On the morning of the fifth day of May, Wen Yan finally got her wish and, accompanied by Zhou Zijun, Wen He went to Zhou's manor in the suburbs of Beijing to pick up Wen Zhuofeng and bring him back to the Wen Mansion.
Seeing that Wen Zhuofeng's extremely thin cheeks had actually grown some flesh, Wen Yan smiled happily and said, "Zhuofeng has gained weight, it's not easy. If you like living in the countryside, your second uncle will take you to our manor to play someday. There are mountains and rivers there, similar to this manor."
Wen Zhuofeng had no expression on his face. It was always like this before. No matter what Wen Yan said, he ignored it.
Wen Yan didn't care. He watched Wen Zhuofeng being carried into the carriage. He and Wen He got into their own carriage.
A group of carriages and horses were returning to Beijing when they passed a mountain road. Suddenly, a huge rock rolled down the mountain, frightening the horses in the carriage that Wen Zhuofeng was riding in. The frightened horses pulled the carriage forward at a furious gallop, followed closely by Zhou Zijun and several guards.
Wen Yan and Wen He's carriage was chasing closely behind, going around a hillside and passing through a village. They saw a river across the front from afar. The startled horses jumped up with their front hooves, causing the carriage to overturn and throw "Wen Zhuofeng" in the carriage into the river.
The accident scared everyone.
Zhou Zijun was so frightened that he ordered his guards to jump into the river to retrieve Wen Zhuofeng. After a day and a night of fishing, they only found Wen Zhuofeng's coat. After that, he paid nearby villagers to continue the search.
The person is definitely dead, but I still want to retrieve the body.
Old Lady Wen, Wen Yan and Liu ran to Zhou's house and cried.
Duke Zhou and Madam Zhou explained that their family was doing good deeds, but they had encountered an unexpected situation. Knowing they were in the wrong, they let the Wen family members cry and curse. Finally, the Zhou family paid two thousand taels of silver as compensation and promised to help Wen Yan get a promotion, which calmed the Wen family's anger. Of course, the two thousand taels of silver came from Zhao Wu.
Wen Yan and his wife cried outside, but burst into laughter when they returned home. They had been hoping for the lame man's death every day, and this time he finally died. The key point was that everyone knew he died outside. It wasn't because they persecuted their nephew. They also unexpectedly earned two thousand taels of silver, and he had the hope of getting promoted.
What is killing two birds with one stone? This is it!
Wen Yan was so happy that she wanted to fly.
The eldest brother's family was completely wiped out in this world. If his father didn't make him the crown prince, who else could he make? The old man might have been waiting for that cripple to give birth to a son, but now even that thought was extinguished.
Old Mrs. Wen was really sad and felt sorry for her eldest son.
Wiping away her tears, she went to the study of Duke Wen in the outer courtyard. Although it was called a study, there were almost no books inside. Instead, various medicinal herbs, alchemy furnaces, and other alchemy tools were scattered around.
The wrinkles on Duke Wen's gaunt face deepened, his hair and beard turning completely gray. His face was expressionless, neither happy nor sad, as he quietly watched the blazing flames in the furnace, giving him a somewhat celestial air.
The old lady walked over and cried, "Old man, we have lost another grandson, and you still have the mood to make pills here."
Duke Wen didn't look at her and said in a hoarse voice, "Isn't this exactly what you were hoping for? The eldest family is dead, and there's peace and quiet. That's what they wished for. Humph, that beast Wen Yan is so stupid and evil. He's been used as a pawn and doesn't even realize it."
When the servants heard this, they all quickly retreated.
The old lady knew that the old man had also scolded her, and she cried, "I don't want them to die, they are my sons and grandsons. It's all because of that unlucky Zhao. She is the one who brought disaster to my eldest son's family. I wish I could pull her out of her grave..."
No matter how the old lady cried, Duke Wen didn't even look at her.
The old lady could only wipe away her tears and said, "We are already at this age, and we don't know when we will die. My dear old man, please go to the palace tomorrow and submit a memorial to ask for the title of Crown Prince for our second son."
Duke Wen's eyes, which had remained motionless until now, finally turned to her and said, "Wen Yan's heart is completely black. I would rather the emperor take back my title than pass it on to him."
His voice was not loud, but there was no room for negotiation. After he finished speaking, he went into the side room and closed the door.
If it wasn't given to Wen Yan, wouldn't it be given to Wen He? The old lady was furious and anxious. She stood by the door crying for a long time. When she was about to faint, she let the servants carry her back to the inner courtyard.
At that time, Zhao Wu, Wen Zhuofeng, Ma Zi, Huang Qi, and He Dong had already checked into an inn a hundred miles away. This small county town was also the crossroads between Ningzhou Prefecture and Nanping County.
Xu Qingyan, Xu Lanyin, Xu Lanyue and others were also staying in the inn. They arrived yesterday.
It was much more convenient to take a boat from the capital to Ningzhou Prefecture, but for the sake of secrecy, the Zhao Wu brothers still rode horses and carriages.
Xu Lanyin had booked rooms for them in advance, and for Wen Zhuofeng's convenience, they all stayed on the first floor.
In the evening, Xu Qingyan and Xu Lanyin went to their room. This was also the first time Xu Lanyin met Wen Zhuofeng.
Wen Zhuofeng is very similar to Zhao Wu before he was injured, but he looks more tired from studying, and his facial features are relatively softer. His smile is very warm and not gloomy at all, which is completely different from the description in the book.
Wen Zhuofeng, who was sitting in a wheelchair, gestured for Zhao Wu to bring his crutches and then helped him up. Leaning on his crutches, he first clasped his fists towards Xu Qingyan and said with a smile, "Uncle Xu."
He turned to Xu Lanyin and bowed solemnly, bending as far as a person on crutches could, and said, "Thank you, Miss Xu, you saved my brother and helped me stand up again. Zhuo Feng will never forget your kindness."
Xu Lanyin dodged him, knelt down and saluted him again, and said with a smile, "Brother Li, you are too polite. It's just a small favor."
From then on, Wen Zhuofeng's name was Li Luo, the son of Zhao Wu's uncle. Zhao Wu finally found his uncle, whose family had gone to the capital, but something unexpected had happened, leaving only his cousin Li Luo.
Zhao Wu helped Wen Zhuofeng... no, Li Luo. He helped Li Luo sit back in the wheelchair, and asked Xu Lanyin and her daughter to sit down, and He Dong poured tea.
Several people chatted for a while.
Tomorrow, Zhao Wu and Li Luo will go directly to Ningzhou Prefecture and temporarily live in the Xu family's house so that they can be taken care of. Xu Lanyin and the others will return to Nanping County and will not move to Ningzhou Prefecture until the end of this month.
When Xu Lanyin left, Zhao Wu winked at her.
His little trick may have fooled others, but it couldn't fool the old demon Xu Qingyan. Xu Qingyan pretended not to see it and kept his face as usual.
Xu Lan lived in the same room with Xiao Niuniu. When she returned, the little girl was already asleep on the bed, and Zhangqi was serving her.
After helping Xu Lanyin wash up, Zhangqi returned to her own room, which was next to Baoqi's.
Xu Lanyin lay down on the bed but couldn't fall asleep. As she listened to Xu Lanyue's soft snoring, she wondered how Qin and the old couple would react to Xu Qingyan's return.
The clock struck three in the distance, and Xu Lanyin heard a slight noise from the window, followed by the sound of a katydid. She knew it was Zhao Wu's voice.
She quietly got up and put on her clothes, then gently opened the small window and saw Zhao Wu smiling at her outside the window.
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