"The door is locked!" Aunt Qin looked at Cui'er in surprise, "Who locked it? Why did they lock it?"

"It was Lin Bo who was with the Marquis who locked the house." Cui'er looked a little terrified. "It was said that the Fourth Young Master was frightened by someone, and someone saw the person who frightened the Fourth Young Master ran into the main house, and they wanted to search the house one by one."

"Amitabha!" Aunt Qin clasped her hands together and said, "Who has done this? The fourth young master has been weak and sickly since he was a child. How could he withstand such a thing!" Then she told Cui'er, "I'm going to burn some incense to the Bodhisattva and ask the Bodhisattva to bless the fourth young master to get better soon!"

Cui'er replied "yes" with lingering fear, lit a melon-shaped palace lantern and moved it to the warm room.

Aunt Qin knelt respectfully before the Bodhisattva Avalokitesvara, kowtowed three times, lit three incense sticks, then stood up and was helped into the inner room by Cui'er.

"Did you say when you searched our hospital?"

"No!" Cui'er whispered, "They just told us to stay in the yard and not go anywhere. Someone will knock on the door when the time comes."

Aunt Qin nodded, yawned and got on the bed: "Then let's rest first! If you don't do bad things in your life, you won't be afraid of ghosts knocking on your door in the middle of the night."

Cui Er saw that Qin Yi Niang didn't care, and gradually calmed down. Although she agreed to serve Qin Yi Niang and rest, she was a young girl after all, and she was very curious, so she couldn't sleep at all, and she pricked up her ears to listen to the noise outside.

* * * * * *

Xiu Cheng also pricked up her ears to listen to the noise outside.

"Aunt, the person has gone far away!" After a while, she returned to the room and reported to Qiao Lianfang.

Qiao Lianfang was sitting in the bedroom with her clothes on. She frowned slightly when she heard this: "Can you help me get dressed?"

Xiu Yuan was slightly startled.

"Since they are going to search, they have to go into the inner room." Qiao Lianfang said, "Instead of being in a hurry and making a fool of yourself, it is better to get dressed and wait for them to come."

Xiu Yuan thought what she heard made sense, so she called Zhu Rui in to help Qiao Lianfang comb her hair and change her clothes.

Qiao Lianfang sat in front of the dressing table with a confused expression.

"Aunt, what are you thinking about?"

Ever since Mrs. Qiao came that day and Qiao Lianfang asked Mrs. Qiao to help Xiu Li find a good marriage, Xiu Li's heart, which had been hanging in the air, finally settled down and she became much more cheerful.

"I was thinking," Qiao Lianfang murmured, "Master Changchun's words really came true."

When Xiu Li heard Qiao Lianfang mention Taoist Priest Changchun, she thought of Qiao Lianfang's lost child, and her eyes couldn't help but darken.

"Speaking of which, there is nothing perfect in this world." Qiao Lianfang looked a little dazed, "Like the fourth young master, he was anticipated before he was born, but who would have thought that he would be weak and sickly after he was born. It happened that the marquis only had this one legitimate son, so everyone who saw him was respectful. But the good times didn't last long, his biological mother passed away, and his aunt became his stepmother. This was considered a blessing in disguise. But he was frightened for no reason... It shows that people are born to suffer in this world." His tone was flat, but the words he said were quite depressing.

"What Auntie said is not entirely right." Xiu Li had to laugh, "In this world, good fortune and misfortune are interdependent. Otherwise, how can there be the saying of a blessing in disguise? Isn't there a saying that if you survive a great disaster, there will be good fortune in the future. I think that after the fourth young master passes this hurdle, he will have a smooth road ahead..."

Qiao Lianfang said nothing, but smiled at Xiu Li who was talking in the mirror.

* * * * * *

Yang put down the embroidery needle in her hand and said thoughtfully, "Although this method is crude, it is very effective." A trace of appreciation flashed in her eyes, "Think about the fourth young master who has been weak since childhood. He is out of breath after walking a few steps. How can he withstand such a shock! I think even if he can save his life, I am afraid that his spirit will be a little weak. By then, if he is not disciplined and something happens, I am afraid that he will lose his position as the prince."

"So even if the fourth young master is saved, he's ruined?" Mother Yang was a little dumbfounded. "Who did such a wicked thing to kill such a good child?"

Yang sneered: "If we don't get rid of him, how can other children have a chance to succeed?"

Mother Yang felt a little uncomfortable and muttered quietly, "Well, that can't be the case..."

Yang covered her mouth and smiled.

"Stop talking about this!" she ordered Mother Yang, "Make the bed! I'm going to sleep after I finish embroidering these few stitches."

"Is this okay?" Mother Yang hesitated. "If someone comes to search the house later and we're still lying in bed..."

"It's all right!" Yang lowered her head and continued to embroider the calyx that she had not finished embroidering. "After searching the main room, it was Madam Wen's turn, then Madam Qin, Madam Qiao... By the time it was our turn, it was probably already midnight."

Mother Yang thought about it and went.

Yang stopped sewing and said, "Apart from Madam, who else can know Zhun-ge's whereabouts so well? Who else can make those maids and old women serve her?"

* * * * * *

"I've thought about it carefully," Eleventh Lady propped her chin up on her elbow, revealing her wrist with a jade bracelet, "This could not have been premeditated. The back door of the old lady's house is only about ten feet away from the front door of the old sister's house. There are maids and old women walking around on weekdays. It's impossible for that person to wait there all day with such a conspicuous mask. Moreover, according to Chaxiang, Zhun Ge's move was just a spur-of-the-moment decision. He wanted to hide it from the adults, so he went through the back door that he usually doesn't go through. Let's take a step back. If that person has an accomplice, and sees Zhun Ge, and then reports the news, there is definitely not enough time."

Amber's eyes lit up when she heard this: "So, Madam knows who it is!"

"How should I know!" Eleventh Lady laughed, "I am just making inferences based on common sense."

Amber's expression darkened again.

Eleventh Lady also fell into deep thought.

The little maid standing outside the door said cautiously: "Madam, the doctor is here."

"Oh!" Eleventh Lady remembered that she had told Xu Lingyi that she would ask the doctor to check her pulse at the same time, so she motioned to Amber to lower the curtain next to the floor-length shade and checked her pulse through it.

"Madam's pulse is strong, I guess nothing serious is wrong."

As soon as Eleventh Lady heard it, she knew it was Doctor Liu. She hurriedly whispered, "How is the condition of the prince?"

"Ma'am, don't worry. It's just a shock. Light some sleeping incense and take some tranquilizers. It will be fine after some rest!"

Eleventh Lady breathed a sigh of relief, sent Doctor Liu away, and then lay down: "Call me when the Marquis comes back! I'm going to take a nap now. I stayed up all night and it's time for me to vomit again."

Amber agreed, turned down the wick, sat beside Eleventh Lady, and watched over her as she slept.

* * * * * *

The west room is the lady’s inner room.

Mother Du turned down the wick of the lamp and walked to the kang.

After taking the medicine and lighting sleeping incense, Xu Sizhun fell into a deep sleep.

The lady touched his forehead lovingly and whispered to Mother Du: "Go and see how Eleventh Lady is doing now?"

Mother Du responded softly and was about to go out when Madam Wu came over.

"Mother, how could this happen?" She looked anxious. "I checked over there. Except for two people playing cards in the night room, everyone else was here. No one went out." Then she asked Eleventh Lady, "Where is Fourth Sister-in-law? Why can't I see Fourth Sister-in-law? Did she go back to the main house?"

Xu Lingkuan asked the Fifth Madam to check his yard just to be on the safe side, and the Madam did not expect her to find anything.

"She was resting in the east room." The lady described the situation at that time, "...Zhun Ge kicked her leg unintentionally, but luckily the doctor said she was fine."

"This is a blessing in disguise." The Fifth Lady couldn't help sweating at her temples when she heard this. "Otherwise, the family would be in chaos."

"That's right. If anything happens to Eleventh Lady..." The lady stopped talking here suddenly, with a thoughtful expression.

The Fifth Lady also realized it.

If anything happens to Zhun Ge, or if something happens to Eleventh Lady, the direct descendants of the Yongping Marquis' Mansion will be completely wiped out.

She looked at the lady's gloomy face and was thinking about saying something cheerful to amuse her, when she suddenly said, "Old Four and Little Five are here. Sister Xin is home alone. You should go back early!"

After all, it was the fourth room's scandal, so it was understandable that the lady didn't want to know about it herself.

The Fifth Lady replied "yes" respectfully and stepped back.

It started drizzling outside again. Under the light, the raindrops fell as densely as embroidery needles.

Didn't you say you were feeling uncomfortable? How come you were kicked but nothing happened... Logically, Eleventh Lady was pregnant and didn't know whether it was a boy or a girl, so she wouldn't touch Zhun'er for the time being. But things in this world often happen unexpectedly, so you'll be caught off guard and lose your footing. But thinking about it carefully, it doesn't seem like Eleventh Lady's usual meticulous style...

She was lost in thought, and her pace slowed down.

He Ye, who was holding an umbrella, didn't know where Madam Wu was going. Seeing the raindrops floating in and wetting Madam Wu's skirt, he whispered, "Madam, where are we going?"

Madam Wu's expression brightened up, and she looked up and saw the green bamboo with swaying leaves behind the flower wall.

"Go to the Second Madam!" At this time, she really wanted to talk to someone.

"Yes!" He Ye responded, and went to the Second Madam with the Fifth Madam.

The Second Lady had not yet rested and was writing something at her desk. When she heard that the Fifth Lady was coming to visit, she could not hide her surprise and received the Fifth Lady in the banquet hall.

"Second sister-in-law, there is something you may not know yet." The Fifth Lady told her everything she knew, "... Tell me, such a big thing happened in the Fourth House. When we meet tomorrow, what should we sisters-in-law do?"

"Family disgrace should not be made public." The Second Lady showed a surprised expression when she first heard Xu Sizhun was frightened. She was calm at other times. "It's the Fourth House's business, but it's also our business. We just listen to the Madam!"

The Fifth Lady was not satisfied with this reply. It was obvious that the Second Lady did not want to talk any more. After saying a few words of gossip, she had to get up and say goodbye.

Jiexiang saw the Fifth Madam out, and the Second Madam sat for a long time before returning to the study.

"Madam, you should go to bed early!" Jie Xiang advised her, "The Madam will definitely call you to talk to her early tomorrow morning."

Only then did the Second Lady put down her pen.

Jiexiang helped the second lady to wash and dress, and seemed to say something but stopped herself several times.

"What's wrong?" The second wife asked her proactively.

Jie Xiang hesitated for a while before saying, "Second Madam, do you think that the Marquis is suspicious of the Fourth Madam?"

"Suspecting the Fourth Madam?" The Second Madam laughed when she heard it. "What makes you think that the Marquis is suspecting the Fourth Madam?" After saying that, she looked at Jie Xiang meaningfully. "If the Marquis doesn't investigate anything, then he is suspecting the Fourth Madam."

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Post the draft first and catch bugs tomorrow!

O(∩_∩)O~