Chen Qiu didn't know if she was anxious or what. She didn't want to talk, she just wanted to look at this little ball. She blamed herself and was afraid. What if Lingshu wasn't at home? If Lingshu hadn't helped An An, even if the poison was removed, his mind would always be that of a child under two years old.
"Xiao Qiu, it's all grandma's fault for not protecting An An well." Madam Xiao looked at Chen Qiu without saying a word, and became even more anxious.
Chen Qiu felt a pang of pain when she heard Madam Xiao say this. She turned around and knelt down before Madam Xiao. "Grandmother, I'm sorry. I don't blame you. I'm just a little scared and haven't recovered yet. If An An had been poisoned by a deadly poison and Ling Shu wasn't at home, what would have been the consequences? I tremble all over when I think about it now. So, grandma, please don't blame yourself. It was my husband and I who didn't take good care of you."
Madam Xiao helped Chen Qiu up. "We are a family. We support each other and share weal and woe. The Duke's Mansion has been deserted for six years. It is only with your marriage that it has begun to come alive. Don't take everything on your own. We can always get through this together as a family. An An will definitely be fine."
"Your grandmother is right, we are a family. No matter how difficult the situation is, we can get through it as a family." The old Duke came in from outside with a layer of snowflakes on his body. It turned out that it had been snowing outside without anyone noticing.
"Are you back? How are you?" Madam Xiao asked someone to take the old Duke's cloak and handed him a cup of hot tea.
"I have discussed this with the Emperor. According to the information Chen'er has sent back, we should conduct a secret investigation and defense of Luojia Manor, just like the Order of the Phoenix. The Emperor will give us his utmost support."
"Hong'an, do you remember when we first followed Emperor Gaozu, we also encountered a Luo Family Village?" After all, the Old Duke and Lady Xiao had lived longer, and they had dealt with the Luo Family Village before. At that time, they only thought it was a family of the underworld, and they had not seen it again after entering Kyoto.
"Yes, I saved a young master from the Luo family back then. I think he must be quite old now." Madam Xiao sighed. After all, it was a long time ago. "Why did the people from the Luo family attack our An An? Are you sure they are from Luojiazhuang?"
"It's probably related to what happened to Chen'er and the others in Wuzhou. Chen'er and the others must have ruined their plans, and this is revenge." The old Duke put down his teacup, lost in thought. The Great Yin had been established for less than fifty years, and now his children had died for it. Now it was the turn of his grandchildren? Children under two years old at that? These people really deserved to die. It seemed that he had really made a lot of people laugh at him in those few years.
"In Wuzhou, we found a Luojia Village. They used Fuxia to take the treasures in Fuze Cave, and attacked Wuzhou the next day. Finally, my husband killed them in their village, killed the four leaders inside, and confiscated their treasures. I wonder where this Luojia Village that grandpa mentioned is? We can send someone to take a look, which can be regarded as a breakthrough." Chen Qiu sat next to An An, looking at his little face, and said very ordinary things, but only she knew that she just wanted to kill people now. Since the people of Luojia Village had no basic morality, what's the harm in killing more of them?
Fu Xia hated her so much at that time, but he never attacked her family in secret. Even if he surrounded and killed them, they were on different sides. When Xia Hanshan led his men to attack, Chen Qiu just thought that these people were difficult to deal with, but the people of Luojiazhuang had no morals at all, and were even despicable and shameless.
"It's in a deep mountain in Liuzhou, which is remote and cold in the north. At that time, we had just followed our great-grandfather and were sent to contact a large local family. On the way, your grandmother rescued a child who was bitten by a wolf, and we went there when we sent him back. At that time, we just thought that a wealthy family built a courtyard there to avoid the war. Now it seems that Luojiazhuang likes to be in the deep mountains and old forests." The old Duke told Chen Qiu what happened that year.
"Hmph, now it seems that they are just a bunch of despicable bugs and rats, villains who commit disloyal and unjust acts under the guise of loyalty to the emperor and protecting the country." Madam Xiao was so angry that she put the teacup heavily on the table and began to breathe heavily as she spoke.
"Wow...Wow...Mommy" An An on the bed suddenly started crying, calling for his mother with his eyes closed.
"Go and invite Miss Jingxin and Lingshu." Madam Xiao immediately stood up from her chair and asked someone to invite Jingxin and Lingshu.
Shen Qiu picked up An An and held him like he did when he was a child. An An rested his head on Shen Qiu's left arm, his little hands scrabbling around as if trying to grab something. Shen Qiu took his little hands in hers, put them to her mouth and kissed them gently, saying, "Mother is here, Mother is here, An An, don't be afraid, Mother is here."
The maid had already called Jingxin and Lingshu in, "Miss Jingxin, go and take a look, she suddenly started crying."
Jingxin went forward to check on An An's condition, and after a needle injection, An An slowly calmed down.
"Sister Jingxin, how is An An?" Shen Qiu's voice was trembling.
"Don't worry, Xiaoqiu. The medicine Lingshu used on An An before was effective. This means that An An will wake up soon. You should talk to him more. He will feel relieved to hear his mother's voice. The antidote is already being prepared. An An will wake up by tomorrow morning at the latest." Jingxin's words were most helpful in comforting Shen Qiu now. Shen Qiu looked at An An in his arms, then patted An An gently, humming the song he used to coax An An to sleep.
Two flowers bloom, each representing one side.
Ye Chen and his companions came to the dungeon of the Dark Guard Camp. The Dark Guard Camp was located in the northwest corner of Ye Chen. It was heavily guarded and no one was allowed to approach.
Ye Chen entered the dim dungeon. Those who had contact with An An were now in prison. "It's unfair."
“We are wronged”
When Ye Chen approached, only Aunt Hua was sitting quietly in the corner, as if waiting for someone.
"Stop shouting. This is the Duke's Mansion. If it were any other mansion, you would have died countless times by now."
After Ye Chen came in, Mu Qing moved a chair to the front of the cell. As soon as Ye Chen sat down, Aunt Hua stood up from the ground and walked to the front, "I was the one who poisoned you."
Ye Chen stood up from the chair. He thought about the possibility that anyone here could be the murderer, but he never thought that it could be Aunt Hua, the woman who grew up with his mother, raised him by herself, and now began to take care of his son. He never doubted it.
This woman has no children, has never been married, and has no relatives. The Ye Mansion is her home, and no one can threaten her. So there is only one possibility, that she has always been from Luojiazhuang.
"I want to see An An again, and I also want to see Madam. After that, I will confess my sins, provide you with some clues, and then go to the underground to find the princess to atone for my sins." Nanny Hua has been very calm. She talked about her current value to Ye Chen and also stated her request.
"I have to ask Qiu'er whether she wants to see you or not. After all, you hurt our son. She respects you so much. My mother is not around, and she trusts and loves you as her mother-in-law." Ye Chen felt like there was a huge stone blocking his heart, making it hard for him to breathe.
"Mu Qing, go talk to the Madam... Forget it, I'll go." Ye Chen felt very distressed when he thought about how Chen Qiu would feel when she heard this result. Chen Qiu was very trusting. She said that she didn't want to think badly of everyone, especially those close to her, but she was betrayed by those close to her, and the price was very high. How should she face this?
When Ye Chen returned to Qiuchen Courtyard, Jingxin had just fed An An medicine, but the old Duke and Madam Xiao had been told by Chen Qiu to go back and rest.
Chen Qiu just held An An in his arms, patting her gently.
"Qiu'er, I have found the murderer, and she wants to see you." Ye Chen walked to the bedside, squatted down, and touched An An's little head. "An An will be fine, I believe An An will be fine." Ye Chen muttered to himself, not knowing whether he was talking to Chen Qiu or to himself.
"Who is the murderer?" Shen Qiu's face was cold.
"It's Aunt Hua." Ye Chen didn't intend to hide it from Chen Qiu. This was something they both had to face. What's more, Aunt Hua wanted to see her, and it was up to her to decide whether Chen Qiu was willing to see her.
Ye Chen looked up at Chen Qiu. The small blanket on An An's body was tightly grasped by Chen Qiu. The veins on Chen Qiu's hands were bulging and his knuckles were white. She thought she had heard wrongly, "Who are you talking about? I didn't hear clearly."
Ye Chen gently released Chen Qiu's hand, took An An from Chen Qiu's arms, and put her on the bed. "It's Aunt Hua," Ye Chen answered again.
Ye Chen took Chen Qiu's hand and said, "I'll go with you. I guess she should be from Luojiazhuang, but she has never been activated. We want to avenge An An. It's not just her. I will uproot Luojiazhuang."
Then he asked Jingxin and Lingshu to help look after An An, and they went to the Dark Guard Camp.
Nanny Hua was brought out of the dungeon. Ye Chen did not torture her. Since she confessed voluntarily, there was no need to torture her.
When Aunt Hua saw Chen Qiu and Ye Chen, she knelt down and kowtowed, "Madam, I'm sorry. It was this old slave who poisoned An An. I'm here to apologize to you."
Chen Qiu didn't ask her to get up. While feeding An An the medicine, he calmly told her, "This poison was created by one of our great-grandmasters. It's very potent. Even a fingernail-sized amount of it could kill a child like An An. But I've been treating An An all morning. While Ling Shu's timely treatment was certainly a factor, the most important reason is that the poison was extremely light. If they were going to poison her, why did they use such a small amount?"
Now it seems that Nanny Hua showed mercy, but Chen Qiu still did not call her up. Chen Qiu felt hatred in her heart, but when she knew that this person was someone she trusted so much, she didn't know how to put this hatred into place. It hurt in her heart, but she couldn't let it go, so she could only keep silent.
"I know, he deserves to die. I just want to know how An An is doing now?" Nanny Hua looked at Ye Chen and asked about An An.
"He's fine. You must be very disappointed. I won't let you succeed. An An, I will not let him get hurt even if I have to go through the gates of hell." Chen Qiu never looked at Aunt Hua. She didn't know if she would draw her sword and kill her if she looked at her.
"It's all right, it's all right."
Then, Aunt Hua opened her collar and pulled it down with force. There was a white plum blossom on her collarbone. "Madam, Master, look carefully. Anyone with this mark anywhere on their body must be from Luojiazhuang. Even if they are the emperor or the empress, as long as they have this, they must be from Luojiazhuang."
Ye Chen and Shen Qiu looked at each other. Shen Qiu had never seen this white plum symbol before, but Ye Chen had seen it. He had seen it on Gu Ruojin.
In the previous life, before Shen Qiu came to save him and Gu Ruojin, Gu Ruojin was stabbed on the arm and her clothes were torn. When Ye Chen was applying medicine on her, he saw the white plum blossom.
"I was originally an orphan. Luojia Manor took me in, and later I was sent to the palace to work. They told me that as long as I worked there, I didn't have to worry about anything. When they needed me, someone would come to me holding a white plum blossom. But I waited from the age of fourteen to forty, and still nothing happened. I thought the people who knew of my existence were long gone. But eight days ago, when I woke up, I saw a white plum blossom and a packet of medicine powder at the head of my bed, along with a message asking me to drug the young master."
"I didn't dare to put too much in. I just dipped a little with a needle and put it into the small cup that An An used to drink water. I asked Miss Lingshu to stay with An An that day. I didn't expect that even with that little bit, An An still fell into a coma a while after drinking the water." Aunt Hua spoke softly and explained the whole story clearly.
"Have you ever seen anyone else with this Baimei?" Ye Chen wanted to know if they were divided into different levels. Nanny Hua was an orphan, and Ye Chen could understand why she was rescued and worked hard for others, but Gu Ruojin was not an orphan, and she had not even left Kyoto City, so how did she become a member of Luojiazhuang?
"I've met some of the maids and matrons in the palace who are my age, but I'm not sure about the younger ones. You'll need to check for them yourself. There are a few of the late emperor's concubines who are, but they're all dead now."
"Are you from Jizhou? I remember my mother said so. So, there is a Luojiazhuang in Jizhou?" Ye Chen's understanding of Aunt Hua came from his mother.
"Yes, in the mountains east of Jizhou. I lived there until I was twelve. Also, you can pay more attention to brothels and casinos. The Luo family owns many of these businesses because they make money the fastest and hide the best people. Any business owned by the Luo family will have a plum blossom logo on their sign."
"Why do you use a plum blossom as your logo?"
"Because, the deceived princess of Ronghua Kingdom loved Bai Meimei the most, right? Are you in Luojiazhuang really loyal to the emperor and patriotic, or are you venting your personal anger on behalf of this princess? I don't think her hatred is a big deal. If it were me, I would also kill the person who deceived me. However, the princess died a long time ago. What are you guys doing for?" Chen Qiu felt that these people probably didn't know the meaning of their existence now.
That princess wanted revenge. After all, she had experienced all that suffering firsthand, and no one was qualified to persuade her to let it go. But what about these people, over a hundred years later? What were they fighting for? The kingdom? This Luo Family Manor wasn't the same Luo Family Manor it once was. So to whom did it now owe its allegiance?
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