Chapter 198 A Good Time to Make a Move

The Grand Princess soon received a reply from the southwestern border.

The letter said that there was a tribe in the southwest that was rumored to have a mother-child venom poison, in which the mother would plant the poison during pregnancy in order to sense whether the child was alive or dead.

"It's almost exactly what that girl said." The Grand Princess crumpled the letter into a ball and held it tightly in her palm.

She was completely helpless with the child.

The Grand Princess was unwilling, but there was nothing she could do.

Zhan Xingzhuo will arrive in the capital soon. She hopes that Yao Qingling and the child will be in the Duke's mansion. With a wife and child, he can settle down.

Granny Jia entered, bowing slightly: "Your Highness, news from the Marquis's residence says that Yao Qingling is still weak and unable to get out of bed. The young master is also very weak, his cries are feeble, and he is said to look even thinner than when he was born."

As Granny Jia spoke, her brows furrowed more and more: "It seems that the theory of the mother-son poison is extremely true."

The Grand Princess clenched her fists even tighter. She took a deep breath, the breath stuck in her throat, unable to dissipate.

For the sake of the child, I have no choice but to endure it.

"Yao Qingling has been in labor for a long time, and with the imperial physician's daughter taking care of her, how could she still be like this after so long? Is that physician's medical skill even up to par?"

Since there is a mother-child Gu, Yao Qingling must live and heal her!

Granny Jia shook her head: "I don't know..."

She found it strange too.

In rural areas, women who are in good health can go back to work in the fields after giving birth. No matter how precious Yao Qingling is, it shouldn't be the case that her body is getting weaker and weaker after ten days or months.

The tonics that were taken were like a clay ox sinking into the sea, having no effect whatsoever.

Granny Rong said, "The young woman used to be very healthy; she was almost never sick while she was in the Duke's mansion. How did she become like this after giving birth? Could it be that the Marquis's mansion harmed her?"

The Grand Princess frowned: "Madam Ma wouldn't dare."

The Marquis's mansion had to act according to the Duke's wishes.

The Grand Princess has already left the child behind, so even if Madam Ma dislikes Yao Qingling, she has to spare her life.

The Grand Princess said, "Send Imperial Physician He to take another look."

The Grand Princess personally took Imperial Physician He to the Marquis of Zhongyong's residence, but even with the physician's diagnosis, they still had no clue what to do.

They only said to wait until the lochia was completely discharged, and then adjusted the prescription.

Looking at her frail grandson, the Grand Princess even considered giving up on him.

Let's just pretend it never happened.

After the imperial physician left, Lou Yue anxiously grabbed He Yin and pressed her for an answer, "You have to think of another way!"

He Yin stared blankly at Qing Ling, who had fallen into a deep sleep, and her heart sank.

No, something must be wrong.

She took the pulse repeatedly and consulted medical books time and time again.

In her panic, she didn't know what to do.

With her health in such poor condition, she dared not take any medication rashly, but she also dared not stop taking it.

what to do?

That night, when Lin Shiyuan came to see Yao Qingling again, she only opened her eyelids briefly, glanced at him, and then fell asleep again.

Two more braziers of charcoal were added to the room. Normal people would be sweating from the heat, but Yao Qingling added an extra blanket.

Lin Shiyuan held the unconscious Yao Qingling in his arms. Compared to her previous slight weight gain, her thinness was now clearly visible to the naked eye.

He couldn't stand it.

"Yao Qingling, do you know that you're not pretty anymore? Your hair is yellow, your face is haggard, and your lips are chapped..."

The man was talking to himself, and the woman in his arms neither jumped up to hit him nor argued with him, which made him very sad.

Lin Shiyuan stayed longer than before, not leaving until nearly dawn.

Dan Gui Courtyard.

Mr. Ma was somewhat anxious and uneasy.

Yao Qingling was in trouble; she worried that the Duke's Mansion would take its anger out on the Marquis's Mansion and blame them for not taking good care of them.

Yao Qingqi didn't take it to heart: "Maybe it's because Yao Qingling was too arrogant before, and even God couldn't stand it? She was a person with little fortune and a short life, but she tried to seize the good fortune that didn't belong to her, so God took it all back."

She raised her eyebrows, gloating, wishing she could hear the good news that Yao Qingling had died right now.

Mrs. Ma gave her a deep look: "You didn't do anything?"

She had previously instructed her not to act rashly.

Yao Qingqi stiffened her neck: "What can I do? Yao Qingling is useless, how can she blame others?"

Her eyes flickered, and she said, “Mother, Yao Qingling is now seriously ill and her maids are all in a panic. Why don’t we take over Hui Bafang now?”

As the year draws to a close, all the young ladies of similar age to her are engaged, have gone through the betrothal process, and will be married early next year. But her marriage is like a candle in the wind, ready to be extinguished at any moment.

Her mother only cared about her family and Ma Peizhen, and didn't care about her marriage at all.

Yao Qingqi secretly told the seventh young lady of the Jinyang Princess's mansion that she was loved by her parents and had received a large dowry.

Princess Jinyang invited her to drink tea and admire the autumn chrysanthemums.

Yao Qingqi was already impatient and determined to get her hands on all of Yao Qingling's dowry!

The Jin Yang Princess's mansion is only suffering temporary misfortune. The foundation of a prestigious family is still there. As long as she marries into the family, she will become the princess's daughter-in-law, and her status will change from a marquis's daughter to a member of the imperial family!

By then, who would dare to look down on her?

Yao Qingqi glanced at Ma Peizhen again.

Ma Peizhen stayed at the Marquis's mansion and refused to leave, all in an attempt to climb the social ladder and even wanted a dowry from the Marquis's mansion.

Hmph, she didn't mind Yao Qingling's dowry and would rather give it all to the Princess's mansion than let her have it for free.

Not only that, Yao Qingqi also planned to empty the Marquis's mansion, and then see what Ma Peizhen would have to offer as dowry.

Once she becomes the daughter-in-law of the princess's mansion, she will ask her mother to send her back to her hometown, so she won't have to stay here like a sycophant.

Ma hesitated: "This..."

She always said that Yao Qingling was tough and would never die.

These half-dead creatures are still alive, aren't they?

Ma was getting scared, afraid that Yao Qingling would come back to life again and cause her to suffer a great loss.

Yao Qingqi said, “Mother, we are the true masters of the Marquis’s mansion. When Hui Ba Fang was entrusted to Yao Qingling to manage, she guaranteed that all profits would go to the Marquis’s mansion. But now she is about to die and is unable to manage the shops at all. I am worried that those few wicked servants around her will take the opportunity to embezzle our Marquis’s mansion’s money.”

Ma's eyes widened in shock. This was no small matter!

"Damn it, they dare!"

However, only Yao Qingling could keep those maids in check. Now that Yao Qingling is gone, those maids are afraid that the Marquis's mansion will settle accounts with them, so they must be planning to leave first, and may already be hiding valuables outside.

Mr. Ma couldn't sit still when he imagined a gold mine being hollowed out.

She remembered what Ma Peizhen had said before: to bring down Yao Qingling, she had to cut off her left and right arms first.

Regardless of whether Yao Qingling lives or dies in the future, now is a good time to strike.

...

The cicada sits guarding all directions in summer.

She worked even harder than before, determined to earn more money so that when her mistress woke up, she would be happy to see the account book.

She was in the accounting office organizing the business strategy for the following month.

Chinese New Year is just two months away, so we need to prepare more New Year's goods.

The powerful and wealthy have plenty of money, so their New Year's goods must appear expensive; the income of ordinary people is getting worse year by year, but they always have expectations for the New Year, and no matter how bad things are, they still want to have a good New Year.

Xia Chan thought that the New Year's goods for ordinary people should be practical and inexpensive.

"...Everyone is busy during the New Year. If the shop sells complete sets of New Year's goods, customers can just take a look, grab the items, and leave. It's quick and hassle-free."

Just as she was pondering how to prepare, Manager Liu came in: "Miss Xia Chan, Madam Hou has arrived."