CHAPTER 542: CHAPTER 542: INTERROGATION

Returning to the Agarwood Pavilion, Su Jin went directly to the backyard to continue preparing the ointment.

It wasn’t only Old Madam Li who needed it, but also Lady Chi’s anti-abortion pills.

Su Jin got so busy she lost track of the hour.

In contrast, Xingxing occasionally ran outside to check if the Young Master had returned.

In front of the Prince Mansion.

The Prince rode back from the military camp.

As soon as he dismounted, Manager Li approached and said, "Prince, the Young Master has been waiting for you in the study for half a day."

The Prince frowned deeply.

If it were something urgent, he would have come directly to the military camp. Why wait for him in the study?

With doubt, the Prince went to the study.

Pushing the door open, he saw Xie Jingchen sitting at the desk.

On the desk were two paintings.

Almost instantly—

The Prince’s brows knotted tightly.

He had hidden the paintings so carefully, how did he manage to find them?

Xie Jingchen stood up, staring unblinkingly at the Prince, "Father, are you still going to hide it from me?"

"Knowing this does you no good," the Prince said.

"As a son, I have the right to know who my birth mother is," Xie Jingchen replied.

And now, it wasn’t just about his birth mother but also the mother of Young Master Zhao from the Nanliang Right Minister’s Mansion.

The Prince reached for the paintings, but Xie Jingchen held them down and asked, "Is my mother from Nanliang?"

"Your mother has passed away; who she was is not important," the Prince stated.

"My mother is still alive!"

Young Master Zhao came to the Capital City for no other reason than to find the person in the painting, right?

The Right Minister of Nanliang said the person in the painting is still alive.

The Prince removed Xie Jingchen’s hand, rolled up the painting, and said, "The Right Minister of Nanliang had Young Master Zhao bring the painting to Daqi to find me."

"If your mother were in Daqi, in the Capital, why wouldn’t she come to find me?"

One sentence rendered Xie Jingchen speechless.

If his mother were still alive and she was in the Daqi Capital, would she not come to see her son?

Xie Jingchen looked at the Prince and asked, "Who exactly is my mother?"

This was a question the Prince had no desire to answer.

Some things are better left unknown.

The more you know, the more troubled you become.

The Nanliang Donglin Prince Mansion was exterminated, annihilating nine generations.

At the time, the Emperor of Nanliang accused the Donglin Prince Mansion of conspiring with the enemy and destroyed it.

The Donglin Prince Mansion was wronged, and its grievance has not been redressed to this day.

If any descendants of the Donglin Prince Mansion were still alive and sought to clear its name, having a Daqi grandson would only exacerbate matters.

Moreover, Chenchen—

The Empress Dowager and Princess Nanzhang have been eyeing the title of the Prince Zhenbei Mansion.

Once the truth about Chenchen’s birth mother being from Nanliang gets out, the Empress Dowager is bound to team up with Duke Chong to force a change in the Princely Heir.

Whoever Chenchen’s birth mother is, he is still his son.

The Prince didn’t want the issue of Xie Jingchen’s parentage to affect his future.

But Xie Jingchen was unaware of these concerns weighing on the Prince.

He wasn’t preoccupied with power and status; he just wanted to know who his birth mother was.

From a young age, he didn’t even know what his mother looked like.

Even if she was deceased, as a son, shouldn’t he pay his respects at her grave?

Xie Jingchen was persistent, but with the Prince refusing to speak, he was at a loss.

"Is Father forcing me to go to Nanliang to investigate personally?" Xie Jingchen finally asked.

The Prince looked at him.

No one understood their son better than the Prince.

What Xie Jingchen declared, he would certainly do.

The Prince conceded a bit, saying, "When the people I sent to Nanliang return, I’ll tell you who your mother is."

Xie Jingchen didn’t press further because he knew this was the Prince’s limit.

"What about the jade pendant?" Xie Jingchen asked again.

"The jade pendant was taken to Nanliang by the Hidden Guard," the Prince replied.

The Hidden Guard was cautious; given the lengthy journey to Nanliang, simply claiming to be sent by Xie Jingchen might not earn Zhao Xu’s trust.

The Prince had thought of the jade pendant.

Zhao Xu might not recognize it as belonging to the Donglin Prince, but the Prime Minister of Nanliang certainly would.

The Hidden Guard fooled the Prince, and the Prince believed it.

Afraid someone might mention the jade pendant in front of Xie Jingchen and that he would ask for it, the Prince had no choice but to have Master Liu craft a fake one.

To obfuscate the truth, he smashed the real pendant.

Yet, the deception was still uncovered.

With nothing more to learn, Xie Jingchen left the study.

After he left, the Prince sat at the desk and unfurled the painting.

Looking at the painting, waves of pain throbbed in the Prince’s head.

Because he knew—

Xie Jingchen would not obediently wait for the Hidden Guard to return; he would definitely find ways to investigate.

Backyard.

Xie Jingchen stepped back toward the bamboo house.

Xingxing happened to see him and said, "Madam, the Young Master is back."

"Wait, let me finish what I’m doing first, then I’ll go," Su Jin said.

"Madam, hurry up," Xingxing urged.

Su Jin, "..."

Isn’t she being a bit too nosy?

Can’t she have some awareness of being a maid?

Despite her inner thoughts, Su Jin picked up her pace.

After half a cup of tea’s work, Su Jin stopped and hurriedly left the bamboo house to find Xie Jingchen.

Her pace slowed upon entering the room.

Seeing Xie Jingchen painting, Su Jin’s brows furrowed.

Isn’t he a bit too leisurely?

Approaching closer and seeing he was copying that discovered painting, Su Jin looked at him and said, "The Prince didn’t say anything, did he?"

Xie Jingchen shook his head.

Su Jin was left speechless.

The Prince was really skilled at keeping secrets.

Xie Jingchen painted quickly.

In half a cup of tea’s time, the painting was finished.

Su Jin looked it over; it was identical to the one hidden in the Prince’s study.

With such an exceptionally beautiful mother, it was only natural for the son to be similarly striking.

Xie Jingchen put the brush down. Su Jin looked at him and asked, "Are you planning to take the portrait to Nanliang to find your mother?"

If it were just for paying respects, his mother’s tablet was in the Zhenbei Prince Mansion’s ancestral hall.

Xingxing was a bit confused.

Young Master Zhao brought the portrait to Daqi to find his mother.

Yet the Young Master was taking the portrait to Nanliang to find his mother?

Aren’t they the same mother?

Young Master Zhao already reached the Capital; why doesn’t the Young Master just look in the Capital?

Xie Jingchen didn’t doubt the Prince’s claim that his birth mother had passed away.

For his mother, the Prince only granted Princess Nanzhang the position of a concubine; had she been alive, the Prince would have found her.

Xie Jingchen only wanted to know who his birth mother was.

What was Zhao Xu’s relationship to him?

Su Jin, looking at the painting, thoughtfully said, "Your mother knew both the Prince and the Right Minister of Nanliang; her identity must be extraordinary."

"Isn’t Lady Chi also from Nanliang?"

"Perhaps she has seen your mother too," Su Jin speculated.

If Lady Chi could provide them with answers, Xie Jingchen wouldn’t have to send people to Nanliang.

Yes.

More accurately, Xie Jingchen wouldn’t have to go himself.

Xie Jingchen frankly had no one he could use.

His people were all given by the Prince and the Old Prince.

It was evident the Prince didn’t want him to know his origins; even if the Hidden Guard reported back, it might not be the truth.

Before Xie Jingchen spoke, Xingxing’s eyes lit up, and she said, "Madam has just made anti-abortion pills for Lady Chi, we can take the opportunity to ask her while delivering the medicine."