Xiao Yu said angrily, "Doesn’t this mean that she benefits?"
Xin He lightly chuckled: "Benefit? There are no free lunches in this world. You think Lady Sun saved her to let her go? She saved her to make her keep her mouth shut and stop talking nonsense. But her being alive is always a threat. There have been no errors in Lady Sun’s years in the Hou Mansion. This isn’t because she has a good character, but rather because she is clever. How could she ever let go of someone who knows her secrets?"
Xiao Yu was slightly stunned: "So does that mean Jinxiu won’t survive either?"
"Exactly, she won’t live. She just won’t die in Le Yuanhou’s mansion. There is no need to worry about Jinxiu, it’s just a case of a dog-eat-dog world," Xin He said calmly.
"Understood."
Shulan suddenly came in and said: "Miss, the princess’s house has sent an invitation. Princess Chaoyang is hosting a banquet in her house and has specially invited Le Yuanhou’s mansion. They have also said that Eldest Miss must attend. Lord Marquis has directly sent the invitation to the glazed Tower. Miss, what do you think..."
Xin He frowned slightly: "The princess’s house?"
Chaoyang was quite rude to her at the Imperial Concubine’s birthday banquet. Now that she’s hosting a banquet at her own house, why would she think of inviting her to spoil the occasion? If something is unusual, there must be a demon.
Xin He suddenly remembered: "Oh yes, didn’t they previously say that Dali Temple was getting close to cracking the black bear case?"
"It’s usually assumed that everyone who entered the palace to pay homage to the Imperial Concubine on her birthday would be thoroughly inspected. But there are places that they can’t inspect, like Princess Chaoyang and some high-ranking officials in the Imperial Court. These places are not allowed to be inspected by Dali Temple."
This was also expected. She hadn’t banked on Dali Temple being able to find much of anything. But now that Princess Chaoyang suddenly sends an invitation, it makes her suspect that it might be related to the black bear case.
Xin He calmly said: "Just say I’m ill and I’m afraid I can’t go."
"But this is an invitation from the princess. If we directly decline, I’m afraid it might not be good," Shulan hesitated to say.
"That’s why I said I’m ill. Did I directly refuse?" Xin He blinked.
Shulan gave a wry smile: "What this servant means is, this might offend the princess."
"Don’t worry about that, I offended her long ago. I’m not scared of offending her one more time," Xin He casually said.
Chaoyang inviting her to a banquet is undoubtedly a trap. She doesn’t have the mood to waste time with this foolish princess. Knowing full well her ill intentions, she still wants to oblige? She must think Xin He’s stupid.
Shulan finally didn’t say anything more, "Yes, does the Miss want to have dinner?"
Xin He waved her hand: "Never mind, I have no appetite today. Prepare to wash up, I’ll sleep early. I have to go out tomorrow."
The workshop reported that the apple and waxberry wines have been produced. Business at Qinghe’s shop has been declining for a while, allowing the Hu Ren’s winery to make a lot of money. They should try to reclaim the market now. She needs to take a look at the situation herself tomorrow.
——
Night had set in, and after a day of turbulence, the Hou Mansion finally quieted down.
Lady Sun sat at the table, her face pale and looking very unwell from beginning to end.
"Madam, have a sip of water," Wei Popo said carefully.
She hadn’t eaten a bite or had a sip of tea the whole day. While Wei Popo understood that Lady Sun was upset, she still couldn’t neglect her health, could she?
Lady Sun said in a stern tone: "You should leave first."
"This... " Wei Popo was worried, but seeing her madam’s face, she dared not utter another word. Reluctantly, she said, "Understood."
Once Wei Popo left, Lady Sun angrily smashed the teacup in her hand.
The tea spilled all over the floor. Lady Sun was still unsatisfied, she felt like smashing everything in the room!
Yet, she still had her sanity, she wasn’t such a fool like Li Junyao. If her temper today was exposed, she would lose all standing with Lord Marquis!
"I initially thought she was easily manipulated, but who would’ve thought she was a hundred times more ruthless than Junyao!" Lady Sun gnashed her teeth.
In the decades of experience she had, she had never been defeated, but to think that she would actually end up flopping at the hands of this little girl!
While enraged, a man in black suddenly entered from the window.
Lady Sun was taken aback: "You ..."
The man in black immediately displayed a token.
Lady Sun’s attitude immediately became respectful, she said somewhat embarrassedly: "Does Lord Shen have any orders?"
"Of course there are orders, but you’re becoming more ineffective. You were supposed to suppress Ji Xinhe, but instead, you are suppressed. If this continues, do you think you’re of any use?"
"There won’t be a next time."
"There obviously can’t be a next time. Otherwise, Lord Shen won’t let you go. I came today just to warn you, be careful in the future. If you don’t succeed and your secrets are exposed, don’t blame Lord Shen for not giving you a way out!"
Lady Sun went pale and quickly said, "I understand."
"Good, Ji Xinhe is very smart. She probably suspects the person behind you. You know what to do, but one thing, she cannot die."
Lady Sun hesitated: "Why?"
"A woman that is being used against Marquis Mu, it’s not your turn to kill."
"Yes ..."
After the man in black finished instructing, he turned and left from the window.
Lady Sun collapsed on the stool in exhaustion.
——
Xinhe didn’t sleep well that night either. Lady Sun had been caught in a lie, but a bigger mystery consumed her mind. If it really was Lady Sun who had harmed her back then, commanded Jinxiu to steal her personal items, and had her come into contact with the bear broken by drugs which then recognized her and wanted to kill her, did Lady Sun really need her to die?
Or, is Lady Sun capable of such a big scheme? She had Fuquan investigate Lady Sun’s family background. Sun family originally was a small family backed by Le Yuanhou. Lady Sun rose from a concubine to Lady Marquis after Lady Wu passed away. If the Sun family really had the ability, why would they let their daughter be married into the household as a concubine?
Which means, there must be someone behind Lady Sun. Whoever that person is, they are hiding even deeper secrets, likely targeting Marquis Mu.
Her eyebrows knitted and she turned over again, thinking about the hard evidences in Le Yuanhou’s hands that she glanced at, would there really be no issue if she presented them?
Although she believed in Marquis Mu’s abilities, she did worry.
Xinhe breathed out softly, never mind, she would wait till the next day.
The waters were indeed too deep in the capital, even with extreme caution, it doesn’t guarantee absolute safety. She’s starting to miss the peace of Yangluo Bay, she misses her brothers and Xiao Cui. Misses the endless snow-covered fields.
She suddenly remembered what Marquis Mu had said to her during the day.
"When we get married, I will take you back to Yangluo Bay, whatever you want, I will give you."
Xinhe’s heart skipped a beat and a glimmer of expectation arose. Was he prepared to leave the political landscape?
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