Chapter 71: Xie Yao’s Childhood Sweetheart?

“Someone, someone come!”

Before Song Wenbo even left the room, Xie Yujiao had already begun shouting. She still had her dowry maids.

Song Wenbo opened the door, then turned back to glance at her with a look of mockery.

When he turned his head again, he saw Qiucha hastily running to the doorway.

“Qiucha?”

Song Wenbo’s eyes swept up and down her figure. “Your contracts of sale are in my hands. Don’t forget who your master is.”

It had been Xie Yujiao herself who had handed them over to him.

Qiucha’s face instantly turned deathly pale.

“Get out!” Song Wenbo barked coldly.

Inside the room, Xie Yujiao’s hoarse voice still rang out, “Someone, someone come!”

But Qiucha dared not step inside.

Song Wenbo sneered. Truly, Xie Yujiao was foolish, he had only casually complained a few words in front of her, and she had actually given her last bit of leverage into his hands.

Utterly ridiculous.

—-

In the Crown Prince’s residence.

Xie Yao slept uneasily and woke very early.

The moment she opened her eyes, Xiao Ji, who had been holding her protectively in his arms, also stirred. “Awake?”

“Your Highness.” Worry filled Xie Yao’s gaze.

Xiao Ji gently patted her back. “Don’t be afraid.”

Just then, Si Nan’s voice came from outside. “Your Highness, someone from the palace has arrived. His Majesty summons you to court.”

“Your Highness.”

Xie Yao clutched his hand tighter, her expression heavy with concern.

Though she had only been married for a little over a month, she could already see it clearly that the Crown Prince was not favored.

The Emperor treated him with indifference more than anything else.

“It’s nothing.” Xiao Ji gave her a reassuring look. “I will be fine.”

A summons from the Emperor could not be delayed. Xiao Ji quickly rose, mounted his horse, and headed for the palace.

He had barely entered the palace when the Crown Prince’s residence was once again thrown into commotion. This time, it was the Zhao family. The Zhao family steward, wiping away tears, said, “Your Highness the Crown Princess, the Old Madam… the Old Madam has fainted.”

Xie Yao shot to her feet, her expression tightening as she strode out swiftly. “What happened? How could Grandmother suddenly collapse?”

Just days ago she had seemed perfectly fine.

The steward hurried after her. “This morning, Master Xie came to the Zhao residence, saying the Young Madam had fallen into the river and gone missing…”

Xie Cheng!

A cold gleam flashed in Xie Yao’s eyes.

She had guarded against him in every way, yet she had still underestimated his ruthlessness. Clearly, she had been far too lenient before.

“Take His Highness’s memorial token and summon the imperial physicians,” Xie Yao instructed the Crown Prince’s steward. Then she ordered the Crown Prince’s household physician to accompany her as she rushed to the Zhao residence.

The Zhao estate was in chaos, everyone gathered at Old Madam Zhao’s Songhe Courtyard.

“Yao-yao.”

At her entrance, every Zhao family member turned toward her. Her maternal aunt’s eyes were red, showing she had wept bitterly.

Calling out to each in turn, Xie Yao urgently asked, “How is Grandmother?”

Her aunt wiped her eyes. “Mother is still unconscious.”

Xie Yao immediately had the physician examine her.

Meanwhile, the others looked at Xie Yao, their eyes filled with faint hope. “Yao-yao, you know more than us. Tell us honestly, Yinger…?”

Xie Yao lowered her gaze. “It’s true.”

“I have already begged His Highness to send people to search for Sister Ying. At this moment, no news is the best news.”

“Besides, Marquis Pei was with her when they went missing. He is immensely strong. Aunt…”

Before she could finish, her aunt’s vision went dark and she fainted as well.

“It’s all my fault!” Her uncle was full of remorse. “I should have driven that wretch out!”

It wasn’t that he hadn’t wanted to; Xie Cheng was, after all, a court official, while the Zhao family were merely merchants. Though Xie Yao supported them, Xie Cheng was still her elder. They didn’t want to cause her trouble.

Zhao Hao cried angrily, “I’ll go to Nanzhou right now to find my sister!”

He turned to rush out.

“Stop right there!” Old Master Zhao barked, his face dark. “Didn’t you hear Yao-yao say His Highness has already sent men? You are just a scholar, what could you possibly do there?”

“I…” Zhao Hao’s face paled. He wanted to argue but no words came.

“The Old Madam has woken!”

Joyful cries rang out from the inner room.

Xie Yao and the rest hurried in. The physician had just withdrawn his needles, while the Old Madam was being propped up by her nursemaid, leaning against a soft pillow.

“Your Highness the Crown Princess,” the physician reported, “the Old Madam has long suffered from pent-up ailments. Her health was already poor. This sudden shock caused her to faint. She must be carefully nursed from now on and spared from further distress.”

Xie Yao nodded softly. “Thank you, physician.”

Zhuqing escorted the physician to treat her aunt and prescribe a formula for the Old Madam.

Xie Yao moved to the bedside, lowering her voice. “Grandmother.”

“Yao-yao.” The Old Madam clutched her hand, her clouded eyes filling with tears. “Yinger, Yinger…”

Xie Yao had no choice but to repeat her earlier words, comforting her, “Sister Ying is blessed; she will surely come to no harm.”

The Old Madam soon fell asleep after drinking calming soup.

Her aunt’s fainting had only been from agitation, she quickly recovered, but when she thought of Zhao Ying, she wept bitterly again, though she dared not let the Old Madam see.

The entire Zhao household was shrouded in gloom. Heavy-hearted, Xie Yao stepped outside.

“Cousin.”

Red-eyed, Zhao Hao came forward. “What you said… is it really true? That my sister is only missing?”

Xie Yao immediately understood, he feared she was concealing something worse.

“It is true.” She nodded firmly. “Grandfather was right. Brother Hao, your most important task now is to study diligently.”

Zhao Hao pressed his lips tight, slamming his fist against a pillar.

How useless he was!

At the force of his movement, a letter slipped from his sleeve and drifted to the ground. Xie Yao glanced at it instinctively and caught sight of familiar handwriting…

Zhao Hao realized and hastily picked it up.

Clutching the letter, he hesitated. “Cousin, this letter… it was from Brother Fengqi, sent to…”

He didn’t finish, but Xie Yao had already glimpsed the words: “To Miss Xie, to be opened personally.”

Cheng Fengqi…

When she had lived with the Zhao family as a child, Cheng Fengqi had been the neighbor’s older brother. Back then, in their childish ignorance, they had even joked…

At the mention of his name, Xie Yao’s lips pressed together.

If she had regrets from her past life besides the Zhao family, it was about Cheng Fengqi.

“Cousin…” Zhao Hao murmured.

“Burn it,” Xie Yao said without opening it.

What happened yesterday could not be retrieved.

After sending Zhao Hao away, she sought out her uncle. “Uncle, will you accompany me to the Xie household?”

Since Xie Cheng had provoked her so openly… he could not blame her for showing no mercy.

Her uncle had not yet spoken when her aunt cut in. “Go! I’ll go!”

The three of them left the Zhao residence, heading straight for the Xie estate.

The Crown Prince’s guards, mobilized by Zhuqing, now escorted her carriage in a formidable procession.

Such an arrival at the Xie residence left the family badly shaken.

“Xie Yao, bringing so many people into the Xie estate, what are you planning?!”

Madam Zhang glared viciously at her.

“Why, to deliver a gift, of course.” Xie Yao strode to the seat of honor, clapping her hands. Immediately, a group of matrons dragged in a tightly bound woman.

When Madam Zhang saw her clearly, her pupils contracted.

Xie Jing and Xie Yuru could no longer restrain themselves. Both rushed forward. “Mother!”

“Xie Yao, how dare you treat my mother this way!”

“In such a hurry?” Xie Yao sneered. “Am I not giving you all a family reunion?”

“Oh, and by the way, Madam Zhang, perhaps you don’t know yet. Father sold off my younger sister to secure Xie Jing’s future.”

“If you don’t believe me, you might as well go to the Song household and see for yourself.”

She intended to plunge the Xie family into chaos.

After speaking, Xie Yao no longer bothered with them. She gave a single order to the Crown Prince’s guards: “Smash it!”

Following the list in hand, Zhuqing and Zhuxin led the Crown Prince’s soldiers to ransack the Xie residence, wrecking it completely.

Her entrance had already attracted a crowd. With the gates wide open, more and more gathered to watch.

Meanwhile, her uncle and aunt, under guard, stood at the entrance holding a long list of gifts and property deeds, publicly airing their grievances.

“Back then, our Zhao family funded Master Xie’s studies, gave our only daughter in marriage, even bought the house he lived in… and this morning, he personally came to our door and drove my mother, his own mother-in-law to faint!”

Cultural Notes:

• Memorial token: An official document or petition that could be used as a seal of authority to command officials or physicians.