Chapter 1224 Guilt! Wen Xichi Chose His Side
After visiting the Empress Dowager, Chu Liuchen took Shao Wanru to the back mountain.
The scenery in the back mountain was good, especially in the purple bamboo forest where there were not many people. Not everyone could come here.
Chu Liuchen held Shao Wanru’s hand, and the two of them rolled down their wide sleeves. Even so, Shao Wanru still felt a little embarrassed, and her watery eyes looked a little shy.
Xiao Xuanzi and Yujie stayed far away from them and did not disturb their peace.
The sound of falling leaves came from under one’s feet. It was not loud, but it was peaceful.
After a long while, Shao Wanru said softly, “Gu Xishu made such a scene today, and Madam Wen is more and more obedient to her now. E’niang should be a favorite in front of her now.”
Chu Liuchen nodded and said sarcastically, “Madam Wen trusts her niece very much.”
Did she trust her niece too much? Shao Wanru inexplicably recalled that she had been driven out. Because her lips were naturally red, Gu Xishu said that she was dissolute and wore makeup at a funeral. Madam Wen actually believed those words, which showed that she listened to whatever Guxishu said.
What had happened in Shao Wanru’s last life seemed to be getting farther and farther away from her. Since she married Chu Liuchen, she felt that what happened in the past was like dreams that were not so real.
“In the end, Madam Wen will suffer losses because of this niece,” Shao Wanru said lightly.
“Since she trusts this niece so much, let’s help her.” Chu Liuchen raised his eyebrows. He had always been ruthless to irrelevant people. But since Madam Wen was so stupid that she liked a girl who targeted Zhuozhuo, he thought that there was no need to sympathize with her.
“Many noble madams will come to the royal temple in Huaguang Temple. Since the Madam of Prime Minister has fallen and it is inconvenient for her to go down the mountain, she will probably stay here for some days.” Shao Wanru vaguely guessed the plan of E’niang and Gu Xishu.
Based on the fact that E’niang had saved the Madam of Prime Minister and that Gu Xishu had accompanied her to put in a good word for her, it was very easy for E’niang to get Madam Wen’s favor. Madam Wen would probably take E’niang out every time she met her guests.
Shao Wanru’s long eyelashes fluttered twice. She had deliberately slowed down before because she wanted Gu Xishu to stop her. E’niang would definitely not want to see her at this time, for fear that she would find out something.
It just so happened that she just went over to show her care and did not intend to intervene in the matter of the Madam of Prime Minister.
The Madam of the Prime Minister had a poor judgment of people. In Shao Wanru’s last life, Madam Wen clearly knew that Shao Wanru had nowhere to go, but she still drove her out. If it weren’t for the help of Chu Liuchen, Shao Wanru would probably have been dead by then.
If Shao Wanru didn’t have the protection of the Mansion of the Prime Minister, it would be very easy for Madam Jiang and Shao Yanru to kill her.
Now she could just stand by and watch without interfering directly, which could be regarded as her repaying the tenderness and protection that Wen Xichi had given her at that time.
“Greetings, Your Highness Prince Chen and Princess Chen!” Wen Xichi suddenly came out of the roadside. When he saw them, he was stunned for a moment. He was also very surprised to see them here, but then he stepped forward and saluted.
“Lord Wen, please don’t stand on ceremony!” Chu Liuchen waved his hand and said with a faint smile, “How is your mother’s injury?”
“Thank you for your care, Your Highness Prince Chen. My mother has recovered from her injury. She should be fine now!” Wen Xichi said. He glanced at Shao Wanru beside him and asked, “Your Highness Princess Chen, can I have a word with His Highness?”
“Please go ahead, Lord Wen!” Although Shao Wanru was surprised that Wen Xichi asked for Chu Liuchen, she still nodded with a smile and went to the path on the side with Yujie.
“What’s the matter, Lord Wen?” Chu Liuchen raised his eyebrows and looked at Wen Xichi with interest.
“I wish to talk to you about something, Your Highness,” Wen Xichi said.
“Go ahead!” Chu Liuchen nodded indifferently and continued walking forward, followed by Wen Xichi.
“Do you know about Marquis Xing’s mistress, Your Highness?” Wen Xichi came straight to the point. “I heard that this mistress is the daughter of the former imperial censor, and she was lost in the capital city. Now she is in my mother’s place!”
Chu Liuchen squinted at him and said, “Zhuozhuo once told me that someone saved your mother. It turns out that she is the mistress of Marquis Xing. They happened to meet each other. It’s not a big deal!”
“Your Highness, this woman is not simple, and neither is Marquis Xing!” Wen Xichi said slowly.
He was neither fast nor slow while speaking, and he seemed to be in a calm mood.
“Is there anything unusual about what he said in the Ministry of Justice?” Chu Liuchen said lazily with a slight smile.
Wen Xichi said, “There was nothing unusual when Marquis Xing made his statement in the Ministry of Justice. There wasn’t any error. When the former Duke Xing was killed before, several people saw Marquis Xing in the capital city, so it’s impossible for him to have anything to do with the death of the former Duke Xing. As for the death of Infanta Qinghua, it was because she was in poor spirits. She died because she gave birth to the young heir not long ago at that time, and she was overly worried. It’s said that Rui’an Great Elder Princess went to check her body in person, so it’s not his fault.”
“Everything has nothing to do with Marquis Xing, so he appears very innocent, isn’t it?” Chu Liuchen raised his eyebrows.
“That’s what appears to be, so I let him go back to Marquis Xing’s Mansion first,” Wen Xichi said. The higher-ups found that there was nothing unusual about this matter. It had happened too long ago. Shao Jing said that he had not left the capital city. When Wen Xichi asked others about it, they also said that Shao Jing should be in the capital city by then.
“Do you think that he is innocent, Lord Wen?” Chu Liuchen suddenly smiled and rolled his eyes. There was an inexplicable emotion in his deep eyes, which made it hard for others to tell whether he was happy or angry at this time.
Wen Xichi didn’t answer immediately. After a long while, he stepped on the fallen leaves and said, “I think he lied.”
“Why?” Chu Liuchen stopped and looked at Wen Xichi in surprise.
“What he said is too perfect, as if it had been prepared a long time ago. In fact, he was the one who benefited from Madam Jiang’s death. There is another flaw, which is E’niang. She’s not a simple woman and knows martial arts!”
“She knows martial arts?” Chu Liuchen didn’t know about it and raised his eyebrows.
“Yes, she knows martial arts. My mother was in danger today, and it is said that she was a little far away from my mother. Even if the servant girls and old maids serving my mother reacted slowly, she couldn’t have been so fast. For so many years, she has been Shao Jing’s mistress and rarely appeared in public. How could she be so agile? What’s more, my mother said that no one was very close to her at that time. She suddenly tripped and fell. If she wasn’t tripped by someone deliberately, it must be someone who knew martial arts and threw something at her. That was why she tripped…”
Wen Xichi analyzed it in detail.
This matter was really strange. He had specially asked his mother and always felt that it was Gu Xishu who had done this to his mother. However, Gu Xishu was very innocent. At that time, she was still some distance away from his mother. Gu Xishu appeared to be just a weak well-behaved girl. It was impossible for her to do this from so far away and hurt Madam Wen.
“But if it’s not her, who else could it be?
“E’niang is the most suspicious one!”
Unlike Madam Wen, Wen Xichi was smart, decisive, and shrewd. It was easy for him to see through the changes in the matter.
In order to prove his guess, he went to ask Gu Xishu later. Gu Xishu was very flustered. The more he asked her, the more flustered she became. Later, she simply cried and said that she was also frightened at that time and couldn’t tell what was going on. The more he asked, the more she cried, and she was unwilling to talk about it. It was obvious that she was guilty.
After listening to Wen Xichi’s detailed analysis, Chu Liuchen looked at him with a faint smile and said, “Are you going to do nothing while your mother is deceived?”
“Since she can’t judge people well, she should be taught a lesson!” Wen Xichi said with a cold face and slightly lowered his head, as if he wasn’t talking about his biological mother.
His expression surprised Chu Liuchen. He had thought that Wen Xichi would tell his mother about this immediately and expose Gu Xishu.
“I heard that Madam Wen likes you, her youngest son,” Chu Liuchen said curiously.
Madam Wen adored her youngest son the most, but he didn’t seem to care much about her being bullied. It was really surprising.
“My mother dotes on Gu Xishu too much.” Wen Xichi was silent for a moment. His heart was torn apart and he was very upset.
In his dream, the girl he cared about was thrown out with a pale face. Being despised by so many people, she was weak, embarrassed, and pitiful in front of his tomb. He saw it, but he could only watch her being humiliated and driven away while he could do nothing about it. That deep hatred had always been a heart-wrenching pain for him.
He could forgive his mother for her preference for his second brother and Gu Xishu, but he would not allow the woman he cared about to suffer so much grievance and harm after his death.
There was a flash of gloom in his gentle eyes. “Some things have indeed happened. So what if they happened in my past life? So what if it’s in this life?”
“The Ministry of Justice will pay attention to Marquis Xing. If there is any progress, I will send a letter to Prince Chen’s Mansion,” Wen Xichi said and looked at Chu Liuchen without dodging his eyes.
He didn’t mean to just deliver a letter. He was taking sides.
He chose to take the same side as Chu Liuchen without hesitation. He was not as dispensable as he used to be with Chu Liuyue.
Chu Liuchen suddenly smiled, which made people feel that he was as handsome as jade and unparalleled in the world. After smiling for a while, he raised his handsome eyebrows and then stopped smiling. He immediately showed a cold murderous look and said, “Third Young Master Wen, do you know what you are doing?”
Sensing the sharp gaze of Chu Liuchen, Wen Xichi nodded and said seriously, “I do!”
Of course, he knew what he was doing. He chose to take Prince Chen’s side, which was what he must do. Only in this way could he protect the girl he cared about and prevent her from being as miserable and sad as she was in her last life.
Wen Xichu thought it was true that Chu Liuchen was more suitable for her than he was.
“Don’t worry, Your Highness. Since I’ve expressed my intention here, I’ll follow your lead from now on,” Wen Xichi said without any hesitation.
In fact, he had been looking for an opportunity to tell Prince Chen about it. During his observation these days, he could sense some of Prince Chen’s little tricks. He clearly knew what kind of man Prince Chen in front of him was. Only Prince Chen could protect Shao Wanru with all his heart.
In this case, what else could Wen Xichi ask for? In his last life, he owed Shao Wanru. In this life, he only hoped that she could be safe and happy.