As she spoke, Xueying choked up again, seemingly hesitant to continue.
Yan Xuening was so anxious that she paced back and forth, her eyes slightly red, as if she was about to cry. Li Langxuan quickly hugged her and patted her back while saying to Xueying, "Don't be anxious, speak slowly and explain things clearly."
Reassured by Li Langxuan's composure, Xueying quickly calmed down, though her voice still trembled with tears. She continued, "Around noon, the head of the family arrived, followed by Consort Ding… The head of the family pointed at the lady, showing no concern for her health, and said that she had committed one of the seven grounds for divorce—not bearing a legitimate son—and that he was not allowed to take a concubine. He wanted to divorce her! The lady refused, saying that even if she were to leave, it had to be a peaceful divorce…"
After a pause, Xueying wiped away another tear and choked out, "Then the master of the house drove me and Madam out of the mansion. Aunt Ding pointed at Madam and said that Madam was a poisonous woman who would bring misfortune to her relatives... Madam fainted because she couldn't catch her breath. I took care of Madam and Xuerong is taking care of Madam at an inn in Hangzhou. That's why I came here to find you."
Yan Xuening was stunned. A chill ran through her, and she felt completely dazed: "Why did Father do this? Why did he indulge Dingxiang... Why did he treat Mother like this..."
Xueying kowtowed again: "This servant heard from Xuerong that the master seems to be afraid that after Consort Zhao's death, the Yongle Marquis's mansion will decline. The Yongle Marquis's mansion has always been a thorn in the side of the powerful and influential people in Shengjing. It is a big tree that attracts a lot of wind and has many enemies. I'm afraid the Yan family will be implicated, so he divorced the madam..."
Yan Xuening stared blankly at Xueying, her voice light and airy: "Is he really so heartless?"
Xueying choked back tears and looked up at Yan Xuening: "This servant dares not lie, please, madam, save the lady!"
Yan Xuening trusted Xueying—firstly, Xueying was Cheng Shi's most trusted maid, and she even held Xueying's indenture; Xueying had always been loyal. Secondly, Yan Xuening knew that this was her father's true nature; he had always been selfish and self-serving.
Yan Xuening remained silent for a moment, seemingly lost in thought, before she suddenly smiled.
She turned to look at Li Langxuan and said, "Husband, I need to go back to Hangzhou."
Li Langxuan patted her hand tenderly: "I'll go back with you."
As he said this, he turned his gaze to Xueying and, sure enough, saw a hint of confusion and panic in her eyes.
Xueying thought Li Langxuan was blind, so she looked at him with a venomous gaze.
Li Langxuan had a plan in mind, and quickly arranged for Xueying to be settled. He did not intend to keep such a disloyal servant in the mansion, but instead had someone find a manor in the suburbs.
Yan Xuening was so preoccupied with her concerns that she failed to notice Xueying's odd behavior or the "inappropriateness" of Li Langxuan's arrangements. She simply kept berating Prefect Yan.
Xueying seemed somewhat unwilling to leave the Yongle Marquis's residence, but for some reason, she felt that Li Langxuan, this blind man, was quite different from the rumored useless marquis and seemed rather frightening. Therefore, she dared not delay and had no choice but to go to the outskirts.
Seeing that everyone had left, Li Langxuan pulled Yan Xuening to sit down, hugged her, and asked worriedly, "A'ning, are you alright?"
Yan Xuening shook her head and said with some resentment, "I'm not doing well."
Li Langxuan patted her back and kissed the top of her head, and Yan Xuening quickly calmed down.
Seeing that Yan Xuening had calmed down, Li Langxuan slowly said, "Xueying is lying to you, but something must have happened to your mother-in-law as well."
Yan Xuening was stunned for a moment, her mind not quite processing it: "But her indenture is still..."
As she spoke, she slapped her forehead, suddenly realizing, "If Mother really was kicked out, the indenture wouldn't be in Mother's hands anymore, but rather in Dingxiang's! Otherwise, Dingxiang would have been stopped long ago if she wanted to enter Mother's room; she deliberately injured Dingxiang just to provoke that bastard of a father of mine!"
Li Langxuan nodded, but Yan Xuening noticed something amiss the more she thought about it: "Also, she's a servant girl who's never been to Shengjing before, yet she arrived in a single day, which doesn't make sense; furthermore... if she truly considered me her mistress, she wouldn't have told my husband directly that my mother had been divorced! If it weren't for your affection, you would definitely have rejected me too! She's probably already been bribed by Dingxiang!"
Upon thinking this, Yan Xuening immediately calmed down. She slammed her hand on the table and was so angry that she laughed: "That Xueying, you're such a traitor!"
Li Langxuan slowly said, "But this is a good thing. We now have a legitimate opportunity to leave Shengjing. We'll go to Hangzhou first to pick up my mother-in-law, and then the four of us will go to Yunnan together. We'll come back after we've accomplished our mission. What do you think, A-Ning?"
Yan Xuening sneered, "That's exactly right! That bastard must be itching to cut ties with me right now, so I'll do as he wishes!"
...
Northwest, Shuocheng.
Shang Shaoyan and Mr. Xin were drinking tea together, exchanging a few words now and then. The border has been very stable recently, and Shang Shaoyan has completely subdued the Shang army. Let alone rebelling, even if she asked them to immediately lay down their arms and return to their fields, they would listen to her. She felt that she had a deeper meaning.
Therefore, Shang Shaoyan had some free time and was just waiting for Qiao Xiuyu and Shang Yunlan to send him messages.
Cheng Chu had spent some time in the Northwest, but found he had no place to use his talents, so he returned to Shuzhou. Qiao Xiuyu returned after him, and the two of them are now building Shuzhou according to the many secret formulas given to them by Shang Yunlan.
Floral soaps, glass, papermaking, textile machines... everything is in the planning stages.
Shang Shaoyan wanted to build Shuzhou into his solid backing, his treasury and granary.
If Shang Yunlan can leave the capital, then the matter will be one-third complete—Shang Yunlan has already told Shang Shaoyan in her letter that "Master Ziyang" He Shuye is deeply trusted by Emperor Chen, and even the Ninth Prince Qin Ye has been placed behind him. If Shang Yunlan leaves the capital, it will only be a matter of He Shuye's word.
As for He Shuye's departure... Shang Yunlan, Qin Ye, and He Shuye successfully piqued Emperor Chen's interest in a clandestine visit to Hangzhou, which is expected to happen this month.
He Shuye will definitely accompany them then. Since they won't be in the palace, leaving will be a very easy thing.
Shang Shaoyan silently went over the plan in his mind several times. After finding that there were no loopholes, he relaxed a lot. He only maintained close contact with Shuzhou and the Yongle Marquis's Mansion, and kept a close eye on Lu Shuangyi. That was all he did.
"Is the county head about to begin?" Old Mr. Xin asked with a smile. "Are you ready?"
Shang Shaoyan cupped his hands in thanks to Mr. Xin and smiled, "I have to thank Mr. Xin for his advice. Now all that's left is for my brother and General Zhennan to return to their respective places."
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