"A woman?" Shen Zhou frowned slightly.
In the private room, Ye Xi and Yi Yuan exchanged a look, both feeling a bit nervous.
"Yes," Sheng Yu continued, "It happened a long time ago, and the matter is rather complicated. If it weren't for the many clues the young master provided about his childhood in his hometown, most people probably wouldn't have been able to find out."
"Get to the point," Shen Zhou waved his sleeve impatiently.
"I've said too much," Sheng Yu slapped his own mouth, then went on, "According to the investigation of my subordinates, the woman who took Miss Yingying to Heyang County at that time was dressed quite well. She should be from the capital. But she didn't seem to be the wife of a wealthy family. She might be an ordinary merchant in the capital or a maid working in a wealthy family."
"The woman said that Miss Yingying was the only flesh and blood of her son. Since her son and daughter-in-law both died in an accident, and she was getting older, she took Miss Yingying back to her hometown, intending to raise her well."
"But not long after, a wealthy lady came looking for her, saying that Miss Yingying was her daughter. Since she had a difficult labor when giving birth that year, the midwife thought Miss Yingying had died in the womb because she was born with a blue complexion and hardly any breath. To prevent her from being sad, the midwife lied that she had only given birth to one child and secretly threw Miss Yingying away. But later, the midwife unexpectedly saw Miss Yingying, who was supposed to be dead. Before she died, she told the lady about this, and only then did the lady know that she had another daughter, and that she should still be alive. So she inquired everywhere and followed the trail to find her."
Sheng Yu paused, then suddenly asked, "Young master, guess who that lady who came looking was?"
Shen Zhou glanced at Sheng Yu but didn't scold him. Instead, he really guessed, "Since you've said so, I suppose she must not be Yingying's real birth mother."
"Since Yingying is Miss Xi, the person who went looking is probably Qian Fangxue?"
"You're really smart, young master," Sheng Yu praised sincerely.
"It's indeed Qian Fangxue."
"Based on the current situation and what Miss Yingying said before, the Ye family should not be Miss Yingying's real family. But strangely enough, the woman actually admitted that Miss Yingying was picked up. She also told others that she lied and said Miss Yingying was her own granddaughter because she was afraid that others would gossip about Miss Yingying's background. But to ensure that Miss Yingying was indeed a daughter of the Ye family and to verify that the Ye family would treat Miss Yingying well, the woman and Qian Fangxue agreed to stay in Heyang County for a while. After confirming everything and allowing Miss Yingying to adapt, they would let the Ye family take Miss Yingying away."
"But since the woman was too poor to provide accommodation, Qian Fangxue took Miss Yingying to stay in a nearby nunnery temporarily. This is why the young master met Miss Yingying in the nunnery and why Miss Yingying suddenly left later."
"At that time, this incident was even praised by many people. They said that the woman had a kind heart and had saved Miss Yingying, the young lady of a wealthy family. Not only did she receive generous rewards, but the Ye family also bought her a house near the outskirts of the capital to show their gratitude and wanted to take her there to live with them."
"My subordinates thought something was wrong. The performance of the woman and Qian Fangxue seemed more like a scheme made by the Ye family as an excuse to suddenly take Miss Yingying back to the capital. So they focused on investigating the woman's background. But the result was that the woman had no connection with the Ye family or even the Qian family. Even after Miss Yingying left with Qian Fangxue, the woman, who had said she was going to live in the capital, disappeared."
"Disappeared? I'm afraid she was silenced," Shen Zhou sneered.
"What's the woman's name, and which family did she work for in the capital?"
"We only know that the woman's surname was Xi, the Xi of bamboo mat," Sheng Yu said with a look of shame.
"This surname is not very common, but I've checked all the maids working in the wealthy families in the capital and the personal maids of the noble ladies, and there's not a single one with the surname Xi. There are people with the surname Xi among the ordinary merchants, but none of them match the characteristics of that woman."
"I'm useless. Such a good lead was broken just like that."
Shen Zhou paced back and forth thoughtfully, "It's not your fault. Someone is erasing the traces behind the scenes. It's not easy to investigate."
"This lead is already quite a lot. We should dig slowly. There's no need to be impatient. But we have to be secretive. Don't let grandfather know. And don't let Miss Yun notice anything. Yingying is now a commoner. It's effortless to deal with her. Prince Yu'an is probably in trouble himself. He can't protect Yingying."
In the private room, Yi Yuan accidentally crushed the cup in his hand with a "click".
"I understand," Sheng Yu replied.
It's normal for things to break in a restaurant, so neither of them paid attention to the noise.
Waving his hand, Shen Zhou ordered, "Alright, go and pack a serving of lotus meat. I'll take it back to Yun Qi later. I'll go back to the private room first. Otherwise, Yun Qianying might get suspicious if she waits for too long."
At the corner, Yun Qianying, who had been waiting for a long time and came out to look for Shen Zhou, quietly retreated.
She just happened to hear Sheng Yu say that the lead was broken. A shadow fell over her usually cute face:
The person Prince Yu'an wanted to protect was Miss Xi.
She was Yingying that A Zhou was looking for, wasn't she...
At this time, in the private room of Ye Xi and the others—
"Let's go back first," Ye Xi said in a low voice, holding the hand that Yi Yuan had used to crush the cup with a pained look on her face.
"Don't get angry and hurt yourself because of what others say. It's not worth it."
Yi Yuan's ink-black eyes were filled with coldness. His other intact hand stubbornly grabbed Ye Xi's wrist.
"I can protect you."
Ye Xi was stunned for a moment, then smiled.
"I know."
I know you'll protect me wholeheartedly, never leaving me through life and death.
At Prince Yu'an's Mansion—
Hun Yuan was still injured. To prevent someone from causing trouble in his name, he temporarily stayed at Prince Yu'an's Mansion on the pretext of going out for cultivation.
Yi Yaofeng was telling him about Lian Yi's ghostly behavior.
Seeing Yi Yuan come in with Ye Xi, Yi Yaofeng's eyes lit up, and he called out sweetly, "Sister Xi."
Then he was about to run over, but then he remembered that he had accidentally revealed Ye Xi's secret. So he stood still on the spot and lowered his little head guiltily.
"What's wrong, Yaofeng? Didn't you get along well with Lian Yi?" Ye Xi asked curiously when she saw Yi Yaofeng acting unusually.
"Did you do something bad?" Yi Yuan knew Yi Yaofeng better. As soon as he saw his little expression, he knew that he must have done something wrong.
"I..." Yi Yaofeng cast a guilty look at Ye Xi, and his little hands were almost twisted into a mess.
"Cough... cough..." Hun Yuan covered his lips and smiled softly, explaining on behalf of Yi Yaofeng, "He couldn't keep his mouth shut and accidentally revealed your identity as Man Ping."
"I... I didn't mean to," Yi Yaofeng explained anxiously.
"Lian Yi recognized you as the beautiful sister who helped her at the Qunying Tower that day. I forgot that she didn't know that was you, Sister Xi. So... I'm sorry, Sister Xi..."
Yi Yaofeng's big black eyes were filled with apology. Then he suddenly raised his head and said, "But Lian Yi has already promised me to keep it a secret. We made a pinky promise. She... she won't tell anyone."