Chapter 123

The next day, Jiashan got up early and went to the Duke of Anguo's Mansion.

In the courtyard of Duke Anguo, Zhang and others had not had time to leave yet. The one guarding the house was the maid who had replied to Jiashan yesterday.

She probably didn't expect Jiashan to come at this time. After being stunned for a moment, she hurriedly stood up and bowed respectfully.

Jiashan gestured for him to stand up. She asked softly, "Why are you the only one here? Where are the others?"

The maid replied after careful consideration: "It was my turn to keep watch last night. My sisters all went to sleep. In half an hour, someone will come to replace me."

Jiashan looked at her, with some understanding in his eyes.

Jiashan felt that this maid was unfamiliar yesterday, so he sent someone to secretly ask Qi. It turned out that this maid was bought into the mansion by Duke Anguo after he finished his mourning period and was favored by him. She had just entered the mansion not long ago, so her thoughts were inevitably simple.

Doesn't simplicity mean being easy to bully?

It was now clear that the other maids found it too tiring to keep watch at night, and that was why she was left alone to do it.

Coincidentally, it just happened to be convenient for me now.

Jiashan's tone became more approachable. She smiled and said, "You are not afraid of getting tired. What's your name?"

The maid replied in a low voice: "My servant Pei'er."

"Pei'er," Jiashan called her and then asked, "How is the Duke today?"

Pei'er lowered her head and replied softly, "Since the princess left yesterday, the Duke has woken up several times, but the time he has been sleeping is obviously longer than before."

"The other day, the doctor also said..." Pei'er paused for a moment, and then replied with a barely perceptible trembling cry, "If Duke Anguo continues to be sleepy for a long time, I'm afraid... I'm afraid his condition will get worse."

Jiashan looked at her expression carefully and saw that the sadness on her face did not seem fake, so he gently grabbed Pei'er's hand.

"You don't want the Duke to die, do you?" Jiashan said calmly.

The cold armor on Jiashan's fingers scratched Pei'er's palm lightly, and Pei'er couldn't help but shudder.

Pei'er was so frightened by these words that she immediately knelt down and kowtowed, saying, "I dare not! Of course, I hope that the Duke will live a long and healthy life!"

Jiashan smiled, her smile was as light as the mist in the wind, and she said, "I think so. You just entered the mansion, and your good fortune has just begun. If the Duke dies, your good days will also be over. I think you are not stupid, you should be clear about the calculations."

When Pei'er heard this, her face turned pale instantly. She knelt on the ground with her head lowered and her eyes lowered, not saying a word.

Seeing this, Jiashan took the initiative to speak: "After I left yesterday, the prince's wife said a lot of bad things about me, right?"

Hearing this, Pei'er didn't dare to raise her head, and only answered carefully: "The prince's wife has a tough temper, but she is still very respectful to the princess."

Jiashan certainly wouldn't take her words seriously, he just smiled and said, "I know her personality very well. You've been in the palace for some time, I don't know how much you've heard about the grievances between the Prince's wife and the Crown Prince's wife. I'll tell you the truth, we do have old grievances with the Crown Prince's wife, but my father ruled the country with 'filial piety', and the Duke is the Prince's father after all, and my father-in-law in name only."

"I can't possibly harm him. I just hope he can recover." Jiashan said, "Do you understand this?"

Pei'er said, "Yes."

After saying this, Pei'er finally dared to raise her head. She said softly, "After the princess left yesterday, several of us tried to give advice to Madam, but Madam was too arbitrary and did not take our advice. In fact, in my heart, I am willing to believe that the princess can save the Duke!"

"I'm not a doctor. If we want to save the Duke's life, the most urgent thing is to find another medical expert." Jiashan said, "Although Doctor Zeng is a famous doctor in Beijing, he is still inferior to Doctor Yu."

"I have asked someone to take my name card to invite the Imperial Medical Bureau. If you really want to save the Duke, when the court judge Gong comes later, remember to tell him in detail about the Duke's symptoms in the past few days."

Pei'er nodded and quickly responded, "Yes."

After saying that, Jiashan asked casually, "Did the Duke drink the medicine this morning?"

"Not yet," Pei'er replied softly, "Every day, Miss Yingchun, who is by the side of the Crown Prince's wife, personally decocts the medicine, and then the wife feeds it to the Duke. It's not time to take the medicine yet, so Miss Yingchun and the wife haven't come yet."

"So that's how it is," Jiashan said with a half-smile, "When the Duke got sick, I realized that the Crown Prince's wife is a rare filial person."

After hearing the deeper meaning in Jiashan's words, Pei'er stopped talking and just lowered her head even lower.

About half an hour later, Zhang finally came back late. At this time, the other maids in the room had already arrived. They were all surprised to see Jiashan arrive early, but the shock on Zhang's face was more obvious.

Her eyes sparkled, and she said with a forced smile, "Princess, you are here early."

Jiashan: "Not as good as the Crown Prince's wife."