Chapter Fifty-Five: Duke Zhao Meets Xu Chumian and Her Sister
Zhao Yu remained silent, his expression indifferent, and said instead, "Guan Yan will take you there."
Zhao Lingyao responded with an "oh".
Zhao Yu's former schoolwork had been neatly collected and organized on the shelves in the study. Zhao Lingyao selected some, casually flipped through them, and couldn't help but exclaim in admiration, "My elder brother truly deserves to be the top scholar appointed by His Majesty."
His writing is truly outstanding, and his words are wonderfully masterful.
Zhao Lingyao's eyes flickered slightly, and she whispered, "Guanyan, what's wrong with my elder brother lately? He seems strange, and everyone in the manor is quite afraid of him."
Guan Yan, with his eyes closed and his face expressionless, said, "This servant does not know either."
Zhao Lingyao didn't believe it. She narrowed her eyes. "I saw the injury on my brother's lip that day. Did he...?"
Guan Yan coughed heavily. "Third Miss, be careful what you say."
Just as Zhao Lingyao was about to speak, Zhao Yu, with his Yama-like face, appeared at the door of the study.
"Haha, what a coincidence, you're here too, haha..."
Zhao Yu's expression was extremely cold. "Choose and leave."
Zhao Lingyao said "Oh" again. Her older brother's shoulder injury hadn't been treated yet, and she wrinkled her nose.
She said softly, "Brother, no one is a saint, and not everyone is an expert in everything... There are rules and regulations governing matters between men and women. I have a few books on this subject; when you have some free time—"
Before she could finish speaking, Zhao Yu interrupted her: "Zhao Lingyao."
Zhao Lingyao glared at him, grabbed the book, and ran off, saying, "Big brother, remember to treat your injury."
The surroundings suddenly became quiet.
The moonlight shone in, giving Zhao Yu's face a chilling pallor.
Guan Yan couldn't help but advise, "Master, you are still not fully recovered. Please rest at home for the time being."
"Bring the medicine over."
Guan Yan was delighted, "Yes, yes, yes."
Zhao Yu returned to his room, took off his outer robe, and revealed his muscular upper body, which was completely naked, covered with scars of varying depths. The fresh wound on his shoulder was bloody and fleshy, making him look terrifying.
The man, however, seemed oblivious to the pain, his calm expression remaining unchanged as he applied the powder to the wound.
Guan Yan put on another layer of gauze.
"go out."
"Yes." Guan Yan paused, then added, "Sir, Doctor Chen sent a letter this afternoon, saying it was urgent."
Zhao Yu raised his eyes, his expression indifferent.
Guan Yan realized what was happening and immediately went to get the letter.
The letter stated that Doctor Chen deduced that Mu Mu's strange illness resembled a poison described in ancient books, a poison called "Yizhi Song".
A single branch of the pine tree is extremely rare. According to ancient books, the most recent instance of its appearance was in the harem of a previous emperor. The ancient books say that the favored concubine was framed and contracted this disease, and was beaten to death with sticks on the grounds of being possessed by evil spirits.
Doctor Chen felt suspicious and hurriedly went to the East Palace to find his senior brother that afternoon.
The Crown Prince was frail, so his senior brother lived in the Eastern Palace year-round to wait for him.
Zhao Yu held the letter, his expression unreadable.
Mu Mu is the second daughter of the eldest branch of the Xu family. Even if the second branch of the Xu family wanted to kill her, they could have simply poisoned her and killed her with a single blow. There was no need to go to such lengths to find a savior to harm Mu Mu.
Aside from the second branch of the Xu family, that was related to Zhao Ying.
According to Zhao Yu's investigation in his previous life, Zhao Ying was just a concubine's daughter of the Duke's family, with a simple and clear background. Later, Mu Mu died unexpectedly. When Zhao Yu wanted to investigate further, Madam Zhang kept silent. The Duke of Zhao had already sacrificed himself, and the old lady was also nearing the end of her life and far away from the capital.
Zhao Yu narrowed his eyes slightly, "Find someone to secretly keep an eye on the Duke and Mother."
Guan Yan exclaimed, his expression somewhat strange, "Lord Duke..."
That's not something you can detect right away.
Zhao Yu's cold, sharp eyes swept over, and Guan Yan could only reply, "Yes."
Zhao Yu was the only person inside the room.
The man's cold and indifferent gaze fell on the table, the dark blue cloth bag extremely glaring.
Zhao Yu casually picked up a folded document from the side and flipped through it, his movements remaining unchanged for a long time.
A moment later, he stood up expressionlessly, went to the table, and with a slight movement of his long fingers, untied the cloth bag, revealing a clean white undergarment inside.
The fabric of the inner garment was smooth and comfortable, and the stitches were fine, showing Xu Chumian's focus when sewing it.
Pine and cypress trees were embroidered on the neckline.
Zhao Yu's expression revealed nothing, but beneath his eyelashes, an increasingly intense anger surged once more.
In her past life, Xu Chumian liked to make his personal clothes by hand, and she would embroider plum blossoms on the hem, collar and chest.
Zhao Yu didn't want his wife to overwork, so whenever he saw her, Xu Chumian would pull her away to do something else.
Now, Xiao Qingyan is the one enjoying this treatment.
Unable to vent his anger, Zhao Yu threw the object, along with the cloth bundle, out the window.
Guan Yan, who was still waiting outside, was taken aback when he saw this: "Master?"
A furious, chilling voice came from inside the house.
"It was burned."
"Also, keep a close watch on Songchi Courtyard and Plum Garden from now on, and no one is allowed to enter."
Guan Yan quickly responded.
-
The next day.
Duke Zhao returned to the capital from the Xishan camp. Today, when he finally arrived back in the city, it was still daylight. He specially changed into ordinary clothes and went to the Kapok Incense Shop.
He sent his subordinates to check the shop, but Xu Chumian was not there. She said she had gone to the market in the West Market to buy spices.
After pondering for a moment, Duke Zhao walked to the Xu family's courtyard.
Standing at the entrance of the courtyard, Duke Zhao looked at the simple and not very sturdy wooden door and sighed inwardly.
He knocked on the wooden door, and footsteps quickly came from inside.
It was Xiao Tao who opened the door.
The man had a refined appearance, but his eyes were fierce. Xiao Tao's face immediately turned pale. "This distinguished guest, who are you...?"
Mu Mu was practicing archery in the yard. She had been playing and was tired, so her face wasn't covered with a veil.
Hearing the sound, she stood up, bow in hand, arrow tip pointed directly at the Duke of Zhao.
Duke Zhao remained silent, but looked at Mu Mu. When he saw the marks on the little girl's face, the Duke's experienced eyes paused, then his expression became complicated.
Mu Mu was sensitive, especially when the person at the door looked fierce, she felt a sense of fear.
Mu Mu had a bow and arrows in her hand, so she wasn't afraid at all. She still had to protect her sister, so Mu Mu glared at him and said, "Don't look!"
Xiao Tao blocked the Duke's view and frowned, saying, "We don't know you, please leave immediately."
Duke Zhao's expression remained unchanged, with a faint smile in his eyes.
This little girl is quite different from her mother.
The guards behind Duke Zhao quickly spoke up, saying in broken Beijing dialect, "Miss, you've misunderstood. We're from out of town looking for relatives and wanted to ask how to get to Qingping Lane. We didn't see any pedestrians nearby, so we knocked on the door without warning. Please don't take offense."
Xiao Tao closed the door slightly and said quickly, "Qingping Lane is about a quarter of an hour ahead."
After saying that, Xiao Tao was about to close the door.
Duke Zhao nodded and said in a deep voice, "Thank you, we... are not bad people."
After saying that, the guard hurriedly took off the purse from his waist and forcibly stuffed it into Xiao Tao's hand.
"Young lady, please accept this small gift as a token of our gratitude."
After saying that, the two left.
Xiao Tao weighed the purse in her hand; it contained a considerable amount of silver.
Let's wait until Miss returns before making a decision.
Mu Mu remained standing in the same spot, then squatted down, looking sullen.
Xiao Tao felt extremely sorry for the little girl and kept comforting her, but Mu Mu remained silent.
Mu Mu's mood improved after Xu Chumian returned.
Xiao Tao recounted what had happened that afternoon, and Xu Chumian examined the purse thoroughly, but found nothing unusual.
Her thoughts drifted slightly. "Be careful outside these next few days, lest you get into legal trouble."
Xiao Tao: "Yes."
At night, Mu Mu came to find her older sister with her little pillow and bow. Only when she smelled her sister's fragrance did Mu Mu feel at ease.
Xu Chumian leaned against the headboard and read a book.
The jewels on that bow were far too conspicuous.
Xu Chumian frowned and let out a deep breath. Mu Mu liked this thing very much, and Xu Chumian couldn't hide it.
But whenever she sees this bow, she instinctively thinks of Zhao Yu.
Mu Mu was still oblivious, clinging to her sister's arm, "When is Zhao Yu coming? I want to thank him for his gift."
Xu Chumian poked her younger sister's cheek and said cruelly, "He won't come. Go to sleep."
Mu Mu slowly uttered an "oh," then hugged the bow, closed her eyes, and fell asleep.
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