Chapter 17 Begging him to bring in a bowl of medicine

His flippant and casual words sent a chill down Mingying's spine.

She no longer fawned over him as before, but gave a pale smile: "It is my fault that I am afraid of delaying your important business."

Pei Xiaoyun sensed a hint of barb in her words, but instead of getting angry, she went along with her and said, "I didn't have anything important to do, I just wanted to come and see you."

Looking back, she had been with him for so long and had never asked him for anything, except for the matter of the child, which she had pleaded with desperately.

He does bear some responsibility for this.

If she wanted to provoke him with words, then let her vent a little. Once she's figured things out, she still has to do what needs to be done.

Once all the dishes were served, he personally ladled a bowl of soup and moved it to her.

As he got up to serve the soup, Mingying was enveloped by his enormous shadow, and her breathing involuntarily became slightly sluggish.

She knew his temperament; he was willing to coax her, but it was just a passing fancy. If she didn't back down now, she would be too foolish.

She picked up the bowl and fed herself spoonful by spoonful. The steaming hot soup enveloped her face, and her cheeks flushed slightly.

Pei Xiaoyun placed a piece of diced chicken with peach kernel on her plate, looked at her face, and said slowly, "Your complexion is better than it was a few days ago. The doctor said you can stop taking the medicine once you finish that dose."

"Cough cough cough!" Mingying choked on the soup, coughing until her eyes turned red.

His words were undoubtedly a cold and dangerous urging.

She suddenly realized that she was just a piece of fish on the chopping block, at the mercy of others.

This feeling is more agonizing than being slowly sliced ​​to death.

Her knuckles loosened, the chopsticks clattered to the ground, and she threw herself into his arms, bursting into tears, still begging for the same thing.

But what she got in return was his usual reply: "Be good, behave yourself."

—

A few days later, news spread that Duke Qu had died of illness in prison at Dali Temple, causing joy to some and sorrow to others in his household.

The old lady was bedridden, barely breathing, and was kept alive only by herbal medicine.

Lan Shi styled her hair in a high bun, dabbed some rouge on her fingertips, and painted her lips bright red: "So that's why the magpies were chirping so happily this morning, it turns out there's good news."

They waited and waited, and finally he died.

With his death, Jing'er will soon inherit the title. Hard work pays off, and the mother and son have finally made it through.

"Madam! Madam!"

Granny Tian rushed in in a panic, tripped on the threshold, and fell, bruising herself badly.

"Something terrible has happened, Madam!"

"Why are you in such a panic?" Lan asked, displeased.

Granny Tian trembled with fear: "Second Master, Second Master has been carried back..."

Lan looked suspicious and quickly went outside. When she saw the pole lying in the middle of the courtyard, her heart sank. She lifted the white cloth and was so frightened that she fainted.

The constables from the military garrison who carried the pallet said that a person was found floating in the moat next to Hongyufang this morning. When they pulled him out, they found that it was the heir of the Duke of Qu's mansion. When they reached out to check, he was already dead, so they quickly carried him back.

The government reported the incident to the authorities, who investigated for more than ten days. The authorities also said that the person had fallen into the river while drunk and drowned.

The Lan family was devastated by the loss of their young son and spent their days in tears, becoming like a dried-up well.

The main courtyard was shrouded in gloom and despair.

"Madam, the master has arrived," Granny Tian cautiously reported.

Suddenly, Lan Shi, who was lying on the couch, had eyes that looked like they were about to burst with rage, her eyes filled with intense hatred: "What is he doing here? I won't see him!"

No sooner had he finished speaking than Pei Xiaoyun barged in with his men.

Through the beaded curtain, his voice carried a hint of sarcasm: "I didn't come here to see you, Mother. I just searched my second brother's courtyard, but I couldn't find the jade seal from when he was conferred the title of heir. Could it be that you're keeping it for him? Now that there are old, weak, women and children in the family, someone needs to take charge. You should hand it over yourself, Mother."

Upon hearing this, Madam Lan fully understood. She went berserk, smashing things and shouting, "It was you! So this was what you were planning! You schemed to imprison your father and murder your own brother! You are disloyal, unfilial, and utterly depraved! You even wanted the jade seal! Why wasn't it you who died?!"

Pei Xiaoyun's eyes darkened, a fire burning within him, his face hardening, as if a storm was brewing.

“As you wish, Mother, I have already died once. This time, I am giving myself a chance. I don’t need to be soft on anyone.”

When he returned to this house, he said that no one in this house would have an easy time.

"Will you hand it over yourself, or should I send someone to search you?" He frowned slightly, his voice tinged with anger.

"Is that yours?" Lan Shi sneered. "Are you worthy?"

She could almost see another repulsive face through him.

He looks so much like his father that she feels disgusted just looking at him.

They are equally cold-hearted and greedy. How can they be worthy of each other?

Pei Xiaoyun sneered, a cold glint in her eyes.

He doesn't deserve it. He only deserves to suffer endless torment in Zhaozui Temple so that his family can enjoy family happiness.

"Whether I'm worthy or not is up to me." He smiled slightly, his dark eyes unfathomable. "What was once mine is now mine."

"Men, search thoroughly."

"No! That's not yours, that's Jing'er's!" Madam Lan's expression changed drastically. She fell awkwardly off the couch, grabbing a servant's leg tightly. "That's not yours! Guards, guards!"

The more Pei Xiaoyun listened, the darker her eyes became.

Lan's roar pierced his eardrums, and he seemed to remember something. His forehead throbbed, and a fire blazed fiercely.

The room was turned upside down. The servants who were waiting nearby observed the situation and knew that the master would be in charge of the mansion from now on. No matter how much Madam Lan shouted, they did not dare to step forward.

"Grandpa, we've found it."

A lustrous piece of jade was placed in Pei Xiaoyun's hand. He glanced at it briefly, then left with satisfaction, not forgetting to instruct her as she went: "Mother, take good care of yourself. The imperial decree for your investiture will be issued soon. You must not fall ill."

Lan Shi collapsed to the ground, watching him leave, clutching a broken tile tightly, her palm bleeding profusely from the cut.

The crimson blood spread into his eyes, and wherever it went, it was grotesque and terrifying.

After the funeral, Lan Shi was depressed for a few days, but she cheered up and started tending to a pot of flowers early in the morning.

His fingertips brushed against a large, bright red flower on a branch, a dark glint flashing in his eyes, before he snapped the branch off and crushed it.

Even if he becomes the heir apparent or the duke, in front of outsiders, doesn't he still have to be a loving mother and a filial son to her?

He came from her womb, and no one knows a child better than their mother. She refused to believe that she didn't have the means to deal with him!

He killed Jing'er, and she won't let him have a good life!

The people from the greenhouse brought in several pots of crabapple blossoms, which were then placed steadily under the eaves.

The old woman who carried the flowers accepted the tip from Granny Tian, ​​thanked her, and was about to leave.

"Stop!" Lan called out to one of them.

The woman in purple was left alone and bowed tremblingly: "What are your orders, Madam?"

Madam Lan took a sip of tea and glanced at her: "I heard you have a daughter who works at Lanqingzhuo Courtyard?"

After a moment of trepidation, the woman in purple replied truthfully, "Yes, madam."

"What's your name?" Madam Lan straightened up, looking quite interested.

"Her name is Ling Shuang."

—

When Pei Xiaoyun was not around, Mingying would sit on the steps and bask in the sun for the entire day.

From sunrise to sunset, she could count every single leaf that fell from the trees.

He had stopped taking those tonics a few days ago, and no one knew where he found the medicine. After taking it for the past few days, he felt neither tired nor weak, and his complexion was rosy and radiant.

In the past, when she was sick, she would only take a few pills that were not appropriate for her condition and rely on herself to get through it. She had never eaten anything so good before. Now she was fortunate enough to be able to eat these miraculous medicines.

But what good is it if she recovers? She can feel the baby growing bigger and bigger, but she can't give birth to him and has to hurt him instead.

She wished time could stop at this moment.

She often sat in the courtyard, ignoring the whispers of the maids behind her back, until she saw Ling Shuang return, at which point she blinked.

"Sister Ling Shuang, where have you been? I haven't seen you all day." No one in the hospital knew about her pregnancy; she had only secretly told Ling Shuang.

When Ling Shuang was around, he would sit down and talk to her, trying to comfort her.

Ling Shuang had just returned from outside, her expression somewhat off. She suppressed her disordered breathing and said, "My mother is sick, I went to see her."

Hearing her mention her mother, Mingying felt a lump in her throat and asked, "Is your mother feeling better?"

"Much better." Ling Shuang sat down next to her, her eyes filled with sorrow.

"When spring comes and the weather warms up, when will you ask the old man to release you from your household registration and let you go?" Mingying couldn't help but ask her, even though she was reluctant to part ways.

It's better to count down the days than to be suddenly separated.

She sometimes envied Ling Shuang, who had parents, family, and a cousin who loved her wholeheartedly. After being released from her official residence, she could live an ordinary life.

Even simple meals are far better than the delicacies found in these mansions of the wealthy. That's poison; too much of it will kill you.

She no longer wanted Pei Xiaoyun's attention.

She even hoped he would hate her and drive her away.

Ling Shuang held her hand and forced a smile: "My cousin hasn't been settled yet, I... I'll leave in a few days."

She may never be able to leave again.

Two cold hands were clasped together, and even when they rubbed and kneaded each other, they couldn't generate a trace of warmth.

"Then what about you? What are you going to do?" Ling Shuang said in a hoarse voice, almost crying, only when they were all alone. "You should beg the old man again. Maybe he'll soften his heart."

Mingying silently shed tears: "It's no use, it's no use."

She cried and kowtowed to him, but he remained unmoved.

"Do you know how Yu Zhong died?" she said to Ling Shuang, word by word, until her voice died.

Ling Shuang was terrified. She thought of herself and Ming Ying's situation. They were like two mayflies, completely helpless.

"I was originally thinking that if the old man would let you go, we could go together..."

That would be so nice.

But things never go as planned.

In the darkness, only two thin, frail shadows were visible on the ground.

Unable to withstand the cold wind, Mingying went back to her room and picked up a book to read.

After studying with Pei Xiaoyun for several years, she rarely encountered characters she didn't recognize. The thought of him mocking her for being illiterate yet wanting to raise children made her heart ache.

She wants to read more books and write more words so that she can teach her child when he is born.

It's unclear whether it's a boy or a girl.

She has already begun to imagine what the child will look like and what name she should give him.

But only she thought about these things.

Later that evening, as she was engrossed in her reading, she heard a maid outside calling "Master," and she knew that he had returned.

In the few days since I recovered, every time I hear that he has returned, a chill instantly spreads through my limbs.

She was about to put down her book and lie down to pretend to be asleep when she saw him lift the curtain and come in first.

His wide, gold-trimmed, cloud-patterned robe swept in a gust of wind, and he remained as composed as ever, except that he now carried a bowl of medicine.

Her heart pounded, and the book in her hand fell to the ground.

A note from the author:

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Starting today! End of the grueling days of updating every other day! From now on, updates will be promptly at 8 PM every night. I'll take breaks in case of special circumstances, so please check back every day, leave lots of comments, and please don't let it get plentiful! [crying emoji][crying emoji]