Tusi has invited us?

So soon?

Upon hearing this, Yu Qingwu was surprised.

She secretly raised her eyes to glance at Xie Jin Yan.

Xie Jin Yan's brow furrowed slightly, a hint of consideration flitting across his face, but the expression vanished in an instant.

Quickly, his face returned to its usual calm demeanor.

He nodded calmly at the servant and said, "Little brother, may I ask what business your Tusi has with me?"

Xie Jin Yan's expression was bland, but his words revealed an undisguised vigilance.

In this situation, he had nothing to hide.

The Song family of Qingzhou and the imperial court were inherently at odds. The court wanted to subdue Qingzhou, while Qingzhou had always wanted to dominate the region, preferably becoming the master of Shu.

Qingzhou feared losing power, feared that the court would eradicate them or gradually seize their authority after subduing them.

And the court feared Qingzhou's rebellion.

In the end, neither side was wrong, but both harbored murderous intent toward the other.

As the Crown Prince of Wei, Xie Jin Yan was within Qingzhou's territory, under Song Yan's very nose, so naturally he had to be cautious.

Song Yan's invitation to Xie Jin Yan at this time naturally meant he had detected his identity.

After all, being able to govern Qingzhou for so many years and gradually strengthen it proved that Song Yan was no fool.

The reason he had tolerated Qin Yiliu and Shen Ge in the first place was for profit. Now that he suspected them and realized they were of little use, he would no longer indulge them as before. That was why Song Guan had followed Xie Jin Yan and Yu Qingwu's lead and sent them to prison.

But he must also be suspicious of Xie Jin Yan.

His sudden invitation now, who knows what he was plotting.

Xie Jin Yan thought to himself, the color in his eyes deepening.

Meeting his gaze, the servant couldn't help but feel a chill.

He paused and shook his head, saying, "This... this one doesn't know."

"Um... Young Master Xie, Miss Yu, the master is waiting for you in the study. You'd better go quickly, don't make things difficult for me."

The servant frowned, his expression quite troubled.

Seeing his appearance, Xie Jin Yan knew that he wouldn't be able to get anything out of him, so he didn't say anything more. He nodded slightly and then gave Yu Qingwu a look, as if asking, "Will you wait for me outside or come in with me?"

These words clearly indicated that he didn't want her to follow.

Yu Qingwu felt a little helpless. Lately, Xie Jin Yan had been too sentimental, always wanting to leave her behind and face danger alone.

But he seemed to have forgotten that even if she didn't follow him inside, she was still within Song Yan's territory. If Song Yan really wanted to harm them, what difference would it make whether he went in or not?

Therefore, Yu Qingwu didn't answer.

She glanced faintly at the servant and said, "Little brother, please lead the way."

With that, she walked ahead.

Hearing this, the servant immediately led the way.

His eager posture and obsequious face made it seem as if he was afraid that the two of them would run away in the blink of an eye.

Things had already come to this point, so they naturally had no intention of running away. They wouldn't risk their lives unless they were driven to desperation.

Therefore, neither of them said anything more.

They quietly followed the servant's footsteps, passing through the front yard, then the corridor, then the back yard, winding around a small path, and finally arriving at Song Yan's study.

At this time, Song Guan was already waiting outside. When he saw Xie Jin Yan and Yu Qingwu, his expression wasn't very good.

When the two of them walked up to him, he lowered his voice as much as possible, speaking in a volume that only the three of them could hear.

He said softly, "Young Master Xie, Miss Yu, I think my father seems to have detected your identities. After I finished explaining the whole story of Qu County to him, he praised me a couple of times for a change, but his expression looked a bit strange."

"Moreover, he asked me a lot of questions about you, seemingly trivial ones, but I always felt like something was off."

"In short, you have to be careful. Father hates people deceiving him the most. He originally thought Qin Yiliu and Shen Ge were somewhat useful, so he turned a blind eye."

Song Guan's face was worried, partly because he was indeed worried about the two of them, and partly because he was afraid that if something happened to them, he would be reduced to his original state.

However, Xie Jin Yan seemed much calmer in the face of his worries.

Since he dared to come, he naturally had something to trade with Song Yan. It was just that everything had its risks, which was why he had thought it would be better for him to come in alone.

But now that Qingwu insisted on following him, there was no use in worrying. The best thing to do was to protect her, even if he died here today.

Having figured this out, Xie Jin Yan naturally calmed down.

He pursed his lips, smiled at Song Guan, and replied calmly.

"It's fine. Since we decided to come, we naturally expected this. Tusi has governed Qingzhou for many years. If he didn't even have this much suspicion, then how would he be worthy of being the hegemon of this region?"

After saying that, Xie Jin Yan walked straight inside.

Yu Qingwu nodded lightly at Song Guan and followed him in.

With a creak, the door was pushed open, and Song Yan's unfriendly face slowly came into view.

"Please have a seat, both of you."

Inside the brightly lit room, Song Yan sat near the window, holding a bowl of tea, and gestured for them to sit down with his eyes.

Hearing this, Yu Qingwu wasn't polite either, and calmly sat down on the stool not far from Song Yan.

With a smile on her face, she politely greeted Song Yan and asked calmly, "May I ask what business Tusi Song has in inviting us here?"

"What business? Isn't the Crown Princess clear about that?"

Song Yan sneered.

At the same time, Yu Qingwu and Xie Jin Yan were both shocked.

Neither of them had expected Song Yan to be so direct.

Originally, Yu Qingwu had spoken first in order to confuse the audience and mislead Song Yan.

After all, it was a taboo for women to be involved in politics. As the Crown Princess, getting involved in political affairs, generally speaking, she wouldn't speak before the Crown Prince, or even speak at all.

Song Yan's bluntness stunned Yu Qingwu instantly.

In contrast, Xie Jin Yan recovered quickly.

Seeing Song Yan being so straightforward, he didn't beat around the bush anymore.

He said in a faint voice, praising, "Tusi Song has sharp eyes."

"Since that's the case, I won't mince words either. You must have heard about the current situation in the court. I'm here to make a deal with you."

"Make a deal?"

Song Yan chuckled, looking at him disdainfully, and asked with an undisguised, contemptuous tone, "What can you, a Southern Yue mongrel, a Crown Prince who's about to be deposed, use to trade with me?"

"You want to use my Qingzhou to eliminate dissidents? What, you think you can fool me, Song Yan, just by playing a few tricks to deceive Song Guan and A Lan?"