Chapter 264

Chapter 264

After a moment, she said in a low voice, "I used to think no one would dare betray me, but now... I feel like everyone in this courtyard has turned against me."

Xie Run: "..."

Seeing Xie Run's sour expression, Jiang Baobao quickly said, "I'm serious."

She grumbled, "Just like everything you're saying now sounds right, but I don't understand it."

"It's the same as Wan Linlang back then—she spun a bunch of fancy talk, and who knows if you're both trying to pull one over on me."

Xie Run took a deep breath to steady herself.

She figured she really couldn't expect too much from Jiang Baobao, or she'd just end up getting led astray by her.

"Which of the maids in your courtyard is the sharp one?"

"And who, when you were stressing over Wan Linlang's words, casually dropped a hint or two for you?"

For the first question, Jiang Baobao drew a blank.

But for the second one, she answered without missing a beat, "Xing'er!"

"Xing'er?" Xie Run raised an eyebrow. "I do remember that maid—she's definitely sharp as a tack."

"But I haven't seen her around you much these days?"

Jiang Baobao said, "She's smart, but I don't like the things she says, so I've been giving her the cold shoulder."

"But there's no one else in this courtyard who can give me any advice, and even if they did, I wouldn't believe a word of it. Only Xing'er came with me from my family's house, and she occasionally offers me a suggestion or two."

Jiang Baobao's face fell. "There's no way Xing'er betrayed me!"

"Her whole family's contracts are in my family's hands—how would she dare betray me?!"

Hearing that, Xie Run was pretty sure it had to be Xing'er.

Of course, she couldn't say for certain.

"Have someone check into this Xing'er first."

Xie Run stepped out and asked Dan Tao, who said, "We searched Xing'er's room too, but didn't find anything."

"She's been working in Shufei Jiang's small kitchen these past few days and doesn't come to the front much."

Xie Run leaned in close to Dan Tao's ear and murmured, "She's more suspicious than Guiyuan—dig deeper into her."

Dan Tao also said, "I also don't think Guiyuan would dare betray her mistress."

"She's like Shufei Jiang—no backbone. Scare her a bit and she'll spill everything."

"How could Shiqie Wan trust someone like her?"

Xie Run nodded. "I also think she's a decoy out in the open. Wan Linlang gave her silver exactly for this moment."

Dan Tao asked, "Then should I send someone to interrogate Xing'er?"

Xie Run nodded. "But I suspect interrogating Xing'er won't get us much either. We don't have any evidence right now, and that girl doesn't seem dumb... Let Shufei Jiang question her on her own first."

"Yes!"

After checking on Jiang Baobao, Xie Run rushed off to see the eldest young master.

She looked around the front courtyard but didn't find anything out of the ordinary. The eldest young master still hadn't woken up, so there was nothing to find.

Xie Run felt a bit uneasy.

The next day, another report of victory came in from Qiangwu.

At the same time, word of the Red Lotus Army's uprising reached the capital.

Prince An took the chance to badmouth Prince Jing, implying that Prince Jing was in Qiangwu and let the Red Lotus Army spring up right under his nose.

Either Prince Jing was incompetent, or he let it happen on purpose.

Talk in the court was getting more and more heated.

There was also news that Prince Jing had been hurt and knocked unconscious while helping with disaster relief.

Chunjuan said, "His Highness cared about the people and personally led the soldiers to help with the disaster relief, but who would've thought there'd be aftershocks in Qiangwu."

"A half-collapsed building gave way, and His Highness got hit while saving a little girl."

Xie Run stayed pretty calm. "Is His Highness okay?"

Chunjuan was taken aback. "I don't know either, Your Highness."

"His Highness is lucky—surely nothing will happen to him."

Xie Run really wasn't worried about Prince Jing.

With Xie Jiang relying on her female lead aura to waltz freely between the Great Yu Dynasty and the Great Xia Dynasty, she refused to believe Prince Jing didn't have some male lead aura of his own.

Her main priority now was to sort out the mess in the manor first.

Otherwise, when Prince Jing came back victorious and saw the mess in the manor, the first person he'd blame would be Xie Run.

Suddenly, a young maid came running in, all smiles. "My lady, good news—the eldest young master is awake!"

Not just Xie Run—everyone in Spring Mountain Courtyard had a bit of joy on their faces.

Ever since Taotao's birthday banquet, there hadn't been a trace of joy in the whole manor.

Now, at last, there was some good news.

Xie Run stood up. "Dan Tao, help me get changed. Let's go see the eldest young master."

Dan Tao got up with a smile. "Finally, some good news."

When she got to the front courtyard, Xie Run noticed the maids and matrons had odd looks on their faces—a weird mix of tension and seriousness.

Just then, a maid announced, "Cefei Xie is here!"

The moment Xie Run walked in, Wet Nurse Mu led a group of people to kneel in front of her.

The smile on Xie Run's face disappeared, and her expression turned grim. "Nurse, the eldest young master waking up is a happy occasion—what's going on here?"

Wet Nurse Mu was shaking all over. She said quietly, "Reporting to Cefei Xie, the eldest young master is awake, but..."

"But what?"

Wet Nurse Mu instinctively turned her gaze toward the eldest young master on the bed.

Xie Run followed her gaze and saw the young master playing with a tasseled ornament, grinning widely, with a trace of... drool visible at the corner of his mouth.

Dan Tao exclaimed in shock, "Has the eldest young master gone simple-minded?!"

Wet Nurse Mu, along with the maids and servants behind her, wept together, "Please spare us, Lady Xie! Please spare us!"

"The moment the eldest young master opened his eyes today, he couldn't speak or recognize anyone... I panicked for half the day and truly ran out of options."

Xie Run curled her lips into a smile tinged with sarcasm. "Wet Nurse Mu really runs this front courtyard. So you were planning to keep this from me all along?"

"Now that you can't hide it anymore, you decide to tell me?"

Wet Nurse Mu knelt on the ground, kowtowing, "I know I was wrong. I only beg you to spare my life, Lady Xie!"

"I still have young children at home. I only beg you to spare my life. I'll accept whatever punishment you see fit."

Dan Tao brought a stool for Xie Run to sit on. Xie Run asked the household physician nearby, "Is the eldest young master truly simple-minded?"

The physician gave a cautious nod, "I'm afraid I'm not up to the task. For now, the best we can do is have the imperial physicians from the palace examine him."

Xie Run pressed on, "Tell me the truth."

"If the imperial physicians treat him, what are the chances of recovery?"

The physician was silent for a long moment before saying, "Head ailments are the hardest to call."

"If we hit on the right treatment, he could recover by tomorrow. If not, he might never be cured in his lifetime."

After hearing him dodge the question, Xie Run said, "So you're saying there's almost no chance of curing him?"

The physician quickly clasped his hands in salute, "It's all my fault for being incompetent..."

"Enough!"

Xie Run glanced at Wet Nurse Mu and the others kneeling below. "First, have Wet Nurse Mu and the rest detained. I'll decide what to do after I consult the Princess."