Jiuyang smiled, and there seemed to be light in his eyes.

She likes her own name, and she likes others calling her name even more!

Madam Tai: "Jiaoyang..."

Jiuyang was even happier. Jiuyang, who was always wary of strangers, was unusually close to the lady, as if it was because the lady shared the same suffering as him.

The old lady did not reject her at all, and the two of them talked and responded to each other. The old lady was thinking about Jiaoyang one moment and Yaoger the next.

Jiuyang asked, "Madam, who is Yao'er?"

Madam: “…”

Jingle quickly exchanged glances with Jiuyang.

Jiuyang understood and did not ask any more questions. He just said, "It's okay, Madam, you still have me. Jiuyang is with you. And you have your sister!"

Madam Tai: "Jiaoyang, be good..."

She patted Jiaoyang's little hand gently, as if she was coaxing a child softly, with gentle eyes and brows.

Sheng Xiyan's eyes were filled with sadness. She looked away and continued to say to Jingle, "Most of the injuries on Madam's body are old ones, none of which are serious. The most troublesome one is the wound on her wrist, which seems to have been cut by a sharp blade. Moreover, the wound has been there for a long time and has not healed yet."

She estimated that the injury had been there for at least a month.

Sheng Xiyan pursed her lips, a little worried: "Madame Ma said that the Madam has a fever every afternoon. I'm afraid this wound will be a little troublesome."

The most worrying thing about external injuries is that they are not healed for a long time, and they are infected with external toxins and evil spirits, resulting in a persistent high fever.

Jingle had also been to the border and served in a military camp, so he naturally understood Sheng Xiyan's concerns. In many cases, soldiers did not die from their injuries, but from the high fever caused by serious injuries and their gradual weakness.

Sheng Xiyan walked over and said gently, "Madam, can you let me take a look?"

Jiuyang took a step back obediently and gave her the seat next to the lady.

Sheng Xiyan gently lifted the sleeve of the lady's right hand, and on her forearm was a wound about two inches long. The flesh on the wound was turned outward, the surface was rotten, and pus continued to seep out.

Ma Ma and the others had already applied medicine, but did not bandage the wound as Sheng Xiyan instructed. The black ointment mixed with the bruised wound was even more shocking.

Jiaoyang was startled. She quickly patted the lady's hand and comforted her, "It doesn't hurt, it doesn't hurt."

Madam: “It doesn’t hurt…”

Jiuyang said softly: "It doesn't matter if it hurts. Jiuyang is here. Madam can talk to him and the pain will go away."

The corners of the lady's mouth slowly curled up.

The old lady's expression had not changed for a long time. Her smile seemed a little stiff and not pretty. Everyone present was stunned. Jingle even covered her face and cried.

After crying for a while, Jingle realized that the three children in the room were staring at her blankly. She couldn't help laughing and quickly brought the subject back to the topic, saying, "I'm fine. Sister Yan, this injury..."

Sheng Xiyan came back to her senses and said, "This wound has been there for some time, but it has never healed. I guess it must have been quite deep at first, and no medicine was applied afterwards."

Sheng Xiyan had smelled the smell of rotting flesh on the old lady's body before, which came from this wound.

"The other old injuries are fine, but it's been so long that the scars probably won't go away."

Sheng Xiyan sighed in frustration. Not only for the Madam, but also for Jiuyang, who also had some old scars on his body, but fortunately Jiuyang was young, and with some medicine, the scars could be lightened a lot in a few years, but it was too difficult to completely eliminate them.

"Madam Ma said that the Madam would have a fever every day at 3 p.m., which would last for about two hours. At night, the fever would subside on its own. The fever was not severe, and the Madam did not seem to feel particularly uncomfortable." Sheng Xiyan said, "I suspect that the fever was caused by the wound. If the wound does not heal, it may cause a high fever, which will be troublesome."

Chu Yuanchen's mind moved, and he said, "Was the mustard brine I gave Ji Mingyang last time useful?"

Ever since Sheng Xiyan mentioned it, Chu Yuanchen had been considering whether to use the aged mustard brine in the army, and he sent people to collect it and found some. However, there were not many aged mustard brine that needed to be well preserved, so in recent days, he only found some that could be used in Wutan.

Sheng Xiyan heard this and said, "Grandfather Chen Jiecai only said that it can be used for lung tuberculosis, and has never tried it on external injuries. The lady is old."

The lady is already in her seventies, and is not as good as Ji Mingyang back then, so she can try her luck. If the medicine doesn't work after taking it, it's fine, but I'm afraid it will bring other problems and my body won't be able to bear it.

She was injured and sick, and now very weak and unable to withstand the torture.

"Let's use the medicine first." Sheng Xiyan made a prompt decision, "If the wound doesn't get better, or if the burn gets worse, we'll do it later."

With Princess Jingle taking good care of her, the situation shouldn't get any worse.

The two of them reached a consensus as they talked. Jingle did not interrupt them. She just smiled and watched them discuss the matter. She felt very relieved.

When she turned around again, Jiaoyang was putting her gold necklace on the lady's neck, and she said seriously: "My mother said it can keep you safe!"

Speaking of ensuring safety, Chu Yuanchen remembered something. He took out a safety lock from his sleeve pocket and threw it lightly. Jiuyang immediately raised his hand to catch it with nimble movements.

Jiuyang's eyes lit up: "My safety lock!" She said to Sheng Xi Yan Xianbao, "Sister, my safety lock has been repaired."

Sheng Xiyan took it and took a look. It was exactly the same as the original one, without any signs of having been stepped on.

Chu Yuanchen blinked at her quickly. This was the gift Xiao Shuo had given him when they were at Anping Marquis' Mansion just now.

Xiao Shuo promised to have craftsmen repair Jiaoyang.

Sheng Xiyan understood what he meant and knew that he couldn't mention Xiao Shuo in front of Jingle, so she didn't mention anything else and returned the peace lock to Jiaoyang, praising him: "This craftsman's craftsmanship is really good."

"It's indeed good." Chu Yuanchen nodded slightly.

In fact, they all knew that no matter how good the craftsman's skills were, it was impossible to restore an Anping lock that had been trampled like that to be exactly the same as before. It should have been melted and then remade. However, it was very rare that the craftsman could make it exactly the same as the original one. Even Sheng Xiyan could not find any flaws.

This safety lock means a lot to Jiaoyang, so they would rather tell her that it has been repaired. They don't want her to know that it can never be fixed again.

Jiuyang played with it lovingly in his hand for a while, then hung the peace lock on the lady's gold necklace.

"Keep it safe."

Jiuyang smiled and said softly: "Jiuyang will protect you, and no one will bully you."

She had not fully recovered yet and was still a little thinner than people of the same age. Her skin was not as fair and delicate as the noble ladies in the capital. However, her smile was like a ray of light, slowly penetrating into the dark world of the lady dowager.

The lady touched the gold collar and nodded slowly.

Jiaoyang held her hand and talked to her. Even though he didn't get a response after a while, he didn't get annoyed.

Jingle looked at him with a smile for a while, then asked Chu Yuanchen, "How should we deal with Xue Bei?"

Chu Yuanchen said calmly: "After the house was confiscated, except for Xue Bei himself, Ling Chi, the rest of the family did not become government slaves."

"That's what it should be." Jingle nodded silently.

Xue Bei's family's wealth all came from the Lingnan Palace. They gained wealth, but for the sake of wealth, they tortured the lady to this point. This debt must be repaid.

She asked again: "Achen, where is the private letter?"

Chu Yuanchen said meaningfully: "In Chi Yu's hands. Chi Yu is quite interesting."

This private letter between the late emperor and King Nanhuai has a lot of room for maneuver, so Chu Yuanchen naturally wants to use it to the fullest.

Sheng Xiyan asked casually, "I heard that if Chi Yu wins the first place in this year's exam, he will be Liu Yuanjidi?"

Chi Yu has already won the third place in the minor examination and the first place in the provincial examination. If he can get the first place in the secondary examination and the first place in the imperial examination, he will be the only sixth place winner in the Great Rong Dynasty.

Moreover, in general, when faced with a person like Chi Yu who was famous for his talent and only one step away from the top six, the emperors of all dynasties would be willing to say good things to him. As long as he could get the top prize in the imperial examination, it was almost certain that he would get the top prize in the palace examination. As the only top six in the imperial examination in the Great Rong Dynasty, he would definitely be given important positions once he entered the officialdom.

"What a pity..." Sheng Xiyan sighed.

Chi Yu had offended the emperor badly this time. Even if the emperor had the face to save and refrained from attacking the students, he would definitely remember the faces of these "troublemakers", and Chi Yu's chances of becoming the top scholar would be gone.

Chu Yuanchen affirmed: "Even if this incident hadn't happened, Chi Yu wouldn't have Liu Yuan and his brother."

Sheng Xiyan raised her eyebrows, and Chu Yuanchen asked, "Do you know about the Jiangnan imperial examination fraud case two years ago?"

"Two years ago" was indeed a long time ago for Sheng Xiyan, who had lived a new life. Moreover, in her previous life, she did not care about state affairs.

She shook her head, and Chu Yuanchen patiently said, "Two years ago, there was cheating in the Jiangnan provincial examination. The son of the Jiangnan prefect stole and sold the examination papers. Chi Yu was the first in the provincial examination that year. He accidentally learned about this incident. Because he was unwilling to be in the same exam with the cheaters, he personally exposed the incident and summoned all the candidates at that time to the capital to file a complaint. The complaint was filed, the Jiangnan prefect was demoted, and all the people involved were imprisoned. Chi Yu also became the leader of the Jiangnan students."

Originally, the imperial examination was supposed to be held this year, but because of the cheating in the provincial examination, it needed to be re-examined, so the emperor moved it to next year.

"The fraud case is over, but some things are not over."

"After Chi Yu returned to Jiangnan, his mentor's family was robbed and murdered while they were away from home. Only a young son survived. Not long after that, his parents and family were also killed on the spot when the roof beams suddenly collapsed."

Sheng Xiyan covered her mouth lightly and widened her eyes in disbelief.

"Not only that, his close friends, his childhood sweetheart, his classmates of many years, all died or were disabled. No one was spared."

Jingle snorted coldly.

This is too obvious. If it was just one family that suffered misfortune, then we could say that it was God's will for them to suffer misfortune, but now it is like this, how can it be explained by just "misfortune"?

"Who did it?" As soon as Sheng Xiyan asked this question, she realized that she had asked a stupid question.

Who else could have done it? It was nothing more than officials protecting each other and seeking revenge for personal gain.

Sheng Xiyan asked a different question: "What happened next?"

Chu Yuanchen continued, "He appealed several times, but to no avail. Every time he appealed, someone close to him would suffer. He stopped suing after that."

Chu Yuanchen said: "He came to me on his own initiative, wanting to be my retainer, waiting for revenge, and told me all these things."

"Chi Yu became famous at a young age, and he was a little arrogant and conceited. However, the things that happened in the past two years have tempered him. I think he is no longer so impulsive when doing things now, and he knows when to advance and retreat."

"I told him not to take the exam this time and to take it next time."

Sheng Xiyan's mind moved and she looked at him.

Chu Yuanchen smiled slightly and said meaningfully: "Our emperor is busy with his 'illness' now and doesn't want to care about such things. After the New Year, he will regret being 'ill'."

There seemed to be a gleam of light in Chu Yuanchen's peach blossom eyes, and Sheng Xiyan was stunned for a moment.

"Princess, Prince."

At this time, a secret guard came to report, "The Anping Marquis's Mansion has been sealed by the Dongchang."

Chu Yuanchen nodded slightly: "What else?"

He continued, "Zheng Zhongming appeared in front of the Anping Marquis's mansion, but he was unable to speak to Xue Bei."

Zheng Zhongming... Sheng Xiyan's mind moved slightly, and she looked at Chu Yuanchen subconsciously.

Chu Yuanchen smiled and said, "Keep watching."

Of course, it wasn't just Chu Yuanchen who was keeping an eye on the Anping Marquis Mansion. It could be said that everyone in the capital was paying attention. They were all very worried and couldn't let go for a long time.

When the Anping Marquis Mansion was sealed, Dongchang took down and smashed the plaque of the Anping Marquis Mansion, and Xue Bei's entire family was taken away, the news immediately spread throughout the capital.

Taking down the plaque means seizing the title.

In other words, the emperor is serious this time.

The emperor did not directly say why he wanted to confiscate the Anping Marquis's mansion. Logically, Yu Shi should have asked, but it was Dongchang who was confiscating the property. Who would dare to ask? It would be bad if Xiao Shuo thought that they were dissatisfied with Dongchang. However, no matter how hard they tried, they still had to guess. Officials in the capital were all shrewd people, and almost no one could not guess that it was because of the Huangjue Temple. Obviously, the emperor suspected that the letter was hidden by the Anping Marquis.

And the Dongchang must have found evidence, otherwise they wouldn't have closed it down so easily.

This also means that the late emperor really colluded with Nan Huai.

In those days, the ancient city of Zhan was burned down by fire, and tens of thousands of people in the city died. Xue Chongzhi and 100,000 soldiers died in the swamp. These people died only because of the previous emperor's suspicion of the vassal kings...

Many people couldn't help but sigh that the dog was abandoned after the rabbit was dead.

After the emperor left court, he simply covered his ears and refused to listen to anything. He did not want to pay attention to the matter and handed over all court affairs to the Imperial Household Department.

This was not the first time that Xiao Shuo was in charge of the government. All the court officials were very well-behaved and even more cautious than when facing the emperor, for fear that if they made any mistakes, the Eastern Factory would be itchy and take action against them.

Even a few officials who used to be at odds with each other and always quarreled for a long time have become obedient.

The entire court was more diligent and conscientious than when the emperor was in power. They worked harder and didn't dare to play any tricks.

When King Zhao of Qin Weiyi returned to the capital and saw this situation, he knew that the emperor had once again not allowed him to govern the country.

He sneered and thought to himself: The emperor really doesn't care about his own brother.

But he had no choice but to hold back his anger and go to the palace to ask for an audience with the emperor. The first thing he said was that he wanted to get married before the New Year.

In fact, the emperor had already received a report from the Imperial Guards.

Zhao Yuanrou and Zhou Jingxun, who eloped, were in Yizhou. They rented a small courtyard in the county town and called themselves husband and wife. Even the neighbors called Zhao Yuanrou the daughter-in-law of the Zhou family. When Jinyiwei found them, they had just rented a stall to sell boneless chicken feet made by Zhao Yuanrou, and their business was booming.

When the emperor found out, he just felt it was ironic.

He was very devoted to his younger brother and doted on him in every way, but in the end, Qin Wei, a good prince, didn't like him, nor did he like the famous lady. Instead, he fell in love with Zhao Yuanrou who eloped.

"Have you thought it through?" the emperor asked expressionlessly.

"I've thought it through." Qin Wei was afraid that the emperor would not agree, so he answered without hesitation, "Brother, I only want to marry Rou'er."

"It's up to you." The emperor was too lazy to care. "I will ask the Imperial Clan Bureau and the Ministry of Rites to speed up the preparations for your marriage. You can talk to the Queen Mother yourself."

"However, it is impossible to get married before the New Year, unless you bring a small sedan chair in to be a concubine."

It is already December 28th, and no matter how hard we try, we can't get married before the New Year. Qin Wei has no shame, but the royal family still has some!

"No, I can't be your concubine!" Qin Wei also knew that he was too impatient, so he gave in. "Royal brother, then the engagement will be made before the New Year, and the marriage will be held after the New Year."

The emperor was too lazy to bother with him and agreed directly.

Qin Wei was overjoyed, thanked him quickly, and left excitedly, running to urge the clan office to propose marriage.

The clan office was also dumbfounded. Apart from the wedding that they had given to the old prince of Prince Yi's Mansion a few years ago, they had never arranged such a hasty wedding.

However, the emperor had no objection, and with Qin Wei urging them, they had no choice but to proceed quickly.

Fortunately, Qin Wei was a prince, and his marriage was based on regulations. All betrothal gifts were given according to regulations. There was no time to prepare live geese, so a pair of wooden geese were used as a gift. The betrothal gifts were hurriedly carried to the Zhao family on New Year's Eve.

In fact, the Ministry of Rites also mentioned that it was inappropriate to propose marriage on New Year's Eve and it would be better to wait until after the New Year. However, Qin Wei was unwilling to wait even a day longer.

The Zhao family had become completely numb. Everything was arranged by the Ministry of Clan Affairs and the Ministry of Rites. They received the betrothal gifts, signed the marriage certificate, and set the wedding date.

When the nanny took the marriage certificate to show Zhao Yuanrou, Zhao Yuanrou's face was gloomy and she didn't react at all.

Zhao Yuanrou's yard was deserted.

Her marriage had been full of twists and turns, and the betrothal proposal was so urgent that basically none of her relatives and friends came. Only a few of her aunts, uncles, and cousins ​​accompanied her with expressionless faces.

No one came to congratulate them, and the Zhao family members all wanted to eat Zhao Yuanrou, so as soon as the marriage certificate was signed, they all left without even paying any attention.

Sheng felt that her daughter had a miserable life, and tears kept flowing down her face like drops of water.

After everyone left, Sheng finally couldn't help but hug her with heartache, choking with sobs, "Junior Rou, just accept your fate. Your uncles all hate you to death, just accept your fate."

Fate? A mocking smile appeared on Zhao Yuanrou's lips. What is fate?

My destiny is in my own hands!

Zhao Yuanrou's hands tightly grasped the handkerchief.

She and Zhou Jingxun have both decided to leave this cannibalistic capital and start over somewhere else. They have decided to give up the honor and wealth of the capital and live with their own hands. Why are they still unwilling to let them go and are so aggressive?

"Mom, don't worry, I won't run away."

There was hatred in Zhao Yuanrou's eyes, but she spoke calmly, as if she was talking about something unimportant.

"If they want me to marry, I will marry them." The corners of her mouth curled up slightly, "They will regret it!"

She would never accept her fate, absolutely not.

She would never give up her relationship with Zhou Jingxun.

Qin Wei forced her to do that!

Zhao Yuanrou took a deep breath, and finally raised her hand to take the marriage certificate from Sheng's hand.

Looking at the name on the marriage certificate that she hated, Zhao Yuanrou thought of the humiliation of being caught.

"Qin Wei will regret it!"

Aren't they going to give her the title of Phoenix Girl?

Then she will let them know what a phoenix girl is! !

Zhao Yuanrou threw the marriage certificate aside. The anger and helplessness on her face had completely disappeared, replaced by perseverance. No one could stop her from being with Zhou Jingxun.

If Qin Wei tried to stop her, she would destroy Qin Wei.

If she can't stop this dynasty, she will destroy this dynasty!

Zhao Yuanrou took a deep breath and spoke slowly, word by word, as if making a declaration: "I will not accept my fate."

Sheng held her daughter's hand and cried bitterly.

My daughter has suffered so much.

"Madam, young lady." Zhao Yuanrou's personal maid came over and reported, "The Ministry of Rites and the Imperial Clan Court have already left."

There were a lot of people watching the excitement in the capital. It was because they had gone to the Zhao family too many times. As soon as they heard about the appointment, many good people gathered around. They waited until the people from the Ministry of Rites and the Zongren Mansion left, and there was no excitement in the Zhao family, so they left boredly.

"My cousin didn't make any more noise today. I heard that Prince Zhou hasn't returned to the capital yet." Xigui added, "This is what the master asked me to tell you."

Sheng Xiyan nodded slightly. She was putting silver in her purse, preparing to give out New Year's money in the evening.

She went to a silver shop to have the gold and silver ingots forged, and made them into all kinds of cats.

I don't know what has stimulated Sheng Xingan recently. He always finds ways to tell me how stupid, bad and annoying Zhou Jingxun is.

Is he afraid that he will follow Zhao Yuanrou's example and break off the engagement with the Zhenbei Palace? Thinking of this, Sheng Xiyan felt a chill, shook her head vigorously, and said to herself, "Bad luck."

Hurry up and continue to fill your wallet.

After she had packed her purses, she asked Xigui to put them away as she was going to the main courtyard to have the New Year's Eve dinner.

"I'm going to the study and will be back soon."

Sheng Xiyan didn't know what she was expecting. Standing in front of the small study, her heartbeat quickened. She stood there for a few breaths, raised her hand and pushed open the door. The next moment, a bright smile appeared on her face.

"You're here."

Chu Yuanchen was sitting behind the desk. When he saw her, he immediately smiled, stood up and walked towards her.

He took her hand and placed a jade hairpin in her palm: "Suppress the New Year's money."

This jade hairpin is delicately carved with very simple lines. The head of the hairpin is slightly curled up, forming a small lotus flower.

"Did you carve it?" Sheng Xiyan asked.

The carved lines on this jade hairpin are not like the commonly seen complicated patterns. They are simple, bright and yet vaguely reveal a sharp edge.

This was Chu Yuanchen's first time carving a jade hairpin. He didn't expect that she could see it at a glance. The corners of her mouth raised high did not hide the joy in her heart.

"I'll carve you a better-looking one next time!"