Chapter 75: Not a good person, but not a bad person either

The eldest prince's wife's face changed, she lifted up her skirt and ran inside. The eldest prince quickly reached out and hugged her: "Don't panic."

After saying that, he looked at the guard Yan Qing and asked, "How is the person?"

"Alive." Yan Qing hurriedly added: "As soon as we found out something was wrong, I immediately asked Doctor Geng to treat him, and now he has been saved." But the situation is not good.

Seeing that the eldest prince's wife looked unhappy, Yan Qing swallowed the rest of his words in time.

As long as the person is rescued, the eldest prince heaved a sigh of relief, looked down at his wife in his arms, and saw that her eyes were full of tears. He reached out and stroked her back: "Okay, don't cry, the person is not dead."

The eldest princess looked up at him and said, "My dear, I want to go and take a look."

The eldest prince nodded, and ordered Yan Qing to lead the two imperial doctors brought from the palace to go ahead, and then he supported the eldest prince's wife and followed behind.

When the two arrived at the courtyard where Mother Tao lived, two imperial doctors had already checked Mother Tao's pulse and were communicating with Imperial Doctor Geng, who used to live in the mansion.

Seeing the eldest prince and his wife coming in, the three of them hurriedly bowed. The eldest prince waved his hand to signal them to stand up and asked, "How is it?"

The older doctor bowed and said, "Your Highness, thanks to Doctor Geng's timely intervention, your life is safe for now, but the medicine is overbearing and has damaged your foundation. I'm afraid it will harm your life. I will prescribe a prescription for you to slowly treat your condition after we discuss it later."

The eldest prince bowed and said, "Thank you, imperial physicians."

Several imperial doctors hurriedly bowed in return and said they dared not.

The eldest prince instructed Yan Qing: "After writing the prescription, you will personally send the two imperial doctors to the farm outside the city to see Mother Tao's grandson. If he can be moved, bring Tao Dalin and his family back to the palace."

"Check the manor carefully again. If there are any suspicious people, arrest them and bring them back."

"Yes, I will arrange it right away." Yan Qing replied calmly, gathered the people, and went out with the two imperial doctors.

After listening to the eldest prince's arrangements, the eldest prince's wife walked to the bed, looked at the woman with her eyes closed and her face pale, and tears could not stop flowing out.

Even though she knew that Mother Tao intended to harm her, the feelings they had for each other over the past twenty years were real, and she couldn't be so heartless and indifferent.

The maid beside her moved a chair to the side of the bed, helped the eldest prince's wife to sit down, and then stood aside, her eyes also red, but she was confused in her heart.

In this mansion, everyone knows the status of Mother Tao in the master's heart. She is a well-known figure in the whole mansion, and her food, clothing and other expenses are no different from those of a real master.

Her son is smart and capable, her daughter-in-law is filial and sensible, and she just had a grandson. I really don't understand why she suddenly wants to take medicine.

The eldest prince's wife reached out and held Mother Tao's hand, choking with sobs, "Mother Tao, are you okay?"

Mother Tao's eyelids moved, and she opened her eyes with great difficulty. She was in a daze for a long time before she recognized who was sitting in front of her. Guilt and shame suddenly appeared on her face, and tears flowed down her face, "Miss, I am sorry for you, I am..."

Hearing her weak voice, the eldest princess squeezed her hand tightly and said, "Mom, there's no need to say more. I know everything. I don't blame you. I don't blame you."

The words "I don't blame you" were like a hammer hitting Mother Tao's heart, smashing it into pieces after days of torment. She cried bitterly, raised her weak hands and beat her chest hard: "I am not a human being. I am guilty."

Seeing her like this, the eldest prince's wife was deeply moved. She held Mother Tao's hand tightly and burst into tears: "Mother Tao, don't be like this. You are in this misfortune because of me."

"Last year you told me twice that you wanted to live on the farm to retire, but I couldn't bear to let you go, so I forced you to stay. I was thinking about how you had taken care of me for so many years, and I wanted to keep you by your side to retire. But who would have known, who would have known..." It would turn out like this.

The eldest prince's wife could no longer speak. She hugged Mother Tao's hand, fell on the side of the bed and cried bitterly.

The eldest prince's wife is a sentimental person. She also knows that this matter cannot be blamed on Mother Tao. But when she thinks that if it weren't for Xiaojiu and Tongtong, Mother Tao would have harmed the child she had conceived with great difficulty, she can't help but feel resentful.

She knew clearly that after this incident, the knot in her heart would never go away, and Mother Tao would no longer be able to face her as frankly as before.

The deep affection between them as master and servant, like that between mother and daughter, can never be restored.

After hearing what the eldest prince's wife said, Mother Tao's heart was broken. She clenched her fist and beat her chest non-stop, crying almost to death: "My little girl, I am sorry for you. I have no face to live in this world."

The eldest prince knew why his wife was crying so sadly. He walked over, gently lifted her up, held her in his arms, stroked her head and coaxed her softly, "Okay, don't cry anymore. Mother Tao still needs to recuperate for now, we can talk later if you have anything to say."

The eldest prince's wife buried herself in the eldest prince's arms and cried for a long time. She pulled his sleeve to wipe her tears, stood up and looked at Mother Tao who was still crying. "Don't worry, mother, take care of yourself. His Highness has just arranged for someone to bring two imperial doctors who are good at detoxification to the manor. You should take a rest first. I will let you know as soon as there is any news."

"Thank you very much, Your Highness, and thank you very much, Miss. I have no way to repay you." Mother Tao nodded while crying, and struggled to get up to express her gratitude, but she was too weak to move.

The eldest prince's wife told the maid to take good care of him and then returned to the main courtyard with the eldest prince.

Seeing that his wife looked tired, the eldest prince hurriedly helped her to sit on the couch, took a pillow and leaned against her back, then ordered someone to call for Imperial Physician Geng to take her pulse before he felt relieved.

The eldest prince's wife's mother brought a bowl of homemade red bean soup and watched the eldest prince's wife drink it. Although she didn't know the inside story, she knew that Mother Tao drank the medicine and saw the guards in the palace guarding the courtyard where Mother Tao lived, so she guessed it.

Her face was gloomy and she wanted to scold her daughter, but she saw that her daughter had just cried and looked very bad, so she did not want to lose her temper in front of her. She just reminded her to take care of herself and left.

"Husband." The eldest prince's wife extended her hand toward the eldest prince.

The eldest prince also sat on the couch, held his wife in his arms, and kissed her forehead: "After a while, when Mother Tao is well and the child is fine, we will send them away far away."

The eldest princess was silent for a moment, then nodded: "Okay."

The eldest prince said, "Send them to Linjiang County. It is Hui'er's fiefdom, with beautiful scenery and warm winters. Mother Tao is old, and it is suitable for her to retire there. When the time comes, ask Hui'er to buy a farm there for them."

The eldest prince's wife burst into tears again. She turned her head and nestled into the eldest prince's arms, saying in a muffled voice, "Okay."

When it was completely dark, Yan Qing and his companions took Tao Dalin's family of three and two imperial doctors back to the mansion.

As soon as Yan Qing entered the room, the eldest prince's wife stood up from the couch and asked anxiously, "How is the child?"

Yan Qing bowed briefly and replied simply, "Alive."

The eldest prince's wife's heart, which had been hanging in the air, finally fell to the ground. She clasped her hands together and bowed to the sky, her eyes reddened: "It's good to be alive, it's good to be alive."

The eldest prince patted his wife's back, helped her sit down, and asked, "Tell me in detail."

Yan Qing continued, "When I went there, the child was foaming at the mouth and convulsing. Fortunately, we arrived on time. The imperial physician said that if it had been an hour later, even a great immortal could not have saved him."

"But the poison has only been suppressed temporarily. The two doctors said it will take some time to cure the poison."

The eldest prince nodded and said, "Tell the imperial physician that if there is any medicine needed, just let me know. We must save the patient no matter what."

Yan Qing agreed, and then said, "But we questioned everyone in the village and searched every house, but found nothing."

The eldest prince had no hope at first, so he nodded and said, "It's okay."

Tong Tong had said before that after Mother Tao succeeded, the man never showed up again and the child also died.

After such a high-profile search of the manor, I'm afraid that person will never show up again.

Yan Qing asked: "Your Highness, do you still need to arrange for someone to continue investigating?"

The eldest prince thought for a moment and waved his hand: "Don't worry about the outside for now, just keep a close watch on the mansion from now on."

The most important thing right now is to ensure that his wife and children are safe until the baby is born. Everything else can be put aside.

He probably had a good idea of ​​who was behind it, but he had no evidence.

How could he bear to see his wife and children being harmed?

If it had been in the past, he would have resorted to some shady means to force that man out.

He wanted to let that person know that he was not as bright and handsome as everyone thought. For the sake of his wife and children, he could also be cruel and ruthless, and he could also use those methods that he had always disdained.

But now that Tong Tong is here, he can't act rashly, lest Tong Tong tell his deeds one day and ruin the impression he has in His Majesty's mind.

Now that the fight has come to this point of life and death, he cannot afford to give in or retreat. He is determined to get the position of crown prince.

Besides, with Tong Tong around, the person hiding behind the scenes will be exposed by Tong Tong sooner or later. He is not in a hurry at this moment and can only wait and see.

Yan Qing naturally knew that the most important thing for the whole family right now was the little grandson of the emperor. His expression froze, and he quickly responded, then asked, "How are Tao Dalin's family arranged?"

The eldest prince's wife said, "Send her to the courtyard where Madam Tao lives, so that the imperial physician can see her more easily and they won't worry about each other. Tell the people in that courtyard to serve her well and not neglect her."

Yan Qing agreed and walked out.

The eldest prince's wife took the eldest prince's hand and said, "I want to go see the child."

The eldest prince looked at his wife and said gently, "The imperial physician has specifically reminded you that you need to rest today. Don't go. Let them talk for a while. I will go over to take a look later."

His wife is kind-hearted and has a deep relationship with Mother Tao. In addition, she has been particularly fond of children since she became pregnant. If she sees the child suffering later, she will probably cry again. It is better not to go.

The eldest princess thought about it and nodded: "Okay."

The eldest prince asked his mother-in-law to come and accompany his wife, then he got up and went to the study.

At the same time, in the small courtyard house where Mother Tao lived, several members of the family were crying bitterly with their heads in their hands.

Mother Tao told her son and daughter-in-law the whole story. When Tao Dalin heard the danger, he was so frightened that his legs went weak and he sat on the ground, unable to get up for a long time.

After he recovered from the shock, he thought about how he almost lost his son and his mother today. He held his son in one hand and his mother in the other, and cried loudly. Tao's daughter-in-law also cried beside him.

It was a while before the family calmed down and quieted down until the maid came in with medicine and said that Mother Tao was going to take the medicine.

Mother Tao drank the medicine, and after the maid had gone away, she spoke again, "Son, Fu'er has suffered this great sin because of me. I am sorry to you and your wife, and to Fu'er. I also had evil intentions and almost made a big mistake. This time... I'm afraid that our whole family will..."

Before Tao Dalin could say anything, Tao's wife spoke first: "Mom, what are you talking about? Our family has such a glorious life, all thanks to your face. As the younger generation, it is not reasonable for us to only follow you to enjoy the good and not to suffer with you. Please don't say such rude words anymore."

Tao Dalin's words touched his heart, and he echoed, "Yes, mother, don't think too much. After all, we are a family, and we should share the good and the bad. No matter whether the master wants to beat me or punish me, I will take it for you."

Seeing her son and daughter-in-law being so sensible and filial, Mother Tao burst into tears and warned them, "If His Highness or the young lady comes later, you two should kowtow for me and make amends for my sin."

Husband and wife should be.

Not long after, the eldest prince arrived. He first looked at the child, but saw that the one-year-old baby had a pale face and was sleeping soundly. He felt bad, sighed, and comforted them not to worry. He had already asked the imperial physician to do his best to treat the child, and then prepared to leave.

Tao Dalin and his wife knelt on the ground and kowtowed three times to the eldest prince. They first apologized for their crimes and then expressed their gratitude. By the end, they were sobbing that they could not speak.

The eldest prince sighed, helped the people up, and said a few words of comfort. Seeing that they looked anxious and worried, he told them in advance about his plan to send them to Linjiang County in the future.

Intending to harm the master's family is an unforgivable crime no matter what the reason is. But the eldest prince and the eldest princess not only did not punish them, but also found such a good place for them to settle down?

After a moment of silence, the family was filled with gratitude. Tao Dalin and his wife quickly kowtowed to express their gratitude, and Tao's mother once again blamed herself and cried bitterly.

After the eldest prince returned, he told the eldest prince's wife about the situation of his family. The couple talked for a long time before they rested.

---

The next morning, Ji Jinyou and the Seventeenth Prince were picked up by the Seventh and Eighth Princesses after they had just finished their breakfast and were taken to Fengyi Palace.

In order to reassure Xiaojiu, the Queen pretended to chat with the Third Princess in front of the little girl and told her the news from the First Prince's Palace.

Upon hearing that Mother Tao took poison and her little grandson also suffered from the poison, but fortunately they were all saved, Ji Jinyou sighed and was glad that everyone was fine.

Afraid of missing out on any key plot points, everyone pretended to chat idly, finding all sorts of topics to talk about, and refused to leave.

Xiaojiu was bored, but the Empress and the Royal Consort were talking, and her sisters were sitting there listening quietly. She didn't want to leave, so she started chatting with Tong Tong in her mind and asked what was going on today. Tong Tong said nothing serious.

After hearing this, everyone in the room felt relieved for the time being.

The third princess arranged to go and see the eldest prince's wife, and the seventh and eighth princesses wanted to go with her. The empress agreed, and the three of them left the palace.

Ji Jinyou took Seventeen and the young prince out of Fengyi Palace and ran happily in the cool place inside the palace. After running for a while, they were sweating. Then they went to Jingming Palace nearby to ask Fifteenth Prince for some tea.

As a result, as soon as he reached the gate of the courtyard, he saw the twelfth prince with his hands behind his back and a stern face, severely reprimanding the fourteenth prince and the fifteenth prince in the courtyard.

"Thirteen was injured and couldn't get out of bed. As his younger brothers, you two should have not taken care of him, but you were still laughing and playing in the yard. He was annoyed and asked you to keep your voices down, but you pretended to be deaf and dumb. This is disrespectful to your brother. If this is reported to Father, Emperor, and Mother, you two will not have a good ending."

"As your elder brother, I will teach you a lesson today. You will stand here for a full hour."

The fourteenth prince nodded in agreement and dared not say a word.

The fifteenth prince seemed to be listening attentively, but his eyes were looking straight ahead with no focus, and it was obvious that he was distracted.

When the Seventeenth Prince saw this, he took Xiaojiu's hand and pulled it back, whispering, "Xiaojiu, let's go back. The Twelfth Prince is so scary."

"What are you afraid of? Uncle Twelve doesn't dare to scold me." The young prince was no longer in a hurry, so he ran in without caring about anything and directly pulled the hand of the Fifteenth Prince: "Uncle Fifteen, Yu'er wants to drink tea and have some snacks. Please ask someone to get them for Yu'er."

The twelfth prince was very upset when he saw that the young master ignored him. However, due to the fact that the young master was favored by His Majesty and the Queen, and the fact that this naughty boy would throw a tantrum when things didn’t go his way, he didn’t dare to act like an uncle. He just looked at the fifteenth prince coldly and said, “Stand there for an hour before you leave.”

After that, he added: "I will stand with you."

When Ji Jinyou observed, she found that the twelfth prince, who was almost as tall as an adult, was standing under the shade of a tree, while the fourteenth and fifteenth princes, who were still children, were left standing under the scorching sun. She immediately became angry, as they would have to stand for an hour or get heatstroke.

She walked in with her face tied up, took the fifteenth prince's hand with one hand and the fourteenth prince's hand with the other, and dragged them under the tree.

The twelfth prince didn't dare to offend the young master, but when he saw a three-year-old kid making trouble, he immediately lost face and said in a cold voice: "Xiaojiu, what are you doing?"

Ji Jinyou tilted her little head up to look at him, blinking her big innocent eyes, pretending not to understand what he was saying and didn't answer.

But in my heart I was asking: [Tong Tong, what kind of person is the twelfth brother? ]

[He is neither a good person nor a completely bad person, he just has a different standpoint.] This is what the system said.

Then, following the order of the questions that Youzi usually asked, he directly said: [He was from the Second Prince's faction, and he died in the end.]

The Twelfth Prince, like everyone else who heard Tong Tong speak for the first time, was shocked. He bent down and reached out to grab Xiao Jiu's shoulder, ready to ask her who she was talking to.