Chapter 96: Strange Things
While Qi Wuhan was staying in the military camp, a strange and creepy incident occurred in the capital, causing panic among the people.
Someone died in the Zhou and Zhao families.
The rumor was that the fourth daughter of the Zhao family and the sixth daughter of the Zhou family had unfortunately died of a sudden illness.
And there seems to be something else going on...
When Gui'er told Jiang Lan the news, she was also shocked.
Qi Wuhan was not at home, and it happened that people from the Imperial City Bureau came to the door.
When Ji Quan came with two of his men, they were stopped outside the door by the black-armored guards, and then Ling Feng came over.
Ling Feng politely addressed him as Lord Ji and asked, "Lord Ji, is there anything?" Ji Quan asked in return, "Is the Marquis here?" Ling Feng did not answer. Ji Quan probed, "I heard that the Marquis went to the military camp?" Ling Feng gestured for him to leave. "Lord Ji, if you are all right, please go back."
"Hasn't Commander Ling heard about what happened to Lord Zhao and Lord Zhou's families?" Ji Quan curled his lips in a signature sneer, and added, "I heard that the young ladies of these two families had offended your wife before. Human lives are at stake, so it would be best if your wife could explain the matter face to face."
"Madam is not feeling well and will not see any guests." Ling Feng decisively refused, "Please go back, sir."
Two black-armored guards stepped forward and asked Ji Quan and his two men to leave. The sneer on Ji Quan's lips became even more ironic.
"I have His Majesty's order to thoroughly investigate this matter. If your wife doesn't explain everything to you in person, I'll have no choice but to report to His Majesty that she's feigning illness and hiding something. I'm afraid she has something to hide." He stepped forward to Ling Feng's side, lowering his voice with a hint of mischief, and whispered, "Do you want me to ask for His Majesty's imperial edict? If it does, your wife will probably have to go to the Imperial City Office to explain everything."
Ling Feng led the person in with a sullen face.
Ji Quan sat in the hall and waited for about a quarter of an hour. Jiang Lan came over with Ling Feng. Ji Quan stood up and congratulated her on becoming the wife of the Marquis. His tone sounded sarcastic. He also asked why she didn't invite him to the wedding for a drink. He even prepared a gift.
"Sir, you have something to ask me. Please ask." Jiang Lan said straight to the point.
"I'm not worthy of being called the Second Miss," Ji Quan curled his lips and deliberately corrected her, "No, you should call me Madam now. I'm not worthy of even a single word of Madam."
Jiang Lan felt that the other party was becoming more and more proficient in using the empty rhetoric used in official circles, and was not as straightforward as before.
"I heard that the fourth daughter of the Zhao family and the sixth daughter of the Zhou family offended the lady before. What happened?" Ji Quan asked, suddenly becoming cheerful again.
"It was just a little dispute before, it's not an offense." Jiang Lan replied in a normal tone.
"What dispute?" Ji Quan asked.
"Are you doubting me, sir?" Jiang Lan asked back.
Ji Quan smiled and said, "If Madam doesn't explain clearly, it will be a bit suspicious."
Ling Feng took two steps forward, silently warning the other party to be careful with his words.
"At the birthday party at the general's mansion before, they pushed me into the water. Are you satisfied with this answer, sir?" Jiang Lan knew that the other party probably already knew the whole story and just wanted to hear her say it in person. In that case, she would not beat around the bush and waste her time.
After getting the answer, Ji Quan turned the topic back to Qi Wuhan, "Does the Marquis know about this?"
Jiang Lan became more alert, picked up the teacup, scraped it, and didn't say anything else.
Ji Quan also picked up his teacup and scraped it, then continued, "I heard that the Marquis had trouble with Lord Zhao and Lord Zhou to vent his anger on his wife, and the Fourth and Sixth Misses were also punished." At this point, he changed the subject and said meaningfully, "If the Marquis feels that this is not enough..."
When Jiang Lan heard that he was trying to pin these two deaths on Qi Wuhan, she was furious and wanted to scold him profusely. After calming down for a moment, she took the initiative and asked, "Didn't Miss Zhao and Miss Zhou suddenly fall ill? Could they have been murdered?"
"If I tell you, I'm afraid it will scare your wife." Ji Quan kept the secret to whet people's appetite.
Jiang Lan said, "I'm not that timid. Please feel free to tell me, sir."
Ji Quan curled his lips, put down the teacup, and told the tragic scene of the two people's death without any reservation.
The two men committed suicide by hanging. Their faces were completely ulcerated, with no healthy skin left. They were covered in blood, and when they were found, their faces were covered with flies.
When Jiang Lan heard the last sentence, she briefly imagined the scene. Her stomach churned. She suppressed the chill in her heart and analyzed objectively, "It's probably the rouge and powder that's wrong. Your Excellency should check if there's anything wrong with the rouge and powder that the two of them usually use."
"If there is no problem, what else do you think it could be, madam?" Ji Quan deliberately probed.
Jiang Lan pondered for a moment and said, "If there's nothing wrong with the rouge and powder, then it's possible that someone ate or drank something. The clothes you wear every day and the quilt you sleep on could have been tampered with."
After she finished speaking, Ji Quan's expression was a little intriguing. Without asking any more questions, he stood up and said, "Sorry to bother you, Madam. I'll take my leave now." He turned around and paused for a moment, then said, "I heard that the daughter of Lord Zheng is not in good condition. Madam, you may want to go and see her when you are free." After that, he strode away.
After everyone left, Ling Feng arranged for people to conduct a secret investigation.
Jiang Lan remained in the living room, sitting in a chair, gazing at the cold, gray sky outside. Her mood was so depressing she couldn't help but think of what the fourth daughter of the Zhao family and the sixth daughter of the Zhou family looked like. The thought of their faces covered in flies made her stomach churn, and her hands and feet felt cold...
She stood up and walked outside, taking a deep breath of the icy air. The cold breath of ice and snow filled her body, which dispersed the chill blocking her chest a little and eased the churning in her stomach. After her mind calmed down, she began to analyze the matter objectively. Thinking of the girl from the Zheng family that Ji Quan had told her before, her intuition told her that it was Zheng Qianer.
Who would dare to attack the three families at the same time, and why would they want to disfigure the three people's faces?
Jiang Lan felt that she could not wait any longer and had to see Zheng Qianer as soon as possible.
If someone secretly plots to frame Qi Wuhan for this, and His Majesty becomes suspicious and no longer intends to protect him...
The thought of this frightened her and she immediately asked someone to prepare the carriage.
Ling Feng persuaded her to stay in the mansion, and he had already sent people to find out the situation.
Jiang Lan insisted on going, so Ling Feng drove the carriage to Zheng's house.
It was freezing cold, and there were few people on the street. A carriage in front suddenly skidded and lay across the middle of the road. The entire carriage tilted to one side, and it looked like people were about to fall out of the carriage. Two black-armored guards came to the rescue and pushed the carriage back. Then the people in the carriage got out to thank the two men, and Jiang Lan happened to see it.
She felt that the face looked familiar, and the next moment she remembered who it was.
It was Manager Hao who had previously run an inn in Sangcheng. She had stayed there for one night when she went to Sangcheng.
Manager Hao also saw Jiang Lan who was looking over here after pulling aside the car curtain, and hurried over to thank her. The next moment, he recognized her with surprise and told her that he had come to the capital to do business and opened a restaurant right in front. He asked her to come over and have a seat when she was free. Jiang Lan agreed. Manager Hao was also a smart man. Seeing that she seemed to have something to do, he took his leave first.
Shopkeeper Hao asked his servant to pull the carriage aside to let Jiang Lan's carriage pass first, and then he got on the carriage and asked his servant to go slower this time so as not to rush.
…
When Ling Feng drove the carriage to the gate of Zheng's mansion, a guard in black armor went to knock on the door. After waiting for a while, a servant came to open the door, peeked in first, and looked alert.
"I want to see your wife, go and tell her quickly."
Seeing that Jiang Lan was dressed elegantly and accompanied by three brave and handsome guards, the servant knew that she must be of high status. He quickly ran in to inform them, and soon the housekeeper of the mansion came over.
The housekeeper first recognized the identities of Ling Feng and the two black-armored guards, and was shocked. Then he realized that Jiang Lan was the newly married wife of the Marquis. He led her in first, asked Jiang Lan to wait in the hall, and then went to inform Madam Zheng.
Upon learning that Jiang Lan had come to her house, Mrs. Zheng was shocked and became restless, thinking that Jiang Lan was here to settle a score with her.
Before, Ji Quan brought people from the Imperial City Bureau to investigate, and Madam Zheng told them about Jiang Lan falling into the water and Qi Wuhan causing trouble for the three families.
"Go tell her I have a headache and can't see anyone."
After the housekeeper brought Madam Zheng's words to Jiang Lan, Jiang Lan asked Zheng Qian'er, "Where is your third young lady? Take me to see her." The housekeeper was shocked and hurriedly covered up, saying, "The third young lady is not feeling well and cannot see guests."
"Is there something wrong with her face too?" Jiang Lan asked directly.
The housekeeper looked shocked and tried to hide it, but was startled by Jiang Lan's commanding tone.
"Take me to her!"
A servant came hurriedly to report to Madam Zheng, and Madam Zheng hurried over to intercept Jiang Lan and stopped her before she entered the yard.
"Why do you want to see Qian'er?" Mrs. Zheng's tone was full of hostility towards Jiang Lan, as if she was sure that she was the culprit.
Jiang Lan softened her expression and said, "I know a miracle doctor who might be able to cure the third lady's face."
Mrs. Zheng's expression brightened when she heard this, and a glimmer of hope rekindled in her eyes. But she was also a little suspicious and asked, "Are you serious? Can this miracle doctor really cure Qian'er's face?"
Jiang Lan didn't dare to guarantee it, but she had to give it a try. "To cure the disease, we must first find the cause. I have to see the third girl first."
Madam Zheng looked at the yard behind her and was in a dilemma. Jiang Lan knew what she was worried about and said, "If the Third Miss doesn't want me to see her like this, I can cover my eyes."
When Mrs. Zheng brought Jiang Lan to the door of the room, she once again reminded her not to be frightened after entering.
"Qian'er can't stand any stimulation now, so don't stimulate her later."
Jiang Lan nodded. When Mrs. Zheng opened the door, she took a deep breath silently and followed Mrs. Zheng in.
The room was dimly lit, and the air was filled with a pungent smell of ointment, mixed with a hint of rotting meat.
Although she had prepared herself mentally before coming in, when she actually saw Zheng Qian'er tied to the bed with her face wrapped in layer upon layer of gauze, the chill in her heart rose again. She tried hard to restrain herself and followed Mrs. Zheng to the bedside.
When the pair of eyes exposed outside saw Jiang Lan, the dull pupils suddenly became excited.
Zheng Qianer struggled desperately to hide her face, and shouted in a hoarse voice, "Get out!"
Madam Zheng hurried to comfort her. Jiang Lan stood by the bed, a little bewildered. After quickly calming down, she closed her eyes and said, "I won't look at you."
Zheng Qian'er calmed down when she saw her close her eyes. Madam Zheng then told her that Jiang Lan knew a miracle doctor who could cure her face. Zheng Qian'er became excited again and repeatedly confirmed, "You can really cure my face. You didn't lie to me, right? It really can be cured, isn't it true...?"
It is better to treat the disease early rather than late.
Jiang Lan said she would first ask someone to see if the miracle doctor was there. She went out and told Ling Feng, and Ling Feng asked a black-armored guard to go to the medicine house to ask.
When Jiang Lan returned to the house, Zheng Qian'er repeatedly asked her when the miracle doctor would come. Jiang Lan said that before seeing the miracle doctor, if she could know the cause of her illness, she could get the right medicine.
"It's the box of rouge she gave me! That's the box of rouge!" Zheng Qian'er yelled at the top of her lungs. Madam Zheng interrupted her, "Don't talk nonsense. How could it be that box of rouge? It must have been those little rascals in the mansion who tampered with it. Once I find out who it is, I will not let her off!"
"It's that box of rouge. Why doesn't mother believe me? It's her who wants to harm me. It's her..." Zheng Qian'er burst into tears with excitement. Mrs. Zheng wiped her tears with a handkerchief in her heart.
"Where's Rouge?"
Seeing that Jiang Lan believed her, Zheng Qian'er immediately told her that her mother had put the rouge away. Jiang Lan then asked Madam Zheng for it, but Madam Zheng said that there was only a little left and she had thrown it away a long time ago.
When Zheng Qian'er heard that she was thrown away, she burst into tears again, "Mother, why don't you believe me? Am I not your biological child...?" Madam Zheng also cried, "My son, you are my flesh and blood. How can a mother not love you..."
"Is it the box of rose rouge that Miss Cui gave me before?" Jiang Lan asked.
Zheng Qian'er nodded immediately. "It's that rouge. My face looks like this because I used that rouge. My own rouge has always been fine. It's that rouge that turned me like this. She wants to harm me. I know she likes the Sixth Prince." Madam Zheng quickly stopped her from talking nonsense. Zheng Qian'er had nothing to fear at this point and wanted to reveal her true face to everyone. "She just likes the Sixth Prince and is afraid that I will marry him, so she wants to destroy my face. She's a vicious bitch!"
Only then did Jiang Lan realize that Cui Jingshu liked Prince An. She must have heard some rumors that the girls from these three families might become Prince An's concubines, so she wanted to catch them all in one fell swoop and get rid of them once and for all. This move was both shrewd and vicious. After all, three or four months had passed since the rouge was delivered to the Changxing Marquis' Mansion. Even if someone was killed and the news got out, no one would think of the connection between the two.
"Didn't she send you a box before? How come your face is okay?" Zheng Qian'er began to feel unbalanced at this time.
Jiang Lan said, "She pushed me into the water and shot me with an arrow, almost killing me. Do you think I would dare to use the things she gave me?"
Zheng Qianer was speechless. If it were her, she probably wouldn't dare to use it either.
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