Chapter 71: Poisoning Given her personality, she wouldn't refuse to let Zhou Linjin in...
Seeing that Shen Lianxiu didn't speak for a long time, Zhou Yishao also understood that she couldn't be impatient. However, before she came, she thought that Shen Lianxiu's heart should have softened a little, but now it seems that it is far from that time.
Zhou Yishao sighed again and said, "You don't know, when that happened, even grandmother disapproved of Adi. When father found out, he wrote a letter scolding him—this was after he had repented. He didn't regret it because of the scolding, but after he saw Shen Wuyu's face, he suddenly understood. But no matter how quickly he understood, you missed it. Adi searched again and again, but he never found any trace of you, not even... your body. Later, I thought he had made a big mistake and would spend his whole life regretting it. I didn't expect that you two would still be destined to meet like this. Since you have met again, it means that your relationship has not yet come to an end. You must not be careless again."
From outside the window came the sounds of children laughing and playing, occasionally mixed with the tender chirping of newborn chicks, a peaceful and tranquil place.
Zhou Yishao stood up and opened the window, reminding the maid to be careful of An An and Zhu Er falling, and then he did not close the window so that he could see them more clearly.
"Although these two sisters are five years apart in age, they have a lot of fun playing together." Zhou Yishao said with a smile.
Chen Lianxiu also smiled, but her thoughts were still on what Zhou Yishao had just said: "Yes, she has grown so big in the blink of an eye. When I first saw her, she was not much older than An An is now."
Hearing this, Zhou Yishao suddenly felt sad. Whether intentionally or not, she said to Shen Lianxiu, "It would be great if they grew up together!"
Shen Lianxiu didn't respond.
Fortunately, at this time the maid came to ask how many people were going to be cooked for lunch. Chen Lianxiu counted the number and gave a rough number. She then went to ask Zhu'er what she wanted to eat. She came back only after everything was arranged.
Zhou Yishao saw the resistance in her heart. No matter how she beat around the bush, she just wouldn't respond. So he didn't mention it anymore, lest Chen Lianxiu get angry and annoyed. They just talked about Zhu'er and An'an, and what had happened in the Chengguo Mansion in recent years.
About half an hour later, I suddenly heard someone outside reporting that Zhou Linjin had returned.
When Zhou Yishao heard that he was coming, his expression became heavier, obviously thinking of Wu's situation. He immediately stood up to welcome him in.
As soon as Zhou Linjin entered the house, Shen Lianxiu couldn't wait to say, "The old lady has been poisoned."
Zhou Yishao gasped and almost fell down. Thanks to Chen Lianxiu who helped her sit down, she did not fall.
"How could this happen?" Zhou Yishao touched his chest, his face pale. "My family is fine, how could something like this happen?"
Compared to Zhou Yishao's panic at the moment, Zhou Linjin's face showed nothing. He nodded and motioned Chen Lianxiu to continue.
"The old lady was poisoned by Aconitum, which is not a rare poison and can be easily purchased, so it is not impossible for the doctor to fail to detect it." Chen Lianxiu paused, then quickly continued, "This poison is not injected all at once, but a little bit every day, so it won't take long. The old lady is old, and she has survived until now... The medicine residue I checked today no longer has Aconitum. I think that is enough, and there is no evidence to prove it."
"Then...can it be cured?" Zhou Yishao asked Chen Lianxiu.
Chen Lianxiu shook his head, then realized that Zhou Linjin couldn't see, so he said, "It's too late."
Zhou Yishao collapsed on the chair. Although Wu had always been indifferent to the first wife and favored the second wife, she was still his grandmother with whom he had lived for so long. If she had died of old age and illness, there would have been nothing he could do about it. But she had to be poisoned to death. Even though he had expected that Wu's illness was a bit strange, how could he accept it all at once when it was revealed to him.
"Why...is it them? Why would they do this? Grandma loves them so much, what good will this do them?" Zhou Yishao murmured.
Shen Lianxiu didn't know the answers to these questions, and she also knew them well.
Logically speaking, the second branch should have the least motivation. Once Mrs. Wu is gone, it means they have no support and may even have to move out of the Duke Cheng's Mansion and live on their own. They should hope that Mrs. Wu lives a long life.
Zhou Linjin remained silent until a long time later, when he finally spoke: "I roughly understand what Grandma meant by what she just said."
He looked fine when he was silent, but as soon as he opened his mouth, his face immediately turned pale.
Chen Lianxiu looked at Zhou Linjin with a little curiosity. Wu only said a few words. Did he really understand?
"Grandmother mentioned my eldest brother, my father, and me, which is clear. And then there's the word 'letter.' Unsure of what it meant, I went to Zhuoxinzhai to check some of the correspondence between my father and me," Zhou Linjin said. "Then I discovered that those letters, which had been securely locked away, had been tampered with. I guess someone sneaked into Zhuoxinzhai and read them while I was away."
"It's a letter from your father, so what's written on it?" Zhou Yishao asked.
Zhou Linjin shook his head and said nothing. Finally, he said, "It's just about my father's situation at the border."
Zhou Yishao asked, "What's the point of them seeing it?"
Zhou Linjin remained silent for a long time.
Zhou Yishao knew that things might not be good. It was not just Wu's problem. Something big might happen in the family. He couldn't help sobbing softly.
Chen Lianxiu couldn't help but feel anxious after hearing this, but she didn't know how to comfort Zhou Yishao, so she could only bring her some hot tea.
"When my grandmother spoke of 'saving', she most likely wasn't referring to herself, but to my father. She didn't know this at first. It must have been after she became seriously ill that someone discussed this at her bedside, and she happened to overhear it."
Zhou Linjin suddenly said something, and Shen Lianxiu's hands trembled, almost spilling the tea.
At this time, Zhou Yishao held back his tears and said, "Brother, if you have any ideas, just say it out."
Zhou Linjin seemed to nod slightly, then frowned.
"The Second Branch had no reason to harm Grandmother, so from the beginning, this matter wasn't aimed at Grandmother. My eldest brother snooped through the correspondence between my father and me, and then secretly poisoned Grandmother. The most likely reason I can think of is that he was waiting for Grandmother's death so that my father could return to the capital to attend the funeral. King Hui is already in cahoots with the Rong State. If my father leaves, or even gets into trouble, with the combined efforts of both inside and outside, chaos will surely ensue at the border."
"So Zhou Linyu and King Hui are already..." Shen Lianxiu stopped talking halfway.
Zhou Linjin said: "I'm not completely sure, but I can be 80% to 90% sure."
"You have to find a way out. Our family can't continue like this," Zhou Yishao was already crying. "I don't understand all this, but Dad can't be in any trouble. And what about Grandma? Can we just watch her..."
Zhou Linjin asked Shen Lianxiu, "How many days does grandma have left?"
"Probably..." Shen Lianxiu said with difficulty, "three or four days at most."
"Then let father not come back for the funeral..."
"Impossible," Zhou Linjin interrupted Zhou Yishao firmly. "Right now, everything is just my speculation. Although His Majesty has begun to suspect Prince Hui, he's only just beginning to make progress. It's impossible for him to do so so soon. What reason would father have for not returning to mourn? Even if His Majesty agrees, there will definitely be people in the court who will impeach him. And given my father's personality, there's no way he wouldn't come to mourn my grandmother just because of this."
"What should we do then?"
Zhou Linjin pondered for a moment, bit the tender flesh in his mouth hard, and then said, "When the time comes, I will tell Father all these things along with the death notice. Father will have his own considerations. Tomorrow, I will also find Hu Qingshan to report this matter to His Majesty and see what His Majesty decides."
Upon hearing this, Zhou Yishao covered his heart and started crying again.
For a moment, apart from her suppressed crying, there was dead silence all around, only the laughter of the children outside the window continued.
After a while, Zhou Linjin rubbed his forehead and said dejectedly: "I hope I am wrong about everything."
At this time, the maid knocked on the door and asked if they wanted to set the table. Although no one had the appetite to eat, Zhu'er and An'an wanted to eat, so Chen Lianxiu asked them to set the table quickly.
After the meal, Zhou Yishao calmed down a little and discussed with Zhou Linjin. They decided to tell Yang everything about Wu's situation, but they would keep other things secret from Yang for the time being to avoid worrying her.
Zhou Yishao led Zhu'er away. Before leaving, she glanced at Chen Lianxiu and said to Zhou Linjin, "I will take good care of the family. You should not go home recently. I'm afraid Zhou Linyu will do something to you, and I'm also afraid that they will find out your every move."
Neither Zhou Linjin nor Shen Lianxiu said anything.
What Zhou Yishao said made some sense. Half of it was indeed to let Zhou Linjin avoid Zhou Linyu. After all, his eyesight was not convenient now and it was difficult to defend himself. The other half was to drive Zhou Linjin to Chen Lianxiu. Chen Lianxiu was also staying here temporarily. With her personality, she would not refuse Zhou Linjin entry.
After Zhou Yishao left, Zhou Linjin asked his followers to go back to Duke Cheng's mansion to collect some personal belongings. Chen Lianxiu saw this and just silently asked the maid to clean up a room in the back.
Zhou Linjin stayed for a while and was about to go out. Seeing that Chen Lianxiu had just taken An An to close the chickens and was about to go into the house for a nap, he said to her, "You don't have to leave any food for me tonight."
Shen Lianxiu said "Oh", still indifferent, but when Zhou Linjin turned around to leave, she asked: "Are you going out?"
Zhou Linjin nodded: "I'm going to Hu Qingshan."
"Okay," Shen Lianxiu hesitated for a moment and asked him again, "If the old lady really has something to do, will His Majesty agree..."
Zhou Linjin gently touched his lips twice with his index finger, signaling her not to ask any more questions. Then he pulled her to the corridor and said, "With my father in charge of the border, everything is stable. His Majesty is well aware of this. The Rong Kingdom has not invaded us for over a decade. Prince Hui is His Majesty's younger brother and has always been favored by His Majesty and the Queen Mother. Although the incident is about to be exposed, it is still unknown whether His Majesty will take it lightly. Aside from witnesses, there is no direct evidence of his collusion with the enemy and treason. Moreover, those things are ultimately just my speculations. How to bring it up in front of His Majesty is still a problem."
Chen Lianxiu didn't quite understand what he said, but she understood what Zhou Linjin meant. This matter was very difficult.
She said nothing more and just watched Zhou Linjin leave.
It was late at night when Zhou Linjin came back. Chen Lianxiu was still awake and had been listening to the noises outside intentionally or unintentionally. When the door opened, she opened her eyes.
She turned over and lay on the bed for a while, listening to An An's shallow breathing in her ears. Finally, she slowly got up, put on some clothes and went out.
Zhou Linjin was just coming in, and he couldn't see, so naturally he didn't see Chen Lianxiu, so Chen Lianxiu called him.
He was stunned and slowly walked over following the sound.
"There's porridge cooking in the kitchen. Do you want to eat some?" Chen Lianxiu asked him.
Zhou Linjin said: "Eat."
In fact, he was running around outside, so where could he get anything to eat? Plus, he had something on his mind, so he just wanted to fill his stomach. The reason he wasn't allowed to leave any more food was because this place was different from home, and he didn't want to trouble her. It was already so late, how could he not be hungry?
The attendant went to the kitchen to get food. Zhou Linjin thought for a moment and said, "I have something to tell you."
Shen Lianxiu sighed: "Come in and talk."
Although it was a matter of the Duke Cheng's Mansion, she couldn't completely ignore it. At least Zhou Yishao and Zhu'er were still there, and Yang was also very kind to her. Her and Zhou Linjin's private affairs were their own. She didn't want anything to happen in the Duke Cheng's Mansion, and she didn't know whether it would have any impact on An An.
The most important thing is that King Hui is a beast. He harmed Pei Ruoyan, Shen Wuyu, and many other women she didn't know about. She didn't want King Hui and Zhou Linyu to succeed.
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