Chapter 823: Xie Yunhuai Returns
Pingling pursed her lips: "Mother, His Majesty has ordered Fifth Brother to provide for you. First, accompany Fifth Brother to Prince Xin's Residence. Ninth Brother's estate is right next door. You can use visiting as an excuse, or even use Ninth Sister-in-law to eventually stay at Ninth Brother's estate. As long as Fifth Brother doesn't say anything, His Majesty won't interfere."
Noble Consort Rong's expression finally softened a little, but she was still worried that Xiao Changqing might remember one day: "Pingling, should we tell your Ninth Brother? I'm worried that if he remembers one day and your Ninth Brother is unprepared, could it..."
"No!" Pingling flatly refused. "In Ninth Brother's heart, Fifth Brother is more important than you or me. If Ninth Brother finds out, he will definitely side with Brother. Telling Ninth Brother is the same as telling Fifth Brother. We wouldn't even need to wait for Fifth Brother to remember before we..."
Noble Consort Rong felt even more regretful, not understanding how she had been so filled with hatred earlier that she couldn't keep her words contained.
Now they could only take one step at a time and hope that Xiao Changqing would never remember.
The events that occurred in Hanzhang Hall remained unknown to others. Shen Xihe had been secluded in her palace, focusing on her pregnancy. Her only concern now was His Majesty. Contrary to her expectations, knowing that his life was nearing its end had not made the Emperor suspicious or caused a drastic change in his temperament.
He remained a diligent ruler, acting as if unaware of his poor health, handling state affairs as usual.
Many of Shen Xihe's precautionary measures had proven unnecessary, especially those concerning the Northwest.
In the blink of an eye, November arrived, and the capital was already blanketed with heavy snowfall like goose feathers. On the first day of the tenth month, Shen Xihe received good news: Xie Yunhuai had returned.
"He's back?" Shen Xihe eagerly pressed for details. "What about Beichen?"
Tianyuan lowered his head. "His Highness the Crown Prince did not return with Doctor Qi."
The light in her eyes instantly dimmed. Shen Xihe smiled self-deprecatingly. "I was hoping for too much."
How could he return so quickly? If it were that easy to cure, why would he have left in such a manner, even once considering not letting her know he was using a golden cicada shedding its shell strategy to detoxify? It was clear that the poison was not easily cured, and there might even be no return.
"Your Highness, should we summon Doctor Qi for an audience?" Tianyuan asked.
Although the Crown Prince had not returned with Xie Yunhuai, the Crown Prince had left together with him. Xie Yunhuai must know much about His Highness's affairs.
Shen Xihe, however, shook her head. "He might have returned... for his own matters."
If Xiao Huayong had entrusted him with anything to bring back or any messages, Xie Yunhuai would have taken the initiative to visit without needing a summons.
If there was nothing, why should she put Xie Yunhuai in a difficult position?
She hadn't forgotten that the matter of the Xie family remained unresolved for Xie Yunhuai.
"The youngest son of Duke Xie must be about four years old now," Shen Xihe murmured softly.
She knew that Xie Yunhuai must have returned for this very reason.
Indeed, upon his return, Xie Yunhuai did not request an audience with Shen Xihe. He didn't even reveal his whereabouts to many. He had come back to settle scores with his father and bring to a close the schemes laid down many years ago.
Over the years, he had rarely returned to the capital, but most of the Xie clan had secretly pledged their allegiance to him.
"Your Highness, Your Highness! Big news, big news!" Ziyu, the well-informed, even within the palace, managed to get the latest gossip from the major households first. She rushed to find Shen Xihe. "It's major news related to Doctor Qi!"As Shen Xihe's pregnancy advanced, she grew increasingly lethargic. Initially disinterested in listening, she perked up when Ziyu mentioned Xie Yunhuai. Though she already had her suspicions, she still asked, "Tell me."
"Yesterday, several ladies were strolling through the plum garden when they stumbled upon an affair—Lady Xie, the wife of the Duke of Xie, and her former husband's younger brother." Ziyu's eyes sparkled with excitement.
It was truly astonishing. While affairs between sisters-in-law and brothers-in-law were occasionally heard of, no one had ever encountered a remarried woman carrying on with her deceased husband's younger brother—her former brother-in-law.
The two were caught in the heat of passion, completely unclothed.
"Your Highness, you'd never guess what happened next—it gets even more dramatic!" Ziyu was bursting with excitement, deliberately trying to pique Shen Xihe's curiosity.
Seeing her blinking mischievously, waiting for Shen Xihe to press for details, Shen Xihe deliberately refused to indulge her. "There is indeed an adulterer, but it's not the former brother-in-law."
Ziyu nearly gaped in disbelief. "Your Highness, you... you're truly remarkable."
Shen Xihe smiled faintly without responding. It wasn't that she was clairvoyant; she simply remembered Xie Yunhuai telling her that Yuan Shi had a daughter from her previous marriage, which she kept hidden from the Yuan family. To prevent her husband's family from finding out, she had suppressed this younger brother-in-law's achievements, hindering his career advancement for years.
This younger brother-in-law, despite being suppressed by the Duke of Xie for so long, had managed to rise through his own abilities. He was clearly no fool and must have known exactly who had ruined his prospects. How could he not despise Yuan Shi? Why would he ever engage in an affair with her?
"The adulterer involved with the Duke of Xie's wife was indeed someone else. He orchestrated the situation with Yuan Shi to break free from her..."
Yuan Shi's lover was an idle earl who, in his youth, had admired her along with the Duke of Xie. After Yuan Shi remarried Xie Ji, the earl thought he would live with regret for the rest of his life. Unexpectedly, Xie Ji succumbed to pressure from his clan and took a concubine. Feeling betrayed, Yuan Shi, resentful, turned to the earl, who still harbored feelings for her. Their affair resulted in the birth of Xie Ji's youngest son.
Yuan Shi's goal was to have a child, and she had long intended to end the affair. However, the earl, having tasted the thrill of illicit passion and holding the child as leverage, made it impossible for her to break it off. Recently, the earl's wife noticed something amiss and eventually uncovered evidence.
The wife was a formidable woman. She wanted to save face and protect the child, yet she couldn't swallow her anger. She forced her husband to set up Yuan Shi. As for why the former brother-in-law was implicated—that was Xie Yunhuai's carefully chosen pawn.
This man was not only greedy but had also discovered Miss Yuan and used her to blackmail Yuan Shi, repeatedly extorting benefits from her. To further his career, Yuan Shi had even leveraged both the Duke of Xie and the earl. Later, when he discovered Yuan Shi's affair with the earl, his greed only grew.
When the two were caught in the act, the former brother-in-law, to clear his name, spilled everything—including the involvement of the earl and even revealed that the young master of the Xie family was actually the earl's son.
"The Duke of Xie was so enraged he fainted on the spot. When he woke this morning, he could barely speak." Ziyu recounted the events vividly, as if she had witnessed everything firsthand. "Now, the Xie clan members are avoiding the Duke of Xie and seeking out Doctor Qi to verify the child's lineage."
The young son he had cherished turned out to be an illegitimate child, not even his own. Xie Yunhuai remained his only legitimate heir.Inheriting a peerage must be by a biological son. Even in cases of adoption, whether one can inherit the peerage requires currying favor with the Court of State Ceremonial, winning over the Three Excellencies and the Court of the Imperial Clan, and finally, one must have enough influence before Your Majesty for it to fall upon them.
The more the Xie clansmen cared about this peerage, the more they would exhaust all means to pressure Xie Ji into pleading with Xie Yunhuai.
"He will not return." Shen Xihe smiled faintly.
(End of Chapter)
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