Xiao Xingzhi closed his eyes and let out a long sigh.
“What a disgrace to this family! Madam Qin, you caused this mess, so find a way to resolve it yourself. I cannot afford to lose face over this. Otherwise, you can wait for me to hand you a letter of divorce!”
“Father!”
“Father!”
The moment those words fell, several of his children cried out in shock at the same time.
Xiao Yan and Xiao Jin’s expressions changed drastically.
However, Xiao Xingzhi simply flung his sleeves and strode out of the room without looking back.
The aged helplessness in his departing figure was something they had never seen before in their lives.
They were well aware that their father’s influence in court had been weakening.
Now, matters had only become worse. Their mother had indulged their younger sister to such an extent that she had nearly emptied the entire family’s wealth!
Seeing this, Xiao Yu wanted to follow her father out, but Xiao Lan quickly blocked her path.
“Eldest Sister, please save Second Sister! She was blinded by greed for a moment, and now even Father refuses to help her. You married well, and you and Prince Rui grew up together as childhood sweethearts. If the two of you speak to Prince Chen, perhaps you can persuade him not to make Second Sister his concubine! Please, Eldest Sister, I’m begging you!”
With Xiao Lan standing in her way, Xiao Yu’s attempt to slip away was completely ruined.
Her words also snapped Madam Qin back to her senses.
Madam Qin hurriedly got up from the floor and grabbed Xiao Yu.
“Lan’er is right! Yu’er, you can’t just stand by and watch your sister suffer! I heard you even saved the Ninth Imperial Uncle. If he is willing to help, then Rong’er won’t have to enter Prince Chen’s Residence as a mere concubine! Yu’er, you must help your sister!”
Xiao Yu could only regret not escaping sooner.
These people certainly made everything sound simple!
They spoke as though all she had to do was ask, and everyone would immediately rush to help her.
“I can’t help with this. His Majesty personally established the rules for the imperial selection, and everyone participated voluntarily. I haven’t heard of a single family trying to withdraw afterward. How… how am I supposed to help?”
“Mother! Don’t beg her!”
Xiao Rong stubbornly snapped, “She’s just happy that I didn’t get what I wanted! She’s probably dying to laugh at me! Why would she ever help me?”
Although Xiao Rong spoke defiantly, the fear and uncertainty in her voice betrayed her.
“Rong’er, stop talking! Your eldest sister won’t abandon you! You are blood sisters. How could she bear to watch you enter Prince Chen’s Residence as a lowly concubine and be bullied?”
Madam Qin was clearly trying to provoke Xiao Yu into agreeing.
But Xiao Yu merely frowned and remained silent.
Now they remembered that she and Xiao Rong were blood sisters and that they were all one family.
Yet just moments ago, when Xiao Rong thought she would become a favored imperial consort, she had practically wanted to trample Xiao Yu beneath her feet!
People truly changed their attitudes quickly.
Xiao Yan and Xiao Jin hesitated before speaking as well.
“Eldest Sister, don’t hold Rong’er’s words against her. We’re still a family, after all. If you can lend her a hand, Rong’er will surely be grateful to you in the future. Besides, if she enters Prince Chen’s Residence as a concubine, it won’t reflect well on you either, right?”
Xiao Yan’s eyes flickered as he remembered Xiao Lan’s earlier words.
“I heard that you saved the Ninth Imperial Uncle, and he personally said at the entrance of the residence that he owed Prince Rui’s Residence a favor. Eldest Sister, could you ask the Ninth Imperial Uncle to intervene and speak with Prince Chen? We can sacrifice some silver in exchange. That way, Rong’er won’t have to become Prince Chen’s concubine.”
Xiao Yu sneered inwardly.
Her younger brother certainly knew how to calculate his gains and losses.
He actually wanted to use the favor owed by the Ninth Imperial Uncle to save Xiao Rong while only sacrificing a little silver.
Did he really think Prince Chen would be that easy to dismiss?
They were the ones begging for a favor now!
“Yes! Yu’er, go beg the Ninth Imperial Uncle! He will definitely agree! Mother is begging you! We can’t let Rong’er become someone’s concubine!”
Seeing that Xiao Yu had remained silent for so long, Madam Qin gritted her teeth and suddenly moved to kneel before her.
“Mother!”
Xiao Lan cried out and immediately caught her.
Seeing the situation, Xiao Yu knew that if she refused, she probably would not be allowed to leave.
“I’ll go and try.”
The moment everyone heard her agree, they finally breathed a collective sigh of relief.
After leaving the courtyard, Xiao Yu saw her sister-in-law, Madam Liu, standing outside her own small courtyard and looking in her direction.
The moment Madam Liu spotted her, she pulled Xiao Yu inside.
“I heard Mother and the others forced you to plead on Xiao Rong’s behalf?”
Xiao Yu nodded.
“Sister-in-law, you already know?”
Madam Liu nodded.
“I was going to go over and see what was happening, but I heard Father raging from outside the courtyard and didn’t dare enter. So I stood outside and listened for a while.”
She snorted.
“They certainly know how to scheme! When they need you, suddenly everyone is affectionate and you’re all one family, loving blood sisters. But when they don’t need you, they become arrogant and look down on you. Honestly, it’s as if you owe them something!”
Madam Liu sighed.
Xiao Yu knew that her sister-in-law had a sharp tongue but a soft heart.
Although she complained, she also understood that if Xiao Rong became a concubine, it would lower the entire family’s standing and leave them unable to hold their heads high.
Moreover, Xiao Lan was still unmarried.
If Xiao Rong entered a prince’s residence as a mere concubine, every daughter of the Xiao family would be looked down upon when discussing future marriages.
While they were talking, Madam Liu looked up and saw Xiao Wang entering the courtyard.
“Your brother is back!”
When Xiao Wang saw Xiao Yu, he immediately asked the same question.
“Did they force you?”
Seeing Xiao Yu’s surprised expression, he continued.
“I just saw Father. Xiao Rong is willful enough, but Mother was truly bold to indulge her to this extent. Father is both heartbroken and disappointed. I knew they would eventually ask you to help.”
Madam Liu then repeated everything she had overheard earlier.
Xiao Wang’s brows furrowed tightly.
“Brother, don’t worry. I’ll go ask the Ninth Imperial Uncle and see whether he has any solution. After all, we all bear the Xiao surname. I wouldn’t be able to simply stand aside and do nothing.”
Xiao Wang nodded.
He knew this was probably their only option.
Although their father had declared that he would not interfere, hadn’t he still summoned Xiao Wang to discuss possible solutions?
“All right. Just do what you can. Father and I have already discussed it. If there really is no other choice, Father and I will enter the palace and beg His Majesty.”
“Beg His Majesty?”
Xiao Yu instantly understood what her father intended to do.
“Father is thinking about resigning from his position?”
Xiao Wang looked at his intelligent younger sister with a trace of emotion in his eyes.
“Father is worried about affecting my future. Most of his authority has already been taken away, and his position is practically an empty title now.”
If Xiao Xingzhi could find an appropriate opportunity to retire, he could at least leave with his reputation and achievements intact.
But if he used Xiao Rong’s situation as a bargaining chip, the good reputation he had maintained throughout his life might be destroyed overnight.
Xiao Yu understood that this was truly a last resort.
“Brother, persuade Father to wait for now. I’ll go ask the Ninth Imperial Uncle immediately. If there truly is no other solution, it won’t be too late to beg His Majesty afterward.”
“All right. Just do your best. Don’t make things too difficult for yourself.”
Xiao Yu nodded and headed straight for the Ninth Prince’s Residence.
On the way there, she also asked the Gu Jiuci inside her mind for his opinion.
“Prince Chen isn’t an easy person to deal with. You should prepare yourself.”
“Don’t tell me even you don’t have a solution. Do we really have to beg the emperor?”
“Even asking the emperor won’t make this easy. After all, both sides agreed to the arrangement voluntarily. If people can simply regret their decisions afterward and run to the emperor whenever they feel they suffered a loss, what would become of the imperial selection?”
Xiao Yu thought about it and realized he was right.
If everyone behaved that way, Emperor An would probably become furious!
“Although the Ninth Imperial Uncle was the one who originally suggested the imperial selection, the emperor understands that it is also a means of consolidating power. For him, it is a double-edged sword. On the positive side, he can use it to win people over. On the negative side, some people may appear loyal to him while secretly serving someone else.”
Xiao Yu immediately felt somewhat discouraged.
But Gu Jiuci suddenly changed his tone.
“It’s not completely hopeless. There should already be some clues regarding the assassination attempt from last time.”
Xiao Yu did not immediately understand what he meant.
After a moment of stunned silence, realization suddenly dawned on her.
“It has something to do with Prince Chen?”
“Mm. You can ask about it once you arrive. If they’ve already uncovered something, then this matter won’t be difficult to resolve.”
At the Ninth Prince’s Residence, Fufeng and the Ninth Imperial Uncle were playing a game of chess when word arrived that Xiao Yu had come.
Nanny Gu was delighted.
She happily went out to welcome Xiao Yu and personally led her inside.
“Princess Rui, His Highness happens to be free right now!”
The Ninth Imperial Uncle raised his eyes and glanced at her.
Did he really look that idle?
Fufeng, on the other hand, greeted Xiao Yu enthusiastically.
“No one visits without a reason. We were just making a bet that you would definitely come!”
Fufeng spread his hands with an expression that clearly said, “Just as expected.”
Xiao Yu did not bother beating around the bush.
“Then I’ll get straight to the point. Is there a way to solve this?”