Chapter 589 Zheng Wangfeng Climbs the Social Ladder of the He Family
After examining the patient's pulse, the imperial physician prescribed some remedies before leaving.
Madam He remained unconscious. The maid carefully fed her medicine, and after the coughing up blood finally stopped, Luo Qi, the eldest daughter-in-law of the He family, finally came out of the inner room.
She looked at her husband and asked slowly, "Mother clearly can't eat shrimp, why didn't you tell the imperial physician just now?"
He Ling stared at her intently: "How did you know?"
"Yes, yes..." Luo Qi was a little speechless. After stammering for a while, she pursed her lips and said, "He Xiao told me more than ten years ago."
"He Xiao...you still care about He Xiao!" He Ling's expression changed instantly. "Tell me, do you regret marrying me? Do you...?"
Luo Qi interrupted him: "These things are long gone. What's the point of talking about them now? Mother is lying in bed, her life hanging in the balance. We should invite some skilled doctors to come and take a look. Also, we can no longer hide Mother's dietary restrictions. This illness came on so suddenly, it might be related to that."
“Since the imperial physician has prescribed medicine, there should be no problem.” He Ling pinched the bridge of his nose. “I still have some official business to attend to, so I’ll go to the study first.”
As she watched his retreating figure walk away, Luo Qi lowered her eyelids.
If you were to ask her if she regretted marrying He Ling, she would say no before today, but now she does.
What else is someone who can be so cruel to their own mother incapable of doing?
But she didn't understand why, since He Xiao was dead and everything in the He family would belong to He Ling, she would still target her mother-in-law...
For three days in a row, Madam He remained asleep, and there were no unusual occurrences at the He residence.
He Ling sat in the study, his face extremely solemn.
Even the news of his biological mother's critical illness couldn't provoke He Xiao to show up. His younger brother had become so heartless in just over a year.
"Young Master!" A guard in black entered from the study door, cupping his hands in greeting. "I have led men to search the capital and the surrounding areas within ten miles of the capital at least three times, but we have not found any trace of the Second Young Master. Could it be... that the clues are wrong?"
He Ling tapped his finger on the table. From the first day the news came back, he never doubted that the news was wrong, because He Xiao was no villain. He had become a third-rank general with his military merits and rode a tall horse into the city gate. He was a big shot in the capital. Anyone who had lived in the capital could not mistake He Xiao.
Could it be that He Xiao never returned to the capital?
Indeed, the capital is his territory. If He Xiao returns, he will be walking into a trap and will only face certain death.
He Ling pondered for a full quarter of an hour before speaking: "Go and carefully investigate whether there are any people from Dahe Village, Ping'an County, Huzhou in the capital. If there are, bring them to me immediately. If not, go to Dahe Village yourself."
The black-clad guard paused for a moment, then said, "Young Master, I suddenly remembered that a staff member of the He family surnamed Zheng once said that he was from the same hometown as the people of Sui'an. He should have some connection with Dahe Village. Should I invite him over?"
"Bring it here immediately!"
"yes!"
Zheng Wangfeng lived in an alley not far from the He family mansion. He was the 27th ranked Jinshi in the fourth class this year.
This ranking is in the lower middle range among all the Jinshi (successful candidates in the highest imperial examinations). In previous years, a Jinshi like him would have been sent to a very remote and desolate border region to serve as a local official. It would be difficult to achieve political success in such a place, meaning that he would most likely remain in that position for the rest of his life.
Fortunately, before the palace examination, he had already boarded the He family's ship. With the He family's help, he was able to enter the Ministry of Rites as he wished. He is currently a seventh-rank official. Although his official position is too low and he is not qualified to attend court, he is already very satisfied with his position among the six ministries and the possibility of advancement.
He returned to his lodgings that evening and was reading a letter from home. His mother planned to come to the capital to arrange his marriage, but she was too materialistic. He would prefer to ask the eldest son's wife to act as a matchmaker, but his current official position was too low, making it difficult for him to meet the eldest son of the He family. He would have to wait...
"Sir, the eldest son of the He family has sent someone to invite you to come over for a meeting."
The servant standing at the door of the study spoke softly.
Zheng Wangfeng immediately stood up: "Really?"
Before the servant could answer, he rushed out and, sure enough, saw the He family's carriage. The eldest son of the He family had personally sent a carriage to pick him up.
Overjoyed, he bowed to the person who came before getting into the car. All the way, he kept thinking about what the eldest young master of the He family wanted with him, but he couldn't figure it out no matter how hard he tried.
After a while, the carriage arrived at the gate of the He family. He followed it in and entered He Ling's study.
"You're Zheng Wangfeng?" He Ling sized him up coldly. "From Hekou County, Huzhou?"
Zheng Wangfeng bowed his head: "It is indeed I."
"How far is Hekou County from Ping'an County, and how far is it from Dahe Village?" He Ling cut straight to the point. "Have you ever been to Dahe Village?"
Zheng Wangfeng was a shrewd man. As soon as he heard these questions, he knew that this young master was inquiring about the arrival of the people from Sui'an, and perhaps he also wanted to bring the people from Sui'an into the He family's fold.
He dared not be careless and carefully chose his words, saying, "It takes about half an hour to travel from Hekou County to Dahe Village by carriage, which is not far. Because there are people from Sui'an in Dahe Village, and the people from Sui'an have held several banquets, my mother often goes to Dahe Village, and I have also made appointments with my classmates to go there several times."
He Ling took out the portrait: "Do you recognize this person?"
Zheng Wangfeng stepped forward and recognized him at a glance: "This is Master He from Dahe Village, who is in charge of teaching martial arts to the villagers."
"Master He?" He Ling sneered, "Do you even know his name?"
"It seems his name was Xiao He. Since Master Xiao sounds like a junior master, the whole village respectfully calls him Master He." Zheng Wangfeng said, bowing his head. "Master He was highly skilled in martial arts, but it seems he left Dahe Village last year."
“Xiao He, Xiao He, interesting.” He Ling’s lips curled into a cold smile. “It seems that this Master He has a good relationship with Dahe Village.”
Zheng Wangfeng nodded: "I heard that when Master He left last year, the whole village cried. Everyone said that Dahe Village was Master He's second home, and they hoped that Master He could go back soon..."
“A second home…” He Ling’s expression grew even colder, “What a wonderful second home!”
He suddenly raised his hand and waved it, causing all the books on the table to fall to the ground.
Zheng Wangfeng was startled, wondering what he had said wrong. His servant immediately said, "Lord Zheng, let me escort you back."
Seeing He Ling's gloomy face, Zheng Wangfeng dared not linger and immediately took his leave.
When he reached the door of the He family, he was suddenly stunned.
Xiao He.
He Xiao.
If he remembered correctly, the second young master of the He family was named He Xiao, which, together with the eldest young master's name, formed the word "Lingxiao".
About a year or two ago, the second young master of the He family got into trouble. The eldest young master went around pleading for him, and the whole capital was moved by the eldest young master's protectiveness of his brother.
But if Xiao He is indeed He Xiao, then Young Master He's reaction just now was very strange, extremely strange...
Since the eldest son of the He family loves his younger brother so much, he must be happy to learn that his brother is not dead. If he is not happy, it means that he wishes his brother were truly dead.
So what will the eldest son of the He family do next?
If we send people to Dahe Village to search for He Xiao's whereabouts, wouldn't Dahe Village be...
Zheng Wangfeng's expression immediately turned serious.
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