"I had an inside informant in the palace who was discovered and exploited by the Duan Family, delivering poison to Song Xi. Now the Emperor and the Song Family are at odds, naturally outraged and starting a thorough investigation into Song Xi’s poisoning. I fear the Duan Family will soon take action, digging up that informant and exposing him as one of my men." Mu Houchu’s voice was very cold.
Xin He’s eyes chilled: "Despicable!"
Mu Houchu pulled a corner of his lip: "That’s how the imperial court works, with covert and overt struggles. It’s about who can be more despicable, and who really cares? In the end, only the losing side knows how despicable the other party is, and outsiders only see the glory of the winners."
"Now that we know the intricacies of this game, we can’t just wait for death." Ji Xinhe said solemnly.
Mu Houchu curved the corner of his mouth; his little wife’s thoughts were always in sync with his.
"Of course."
"What do you plan to do?"
Mu Houchu coldly said: "Since the Duan Family has set up such a huge trap, calculating the Emperor and the Song Family into it, if I don’t give them a bit of payback, they might think I’m easy to manipulate."
Xin He nodded, not asking any further questions, only saying, "Be careful with everything."
"Don’t worry, with you here, I’m not willing to let myself get hurt." Mu Houchu said with a light laugh.
Before, he wasn’t afraid of death, but now he had her, and in the future, their child. So he began to fear, very afraid of death.
Mu Houchu had always been a calm person. He chose to withdraw from the storm in the capital city, putting down his ambition. This was not just for Ji Xinhe, but because he knew that his ambition for the throne was waning, and he was becoming more afraid of death. He started to consider her feelings, making it difficult for him to seize power.
But he didn’t care; he wasn’t greedy. If there were some things he couldn’t obtain, at least he still had her.
Mu Houchu held Xin He close and whispered, "Do you think this child will be a boy or a girl?"
Xin He smiled, "Do you want a boy or a girl?"
Mu Houchu frowned, seemingly finding this a difficult question, and finally waved his hand: "It doesn’t matter. We won’t only have one child anyway."
Xin He glared at him: "Do you want me to have a whole basket of children?"
"It’s not out of the question," Mu Houchu said seriously, "I always feel that our home is too quiet. If we have more children, perhaps it will be lively again."
"Speaking of children... Have you looked into that young master of the Song Family? I always feel there’s something off about him."
He doesn’t seem like a six-year-old child.
Mu Houchu said, "I have investigated. The boy is very smart, but for some reason, he’s also good at hiding his talent. He was previously an attendant reader in the Eastern Palace and didn’t stand out at all."
Xin He was puzzled: "With the Song Family in favor and the Emperor intending to reuse them, if their son were smart, it should be a matter of pride, right? At least it would mean that the Song Family has successors. I don’t know why the Song Family would try to hide their son’s talents."
"Their move makes me think that the Song Family may be more intelligent than we had previously realized, capable of seeing through our Emperor’s coldness and selfishness. Perhaps they are holding their cards closer to their chest. It’s surprising to uncover their shrewdness." Mu Houchu’s face showed a hint of curiosity.
Xin He said: "Today at the show venue, I met the Song Family’s second madam. She seemed to know nothing about their son’s illness. It seems that there’s a lot of internal strife within the Song Family."
Xin He paused, before asking, "Would you believe in the Song Family?"
Mu Houchu’s eyes turned solemn, obviously considering: "It’s not that they can’t be trusted, let’s just wait and see."
The situation would naturally be much better for Mu Houchu if he had the support of the Song Family.
Everything should be trustworthy, but the one thing that Mu Houchu could not understand, just like Ji Xinhe, was why the Song Family would be so generous in their favor, that they wanted to offer their allegiance?
——
At this time, the Song Family was also shrouded in silence under the night.
Song Xi could not sleep, his young face etched with seriousness: "In theory, Mu Houchu should have thoroughly investigated the matter and trusted us by now."
Anai said: "Young Master, don’t worry. Someone as astute as Sir Mu wouldn’t miss any details and would surely find out everything. As long as he knows that our Song Family is truly devoted to him, there will be no more doubts. In the capital, everything is under the control of the Grand Elder. Everything is within our expectations and there will be no errors."
Song Xi nodded, trusting in his father’s ability. It could be said that in this conspiracy, the Song Family had become the biggest beneficiary.
Anai advised, "Young Master, you didn’t take a nap during the day. You should rest earlier now."
Song Xi frowned, annoyed: "How can I sleep here? This mansion is full of women causing trouble every day, it’s so annoying!"
The Song Family’s Ancestral Home was not as tranquil as the capital city, and it was lively indeed. Song Xi, who had grown up in the capital in his previous life, had never experienced this. He was seeing it now - three women could create so much drama, especially the third madam, who seemed to cause trouble wherever she went, filling the entire Song Family with turmoil.
Anai’s face showed an awkward expression, and she chuckled twice before saying, "My young lord, please don’t be picky. The Grand Elder has ordered you to stay in Yu State for at least three years before returning to the capital."
As far as Song Xi was concerned, he had contracted a very dangerous illness, so it wouldn’t be easy for him to recover so quickly. Moreover, the Song Family didn’t want their son to be a hostage in the palace, so it was better for him to enjoy his freedom outside.
Song Xi waved his hand: "I know."
Anai paused before continuing, "There is one more thing."
"What?"
"I heard that a group of bandits around Yu State has become particularly rampant recently, even the government officials can’t do anything about them. What’s more, there are signs that these bandits are planning to rebel. Seeing their forces growing day by day, the Emperor can’t sit idle and has sent the Great Prince to quell this rebellion."
At the news, Song Xi’s face changed. He was aware of this matter. In his previous life, the Great Prince had indeed come to Yu State, but that wasn’t until three years later. Now, however, it was happening much earlier.
Song Xi sneered, "With the Great Prince’s skills, does he really think he can suppress the bandits? Is it possible that he wants to enlighten them with great principles?"
Anai sweated, "Young Lord, can you not speak so bluntly?"
Anai chuckled and said, "With the Great Prince coming, it’s obviously just for the title. He won’t be personally involved in suppressing the bandits."
In simpler terms, it was just for the sake of accumulating merit for their own son.
Song Xi understood this clearly. It was the same in his last life, but this time it was three years earlier, which probably meant that it was more than just about accumulating merit for their son; either it was directed at him or at Mu Houchu.
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