Qian Xue's eyelids twitched, and she asked innocently and strangely, "No, she was the one pestering my master, and my master slapped her."
Su Yun Mo frowned, her eyes filled with suspicion.
Qian Xue sighed helplessly, "Perhaps she heard from somewhere that you and my master have a good relationship, so she's just using excuses to find trouble with you."
"That makes sense."
Perhaps she was also afraid to confront the prince directly after being angered by Ye Jing Yu, so she chose to pick on me, the soft persimmon.
Qian Xue nodded vigorously, "Just in case, may I escort you back?"
"No need, you should go back to your master. I can return by myself."
Although Ye Jing Yu was not very reliable, Qian Xue was steady.
Su Yun Mo gave her an appreciative glance, brushed the dirt off herself, and walked away.
Qian Xue watched her leave and quickly wiped away a cold sweat.
Fortunately, Miss Qin didn't finish her sentence.
If my master knew I had spoken of his affection for the young lady outside, he would skin me alive.
But it wasn't entirely my fault. If Miss Qin family continued to pester my master like today, my master would eventually kill her.
Then it would be difficult to clean up.
...
Although entering the palace required an invitation, leaving did not.
Su Yun Mo left with ease, not asking for an escort and instead took a carriage back to her residence.
When Zhou Wan You and the others returned from the palace banquet, they saw a little person sleeping soundly in bed.
Su Qing Tian stared at the child's sleeping face for a long time, finding her more and more endearing. It was only when Zhou Wan You woke him up that he reluctantly pulled him away.
As night fell, there was movement in the room.
Someone quietly closed the door and approached the bed.
Su Yun Mo woke up from a dream and instinctively threw a punch, but her fist was caught.
A candle had been lit on the table at some point, casting a faint light in the room.
Su Yun Mo used the light to see the person clearly, "You're not sleeping at night and disturbing the peace."
Ye Jing Yu's expression was not good. "My father has assigned me a task. I will be going to Lanzhou for a few days to implement a new policy."
Su Yun Mo yawned and pulled the quilt over herself, "Isn't that a good thing? The Emperor trusts you, which means you have established yourself in court."
Being assigned a task was naturally a good thing, as it could stabilize one's position.
But the problem was that his subordinates had supported him in taking on this task, and Ye Jing Cheng had not stopped him.
This was completely inconsistent with his usual behavior.
Half of his subordinates had already been eliminated by him, so he would not allow him to continue gaining favor and growing stronger at this time.
"While I am away, you are not allowed to act on your own, and you must also reduce contact with him." Ye Jing Yu said this with a hint of inexplicable sourness in his tone.
The person who wanted to send him out of the capital would definitely not do anything good.
Other things were fine, but he was afraid that person would have ill intentions towards this little one.
"Big Brother, don't get it wrong. I am your partner, not your subordinate." Su Yun Mo rolled her eyes and leaned against the headboard, groggy.
Her calling him 'Big Brother' made Ye Jing Yu pause, inexplicably reminding him of the time she was drunk.
He had never met the legitimate daughter of the Marquis's mansion, Lin Nian Ge, but Ye Jing Cheng had been close to her at that time. He didn't know if she had ever called that person 'Cheng Ge Ge'.
As soon as these three words were spoken, Ye Jing Yu himself broke out in a cold sweat, his hair standing on end.
"In short, it's right to listen to me!" Ye Jing Yu gritted his teeth and threatened.
How could such a scrawny rabbit attract so many wolves?
"Alright, alright, I'll listen to you, okay?" Su Yun Mo perfunctorily replied, then lay back down and pulled the quilt tightly over herself.
She was exhausted and wanted to sleep.
Seeing her agree, Ye Jing Yu could only trust her for the time being, regardless of whether it was sincere or perfunctory.
This trip to Lanzhou was unavoidable. If absolutely necessary, he would just have to go and return early.
Ye Jing Yu made up his mind and left the General's mansion under the cover of night.
The next morning, he set off for Lanzhou with two court officials.
When Su Yun Mo woke up, Ye Jing Yu had already been out of the capital for half an hour.
Zi Yuan entered with a washbasin.
Now that Lu Luo was injured, these chores were all hers.
"Master, you need to be more careful when you go out. The capital has been unstable recently."
Su Yun Mo sat on the bed and stretched, remembering that Ye Jing Yu seemed to have visited last night, and casually asked, "What happened?"
Zi Yuan replied, "It's not a big deal. Today, the Jingzhao Prefecture cracked a major case of child trafficking, involving over twenty people."
Although with the master's strength, she didn't think those traffickers could do anything to her, it was always better to be cautious.
Su Yun Mo put on her shoes and walked towards the dining table, "I haven't heard of anything like this happening in the capital before."
Zi Yuan placed chopsticks in her hand, "This is the first case. I heard the traffickers acted on impulse and came from Lanzhou."
Su Yun Mo's hand paused as she picked up food.
Lanzhou? Human trafficking? New policy?
Could things be too coincidental?
"Zi Yuan, send someone to investigate this matter carefully. I suspect it's related to Ye Jing Yu's new policy this time."
Zi Yuan was startled, "Does Master mean that Prince Lian intends to make a move while Prince Yu is away from the capital?"
That did seem possible.
Her expression became solemn, "I will investigate immediately."
The Blood Mark organization had been established for two months now, and their work was much faster than before.
As soon as Su Yun Mo finished eating, Zi Yuan returned with information about the trafficking case.
"Master's guess is correct. This matter was indeed instigated by Prince Cheng."
"The actions of Prince Yu were precisely to combat the trafficking of women and children. If the new policy has not yet been implemented, and this case occurs in the capital, it would be very detrimental to Prince Yu."
Su Yun Mo sneered, "Prince Lian is truly adept at seizing opportunities. It seems Ye Jing Yu has been too dazzling in court recently."
Otherwise, Ye Jing Cheng would not have resorted to such a foolish tactic.
"It's fine, let him make a fuss. Ye Jing Yu is not that foolish. He must have left people in the capital before he left, and they can resolve this matter."
Zi Yuan's brows furrowed, "But Master, I found out that Qin Zheng is the mastermind."
Qin Zheng, Qin Ao Xue's father, and also Ye Jing Yu's future father-in-law.
Su Yun Mo frowned.
The case had already been committed, and Prince Yu's mansion would naturally handle the aftermath. However, if the Qin family was involved, it would be no small matter.
"It seems Ye Jing Cheng is not playing around. This is a significant move!"
While Ye Jing Yu was combating human trafficking outside, his future father-in-law was engaged in human trafficking activities in the capital.
Once the matter was exposed, they could push the blame onto Ye Jing Yu, claiming he was the instigator.
By the time Ye Jing Yu returned to the capital, even if he jumped into the Yellow River, he wouldn't be able to clear his name.
The better he performed his duties, the more public outrage he would incite!
At that time, the prestige he had built in court would be swept away!
Zi Yuan furrowed her brows, also knowing that this was no trivial matter, "Do you need me to lead people to secretly destroy their den?"
"Destroying it is useless."
If the matter was resolved, the evidence would not be.
Since they had planned to frame him, they must have a backup plan.
Simply attacking the matter itself would only push it in a worse direction, not solve it.
Su Yun Mo narrowed her eyes.
General Zhonglang Qin Zheng, former staff officer of the Li Jun.
Li Jun... she remembered that General Su had also led the Li Jun before.
Could there be some past grievances between the two of them?