Chapter 288: Xie Shi'an's Scheme
Yun Chu had Jiang Yiniang brought into the reception hall.
Besides Jiang Yiniang, she had brought along two children, Xie Xian and Xu Ti, keeping them close by her side.
Yun Chu instructed Ting Xue to take care of the children first, offered Jiang Yiniang a seat, and ordered tea to be served.
Jiang Yiniang appeared extremely uneasy.
With her head lowered, she said, "This lowly concubine has come to inform the Princess Consort of a matter."
Yun Chu nodded slightly.
Earlier, Qiutong had already informed her that Xie Shi'an had visited Jiang Yiniang's residence yesterday. He entered alone, and San Jiu was unable to follow, so no one knew what had transpired. However, it seemed to be no trivial matter.
"Yesterday afternoon, Xie Shi'an... he came in holding a dagger and pressed it against Xian Jie'er's neck, demanding that I give him silver," Jiang Yiniang said, her entire body trembling with fear, her hands still shaking. "He forced me to give him a hundred taels of silver... I gave it to him, and Xian Jie'er is unharmed. But... what if he comes again? What should I do, Princess Consort? This lowly concubine is truly at her wits' end. That is why I have come at such an inappropriate time, begging the Princess Consort to save my life!"
Her legs gave way, and she knelt on the floor.
Yun Chu's face showed disbelief.
The Xie Shi'an she knew was a cautious person. No matter what he did, he always thought things through carefully and acted gradually. How could he barge into Jiang Yiniang's residence with a dagger?
Could it be that a person crushed by life's hardships would eventually become like Xie Shiwei?
Something about this didn't add up.
Yun Chu helped Jiang Yiniang to her feet. "Aside from demanding silver, what else did he do?"
Jiang Yiniang was genuinely terrified.
After she and Xian Jie'er moved out to live on their own, she adopted a foster son, Xu Ti. She planned to send him to school in March while she stayed home to teach Xian Jie'er embroidery, which would also supplement their household income. Their lives were relatively peaceful.
Yesterday, when the Princess Consort married into the Prince's residence, she watched the festivities in the street before returning home with the children.
Shortly after arriving home, someone knocked on the door. Thinking it was a peddler coming to collect embroidery work, she opened the door only to see Xie Shi'an.
Her instinct was to shut the door, but Xie Shi'an had already stepped inside. After entering, he turned and closed the courtyard gate behind him.
Before she could react, Xian Jie'er was seized by the shoulders, and a long, sharp dagger was pressed against her neck.
Xu Ti rushed over and bit Xie Shi'an, but Xie Shi'an kicked him away.
Xie Shi'an said he only wanted silver and demanded that she hand it over. After some back-and-forth, he eventually took a hundred taels of silver.
Xie Shi'an did not leave immediately. Instead, he went to the kitchen and seemed to take away a bag of grain. If the Princess Consort hadn't asked, she would have forgotten about this detail.
Yun Chu interrupted her. "What kind of grain was in the bag?"
"It was black beans I bought a few days ago," Jiang Yiniang said, wiping her tears. "Ti Ge'er is about to start school soon. Walking to the capital every day would take too much time, so I thought of buying a carriage. The black beans were meant to feed the horse."
Yun Chu's fingers paused.
She understood.
In a calm voice, she said, "Go to the Xie residence now."
Jiang Yiniang shook her head vehemently. "No, I can't go. Xie Shi'an is a wolf. He'll kill me just like he killed Ting Yu."
"If you don't go, that's when your life will be in danger," Yun Chu said, looking at her. "If you want to protect yourself and Xian Jie'er, listen to me."
Jiang Yiniang's heart tightened abruptly.
She suddenly realized that the situation might not be as simple as she had thought.She stood up trembling: "Yes, Princess Consort, this lowly concubine understands."
After leaving the manor, Jiang Yiniang passed by an embroidery shop and asked a familiar auntie to help look after her child. After giving Xu Ti a few instructions, she went alone to the Xie residence.
Yuan Shi was feeding Xie Shikang rice porridge when she heard knocking at the door. She hurried to open it and was stunned to see Jiang Yiniang: "You... why have you returned?"
Only after stepping over the threshold did Jiang Yiniang speak: "Is the eldest young master here?"
"He is," Yuan Shi said. "He's unwell, sleeping in his room."
"Please inform the eldest young master that if he doesn't return the hundred taels of silver he stole by breaking into my home, I will report him to the authorities," Jiang Yiniang said, mustering her courage. "The Princess Consort said this is banditry, no different from robbery. Once convicted, he would face exile."
"You went to the Prince of Pacifying the West Manor?"
Xie Shi'an's voice approached from a distance, his expression dark and sinister.
Jiang Yiniang instinctively stepped back in fear, but thinking of her daughter, she knew she couldn't retreat. She stepped forward instead: "The Princess Consort told me to give you one more chance. If you don't return the silver, she will stand up for me."
Yuan Shi urgently interjected: "An Ge'er, did you really do such a thing? How could you be so foolish..."
Ignoring Yuan Shi, Xie Shi'an stared coldly at Jiang Yiniang: "What else did you tell Mother?"
Jiang Yiniang replied coldly: "If the eldest young master attempts anything else, I will definitely go to the Princess Consort again."
Xie Shi'an enunciated each word slowly: "I took a jar of salt from Concubine Jiang's kitchen. Didn't you know?"
Jiang Yiniang said in disbelief: "You wouldn't even leave salt for us widows and orphans? Xie Shi'an, don't go too far!"
"It was me... I kept complaining to An Ge'er every day about the rising salt prices, saying we couldn't afford it," Yuan Shi began crying. "An Ge'er bears heavy responsibilities as the family's eldest son, so he did this. Concubine Jiang, you've always been magnanimous—please don't report him. I have some personal savings—I'll repay you on his behalf."
Jiang Yiniang nodded: "As long as the silver is fully repaid, this matter will be settled."
Xie Shi'an stared intently at Jiang Yiniang's face.
Stealing the silver was just a pretext; taking the black beans was his real goal.
He planned to make Jiang Yiniang "commit suicide out of guilt" tonight.
It wasn't that he was heartless.
But Jiang Yiniang had abandoned the Xie family for money.
Why should the Xie family remain in the mire while Jiang Yiniang lived comfortably?
However, Jiang Yiniang showed no recollection of him taking the black beans, making it unnecessary to take action since the blame wouldn't fall on him.
Yuan Shi brought out a hundred taels of silver and handed it to Jiang Yiniang, who counted it before turning to leave.
Yuan Shi couldn't help slapping her thigh in distress: "The family has less than a hundred taels left. How will we survive just consuming without income..."
Just then, someone knocked on the door again, startling Yuan Shi.
Xie Shi'an went to open it and found a servant bowing: "Young Master Xie, our prince requests your presence."
Xie Shi'an straightened his clothes and followed to the Gongxi Royal Mansion.
After their last conversation, Prince Gongxi had accepted his allegiance but hadn't assigned him any tasks.
As time passed, he feared Prince Gongxi would forget about him entirely.
Thus, he could only take the initiative.
The Sixth Prince was his offering of sincerity.
After dealing with the Sixth Prince, he had sent a letter to the royal mansion.
He knew Prince Gongxi would summon him.Xie Shi'an was led into the study of Gong Xi Prince.
Gong Xi Prince threw the letter in front of him and sneered, "Clearly you were deliberately seeking revenge, yet you claim to be eliminating political opponents for me. Xie Shi'an, you truly have some nerve."
Xie Shi'an bowed his head. "This humble subject has long suffered under the Sixth Prince, but I would never dare take any action. Only after the Sixth Prince was enfeoffed as Cheng Wang, and would soon marry and have children, did I realize he would gradually become Your Highness's rival. Removing this stumbling block for Your Highness in advance is this humble subject's sincere offering to you."
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