Chapter 84: People Have Speculations 15: Rumors in the Marquisate
Master Qin’s memory went back many, many years.
At that time, when his grandfather and father were still alive, the Qin family enjoyed considerable prestige within the imperial court, and he was considered a sought-after young man in the capital. Many prominent ladies sought to marry him, but he dismissed them, believing the Qin family was already high-class enough, and there was no need to marry a noblewoman to enhance the family's reputation. Later, despite his grandfather and father's objections, he insisted on marrying the daughter of an ordinary family.
Later, my grandfather passed away, my father lost his position in the court, my mother's family declined, and his wife's family... well, let's not talk about them. In short, the Qin family never regained its former glory. Later, my father passed away, and our family lost its title, becoming increasingly looked down upon by the wealthy families in Beijing.
No one invited him to banquets in the capital, no one informed him of news from the court, his old friends gradually stopped visiting him, and even the marriage arranged for his eldest daughter Huixin was canceled because the other party found an excuse.
Although the family is still relatively well-off and has enough food and clothing, I used to be the center of attention, but now I am faced with countless cold stares and neglect. How can I accept this so easily?
His father's lackluster career as an official has led to his current hardship. However, Sanlang and Liulang are intelligent and eager to learn, and they are sure to achieve great success someday. He doesn't want them to suffer the same humiliation he has. If he could find someone to help him, he could achieve twice the result with half the effort and revive the family... How can he do that?
So he thought of his daughters.
If they could marry into a wealthy family, they would definitely be able to help their younger brothers.
But the young masters in the capital may seem innocent and easy to deceive, but when it comes to family interests, none of them are easy to deal with. How can he manipulate them? All he can think of is to use some dirty tricks to force people to take the bait.
He thought he had done it perfectly, but he didn't expect that after so many years, the matter would still be exposed...
Master Qin's back was soaked with sweat. Facing the gazes of Li Xuanhe and his entourage, his lips trembled, and he couldn't utter a word for a long time.
Li Xuanhe seemed to know what he was thinking and said calmly, "My sister-in-law married into the Pingyang Marquis's mansion many years ago and gave birth to my brother's eldest son. Now my brother and the child are dead, and this matter has been over for many years. The Pingyang Marquis's mansion would never be so heartless as to bring this matter up again and hold anyone responsible. I came here today only to investigate the murder case at the Pingyang Marquis's mansion. Anything you said today that is not related to the case will be kept confidential and will not be disclosed to others."
Master Qin sighed, wiping the sweat from his forehead with his sleeve. He motioned for the housekeeper to leave, closed the door, and spoke slowly, "Your Excellency is right. The other bottle of medicine is indeed in the possession of our daughter, Huixin. A few years ago, she found an opportunity to use the medicine on the Crown Prince, ultimately forcing the Marquis of Pingyang to marry her and establish a marriage with the Qin family. I had actually considered that this matter would not go so smoothly. How could the Pingyang Marquisate swallow this humiliation? I thought it would be fine if Huixin could become a concubine, but I didn't expect the Crown Prince to promise Huixin the position of principal wife..."
"How many times can this bottle of medicine be used?" Li Xuanhe interrupted him, not wanting to hear about what happened in the past.
"One to three times," Master Qin answered cautiously. "I asked the traveling merchant about this the other day, and he said that if you divide a bottle of medicine into three, it can help slightly with your mood; if you divide it into two, it can temporarily cure an old ailment; but if you use it all at once, it's an excessive dose and will damage the root cause."
Li Xuanhe raised his eyebrows. "That is to say, Madam Qin may not have used up all of the bottle of medicine from a few years ago. Perhaps she left a lot and added it to the pot of tea from a few days ago."
Master Qin wept bitterly, wishing he could kneel before Li Xuanhe. "How is this possible? Since Huixin ascended to the position of Crown Prince's wife years ago with the help of this medicine, the bottle must be more than full now. How could she possibly harm someone again?" Master Qin hesitated for a moment before finally speaking. "Sir, Lanxin has always been attracted to you. Ever since I happened to see you practicing swordsmanship while visiting your residence many years ago, my heart has been completely set on you, and I've always wanted to marry you. I didn't want my two daughters to marry into the same family, but I couldn't persuade Lanxin. Lanxin accidentally learned about her sister's affairs and knew there was only one bottle of medicine left. So she begged me to give her the other bottle so she could emulate her sister..."
Master Qin kept muttering, and Li Xuanhe's frown deepened the more he listened. He glanced cautiously at Xun Shu, seeing her pursed lips, clearly unhappy. He felt a mixture of anxiety and joy. He was happy that she seemed to have finally learned to be jealous, but he was also worried that she might take her anger out on him because of Qin Lanxin's matter and get angry with him.
Li Xuanhe bent his fingers and tapped the table with his knuckles, interrupting Master Qin's chatter again: "Don't talk about irrelevant things."
Master Qin nodded repeatedly, then spoke more cautiously. "What I meant was, after receiving Lan Xin's letter, I replied, agreeing to her request. But I haven't even delivered the medicine yet, so she definitely won't go to her sister to ask for the remaining morsel! Besides, the traveling merchant also said that once the wax seal is broken, the medicine won't last long and will lose its effectiveness. I've already promised her, so why should she rush into this? So, although Hui Xin once plotted against the Crown Prince, this incident certainly has nothing to do with these two sisters! Your Excellency should check if there's any other 'Bu Wang San' floating around in the capital... This medicine is colorless, odorless, and hard to detect, and it works quickly and effectively, far better than the mediocre prescriptions of those doctors in the capital..."
Master Qin kept on talking about random things. Li Xuanhe thought for a moment and confirmed that there would be no more problems for the time being, so he stood up and said goodbye without delay.
Master Qin, relieved, escorted the group to the gate and personally escorted them to the carriage, as if sending away a plague god. As the carriage was about to move, he suddenly spoke, his voice barely audible through the window: "Sir, if this matter is indeed related to my daughter, will she be punished?"
The wind blew up the curtain on the car window, revealing half of Li Xuanhe's face, which looked like an ice sculpture, delicate yet exuding a coolness.
Master Qin stared at the carriage window, but received no answer for a long time. Just when he thought the person in the carriage would not speak again, a few words floated into his ears.
"According to the law."
-
After leaving Qin's Mansion, Li Xuanhe took Xun Shu back to Pingyang Marquis Mansion.
He had originally wanted to take Xun Shu to the Dali Temple, firstly to ask the searchers who had been sent out over the past two days if they had found any information, and secondly to take her to meet his master. However, after leaving Linghu Fei yesterday, he had given up the idea.
Master has a secret, Xun Shu also has a secret, and judging by the situation yesterday, these two people's secrets may be related.
He was thinking about this last night and couldn't sleep well. He wanted to ease the relationship between the two people and find out if there was a misunderstanding. But he was also afraid that it was not a misunderstanding and the two people just had an irreconcilable hatred.
It seems that this matter needs further consideration.
Xun Shu was unaware of the conflict in his heart. Returning to the familiar courtyard, he was delighted to see Ah Shui sitting in the yard enjoying the cool breeze. He smiled and asked, "Anything new today?"
She and Li Xuanhe had been going out every day these past few days, but they couldn't take her with them. Ah Shui, however, didn't make a fuss, staying in the courtyard unless there was something important to do, fearing that it would cause trouble for them. Yesterday, Li Xuanhe casually said, "I haven't been home for a long time, and I feel very unfamiliar. If Miss Ah Shui has some free time, you can walk around the courtyard and find out if anything major has happened in the past six months, or if there are any hidden secrets in the house."
Ah Shui was delighted to hear this. She knew Li Xuanhe had kept her to take care of Xun Shu, but Xun Shu didn't like being served, so she spent most of her time doing nothing, feeling guilty about being paid for nothing. Now that she had accepted this assignment, she couldn't help but breathe a sigh of relief.
After Xun Shu and Li Xuanhe left today, she had some free time and strolled around the yard. Relying on her ability to visit and inquire about information with her mother and grandfather over the years in Ningyuan Village, she not only understood the relationships inside and outside the yard, but also learned a lot of interesting things.
Ah Shui brought fresh fruits to the stone table in the courtyard. After Xun Shu and Li Xuanhe sat down, he swiftly poured tea for them. Then he said, "I heard from the maid in the Crown Prince's room today that over the past six months, after the eldest princess 'moved' the third young master to her courtyard to recuperate, she handed most of the affairs of the mansion to the Crown Prince's wife. It is precisely because of the eldest princess's seclusion over the past six months that the concubines in the Marquis' room have developed undue concerns.
"After the Crown Prince's wife took over some of the palace affairs, she discovered the Marquis's concubine was pregnant about a month ago. But she was a junior after all, so it was not easy for her to interfere in the Marquis's affairs. Furthermore, the Princess's courtyard was heavily guarded, and no one was allowed in unless it was a major event. She couldn't find the right time to inform Her Royal Highness of the Princess about this. This is why the concubine's pregnancy was not discovered until she was three months pregnant and the fetus was already well established."
Li Xuanhe's face was cold, and he snorted coldly, "With my mother's pride, even if she knew about this in advance, it wouldn't matter. How could she really care about this with a concubine? She would just suppress it in her heart and grieve silently. Now I have to thank Qin Huixin for not telling my mother about this in advance, otherwise she would have been sad for a long time. Now that I'm back home, I can comfort her a little bit, and I will never let anyone bully her again."
Ah Shui glanced at Xun Shu, and seeing that she didn't react, he confirmed that Li Xuanhe was not angry and continued, "I also inquired about what happened in the prince's room. I heard that after the prince and his wife got married, they lived in harmony for a while, and the prince seemed to be quite fond of his wife. Unfortunately, after half a year, he lost interest, and every once in a while, he would bring a concubine into the mansion. Fortunately, the prince's wife became pregnant with the little boy during that time of exclusive favor, and only then did she finally gain a firm foothold. Alas, if you ask me, the prince's wife is also pitiful. If the little boy had been fine, she could have raised him with peace of mind in the future and had some hope. Now her husband is dead, and her son is dead too. It's really pitiful."
The Crown Prince and his wife are in perfect harmony?
Xun Shu hurriedly asked, "Have you found out anything about the events leading up to the marriage of the Crown Prince and his wife? For example, did they know each other?"
Ah Shui thought for a moment and shook his head. "I haven't heard anyone mention it. But they say the prince has been fond of flirting since he was young, and he knows all the beautiful young ladies in the capital like the back of his hand. I think the prince's wife is also a beauty, so it wouldn't be surprising if they knew each other before."
Xun Shu seemed to be lost in thought. Suddenly, he looked at Li Xuanhe with a piercing gaze and said, "I'm not too sure about your husband's affairs. If you want to cultivate with a girl, do you need to use medicine? For example, 'Buwang Powder'?"
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