I just want to live a good life

Chapter 569 The Role of Forgiveness

Although there were only three people in the carriage, there were quite a few guards protecting them in the shadows, so neither Falcon nor Su Nuan had any worries about their safety.

Most importantly, Falcon detected no murderous intent in the tracker.

So the first person he thought of was Ying Shu.

This man's feelings for Consort Xia are too obvious; there's no way he would harm her.

But when Ying Shu told Su Nuan his guess, Su Nuan replied, "He's not." Just now, she had been bothered by the conversation between two people at a roasted chestnut stall. One of the voices was so familiar to her that she was afraid she would scare the person away if she peeked in.

Falcon wanted to ask, "How does Your Majesty know that the man is not Ying Shu?" but he swallowed the words back. There were some things that a guard like him would overstep his bounds by asking.

"Have someone follow him quietly, without alerting him."

Su Nuan gave the instructions in a low voice.

Upon receiving the order, Falcon immediately wanted to take action himself. He was curious about who the person was, and even more curious about how Consort Xia could tell that the person was not Ying Shu.

Then Su Nuan added, "Find a new face, someone quick-witted."

Falcon, having given up his thoughts, stopped at a pastry shop, bought a bag of pastries, and took care of the task Su Nuan had asked him to do.

The carriage continued on its way, but did not return to the Crown Prince's residence.

Su Nuan first went to the Ministry of Justice, met the fake Xun Zheng, and mentioned Zhou Jin to her.

The fake Xun Zheng remained silent.

Su Nuan had already gotten the answer she wanted from her eyes, so she didn't stay at the Ministry of Justice any longer. This time, she went to the South City and found Ying Shu in the Xia family's small courtyard.

Hunter Wind and Falcon followed Su Nuan closely, not daring to retreat an inch, for fear that if they were not careful, Ying Shu might do something out of line.

"Did you come all this way just to see me?"

Upon seeing Su Nuan, Ying Shu asked happily.

Su Nuan felt a little embarrassed. She hadn't come to see him specifically; in fact, she had come to ask him for help.

She wanted to see Master Yue, the Uncle Yue that Fusheng mentioned.

Ying Shu hesitated only for a moment before sending Fu Sheng to find someone.

Soon Su Nuan met Uncle Yue again.

"This old servant greets Your Highness, the Concubine."

Uncle Yue bowed to Su Nuan with great courtesy.

"Uncle Yue, you don't need to be so polite. I'm just curious about the old stories of the Xun family, so I wanted to chat with you about them."

Uncle Yue glanced at Ying Shu, who nodded at him.

"This old servant will certainly tell you everything I know."

"Okay." Su Nuan was very satisfied with Uncle Yue's attitude. She took out the snacks that Falcon had bought on the way and distributed them to everyone. They ate and chatted.

"When did Uncle Yue enter the Xun family?"

Upon hearing this, Uncle Yue pondered for a moment and said, "It has been almost fifteen years since you first became Prime Minister, sir."

"Miss Xun was already eight or nine years old at that time. Did she have any concubines in the household?"

"No, the master and his wife are a perfect match, and he has never taken a concubine."

"Are Lord Xun and Lady Xun really that loving? I heard that Lord Xun had someone he loved before he married Lady Xun."

"This...this old servant does not know."

Su Nuan showed a disappointed look, as if she hadn't gotten any gossip. "The old folks in the manor don't usually talk about Lord Xun's private affairs."

Uncle Yue was somewhat embarrassed, "How can we servants gossip about the affairs of the inner quarters of the master's household?"

"But Lady Xun has no son. Isn't Lord Xun worried that the family line will end?"

"The master later brought the young master back," Uncle Yue said, stealing a glance at Ying Shu.

"But he didn't even give your young master the surname Xun, so how can the Xun family name be passed down to him?"

Su Nuan knew that Ying Shu didn't care whether the surname was Xun or not, and spoke without any restraint. But after she finished speaking, she suddenly thought of something and asked Uncle Yue, "Does Lord Xun have no brothers or sisters?"

"I heard that your hometown is Tingzhou. You came to the capital alone to take the imperial examination. Even after you became a high-ranking official, no one from your hometown came to seek your help."

"After the Xun family's incident, didn't you and Ying Shu go to Tingzhou to check on them?"

Su Nuan asked.

"No, firstly, we don't know if the master still has any relatives there, and even if he does, they probably wouldn't want to be associated with us at that time. Secondly, Miss has been planning to overturn the master's case and clear the Xun family's name, and she needs the young master's help."

"But your young master was still young then, what could he possibly do to help him?"

"Yes, this old servant originally thought that the young lady treated the young master like a younger brother and kept him by her side as a form of familial care. Now that I think about it, she just wanted to take advantage of the young master."

"Uncle Yue, what do you think she can use to take advantage of your young master? After all, Ying Shu was only ten years old at that time."

Uncle Yue glanced at Ying Shu again, and only after receiving Ying Shu's approval did he reply: "That is because although the young master is young, the master has already arranged for people to protect him. Moreover, the old Xun family all believe that the young master is the master's illegitimate son, and they all follow the young master's lead."

"Even you believe that Ying Shu is Lord Xun's illegitimate son?"

Su Nuan stared at Uncle Yue, not missing a single subtle expression on his face.

"This old servant only learned of your identity a few days ago, young master."

Lying? That was Su Nuan's first thought.

Even Ying Shu himself didn't know that he wasn't Xun Yu's biological son, but Uncle Yue did. Su Nuan had a question mark in her mind.

"It must be incredibly difficult for you to live in the Xun family as Lord Xun's illegitimate son!"

Su Nuan's sympathetic gaze fell on Ying Shu as she spoke.

"The lady is kind and has never made things difficult for the young master, but she has never treated him as a member of the Xun family. She has always been very polite to him. Since the mistress is like this, the servants naturally follow suit. As a result, the young master has always felt like an outsider in the Xun family."

"Should Lord Xun be forgiven for allowing them to treat him like this?"

"My lord is too busy with official duties to manage the affairs of the household."

"If Madam Xun is like this, then what about Miss Xun? Does she also treat Ying Shu as an outsider?"

"The young lady never speaks to the young master."

Su Nuan was slightly taken aback. This was definitely emotional abuse. Although a ten-year-old child had no worries about food and drink, he was suffering mentally. It was fortunate that Ying Shu hadn't gone astray under such circumstances.

"Isn't there an adopted son in the Xun family? Is he good to your young master?"

"Your Highness is referring to Young Master Lou, isn't she? He's followed Miss since she was a child. He likes what Miss likes and tries to destroy what she dislikes. Back then, Miss didn't like my young master, so how could he be good to him? Several times he deliberately pushed him into the pond, almost killing him."

Su Nuan had thought that Ying Shu's life in the Xun family would be difficult, but she didn't expect it to be this serious.

Xun Yu couldn't have been unaware of this situation, yet he chose to turn a blind eye, indicating that he had no feelings for Ying Shu. So why did he keep Ying Shu in his household?

Was it just to prevent Prince Yongping from knowing that he had such a son?

Perhaps they wanted to reveal Ying Shu's identity at the most crucial moment, using him to threaten King Yongping.

Given King Yongping's determination to find his son, this son could definitely pose a threat to him. So what did Xun Yu intend to use Ying Shu to threaten King Yongping about?

Suddenly, a thought flashed through Su Nuan's mind, and she asked again, "Does the Xun family keep cats?"