The New Year is here in the blink of an eye.
Early in the morning on the second day of the Lunar New Year, Grandma Wang and Manager Wan had everything ready. Luo Ran and his wife had breakfast and got into the carriage.
As soon as he got on the carriage, Fu Jin'an stretched out his arms, took the person into his arms, covered him tightly with his cloak, and said softly: "Please close your mind for a while, and I'll call you when you get there."
Luo Ran didn't struggle. The two children were in the carriage behind her, and she was indeed a little tired.
Seeing her obediently closing her eyes, Fu Jinan couldn't help but feel distressed and said, "I've told you that all the things outside are left to the servants. It's better for you to do everything yourself. If it doesn't make you tired, who will bother you?"
Luo Ran's lips moved, as if he wanted to refute, but he was too tired to speak, and fell asleep after a while.
The carriage arrived at the Champion House, and Luo Ran didn't wake up.
In the end, Fu Jinan was really reluctant to wake her up, so he carried her into the house in a grand manner, leaving the child with Yuan Shuyi.
After Luo Ran woke up and saw the familiar yet unfamiliar boudoir, he couldn't recover for a while.
Youqing saw her waking up and hurried over: "Madam, are you awake?"
Luo Ran nodded and stood up: "How long have I been asleep?"
Youqing took the dress and said with a smile: "Counting on the road, it's almost two hours. Your Excellency is chatting with the Marquis. The young lady and the young master are both in the Madam's Courtyard. Your Excellency has ordered that no one disturb you."
"Um."
Luo Ran responded, feeling indescribably warm in his heart.
Youqing whispered again: "Madam, Qingchuan is waiting outside and said he has something to report to you."
Luo Ran nodded, and after washing up, he went out of the inner room.
After Qingchuan came in and saluted, he said, "Madam, you have some clues about what you ordered your subordinates to investigate a few days ago."
Luo Ran sat up straight unconsciously.
Qingchuan continued: "About twenty-three years ago, a woman did come to the Duke of Rongguo's residence. I heard that the woman was pregnant at the time and was a distant relative of the old lady Rongguo's natal family. The queen was not the queen at that time. After the woman came, the queen took her to the street twice, and the two had a good relationship. Later, the woman had difficulty in giving birth, killing one and two. Finally, someone from the woman's husband's family came to take the tablet and go back."
Luo Ran asked: "Where is that woman from?"
Qingchuan: "Rongguo Gong's wife is from Qingzhou Prefecture, but according to the memory of the person found by my subordinates, the woman's accent sounds like she is from Taiyuan Prefecture."
Luo Ran: "Who are you asking about?"
Qingchuan said: "It's a coincidence. Madam reminded me to pay attention to the Zheng family last time. So I found someone to disguise myself and guard the back door of Rongguo Duke's mansion for a few days. I happened to meet an old man who wanted to do it because he was old. Unable to move, he was kicked out by the steward of the mansion. Seeing that she was pitiful, his subordinates found a place to settle her. They found out after asking. Moreover, the old man said that his ancestral home was Taiyuan, so he was sure that the woman was not from Qingzhou. .”
Luo Ran nodded: "Where is that old man now?"
Qingchuan: "Madam, don't worry, my subordinate wanted to do a good deed and send him back to his ancestral home, which would be considered repayment, but the old man said that there was no one at home anymore, and he would wait to die after returning. So I made my own decision, and gave him to Zhuangzi. He found an inconspicuous job that was not tiring and would not be noticed."
Luo Ran said: "You did a good job. What else did he say?"
Qingchuan shook his head: "The rest is nothing. After all, he was a boy in the outer courtyard back then. He had heard how the woman died, but had never seen it. However, he said that he followed him to bury the body. What is certain is that, then The woman died after giving birth to a baby. And it was a boy."
"By the way, my subordinates heard some rumors in the past two days, saying..."
After hesitating for a moment, he looked at Luo Ran.
Luo Ran looked at him strangely.
Qingchuan thought for a while and then said: "In the past two days, there have been faint rumors in Beijing that your Excellency is not the biological son of Duke Jingguo. He is the one who had an affair with Mrs. Xie..."
The word "bastard" was not uttered.
Luo Ran smiled: "It seems that someone finally lost his temper."
When Luo Ran came to Qionghua Courtyard, it happened that Luo Deyun and Fu Jinan had just come from the outer court and met at the door.
Before Luo Ran could speak, Fu Jinan came over in two steps, helped her with her cloak, and glanced reproachfully at Youqing next to him: "Feng Da, why don't you put on your clothes for Madam!"
You Qing hurriedly bowed his head and admitted his mistake.
Luo Deyun was still beside him, and Luo Ran was a little embarrassed by his intimate behavior. He lowered his head and took a step back slightly, saying, "I just felt out of breath, so I made it loose on purpose."
Then he turned around and saluted: "Dad."
Luo Deyun nodded, and finally felt relieved when he saw that his daughter looked good, and that Fu Jinan's words and movements were also proficient. It looked like she was doing what she was used to doing every day.
"Okay, don't stand here anymore. There are no outsiders today. Let's eat together."
After saying that, Luo Deyun went in first.
Luo Ran wanted to say: She hasn't gone to Ningfuyuan yet.
Fu Jinan knew what she was thinking at a glance. He bent down and whispered in her ear: "The old lady is sick."
"sick?"
Why didn't she know?
He looked up at the man again and saw that he was smiling and relaxed, and there was nothing wrong with him at all.
Doesn't he still know the rumors outside? How can this be? Or do you not care at all?
With all kinds of questions, she finally asked after dinner, when she and Yuan Shuyi were the only ones left in the room: "What's wrong with grandma?"
Yuan Shuyi chuckled softly: "It's nothing. Your father was afraid that you would have a bad New Year, so he didn't tell you."
"What happened?"
Luo Ran was a little anxious.
Yuan Shuyi hurriedly said: "I have just been out of confinement for two days. Zhengbai came to see me that day. I was just talking to him, and I was negligent and let a little maid sneak in. Fortunately, your father didn't have a baby that day. I came back early, and when I saw Zheng Bai talking to me again, I went to the side room to see Xuan'er, who knew..."
Yuan Shuyi was frightened when he thought of the scene at that time.
"What's wrong?"
Luo Ran asked after seeing her bad expression.
Yuan Shuyi continued: "The nanny next to me accidentally fell asleep. When your father went in, he happened to see a little maid trying to put the quilt on Xuan'er's head!"
"That Xuan'er..."
Luo Ran's face turned pale.
Yuan Shuyi hurriedly held her hand and said, "Don't worry, it's okay. Fortunately, your father came back early, and your father captured the little maid before she had time."
Luo Ran was so angry that his chest heaved violently: "Is it the second wife?"
Yuan Shuyi nodded, glanced outside, and lowered his voice: "Aunt Mei is pregnant. Although she is less than three months old and has been kept secret, menstruation cannot be hidden."
"is her?"
Luo Ran didn't believe it. Although Aunt Mei finally gave birth to a son to her second uncle in her previous life, she didn't think about her father's title before the child was born.
Then Yuan Shuyi said again: "Your father arrested the little maid and used a few tricks to kill her. It's Jun'er."
Luo Ran was a little surprised but expected: "Luo Hongjun?"
