023 Using a counter-strategy
"No, you can't."
Yuan Chongjing spoke without thinking, unconsciously adopting the soft, sweet tone that Li Yang and Xiao Taozi used when they spoke.
He paused for a moment after speaking, then squatted down to be at eye level with Xiao Taozi, and stroked her cheek: "Xiao Taozi, you have to be good. Your mother has worked very hard to raise you. You can't say that, understand?"
Little Peach nodded, seemingly confused, "Little Peach understands, I will definitely take good care of Mother from now on."
She added, "And she is also filial to her father."
Yuan Chongjing smiled and reached out to pinch her chubby little face: "Little Peach is so good."
Li Yang put her hand on Xiao Taozi's shoulder and said to him, "If you're tired, go back and rest first. I'll take Xiao Taozi to her room."
Before Yuan Chongjing could speak, Li Yang took Xiao Taozi's hand and coaxed her to leave: "Daddy had acupuncture this morning and is very tired. He needs to sleep to get better. Xiao Taozi, why don't you come with Mommy?"
Little Peach obediently let her lead her away. Before leaving, she looked at Yuan Chongjing with concern, gave him a reluctant kiss, and told him in her childish voice, "Daddy, go to sleep and get better soon so you can play with Mommy and Little Peach."
Yuan Chongjing patted her head and nodded in agreement: "Okay."
He looked up, wanting to say a few more words to Li Yang, but saw that she was holding Xiao Taozi's hand and walked away without even glancing at him.
Yuan Chongjing felt inexplicably disappointed, with a hint of grievance. Seeing Beihai standing not far away, he waved for Beihai to come over: "Why are you standing so far away? Do you think I'm going to eat you?"
Bei Hai jogged over and asked, "Second Young Master, would you like to go back to your room to rest?"
Yuan Chongjing said, "No need, let's go to the study."
He walked towards the study and casually asked him, "Li Yang said you've been with me for four years?"
Bei Hai nodded: "Yes, Second Young Master, we met in Chenzhou."
"How much do you know about the Duke Luo's mansion?"
Upon hearing this, Bei Hai cautiously glanced at him. He had been guarding the carriage on the street and hadn't followed them.
The pastry shop was so big that he could still see clearly when someone came out of it.
Previously, in order to help Yuan Chongjing's career advance more smoothly, Li Yang went to great lengths to create the image of a loving couple for them. Some officials in the capital were envious and some were jealous. Some things about how the two of them became 'sworn enemies' because of a woman when they were young were dug up.
The woman who came out of the shop is now Xu Biyun, the former wife of the Duke of Luo.
Beihai knew what he wanted to ask, but didn't know how to bring it up.
He thought for a moment and decided to speak the truth from a fair perspective: "Actually, there are many different opinions here. Some say that the Crown Prince and his wife were very much in love, and that they enjoyed poetry, painting, and music together. Others say that the Crown Prince was fickle and soon grew tired of his wife, even taking a concubine. When we returned from Chenzhou, the Crown Prince was already terminally ill and passed away not long after. The truth is probably only known to the Crown Prince's wife herself."
The heir of the Duke of Luo was named Luo Yanzhi, who was four years older than Yuan Chongjing. While Yuan Chongjing, Xu Biyun, and Li Yang were all studying at the academy, Luo Yanzhi had already gone to the Hanlin Academy. Yuan Chongjing knew very little about him, only that he was the favorite student of the academy's teachers, who all praised him as "a humble gentleman, gentle and refined like jade."
He couldn't believe that such a man would abandon his wife after starting a relationship with her.
As Yuan Chongjing walked, he pondered for a moment. After entering the study, he noticed that Bei Hai had followed him in. Bei Hai looked somewhat troubled. He hesitated for a moment before finally speaking, "Second Young Master, I think the Young Madam is jealous."
Yuan Chongjing was taken aback for a moment, then asked, "What is she jealous of?"
If it were Yuan Chongjing before he lost his memory, Beihai wouldn't have dared to say these words. But since he hasn't regained his memory yet, Beihai dared to speak his mind: "The young mistress knows everything about what happened between you and that young master's wife back then. It's always worrying that old lovers might rekindle their romance."
"Beihai!" Yuan Chongjing shouted sternly, "You are not allowed to say such things again. If word gets out and it tarnishes Biyun's reputation, you will be in big trouble!"
"Yes, yes, yes." Bei Hai said several times, then looked up at Yuan Chongjing's face, which was flushed with anger. He said, "Second Young Master, just a friendly reminder, you can't call her that in front of the young mistress anymore. Xu Biyun is already married. She is now the former wife of the Duke of Luo's mansion, and she is no longer some 'Biyun Luyun'."
Yuan Chongjing became even more irritated by what he said. "Go away, get out of here and stop bothering me."
Beihai didn't try to persuade him any further and ran out in a flash.
He went to find Li Yang.
Li Yang was playing with Xiao Taozi when she saw his serious expression. She asked Xia He to take Xiao Taozi a little further away before asking, "What's wrong?"
“Young Madam, I find today’s events very strange. From the day the wood carving was delivered, when the divine doctor was sent away, to the time he was forced to leave, and then to Xu Biyun’s disheveled appearance at the shop, it all seems like it was orchestrated,” Bei Hai said.
"The goal was to prevent the second young master from receiving acupuncture. In other words..."
Li Yang said the following for him: "Make it impossible for Brother Jing to regain his memory."
She looked around and said, "At least for now, it can be proven that the other party hasn't found that evidence either. But I've searched almost the entire place where Brother Jing lives, and I haven't found anything. Where did he put that thing?"
Hokkaido: "That's secondary. I think they'll take further action. If the divine doctor doesn't return by tomorrow, then young mistress, you'd better be careful about other things."
"You mean Xu Biyun?" Li Yang asked.
Bei Hai nodded: "Now that the position of heir apparent of the Duke of Luo has passed to his second son, Luo Minzhi, Xu Biyun and her youngest son's position in the Duke's mansion has become awkward. Moreover, I heard that Luo Minzhi and his wife have rather bad tempers and often make sarcastic remarks about Xu Biyun in private. Xu Biyun can endure it for the sake of her son, but what if they threaten her with her son's life?"
Li Yang thought about it and thought it probably wouldn't happen; those people shouldn't be able to do that.
But upon closer examination, why wasn't the rightful heir apparent position passed to the son of the former heir apparent, Luo Yanzhi, but instead fell to his younger brother, Luo Minzhi? Even with the abilities of Luo Minzhi and his wife, and perhaps a little favoritism from the Duke and Duchess of Luo, they couldn't have stopped public opinion from favoring Luo Minzhi as the heir apparent.
If we think about it this way, then Luo Minzhi's backer, or the Duke of Luo's backer, has already been bribed.
Even Xu Biyun's family may have been bribed or coerced. After weighing the options, the Xu family gave up on Xu Biyun and her son. Instead of standing up for them, they tacitly approved of the situation.
The fact that such a large force was mobilized to prevent Yuan Chongjing from regaining his memories shows just how important that thing he had hidden away was.
If Yuan Chongjing continues acupuncture without any effect, and the other party gets impatient and tries to bite, they may suffer considerable harm if they don't prepare now.
Li Yang asked, "So what should we do next?"
Bei Hai chuckled dismissively: "Young Madam, since Xu Biyun wants to put on an act, then let's play along and see what she's really up to."
Li Yang agreed to his request.
After discussing the matter with Beihai, Li Yang comforted Xiao Taozi and went out to the kitchen with her sister-in-law.
The last time the whole family ate together was probably the month before last. After such a long time, the eldest daughter-in-law wanted to make a good impression on her parents, so she took the lead in the kitchen and arranged the menu for the evening.
Li Yang had something on his mind, so he didn't argue with her much and basically did whatever she said.
Yuan Chongjing didn't arrive until dinner time.
He must have been woken up by Beihai while he was sleeping. His eyes were still hazy with sleepiness. After greeting the people, he sat down in his seat.
Yuan Chongyue returned early today and is currently playing with Yuan Yuyi, the only young master of the Yuan family, in the courtyard. Little Peach and Little Pear are also gathered together, whispering to each other.
With so many children, the hall immediately became lively. Madam Yuan looked at them with a smile, her gaze, as usual, falling on Li Yang's belly.
But looking at Yuan Chongjing's expressionless face, Madam Yuan thought for a moment, but still didn't say what was on her mind. The family had finally gathered together, and it was such a lively time; if she said something that angered Yuan Chongjing, it would be a loss.
When she sat down, Li Yang made a point of changing her seat.
Previously, Xiao Taozi would sit with Xiao Li'er, with her and her sister-in-law sitting next to them. Moving forward, next to her sister-in-law was her son, Yuan Yuyi, followed by Yuan Chongyue. Beside her was Yuan Chongjing, and next to them sat Yuan Heng and his wife at the head of the table.
Before Xiao Taozi sat down, Li Yang carried her to her seat, so that Xiao Taozi was now between her and Yuan Chongjing.
Seeing that Little Peach was sitting between her parents, Little Pear insisted on sitting like Little Peach.
The meal was quite lively, except for Yuan Chongjing's occasional glances. Li Yang deliberately ignored his little antics, focusing on feeding Xiao Taozi before eating the food in front of her.
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