Nangong Yi didn't stay with Lan Shuang for long that day. Maybe it was because he had something to hide, or maybe it was for some other reason. He was still a little dazed when he left.
Lan Shuang didn't take it to heart, so during lunch time, Nangong Yi sent Su Ming and others to pick food for Lan Shuang.
Su Ming mentioned intentionally or unintentionally that it would be nice to have a child, and Lan Shuang knew that this was what Nangong Yi meant.
She looked at the man for a few times. He was a fair-skinned eunuch with smiling eyes. He had a handsome face and looked smart.
Lan Shuang asked him, "What's your name?"
"The servant Zhong Ming pays his respects to the Imperial Concubine."
"It's a good name, and you look nice too, so I'll keep you."
Zhong Ming looked at Su Ming. Su Ming smiled and patted him lightly with his whisk. "You idiot, are you so happy that you can't speak? Why don't you thank me quickly?"
Zhong Ming then knelt down and said loudly: "Thank you, Your Majesty!"
Su Ming called the person aside and gave him a few instructions before leaving.
As soon as he left, Lan Shuang called Zhong Ming over and asked everyone else to leave.
She sat on the couch, holding a round fan in her hand, and asked with a smile, "Who asked you to come?"
"Your Majesty has good eyesight."
After saying that, Zhong Ming took out a piece of paper from his arms and presented it with both hands.
Lan Shuang took it and looked at it. It was Jiang Lusheng's handwriting.
There are four words in total: Zhongming, available.
So she felt relieved and nodded: "Since the Imperial Master asked you to come, you should know what to do."
Zhong Ming knelt down and said respectfully, "The Imperial Master said that from now on, I will follow the Majesty and become her person. She is my only master and I will obey her orders in everything. If I have any other intentions, I will not be able to bear the consequences."
"There's no need to be so cruel. Get up."
Lan Shuang lifted her round fan under his hand, and Zhong Ming thanked her and stood up.
"I do have something I need you to do right now, so come closer."
"Yes." Zhong Ming leaned closer, and Lan Shuang whispered a few words, "... Understood?"
"I understand."
"Okay, let's go down then."
The chess pieces and chessboard that had been scattered on the ground had been picked up and properly put away by the palace servants. Lan Shuang picked up a chess piece and played with it between her fingers. "Now, it's my turn to fight back."
…
For the next few days, Nangong Yi came to watch Lan Shuang drink the medicine as usual. Lan Shuang did not show any flaws on the surface. The two of them acted in love, and everyone in the harem believed it except each other.
After about ten days, news suddenly came from outside the palace that the Duke of Zhenguo and his wife had returned.
Some time ago, the Duke of Zhenguo took his wife back to their ancestral land. For some reason, a wall of the ancestral hall collapsed. It was a serious matter, so they had to go back and take a look. Later, some trivial matters of the clan were involved, so the two of them stayed longer.
I just returned to the capital today and heard the news that Lan Shuang fell into the water. The Duke of Zhenguo was anxious, but he couldn't enter the harem casually, so he asked his wife to go.
When Nangong Yi found out, he waved his hand and allowed the wife of the Duke of Zhenguo to meet Lan Shuang.
Lan Shuang quickly packed up and stood waiting at the palace gate.
As soon as the wife of the Duke of Zhenguo saw her after entering the palace, her eyes reddened and her lips moved. She subconsciously wanted to call her by her nickname, but when she remembered that they were in the palace, she held it back. She quickly stepped forward and then suddenly stopped, bowing to Lan Shuang, "Your Highness, I greet you. How are you?"
Blood ties have always been magical. She had only seen this mother in the original owner's memory before, but now that she saw her in person, she didn't feel strange at all.
There was even an inexplicable intimacy. She held the hand of the wife of the Duke of Zhenguo and helped her up, "Madam, please stand up quickly."
Our eyes met, and there was so much to say.
Lan Shuang shook the lady's hand vigorously and pulled her into the hall. Zhishu and Zhili served tea and water and placed snacks and fruit plates on the table.
"Alright, all of you go down. I have something personal to say to my wife."
"yes."
The palace maids left, and Zhong Ming and Zhishu stood guard at the door, so the wife of the Duke of Zhenguo no longer had any concerns.
She held Lan Shuang's hand and hugged her in her arms. "My daughter, how come you have become so thin after not seeing you for a while? Ah? Are you not living well in the palace? Are they angry with you? And how could you fall into the water while walking normally? Tell me, I and your father will take care of it for you."
Lan Shuang's heart moved. Even if she was not afraid of Nangong Yi, even if she had Jiang Lusheng, mother was still an irreplaceable role.
"I'm fine, mother. Don't worry. No one dares to make me angry for the time being. After all, His Majesty dotes on me."
The wife of the Duke of Zhenguo paused, held her shoulders and distanced herself from her, looking at her seriously, "Is His Majesty sincere to you?"
Lan Shuang was silent for a moment, then looked away. "Does sincerity really matter? Mother, in the harem, sincerity is worthless. Only the emperor's favor is valuable."
"It's my mother's fault." Lady Zhenguo felt very upset when she thought about how Lan Shuang entered the palace.
"It's not that you're useless. Once the imperial decree is issued, how can a subject resist? I'm just glad it was me who entered the palace, not my sister. She's still young and naive. How could she survive in this cannibalistic place?"
After hearing this, the wife of the Duke of Zhenguo felt even more upset and tears flowed like a dam breaking.
Lan Shuang wiped her tears with a handkerchief and comforted her for a long time before she calmed down.
"You haven't told mother how you fell into the water yet? And your health was fine when you were at home. How come you're in such poor condition after being treated so lavishly in the palace?"
The wife of the Duke of Zhenguo also came out of the harem and was extremely sensitive to those shady tactics. Moreover, her daughter was currently in the emperor's favor, and there were countless people who hated her to the core.
"To be honest, I have my suspicions, so I'd like to ask you to check something for me."
"you say."
Lan Shuang turned around and took out a cloth bag from a box on the side. After opening it, there was a pile of medicine residue inside. It looked fresh and had some water stains.
"What is this?" The wife of the Duke of Zhenguo felt something in her heart and her hands trembled slightly.
"This is the medicine my daughter drinks every day to nourish her body. She drinks one bowl every day without fail, but she's not looking very healthy. I'm going back and have someone check it out. Is there something wrong with the medicine?"
But wasn’t this medicine prescribed by the emperor?
The wife of the Duke of Zhenguo looked at Lan Shuang, with doubts written in her eyes.
Lan Shuang sighed, "It's important to be on guard against others, Mother. Be careful not to let others find out."
The wife of the Duke of Zhenguo felt a sinking feeling in her heart, and she was still in shock when she walked out of the palace.
Lan Shuang's words were still ringing in her ears. She turned her head to look at the red ibis and green tiles, clenching her teeth.
…
After leaving the palace, she immediately returned to the Duke Zhenguo's Mansion and told him what Lan Shuang had said. The Duke Zhenguo was shocked and confused, and asked someone to call a doctor he trusted to check it out carefully.
The doctor was a quack doctor whom he had saved in his early years. Later, he followed him around the country. His medical skills were not as good as those of the people in the Imperial Hospital, but he was more proficient in some unconventional methods than anyone else.
He carefully checked all the medicinal residues, wrote out a prescription, boiled it according to the recipe, tasted it, and his face changed immediately.
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