Chapter 117 The Marquis is seriously ill, Yun Qiao is forced to support Guangcheng

Last night, Yun Qiao received the scallion-fried sea cucumber sent by the old lady. She was thinking about what kind of food she should prepare for the old lady today.

The old lady has just eaten sea cucumber. If we send her some greasy and fatty food, I'm afraid she won't be used to it. It would be better to send her some light dishes. Maybe she will like them.

The dishes Yunqiao cooks may not be the most delicious, but they are innovative and you’ll want to eat them as soon as you see them.

This is also why the old lady likes the dishes she cooks.

But today, Yun Qiao hadn't prepared the light dishes yet, and was called over by the old lady's maid, Mama He.

Yun Qiao was still thinking about going back to the house to change clothes when she saw Mother He said anxiously:

"The old lady has collapsed, and we don't know what to do. Aunt Qiao, you are the most beloved by the Marquis, and it's time for you to step forward."

"Don't worry about clothes, just follow me."

Yun Qiao didn't even have the chance to ask the old lady what happened before she was taken away.

What is strange is that the old lady's house was always warm and festive in the past, but today it seemed so quiet that it was a bit scary.

"Madam, this old servant has brought Aunt Qiao to you."

"Come in, let Aunt Qiao come in and talk."

As Yun Qiao walked inside, she heard the sound of the old lady standing up and sitting up.

"Madam, Qiao Niang is here. What's the urgent matter? Why are you calling her over so anxiously?"

The old lady looked at the people below and said, "All of you please go down. I want to have a chat with Aunt Qiao."

Mother Chang came out and waved her hand, and everyone below, including Mother He, went downstairs and left.

"Yun Qiao, I have something to ask right now. After much thought, I think you would be the most suitable person to go..."

Yun Qiao heard the old lady calling her name, which seemed very kind.

I couldn't help but lower my guard.

She thought she had done something wrong and made the old lady unhappy, so she was called in to punish her.

"Madam, you..."

Yun Qiao was about to ask, but she heard the old lady say, "Yun Qiao, you've been in the Marquis' Mansion for quite some time, right?"

Yun Qiao answered obediently, "Two years."

"Ever since you entered the Marquis's mansion, you've been loved by the Marquis. Now, you're also his closest companion. Therefore, I'll entrust this important mission to Guangcheng to you."

Yun Qiao immediately looked puzzled, like a black man?

So the old lady said so much just now just to follow up on the next sentence, asking her to go to Guangcheng?

No, going to Guangcheng is not the main point.

The main question is why she went to Guangcheng.

"Old Madam, can I ask you why you suddenly want me to go to Guangcheng?"

If she remembered correctly, the Marquis went to Guangcheng.

"You're so smart, how could you not guess? Now that I've said this, just tell me, are you going to Guangcheng?"

"I asked you to go to Guangcheng to find the Marquis. Will you go or not?"

Yun Qiao was busy agreeing first, "Go, Qiao Niang will listen to the old lady."

"Yun Qiao, your trip to Guangcheng this time is likely to be dangerous. Don't worry, I will prepare everything I need for you. From Kyoto to Guangcheng, I will definitely not let you down on the journey."

"I have three thousand taels of silver here. Take it with you and spend it on the way or in Guangcheng."

Three thousand taels?

Yun Qiao hid her little hands under her sleeves and couldn't help but count on her fingers.

The most she received every month was thirty taels of silver...

How many months would it take for her to earn these three thousand taels?

No, she couldn't figure it out at all because she was too excited, because the old lady said that she would only give her three thousand taels first, and then give her another three thousand taels of silver as pocket money when she and the marquis returned from Guangcheng.

Pocket money.

"Do you remember what I said? The Marquis is ill this time, and Gu Heng is going there too. You will pass through Jiangcheng on your way to Guangcheng, and you will go there together."

"Remember my words. You must bring the Marquis back alive. Also, no one is allowed to say anything more about this matter. No one can do that."

Yun Qiao finally recovered from the shock of the huge amount of pocket money.

The Marquis is sick?

It's an infectious disease, and it's said to be very serious.

Is it a plague?

Yun Qiao suddenly felt a little scared.

The old lady gave her a lot of money, but she had to spend it while she was still alive.

Probably because she was worried that Yunqiao would go back on her word, the old lady gestured directly to Chang Mama, who then took out a stack of banknotes from a box.

"Aunt Qiao, you must keep it well."

Yun Qiao took it with a trembling hand, "Yes, Qiao Niang, remember what the old lady said, bring the Marquis back."

"Bring him back alive." The old lady said solemnly.

Yun Qiao nodded and said, "Yes, bring him back alive."

The old lady gave a few more instructions before letting Mama Chang send Yun Qiao to Lan Garden. Mama Chang glared at the two maids guarding outside the door, and they immediately nodded.

Only then did Mother Chang turn around and leave and go to the old lady.

"Everything has been arranged, and there are people watching over us, so there's no need to worry about Aunt Qiao running away."

"Old Madam, you're really worrying too much. Aunt Qiao has such a good relationship with the Marquis, and the Marquis loves her so much, she will definitely be willing to go. Even if you don't give her the money, she will still go."

The old lady said, "Isn't it said that Aunt Qiao loves money? I hope she can take good care of Sanlang for the sake of money."

"Sanlang likes her so much. If he sees Aunt Qiao serving him, he might come to his senses."

"Quick, go find that guard and deliver my secret letter to the Marquis."

The old lady cared about her grandson, but she couldn't go to Guangcheng, so she asked Mother Chang to contact the guards of the Marquis who were coming to deliver a letter to her.

***

When Yun Qiao returned to Lan Garden, she sent away all the maids. She sat in the house and looked at the money box on the table.

She accepted the money but didn't want to do the work.

According to the old lady's instructions, she was asked to go out in the next two days, and she said that she was going to the farm in the suburbs to check the account books.

This farm in the suburbs is very large, and there are many divisions of labor within the farm. If you want to check the account books carefully, it will take at least two or three months.

The reason why the old lady said this to Yun Qiao was that she didn't want the people in the Marquis' Mansion, or even the people in Kyoto, to know that the Marquis was ill.

Yun Qiao stood up and walked to the window.

Her room is actually not very big, but Yun Qiao likes to stay in this small study because the window of this study can just see the direction of the entrance to Lanyuan.

She saw the two burly gatekeepers who had left earlier returned to their posts.

He was staring at her in the room with a fierce look in his eyes.

I want to run, but I'm afraid I can't.

What is going on?

She originally thought that when the Marquis got married, she would do something small to make herself fall out of favor and avoid the pain of giving birth to a child.

But I never expected that the Marquis would get sick after going to Guangzhou.

Seeing how anxious the old lady is, I'm afraid the Marquis's condition is definitely not optimistic.

Now I'm afraid she will have to go even if she doesn't want to.

The old lady only gave Yun Qiao two days to prepare, but in fact, she didn’t let her prepare. She wanted her to understand that she had to go to Guangcheng this time.

Previously, she had thought that the relationship between her and the old lady had eased a lot, but now that she thought about it carefully, the premise of her good relationship with the old lady was that there was no conflict of interest between them.

If there are interests involved, she will be the one who can be sacrificed at any time.

This is the sorrow of being a concubine in the ancient harem, or a woman of no support or status in ancient times.

***

On the day of departure, Yun Qiao dressed elegantly and gracefully, and got on the carriage prepared by the old lady. Even the maidservant in front of her was the old lady's servant. The maidservant was unfamiliar to Yun Qiao, and she had never seen her before.

Mother Chang came out personally to see Yunqiao off.

"Aunt Qiao, this maidservant used to be the Marquis's servant. She will take good care of you on the way."

Yun Qiao glanced at the maid with an indifferent look.

Anyway, now I am like a fish, at the mercy of others, and I can no longer hope for freedom.

"I saw it. Thank you for troubling Mama Chang to come and see me off personally. Since I've agreed, I will keep my promise and won't run away halfway. Please rest assured, Mama Chang and the old lady!"

Yun Qiao lowered her voice and spoke to Mother Chang who was talking to her nearby.

Mother Chang didn't say anything, and just said to the driver in front, "Let's go!"

The carriage left immediately.

The two carriages on this trip were extremely low-key. Yun Qiao rode in the front carriage without any maids by her side. Only the one named Hongying sat at the entrance of the carriage.

The carriage looks ordinary from the outside, but there are actually a lot of things placed inside.

The old lady is really generous. The carriage is loaded with food and drink for her.

The car behind was loaded with many precious medicinal materials from the Marquis' Mansion, which were to be taken to Guangcheng for the Marquis to use.

After leaving the city, a group of more than ten people came and escorted two carriages forward.

On the way from Kyoto to Jiangcheng, Yunqiao was very quiet.

Only when she arrived in Jiangcheng did she meet Gu Heng. After seeing Gu Heng, Yun Qiao felt a little relieved.

"Second Master, do you know about the Marquis's situation?" Yun Qiao asked directly.

Gu Heng said, "I don't know much about this either. I was thinking of asking you, but how much do you know?"

Gu Heng was in Jiangcheng when he suddenly received the news. The old lady sent someone to deliver the message to him at full speed overnight, even killing a horse on the way. The person just told him to get up and go to Guangcheng immediately.

Go to Guangcheng to help the Marquis.

Gu Heng was still thinking that since Chen Jingyan loved Yun Qiao so much, he would tell her more.

It seems that Yun Qiao knows nothing at the moment.

Yun Qiao said, "That day, the old lady called me over and told me to go to Guangcheng to take care of the sick Marquis. She said the Marquis loved me, so I had to go."

"The old lady also said that I must bring the Marquis back alive."

When Yun Qiao thought about what the old lady said, that if she couldn't bring the person back, it meant that she didn't want to come back, she felt wronged.

These days, she has no one to talk to.

It was only when she saw Gu Heng, who was also called to Guangcheng, that she couldn't help but reveal some of her inner thoughts and the grievances that she herself was not aware of.

Gu Heng heard it.

Yun Qiao turned her back and wiped the corners of her eyes with a handkerchief.

"Miss Qiao, don't worry. We don't know much about the Marquis's condition right now. Maybe it's not as bad as we think."

Gu Heng thought that Yun Qiao was crying because she was too worried about Chen Jingyan.

"I'm fine, thank you for your concern, Master."

Yunqiao quickly recovered as normal.

"Now that we've connected with the Second Master, let's set off immediately."

After Yun Qiao finished speaking, she walked towards the carriage without even glancing at Gu Heng who was staring at her from behind.

She feels wronged.

She was about to tell her story, but he interrupted her.

It wasn't that he didn't want to hear it, it was that he couldn't. Yun Qiao was the woman in Sanlang's room, and he couldn't be intimate with her.

Gu Heng suppressed the restless heart that shouldn't have existed, jumped on his horse, and walked in front of the carriage.

Yun Qiao didn't know how she managed to get through the whole journey. She was pessimistic at first, but as the road became bumpy, she lost the mood to be pessimistic. Every day she would eat and vomit, vomit and sleep, and then eat again after waking up...

In this way, we finally arrived in Guangzhou at the end of October.

The temperature in Guangcheng was indeed quite high during this season, and Yun Qiao didn't wear the thick clothes she brought with her, as they were all stored away in the bottom of the closet.

As soon as they arrived outside Guangcheng City, they met up with the Marquis's men.

Only when Yun Qiao and Gu Heng arrived did Chen Jingyan know that she had come to Guangcheng.

"Who asked her to come?"

Chen Jingyan had been in a coma for three days and had just woken up, but his symptoms were still serious. The doctor in Guangcheng also diagnosed him and prescribed various medicines, but the results were worrying.

Before he fell asleep, he said a few words to the guards, which roughly meant that if there was anything, they should tell their grandmother and this matter could not be concealed.

But unexpectedly, the guard would deliver the letter directly to the old lady.

Just call Gu Heng over. After all, he knows medical skills and can be of help when we get to Guangcheng.

But why did you call Yunqiao here?

The guard Wuying knelt on the ground.

"I am guilty. Worried that the Marquis might not wake up, I told the old lady your words in advance and asked her what to do..."

"The old lady said that you love Concubine Qiao the most. If you let Concubine Qiao come to take care of you, you will wake up quickly. In addition, the reason why the Second Master came is to treat the Marquis."

Chen Jingyan raised his leg to kick someone, but found that he was weak all over and still had no strength.

"I'll deal with you when I'm better."

Yun Qiao strode in and saw Chen Jingyan, who had an unshaven beard, a decadent look, and even looked unkempt and sloppy, like a beggar on the street. There was no trace of dignity or majesty in him.

"The Marquis seems to be in good spirits, so he should be fine. Second Master, what do you think?"

Gu Heng also followed Yun Qiao in. After seeing Chen Jingyan in such a miserable state, his eyes were filled with more concern.

"Sanlang, what's going on? I just saw outside that everyone is staying indoors and no one is walking on the street."

Chen Jingyan said weakly: "This disease is similar to the plague, but it is not the plague. However, it is highly contagious. Please don't come near me for now."

Yun Qiao muttered in his heart: New virus?

No way, was this also the case in ancient times?

Chen Jingyan stared at Yun Qiao, his eyes sharp. What had she just said? A new virus?

What is this?

But obviously, he couldn't ask at this time. Yun Qiao didn't know that he could hear what she was thinking. If she knew, she would definitely avoid him deliberately.

Yun Qiao subconsciously stepped back. She had encountered this thing in modern times and knew its deterrent power.

"Second Master, let's just listen to the Marquis. I just saw that old doctor wearing a mask. Why don't we all wear one too?"

After Yun Qiao finished speaking, she continued, "My Lord, we don't dislike you. Don't overthink it. We wear masks to prevent..."

"To prevent me from passing the disease to you."

"Remember to wear an extra one, just in case."