Qi Zhenzhen swallowed back the words she had intended to persuade Madam Da Qin with. Making decisions like this was indeed something Madam Da Qin had to do alone.
"Anyway, whatever decision you make, Ah Nian and I will support you," Qi Zhenzhen said. "You don't need to consider us. Ah Nian and I have never cared about others' opinions or judgments."
"You are both good children. I know that," Madam Da Qin said.
Gu Sinian had gone to chase after Xie Chen.
"What are your thoughts on this?" Gu Sinian directly intercepted Xie Chen.
"My thoughts are not important. What Tingxue thinks is the most important," Xie Chen said.
"Haven't you heard the gossip outside? All the praise is for you, but for my mother..." Gu Sinian clenched his fists in frustration. Those words were truly unpleasant.
Xie Chen was devoted and loyal.
In short, while praising Xie Chen, they were demeaning Madam Da Qin in every way.
"I can't control what those people say," Xie Chen said with some guilt. "But I promise that those unpleasant words will not affect your mother's status in my heart even in the slightest."
If someone were intentionally instigating, Xie Chen would have a way to quell it.
But now, those speaking were ordinary citizens. No one was directing them, they were merely expressing their opinions instinctively.
"In any case, I don't want my mother to be troubled by this," Gu Sinian said.
"You didn't come to me just to say this, did you?" Xie Chen asked.
"Li An's situation..."
Gu Sinian was secretly investigating the Lu family, and Li An's matters were handed over to Xie Chen. This was also to avoid suspicion, as Gu Changwei and Gu Siya were frequently in contact with Li An.
"Your father controls a silver mine," Xie Chen said with a serious expression.
Gu Sinian was shocked. He had never known about this.
The court had strictly prohibited private mining many years ago.
"Li An is currently forging weapons on a large scale, and Gu Changwei has privately contacted many generals in the army," Xie Chen said. "If he doesn't stop in time, your Gu family's reputation will be ruined."
Gu Sinian's smile was mocking. What reputation did the Gu family have?
"Why don't you talk to your father?" Xie Chen asked.
"It's too late. From the moment he made that decision, there was no turning back," Gu Sinian said.
Xie Chen patted Gu Sinian's shoulder. This child was rather pitiful to have such an unreliable father.
In any case, Xie Chen couldn't understand why, when his own sister was the beloved imperial concubine doted on by the Emperor, he would support an exiled prince with little chance of success instead of his own nephew.
Did he really think he could single-handedly put Li An on the throne?
What a joke! If the current Emperor were a foolish ruler, it would be one thing.
While the current Emperor might not be a sage ruler for the ages, he hadn't done anything that incurred the wrath of heaven and earth since his reign began.
Moreover, the Emperor had several princes whom he had personally and meticulously cultivated.
Where did Gu Changwei get the confidence to think he could support Li An to carve out a path to the throne?
Was it solely based on the silver mine he controlled?
What a joke.
It was fortunate that Tingxue had divorced Gu Changwei.
Otherwise, Tingxue and the Qin family would inevitably be implicated by Gu Changwei's arrogance and foolishness.
"Li An is not simple. Furthermore, Yuan Bao is now under his control, and Yuan Bao's ability to generate wealth is no less than the output of the silver mine," Gu Sinian said.
"Frankly, I don't understand why the Emperor would go to such lengths if Li An intended to usurp the throne. Wouldn't it be simpler to just arrest him?" Xie Chen said.
"The Emperor feels guilty towards Li An's mother, and of course, he also wants to take this opportunity to root out those who harbor ill intentions towards him," Gu Sinian said.