Chapter 116
Yue Wen quickly invited a doctor, an old doctor. Shen Jin did not show up, and let the old doctor feel her pulse through the bed curtain. This doctor often treated women from wealthy families, so he naturally knew what to ask and what not to ask. Although there were not many people in the courtyard, he could tell that the case was probably not simple, so he quickly wrote out a prescription and didn't say much.
When An Ning went to send her off in person, she asked a few more questions, and the doctor did not hide anything, saying, "This lady is worried, but now that she has a child, it's not the same as before. It's best to rest and not think too much."
An Ning asked, "Doctor, will this be harmful to Madam's health?"
The doctor hesitated for a moment and said, "If you take good care of yourself, there will be no problem." If you don't take good care of yourself, it's hard to say, "It's better to take more supplements."
"Where is the child?" An Ning asked.
The doctor paused before saying, "If you don't take good care of the baby, I'm afraid the baby will be weaker when he's born."
"Thank you, doctor." An Ning directly stuffed the silver into the doctor's hand.
The doctor understood that this was hush money, so after receiving it, he stopped talking. Yue Wen sent the doctor out through the back door and went to get some medicine.
After An Ning returned to the house, Shen Jin asked, "How is it?"
"The doctor said it's okay to rest." An Ning bit her lip before speaking.
Shen Jin frowned and looked at An Ning. An Ning lowered her head and said, "If we can't take good care of it, I'm afraid both Madam and the young master will be weak."
If it was just Shen Jin, she would naturally put safety first, but since it was about the child, Shen Jin gently stroked her belly with both hands, "I know, I'll take advantage of these two days to take good care of myself."
An Ning knew there was no other way, so she agreed, thinking in her heart that she should make more nourishing food for Shen Jin in the next two days. Although her cooking skills were not as good as An Tao's, they were not bad either. Later, she followed Madam Zhao in the kitchen for a while and learned a little bit, but she couldn't make anything too delicate.
They couldn't expect anything too good in their current situation, but at least they had to buy a few old hens to make soup. When Yue Wen came back, An Ning told Yue Wen what he needed. Yue Wen agreed, and An Ning said, "There's food on the stove in the kitchen. You guys can help yourselves."
"Okay." Yue Wen agreed.
An Ning didn't say anything else and took the food to Shen Jin. Yue Wen first served out a large bowl of it and then called the other two to come. They ate first. After Yue Wen boiled the medicine, he sat beside her and ate while watching the medicine being boiled. An Ning made vegetable porridge, and in addition, there were the big steamed buns and pickles that Yue Wen and the others had bought earlier.
Shen Jin did not sit in the dining table to eat. Instead, after An Ning had placed the food, he sat on a chair and said, "An Ning, bring yours over too, so we can eat together."
"Madam, please use it first." An Ning said with a smile, "I will go to the kitchen to use it later."
"There's plenty of time in the future." Shen Jin said, "You guys are a bit conspicuous serving me."
Hearing this, An Ning said, "Then I'll go get it. Madam, please use it first."
Shen Jin nodded. Actually, she didn't have much appetite at the moment, but now was not the time for her to be picky.
An Ning went to the kitchen, glanced at Yue Wen and the others, and said, "Is that enough? If not, I'll make some more."
"That's enough." Yue Wen said, "Madam, have you finished using it?"
"Madam asked me to share with her." An Ning said as she was going to find a bowl and chopsticks, but she saw Yue Wen handing her a bowl of porridge with chopsticks also placed. An Ning smiled, blushed slightly, thanked him, and left with the things.
Yue Wen sat down to eat again. The other two looked at each other and asked, "When will Brother Yue invite us to the wedding banquet?"
"Wait until we get back." Yue Wen said directly without any shyness, "I will tell the general then." If they can get back.
"It's settled."
Yue Wen nodded and said nothing more. When he returned to the border town, he would first ask An Ning's opinion, and then go to ask the general for help. He thought that the general's wife would not make things difficult for them.
After Shen Jin and the others waited for An Yi, they left the town. It was not because they did not want to wait any longer, but they could not afford to wait any longer. Not to mention what would happen if the Queen Mother found out, it would also be inappropriate if Emperor Cheng came along.
The carriage prepared by Yue Wen looked inconspicuous from the outside, but it was nicely decorated inside. Shen Jin and the others had all changed their clothes.
As for the Queen Mother, An Yuan looked at An Lan and asked, "Do you really want to do this?"
An Lan nodded, "If we delay any longer and make them suspicious, it will be too late."
An Tao pursed her lips and didn't say anything in the end, but her eyes were red. She smiled and said, "That's true. At least we are together."
An Yuan nodded, also smiling, "Yeah, we are all together."
Even so, if they are not careful, they may even lose their lives. However, they also know that this is indeed the best choice.
Because the Queen Mother was not feeling well, everyone stayed in the town for one more day. An Lan just said she was not feeling well and did not go out, but just rested in the room. The Queen Mother seemed to have become suspicious and sent the nanny beside her to invite her many times, saying that if she did not go, the Queen Mother would come in person. An Lan and the others knew they could not hide any longer, so An Yuan helped An Lan dress up and accompanied her to the Queen Mother.
The nanny beside the empress dowager had been following An Lan and the others, and felt that the empress dowager was a little suspicious. Although the wife of Marquis Yongning looked unhappy, there seemed to be nothing unusual about her. The empress dowager was actually fine, she was just old and could not hold on after all the traveling.
After An Lan entered, she smiled and said, "Grandma."
The Queen Mother looked at An Lan carefully before saying, "Come and sit next to Grandmother." Because they were outside, they changed the way they addressed each other.
An Lan followed the instructions and sat down beside the Queen Mother. The Queen Mother looked at An Lan carefully and asked, "Why do you look a lot thinner? Is the child okay?"
"Yeah." An Lan gently stroked her belly with both hands and said, "I feel a little tired."
The Queen Mother narrowed her eyes. After all, she was old and her eyesight was a little poor. She did not suspect that the person in front of her had changed, but she suspected that Shen Jin had other ideas in mind. It would be bad if he suddenly disappeared.
An Lan chatted with the Queen Mother for a while, and then she said she was tired. An Lan suddenly said, "Grandma, since we are resting here, why don't we call a doctor?"
The Queen Mother heard this and said, "It would be bad if someone noticed it."
An Lan reached out and gently stroked her belly. "Grandma's health is more important. Besides, I haven't been feeling well lately."
"Be patient, we'll welcome you when we get to the town ahead." The Queen Mother is now being careful about everything.
An Lan looked at the Queen Mother and asked, "Why don't we go to the border town? I think my husband will protect us."
The Queen Mother said, "Let's see again."
An Lan nodded, said nothing more, and left. That night, a fire suddenly broke out in the courtyard, and An Lan and his servants disappeared. The Queen Mother sent her guards to chase them, but saw two men protecting An Lan and her servants as they fled. Finally, the carriage lost control and fell into the ravine, and no one survived.
In the border town, Chu Xiuming had already returned with his men, but in the end, less than five people survived, and all of them were injured.
Chu Xiuming looked at Chu Xiuyuan who seemed to be hesitant to speak and asked, "What's wrong?"
Chu Xiuyuan also got the news from the capital and said, "Sister-in-law and the Queen Mother are missing."
Chu Xiuming narrowed his eyes, and Chu Xiuyuan continued, "We can't get in touch with Yue Wen either."
"Where is Emperor Cheng?" Chu Xiuming frowned and forced himself to calm down.
Chu Xiuyuan poured a cup of hot tea for Chu Xiuming and said, "Emperor Cheng secretly sent people to look for her. The Queen Mother went out of the palace to pray for blessings, and she brought her sister-in-law with her. Later, Emperor Cheng learned about the news from the Prince of Ying, so he sent people to bring her back. Who knew that the Queen Mother had already separated from the ceremonial guard with her sister-in-law? Before that, Yue Wen had sent a message once, telling her about this matter, but who knew that there was no news afterwards."
Chu Xiuming held the teacup and drank all the tea in it before saying, "I understand."
"Brother, do you want to send someone to bring my sister-in-law back?" Chu Xiuyuan asked.
Chu Xiuming wanted to go, and even wanted to take people to find Shen Jin right now, but it was not possible at this time. He asked, "Is there anything else to carry?"
"There's a letter from the Prince of England." Chu Xiuyuan said, "Just yesterday." Then he took out the letter.
Chu Xiuming opened it and read it. Unlike last time, the Prince of England was more cautious in his words this time, and even the conditions for winning over Chu Xiuming were better. Didn't the Prince of England know who did those things? He knew, but at this time, apart from cooperating with Chu Xiuming and having a chance to compete, there was no other way.
"Have the people from the orphanage returned?" Chu Xiuming asked as he threw the letter aside.
Chu Xiuyuan shook his head, "Want to meet him?"
"See you." Chu Xiuming lowered his eyes slightly and said, "The location is set in Kuncheng."
Chu Xiuyuan knew exactly what Kuncheng was after a brief thought. It was some distance away from the border town, but also not close to the Prince of England. It was a place that both of them could accept, and moreover, this Kuncheng ostensibly belonged to Emperor Cheng, and the officials there were sent by Emperor Cheng, but Chu Xiuyuan knew that the official was actually his father's man, and the man left by his grandfather. Although Chu Xiuyuan's father died young, he was not bad in literary talent and military strategy. He did not keep all the men left by the prince by his side, but asked them to change their names and took advantage of the chaos at that time to change their household registrations. Many of them later took part in the imperial examinations. Emperor Cheng loved to promote those who had no backing, but he did not know that people had already been placed among them.
Since the Prince of England asked Chu Xiuming to set the time and place to show his sincerity, Chu Xiuming would not be polite, "Add one more thing, such as guaranteeing the safety of my brother and nephew, and handing over the spies and Fei An from the border city in the 37th year of Yongjia, alive."
"Yes." Chu Xiuyuan understood that if he did not mention any conditions, he would not be able to gain the trust of the Prince of England. "Then my sister-in-law..."
Chu Xiuming pursed his lips, shook his head and said, "It's okay." No matter who Shen Jin falls into the hands of in the end, that person will not hurt Shen Jin, because they still need Shen Jin to negotiate terms with them. If they send someone to look for him at this time, it would be inappropriate. What's more, Chu Xiuming felt that Shen Jin would take the opportunity to escape, and when he settled down, he would contact him.
"Why not find out if my sister-in-law is still with the Queen Mother?" Chu Xiuyuan asked after a moment of hesitation.
Chu Xiuming narrowed his eyes and said, "Do you know where the Queen Mother is now?"
Chu Xiuyuan shook his head and said, "It will take some time."
Chu Xiuming said, "So what we need to do now is to let Shen Xuan continue to lead the troops..." Chu Xiuming said, "So what we need to do now is to let Shen Xuan continue to lead the troops..."
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