193. I dare not drink your tea.
Xie Wenling hugged the little dumpling tighter. Looking at the burly man blocking the doorway, he knew he could no longer refuse and could only nod: "Okay, I promise you. Tomorrow morning at court, I will help you verify the authenticity of the evidence."
The old prime minister finally smiled, picked up the teacup on the table, and handed it to Xie Wenling: "Good! Lord Xie is indeed a man who knows when to yield! Here, let's toast with tea instead of wine, wishing us a resounding victory tomorrow!"
Xie Wenling did not accept it, his expression cold and his tone indifferent: "No, I dare not drink your tea."
Now that his worries were over, the old prime minister felt much more relaxed and even had the mood to joke: "What? Afraid I'll poison you?"
As he spoke, he took a sip himself.
However, Xie Wenling still refused to drink, and the old prime minister did not want to have another conflict with him over such a small matter, so he gave up.
Xie Wenling paused for a moment, then said, "Your Excellency, I will attend the morning court session as scheduled tomorrow. Now, I should take my niece back."
Xie Wenling got up to leave, but the old prime minister, leaning on his cane, quickly stepped forward and blocked his way.
The cane slammed heavily on the ground, making a dull thud.
The old prime minister's cloudy yet sharp eyes were fixed on Xie Wenling: "Lord Xie, what's the rush? It's late at night and the dew is heavy. If you take the child back and something goes wrong, it could delay tomorrow's morning court session, which is no laughing matter."
Xie Wenling stopped in his tracks, his expression somber: "What does Your Excellency mean by this?"
"It's nothing," the old prime minister chuckled. "Why don't you stay at this teahouse and go to court together tomorrow morning? That way, we can ensure that Lord Xie won't change his mind at the last minute, and we can also protect this young lady. Wouldn't that be the best of both worlds?"
"You want to put us under house arrest?" Xie Wenling stated his intention directly.
He looked down at the little bundle in his arms.
The little dumpling's chubby face was full of panic, like a frightened little rabbit. Its big, round eyes were watery, and it was tightly clutching Xie Wenling's clothes.
She was indeed quite frightened today.
“I can stay,” Xie Wenling took a deep breath, suppressing his emotions, “but the county princess must go back. She is only three years old and cannot withstand this kind of ordeal.”
"Go back?" The old prime minister seemed to have heard a joke. "Who is she supposed to go back to inform? The Xie family, or the Duke of Anguo? Lord Xie, don't try to play these little tricks on me. Today, none of you are leaving!"
"Has Your Excellency the Prime Minister considered that the county princess's prolonged absence will arouse suspicion in the Marquis of Beiding's residence, and if things escalate, it will not be good for you?"
"If she runs away and tells on me, it will do me even worse!"
As the two were arguing, the sound of carriage wheels rolling came from afar.
The old prime minister, who was already on edge, immediately tensed up upon hearing the commotion and shouted to his men, "Stop that carriage! See who it is!"
Several henchmen responded and rushed over with their knives drawn.
Before long, they returned, and one of them reported, "Prime Minister, it is the young master of Xixiang, who only brought a groom with him."
The old prime minister breathed a sigh of relief, but still kept a wary eye on the carriage.
Seeing this, Xie Wenling stepped forward and discussed with the old prime minister: "Prime minister, why don't you let the county princess go back with this young master Bai and stay at his residence for the night? If you are worried, you can send someone to accompany her. This way, it will not delay tomorrow's affairs and will also save the people of the Marquis of Beiding's residence from worrying."
The old prime minister remained silent, his gaze shifting back and forth between the little dumpling and the carriage.
He was indeed worried that the little dumpling would go back and report, but he was also afraid that forcibly detaining the little dumpling would cause unnecessary trouble.
After much deliberation, he finally nodded: "Alright, let her go with us. But my people must accompany her; they cannot leave her side for even a moment!"
"Sure," Xie Wenling agreed without hesitation.
Then, he carefully instructed the little girl, "Princess, you should go with this Young Master Bai to his house for the night. I'll come to pick you up tomorrow morning, okay?"
Although the little dumpling was scared, seeing the reassurance in Xie Wenling's eyes, it nodded obediently and stretched out its chubby little hand to wipe away the tears from the corners of its eyes.
Bai Qingzhong had been dragged off the carriage, his little face filled with panic and bewilderment.
Then he was immediately pulled back into the carriage, with a little baby stuffed into his arms.
Bai Qingzhong was flustered and confused.
He was ostracized by the other princes in the capital, and the powerful and influential in the capital disdained to associate with him. He was very bored staying in his mansion, so he simply asked a coachman to take him out for a walk to clear his mind, but he never expected to encounter such a thing...
Outside the curtain, the coachman was being warned and threatened by the old prime minister's men.
Inside the carriage, Bai Qingzhong was both panicked and afraid.
But seeing that the little girl also looked scared, he mustered up his courage, walked to her side, and whispered, "County... County Princess, don't be afraid, I... I will protect you."
The little dumpling looked at him, then at Xie Wenling and the old prime minister who were still at loggerheads in the distance, and reached out her little hand to hold Bai Qingzhong's hand, wanting to draw some warmth from him.
But Bai Qingzhong was also so frightened that his hands and feet turned ice cold.
Soon, after the coachman was warned, the carriage started moving again, with the old prime minister's two subordinates following closely behind.
It has to be said that Bai Qingzhong's arrival was really timely.
If it were a different heir, the old prime minister would not dare to threaten him, and those heirs would not be able to be threatened either.
Xie Wenling also didn't have the chance to send the little dumpling away.
The reason why it couldn't be sent out wasn't just because the old prime minister didn't dare to stop it.
More importantly, even if he is stopped, he cannot give it away.
Because he and the old prime minister were well aware that the situation was sensitive. A county princess from a marquis's household going to someone else's heir's place to spend the night, even though she was a three-year-old child and didn't need to worry about her reputation, was tantamount to being seen as taking sides.
When that time comes, all the powerful and influential people who get wind of it will try every means to investigate.
This is too risky for the old prime minister, and Xie Wenling would not want the little dumpling to get involved in these troubles.
But it was Bai Qingzhong who came.
If you do these things with Pak Ching Chung, it's okay.
Because everyone in the capital knew that investing in him would result in total loss, and supporting him was a dead end.
To put it bluntly, even if you kidnapped him, you wouldn't get much money for ransom.
Saigo was originally a poor and remote place, and he was simply pushed out by the King of Saigo to be cannon fodder.
Looking at the little dumpling's side, the Marquis of Beiding is a good-for-nothing, while she herself is a clueless three-year-old county princess.
Although she and her second brother were both studying together, they were just study companions; the little princesses and princes they were studying with were still so young…
Therefore, there is absolutely no need for Little Dumpling to feel burdened by her friendship with Pak Ching Chung, and it's perfectly fine for her to stay overnight with him.
As long as Xie Wenling doesn't step in or express his opinion, even if the Marquis of Beiding openly declares that he wants to support Bai Qingzhong, the powerful and wealthy will only suspect that he is out of his mind.
---
A note from the author:
I always thought the little dumpling was Xie Wenling's niece, but just in case, I did the math, and my relative's calculator told me she was actually his niece (stunned)...
The process is as follows: Open your browser → Search for the relatives calculator → Enter your cousin's daughter's name → niece.
So that's what she calls her niece? (thinking)...
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