Chapter 72 Chapter 72 "Since you like it, then you are not allowed to...

"Why is it so hot?"

"It was as hot as a piece of charcoal, even my hair was soaked."

Old Madam Xie looked at Sheng Puzhu's red face and frowned with heartache. Even when facing her eldest grandson, her tone was inevitably a little harsh.

Xie Zhiyan hadn't slept all night. When he turned around, the warm morning sun fell on his high nose bridge, making the shadows on his brow bones appear even darker. His Adam's apple rolled as he spoke hoarsely, "It's my grandson's negligence."

The old lady waved her hand, she was only concerned about herself and was in a mess.

She saw Madam Du hurried forward with a copper basin, and was about to roll up her sleeves to twist the handkerchief herself. She paused, and when she spoke again, her tone was much softer: "Tell me what happened. Your wife went out with you in good health, but how could she come home so sick?"

"There was a little accident in Daxingshan Temple." Xie Zhiyan stepped forward and took the wet handkerchief from the old lady's hand with a normal expression. Ice water dripped through his fingers, and he clenched his hands and wrung it dry.

He didn't do this often, so his movements were inevitably clumsy. He lowered his eyes and said calmly, "The matter has been resolved. Please rest assured, I will never let Puzhu suffer any injustice."

The old lady didn't show any anger on her face, but she snorted coldly, "I don't care how you solved it, but if my wife is unwell, you are derelict in your duty."

"I heard from the nanny who was accompanying the carriage that you came back from Daxingshan Temple, and you rode horses?"

Xie Zhiyan stood there without saying a word, but his attitude of lowering his eyes and nodding said it all.

"That's just nonsense."

The old lady looked at him for a long moment, then reprimanded him in a deep voice, "It's right for a husband to indulge and pamper his wife, but you can't let her run wild."

"She had already encountered something bad at Daxingshan Temple, and you were so reckless as to take her on horseback. It was cold and dewy at night, and it would take her at least an hour to ride home from the temple. Do you think Puzhu is as strong as you, with a body made of iron?"

"She's a girl who's been pampered in the inner chamber, made of flower dew. How could she not have a high fever after being tormented like this?"

Xie Zhiyan remained silent, standing straight, but the hand holding the handkerchief trembled slightly.

"Think about it carefully."

"A husband's duty is not just to be good to her, but to be attentive in every way."

Perhaps the old lady was unable to suppress her anger, and her voice was a little harsh when she asked.

Sheng Puzhu didn't know when she woke up, her jade-like face was flushed red. Although she was still weak, she subconsciously wanted to defend him.

"Grandma, it's none of my husband's business. It's my granddaughter-in-law who's being willful."

She was covered in sweat, her long black hair stuck to her cheeks and neck. Her watery eyes were unable to focus due to the high fever, and her trembling eyelashes were like the flapping wings of a butterfly.

Fragile and lovable.

The old lady sighed and touched Sheng Puzhu's burning forehead, which was wet. Seeing that the clothes under the brocade quilt were soaked again, and the ties were softened by the hot sweat, she immediately ordered: "Help Puzhu change her clothes. I'll go out first."

After leaving Yunyu Hall, Nanny Jiang, who was following behind her, couldn't help but ask in a low voice: "Are you being too harsh on my husband?"

The old lady glared at Nanny Jiang and said, "Why, do you also think I scolded you too much?"

She laughed as if in anger: "What's the big deal about being strict or not? I think this is the best."

"You've been serving me for many years, don't you know what Sanlang's personality has been like since he was a child?"

Nanny Jiang was startled, and seeing her laugh again, she couldn't help but feel a little confused: "San Langjun has been like a block of ice since he was a child. Even in front of the Princess, he is cold. Now the Crown Prince's wife is still sick, but you don't look like you are really angry."

The old lady glanced at Nanny Jiang, as if she had breathed a sigh of relief, her emotions very complicated: "Don't you think Zhiyan looks a bit like a living person's lust today?"

"In the past, let alone me, even if his mother was sick, it would be difficult for him to show any extra emotions on his face. But look at Puzhu lying on the couch, Sanlang has not left her side for a moment."

Nanny Jiang frowned and thought for a long time, then she realized: "The prince looks different today than before."

The old lady didn't speak for a long time, thinking of her eldest grandson who never took his eyes off his granddaughter-in-law.

Although he concealed it well, he was too domineering. His dark eyes were filled with aggression, and he was clearly like a wolf leader, circling his territory. He seemed calm and gentle, but in fact, only he knew how cruel and paranoid he was.

After returning to Yishoutang, the old lady felt a little tired.

She sat on the couch in the warm room, leaning on Nanny Jiang's armchair. Seeing the sky darkening outside the window and the signs of snow falling again, she couldn't help but think of the eldest family who had gone to Boling.

He couldn't help coughing, his old eyes narrowed slightly: "Spring is coming, and another year has passed. I wonder how Qingshu and the others are doing in Boling."

Nanny Jiang moved a crescent stool and squatted in front of the couch, gently massaging her legs. Her voice lowered, "Boling's old house is bustling and crowded. With Fourth Lady's lively personality, she will definitely not let herself be wronged."

The old lady had a dull expression on her face. She stretched out her skinny fingers and stroked a shorter table beside the couch.

The color of the red sandalwood material becomes more mellow with time. There is an old scratch near the corner of the edge of the table. It has not been repaired. It is obviously a mark that was deliberately preserved and is worth remembering.

"Huaiqian was only five years old that year. He and Juyuan were playing in this room. He accidentally hit his head on the table. There is still a scar on his brow bone."

"As the elder brother, Juyuan was two years older than Huaiqian. He held him in his arms to comfort him, but when he saw that Huaiqian was still crying, he secretly took his father's sword and scratched this mark on the table, saying that he wanted to vent Huaiqian's anger."

"I thought it was interesting at the time, and I specifically asked the craftsman to leave the scratch as a testament to our brotherhood."

There were no candles lit in the warm room, and in the dim light, the old lady's fingertips trembled violently.

"Ayuan, did I do something wrong?" the old lady asked, then shook her head, covering her chest and coughing continuously.

Nanny Jiang's name is Jiang Yuan. The master and servant have been together for nearly fifty years. The time she spent with the old lady was even longer than that of the old Duke who has passed away.

Her trembling eyes fell on the back of the old lady's hand, which was covered with age spots. Nanny Jiang suddenly choked up and said, "The eldest master was just confused for a moment. Don't think too much about it. After summer, the whole family will get together and have a lively family banquet, and this matter will be over."

"Brothers are blood relatives. Even if there is a rift, it can usually be resolved by talking it out."

"Besides, aren't you still here?"

"Even though the eldest and second masters are so old, they have always been filial. Even if they could break the sky and refute the will of the saint, they would not dare to refute your wishes."

The old lady frowned and spoke to herself in a voice that only she could hear.

"The Xie family's achievements are unparalleled."

"What wishes can I have? Ever since their Aye died, this war has been destined to last forever."

Nanny Jiang didn't hear clearly, so she stood up with her waist bent, walked up to the old lady and asked, "Do you have any instructions?"

"The marks on the table."

"Tomorrow you should ask the craftsmen to complete it so that I don't have to see it every day. It's both an eyesore and a nuisance."

The old lady moved her lips and closed her eyes, as if she was so tired that she fell asleep.

*

In Yunyu Hall, Xie Zhiyan did not intend to let Madam Du and others interfere in such a small matter as changing clothes for his wife.

He gently untied the laces on the front of Sheng Puzhu's single garment, but before he could move, a hot little hand grabbed the back of his hand.

Sheng Puzhu was delirious due to the fever and didn't have much strength. Her palms were soft, but she twisted her body uncooperatively, and her warm little hands were touching everywhere.

Xie Zhiyan was afraid that she would fall off the bed, so he could only support her with one hand and use the other hand to get clean clothes. As a result, the moment she turned over, his palm touched a place that it shouldn't have touched. That rubbed his back so much that even his breathing became heavy.

"Bozhu." Xie Zhiyan's voice was hoarse, and he tried to push back a little.

"My dear, I'm so hot." Sheng Puzhu grabbed his collar and pressed her hot little face against the man's cold chest.

Because of the high fever, she became particularly fond of his lower body temperature.

You must drink the decoction. If your body gets cold again, the high fever will only recur.

Xie Zhiyan frowned and stood up. He had no intention of allowing her to do whatever she wanted. He directly took out the cloth tiger that she had hidden from the bottom of the camphor wood box in the outer room.

"Is this a good idea?" Xie Zhiyan asked.

Sheng Puzhu's eyes were distracted. He reached out and took it, holding it in his arms.

She obviously liked it, but one night before, he had fucked her hard while she was on top of the tiger. He remembered that she was very wet, so she secretly found a box to hide it.

It would be a good idea to use it to comfort her while she is confused.

Seeing Sheng Puzhu hugging her tightly, Xie Zhiyan pressed his cold fingertips gently between her eyebrows, as if to soothe her discomfort: "Since you like me, then don't make trouble anymore."

"Otherwise, when you recover, I won't let you go easily."

"Even if I cry until my clothes are wet, it won't work."

"Woo..." Threats are still useful. Regardless of whether he understood it or not, Sheng Puzhu muttered and put his nose against the cloth tiger's nose and sniffed it, as if confirming something.

She didn't get sick often, so this time she had intermittent high fever. It took more than ten days for her to recover, and she missed the most lively Lantern Festival.

"If I hadn't given you the note the day before yesterday, I wouldn't have known you were sick."

Princess Changning, Xiao Yueshu, propped her chin up with her palm and sat pitifully in a chair in front of the couch. "If I had known you were so ill, I should have visited you sooner. The Lantern Festival is not as important as you."

Princess Changning, who couldn't take her eyes off beauty, looked at Wei Yuanning and said, "Madam Wei San, please say something."

"And Zhu Yi, there's no one in the room, why is your face so red?"

Sheng Puzhu had obviously lost weight, but her spirits seemed fine. She reached out and poked Xiao Yueshu's cheek, which still had some baby fat. "Go comfort Puyao for me first. She's been crying for a quarter of an hour."

"I'm most afraid of crying little ladies."

"Let Yuanning go. She has more patience than me."

When Princess Changning learned that Sheng Puju was ill and thought of what happened in Daxingshan Temple, she went to Duke Cheng's Mansion to make an appointment with Wei Yuanning, and when she passed by Duke Fu's Mansion, she took Song Zhuyi with her as well.

As a result, I happened to meet Sheng Mingya and Sheng Puyao who were out buying books on the way.

Sheng Puyao was young and couldn't hide her emotions. Her eyes were like rabbits: "No one at home knew you were sick. That day, my brother-in-law took you away in a hurry, and my grandmother just thought something happened at the Jingguo Mansion."

"If I hadn't just met Princess Changning on Suzaku Street, and Sister Zhuyi hadn't let the secret slip, I would have been planning to keep it a secret forever."

"Don't cry, I just have a common cold. I'm better now, right?" Sheng Puzhu saw that she was very angry, so she smiled and softened her voice.

Sheng Puyao was very angry. When Wei Yuanning tried to comfort her, she cried even more aggrievedly. She held a plate of snacks in her arms, ate silently, and kept crying.

Song Zhuyi realized that she had gotten herself into trouble, so she sat quietly in the corner. After a while, she mustered up the courage to say, "Sister Sheng, I didn't mean to say that."

Sheng Puzhu couldn't help but laugh at her cautious look: "You don't have to blame yourself. Puyao is easy to coax. She will forget about it soon."

Song Zhuyi then secretly breathed a sigh of relief, slowly walked to Sheng Puyao, and coaxed her in a low voice with Wei Yuanning.

Both of them were gentle and spoke softly. After a while, Sheng Puyao stopped crying. She wiped her face with a handkerchief, hiccuped, and said pitifully, "I think I ate too much."

Wei Yuanning looked down and saw that she had eaten the entire plate of snacks out of spite, and her belly was bulging.

"I'll ask Madam Du to ask the doctor to prescribe a prescription for you to help you digest your food." Sheng Puzhu took Sheng Puyao's hand and squeezed it twice.

"Sister Puzhu, if you trust me, why don't I give you a prescription and you can ask the nanny to go directly to the clinic to get the medicine." Wei Yuanning said in a low voice.

Sheng Puzhu was stunned at first, a little surprised: "Mrs. Wei San knows medicine?"

Wei Yuanning said shyly, "It's just an ordinary prescription for treating indigestion. I don't like going out and find poetry and books boring, so I like to study some medical prescriptions."

"When my mother saw that I liked it, she specially invited a doctor to come to our house and teach me some simple diagnostic methods."

"There are very few women in the palace who are skilled in medicine. Even if there are, the nobles only trust the imperial concubines who can serve them personally, not to mention the women of the great families in Chang'an City."

Moreover, when the Queen was choosing a concubine for the Crown Prince, among the candidates there seemed to be a legitimate daughter of an ordinary family from an earl's mansion, who had been awarded the jade pendant Liang Yan Bao Chun by the Queen.

That day, she accidentally heard someone mention that the girl's mother was born in a famous medical family in Taiyuan. Not only were some of her ancestors imperial physicians, but most of the women in the family also knew medical skills.

The look in Sheng Puzhu's eyes deepened as she thought of the rumors that the prince's health condition had always been not very optimistic.

If the prince's health is really as the rumors say, he will not live past the age of thirty.

But at present, except for the crown prince, the remaining princes who are not yet adults are said to be even weaker.

If something unexpected happens to the Crown Prince, then the Xiao family will be in trouble.

For some reason, Sheng Puzhu suddenly thought of the sage's youngest brother, Prince An. Prince An had a son named Xiao Xuan. It was said that although he was not very good at studying, he was good at riding and shooting.

If a clan member were to adopt someone, the Sheng family would probably be the first to be struck as a warning to others.

Sheng Puzhu's heart was beating fast. Even though she knew it was unlikely to happen, her throat still felt very dry.

"Sister, is it okay?" Seeing that Sheng Puju didn't say anything for a long time, Sheng Puyao gently pulled her sleeve.

Sheng Puzhu came back to her senses, shook her head, and quickly suppressed the terrifying thoughts in her mind. She smiled gently at Wei Yuanning and said, "Then I'll trouble Madam Wei San to take Puyao's pulse."

"Um."

Wei Yuanning took a pen and paper, wrote down the prescription, and added to the nanny beside him, "No need to add sugar. Hawthorn is a bit sour, so you can add some dried apples."

"Stew two bowls of water into one bowl, and let Puyao drink it as tea later. She can drink as much as she wants."

Nanny Du took the prescription with both hands and retreated respectfully.

Sheng Puzhu noticed that Sheng Mingya had been distracted and had been quiet today, so he asked, "Why isn't Mingshu here?"

"Ah." Sheng Mingya was so nervous that she straightened her back and her smile became stiff. She was about to think of a random excuse when she saw Sheng Puju staring at her with a frown.

"Don't lie to me."

Sheng Mingya was worried, and she clenched the handkerchief tightly: "Second sister is sick, so she didn't go out today."

"Is it the day when you returned home from Daxing Temple?" Sheng Puzhu frowned.

Sheng Mingya shook her head: "No."

She lowered her voice and spoke slowly, "A few days ago, someone bribed the servants in the mansion to send a letter to Sister Mingshu."

"She was frightened."

Sheng Puzhu saw Sheng Mingya's face turn pale, and her eyes were filled with disgust. "It's a letter written in blood. Xue Hanwen, the son of the Marquis of Changxing, bribed my second sister's personal servant and sent it directly to my second sister."

"Is he crazy?"

Sheng Mingya said disdainfully, "It seems that Liu was out a few days ago, and one of the birch spokes on the carriage wheel accidentally fell off a cliff. She survived, but broke both legs. Rumors say it's incurable."

"Because our carriage had an accident not long ago, Xue Hanwen thought that Liu's carriage was tampered with by someone sent by my brother. He was furious but didn't dare to confront the family, so he secretly bribed Danli, my second sister's maid."

"Danli betrayed her master. Under the pretext of buying books for her second sister, she slipped the envelope containing the blood-written letter into a book and brought it into the mansion."

Sheng Puzhu was stunned. "Danli? She grew up with Mingshu. What kind of benefit could force her to risk her life like this?"

Sheng Mingya couldn't say it, feeling unlucky.

Princess Changning was the quickest to react, cursing, "What good can it do? It's nothing more than taking her in as a concubine."

"When my mother was still alive, my father often had affairs with the maids in the room. Danli betrayed her master, so I'm afraid she had already hooked up with that scumbag Xue Hanwen."

Sheng Mingya nodded with a pale face. "Danli is five years older than my second sister. That day, my grandmother had her tied up in the woodshed and interrogated all night. According to her own confession, she and Xue Hanwen had been together for three years."

"Xue Hanwen promised her that if the marriage was successful, he would not only give her a thousand taels of silver as a betrothal gift, but would also take her into his mansion as a concubine."

At this point, Sheng Mingya seemed to be filled with hatred: "So the last time my second sister fell into the water, it was Danli who secretly assisted her, which made it so easy for Xue Hanwen and Liu Jiao'e to succeed."

Sheng Puzhu's gaze gradually grew colder, a dark color gathering in the corners of his eyes. "Is Xue Hanwen planning to take part in this year's imperial examination?"

Sheng Mingya nodded: "Yes, when the time comes to review the papers, my father will take the initiative to avoid suspicion."

"But don't worry, sister. My brother said he hasn't put much effort into studying in the past two years. Even if he can pass the examination, he won't get a good score."

Xiao Yueshu cursed, "Next time I meet this Xue guy, I'll have him beaten up."

"Is the madam here?"

There was a noise outside. Sheng Puzhu turned sideways and happened to meet Xie Zhiyan's eyes.

He stood outside the screen, a casual smile on his lips, holding an oil-paper package in his hand, and no one knew what was inside.

The room suddenly became extremely quiet.

Xie Zhiyan paused as he was walking inside, as if he had not expected that there was a female guest in the room. He stopped in front of the pearl curtain, hesitating whether to go closer.

"My dear."

Sheng Puzhu stood up and was about to go forward to meet him.

But Xie Zhiyan seemed reluctant to tire her out, and strode forward without looking away: "Madam, there is no need to stand up, just sit down."