Chapter 14

“Or…” Xiao Baoshan suddenly reacted and asked in a trembling voice, “Is this His Majesty’s will?”

Otherwise, he had no relationship with Xie Xian. Why would he come to visit him and give him ideas?

Could it be that the emperor was so annoyed by the Cai family that he was going to use him as a sacrifice?

It had to be said that Xiao Baoshan was smart once in a while.

No one was more unwilling to believe that this was real than him. However, after weighing the pros and cons, it seemed to be the case.

“Brother Xie?”

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“Brother Xie?”

He really wanted to ignore him.

Xie Xian lowered his eyes. “Of course, this isn’t His Majesty’s idea. It’s just that Assistant Minister Xiao asked me about a solution just now. In my opinion, this is the most advantageous method. As for whether you want to do it or not, it will depend on Assistant Minister Xiao.”

But wasn’t it obvious?

The Cai family pursued him relentlessly. All the officials were impeaching him everyday. If he did not resign, was he going to wait for the emperor to dismiss him?

After all, when it came to resigning from an official position, he could come up with his own reason. He could be honest and say that his residence was not peaceful and he no longer has the face to establish a foothold in the royal court. He would settle his family matters first, cultivate his body, and nurture his character before he could repay the emperor in the future. Of course, he could also be a little more tactful. He could say that he got sick, met with a disaster, fell while walking or choked on water. Any reason would be better than letting the emperor dismiss him from an official position.

If the emperor were to dismiss you, you would either have failed your duty or had thoroughly annoyed the emperor. In terms of repercussions, it was better to resign on your own accord. At the very least, you would be able to avoid this situation and continue plotting.

Did he have to be so explicit?

Xie Xian had already said what he needed to say. He did not want to waste any more time with him. To be honest, his face really looked like a mess. If he looked at it for too long, it would affect his mood.

Just as he was about to leave, he suddenly remembered something as he walked to the door. He turned around and saw that Xiao Baoshan’s expression was so bitter that his soul had flown out of his body. It was unknown what he was thinking.

“The Duke of Shangxing County is out on the battlefield, working for the country and helping His Majesty share his worries. His Majesty won’t forget that.” He said slowly, “Now that Assistant Minister Xiao has turned from being passive into the initiating one, it will be easier for him to recover his position in the future.”

“That’s all I have to say.”

Before Xiao Baoshan could respond, Xie Xian left the room.

The rain was falling harder than when he came, and the wind was much cooler.

Xie Xian looked at the sky and pulled his cloak tighter: “It’s rare for me to come here, I have to pay my respects to Aunt no matter what, I shouldn’t be rude.”

Qing Feng and Ming Yue looked at each other. Since when did their master become so polite?

It was just a distant relative, and it was someone from the side family. His Master wasn’t that close to the other families, but he recognized them as their own. In the past, when the old Master was still around and Master was not mourning, he had met them once or twice on New Year’s Day with his mother. Yet now, he was so close that he even addressed her as his aunt.

Although that was what they thought in their hearts, they didn’t dare to say it out loud. Their Young Master was a spit and a nail, and not someone they could say anything about.

Qing Feng couldn’t help but secretly diss Xiao Baoshan in his heart. This small family was so ignorant, they didn’t even know to send their guests out.

The Cai family had always been badmouthing their master behind his back, but when he reached their house, they still welcomed them in grandly and sent them out grandly. At least on the surface, no one could find fault with them.

On the other hand, Xiao Baoshan, haha.

It was just more work for them to personally find and pay Madam Xie a visit.

Finally, they caught a maidservant at the corner of the corridor and delivered the message.

Knowing that he was the lord of the Xie family, the maidservant was so excited that her hands trembled. She didn’t dare to delay and immediately brought him to the back of the residence. Eventually, Xie Xian stopped at the second gate and let the maidservant report first.

When Madam Xie heard the maidservant’s report, she was complaining to Xiao Baoxin. These days, she didn’t even dare to come out of her room, let alone attend some banquets. Whenever she went out, she would hear about how the Xiao family had spoiled their concubines and neglected the wives. Whenever she saw someone, their eyes would be filled with sympathy. Some people who were related to the Cai family would even say some nasty words.

Did this have anything to do with her?

She was just a step-wife, how could she care so much about her stepson’s matters?

Moreover, with Madam Cai’s mouth, and her attitude of ‘none of my business’ and ‘none of your business’, the couple had teamed up to dupe her, claiming that their relationship was very good. Who would have thought that a dog that could bite wouldn’t bark? If something happened, it wouldn’t be a big deal. But both of them fought so hard against each other and even dragged her into it, putting her in a difficult position.

Madam Xie felt bitter, so she wanted to rant to her daughter.

In the past few days, Madam Xie no longer had any other expectations other than establishing new and stricter discipline in the Xie family.

What could she do? She was panicking too!

The heavens should take pity on her. She came from a humble background and had not seen much of the world. This was the first time in her life that she had seen such a large-scale fight, causing the entire Jiankang City to be boiling with excitement. They treated the Xiao Residence as a public enemy, and anyone with a mouth could criticize them.

Madam Xie was indeed from the Xie family, but she was not from the Chen County’s Xie family. Instead, she was related to the brother of Chen County’s Xie family.

Back then, because of the war, one of the brothers moved his entire family to Chen County while the other followed his Master to the East and West. The two of them were each their own masters, but their outcomes were very different.

The Xie family of the Chen Prefecture rose and bore offspring, becoming a powerful and influential family. As for the other branch family, they led a more difficult life. They struggled to survive, and their descendants even abandoned education and took up martial arts to become generals.

Madam Xie’s father was highly skilled in martial arts and had achieved many military achievements. He was also considered successful in the political field. Later on, he even managed to become a governor.

Later on, he saw that Xiao Yun was brave and fierce in battle and was an upright person. Coincidentally, his wife had died, so he personally arranged for his daughter to be married to Xiao Yun.

The Xie family had a military background, but because they had such a strong foundation, they had never neglected the teachings of their children. Therefore, Madam Xie had been educated since she was young. Her father loved his daughter dearly, and had invited a female teacher from an aristocratic family from Jiankang City to teach her.

Madam Xie had learned the basics of how to deal with matters, but she didn’t achieve much. Her aptitude was mediocre, which was why her studies were mediocre.

However, after hearing the words of the female teacher, she could not help but yearn and revere those big families.

This reverence continued all the way until Xiao Yun’s meteoric rise and attainment of his high status.

The incident between Xiao Baoshan and Cai Mingzhu especially stirred her up. They were a couple to begin with, and it was even a matter between the two families. They wanted to fight one-on-one, but the Cai Family wanted to fight in a group. As an aristocratic family, their call would garner hundreds of responses.

It made her envious, jealous and hateful.

The Xie family was even more famous than the Cai family. Back then, Xie Governor had managed to get close to the Chen County’s Xie family, so he had considered himself to be part of the Xie family. Therefore, the master that he had invited had all retired from the Xie family.

Madam Xie had been influenced by him, so she naturally felt a sense of intimacy and… admiration towards the Xie family.

Otherwise, she wouldn’t have followed Xiao Yun into the city and directly contacted the Xie Family to rebuild the relationship that had been lost for almost a century.

When she heard the maidservant say that Xie Xian had come to pay her respects, Madam Xie was so shocked that her half-leaning and weak body on the couch suddenly propped up straight, and her eyes sparkled. She hastily gathered her hair while asking the maidservant to help her freshen up. She looked extremely nervous, and even the smile on her face froze.