Chapter 122

The atmosphere in the Duke's Mansion was different from every time Jiashan came here before. It was filled with heavy solemnity and deathly silence, as if something really big had happened.

The servants' faces were even more serious than when they heard that the old lady was seriously ill.

Jiashan had only come here to test the waters, but when he saw the state of the Duke's Mansion, he quickened his pace and headed toward the Duke An's courtyard.

She happened to meet Yu who had just come out of Duke Anguo's courtyard.

"The princess is here too?" After Yu finished her greetings, she took a few steps forward and spoke in a low voice.

Because of Zhan A'li, the relationship between Zhan Yue and the Yu family has always been harmonious, so Yu is one of the few people in the Duke's Mansion that Jiashan trusts.

Jiashan nodded and asked softly, "Is the Duke still not feeling well?"

Yu's expression darkened, and she shook her head and said, "Since the illness, the Duke's health has not improved. The doctor also found it strange, and said that the illness came like a mountain, and he must continue to be nursed."

Jiashan frowned and asked, "Where is the snow lotus I sent you? Can you boil it and take it?"

"I took it three times," Yu sighed and whispered, "but it didn't work."

Jiashan couldn't help but wonder in his heart. Tianshan Snow Lotus is a rare and precious medicinal material. Not to mention that Duke Anguo has always been as strong as an ox. Even if he really has a serious illness, taking Snow Lotus will have a tonic effect. How could it have no effect?

Could it be that he really has some terminal illness?

Jiashan walked into the inner courtyard of the Duke of Anguo and saw him lying on the couch with his eyes closed. It seemed that he had just finished eating. Several concubines who usually served him were wiping his face. Zhang was also sitting on a chair at the head of the bed. When she saw Jiashan coming in, a flash of panic flashed across Zhang's face, and she subconsciously tightened her handkerchief.

Unfortunately, Jiashan's eyes were completely fixed on Duke Anguo at the moment, and he did not notice Zhang's discomfort.

Zhang prepared herself for a while before saying, "The princess is a rich lady, and a very busy woman. She is very different from ordinary wives like us. It's rare for the emperor to visit her once."

"Could it be that the princess finally remembered that her father-in-law is sick?" Zhang asked sarcastically.

Jiashan was in no mood to argue with her at this time, and just said to the concubines in the room: "I heard that the Duke's illness has not improved. What did the doctor say?"

The concubines replied, saying the same thing as what Yu had relayed.

Jiashan asked, "Where is the prescription? Let me see it. Have you been serving me personally these days?"

A gentle-looking concubine replied, "At night, we servants take turns to serve the Duke. During the day, the Crown Prince's wife, the Second Lady, and the Eldest Young Master's wife will also come."

As they were talking, the concubine handed the doctor's prescription to Luyi, who was standing beside Jiashan. Jiashan motioned for Luyi to take it. She looked up at Zhang and said, "The Duke is not getting better. In my opinion, maybe we should try a different doctor. What do you think, Madam?"

Regardless of what happened between Jiashan and the Duke's Mansion in the past, he said this with good intentions. However, Zhang had no intention of appreciating it at all.

She lowered her eyes and said, "The princess is a monarch, so she is naturally worthy of being a Duke's mansion. How dare we disobey?"

Jiashan pursed her lips slightly, with a half-smile on her face. She sneered and said calmly, "I am meddling in other people's business. Since the wife of the prince has her own ideas, then let's do as you wish."

After saying this, Jiashan left with the men in green without any regrets.

Zhang's expression looked better. The servant who had just replied was silent for a moment, then whispered to Zhang: "I think the princess seems to want to help the Duke. The princess is a princess after all, and the Duke has been ill for quite some time. If the princess can invite the imperial physician, maybe..."

"What do you know!" The maid's words seemed to have completely angered Zhang. Zhang stared at her and shouted, "If she had this intention, she would have come here long ago! Why would she wait until now? She just said sweet words and tried to fool people into believing her. If you really do what she says, in a few days, you will be ready to collect the body of the Duke!"

Zhang spoke angrily, and several maids were frightened and stopped, looking at each other.

Seeing that they seemed unconvinced, Zhang said with a sneer, "Have you all forgotten the grudge between the Duke and the Yongding Marquis's Mansion?"

The Fu family of Yongding Hou has always been a taboo in the mansion. The maids all fell silent and dared not say a word.

Zhang was satisfied, and then said, "I'll go and boil the medicine. If the Duke wakes up, help him get out of bed and walk around. Don't tell him that the princess came. Did you hear me?"

The maids bowed their heads and nodded "yes". Seeing that these maids were completely tamed by her, Zhang snorted and walked out of the room.

On the way back in the carriage, Dan Cui was complaining for Jia Shan: "The wife of the prince is really ignorant of right and wrong. Who is this person?"

Jiashan knew Zhang's temper well, so he was not too angry. He just said, "Let her be. If you want to argue with her, you will be angry for the rest of your life. Anyway, I am not the one who has to lie in bed and suffer."

Dan Cui thought that it was Duke An who was suffering from illness, and she felt better instantly. She snorted and said, "I really don't understand what's going on in her brain."

"Who would know?" Jiashan had never been able to guess Zhang's train of thought, and he had long been too lazy to guess, but he was still puzzled by the Duke of Anguo's illness.

After returning home, she asked Lu Yi to send the doctor's prescription to the Imperial Hospital for Gong Bixing to take a look. She also wanted to find out whether the Duke of Anguo's illness was real or fake. If it was real, how serious was the illness and to what extent.

After Zhan Yue returned home, he knew that Duke Anguo was still bedridden. He just said without raising his head: "People who are obsessed with wine and sex will have such a day sooner or later. It's just a matter of time."

"That's what you say, but I still think something is wrong." Jiashan frowned and said, "He just came out of mourning. Even if he is crazy, he can't be consumed like this all of a sudden."

Jiashan said: "I went there today, but I saw that he had lost a lot of weight."

Zhan Yue didn't react. In fact, there was one thing he didn't say - considering the bad behavior of Duke Anguo, who knew whether he had done anything wrong during the mourning period?

Xuan Ge'er was playing with building blocks and listening to his parents' conversation. When he heard that Duke Anguo had lost weight again, Xuan Ge'er asked casually, "Is he going to die?"

Xuan Ge'er had no feelings for his grandfather, whom he hadn't seen for a year. When he talked about his life and death, it was as if he was talking about a dog.

Jiashan actually didn't want what happened between them to affect Xuan'er, but children are naturally sensitive to likes and dislikes, and Xuan'er is precocious, and he seemed to have already realized that Duke Anguo didn't like him very much.

Jiashan sighed, thought for a while, and decided not to hide it from him: "Not yet, it shouldn't be that fast."

Xuan Ge'er said "Oh", and said: "Well, I thought Dad would be able to stay at home with me for a long time."

Zhan Yue smiled and walked over to touch Xuan Ge'er's furry head: "Doesn't your father accompany you every day?"

"But it's only for a short while every day." Xuan Ge'er pinched his thumb and index finger together, meaning it was still very short. He explained, "Bao Ge'er's grandmother passed away last month, so Bao Ge'er's father could stay at home with him all the time. I thought my father could do the same."

Xuan'er's innocent look immediately warmed Zhan Yue's heart. He pinched his son's little face, put him to bed, and prepared to coax him to sleep.

A certain thought flashed through his mind, and he raised his eyes and silently looked at Jiashan. Jiashan was also thinking of this from Xuan Ge'er's words, and both of them saw surprise and chill in each other's eyes.

There was a boy named Xuan between the two of them, and Jiashan mouthed, "Is it really like this?"

Zhan Yue had a cold expression and didn't say anything for a long time. Only after Xuan Ge'er fell asleep under his gentle coaxing did Zhan Yue sneer and said, "In order to remove me from the post of Nine Gates Admiral, they really did everything they could."

Xuan'er's casual words just now happened to reveal the most crucial part.

Duke Anguo is Zhan Yue's real father. If he dies, Zhan Yue will definitely be worried! Now that Fu Xiao is in trouble, some people in the court have expressed dissatisfaction with Zhan Yue's still high position. If Duke Anguo is gone, these people can just take advantage of the situation to make him resign. Even if Emperor Zhanghe wants to seize the love, it will be difficult.

Jiashan's smile disappeared. She lowered her voice and said, "There must be someone inside the Anguo Mansion, otherwise the Anguo Duke's illness wouldn't keep recurring."

"It can only be her." Zhan Yue named the candidate without much thought.

Jiashan didn't know what to say. The scene in which Zhang rejected her outright in the afternoon came to her mind again. Now she finally understood the reason.

Zhang was actually hoping that Duke Anguo would close his eyes!

Jiashan said slowly: "Will Zhantai know?"

Zhan Yue lowered his eyelids and whispered, "Probably I don't know."

"Although my elder brother has no ability, he is a very filial person and would not do such a disloyal and unfilial thing."

Therefore, it was most likely Zhang's own idea. As for whether Zhan Shaoying knew about it, that was another matter.

Jiashan calmed herself down and made up her mind in an instant: "Looks like I have to go to the Duke's Mansion tomorrow." Although she really didn't like Duke An, she had to save his life for Zhan Yue.

Zhan Yue stroked her hair, held her in his arms, and whispered, "Thank you for your hard work."

Jiashan put his arm around his waist and suddenly laughed, "Sometimes, things in this world are really strange."

"I'm afraid Duke Anguo would never have thought that the one who harmed him was his most satisfied daughter-in-law, and the one who saved him was actually his most disliked son."

Zhan Yue also smiled faintly and said calmly: "One day in the future, I will let him know." Now is not the time.

The most urgent task now is to find out where those people's hands have reached.

From the accident of his uncle to the serious illness of Duke Anguo, it was like a chain of plots, mainly targeting him. In other words, it was targeting the position of the Nine Gates Admiral.

What made them so impatient?

Zhan Yue's fingers brushed the edge of the bed, and he remained silent as he thought.