excited Xie Qianshi: "Good, good, as long as you have a plan, just tell your mother how to cooperate. Your mother doesn't want to know the specific plan."
There is only one requirement: ensure the Xie family line continues unbroken!
"Mother, rest assured, your children will do everything in our power to ensure the safety of our two younger brothers, even at the cost of our own lives."
However, her younger brother had already been under the overt and covert surveillance of Prince Rong's men, making it very difficult to send her brother and mother away and then launch a counterattack against Prince Rong.
Therefore, my daughter plans to use the Golden Hairpin Plan to get close to Zheng Ya and Wu Wei, to see which of them is more suitable to protect our Xie family, and then make a final decision. Xie Baochai had no choice but to tell her mother the preliminary plan.
This is to use the Golden Hairpin Plan to do things for the family.
Madam Xie frowned and pondered for a moment before speaking: "Daughter, isn't doing this too risky?"
If we openly contact Wu Wei and Zheng Ya, Prince Rong's men will surely find out, and we'll be finished if he punishes us!"
"Mother, the Golden Hairpin Plan devised by Prince Rong was originally intended to break down the various powerful families of the Great Li Dynasty from within, and to stir up a storm of civil war."
Incidentally, it will cause trouble for Zheng Ya and Wu Wei, and even the whole world.
He did his utmost to instigate a chaotic war across the land and to assist Prince Rong in achieving his goals abroad.
This was the purpose behind Prince Rong's implementation of the Golden Hairpin Plan, but his daughter knew that this was not Prince Rong's true intention.
I'm afraid he's after the imperial seal, magical treasures, and the path to immortality!
And all of this happens to be related to Zheng Ya and Wu Wei, those transmigrators. By contacting them, we are essentially helping Prince Rong deal with them more effectively. There's nothing wrong with that!" Xie Baochai explained her true intention without taking it seriously.
The actual Golden Hairpin Plan utilizes luxurious industries such as catering, hotels, and brothels to instigate and stab high-ranking officials of various factions in order to implement the plan.
The so-called "Golden Hairpin" scheme mostly involves using alluring women to seduce high-ranking members of a family, then exploiting their weaknesses and vulnerabilities to accumulate power until the scheme is fully launched and they are forced to commit their crimes.
These industry elites are all secretly cultivated talents who rarely show themselves or receive guests. Only by identifying and controlling the target can suitable talents be selected to target them and prescribe the right medicine.
These types of talents generally operate in the shadows, carrying out tasks one-on-one, or at most one-on-three.
This is the best we can do to ensure their safety.
Even after the Rong Prince Chamber of Commerce's assets were looted and all the chambers of commerce across the country suffered.
But those are all superficial phenomena.
This is where Prince Rong's brilliance lies. He borrowed the method that Sheng Xiang used to manipulate the upper echelons of powerful families and lay out his plans for the world. He openly staged a drama of being manipulated and killed by Sheng Xiang, while secretly cultivating elite talents and turning the tables on the upper echelons of various powerful families.
After all, Prince Rong knew best that dynasties could be overthrown and families could change their surnames, but industries could never go out of business.
At most, it's just a change of master.
Throughout dynasties and across all sectors, the management of talented individuals was indispensable when different masters came to power.
This provided Prince Rong with convenient employment and cover for his identity in secretly cultivating and controlling people.
In reality, this move was merely a casual one orchestrated by Prince Rong.
After all, when Qinglong was under his control, as long as he could scheme to kill Shengxiang, he would basically have no rivals.
It should be noted that half of the palace servants were bribed by Prince Rong.
If Zheng Ya hadn't risen to prominence and repeatedly thwarted Prince Rong's plans, Prince Rong might have sent Sheng Xiang to the executioner's block for plotting to usurp the throne, paving the way for his rebellion, and then waiting for an opportunity to take advantage of him.
Unfortunately, plans can't keep up with changes.
Everything was overturned by the unexpected arrival of Zheng Ya, forcing Prince Rong to activate the Golden Hairpin Plan.
As for family power, they value fame, fortune, and the continuation of their lineage and spiritual cultivation. As long as the head of the family is not stupid or foolish, he will not become a die-hard, blindly loyal person like Earl Dai, dragging the entire family to its destruction. They can just find a new master to serve!
After all, among the various powerful families in the dynasty, only a handful had the ability and resources to rebel.
Furthermore, the late emperor's decree forbidding the formation of factions to vie for the throne effectively eliminated the possibility of family powers forming alliances and harboring hostility towards each other, thus preventing the Crown Prince and other princes from staging internal wars and squandering dramas such as the Nine Princes' Succession Struggle.
This has inadvertently fostered the prosperity of the family, ensuring the unbroken transmission of incense and Taoist practices—this is the true principle of the Kingly Way.
Clearly, family interests come first, which is essentially the long-term solution.
Prince Rong recognized this and cultivated elite talents to control aristocratic families, demonstrating his shrewdness.
Madam Xie was well aware of this, but she was still worried about her daughter's suggestion: "Daughter, we'd better be careful when we contact Zheng Ya and the others."
After all, we have to be wary of their character.
"If we make contact with them and they betray us, it will be a catastrophe for the Xie family!"
"Mother, please rest assured, I have my own plans!" Xie Baochai worried that if she talked too much, it would only make her uneasy, and attracting attention would alert the enemy.
Madam Xie hesitated, then waved for her to go about her business. Xie Baochai returned to her room and activated her magic: "Buzz."
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