Chapter 12 The Source

Xie Jin Yan's face darkened, and his eyes dimmed for a moment.

But soon, he returned to his usual smiling face, looking at Shen Rou with interest and asking with a smile, "Who did you hear that from?"

"I heard it from a friend," Shen Rou snorted, full of disdain. "And, Crown Prince, let me tell you, Yu Qingwu's mother wasn't my grandmother's own daughter. She was the result of a brothel woman's plot against my grandfather. My grandmother was kind and took her home to raise her, but she didn't cherish herself at all. She eloped with a merchant, and after the merchant died, she took the initiative to become a concubine for the over sixty-year-old Prince Ning."

"Yu Qingwu inherited her mother's traits, just as licentious and lowly, relying on her looks to shamelessly offer herself to be slept with..." Shen Rou became more and more excited as she spoke, but she didn't notice that Xie Jin Yan's face was becoming increasingly unpleasant.

"Who taught you to say these things?"

She was in high spirits when Xie Jin Yan suddenly interrupted her coldly.

His handsome face, which had been smiling just now, turned gloomy in an instant, and he rebuked, "Is this how a legitimate daughter of a Duke's mansion should speak?"

Hearing this, Shen Rou was immediately stunned, seemingly not expecting Xie Jin Yan to get so angry.

This... why didn't the method taught by her sister-in-law work?

Her eyes reddened, and she said aggrievedly, "I... I'm just telling the truth..."

"If there's nothing else, please leave. I'm busy and don't have time to listen to your gossip," Xie Jin Yan's expression turned sinister and terrifying at a speed visible to the naked eye.

Shen Rou looked at him blankly for a moment, wanting to say something, but was frightened back by his cold gaze.

On the other side of the screen, Yu Qingwu's face was frighteningly pale.

She couldn't understand how Shen Rou knew about that matter. The fact that she was studying at the Xiao School had always been kept a secret from the Rongguo Duke's mansion. In the past, when she corresponded with Shen Ke, she had always used the address of the farm that the Old Madam Shen had sent her to.

While Yu Qingwu was lost in thought, Xie Jin Yan had already ordered someone to send Shen Rou away.

Separated by a screen, his lazy voice came from the front hall, "Senior Sister, come out."

Yu Qingwu snapped back to reality, her face tense, and awkwardly walked around the screen.

In the hall, Xie Jin Yan was leaning back lazily on the armchair, looking at her with a teasing smile, and joked softly, "Did Senior Sister enjoy the show? From now on, do I have to report to you before I meet anyone?"

Yu Qingwu was startled, her peach-colored cheeks flushed slightly, and she didn't dare to look him in the eyes.

Perhaps it was Xie Jin Yan's tenderness last night and his protection today that made her have the illusion that he had some affection for her, which was why she had the courage to follow him.

Now that she was being questioned by him, Yu Qingwu suddenly felt a little embarrassed.

"Your Highness has misunderstood. I came for Shen Rou, not to stop you from meeting beauties, and I wouldn't dare to have any other presumptuous thoughts."

Her eyelashes drooped slightly, concealing her embarrassment.

After a pause, she raised her eyes to look at Xie Jin Yan, suppressing the discomfort in her heart, and said, "Your Highness, have you considered how Shen Rou knew about that matter?"

"How could she know? It must have been seen when I pinned you down in the bathroom that day," It was clearly an embarrassing matter, but he said it so easily.

Hearing the words 'pinned you down', Yu Qingwu's face couldn't help but flush again. She bit her lip and asked him in a low voice, "Then has Your Highness guessed who it was?"

"Who?"

"That's hard to say. There are hundreds of people studying at the Xiao School, and any of them could be suspects."

Glancing at the woman's small hands, which were clenched into fists due to excessive tension, a dark light flashed in Xie Jin Yan's pupils. He stood up and said, "Alright, let's not talk about this. Weren't you going to find Fourth Senior Sister and Ninth Junior Sister? If we're any later, they'll be far away."

With that, he pulled her out of the front hall.

Along the way, Yu Qingwu was absent-minded, and she felt afraid when she thought of the things Shen Rou had said.

She wasn't afraid that the Shen family would find out about her previous relationship with Xie Jin Yan. She was only afraid that the person behind the scenes would ruin her nine-year-long revenge plan, or even... take her life.

In a daze, the carriage had already arrived at the Xilai Inn.

Su Qing was angrily munching on a steamed bun in the inn's lobby, while Zhou Shuangshuang was still crying, feeling extremely aggrieved.

"Fourth Senior Sister, Ninth Junior Sister," Yu Qingwu called out to them.

As soon as she heard her voice, Zhou Shuangshuang stood up and walked over, crying as she complained to her, "Second Senior Sister, Seventh Senior Brother kicked me and Fourth Senior Sister out."

"We just wanted to see what his concubine looked like, and he got so angry. He even threw Fourth Senior Sister out of the room, and the doctor said that Fourth Senior Sister's back was injured..."

Zhou Shuangshuang was speaking when she suddenly choked, looking at Xie Jin Yan, who had just entered, in fear. She stuttered as she called out to him, "Se... Seventh Senior Brother..."

Hearing Xie Jin Yan's name, Su Qing also turned around, saying in a strange tone, "Oh, Seventh Junior Brother, weren't you going to kick us out for that concubine? Why did you come after us?"

The anger that had been vented by Yu Qingwu was ignited again by Su Qing's words. Xie Jin Yan snorted coldly and turned to leave.

"Xie Jin Yan, don't be angry."

Yu Qingwu grabbed his arm.

Naturally, she held his large hand...

And Xie Jin Yan's hand also subconsciously held hers back, their fingers intertwined, as he said helplessly, "You're the only one with a good temper."

That kind of reaction, that kind of expression, didn't look like senior and junior siblings with a distant relationship, but more like a married couple.

Su Qing and Zhou Shuangshuang watched in stunned silence.

Especially Su Qing, who suddenly laughed and said, "Second Senior Sister and Seventh Junior Brother seem to have a good relationship now?"

Hearing this, Yu Qingwu realized that she had lost her composure.

She hurriedly pulled her hand back, a flash of embarrassment in her eyes, and changed the subject, "Fourth Senior Sister, you're still in the mood to joke? I haven't even scolded you yet! What were you doing today? It's fortunate that it was at Seventh Junior Brother's residence. If it had been in the home of another prince or noble, you wouldn't have enough lives to pay for it."

She straightened her body, putting on the airs of a senior sister from the Xiao School, sternly admonishing Su Qing, and then looked at Xie Jin Yan, saying coldly, "And you, Seventh Junior Brother, no matter what, you can't kick the two girls out."

"And Ninth Junior Sister, you knew that Fourth Senior Sister always acted recklessly, but instead of stopping her, you even abetted her!"

After scolding her junior siblings, Yu Qingwu stepped forward, grabbed Su Qing and Zhou Shuangshuang, and walked out, leaving the inn's lobby and getting into the carriage.

After being scolded by this Second Senior Sister, Su Qing wasn't angry with Xie Jin Yan anymore. She just leaned against the small table, her eyes darting back and forth between Yu Qingwu and Xie Jin Yan, wondering what she was thinking.

Yu Qingwu felt very uncomfortable being watched by her, while Xie Jin Yan was very calm, ignoring everyone and leisurely flipping through a book.

Zhou Shuangshuang, on the other hand, couldn't help but ask Su Qing, "Fourth Senior Sister, what are you looking at Second Senior Sister and Seventh Senior Brother for?"

Su Qing didn't answer, her eyes still fixed on Yu Qingwu.

"Second Senior Sister, you smell so good, just like the concubine of Seventh Senior Brother." She sniffed the air, and before Yu Qingwu could speak, she suddenly looked at her neck and exclaimed, "Hey, Second Senior Sister, why is there a hickey on your neck?"