Chapter 129: Fell Sick
After entering the city, the carriage headed towards Sanqing Temple.
Jiang Lan knelt on the cushion in front of the Buddha statue, clasped her hands together, and prayed devoutly.
I wish my mother to enjoy peace, a smooth and healthy life in the next life, and no worries.
Second, I wish my husband peace, unwavering love, and a long life together.
Third, I wish my loved ones good health, free from illness and disaster, and a long life.
She kowtowed devoutly, wishing for only these three things in her life, and nothing else.
After burning incense, she wanted to go to the backyard to see the flowers. A young monk led her and took her to the backyard, accompanied by two plainclothes guards in black armor.
Arriving at the courtyard gate, the young monk bowed with one hand and took his leave. Jiang Lan looked at the cobblestone path that stretched forward, and recalled the scene when she met Qi Wuhan here. It was drizzling at the time, and he was standing a few steps away from her. When she saw him, the rain had just stopped, and the sun shone through the clouds onto him. He seemed to be bathed in a golden glow, but for some reason, he exuded a sense of loneliness...
She walked slowly along the cobblestone path, and familiar memories appeared in her mind. A smile appeared on the corners of her mouth, and a smile also appeared between her eyebrows.
As he bowed deeply toward the sky, he said, "Mother-in-law, please accept my humble greeting."
She must have been a little shaken at that time...
When she came to her senses, Jiang Lan realized that she had walked too far and had unknowingly come to another path. Four or five peonies planted in front of her were already in full bloom. When she was about to go over to see the flowers, she vaguely heard voices coming from behind. She looked around and saw that there was a pavilion in front of her, but it was hidden among the flowers and trees, so she didn't notice it for a while.
Since there were people talking in the pavilion, Jiang Lan decided not to go over, so as not to let others misunderstand that she was there to eavesdrop. When she was about to turn around and leave, a person came out of the pavilion and walked towards her. Jiang Lan was a little surprised to see that it was Manager Hao. She didn't expect to meet him here.
"Greetings, Madam." Shopkeeper Hao came over, bowed, and exchanged pleasantries, "Madam, are you also here to burn incense in the temple?"
Jiang Lan nodded slightly and glanced towards the pavilion. She didn't see the other person coming out, so he should still be in the pavilion.
"I heard that the fortune-telling at Sanqing Temple is very accurate, so I came here to ask for one," said Shopkeeper Hao happily. "I'm lucky today! I actually got an excellent fortune."
Jiang Lan asked quietly, "Is the shopkeeper here seeking a marriage partner?"
Manager Hao's face flushed. "Madam, you're joking. I'm almost forty, so how can I have any romantic luck? Now I just hope that the restaurant will be prosperous in the future so that I can save more money to enjoy my retirement."
The two of them walked and talked, slowly walking away.
Then the second person came out of the pavilion and left along another path.
When they were almost at the gate of the courtyard, Manager Hao saw that it was almost noon and invited Jiang Lan to have dinner at his restaurant. Jiang Lan said that she had some things to do at home and would go another day, so Manager Hao took his leave first.
After returning to the Marquis' Mansion, Butler Shi delivered a letter. When Jiang Lan saw the handwriting on the envelope, she knew it was written by Qi Wuhan. She opened the envelope with great joy and first poured out a small gift inside, which was a wooden carved rabbit. The carving was lifelike and cute. Before she could appreciate it carefully, she took out the letter inside and started reading it. After seeing the last word, she read it again from the beginning and read it aloud word by word in a low voice, with a sweet smile between her eyebrows.
After reading the letter, she picked up the little rabbit again to admire it, and then found its name on the little rabbit's belly. She smiled and saw the words "Xiaobai" engraved on it.
Then she took the little rabbit and showed it to Yuanbao, "Yuanbao, look, its name is Xiaobai, isn't it cute?" Yuanbao turned his head away, as if jealous. Jiang Lan reached out and touched its little head, praising it, "Yuanbao is the cutest~" Yuanbao repeated happily, "The cutest, the cutest..."
"Yuanbao is the smartest~" Jiang Lan continued to praise.
"The smartest, the smartest..." Yuanbao became even happier.
Jiang Lan laughed out loud at this, and she reached out to touch Yuanbao's little head, muttering, "When do you think the Marquis will come back?" Yuanbao repeated, "Come back soon, come back soon..." Jiang Lan smiled and rewarded Yuanbao with a piece of cake.
…
The next morning, Jiang Yao hurried back to the Shangshu Mansion. She originally wanted to find Jiang Shen to ask him about it, but Jiang Shen had gone to court and had not returned yet, so she went to the Marquis' Mansion instead.
"I heard that my father was demoted to Zhangzhou. Is that true?" Jiang Yao asked impatiently after seeing Jiang Lan.
Jiang Lan nodded.
Jiang Yao was stunned. After coming to her senses, she saw Jiang Lan's nonchalant expression and said dissatisfiedly, "Then why aren't you worried at all? Don't you want to think of a way to save Daddy?"
Jiang Lan said calmly, "Father left yesterday. It's done. What else can we do?"
"What?!" Jiang Yao was stunned again, half believing and half doubting, "Daddy is really gone?"
Jiang Lan nodded.
"When will Daddy come back?" Jiang Yao asked anxiously.
Jiang Lan said calmly, "Then you should ask His Majesty."
Seeing Jiang Lan's indifferent attitude towards the matter, Jiang Yao said angrily, "What good will it do you if your father is demoted? If the emperor punishes you again, aren't you afraid that your family will be confiscated and your clan will be exterminated?"
Jiang Lan smiled and said, "Third sister, you're really exaggerating. Confiscating our property and exterminating our clan? Have I done something unforgivable, or is my husband an unforgivable person?" At this point, she glanced at Jiang Yao dimly. "Speaking of which, it was really thanks to the Duke's Mansion that my husband went to guard the imperial mausoleum."
"That's because your Marquis cut off one of his hands first, and now he has been punished by the emperor, and he will never be able to be an official in the future." Jiang Yao was resentful, but she didn't dare to complain too much in front of Jiang Lan for fear of angering her, so she complained again, "Now my parents-in-law don't like me, and even the servants in the mansion give me a cold shoulder. Now that my father has been demoted, I can't stay in this mansion anymore." As she spoke, she began to cry.
"Don't you know why your father was demoted?" Jiang Lan asked indifferently.
Jiang Yao stopped crying and said guiltily, "I don't know..."
Jiang Lan said indifferently: "It's no use crying in front of me. Go back and think about how to live your life. Send me away."
Gui'er walked up to Jiang Yao and made a gesture to invite her in. Jiang Yao couldn't stay any longer, so she took Hua'er and left.
After everyone left, Jiang Lan let Qing'er go first, supported her head with one hand, closed her eyes and thought silently.
In the afternoon, Jiang Lan learned another piece of news that a group of rebels appeared in the Jinzhou area. They were wandering around and making trouble under the banner of restoring order and eradicating evil. This group of rebels was very cunning. The local government sent troops to encircle and suppress them three times but failed, so they reported it to the court.
At the morning court session, some military officers proposed that Qi Wuhan should redeem himself from his crime and lead the troops to quell the rebellion. The next moment, a bunch of civil officials jumped out to oppose it. They gave a lot of reasons, which made the military officers furious. However, ten mouths could not speak against one of the other party, and their heads hurt.
The emperor adopted the advice of the majority and asked Cui Hai to lead the troops to quell the rebellion.
The next day, Cui Hai led his troops to war, and Cui Yan followed him.
After a spring rain, the flowers in the imperial garden seemed to bloom all overnight, with a riot of color and beauty. However, the emperor fell ill at this time.
Prince Rui was secretly summoned to the palace, and the Imperial City Administration also strengthened the defense of the city. Officers and soldiers from the Imperial City Administration patrolled the streets every day, and a sense of impending crisis was quietly spreading.
Then a piece of news spread from the palace that the emperor's illness was related to the prince.
The Crown Prince secretly met with a palace maid in the study of the East Palace at night, but was caught by the Crown Princess. The palace maid died by hitting her head against a pillar out of shame and anger. The Crown Princess was so traumatized by this that she lost the baby in her belly.
The emperor was so enraged that he fainted and has not woken up yet.
The imperial doctors had no good solution to this problem. Of the famous doctors who had been brought into the palace to treat Prince Ning, only Mr. Bai and Mr. Mo stayed. Mr. Bai was good at acupuncture, while Mr. Mo was good at pharmacology. The two of them cooperated with each other in the treatment and finally made the emperor wake up.
After the emperor regained consciousness, he asked Eunuch Liu to convey his order to confine the crown prince to the Eastern Palace to reflect on his mistakes. He then called Prince Rui to his side, gave him some instructions, and then fainted again.
Prince Rui ordered Commander Li of the Imperial Guard to seal the palace gates and no one was allowed to enter or leave.
The palace was under martial law, and all civil and military officials became even more uneasy, fearing that the situation would change overnight and the world would be in chaos.
Jiang Lan also learned about the closure of the palace gates, and asked Butler Shi to tell the servants in the mansion not to go out casually in the near future.
On the second night after the palace gates were closed, two eunuchs came to the Marquis' Mansion. The older eunuch conveyed the emperor's oral order to Jiang Lan, asking her to enter the palace immediately.
After the last incident of Concubine Zhen falsely conveying the imperial edict, Jiang Lan was more cautious this time. She first asked the names of the two eunuchs and where they worked, and then asked about the emperor's condition.
"Your Majesty has sent for the Marquis to return. He is worried that something might have happened to your Madam, so he has asked me to invite you into the palace. Please follow me, Madam. Your Majesty has something else to tell you."
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