☆, Chapter 173 Is the Duke going to expose me?
"Jinling's daily diet is indeed problematic; the initial estimate is that she has been chronically poisoned."
Poisoning!
Someone actually dared to poison the princess!
The Empress Dowager was so angry that her head was spinning: "This is outrageous! Outrageous! Investigate! Investigate thoroughly! Whoever it is, their entire family must be executed!"
Princess Jinling's affair caused a minor upheaval within the Emperor's court. Except for ants, all living things were investigated. By the time Zhou Mujiao was cleared of suspicion and left the palace, there were only three days left until the palace examination.
The palace was not peaceful to begin with, and the imperial court was preparing for the palace examination. Fearing that some palace servants might be negligent, Zhou Mujiao took Wei Xu with her.
Originally, they were going to send him back to the Duke's Mansion as soon as possible. Since the little guy returned to normal growth, he cherished every opportunity to go out and never came home before midnight. However, usually there were people from the Duke's Mansion watching over him, so he had to be careful no matter how much he played. Today was different. There were no people from the Duke's Mansion today, only Zhou Mujiao.
What does this mean? It means that as long as he keeps the news of his departure from the palace with Zhou Mujiao a secret, he can play around indefinitely!
Hearing that Canglan Academy was on holiday and Xiao Wu and the others were at home, Wei Xu was no longer in a hurry to go out and asked to go home with Zhou Mujiao.
When they arrived home, Wei Xu was still in the carriage when he started shouting, "Little Five! Little Nine! Sixth! Ninth! Eighteenth! Come out quickly, let's go outside and have some fun!"
He rushed in, then came out again a moment later, his head down, his eyes wet, utterly dejected—his father had anticipated his prediction, and had gone to the Zhou family to wait for him, and now he had caught him red-handed!
"Eighteenth Sister, I'll miss you. I'll come find you to play again when I have time! Waaah... Father, you're not my father, you're my enemy!"
Upon hearing this, Wei Xu's father, Wei Ming, hoisted him onto his shoulder like a pig, and even managed to free one hand to bow to Zhou Mujiao: "My son is unruly and has troubled Miss Zhou! I will take my leave now and visit to express my gratitude another day!"
Zhou Mujiao shook her head and went inside.
The Zhao and Zhou families lived in adjacent houses, each with its own gate, but they shared a large archway in the middle, connecting their front yards to form a huge entrance garden.
The steward came over to report: "Miss, the Duke of Wei has arrived and is chatting with the old lady. The old lady said that if you come back, you should first go next door to see Madam Zhao, as she seems to be feeling unwell."
Madam Zhao refers to Aunt Zhao.
Aunt Zhao had lived and eaten with Zhou Mujiao for two or three years, and her health had long been excellent thanks to Zhou Mujiao's care, so she naturally wouldn't get sick easily. The old lady asked her to go to the Zhao family simply because she didn't want her to meet with the Duke of Wei.
However, she is currently helping the Wei family treat their hereditary disease. Even if she doesn't meet the Duke of Wei today, she will eventually run into him tomorrow, the day after, or eventually.
However, Zhou Mujiao appreciated the old lady's kindness and went next door.
Uncle Zhao is naive and innocent; all he knows is that guests have come to the Zhou family, so he leads the housekeeper to prepare dinner.
Aunt Zhao needs to think things through a bit more. After all, the old lady is an old lady without children or descendants. So when guests come to the Zhou family, they must be coming to see Zhou Mujiao. Zhou Mujiao has returned but didn't personally go to greet them. Instead, she came to her place. This is very suspicious.
"Could it be that the Duke of Wei is here to see your old lady?" Aunt Zhao asked tentatively.
Neither she nor Yue Yunjing revealed the old lady's background. Aunt Zhao was also afraid of touching on the old lady's painful memories, so she never asked. It was only when they arrived in the capital and saw the old lady's calm demeanor, as if nothing seemed unusual to her, as if she were a natural part of this bustling capital, unlike them who wanted to shout and make a scene to let the whole world know they were country bumpkins, that she began to have some guesses about the old lady's identity.
When the Duke of Wei came today, the old lady's behavior only fueled suspicion. Aunt Zhao boldly speculated: "The Duke of Wei and the old lady are about the same age. Could it be that they were a couple when they were young, but were separated by force?"
"No."
Zhou Mujiao chuckled, "My grandmother had her own husband and children, but they have all passed away. My grandmother asked me to stay here for a while, probably because she wanted to give a warning to the Duke of Wei. Last time I complained to her that the people in the Duke of Wei's mansion were not very friendly, so maybe she is standing up for me now."
Just then, the housekeeper arrived and said that the old lady wanted her to go back. Zhou Mujiao smiled and said, "Well, that's it, the scolding is over."
Aunt Zhao breathed a sigh of relief. She stood at the second gate and watched her leave. Just as she was about to go back to her room to rest for a while, she heard Zhou Mujiao instruct the housekeeper: "After the Duke of Wei leaves, build this wall up and don't leave a door. Although Zhao Yunjing and I are engaged, we haven't officially married yet, so we have to follow some rules."
Is building a wall without leaving a door simply to follow the rules?
Aunt Zhao couldn't believe it, so she quickly sent someone to inform Zhao Yunjing.
When Zhou Mujiao entered the Zhou family home, she saw the Duke of Wei and the old lady exchanging a knowing smile, which almost made Zhou Mujiao suspect that there really was something between them when they were young.
“Wei Qing, this is my granddaughter. Ajiao, this is your grandfather Wei Qing. When your grandfather was young, he and your grandfather Wei Qing had a good personal relationship. When our family had trouble, your grandfather Wei Qing also helped us. Quickly say thank you to your grandfather.”
"Thank you, Grandpa Wei."
The two talked about Wei Xu's health condition and the illnesses of other members of the Wei family until Zhou Mujiao noticed the old lady yawning, at which point they stopped.
When we came out again, we were finally talking about real business.
Zhou Mujiao raised an eyebrow: "The Duke knew my identity a long time ago, but only came to my door today. Tell me, what do I have to do to keep your secret?"
Duke Wei's lips twitched. Was this girl only this direct in front of him, or was she this direct in the palace as well? If she was this direct in the palace, why didn't the concubines tear her mouth apart?
Duke Wei said, "Miss Zhou, although I'm not a good person, and I didn't do much when your Li family was in trouble back then, but—"
“Wei Xu likes medicine and wants to heal the sick and save lives. He has no interest in the Duke of Jieren’s mansion. If you want me to tell him to give up, you might as well tell him to give up on his own.”
"If I had a way to make him give up, I wouldn't have to act like a hypocrite in front of you, young lady. Our Duke's mansion is becoming increasingly sparsely populated. In Xu'er's generation alone, there are only four surviving sons, and two of them are already twenty years old. If they still haven't passed that hurdle in ten years, then only Xiao Si and Xu'er will be left."
"Xiao Si will be fifteen next year. He says he wants to go guard the border. His parents have both passed away, so I can't force him anymore. A good man's ambition lies in all directions. If the men of the Wei family are destined to die around the age of thirty, then it wouldn't be a shame for Xiao Si to die on the battlefield."
"Doctors heal the sick and save lives, and I'm naturally pleased that Xu'er is studying medicine. However, recently, Wei Ming fainted three times in one day, so I have to reconsider Wei Xu's future. With Miss Zhou's treatment and care, I believe you can definitely help him live past thirty-five. After thirty-five, if I'm still alive, and if he has a son, then I will set him free."
Duke Wei sighed, "The Duke's mansion is too small, and the capital is too small. Xu'er should be in a bigger and farther place. He is my most beloved grandson, and I will not confine him if there is even the slightest possibility. I beg Miss Zhou to help me persuade Wei Xu."
Zhou Mujiao raised an eyebrow: "If I disagree, will the Duke immediately go to the palace and expose my true identity to the Emperor? Will the Emperor then punish me, the descendant of a disgraced official?"
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