Chapter 10 Interception
Mother Wang felt guilty when she saw the prince's eyes.

"What? Mother Wang won't say you don't know, right?" Xie Chengyi still asked in a low voice, but Mother Wang could hear the strangeness in his tone.

Panic-stricken, Mother Wang knelt down and said, "Please forgive me, my lord. Chang Yue is just following orders."

“Then were you forced to give her the drug?” Xie Chengyi’s eyes grew colder.

Mother Wang knelt on the ground, not daring to say a word.

Suddenly, Mother Wang seemed to remember something, raised her head abruptly, tugged at the corner of Xie Chengyi's clothes, and exclaimed, "My Lord! Quick! Stop my Lord!"

Xie Chengyi looked at Mother Wang's reaction, his face froze, and he asked, "What happened to father?"

Mother Wang said quickly, "Yesterday, the Marquis said that His Majesty wanted to settle accounts with Uncle Li. Everyone thought that Huo Aying was sent to Uncle Li's residence. So, when the Marquis entered the palace today, he was told to say that Huo Aying was Changyue's concubine. But now Huo Aying has not been sent to Uncle Li's residence, so there is no need to say anything more! This just cuts off the opportunity for some people to frame the Marquis' residence!"

"What time is it now?" Xie Chengyi frowned slightly.

Zhan Li replied, "It's about half an hour before the court session."

Xie Chengyi looked solemn and turned to arrange for Zhan Li, "Zhan Li, ride into the palace immediately and stop father! If this is related to Uncle Li, you won't be able to explain it even if you have a hundred mouths!"

Zhan Li did not dare to delay and left quickly.

***
Ah Ying in the room was still shivering, his mind was very confused.

"He won't lie to me, will he?" Ah Ying asked herself. At this moment, any mistake could lead to her death. She didn't dare and couldn't let anything happen.

Ah Ying quietly moved to the door, walked lightly to the window, and knocked a hole. Through the hole, she happened to see Xie Chengyi and that damn mother Wang.

Xie Chengyi seemed to lower his head and said something to Mother Wang. In an instant, Mother Wang's face turned embarrassed and she staggered two steps.

Ah Ying was shocked. They weren't going to discuss killing themselves, were they?
Looking again, Xie Chengyi was gone too.

The remaining few guards in black stood firmly at the door.

Aying's heart suddenly sank. What were they going to do?

This Mrs. Wang is not a good person, and that Wang Changyue cannot be relied upon. Besides, as for this man, Aying is not sure that he will listen to her.

Who can she count on in this unfamiliar place?
Ah Ying paced back and forth with a trembling heart, unable to calm down at all.

Looking around, there seemed to be some valuable things.

With a pang of worry in her heart, Ah Ying ran barefoot towards the brocade boxes and looked through them one by one. In case she really had to sell herself again, at least it would be some money to support herself.

But after flipping through a few brocade boxes, Aying stopped.

How many people can I take away with my weak body?

After calming down, Aying hated herself for being so short-sighted. In such a big mansion, if they wanted to kill her, she would have no way to escape. But if they didn't want to kill her, wouldn't her behavior be digging her own grave?
You can't.

Shaking and curled up in a corner, staring at the door, Ah Ying thought that if anything went wrong, the worst that could happen was that she would kneel down and beg for mercy to save her life. As long as she was alive, she would have no worries.

***
Songhuayuan.

"Madam, the prince has arrived." Jinling was helping Guan Yulan wash and dress when Yinling came in to report. Guan Yulan hadn't seen her son for many days, so she replied happily, "Hurry up, let Chengyi in."

Jin Ling originally wanted to say a few flattering words, but when she saw the prince's sullen face, she shrank her head and took a few steps back.

"Mother." Xie Chengyi said in a flat tone.

Guan Yulan didn't notice it for a moment, and said softly with a pleasant expression: "Chengyi, have you eaten?"

Mother Wang urged Jinling and Yinling, "You two should go out first."

Jin Ling was startled, looked at Xie Chengyi suspiciously, and walked out reluctantly.

Guan Yulan came back to her senses and looked at Mother Wang again, wondering, "What's going on?"

Mother Wang's forehead was covered with sweat. "Madam, today I went to Xingchun Courtyard to clean up and ran into the prince. The prince said, said--"

Guan Yulan was always excited when she saw her son, and she stood up eagerly, "What's wrong?"

"My son slept alone." Xie Chengyi looked at Mother Wang's embarrassed expression and said bluntly.

Guan Yulan was surprised and asked, "Um...whose girl is this?"

"Mother worked hard to find Huo Aying from Lin'an!" Xie Chengyi stared at Guan Yulan quietly. As soon as he said this, he noticed that his mother's face turned pale in an instant.

Guan Yulan staggered and leaned over to hold onto the table. Her heart seemed to have skipped a beat and she trembled as she said, "How, how, how could this be..."

Xie Chengyi was speechless and heartbroken by his mother's reaction. He couldn't help but ask in a low voice, "What did you buy her for? To bribe Uncle Li?"

Guan Yulan knew that this was a big disaster. Her son cared most about his reputation and integrity. Such an action was like using a blunt knife to sharpen his heart. She stumbled to pull her son's hand and explained hurriedly: "Chengyi, listen to me. It's not that I don't believe you. I just want an extra layer of protection. Besides, Huo Aying wouldn't talk nonsense. If she was abnormal, no one would know about it."

"Enough! Mother, don't you think this is wrong?" Xie Chengyi was too lazy to listen to the words "Everything is for you".

"Wrong? What's wrong? Is it wrong to plan for you? Or is it wrong to work hard for you?" Guan Yulan felt that her sincerity was misinterpreted, and she immediately lost her mind and said harshly.

Xie Chengyi listened to his mother's [arrangement] for Huo Aying, and the determined woman flashed in his mind. If she was really sent to the Prince's Mansion, she would be doomed to fail, based on her character. Thinking of this, Xie Chengyi felt a sudden pain in his heart, "In mother's eyes, is her life so worthless?"

I had always thought that my son felt that it was a hindrance to his reputation, but I didn't expect that he was actually speaking up for Huo A Ying. Guan Yulan's slightly guilty heart suddenly became irritable, and she said angrily, "She is just a gambler's daughter. Even if I didn't buy her, she would end up in a brothel and be ravaged and tortured sooner or later. If she enters the prince's mansion and serves the people well, it would be a lifetime of luck! In this sense, she should be grateful to me!"

Xie Chengyi knew that further discussion would only lead to a more intense quarrel. "Forget it, I don't want to argue anymore. I'll ask Zhan Li to give her some money to send her out of the house later!"

Guan Yulan was furious. "I spent a thousand taels of gold to buy it. How can you let it go just like that?"

Xie Chengyi looked at his mother in confusion, "So what?"

Guan Yulan waved her hands and said, "Send someone over here later and sell it directly so I can get some money!"

Xie Chengyi was gloomy and his eyes were murderous. "I said, send her out of the house!"

"I won't give in!" Guan Yulan was furious. She had been away from home for ten years, and now she was back home just because the daughter of a gambler disobeyed her. How could she accept this?
Xie Chengyi's eyes were dim, and he retorted provocatively: "If you don't let her leave the house, do you want to take her as a concubine? Or a concubine? Or a wife?"

I will post it sooner in the future. Welcome everyone to leave more footprints.