Chapter 310 No Heir

Xie Ning'an exited through a side gate of the Duke of Chu's mansion, watched the steward close the gate, and looked up towards the main courtyard. That was where the Dukes of Chu had lived for generations, and now a woman resided there.

One has to admire the old Duke of Chu's boldness in recommending a woman to the court and even allowing her to inherit his title. It is precisely because of this boldness that the current Duke of Chu's mansion exists.

"There is no single way to govern the world, and there is no single way to make a country prosperous." Xie Ning'an murmured, then turned and strode away.

He never regretted what he had done, but sometimes he would ask himself if it was the best way. His grandfather, father, and all the adult men of the Xie family had been beheaded, leaving only him alive.

But now, thinking of the old Duke of Chu's boldness and seeing the Duke of Chu's mansion return to glory under Jiang Yu's leadership, he told himself that since he had already done it, there was no use dwelling on right and wrong. Since he had chosen this path, only by persevering could the Xie family and he have a future.

A figure dressed in coarse cloth walked through the quiet alley, his steps growing increasingly firm...

...

"Young Master Xie has left," the butler reported to Jiang Yu upon his return.

Jiang Yu hummed in agreement and waved his hand. The butler bowed and left. After leaving the study, he turned back and saw through the window the woman's slender figure sitting at the large desk, which made her appear even more frail.

"well!"

The steward sighed heavily. He had met the previous Duke of Chu and served the old Duke of Chu since childhood, but neither of the previous two Dukes of Chu he had known was as diligent as the current one. It seemed that she spent all her time busy except for eating and sleeping.

Seeing Xia He and Dong Shuang waiting outside, the steward whispered to them, "Take good care of the Duke's health on a regular basis."

The two nodded immediately. The butler checked the time and said, "It's time for dinner. Quickly send someone to the kitchen."

Xia He and Dong Shuang looked somewhat helpless. How could they delay something like this? Xia He said, "We've already sent someone."

The steward didn't seem embarrassed and added, "You two serve the Duke, and carefully remember what he likes to eat and use."

Both women knew that the old butler was simply concerned for their mistress. Although his words were somewhat nagging, they still responded earnestly.

Just then, two maids returned carrying food boxes. The steward waved for them to take the food inside quickly. Xia He and Dong Shuang took the food boxes and carried them into the study. Seeing Jiang Yu writing something with her head down, the two maids quietly placed the food on the table. After watching her pause her writing, they invited her to have dinner.

Jiang Yu put down her pen, walked over and sat down, then invited the two of them to sit down and share the table. Xia He and Dong Shuang were already used to it and didn't refuse, so they sat down.

"I heard some news today," Dongshuang said, picking up her chopsticks.

Jiang Yu glanced at her, signaling her to continue. Jiang Yu felt that she had no appetite eating alone, and she didn't have time to go to the backyard every day to eat with Lu Yifang and the others, so she asked Xia He and Dong Shuang to accompany her during the meal.

She also didn't have the habit of not talking while eating, and gradually it developed into the habit of Dongshuang and Xiahe telling her gossip while eating.

Upon receiving Jiang Yu's signal, Dong Shuang immediately said, "This servant heard it from Tan Xin, who serves Madam. Tan Xin heard it from another maid when she attended a banquet with Madam."

Jiang Yu couldn't help but laugh when she heard this. Gossip in the powerful circles of the capital city almost always came from this kind of source. She smiled and said, "Yes, tell me quickly."

Dong Shuang chuckled twice and said, "It's the eldest grandson of the Prime Minister's mansion. He's been married for three years but still has no children. So they invited a lot of doctors to see the eldest young mistress of the Prime Minister's mansion, but all the doctors said that the eldest young mistress is not sick."

“That means the Prime Minister’s eldest grandson is ill,” Xia He said.

“We would all think that way, right?” Dong Shuang said, “But the Prime Minister’s eldest grandson doesn’t think so. He says that the eldest young mistress is sick and cannot have children.”

After hearing this, Xia He frowned and asked, "Have any of the Prime Minister's eldest grandson's concubines ever been pregnant?"

Dongshuang's eyes lit up: "That's the key point. None of his concubines have ever been pregnant. But how could those doctors dare to say directly that the Prime Minister's eldest grandson is sick and cannot have children? So in his courtyard, from the eldest young mistress to all the concubines, everyone is taking medicine."

Xia He was stunned, and Jiang Yu became interested, urging Dong Shuang to continue. Dong Shuang put down her chopsticks and continued, "Some time ago, the Prime Minister's residence invited another expert in gynecology. That doctor was an upright person. After hearing all the details and taking the pulses of the eldest young mistress and the concubines, he confirmed that none of them were sick and directly said that the eldest young master might be the one who was ill. Then, a few days later, that doctor... died."

There was a moment of silence in the room, then Jiang Yu asked, "And then?"

Dongshuang: "The doctor's wife took the evidence to the government office and filed a complaint, saying that her husband had been murdered by people from the Prime Minister's mansion."

"Did the government take on this case?" Xia He asked.

Dong Shuang shook her head. "No, the prefect has suppressed the case."

"How did the news get out?" Xia He asked.

Dong Shuang: "No one expected that the doctor's wife was the daughter of Lord Lou, the head of the Imperial Medical Academy. It is said that this Imperial Physician Lou, although from a family of doctors, was from a small town."

Later, by chance, he became an apprentice of the patriarch of the Zou family, a renowned family of physicians in the capital, and later became their son-in-law. However, Physician Lou had been married before, but his wife had passed away. The doctor's wife was the daughter born to Physician Lou's first wife.

Although the Prime Minister's residence wanted to suppress the matter, the Imperial Physician Lou's daughter was stubborn and insisted on an explanation. Apparently, someone overheard their argument, and the news spread.

"How is that lady now?" Xia He asked.

Winter Frost shook her head. "I don't know."

Xia He looked at Jiang Yu. She had handled many official matters for Jiang Yu and knew that the Prime Minister had a grudge against the Duke of Chu's mansion. She just didn't know if Jiang Yu would use this matter to cause trouble for the Prime Minister.

"Okay, I understand," Jiang Yu said calmly, and continued eating.

Did she want to cause trouble for the Prime Minister? Of course she did. Leaving aside the lack of evidence to prove that the various incidents involving the Duke of Chu over the years were related to Pei Tinglan, the mere fact that Pei Tinglan was still alive was enough reason for her to make things difficult for the Prime Minister.

However, she didn't want to make a small fuss; if she was going to act, she wanted to seriously injure the Prime Minister, otherwise she wouldn't take action. Judging from this matter, using her would only cause the Prime Minister some trouble.

Xia He understood what she meant from her words, glanced at Dong Shuang, and signaled that there was no need to discuss the matter further. Dong Shuang understood and continued eating while talking about other things.

After dinner, just as the maid had cleared away the dishes, the commander of the secret guards came over to report the results of the investigation into Imperial Censor Ding Shaojie.