Palace Coup 26

Upon hearing these words, Xie Yuan’s expression darkened instantly. "I suspected as much. This whole charade must have been her own doing; there are no such things as bandits in the capital. It seems she has truly been incited and stirred up by that child-husband of hers. How hateful—truly, utterly hateful!"

He assumed the mastermind was Xie Yuanju and that Xie Miaoxuan had merely acted on his advice; it never occurred to him that a young lady would dare to be so audacious.

He paced back and forth with his hands behind his back.

In the current situation, the priority was to find her. Carrying such immense wealth while making a spectacle of herself would only invite disaster if it caught the eye of the greedy.

Currently, he held only the empty title of Viscount and lacked the connections required to track down exactly where Xie Miaoxuan had fled.

To investigate the whereabouts of a traveling party, one would need to mobilize the Imperial Guards. They were responsible for the defense of the capital, and nothing that occurred in its vicinity could escape their surveillance.

Thinking of this, the anger on his face abruptly subsided. He turned to the First Madame Xie and said, "Madame, isn't Han'er well-acquainted with Xun Ming, the second legitimate son of the Marquis? Have her ask him for help. His elder brother serves as the Minister of the Guard and oversees the Southern Division of the Imperial Guards. With his influence, this matter would be easily resolved. We can offer a generous reward as a token of our gratitude. What do you think?"

The First Madame Xie’s skin twitched at such an improper suggestion—that he could speak so naturally of having a refined young lady meet privately with a man outside the family.

She covered her mouth with a handkerchief and, after suppressing her revulsion, replied, "I had the same intention. It is Han'er’s blessing to be able to share your burdens, my lord. This is not the time for you to be angry; we must focus on how to bring Miaoxuan back. She is a fragile girl who traveled a thousand miles to the capital, only to be led astray by scoundrels right at our doorstep. Thinking of her all alone, I am truly restless and unable to sleep."

"Han'er went to the temple to pray for us today; I shall send someone to fetch her back to the manor immediately. Given that the night is growing dark, I will give her careful instructions tonight, and she can go find the young Marquis tomorrow. You have been worried all day, my lord, and have not even had your evening meal. I will have the servants bring it so you can have something to eat. I would be heartbroken if you were to ruin your health. As for Nanny Nian and Wen Zhu, they are quite injured and will need a physician to attend to them."

Xie Yuan had no intention of keeping those three around. "Those servants were incompetent; they must be punished."

A cold, icy light gleamed in his eyes. The First Madame Xie walked to his side and consoled him softly, "They were at fault for losing Miaoxuan, but the error largely lies with her. Even if they had no merit, they at least put in the effort. Whether you wish to punish or beat them, at least wait until the girl has been brought back, otherwise, it will only chill the hearts of the household."

Xie Yuan’s expression softened slightly. After pondering her words, he agreed that there was reason in what she said. "You are right, as always, Madame."

Nanny Nian and Wen Zhu, who had expected to be severely punished for their failure, found themselves granted a reprieve. Grateful to the First Madame, they kowtowed and were led away.

Cui’er’s lips moved as if she wanted to say something, but Nanny Nian pulled her back.

***

Xie Yuan did not notice. He turned and took the First Madame’s hand, his voice full of warmth. "I lost my composure just now, Madame; pray do not blame me. I shall stay in the main courtyard tonight."

The First Madame Xie smiled even more gently than before. "I know you are only worried about that girl Miaoxuan—concern makes one lose their head, how could I blame you? Thirteenth Sister was only brought into the manor a month ago. Since she is a newcomer, it would not be right to neglect her. You should visit her quarters for the next few days, or the servants will look down upon her. She has a very delicate and naive temperament; be careful, or she might hold a grudge and refuse to let you into her room."

The First Madame Xie was renowned throughout the capital for her virtue and magnanimity.

Ever since she had damaged her health giving birth to her daughter, Xie Miaohan, she had allowed her head maid to become a concubine to Xie Yuan, and she had even raised the resulting eldest son as her own.

In the years that followed, when no more children were born to her, she had sincerely embraced Buddhism and actively encouraged Xie Yuan to take other concubines. Consequently, the household had seen a steady stream of illegitimate sons and daughters over the years.

Who in the capital did not envy Xie Yuan for having such a virtuous wife? Xie Yuan reciprocated her kindness by doting on the eldest illegitimate son raised by the First Madame. When he bought his official post, the first thing he thought of was his eldest son, so that the First Madame would know she was the one he valued most.

Xie Yuan laughed. "Excellent."

"You are so virtuous, Madame. In all the capital, who would not envy me for having a wife such as you?"

He embraced her for a while longer before taking his leave.

After seeing Xie Yuan off, the First Madame Xie stroked the prayer beads on her wrist and sat back down on her stool with elegance. She chided, "Come out now. How much longer do you intend to listen?"

"Mother..."

Xie Miaohan emerged with a graceful gait, twisting her handkerchief with a sullen expression.

"You heard what your father said?"

She had been hiding behind the screen for some time and had naturally heard everything.

She had already been unhappy that her mother wanted her to yield Xun Ming to Xie Miaoxuan. Upon hearing that Xie Miaoxuan had actually listened to that child-husband, split their men into two, and staged a bandit attack just to run away, she nearly laughed out loud.

***

In this way, who could possibly steal the spotlight from her as the legitimate daughter of the Xie family? Her parents must be furious with Xie Miaoxuan. She covered her mouth with her handkerchief, laughing until her body shook, unable to hide her schadenfreude. "Younger sister is truly bold. With such behavior, Mother still said that once she arrived in the capital, you would have Xun Ming show her favor? That would truly tarnish Xun Ming’s reputation."

"You see, even Father knows that Xun Ming is the legitimate son of a Marquis, and his brother holds a real position with military power. Yet, Mother, you always look down on Xun Ming."

Although she did not particularly like Xun Ming either, he was always fawning over her, often finding new trinkets to amuse her.

Her mother was always lecturing her on Xun Ming’s faults, usually forbidding them from associating. But ever since she learned that Xie Miaoxuan was coming to the capital, her mother had pushed them to interact, even telling her to poison Xun Ming’s perception of her cousin.

Xie Miaohan had been very unhappy about this. She vaguely sensed that her mother looked down on Xun Ming and wanted to push him onto Xie Miaoxuan, as both were legitimate daughters of the Xie clan, and it would damage her own reputation to have a sister married to a mere servant.

But why should she have to yield just because Xie Miaoxuan had arrived? She would not give anything of hers to that little wretch Xie Miaoxuan, not even a dog.

The First Madame Xie shot her a reproving look.

Xun Ming was merely the second legitimate son of the Marquis and could not inherit the title. The world called him "Young Marquis" only out of respect for how much his parents doted on him. But since he could not inherit the title, once the old couple passed away and the new Marquis divided the estate—with the heir taking seventy percent and the remaining children splitting the rest—what did his current favor matter? Even if the Marquis ignored public opinion, the boy would receive at most fifteen percent of the estate.

Furthermore, Xun Ming spent his days in loose robes, occasionally feigning elegance while exposing his bare chest, wearing wooden clogs, and knowing only how to flirt with respectable women. He was hardly a suitable match.

He was nowhere near as good as...

Xie Miaohan did not understand these things, but as her mother, she naturally had to plan for her.

"Enough, say no more. She is your younger sister, after all."

"Mother is always so kind-hearted," Xie Miaohan said, acting spoiled as she threw herself into her mother's arms. She then asked, "Mother, why did you push Father toward that wretch in the Peach Courtyard? If Father was willing to stay in the main courtyard, why did you deliberately push him away, letting those vixens hook his soul?"