Chapter 282: The Rivalry
Chapter 282: The Rivalry
The Chen Manor was filled with extra buzz this particular night as a group of very unexpected guests arrived at their door that evening. Fortunately, Xiang Ling had already informed Fu Xiao about Wu Tian and Su LiangLin’s plan of visiting the Chen Manor for dinner, and thus, the servants were ready to receive the guests unlike the hosts who were at a complete loss.
The dinner lasted for nearly an hour and a half. Wu Tian used every minute of these ninety long minutes to gather as much information about the Chen family, its members, and its businesses, as was possible.
Even though he currently possessed the identity of a merchant, he was still the Crown Prince of the Empire, and no one in the Chen family wanted to get on his bad side. That’s why Hao Ran and Chen Ming answered all of Wu Tian’s questions without holding anything back. It was only at this point that Xiang Ling realized why the man suddenly wanted to have dinner at the Chen Manor. He was there for information and not for food.
"Why is he so interested in our family?" Zuan Hu asked once Wu Tian and Su LiangLin returned to their residence. The worry was clear in her tone as she exchanged a look with her husband who had no answer for that particular question.
Xiang Ling let out a sigh before she answered, "I asked someone to spy on him-"
"You did what?"
"Spy!"
"Say that again!"
She didn’t even got to finish her sentence before Zuan Hu, Hao Ran, and Chao Xing - all three shouted out loud in alarm. Their eyes were almost bulging out in horror as they all stared at Xiang Ling as if she just admitted to committing a murder instead of spying on the Crown Prince of the empire.
"Did you really do that? Spy on the Cr-"
Chen Ming stopped speaking before he could finish his sentence. He just stared at his sister with hopeful eyes, expecting her to say the otherwise even though he knew that no such thing was going to happen. Unlike him and the rest of the family, it seemed like his sister didn’t carry even an ounce of fear when it came to the royal family, and he wondered why.
"Don’t react like that. It was a necessary step to find out exactly what he wants from us." Xiang Ling tried to reason with her family members when she noticed the accusations-filled gazes of theirs.
Her words did succeed in calming the four of them down to a certain level, but they were still not able to look past the fact that their Xiang’er just confessed about spying on the Crown Prince of the empire. If the words ever made it to the Crown Prince’s ears, the entire Chen family would be in huge trouble.
"What did you find?" Zuan Hu asked as she was the first one to get a hold on her shocked state. Among all four of them - Hao Ran, Chen Ming, Chao Xing and her, she always showed the most trust in Xiang Ling’s decision, even when she felt like the said decision was a very dangerous one. Over the months, she had learned that if her sister-in-law was determined about something, then there was no need to worry.
Once she asked the question, the others were also eager to know the answer, and they all looked at Xiang Ling and waited for her to reveal whatever she found out through her spy.
Xiang Ling took a moment to look around the dining table where all six of her husbands and her family members were sitting. With another little sigh, she revealed what Little Pink found out during her spying session on Wu Tian. "He’s here to investigate our family and our connection with Prime Minister Su."
"Prime Minister Su?" Hao Ran asked in confusion, and he was not the only one who looked at a total loss after hearing her words. No one was expecting her to suddenly drop Prime Minister Su’s name out of nowhere.
"Ever since he found out that Su LiangLin and I have been friends, he seemed to have started wondering whether our family, especially father and Prime Minister Su, have some connections as well. So, to find out about the truth of the relationship between the two families, he has arrived here and is trying to mingle in our lives." Xiang Ling explained.
"This doesn’t make any sense. Why does it matter if our family has any connection with the Su family?" Chao Xing asked and this time, it was Chen Ming who answered the question.
"It’s the Prime Minister’s family we are talking about here. You might not know but the Su family is the second strongest family in the entire empire after the royal family, and from the very beginning, Prime Minister Su has been supporting the Third Prince for the Crown because his Highness is the only son of Imperial Noble Consort who is Prime Minister Su’s elder sister. That’s why Crown Prince and Prime Minister Su are on bad terms. Everyone in the Capital knows that the Crown Prince has been investigating the Su family to find some of their dirt."
"What a scary situation! The rivalry in the officialdom is indeed no joke." Zuan Hu muttered with a shake of her head.
"What a weird situation indeed. Prime Minister Su and the Crown Prince are rivals, but they are now bound together through Su LiangLin. How come Lady Su even got married to the Crown Prince?" Chao Xing asked as the bizarre situation suddenly got registered in her mind.
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A/N: Sorry for not being able to keep up with double updates these days. My health isn’t that great these days and I don’t want to write bad Chapters by forcing myself to write when I can’t. I also have been unable to edit the Chapters which resulted in a lot of grammatical mistakes. Yet, none of you complained about it at all for which I’m really grateful. I have edited the previous Chapters already and I’m working on the outline of the story so I won’t end up dragging it unnecessarily. Please give me a couple more days to return to good health and I will continue with the double updates and the bonus Chapters every now and then.
Thank you!