Upon hearing this, the Duke of Zhenguo nodded, finally feeling relieved.
"Since there's nothing else, let's return the child quickly, so as not to cause any trouble for Marquis Ningyuan..." Consort Jia reminded her, after all, she noticed that Anan's clothes were very tattered and had an indescribable smell that made her throat slightly itchy. She guessed that the child was being imprisoned at home by Marquis Ningyuan. Although she didn't know why a child would be treated like this, based on the principle of avoiding trouble, Consort Jia still felt it was better to send the child back as soon as possible.
Unexpectedly, the Duke of Zhenguo seemed not to hear him and continued to carefully examine Anan's injuries. Although the doctor said there was nothing seriously wrong, he still felt it was safer to verify it himself, after all, this person's situation was of great importance...
When Consort Jia saw that the Duke of Zhenguo ignored her, she felt a little embarrassed. She pinched her nose and prepared to urge him a few more times. She didn't want the smell on Anan to make her vomit.
As Consort Jia approached the Duke of Zhenguo, she opened her mouth to speak, but then the Duke's voice came from ahead. This voice startled her, as if she had been doused with cold water and was holding ice in her arms, and she shivered all over.
"This child could very well be the real crown prince."
These words struck Consort Jia like a thunderbolt. It took her a while to process what they meant and understand what the Duke of Zhenguo meant.
She immediately put on a fawning expression and moved closer, no longer pinching her nose, saying repeatedly, "Then we must take a good look at it, lest it leave any lasting health problems."
As she spoke, she ordered a servant to fetch a clean set of clothes. The servant, with a stiff upper lip, replied, "Your Highness, there are no clothes for children in the mansion."
"Can't you go buy it? I'll only give you the time it takes to drink a cup of tea, hurry back!" Consort Jia cursed fiercely, then turned back to look at Anan with concern.
She knew that Anan's behavior before and after his identity was completely different, which made the Duke of Zhenguo feel very uncomfortable, as if he had a fishbone stuck in his throat. However, he coughed lightly to cover it up and did not mention it to the Duke's wife.
Before they knew it, it was evening. Anan's injuries had been treated and he had fallen into a deep sleep. He had woken up once before but only drank some water and then never woke up again. Consort Jia stayed by Anan's side, her concern for him was beyond words.
...
Inside the study of the Duke of Zhenguo.
"Madam, in my opinion, we should send Consort Jia back to the palace as soon as possible." The Duke of Zhenguo glanced at the area where Anan was resting and saw Consort Jia bustling around inside. He sighed and said.
Upon hearing this, the Duchess of Zhenguo frowned and opened her mouth as if to say something, but was stopped by the Duke of Zhenguo.
“I know what you’re going to say, Madam, but have you forgotten what happened today? Before…” The Duke of Zhenguo then recounted what had happened before, and added his own feelings at the end, “I have a very bad feeling about Consort Jia. Her attitude changed too quickly. I think she might cause some trouble if she stays here.”
The Duchess of Zhenguo was not an unreasonable person. She understood immediately upon hearing this. Although she was still somewhat unwilling, since Consort Jia was pregnant, she had no choice but to let her go back first for the sake of Anan, so she nodded in agreement.
Xu Yuehuai worked quickly and soon repaired the Mingyue branch of Tianxianglou. However, she still had nothing to exchange for goods, which troubled her.
They had no choice but to seek help from Qi Guze.
Qi Guze looked at her worried expression and couldn't help but chuckle: "You've lost your composure over such a small matter. That's not like you."
“I do have a plan, but I feel it’s not quite right, which is why I thought I’d come and ask you for advice.” Xu Yuehua hesitated for a moment before speaking. “Right now, the fruits and vegetables from the Central Plains haven’t arrived, so the people of Mingyue Kingdom naturally don’t know how good they are. I was thinking of having Zhou Wan send a batch over first, so that the people of Mingyue Kingdom could taste them, but I’m afraid it might arouse the Emperor’s suspicion.”
As she spoke, she kept a close eye on Qi Guze's appearance.
Qi Guze frowned and pondered for a while.
He is now the one being suspected, so naturally he can't implicate the others at Tianxianglou. But without these people, Tianxianglou wouldn't be able to open.
Just as the two were wondering, Zhao Yinfang's laughter suddenly came from outside the door: "Manager Xu, quickly take a look at this calf that is just a month old. If there are no problems, send it to the Central Plains first and let the Emperor have a taste."
Before they could finish speaking, the man had already brought the ox through the door.
Looking at the live calf, Xu Yuehuai felt it was difficult to give a proper assessment.
“Lord Zhao, although I am a cook, I can only distinguish the meat that has been cut off. How could this live cow not be fresh?” she chuckled.
Zhao Yinfang, of course, didn't understand, so he hurriedly told someone to take the cow to the kitchen to slaughter it and then bring it to Xu Yuehuai to see.
Xu Yuehua examined the meat closely and found it to be indeed tender. She quickly said, "Lord Zhao, this meat is indeed good, but we haven't bred many cattle and sheep yet. If we send these month-old calves over, I'm afraid it will affect our future breeding plans."
She shook her head.
Unexpectedly, Zhao Yinfang laughed and said, "It seems Manager Xu is not very knowledgeable."
"There are plenty of these cattle and sheep on the grasslands of the Dark Moon Kingdom, but they haven't been properly raised. These days are the time when many cattle and sheep are a month old, so sending a few over is nothing."
Xu Yuehuai didn't understand any of this, and instead looked at Qi Guze who was standing to the side.
Qi Guze thought for a moment, then nodded and smiled, "That's a good idea—let Tie Xiong take these cattle back to Chang'an City, and while he's at it, he can also get some fruits and vegetables. Then your Tianxiang Restaurant can open!"
Xu Yuehuai thought about his words carefully, and they were indeed good.
The group acted immediately.
Soon Tie Xiong set off with Niu on his journey back to Chang'an.
...
After the two finished their discussion, the Duchess of Zhenguo stood up to speak with Consort Jia, but was stopped by the Duke of Zhenguo, who gave her an inquiring look.
"It would be troublesome to try to persuade her with kind words, so why not just do it first and ask for permission later?" the Duke of Zhenguo said calmly, and then sighed and added, "You know your sister's temperament best."
"I almost forgot about that... but that's all we can do." Upon hearing this, the Duchess of Zhenguo sighed and quickly wrote a letter, which she then sent to the capital.
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