Chapter 348: Who Should He Be Loyal To
Xie Shi'an didn't see Xie Shiyun.
Striding inside, he reached Xie Shiwei's courtyard and said coldly, "Since you returned to the Xie family, you've been idle and gluttonous every day. The Xie family doesn't support freeloaders."
Xie Shiwei retorted bitterly, "If it weren't for you, the Xie family wouldn't be in this state. How dare you blame me? What right do you have to blame me..."
"I don't want to argue with you," Xie Shi'an said, enunciating each word clearly. "I'm assigning you a task now. If you complete it successfully, you can freeload as much as you want in the future without a word from me. If you fail, pack your things and get out."
Xie Shiwei clenched his fists.
Previously, when Xie Shiyun disobeyed, he nearly starved to death at their eldest brother's hands. He believed his eldest brother was capable of driving him out of the house.
Stiffening his neck, he asked, "What is it? Let's be clear upfront—if it's too difficult, I can't do it..."
"Take this to the Prince of Pacifying the West Manor," Xie Shi'an said slowly. "Toss it in a pond, bury it in the ground, hide it anywhere—just get it inside."
Xie Shiwei refused without hesitation. "The Prince of Pacifying the West Manor? What kind of place is that? How could someone like me get in?"
"You can have the manor's servants relay a message—say Grandmother is dying, say I'm dying, say Yun Ge'er is dying... In short, say whatever it takes to get you inside the manor." Xie Shi'an shoved the object into his hand. "This is your only chance."
Hiding in the shadows, Xie Shiyun widened his eyes in terror.
He finally saw what the object was—a cursed doll pierced with needles. If it were hidden in the Prince of Pacifying the West Manor, it would surely bring catastrophic disaster upon the estate.
Not daring to make a sound, he turned and fled, running out of the Xie residence, through the streets, frantically sprinting until he reached the Prince of Pacifying the West Manor, his face deathly pale from the exertion.
"Princess Consort, Xie Shiyun has returned."
Yun Chu ordered someone to bring him in.
"Princess Consort, it's terrible..." Xie Shiyun knelt on the ground and recounted everything he had seen and heard. "...You must not let Xie Shiwei enter the manor!"
Yun Chu's feelings were complicated.
She had asked Changsheng to invite Xie Shiyun to the manor, intending for him to become a pawn in Xie Shi'an's scheme... Yet, unexpectedly, Xie Shiyun had chosen to side with the manor.
The Xie Shiyun from her previous life and the Xie Shiyun in this life seemed entirely different now.
Xie Shi'an remained as cunning and manipulative as in her past life.
Xie Shiwei was still as hopeless and unimproveable as before.
But Xie Shiyun had changed.
"Alright, I understand. You may return."
Yun Chu instructed someone to give him a monetary reward.
Xie Shiyun hastily waved his hands in refusal. "I only came to deliver a message. I don't need a reward. The Princess Consort has already given me more than enough."
He stood up from the ground and left.
Sure enough, by evening, a servant reported that Xie Shiwei was requesting an audience, claiming that Xie Shikang was critically ill and begging Yun Chu to save him.
Yun Chu ordered the servants to drive Xie Shiwei away directly.
The next morning, the person seeking an audience had changed to Xie Shi'an.
Yun Chu smiled slightly. "Let him in."
Xie Shi'an, clenching his fingers tightly, followed the servant into the manor.
The manor was bustling with attendants everywhere—pruning flowers and trees, sweeping leaves, cleaning the walls... It wasn't until they reached the inner areas that the crowd thinned slightly.
Xie Shi'an clutched his stomach and said, "Sister Ting Shuang, I'm sorry, but my stomach hurts. May I use the restroom first?"
Ting Shuang's expression remained indifferent as she pointed not far away. "It's over there. Please hurry, Young Master Xie. The Princess Consort is busy and shouldn't be kept waiting."Xie Shi'an nodded and headed in that direction.
The outhouse was for servants' use, a whole row of them, with some plants grown outside to mask the odor and block the view from outside.
Seizing the opportunity, Xie Shi'an walked to the edge of the pond, crouched down, and quietly retrieved the cursed doll from his sleeve.
All he had to do was throw this cursed doll into the water.
Then, accuse Prince of Pacifying the West Manor of practicing dark curses.
Next, the Court of Judicial Review would uncover the evidence, and Prince of Pacifying the West Manor would be finished.
But...
Xie Shi'an's fingers tightened.
This was all too smooth.
Yun Chu waited in the flower hall, and soon, Xie Shi'an was brought in.
Worry showed on her face: "With Gong Xi Prince under house arrest, I thought you might be implicated as well. Thank goodness, it's a relief you're safe."
"I'm fine..." Xie Shi'an's expression was complicated. "Mother and I are on opposing sides, yet I never expected you'd still be willing to see me..."
Yesterday, Xie Shiwei had come and been turned away at the door.
Today, he had thought he would be refused entry too, and had even prepared an excuse.
But to his surprise, Yun Chu had let him in directly.
He reached into his sleeve, pulled out a doll, and presented it with both hands, kneeling on the ground as he said, "I came to the manor today with ulterior motives..."
Earlier, by the pond, he hadn't thrown the doll in.
He had been thinking—was Gong Xi Prince truly destined for the throne?
If he went through with this, he would be sealing his own fate.
Clearly, there was a better choice.
"You..." Yun Chu picked up the doll and looked at him. "Then why didn't you follow Gong Xi Prince's orders?"
"Because of our bond as mother and son, because I've always wanted to be filial to you. Even though we're on opposing sides now, I would never do anything to harm you." Xie Shi'an met Yun Chu's gaze.
If she didn't know him so well, Yun Chu thought, she might have been fooled.
She paused before saying, "Is it filial piety toward your former mother, or is it because Gong Xi Prince has fallen, and you want to switch allegiance to a new master?"
Xie Shi'an's face stiffened, and he lowered his head. "A bit of both, I suppose."
"Prince Pingxi will not accept your defection." Yun Chu returned the cursed doll to him. "Unless you can demonstrate your sincerity."
Xie Shi'an clenched his fingers. "I understand what the Princess Consort means."
He cupped his hands in salute, turned, and walked out.
Qiutong, standing nearby, spoke up: "Princess Consort, why not just finish him off with one strike? It's irritating to see him still causing trouble."
Yun Chu smiled faintly. "This blade of his has been tempered enough. It's time to send Gong Xi Prince straight to hell."
In her past life, the entire Yun family had been executed because they remained neutral and refused to join Gong Xi Prince's faction.
The sins of the past life must be repaid in this one.
Xie Shi'an hid the doll inside his robe, the needle piercing through the fabric and pricking him with a slight pain.
He entered Gongxi Royal Mansion once more.
He looked up at the vast mansion.
He had wanted to remain loyal to Gong Xi Prince, but the prince had been placed under house arrest for imperial examination fraud.
Someone who had offended all the scholars in the land was unlikely to ever ascend the throne.
He had also considered defecting to Prince Pingxi, but his father was Yun Chu's former husband. With that connection, Prince Pingxi would never trust him fully.
Where could he go?
Where should he go?
Was returning to Jizhou really his only option?
Xie Shi'an reached into his robe, pulled out the doll, raised his hand, and threw it into the pond at Gongxi Royal Mansion.He walked into Prince Gongxi's study, bowed his head and said: "Your Highness, that object has been hidden by Xie in the Prince of Pacifying the West Manor. Please instruct what we should do next?"
"Hahaha! Hahaha!" Prince Gongxi laughed heartily. "The Crown Prince has Consort Wu by his side, and the Third Prince's manor has that cursed doll. Neither of them is worth fearing anymore! Why should I rush? Since I'm under house arrest, I'll behave properly for a while. After His Majesty's anger subsides, I'll take my time getting my revenge..."
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