The next day, Zhu Jiayu went to see Xiao Wan again.

Xiao Wan was in poor health, and Zhu Congjian was worried that her pregnancy was in danger. Considering that she rarely went out during her pregnancy, he instructed Zhu Jiayu to visit Xiao Wan at her residence whenever he had free time.

Zhu Jiayu was also willing to go to the Xiao residence.

Although Xiao Wan has been staying at home lately and hasn't gone out much, she is, after all, the wife of a political official and was a daughter of the Grand Tutor's family in her youth. She is very knowledgeable about the situation in the capital. After learning that Zhu Jiayu was interested in these people, she often explained the ins and outs to her niece.

...

"Although the title of Grand Tutor was a nominal one in the previous dynasty, it is a real position in this dynasty. Now he is the Grand Tutor of the Crown Prince and will be the Imperial Tutor of the Emperor in the future. Therefore, after my father retired, Chang Beiqiu replaced him and became a very popular figure in the capital city. He is upright and honest. In his youth, he served as the Minister of Justice. It is said that there is no case he cannot solve and no criminal he cannot interrogate."

"In comparison, there is also the Duke of Zhenguo's mansion, which is equally prestigious in the capital. I don't need to say more about that, do I?"

Xiao Wan asked Zhu Jiayu with a mischievous smile. She only found out later that Wei Qinglou had actually written a letter asking his parents to take care of his niece in the capital, which suggested that the two had a special relationship.

Zhu Jiayu, however, did not understand her ambiguous gaze and said, "Auntie, please tell me."

Xiao Wan couldn't do anything about her, and she didn't want to really tease her about Wei Qinglou—she had finally gotten such a well-behaved and adorable niece, what if she scared her away?

So she told Zhu Jiayu about the Duke of Zhenguo's mansion: "The old Duke was once the Emperor's tutor, but he was different from other tutors. Other tutors only taught the Emperor in the palace, but our Emperor often visited the Duke's mansion when he was still the Crown Prince. He and the current Duke of Zhenguo not only grew up together, but they are also cousins."

"The eldest daughter of the Duke of Zhenguo's mansion is married to Prince Ke and has been with him in his fiefdom for many years. She can only return to the capital at the end of the year; the second son is a general guarding the border, brave and skilled in battle, and has been appointed as the Dingyuan General by the Emperor; the third son, Wei Qinglou, is the Vice Minister of the Court of Judicial Review."

"With the Grand Secretary nearing retirement age, the most promising candidates are the Duke of Wei and Grand Tutor Chang. As a result, the already uneasy faction has intensified its factional struggles in recent years."

Xiao Wan sighed, then smiled again: "However, this has nothing to do with us. Let those officials stir up trouble in the court. As women, the only thing we can do is to stand with our husbands through thick and thin."

"When we are rich, we enjoy fine clothes and delicacies to the fullest; when we are poor, we are willing to share coarse tea and simple clothes. This is the way of husband and wife. I'm not afraid to tell you this, but when I married your uncle, he lifted my veil, and I looked up at him through the hall full of double happiness characters and the dazzling candlelight. The first time I saw him, I thought, if he can treat me well, I would be willing to eat coarse food with him for the rest of my life."

Zhu Jiayu never expected that her aunt, who seemed to be the most gentle and delicate, would have such a strong determination.

Xiao Wan's resolute words made her realize that she wasn't just talking; if it really came to that, she was willing to go to such lengths for her uncle.

Zhu Jiayu's eyes flickered slightly, as if she wanted to say something, but she was interrupted by the maid who came with the medicine bowl.

The maid looked somewhat unfamiliar. She walked up to Xiao Wan and said softly, "Madam, it's time to take your medicine."

Zhu Jiayu then became nervous: "Has Auntie been unwell lately?"

Xiao Wan patted her hand: "It's nothing. It's just that Ziyu is making a mountain out of a molehill. He insists that I need to take good care of myself now, and that the physician in the manor is a man. Even if he takes my pulse every day, there are always things he can't do perfectly. So he found me a young maid who knows medicine and medicinal cuisine to brew me a soup to help with pregnancy every day, and also prepare nourishing medicinal meals for me. Look at my face, isn't it fuller?"

Zhu Jiayu was drinking tea with her head down when she heard this. She couldn't help but slightly lift her eyelids, glance at the pretty maid in front of her, then got up and went to the maid. She looked at the medicine in the bowl and said to Xiao Wan:

“I see this medicine is still a bit hot. Aunt, why don’t you wait a while before drinking it? Let me blow on it to cool it down. I happen to know a little about medicine.”

Xiao Wan naturally had no reason to say anything negative.

Having heard her words, Zhu Jiayu looked at the little maid again and smiled, "Why is Sister still reluctant to let go? Don't worry, I know what I'm doing and won't spill this medicine."

The maidservant blushed and said, "This servant...this servant did not mean that."

As she spoke, she loosened her grip a little.

Zhu Jiayu took the bowl, but as she turned around, she accidentally got splashed on her hand by the scalding soup. The hot soup quickly turned her fingers red, and she cried out in pain, letting go of the bowl.

Xiao Wan was also startled and quickly came to her side with the help of her maid: "What's wrong? Are you alright?"

Zhu Jiayu stretched out her hand to show her, looking aggrieved, and said, "It's all my fault for being careless and spilling Aunt's medicine. Please punish me, Aunt."

Looking at her red fingers and her aggrieved face, Xiao Wan felt extremely sorry for her and quickly said to Qin Fang beside her, "Go and get some ointment for burns and apply it to Miss."

After saying that, she tapped Zhu Jiayu's nose again, "It's just a bowl of medicine soup, what's the big deal? If it's spilled, it's spilled. Just let Mingxin make another bowl. You are the apple of your aunt's eye, how could your aunt bear to punish you?"

Zhu Jiayu was held in her arms. She glanced silently at Mingxin, who was relieved, and gave a soft "hmm". Her expression was downcast as she said, "Your name is Mingxin? Then I'll trouble you to make another bowl."

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