Xin He’s eyes narrowed slightly, sensing something was off.
The court’s willingness to so easily let Song Yalin step aside in favor of Rouyi indicates that Song Yalin’s own desires and thoughts lack any benefit or planning. The only value seems to be Song Yalin as a person, and it seems to have no bearing on whether this person is crippled, useless, or tarnished.
What value would Song Yalin have to the court? Her identity? The legitimate daughter of the Song Family, and therefore the Imperial Noble Consort Shu’s niece, the number one unmarried lady in Yu State? The court probably doesn’t care much about such empty titles, does it?
A gleam suddenly flashed in Ji Xinhe’s eyes, as if she had figured something out. Her face grew cold, and she slammed her hand on the table: "So that was their plan!"
"What has the princess figured out?" said the Little Firewood Fox, visibly confused.
Ji Xinhe sneered, "I underestimated their scheming. I never thought they would resort to such despicable tactics. They deliberately arranged for Song Yalin to marry into the royal family and become a side consort. Duan Lan came up with this idea to upset Marquis Mu and me. Why would the Emperor support this? But he insisted on bringing Song Yalin here. She was the side consort of the Royal Mansion for only a month before they let her escape secretly. Yet her identity as the side consort of the Pingyang Prince Mansion was firmly established! If something really happens to Marquis Mu, the master of the mansion will most likely..."
The typically stoic Little Firewood Fox was taken aback and ventured, "Right now, the royal mansion doesn’t have an heir. If something were to happen to the prince and the royal succession is left unattended, wouldn’t it fall into the hands of Song Yalin if she were to suddenly get pregnant and give birth to a son?"
Ji Xinhe gritted her teeth, her voice cold, "But will it really fall into Song Yalin’s hands? She is but a pawn. Now that the Song Family’s influence in the Yu State has grown too large, the first thing the court would do to regain control over Yu State is to kill Marquis Mu. But even if Marquis Mu were killed, his power would still remain, not to mention that I would still be in control of the bigger picture, and the court would not benefit. However, if Maricus Mu dies and Song Yalin is pregnant with the so-called ’posthumous child’, the court will surely let her give birth to this child, justifying her takeover of the Pingyang Prince Mansion and all of Marquis Mu’s power. Song Yalin would then lead a carefree life, manipulated by the court like a puppet. It is equivalent to giving the Yu State away to the Emperor for free!"
The Little Firewood Fox also realized the gravity of the situation. Despite his dislike for Marquis Mu, the situation was clearly more complicated than just involving Marquis Mu.
If something were to happen to Marquis Mu and Song Yalin were to have a so-called "little heir", what position would the princess then be in? 𝓯𝓻𝒆𝙚𝒘𝓮𝙗𝓷𝒐𝓿𝙚𝒍.𝙘𝓸𝙢
He recalled the harsh words that Song Yalin uttered to Ji Xinhe on Mingyin Mountain yesterday: "The next time we meet, I will make sure you duly kneel before me. I will repay you for your cruelty tenfold, even if it means harming your daughter! I will ensure you meet a cruel death!".
He had assumed then that these were the words of a deranged woman, but now it seemed much more complicated.
Every word she said was true!
Little Firewood Fox’s face was filled with anxiety, "I wonder if His Highness has been found yet."
Faced with these revelations, Ji Xinhe became calm. Now that everything was clear, all her worries and concerns were gone. In the end, everything depended on whether Marquis Mu was alive.
As long as Marquis Mu was alive, neither Song Yalin nor the so-called little heir mattered. But if Marquis Mu were to die...
A chill ran through Ji Xinhe’s eyes. She let out a cold, bone-piercing laugh, "If he dies, why should I live?"
Her words hit Little Firewood Fox hard, causing a sharp pang in his heart. He quickly responded, "Princess, please don’t say such things. The Prince has only gone missing; it doesn’t necessarily mean something bad has happened. Even if not for yourself, think about the little princess."
At the mention of Ah Guai, Ji Xinhe’s resolute gaze wavered suddenly, tinged with sadness. She gave a bitter laugh, "Yes, there’s Ah Guai. For her sake, how can I die? If I die, who else in the world could protect her?"
Seeing Ji Xinhe’s deep sorrow, Little Firewood Fox’s expression grew even more grave. Despite wanting to say more, he remained silent.
Ji Xinhe closed her eyes, rubbing her temples. Appearing somewhat exhausted, she waved her hand dismissively, "Enough, let’s not talk about this anymore. Continue searching for the Prince’s whereabouts. No matter what, we should exhaust all possibilities. Inform me as soon as there is news, good or bad, don’t hide anything from me."
Little Firewood Fox hesitated before answering, "Yes..."
"You may go now."
Little Firewood Fox took a look at her, his gaze a mix of emotions, before lowering his head and retreating.
Not knowing if she was truly tired or due to other reasons, Ji Xinhe, with her eyebrows knitted, fell into a deep sleep.
Upon entering the room, Shulan and Xiaoyu saw her fast asleep on the soft couch. They hesitated, wanting to wake her up to sleep on the bed instead but they didn’t have the heart to disturb her. She had barely slept an hour the night before, so they decided to let her rest for a while longer.
They quietly fetched a cotton blanket and covered Ji Xinhe with it.
Subsequently, they retreated quietly to the outer room.
Xin He didn’t like any interruptions while she was sleeping, so only one of them was allowed to stay in the outer room, even when they were watching over her at night.
Furthermore, given the circumstances, Ji Xinhe was rather restless and her sleep was light. Any slight movement could awaken her. Their presence would do more harm than good.
Xin He hadn’t slept for long, approximately for an hour, before she started to stir. Blinking sleepily, she was greeted by a large doll’s face.
Ah Guai, blinking her big bright eyes, asked in her sweet voice, "Mommy, are you awake?"
Xin He smiled, her gaze filled with resignation. She extended her slender finger to lightly tap Ah Guai’s forehead, "I told you not to scare Mommy like this."
The Marquis’s daughter sat up on the bed, tilted her head, and said, "Ah Guai did not scare Mommy. Ah Guai just quietly waited for Mommy to wake up."
Xin He replied in a soft voice, "Hmm."
For some reason, all of her worries seemed to vanish as she looked at the child.
Ah Guai asked, "Mommy, are you sad that Daddy hasn’t come back?"
"No."
"Mommy is lying. You were crying when you were asleep." Ah Guai said in a muffled voice.
It was then that Xin He realized her pillow was soaked.
Xin He laughed helplessly, she held Ah Guai and said, "Ah Guai, don’t worry. Daddy will come back. He promised Mommy he would, and he has never lied to me."
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