My stepsister tried to steal the prince's hand in marriage, but little did she know I had been

Chapter 141: Planning Begins

"Even if it means being their enemy?" Wen Shuyao continued to ask.

Xie Jinghan remained expressionless and slowly nodded under Wen Shuyao's gaze: "So what?"

"Almost every powerful family in the capital has a grudge against me," Xie Jinghan said with a faint smile. "They are not a threat."

He had the confidence to say that, and although Wen Shuyao wouldn't completely believe him, she breathed a sigh of relief.

As long as the Prince Jing's mansion remains her support, she can continue her investigation.

However... mountains crumble and rivers flow away.

She can't rely on Xie Jinghan forever; it's time to open those shops she had envisioned.

Manager Yuan is a capable person. Although we can't confide in her, we can tell from how well she manages the large Baohua Pavilion that it is thriving that she is a good manager and a good subordinate.

In just a few breaths, Wen Shuyao had made all the arrangements.

Her eyes sparkled, like twinkling stars when she looked at Xie Jinghan.

Her gaze stirred Xie Jinghan's heartstrings.

But soon, Xie Jinghan reverted to his indifferent demeanor: "What we need to do now is to remain still."

He reminded Wen Shuyao, "They should be the ones who are most anxious."

Wen Shuyao nodded: "That's natural."

She had already figured out the nature of Duke Wen and his wife. They were probably terrified and making arrangements for what to do. And with her ruthless nature, Lady Wen must have harbored murderous intent towards her.

In this way... a sharp glint flashed in her eyes, and she was already 80% confident in luring the snake out of its hole.

“However, there are some things that still require Your Highness’s help.” Wen Shuyao whispered a few words in Xie Jinghan’s ear.

The moment she finished speaking, Xie Jinghan agreed without hesitation.

Wen Shuyao looked up, somewhat surprised.

But when she met Si Qing's equally surprised gaze, for some reason, her ears started to burn.

She repeatedly told herself that her relationship with Xie Jinghan was merely a business partnership, and that once their deal was over, their marriage would also end.

……

Meanwhile, inside the Duke of Wen's mansion.

Aunt Hua was completely flustered. Seeing Wen Zhu's pale face, she raised her hand high, but couldn't bring herself to strike her.

"What did you hear? You can't even tell your own mother?"

Upon hearing this, Wenzhu shook her head frantically: "Auntie, you must not know about this!"

"If you found out, you'd be dead!"

She was already terrified by that secret, but the thought of Aunt Hua forced her to suppress her fear.

Seeing that Aunt Hua wanted to continue asking questions, she quickly interrupted Aunt Hua before she could finish speaking: "Please help me invite my eldest sister here. I must tell my eldest sister this!"

"Was it what happened in the front hall just now?" Aunt Hua's eyes changed, as if struck by lightning. She slumped stiffly in her chair. "Zhu'er, did you hear something you shouldn't have heard...?"

"Auntie, I heard everything!" Wenzhu interrupted her rambling, warning, "It's too late to change anything now. If you want your daughter to live, go and tell my eldest sister right away! I have a secret to tell her!"

Aunt Hua closed her eyes. When her suspicions came true, she wished she could turn back time. If she had known it would turn out this way, she would never have let Wenzhu go out alone.

The more she thought about it, the more uneasy she felt.

However, Wen Zhu's words were all reasonable.

“Aunt, if you accidentally let this slip, Madam will definitely not spare our lives,” Wenzhu reminded her. “Right now, the only one who can protect us is Eldest Sister. Have you forgotten how good Eldest Sister has been to us?”

Upon hearing this, Aunt Hua lowered her hands helplessly. She had to admit that Wen Zhu's words made a lot of sense.

After a moment, she nodded: "I can only try to contact the eldest young lady. As you know, her return today has caused quite a stir in our entire Wenguogong Mansion. Trying to contact her at this critical juncture would attract too much attention."

"Let me think about it some more." She clenched her fist. "I'll come up with a better idea."

Since it concerned her own safety and that of Wenzhu, she naturally had to be extremely cautious.

They had to avoid being discovered by Madam Wen, yet they also had to get the news out.

Her expression shifted unpredictably, and Wen Zhu, watching from the side, was anxious.

"Auntie, have you forgotten?" she lowered her voice. "Didn't Eldest Sister give you a token? Let's go there to find Eldest Sister!"

Upon hearing this, Aunt Hua suddenly remembered: "Alright! Let's go to Qianjin Pavilion right now!"

But Qianjin Pavilion… She looked down at Wen Zhu’s still childish face. How could she bring Wen Zhu to such a filthy place as Qianjin Pavilion?

Wenzhu knew what Aunt Hua was thinking as soon as she saw her expression.

"Aunt, I understand everything, so please don't overthink it."

Wen Zhu urged, "This matter concerns my eldest sister's life! If anything happens to her, I will have no choice but to be sold by the madam to another wealthy family."

Upon hearing this, Aunt Hua's face turned even paler.

Her mind was almost in turmoil. After a moment, under Wen Zhu's gaze, she whispered, "Okay, I'll take you out now!"

Fortunately, the Duke of Wen's mansion was in chaos at this time, and no one paid attention to where Aunt Hua and Wen Zhu had gone.

Normally, they had little presence in the mansion, so when they left, apart from the gatekeeper who saw them, no one else paid any attention.

In the study.

Madam Wen sat in a chair and scoffed as she watched Duke Wen pacing anxiously back and forth in the room.

"Sir, you should be bolder."

"Getting rid of Wen Shuyao is far from enough."

She came to the study with Duke Wen to watch him write a letter to Prince Xin.

Seeing that Duke Wen had raised his hand but hadn't written anything for a long time, her patience was about to run out.

If she hadn't been unwilling to reveal her true self to Duke Wen, she would have already snatched the pen from his hand and sent out this crucial letter.

Duke Wen gave her an annoyed look: "Don't you think Prince Jing is so easy to get rid of?"

“Prince Jing is highly skilled in martial arts and has secret guards protecting him.” He rubbed his temples, feeling that he couldn’t explain things to a woman like Madam Wen. “Moreover, he usually goes to places like the Imperial Guard camp and the Dali Temple. Unless we have several thousand people who can attack at the same time, we absolutely cannot hurt him in the slightest.”

"If I were to suggest to Prince Xin that he kill Prince Jing..." Duke Wen sneered, "I'm afraid Prince Xin would think I've gone mad!"

In his view, eliminating Wen Shuyao was already a big deal, let alone Xie Jinghan, who held a high position and great power.

Upon hearing this, Madam Wen secretly rolled her eyes. "My lord, you should also consider... what if... Prince Jing also knows about this?"