Chapter 75 I want you to worry about me, Concubine Ling invites you

There was a cold look in Shen Qingtan's eyes. Zhao Jue was not the kind of person who would climb up step by step. He was impatient and tried to take shortcuts.

Duke Zhao was already disappointed in him, and would never help him unless Zhao Jue was down-to-earth and no longer scheming.

But Zhao Jue is the kind of person who, the worse his situation, the more eager he is to climb up.

If he couldn't rely on Duke Zhao, he would have no choice but to rely on the Cheng'en Marquisate.

Unfortunately, Zhao Jue himself lacked ability and was arrogant and conceited, so he naturally did not want to be suppressed by the Marquis' Mansion.

Now that he has been provoked by her, considering his mean behavior, he will definitely try to find something to hold against her.

She only needed to take advantage of the situation when Zhao Jue was investigating the Cheng'en Marquis Mansion.

Even if the Cheng'en Marquis' Mansion became aware of it, she could still shift the blame onto Zhao Jue.

Shen Qingtan's goal is very clear. As long as he can overthrow the Cheng'en Marquis Mansion, Zhao Jue and Shen Mingzhu will lose their support and will no longer be a threat.

"Second Madam, you're back." Chun Jiao saw Jiang Chao and Liu Yue holding a lot of things in their hands, and came over from the corner.

Shen Qingtan glanced at Chunjiao. This man and Qiuchan were stuffed into her room by Shen Mingzhu during their wedding. It turned out that on the wedding night, she took their indentures and knocked them over, and they became more restrained.

Afterwards, she sent the two of them back to Shen Mingzhu, but Shen Mingzhu refused to accept them and kicked them back again.

They were not welcomed by either their new master or their old master, so in order to survive in the backyard, they planned to surrender to her.

Ever since Qiu Chan became Zhao Jue's concubine, Chun Jiao has become even more obedient, only thinking about finding opportunities to show off in front of her.

"Yeah." Shen Qingtan entered the house and asked casually, "Did anything happen in the mansion?"

While Chun Jiao was helping Shen Qingtan wash her hands, she whispered about what happened in the Second House: "This servant and Qiu Chan grew up in the Marquis's Mansion. Her scheming and methods are beyond the reach of Third Madam."

Shen Qingtan agreed with this statement. Qiu Chan was more scheming than Shen Mingzhu and was also cruel enough to her.

Now the relationship between Shen Mingzhu and Zhao Jue is strained, and Qiu Chan is favored. At most, she would impose a small punishment to vent her anger and test Zhao Jue's attitude at the same time.

If Zhao Jue had let it go, Shen Mingzhu would have become even more aggressive and would never have let Qiu Chan bleed from the very beginning.

Qiu Chan must have guessed what Shen Mingzhu was thinking and was unwilling to be punished, so she deliberately knelt on the porcelain piece.

One of them was to let Zhao Jue discover it and alienate the relationship between the couple.

Secondly, she was injured, so she didn't need to go to Shen Mingzhu to set rules for a while to avoid being further harassed.

Thinking of this, Shen Qingtan wiped his hands with a handkerchief. The more lively the second room is, the better.

Every time Shen Mingzhu makes a fuss, Zhao Jue will remember the Marquis' Mansion.

Because in Zhao Jue's eyes, the reason why Shen Mingzhu was so arrogant was simply because she relied on the support of the Marquis' Mansion.

Chun Jiao brought up another matter: "Second Madam, Prince Yu came to visit the Duke today. After he left, the Duke went to look for the old lady."

Shen Qingtan thought for a moment and was somewhat certain that Concubine Ling came for the title.

She had been puzzled before as to how Marquis Cheng'en made Zhao Jue believe that they had the ability to push him into the position of heir.

From the moment Prince Yu appeared, she was able to sort out the relationship.

Duke Zhao owes Concubine Ling a favor. If Concubine Ling asks to designate an heir, Duke Zhao is very likely to agree.

Marquis Cheng'en is Prince Yu's man, and Zhao Jue is Marquis Cheng'en's son-in-law. If Marquis Cheng'en asks Prince Yu for help, Prince Yu will definitely agree.

Once Zhao Jue inherits the Duke's Mansion, the Duke's Mansion will support Prince Yu in the future, which will greatly increase Prince Yu's bargaining chips in the fight for the throne.

Because Concubine Ling knew that Duke Zhao was only loyal to the emperor and would not participate in the fight for the throne, she never interacted with Duke Zhao and used this kindness for bad purposes.

Thinking about the title, Shen Qingtan couldn't help but think of Zhao Yi, and wondered how his health was.

She sat on the couch in a state of anxiety, took the sewing basket and sewed clothes to divert her attention.

There was still two quarters of an hour until it was Zhao Yi's usual time to return home, so she packed up simply and took Liu Yue to the corner gate to wait for him.

A quarter of an hour later, it was getting dark.

Liu Yue stuck her head out the door, but saw no carriage approaching. "Second Madam, will the Second Master be back today?"

Suddenly, Liu Yue exclaimed, "A carriage is coming."

Shen Qingtan hurriedly held onto the door frame and stepped out of the mansion. He saw a carriage stop and the master came out of the carriage.

She was stunned for a moment, then bowed and said, "May your father be well."

The eldest master asked with a smile: "Daughter-in-law, are you waiting for Yi'er?"

Shen Qingtan replied: "My daughter-in-law heard that the Second Master was not feeling well."

"Yier stays in the palace every time he is sick, and will not return home until he feels better." The eldest master thought that his son did not even leave a message, leaving his daughter-in-law waiting at the door with eager eyes.

If he dared to do so, his wife would have drawn her spear and killed him.

The eldest master thought of his son's small body that could be pushed down by a single finger, and couldn't help but explain for his son: "He should send someone to inform you."

He decided to send someone to the palace to give Zhao Yi some advice and let Zhao Yi pass the message to Shen Qingtan.

Shen Qingtan nodded slightly: "My daughter-in-law knows."

"You should go back and rest early." The master left with his entourage.

Shen Qingtan glanced at the empty streets and planned to ask the old lady if there was any way for her to enter the palace to visit Zhao Yi.

Liu Yue keenly noticed that his master was in a low mood and did not dare to mention Zhao Yi's matter.

"Sheng'an Hall."

Shen Qingtan turned around and walked into the mansion. After taking a few steps, he heard the sound of horse hooves behind him.

She paused for a moment, wanting to look back, but then she remembered what the master had said. Ultimately, she was afraid of being disappointed, so she refrained from looking back.

She took two more steps forward, but finally couldn't help but look back outside the house.

The handsome man beside the carriage, along with the moonlight and lights behind him, all caught her eye.

In an instant, she froze in place.

Zhao Yi covered his mouth with a handkerchief and coughed lightly a few times. He walked slowly to her, a faint smile in his eyes: "Did you just return home?"

Shen Qingtan didn't say anything, staring at his pale face and found that his lips were slightly blue.

Zhao Yi noticed that her expression was not right, and that she was only accompanied by Liu Yue, without Jiang Chao, which showed that she had not left the house.

Suddenly, an idea flashed through his mind.

Zhao Yi's eyes deepened a little, and he asked softly, "Are you waiting for me to return home?"

Shen Qingtan replied, "I heard that you alarmed most of the Imperial Hospital, so I came here to see if it was just a rumor. After all, when the Second Master entered the palace this morning, there was no sign of his condition getting worse."

"So I didn't want you to worry about me." Zhao Yi heard the hidden meaning in her words and sighed softly, "After all, I made you worry."

Shen Qingtan glared at him: "Who said I was worried about you?"

"Well, you just want to dispel rumors."

“…”

"I wanted to make you worry." Zhao Yi saw that she was speechless, so he coughed a few times and smiled: "I left the palace despite the emperor's prohibition, just to go back to the mansion to see if my wish has been fulfilled."

Shen Qingtan: “…”

She finally realized that this man just enjoyed teasing her.

Even so, Shen Qingtan looked at his tall and thin figure and whispered, "It's just a little bit."

Zhao Yi stopped, half turned around and looked at her. He pinched the tip of his little finger with his thumb, a smile in his eyes: "Then my wish has come true."

He paused for a moment, then put away his smile. "I have something to tell you."

Shen Qingtan stopped and her heart was beating fast when she saw his sudden serious expression.

He said, "Noble Concubine Ling invites you to the palace tomorrow."

Shen Qingtan: “???”