Chapter 695 There are quite a few children to raise.
"Let's talk about it after the poison in the three children's bodies is completely cleared."
"There are still empty rooms in the west wing, so you can stay there as well. It will be convenient for you to take care of the three children."
After thinking for a moment, he added, "I'll send someone to inform Jingyao. I'll also have someone bring you a change of clothes."
"If you need anything else, just tell Butler He."
Mu Jin's face fell, but she remained silent for a moment before obediently nodding in agreement: "Mu Jin will follow the old lady's arrangements."
Qiao Qinghe nodded in satisfaction, but explained gently, "Just bear with it for a few days, and the children will be fine once the poison is cured."
"Sigh, I had no other choice but to do this."
"As you know, these three children were personally entrusted to us by His Majesty. If anything happens to them, neither of us will be able to explain ourselves."
Mu Jin smiled wryly and comforted her, "Madam, you don't need to explain. I understand."
"Even for the sake of the Qiao family's peace and Jingyao's future, I will do everything I can to cure the three children."
Qiao Qinghe smiled, praised him a few more times for being considerate, and then let the servants go down to eat.
Then He Shi was summoned and arranged for her to prepare a room for Mu Jin in the west wing, and two clever young maids were assigned to serve her.
When she said the word "clever," Qiao Qinghe emphasized it.
He understood Qiao Qinghe's meaning almost instantly.
This means that we must keep an eye on the hibiscus at all times.
After arranging everything, he turned around and saw Li Yiqian lying by the bedside looking at Li Lan, who was unconscious.
"What is Qian-ge looking at?" Qiao Qinghe stepped forward and asked.
Li Yiqian then took her hand in one hand and pointed to Li Lan on the bed with the other, saying, "Sister?"
Qiao Qinghe was taken aback, then smiled and said, "Yes, this is your older sister."
Then the little guy said, "It's black!"
As he spoke, he stood on tiptoe and poked the person's lips with his chubby little finger.
Qiao Qinghe couldn't help but laugh.
I patiently explained it to the little guy, and I don't know if he understood or not, but after much persuasion, he finally stopped worrying about Li Lan's dark lips.
***
The news that Qiao Qinghe had brought back the three children of the deposed crown prince spread throughout the capital overnight.
The next morning, Madam Zheng arrived at the Qiao residence first.
As soon as she entered, Madam Zheng asked with concern, "What were you thinking? Why did you bring them back to the manor?"
"Don't you know that these children are a hot potato right now?"
Qiao Qinghe knew that Madam Zheng was concerned about her, so she patiently repeated what she had said to Weijia the night before.
Upon learning that it was Emperor Xiaozhao who issued the order, Lady Zheng had no choice but to accept it.
She simply complained, "It's not like the royal family is short of people, it's not your turn to be in this situation!"
"I really don't know what His Majesty is thinking."
Qiao Qinghe smiled and comforted her, which calmed Madam Zheng's anger.
Afterwards, he took Madam Zheng to see the three children.
Upon seeing the three unconscious children who showed clear signs of poisoning, Madam Zheng's heart softened immediately, and she said that the children were innocent and pitiful.
"Given Doctor Mu's medical skills, the children still haven't woken up by now. This poison must be quite troublesome, right?"
Qiao Qinghe nodded, but didn't say anything more.
"I'm afraid the detoxification will require quite a few precious medicinal herbs, right?" Madam Zheng asked again.
Qiao Qinghe didn't react for a moment, then heard Madam Zheng ask, "His Majesty asked you to bring the three children back. It's one thing that you didn't provide any servants, but you didn't even provide any antidote or expenses for raising the children, did you?"
Qiao Qinghe was taken aback, then couldn't help but give a wry smile, "I really didn't give it to you."
Madam Zheng shook her head. "I've been taking care of my health all these years, and the manor has a lot of medicinal herbs on hand. I'll have someone send some over to you later."
Qiao Qinghe originally wanted to say that she didn't need these flowers, but after thinking about it, she smiled and agreed, "In that case, I'll accept them without being impolite."
"I already have quite a few children in my household, and now there are three more. I really can't spend money as lavishly as before."
Hearing this, Madam Zheng counted on her fingers and immediately widened her eyes, "Good heavens, you have seven children to raise in your household!"
Qiao Zhen was born to the first wife, Wei Jia; Qiao Jin and Qiao Yu were born to the third wife, Feng Yuerou; plus Li Yiqian, and the three siblings Li Rui, Li Ze, and Li Lan, that makes seven.
Qiao Qinghe was also taken aback by the number of people.
Once the mourning period is over, the second wife's side will also have a child.
And then there's Qiao Ning and Amo; they'll get married in a couple of years, and having children is inevitable.
Just thinking about it made Qiao Qinghe shudder.
"Haha, this is a good thing! More children means a thriving family."
Madam Zheng said with a smile, "Anyway, you have money, you can afford to raise even more children."
Qiao Qinghe's lips twitched. Although that's what she said, whether she could afford to raise a child and whether she wanted to raise a child were two different things!
After seeing Madam Zheng off, several other families with close ties also sent people over to inquire about her well-being.
The person from the Yongning Marquis's residence was Princess Gaoping.
The person who came from the Marquis of Enping's residence was Aqi.
Princess Gaoping did not stay long. She asked Qiao Qinghe if there was anything she could help with, went to check on the children, and then left.
Aqi also came on behalf of the Marquis of Enping's residence. In addition to Su Rongrong's concern, Yan Jin also asked Aqi to help convey a message.
The gist of it is that if Qiao Qinghe doesn't want to raise the three children of the deposed crown prince, he can try to find a way to persuade Emperor Xiaozhao to rescind his order.
Qiao Qinghe naturally wouldn't let Yan Jin plead for them. She immediately asked Aqi to relay a message, saying that although the order came from Emperor Xiaozhao, she was genuinely sorry for the children and was very willing to take them back to her residence to raise them. She had no reluctance whatsoever.
When Aqi received Qiao Qinghe's reply, a huge weight was lifted from his heart.
After Qiao Qinghe spoke for a while, she said she wanted to visit Asan and Asi on the way.
The couple's wedding is just around the corner.
Aqi came here not only to express her condolences to Qiao Qinghe on behalf of her two masters, but also to add to their dowry.
The group of people had entered the manor together and had all served Qiao Qinghe, so their bond was naturally deep.
Furthermore, A-San and A-Si are going to marry Zhou Bing and Xiong Peng, both officials. As the saying goes, having more friends means having more options.
Ah Qi naturally wouldn't sever ties with the two of them.
As for Asan and Asi, Aqi was the head maidservant of the Lady of Enping Marquis, and she had a lot of influence in the Enping Marquis's household. With this relationship, it would be somewhat beneficial to their future husbands' careers.
So the two sides met, and the sisters became very close.
After applying makeup and sitting and talking for a while, Aqi finally took her leave of the two and went to say goodbye to Qiao Qinghe.
However, before leaving, Aqi remembered something and said with a smile, "Madam, my lady said that she would like to bring the young master over to stay for a few days in a while."
Upon hearing this, Qiao Qinghe was stunned.
They said they had seven children before, and now it's going to be eight?
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