Chapter 143

Jiang Yanyi originally thought that this was a rumor made by the doctor surnamed An who was ignorant of the world.

However, when the soldiers who watched An Suqiu leave in the military camp that day came out to refute the rumor, saying that An Suqiu left on her own and was not forced to leave by Jiang Yanyi, rumors began to spread that the soldiers were coerced by Jiang Yanyi to say so. Moreover, these rumors were growing bigger and bigger like a snowball, and it was obvious that someone was deliberately guiding them from behind.

Jiang Yanyi finally realized that something was wrong. An Suqiu, a small doctor, was not capable of such a great thing.

She sent people to secretly investigate the source of the rumors, but the results were all said by An Suqiu and several aunts from her neighboring families.

With such a unified tone, it is obvious that someone is using An Suqiu as a scapegoat to stab a bloody hole in her.

As for the purpose, it is self-evident.

She is Feng Shuo's unmarried princess. Although Chu Changping's power is not strong now, it should not be underestimated. There is also Chu Chengmao, who is a rising star. There are not many people who can surpass her in family background.

She also went south in person with medicinal materials and earned enough reputation. Now the only stain is probably the lies made up by An Suqiu.

The other party has magnified this stain infinitely, saying that even if she cannot shake her position as the future princess, she can always pull out this imaginary stain and throw dirty water on her at any time in the future.

And the beneficiaries behind this are naturally the girls from noble families who are waiting to be promoted.

Hengzhou's famous families can be counted on one hand. Jiang Yanyi selected the families with daughters to be married and asked Yang Xiu and Bing Shao to check who the family members of those families had been in contact with recently.

This targeted investigation soon revealed the result. A housekeeper in the family of a soldier in Hengzhou lived on the same street as An Suqiu. She accidentally overheard An Suqiu's words that slandered Jiang Yanyi. She turned around and told it as a joke to the woman who worked with the soldier in the family, and happened to be overheard by the mistress of the family.

There is a daughter who is waiting for a maid at home, and sooner or later, the world will belong to Feng Shuo. Officials of all sizes in Hengzhou have more or less thought of dedicating their daughters to Feng Shuo, but Feng Shuo has never relented.

The mistress of Bingcao's family thought that it was only a matter of time before her daughter followed Feng Shuo. Why not label Jiang Yanyi as jealous and intolerant before the wedding?

So she ordered people to fan the flames and spread An Suqiu's lies to everyone, trying to ruin Jiang Yanyi's reputation.

Yang Xiu and Bing Shao came back with the housekeeper of Bingcao's family. Jiang Yanyi didn't say a word and directly asked someone to take her to Feng Shuo.

The other party's family had ties with the military camp, so she sent the person over. How to deal with the matter depended on Feng Shuo's consideration.

The housekeeper of Bingcao's family was arrested, so they didn't dare to make any more trouble. They even shamelessly brought expensive gifts to the palace to meet Jiang Yanyi, but Jiang Yanyi refused to meet her.

Without the backstage pusher, the voices defending Jiang Yanyi finally prevailed.

An Suqiu's lies were exposed. She was always stubborn, and now she was criticized even when she went out to buy food.

Some shrewd wives would even ridicule her in public:

"Some people think they are pretty. On the surface, they come to the military camp to treat illnesses and save lives, but who knows what they are thinking in secret! Who is Miss Chu? What kind of person is she? Compared with her, don't you look in the mirror to see if you are worthy!"

"She abandoned so many injured soldiers and left the military camp in a huff. She still has the nerve to say that it was Miss Chu who caused them to fail. The soldiers in the wounded camp have come out to refute the rumors. After all, she is still a doctor. How can she be so evil? Who will dare to seek medical treatment from her in the future!"

"She even soiled the plaque of the clinic that had been passed down from her family for generations!"

Rumors are like a knife stabbing someone else, which doesn't hurt, but when it hits you, An Suqiu finally understood how it felt.

She couldn't help crying after returning home.

She said those things to a few aunts from the neighboring families that day, purely because she was angry for a moment. She didn't expect that the whole city would know about it.

Thinking that she had brought shame to her family and she would not be able to stay in Hengzhou City in the future, An Suqiu was overwhelmed with grief and planned to kill herself with a white silk.

It was also a coincidence that day Jiang Yanyi asked Yang Xiu to take the banknotes to find An Suqiu. Now the military camp was short of medicine, and it was impossible to return the medicines she donated to the military camp intact. Jiang Yanyi exchanged them for banknotes at the market price, which was regarded as the medicines the military camp bought from her.

Yang Xiu asked for directions, and after arriving at An Suqiu's house, he knocked on the door several times but no one answered. Now people in the market were cursing An Suqiu, and he thought that An Suqiu might commit suicide because of the infamy, so he immediately broke the door and found that An Suqiu had hanged herself in her own clinic.

Fortunately, Yang Xiu broke the door in time, and the person could still be saved.

Someone was about to die, but the curses in the streets died down a bit. Several aunties from the neighboring families had watched An Suqiu grow up, and seeing that this young lady was about to die, they took the initiative to take care of her.

In front of the onlookers, Yang Xiu handed the banknote that Jiang Yanyi gave to An Suqiu to her neighbor's aunt for safekeeping, and asked the aunt to give it to An Suqiu after she woke up, and then went back to the palace to report the matter to Jiang Yanyi.

Jiang Yanyi had previously thought that An Suqiu had planned these rumors herself, but now he understands that they were all a trick of the Bingcao family. An Suqiu did say those things out of spite, but she was also pushed to the forefront later.

Now the soldier's family has escaped unscathed from the rumors, but An Suqiu is the only one who has to bear the blowback of the rumors. In a sense, she is also a victim.

The other person committed suicide, and Jiang Yanyi did not want to pursue it any further.

But people have to bear the consequences of their mistakes. An Suqiu's loss of reputation in Hengzhou City is also a punishment for her.

Feng Shuo quickly responded to Jiang Yanyi. The task that was originally intended to be assigned to the soldier was handed over to another subordinate. Instead, the soldier received a leisurely job of managing logistics, and there was no hope of promotion for military merit in the future.

Bingcao was puzzled and went to Xing Yao to find out what was going on. He learned that it was his wife who did those stupid things. He was furious and had a big fight with his wife after returning home. He left her and his wife regretted it.

Jiang Yanyi didn't expect that An Suqiu would come to the palace to see her in person after she recovered from her illness.

Chenyu whispered to Jiang Yanyi: "She still has the nerve to come to see you?"

Jiang Yanyi said: "Let's forgive her. Girls in their teens will make mistakes sometimes. Let's see her."

Chenyu stuck out her tongue: "It's also because you are kind-hearted, boss. Aren't you only sixteen years old?"

Jiang Yanyi smiled but said nothing. She had lived for more than twenty years in her previous life. She had worked hard in society and met many different kinds of people. Compared with the women in ancient times who never left their houses, she was more mature in both life experience and character.

After hearing Jiang Yanyi's words, the servants of the palace led An Suqiu to see her.

It was a hot summer day, and the conditions in Hengzhou were limited due to the war. Jiang Yanyi was wearing a thin ice silk dress and half leaning on a bamboo lounge chair to read a book. Chenyu was fanning her beside her. Even though she was dressed casually, she was so outstanding in appearance and temperament that people couldn't take their eyes off her.

After An Suqiu entered the room, she stared at Jiang Yanyi for a while. After Chenyu reminded her with a sullen face, she remembered to greet Jiang Yanyi, "I'm honored to meet Miss Chu."

"No need to be polite. You have just recovered from a serious illness. Please sit down." Jiang Yanyi raised his chin slightly, motioned for her to sit on the embroidered cushion beside him, turned a page of the book in his hand, and asked in a lazy tone, "I wonder what brings you here today, Miss An?"

An Suqiu's complexion was much worse than when Jiang Yanyi first met her. It was obvious that she was depressed because of the insults before. Now, the arrogance between her brows is gone, and there is a sense of toughness.

She looked at Jiang Yanyi, and the hostility in her eyes was gone, only shame. "I came here today for two things. One is to apologize to Miss Chu. I was obsessed with it in the past and slandered Miss Chu with bad words. I have experienced rumors and life and death, and I know what it feels like. Now when I think about it, I am really ashamed."

Jiang Yanyi's eyes showed a bit of surprise, and said, "Let the past be the past, and look forward to everything."

An Suqiu's eyes turned red with shame, "Thank you Miss Chu for your magnanimity. The second thing is that I want to thank Miss Chu. If it weren't for Miss Chu's people who saved me that day, maybe I would be in Yanluo Palace now. I am not afraid of Miss Chu's ridicule. My father has despised me since I was a child for not being a son and not being able to inherit the family business in the future. I have warned myself since I was a child that I can't do anything worse than a man."

"I can't hang out with girls of my age. They think I don't act like a woman and don't care about the difference between men and women when treating patients. I'm afraid I won't be able to get married in the future. I'm petty and think they will only revolve around one man in their lives. But secretly, I still want to marry into a wealthy family in the future so that those people will never gossip about me again..."

"The prince is a great hero, and what woman in the world doesn't like heroes? I admire the prince's reputation. Although Senior Hu asked me to help the prince boil and change medicine, I have never even seen the prince. Occasionally, when I went to deliver medicine, I heard the guards at the door of the military tent say that the prince was busy and didn't eat on time. Only when you, Miss Chu, were there could you persuade the prince. At that time, I was curious about who you were."

"Later, you transported medicinal materials thousands of miles south. The soldiers were all grateful for your righteousness. When I first saw you in the wounded camp, I was really jealous. You have a distinguished family background, a stunning appearance, and you can do this for the prince..." An Suqiu smiled bitterly when she said this: "No one in this world is more worthy of the prince than you."

Jiang Yanyi really didn't know how to respond to this, so he simply didn't say anything, but only complained in his heart about Feng Shuo's family who attracted a lot of women.

An Suqiu looked more and more guilty: "After leaving the barracks, I heard about what you did for the soldiers. I was jealous and said those nonsense. I didn't expect things to turn out like this. In the end, I reaped the consequences. I wanted to die, but thanks to the people sent by Miss Chu, I can continue to live in this world."

She returned the banknote that Jiang Yanyi had asked Yang Xiu to send intact, "I donated those medicinal herbs willingly. From the beginning, I just wanted to do my best for the soldiers who were guarding the land of Daxuan with their lives. I can't accept this banknote."

Seeing her like this, Jiang Yanyi sighed: "Military Doctor Hu told me that you are quite intelligent in medicine. You have been able to get to where you are today step by step. You have been... Having escaped from the secular world, why should you restrain yourself with it now? Don't lose your original heart. When I first arrived at the Hengzhou camp, the soldiers in the sick camp respected you, not because of your identity, but because they were grateful for your medical skills, Doctor An. Ordinary women take care of their husbands and children, but Doctor An, you treat illnesses and save lives. These are two different paths and there is no need to compare. "

An Suqiu's eyes were blurred with tears because of what Jiang Yanyi said. She wiped her eyes with her sleeves and said, "Miss Chu is right. I used to claim to be noble, but I didn't know that I was still worldly. What I learned from books is always shallow. I have planned to leave Hengzhou and go out for a walk. Traveling around to treat illnesses and save lives will always help me gain some knowledge." After

sending An Suqiu away, Jiang Yanyi was still very happy about An Suqiu's transformation.

She was not a saint, and the other party's slander against her was not an unforgivable sin in itself. Now that she has received the punishment she deserves, it would be good for her to wake up and pursue the life she wants.

In the evening, there was a sudden heavy rain. The sun had not yet set, the sky was bright, and the big raindrops fell on the bluestone floor in the courtyard.

Farmers say that if it rains on a sunny day, mushrooms will grow in the mountains.

Jiang Yanyi was joking with Huo Jianjia and Chenyu that they would go to the nearby mountains to pick mushrooms in half a month, when the servants of the palace suddenly reported that Feng Shuo was back.

Since she arrived in Hengzhou, Feng Shuo only returned home at mealtime three times a day, and today he was half an hour earlier than usual.

She went out to greet him, and ran into him as soon as she turned around the corridor.

Jiang Yanyi smiled and said, "I cooked the soup on the stove according to the time. I'm afraid it will take another half an hour for it to be ready."

The rain was heavy, and the eaves of the corridor were dripping with water. The sultry air was mostly taken away by the rain. The wind blew through the corridor, and Jiang Yanyi actually felt a little cool.

Feng Shuo walked forward and took her hand to walk into the house. This was the first time he was so intimate with Jiang Yanyi in front of others.

After entering the house, Jiang Yanyi poured her tea and asked him, "What's wrong?"

Feng Shuo hesitated for a while before asking, "Ayi, do you want to be the queen?"

Jiang Yanyi smiled and said, "Since I have decided to follow you, no matter which way you go in the future, I will always be by your side. Whether you want to rule the world or become a king and live a carefree life, my identity is only your wife."

Feng Shuo hugged her tightly, "Ayi, it's great to have you." Jiang

Yanyi gently combed his hair with her white fingertips, "What happened?"

Feng Shuo said, "The various princes want the court to send troops. " I am willing to go to war with you to resist Minghan Kingdom."

Jiang Yan noticed that he looked tired, so he moved his fingertips down to help him massage the temples, and asked, "Does the court want you to submit?"

Feng Shuo nodded: "Although the palace has been hiding the news of the new emperor's serious illness, the spies in the capital reported that the eldest princess summoned the six-year-old Prince Huai to the palace not long ago. The new emperor obviously can't hold on for much longer, and the eldest princess is selecting a young emperor. "

The birth mother of Prince Huai was just a palace maid, and the lineage of Prince Huai had no power. The eldest princess supported Prince Huai to ascend the throne, which was somewhat intended to control the emperor to control the princes. With

the death of Feng Shiyan, the things he and the Gao family did to seize the throne that angered the heavens and the people were also turned over.

If Feng Shuo wants to seize the throne, he must kill the young emperor chosen by the Grand Princess and return to the capital before he succeeds to the throne.

But now that the enemy is in front of him, if he withdraws his troops, not only will Hengzhou fall, but the southern gate of Daxuan Dynasty will be open to the outside world.

Moreover, it is not a solution to waste his troops alone.

Jiang Yanyi asked him, "Feng Shuo, do you want this world?"

Feng Shuo took her hand and put it to his lips and kissed it lightly, "I don't want my mother to go back to the palace, and I don't want you to suffer any grievances."

Now it seems that the court has given him a choice, but if he gives it a try, it is not impossible to capture the capital.

It's just that the palace is a place that neither he nor the Grand Empress Dowager has any good memories of. Instead, he is worried that the Grand Empress Dowager's condition will worsen if she returns to the palace.

Years of war have made the people miserable, and relocating the capital is a huge project that will cost the people money and labor, so it is impossible to relocate in the short term.

Feng Shuo was also furious about the stupid things the wives of his soldiers did to Jiang Yanyi. He

hasn't even become emperor yet, but someone is using such unscrupulous means. If he really becomes emperor in the future, and if Jiang Yanyi is the only one in the harem, there will be ministers who will put pressure on Jiang Yanyi in public, and who knows how many dirty tricks there will be in secret.

Feng Shuo felt disgusted just thinking about it.

On the contrary, if he bowed his head and became a minister, the court would not be able to do anything to him except for a better reputation with the outside world, and could only let him occupy half of the country and be a free and easy prince.