The next day.
Xie Wanyu went to Tai'an Hall to pay her respects, and saw a young boy in his eighties who was talking to Mrs. Xiao. He was not very young, but his bearing was quite extraordinary.
It was her good nephew and stepson Xiao Mingxuan!
Seeing Xie Wanyu come in, Xiao Mingxuan stood up and saluted, "My son has met his mother."
Xie Wanyu pinched her palms and said with a smile: "Why do my family need to be so open to outsiders? Get up quickly."
The words were affectionate, but she didn't help him up with her own hands like before. Instead, she greeted the old lady alone.
Xiao Mingxuan frowned slightly, and stepped forward to help Xie Wanyu, who had finished her stay, sit down at the bottom.
Xie Wanyu suppressed the urge to wave away his hand and said with a smile: "Good boy, mother is not old yet, so she doesn't need your support."
Xiao Mingxuan was a little surprised, "The child has not seen his mother for half a month, and he misses her so much that he wants to be closer to her."
Mrs. Xiao, who was at the head, smiled when she heard this and said, "It shows that this child is very close to you, and your great blessing is yet to come."
Xie Wanyu's smile was deep, but upon closer inspection, it didn't reach her eyes.
"Isn't it a blessing? In the future, I will have two children at my knees. I just hope that their brothers will work together to carry forward the Marquis Mansion."
When Xiao Mingxuan returned home yesterday, he had already heard that Xie Wanyu was about to adopt a son. When he heard this, his eyes flashed and he asked curiously: "Great-grandmother, mother, who is that brother Jinmin?"
Mrs. Xiao wished that the two brothers could get along well, and said hurriedly: "Your brother Jinmin has an innocent and lively temperament. You will definitely like him when you see him."
"No, both your great-grandmother and father like that child! You are the elder brother, and you must take good care of your younger brother in the future!" Xie Wanyu smiled.
Xiao Mingxuan felt a little uncomfortable in his heart, but he didn't show it on his face. He nodded obediently and said, "My child will take good care of his brother."
After Xiao Mingxuan left, Mrs. Xiao brought up the business, "Yesterday I told Jing'er about taking concubines, and he was quite resistant. Do you have any ideas?"
Xie Wanyu looked worried when she heard this, "Yesterday the Marquis came to my courtyard, and I got angry when I mentioned the concubine. Grandma, I looked, looked..."
Mrs. Xiao's heart skipped a beat. Could it be that Xie Wanyu guessed something? She asked hurriedly, "What are you looking at?"
"I see that Mr. Hou seems to have some hidden problem that prevents him from getting close to women!"
Mrs. Xiao was speechless for a moment, and it took her a while to realize, "Hidden illness?"
"If there is no hidden disease, the Marquis is in full swing at his age, but he never wants to get close to a woman to relieve himself. If there is no hidden disease, could it be that the Marquis likes Long Yang? It turns out that the Marquis was in the military camp the other day, All I see are men..."
Mrs. Xiao's brows jumped and she shouted: "Shut up! How can you talk nonsense about this kind of thing!"
Xie Wanyu shut her mouth obediently.
Seeing her aggrieved look, Mrs. Xiao suppressed her anger and waved her hand with a headache, "Stay back!"
"Yes, Grandma."
Xie Wanyu simply resigned and left.
As soon as I came out, I saw the maid from the west courtyard hurriedly coming to report that Xue Xuening was unwell and could not come to say hello.
She curved her lips and smiled.
Didn't Xue Xuening love to drug people, so this time she asked her to suffer the consequences.
However, her mind is not as poisonous as Xue Xuening's, and she does not have those poisons in her hands, but as a daughter of the Xie family, she does not lack a few shady things.
It can't hurt people, but it can make them miserable, and she took advantage of the time when Xue Xuening couldn't come out to jump around, so she could clean up the nails in the house.
West courtyard.
Xue Xuening sat in front of the dressing mirror, looking at herself in the mirror with a hideous face covered in red rashes, and swung the things on the dressing table to the ground.
"Where's the doctor? Why hasn't the doctor come yet?"
Biyun stepped forward fearfully, "Madam, the doctor will be here soon. Don't worry, the doctor will definitely be able to..."
Xue Xuening glared at her, his scarlet eyes piercing her, "You are not the one who was disfigured, so of course you are not in a hurry!"
Biyun fell to her knees with a plop, "I don't dare, I wish I was the one who hurt my face!"
Xue Xuening closed her eyes and suppressed the fear and anger in her heart. "Get up. How is the inspection inside and outside? Did you find anything suspicious or anyone?"
Biyun said truthfully: "My slave has carefully checked it, and there is nothing strange inside or outside."
Xue Xuening frowned, not believing the result. She is quite good at medical skills. She is extremely careful about what she eats and takes good care of her body. How could she suddenly develop red rashes all over her body?
Fortunately, Xiao Jing didn't stay overnight last night. Otherwise, if he saw her face, even if she believed in his feelings for her, she would probably feel resentful.
When she thought of the maid who opened the bed curtain and screamed in horror this morning when she saw her face, she couldn't help but feel angry.
"Search carefully, I don't believe it was an accident!" she ordered through gritted teeth.
On the other side, Xie Wanyu didn't want to stay in the house and get along with Xiao Mingxuan, so she took Zhufang out of the house after coming out of Tai'antang.
In the teahouse, the storyteller was telling the story of the King of Qin's battle with Commander Duoluo in high spirits, as vividly as if he had experienced it himself.
Xie Wanyu did not sit in the private room today, but sat in the hall on the second floor wearing a curtain. When she became excited, she even asked Zhu Fang to give him a generous reward.
"Madam, do you like to hear this story?" A cold and indifferent voice came suddenly.
Xie Wanyu couldn't help but tilt her head when she heard the words, and suddenly faced a face wearing a silver mask.
She was stunned for a moment, "Who is your Excellency?"
Tai Shuqi sat down opposite her, calmly saying, "Just an unknown person."
Xie Wanyu raised her hand to stop Zhu Fang from chasing people away.
Although this man was wearing a mask and his clothes looked ordinary, his aristocratic aura could not be concealed at all.
However, the other party did not want to disclose his identity, and she did not bother to ask.
"I think there is no one in the world who is not interested in the deeds of King Qin." Xie Wanyu turned back and continued to listen to the storyteller downstairs.
Tai Shuqi didn't say another word, and the two of them quietly listened to the story.
Xie Wanyu stood up and was about to leave when Taishu Ai said quietly: "Do you think King Qin is really that brave and unafraid of death?"
Xie Wanyu looked him up and down, and suddenly smiled, "I don't know whether King Qin is brave and not afraid of death, but your Excellency is quite unafraid of death."
Tai Shuyi raised his eyebrows, "What do you mean, madam?"
Xie Wanyu tapped the black shoes on his feet with her fingertips, "Leather and satin brocade are exclusive to members of the royal family. If you don't have any status, if you wear these shoes when you go out, you will suffer physical pain at least, and your life will not be saved at worst."
Tai Shuyi was startled for a moment, then chuckled, "Thank you, madam, for reminding me."
Xie Wanyu nodded and turned around.
Tai Shuqi's deep and long black eyes fell on Xie Wanyu's back, which was thought-provoking.
However, no one saw that there were turbulent waves on Xie Wanyu's face. She murmured in a low voice: "Has the King of Qin returned to Beijing?"
Song Fuli came out of the private room and sat down next to Tai Shuqi, "Aren't you worried about being discovered? I looked at the lady and seemed to have guessed something."
Under the mask, Tai Shuqi curled his lips and said, "She won't tell anyone."
Song Fuli was surprised.
Why does it sound like the prince knows the Xie girl very well?
However, he was too sensible to ask any further questions, "Just now news came that the army will enter Beijing in three days."
"How many people are on the road?"
"Of the eleven batches of assassins, three escaped and the rest were buried."
There was a hint of sarcasm in Taishu Qi's eyes, "It's hard to carve out a rotten thorn."
The majestic emperor does not follow the majestic road, but only pursues the sinister lane. It is really ridiculous and shameful!
Back at the house, Xie Wanyu had just sat down to take a sip of tea when Aunt He opened the curtain and came in with a strange expression.
"Madam, four or five doctors have been invited to the West Courtyard. It seems that there is something wrong with the eldest lady. Do you want someone to come and take a look?" When the doctors came out, they all looked frightened. Arousing suspicion and curiosity.
Xie Wanyu raised her eyebrows, "Then let's go and take a look."
Aunt He hurriedly agreed and went happily.
Half an hour later, Grandma He came back with an unsentimental look on her face, "The eldest lady used the excuse that she was seriously ill and did not let the old slave enter the inner room. However, the eldest lady said that she just ate the wrong thing and felt a little uncomfortable for a while. It’s nothing serious.”
Xie Wanyu smiled noncommittally, and suddenly her mind moved and she called Zhu Fang to whisper a few words.
