Chapter 310: Zuiyun Tower
That night, Qing An came back with a serious face, "Master."
As soon as Xiao Yuan saw his expression, he had an idea in his mind, and gently pushed Shen Anan, who was sitting on his lap, up, "My husband wants to eat the sweet cakes made in the kitchen, can Madam go and prepare them for him?"
"Okay, I'll go right away." Shen Anan left without any doubt.
After the study door was closed again, Xiao Yuan spoke in a cold voice, "Wen Yin is not in the coffin?"
Qing An frowned and nodded, "The soil on the grave looks like it was turned over not long ago. I guess someone dug the grave after we left that night."
Xiao Yuan sneered. The old man really went to great lengths to avoid him.
"Send more people. No matter what means you use, you must find him for me."
Qingan responded and left.
Xiao Yuan's tense heart finally relaxed a little. Wen Yin was not dead, and there was finally hope for An An's condition.
He reviewed the official documents for a while before leaving the study and returning to Wutong Garden. As soon as he entered the door, he saw Shen Anan lying on the table, fast asleep.
Mo Xiang came in with a piece of sugar cake and was startled, "How could she fall asleep so soon? When I left just now, the princess was still very energetic..." She was in a daze.
I don't know what's going on, but the princess has been becoming more and more listless and tired these days. Except for the time she spends in the study, she basically spends the rest of the day resting, or sitting somewhere in a daze for hours at a time.
Xiao Yuan placed his index finger on his lips, made a gesture to keep quiet, then tiptoed forward, picked up the sleeping person by the waist, and placed him on the bed in the inner room.
"Sir, this is what the princess asked the kitchen to prepare for you."
Xiao Yuan stretched out his hand and Mo Xiang immediately handed him a tray. He picked up a piece and put it in his mouth, chewing it in small bites, but he couldn't taste anything.
"You should leave now."
Mo Xiang pursed her lips, walked out with the tray, and closed the door.
Xiao Yuan used a handkerchief to wipe off the remaining debris on his fingers, then turned his head and looked quietly at the girl sleeping on the bed.
He knew that her condition had gotten worse in recent days. She was sleepy, dazed, unable to concentrate, and slow to react. He even had to repeat what he was saying to her several times before she would realize it.
"An An, don't be afraid." He raised his hand and gently stroked her cheek, "I am here, I will definitely save you."
He bent down and put his face next to her cheek, without moving for a long time.
The moon was above the willows, and the extinguished candle in the main room suddenly jumped a few times and lit up. After a while, the door was pushed open, and Xiao Yuan came out in a dark brocade robe.
"Uncle."
"Guard the princess well."
Mo Xiang quickly agreed.
Xiao Yuan looked up at the moonlight, then strode out of Wutong Garden. Mo Xiang looked at his back, feeling that something big might happen recently, but she didn't dare to ask, as her job was to take good care of the prince's wife.
In the study of the Fourth Prince's mansion, the candlelight was dim and he could barely see things. Xiao Yuan pushed the door open and went in, sitting down behind the desk. There was a sudden movement in the dark corner, and a black shadow slowly stood up, and in an instant his figure was elongated under the reflection of the candlelight.
He was dressed in black and spoke in a hoarse and unpleasant voice, "Master."
"How's it going over there?"
“It has already shown initial results.”
Xiao Yuan frowned slightly, "Keep speeding up, I can't wait that long."
…
The two stayed in the study for a quarter of an hour. The door of the study was opened a crack, and a man in black quickly slipped into the darkness like a cat, jumped onto the beam, and disappeared.
After a while, Xiao Yuan also left the study and returned to Wutong Garden. Before entering the door, he turned around and told Qingfeng, "Go to Duke Li's mansion and ask him to come tomorrow."
Early the next morning, Li Huaiyan came to the Fourth Prince's mansion alone, but he had his head hung and brows drooped, looking greatly shocked and listless.
Ling Chenyi was also in Xiao Yuan's study, and raised his eyebrows when he saw him like this.
"What's going on? Are things not going well after marriage?"
"Go," Li Huaiyan glared at him, "That's better than being alone."
He had a lot of helplessness in his heart that wanted to come out, but he was afraid of being laughed at, so he had to hold it in.
Xiao Yuan frowned and glared at him, "If you don't want to say it, then let's talk about business."
Li Huaiyan opened his mouth, closed it again, and waved his hand, "I can handle trivial matters myself, the important things are more important."
He was obviously protecting Zheng Yue'er. Since they were a loving couple, Xiao Yuan and Ling Chenyi naturally didn't bother to waste their ears and started talking about business.
Li Huaiyan frowned after hearing this, "It's not difficult, but you have to think it through. It's inevitable that there will be omissions when acting in such a hurry..."
"I can't wait any longer," Xiao Yuan's eyes were gloomy, "It has to be as soon as possible."
Li Huaiyan and Ling Chenyi looked at each other, worry in their eyes, "But sister-in-law's condition is getting worse again?"
Xiao Yuan has been secretly looking for talented people, and the two of them knew it, although they didn't understand what effect those people could have on Shen Anan's strange illness.
Xiao Yuan was silent and nodded slowly.
"I'll do it right away." Li Huaiyan stood up and left the study.
＊
Duke Li's Mansion.
Zheng Yue'er looked at the people brought by the human traffickers and examined them carefully one by one.
"Don't worry, Madam. I guarantee that they are all clean, efficient, and well-mannered."
Zheng Yueer nodded.
The matchmaker suddenly discovered that this Duke's wife seemed to choose men differently from other ladies. Other ladies looked at the hands and picked those who were diligent and honest, but this lady seemed to look at the face and only picked those who were ugly and could scare people.
But that was only among these maids. After all, those who were chosen by wealthy families would not be that ugly. At most, they would just be unpleasing to the eye.
Sure enough, Zheng Yue'er finally picked a slightly older man with thick lips and protruding teeth.
"That's them."
"Oh, good, good, these two are the cheapest. The Duke's wife has good taste." The matchmaker was extremely happy, but then she realized that the people in the Duke's Mansion would not care about three or five taels of silver, so she immediately changed her words.
Zheng Yue'er's expression remained unchanged. "Go find the butler to get the money."
The matchmaker agreed and left with the remaining confused girl.
They met many maids along the way, which made them wonder where they lost. The matchmaker sighed and said, "Well, if you want to blame someone, just blame yourself for not being ugly enough."
"I know." A maid whispered, "I heard that Duke Li is the most romantic. The Duke's wife is probably doing this to guard against the Duke."
The middle-aged woman frowned and glanced at the person who spoke with a cold look, "What kind of place is this? You think you can talk nonsense like this?"
The man stopped talking immediately.
Xiaodie, the maidservant brought by Zheng Yue'er as a dowry, looked at the two of them and twitched a little, "Madam, how do you want to arrange for the two of them?"
"Go to the Duke's Mansion to serve in the study, and add fragrance to your life."
"..." I'm afraid it's not that the red sleeves add fragrance, but that they add stench. When the Duke comes back and sees it, he will be shocked.
"Madam, is this not a good idea? Will the Duke be angry?"
Zheng Yueer picked up the teacup and took a sip. She frowned and glanced at Xiaodie, "Angry? Why are you angry? I didn't stop him from favoring the maids in the mansion. Whoever he likes can serve him. Besides, I am the mistress, and he personally handed over the household chores to me. Shouldn't I have the final say on who I hire?"
Xiaodie was speechless. There was nothing wrong with what the madam said, but... this was clearly controlling the Duke.
Nowadays, there is no one in the mansion who is pretty, let alone a pretty girl. There is not even one with decent facial features. The Duke is very picky, so how could he possibly look down on her?
Zheng Yue'er didn't care at all, "Anyway, I have done what I promised before marriage."
…
"By the way, where is the Duke?"
Xiaodie frowned, "He left the house early this morning. According to the servant, he went to the Fourth Prince's house."
Zheng Yueer frowned and glanced at the sky. "It's time for him to come back at this hour. Go ask around and see if he's still in the Fourth Prince's mansion."
Zheng Yue'er knew that he went to the Fourth Prince's Mansion for important business, so she never disturbed him. Instead, she arranged everything for him and waited for him to come back.
She excitedly told the maid to go to the kitchen to order some dishes that Li Huaiyan liked and also prepared a pot of old wine.
As soon as the old woman left, Xiaodie came back, but she hung her head, as if she didn't dare to look at Zheng Yue'er's face.
The smile on Zheng Yue'er's face faded instantly, and she pursed her lips slightly, "He's not in the Fourth Prince's Mansion?"
"The driver who returned home early said that the Duke left the Fourth Prince's residence at noon and went to Zuiyun Tower alone."
Did he go to a brothel?
Zheng Yue'er's face turned pale and her body was a little shaky. They were still newlyweds, and he actually went to Zuiyun Tower?
Was he tired of her so soon? A sour feeling surged up in her, blurring her eyes instantly.
"Madam." Xiaodie's eyes turned red with heartache.
"Sister, I'm back." A slightly timid voice sounded, and Zheng Ye walked into the room and bowed politely, "The teacher taught me how to read and assigned me extracurricular homework today."
He took out a stack of rice paper from his schoolbag and handed it to Zheng Yueer, "This is what I wrote in the school today. Please take a look, sister."
Zheng Yueer forced back her tears, picked up the rice paper and flipped through the pages, "It's well written, but the handwriting needs to be improved. Go back and practice. I want to see improvement tomorrow."
"Yes." Zheng Ye put the rice paper back into his schoolbag very obediently.
He glanced at Zheng Yue'er cautiously and couldn't help asking, "Sister, what's wrong with you? Did anyone bully you?"
"No." Zheng Yueer looked at him and smiled at him, which was rare. "Go back to your yard."
Zheng Ye was flattered. He was completely frightened by the downfall of the Zheng family, the beheadings and exiles. His sister brought him in, but was even stricter than the teacher.
"Yes, I will try my best."
He carried his schoolbag and quickly left the main courtyard.
He didn't change completely, but he was afraid. He was more afraid of death than playing.
Afraid that his sister would think he was disobedient, she pushed him out of the Meridian Gate and killed him with a knife! !
Zheng Yue'er looked at his small figure, and a slight warmth rose in her eyes.
Life still has to go on. She escaped from the Zheng family's hell on her own, and now she can manage her marriage on her own.
She was gentle and virtuous to him, and no matter how soft she was, it was of no use. Since soft methods didn't work, she might as well use hard methods.
"I remember that among my dowry, there is a maid who is well versed in medicine. You should transfer her to serve in the main courtyard."
Xiaodie was stunned for a moment, "Madam, that is a low-class maid. She is not a proper doctor. Madam picked her up from the street. I heard that she used to... treat the girls in that place."
"I know you transferred people to my side, and I have my own plans."
"Yes." Xiaodie lowered her head and responded.
"Let's go, prepare the horses, we are going to Zuiyun Tower."
Hearing this, Xiaodie raised her head suddenly, with a look of disbelief on her face, "Madam, what did you say?"
But Zheng Yue'er had already stood up and walked out.
Xiaodie was on tenterhooks all the way, watching her daughter's face from time to time. Her daughter was probably the first one in the capital to go to a brothel to arrest someone. She was not only famous, but also criticized by others.
The carriage stopped at Zuiyun Tower. Xiaodie was still struggling, "Madam, why don't you just forget it? The son-in-law is such a face-conscious person. After what happened today, he might blame you."
Zheng Yue'er lowered her eyes and glanced at Xiaodie's hand that was grabbing her sleeve. A flash of confusion flashed across her eyes, and then it turned into determination. "If not, I can only accept it and endure it for the rest of my life."
Upon hearing this, Xiaodie slowly loosened her hand. Zheng Yue'er jumped off the carriage and went straight into Zuiyun Tower.
When the madam saw her, her eyelids twitched and she came up to her immediately, "I wonder where the lady comes from? This brothel of mine does not entertain women."
Zheng Yue'er had already found out where Li Huaiyan was, and she lifted her skirt and went upstairs. The madam was shocked because there were distinguished guests upstairs. She wanted to stop them immediately, but was stopped by Xiaodie.
It was obvious at first glance that Zheng Yue'er was not an ordinary person, most likely the wife of an official. She didn't dare let those burly men take action, so she could only shout continuously, hoping that her husband could hear her and not get caught.
The commotion downstairs attracted the attention of many people. When the servant guarding the door saw Zheng Yue'er going upstairs, his expression immediately changed. He knocked on the door hurriedly and reported, "Duke, Duke."
In the private room, Li Huaiyan and a man in a blue robe sat opposite each other and talked in low voices. Not far away, behind a screen, a girl sat there playing the piano.
The man in the blue robe frowned, looking uncomfortable, "Brother Li, can we choose another place to discuss matters next time?"
Li Huaiyan raised his eyebrows. "The noisier the place, the safer it is to talk about serious matters. Brother Zhao, you don't understand. I'll bring you here a few more times in the future, and you'll be able to appreciate the beauty of it."
The man in blue robe curled his lips.
There was a sudden knock on the door. Li Huaiyan frowned, a little unhappy, "What are you making so much noise for?"
The servant immediately pushed the door open and came in in a panic, "Duke, Madam, Madam is here."
He looks quite aggressive.
"What Madam?" Li Huaiyan was stunned for a moment. He was used to hanging out in places of entertainment, and he couldn't quite process that he was already married.
He tilted his head to look at the man in blue robe, "Your wife?"
"..." The blue-robed man shook his head, "I haven't married yet."
"Madam, it's the Duke's wife," the servant waved his hands together. Li Huaiyan suddenly remembered and jumped up, "Fuck, Zheng Yue'er?"
The servant nodded stiffly, and the blue-robed man beside him quickly stood up and said, "I have taken note of the Fourth Prince's order."
After saying this, he quickly went into the inner room and hid.
The meeting between the two must not be known to others.
Li Huaiyan was still confused when the door of the private room was pushed open and Zheng Yue'er walked in.
The madam also arrived soon after. After seeing the scene in the room and Li Huaiyan, she immediately guessed Zheng Yue'er's identity and retreated in a hurry.
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