Seeing that Xie Yumo had agreed, Xiao Bao'er immediately got out of bed barefoot and pulled him to the desk. She carefully told him about her plan.
Xie Yumo tilted his head and listened attentively, occasionally helping to perfect it. By the time they had finished discussing, the sky was already getting bright, and the sound of pebbles hitting came from the back window of Xiao Bao'er's room.
Xie Yumo lazily yawned and got up to walk to the window. "I have to go. Xie Yi is a secret guard under my command. I'll leave him here. If you have something important to find me, just call out Xie Yi, and he will appear."
Just as Xiao Bao'er was about to reply, Xie Yumo's face suddenly became a bit unnatural. He pointed at Xiao Bao'er and then said somewhat awkwardly, "You should tidy that... up. It was too dark just now. I didn't see anything."
With that, he quickly jumped out of the window and disappeared.
Xiao Bao'er looked utterly confused. Then she lowered her head and saw that her collar was loose, revealing a corner of her red bellyband.
She blushed with shame and quickly tidied her clothes. She was so angry that she wanted to scold Xie Yumo for being a "hooligan".
Since she had spent the whole night having a mental discussion with Xie Yumo, Xiao Bao'er slept until late in the morning. Lady Xiao feigned illness and refused to see Xiao Bao'er, and Xiao Bao'er was quite happy about it, as she didn't have to get up early to pay her respects.
The servants were naturally sensible enough not to wake Xiao Bao'er up. After waking up, Xiao Bao'er finally felt a bit better. She called Ling Chu over and whispered a few words in her ear.
Hearing this, Ling Chu nodded seriously with a solemn expression. After carefully memorizing Xiao Bao'er's words, she quietly left the courtyard to find her elder brother, Guanyan.
After arranging this matter, Xiao Bao'er calmly waited for Xie Yumo's actions.
The Xiao Mansion wanted to wait until the real eldest daughter of the Xiao family came of age before letting her return. But Xiao Bao'er just wouldn't let them have their way. She was determined to let the wrong person return to the right position ahead of time. Since the fate transformation could only be completed after coming of age, she might as well cause some trouble in advance.
On the other hand, after returning to the Xie family from the Xiao Mansion, Xie Yumo immediately sent people to the west of the city. After all the arrangements were made, he let out a long sigh of relief.
"Young Master, the Master asks you to go to his study."
Seeing that the person was Vice General Chen, who was beside General Xie, Xie Yumo's expression instantly became flippant. "What does the old man want me for?"
Vice General Chen sighed inwardly but still maintained the posture of clasping his fists in salute and replied, "Your subordinate doesn't know."
"Alright, alright. You guys don't know anything. I'll go then."
Vice General Chen watched Xie Yumo's departing back, and his expression of regret couldn't help but show. He had watched the children of the Xie family grow up since they were young. Now, only Xie Yumo was left among them. Alas, how could this not be regrettable?
As soon as Xie Yumo entered the study, he saw the figure of General Xie with his back turned to him. His originally upturned peach blossom eyes now became well - behaved. He saluted General Xie. "Son pays respects to Father."
But the next second, General Xie's deep voice full of anger rang out. "Kneel down!"
Xie Yumo didn't hesitate. He lifted his robe and knelt down straight away.
Seeing that Xie Yumo didn't resist, General Xie turned around. Looking at this only remaining son in front of him, the pain, regret, and remorse in his heart were intertwined. In the end, they only turned into kindness and sadness.
"Mo'er, during this period, you've sent the secret guards of the Xie family to investigate matters related to the Xiao family. What's your purpose?"
Xie Yumo closed his eyes and obediently replied, "Son suspects that the deaths of my elder brothers are related to the Xiao family. That's why..."
Before Xie Yumo could finish speaking, General Xie punched him hard in the face. Xie Yumo's body swayed a few times, and blood oozed from the corner of his mouth.
"Son asks Father to punish me!"
General Xie looked at the young man with a straight back kneeling on the ground and said painfully, "Since you know that your elder brothers' deaths are strange, why do you still rush to expose yourself? I only have you as my son left. Can you stop making this old father worry?!"
Xie Yumo looked up and saw that General Xie's eyes were filled with tears. He couldn't help but be moved. "But son can't let it go! The Xie family has been loyal for generations. If they died upright on the battlefield, son believes that elder brothers would have no complaints. But they died like this. Father, as a younger brother, son really can't just sit back and do nothing!"
There was a moment of silence in the study. General Xie remembered his sons, all of whom had left in his arms. He was really scared. He had braved life and death on the battlefield. He had never been afraid of any open or hidden attacks from the enemy.
But he was so afraid that Xie Yumo would die under the treacherous schemes in the court. Since that person wanted the Xie family to have no descendants, he wanted Xie Yumo to hide his edge and be a carefree playboy, at least to preserve his life.
Now, hearing his son say these words so painfully, as a father, he was also deeply moved.
After a long time, General Xie spoke. His voice seemed to have aged dozens of years. "Alright, go then. As long as you have a clear conscience about life and death, don't regret it."
Xie Yumo looked at his father's gray hair and haggard face. He respectfully kowtowed to General Xie. "Thank you, Father, for your teachings. Son takes his leave."
After Xie Yumo left, General Xie in the study took out the relics of his sons and said with a bit of comfort, "Your younger brother is braver than your father. I hope your spirits in heaven will bless him and our Xie family."
After leaving the study, Xie Yumo could understand his father's intention. His father's non - rejection meant that he agreed for him to continue the investigation. The boulder in his heart was slightly lifted.
The secret guards acted quickly. Before long, they had thoroughly investigated the information about the Sheng family. He made a copy of this information and ordered someone to send it to Xiao Bao'er.
After getting the information about the Sheng family, Xiao Bao'er carefully read about what had happened to the Sheng family in the past dozen years. The more she read, the stronger the killing intent in her eyes became.
The people of the Sheng family had been living such a life for the past decade or so. Moreover, every time something happened to the Sheng family, the shadow of the Xiao family seemed to be hidden behind it. This couldn't help but make Xiao Bao'er think deeply.
Then, her gaze stopped on the page about Sheng Yuzhen. The paper described this person's character as mean, vicious, and extremely snobbish.
"Humph... this description..."
Xiao Bao'er sneered. It was quite interesting to see such a description of a woman, especially a woman who would become the eldest daughter of the Xiao family in the future.
Then, she picked up a pen and wrote down the next plan on the paper, asking Xie Yi to send it to Xie Yumo.
The stage has been set. Ladies and gentlemen, please take the stage!