Rebirth of the Three Kingdoms: Da Qiao doesn't want to be a widow anymore

Chapter 377 To Save or Not to Save
Gu Lingyun, having been punished by Zhou Yu, cried and begged to see him, but Zhou Yu, already fed up with her, naturally refused.

She then begged to see Qiao Rong, pleading, "Young Master, please remember the friendship we shared in the manor and beg for my life. Take my two children away from me; I would rather be dead than alive."

The lieutenant general is deaf to everyone's advice these days, except for the young lady's words. She is always kind and benevolent; if she could save my life, I would be eternally grateful.

Qiao Rong looked at the maid kneeling before her, pleading pitifully. She recognized the maid; she was one of Gu Lingyun's most capable maids. This maid had also assisted Qiao Rong when she was taken out of the Zhou residence by Qiao Wei.

With this sentiment in mind, it was indeed difficult for Qiao Rong to immediately refuse.

Qiao Rong frowned, her eyes revealing hesitation.

"Young lady, I only made a mistake unintentionally. Young master is the apple of my eye. As a mother myself, how could I really want to harm my own flesh and blood? I was just anxious and made a mistake." The maid's forehead hit the ground with a "thump, thump" sound, showing that she had used all her strength. In just a few hits, her forehead was broken, leaving bloody marks on the ground.

"The lieutenant general was furious and said he would lock up the young woman, separating her from her son and daughter so they could never see each other again. This was worse than killing her."

The young woman said she only asked that the young lady put in a good word for her; whether it succeeded or not, she would have no further complaints.

With these words, he vividly portrayed the image of a weak mother who had lost her mind for love, and he grasped Qiao Rong's soft-hearted weakness.

However, Qiao Rong had traveled and seen a lot over the years, and even though she was soft-hearted, she knew that she absolutely could not agree to this.

"As a mother, I would never poison my own flesh and blood, and neither would you, General."

Besides, my wife is the general's bedmate, and we have been friends for many years. She shouldn't be passing on such domestic matters to an outsider like me.

As a mere common woman, I must be careful to avoid speaking to my brother-in-law even in the Sun family, lest I give others cause for gossip. How much more so for a general with whom I have no kinship? My request, though reasonable, is perhaps too much to ask.

If my wife truly wishes to plead for leniency, it would be more reasonable for her to write another letter to a respected elder in the Zhou family.

Qiao Rong responded tactfully, but after seeing the maid off, she couldn't help feeling a little reluctant.

Qiao Wei emerged from behind the screen, and Qiao Rong finally abandoned her composure and demeanor in front of others, her eyes revealing her plea for help from Qiao Wei.

“You don’t need to feel indebted.” Compared to Qiao Rong, Qiao Wei’s tone was completely emotionless. “She helped you back then, but she also had her own selfish motives.”

The Zhou family originally intended for you to remarry. If you had remained in the Zhou family, she would not have been able to claim the title of remarriage, nor would she have been able to secure a career for her younger brother. Over the years, if Zhou Gongjin had not refused to budge, her plan would have been flawless.

Zhou Yin was raised under my care, and I have never treated him poorly in the slightest. What Xun'er has, Yin'er also has a share of. This can be considered as repaying this favor on your behalf, since she sent someone to deliver a letter to me back then.

You owe her nothing.

Qiao Rong finally breathed a sigh of relief.

Qiao Wei summoned Youxie and said, "Tell the Marquis and the Lieutenant General about the matter of Lady Gu sending someone to look for the young lady."

This meant that they should say it all in front of the Lord while the Lieutenant General was still at the manor. Youxuan accepted the order and left. Qiao Rong, however, did not understand. She was already causing trouble for her elder sister by staying at the manor, and besides, she really didn't want to have anything to do with Zhou Yu anymore.

Qiao Wei explained, "Even if Gu Lingyun manages the Zhou family in Jingkou very well, how could she possibly bypass Zhou Yu and send her personal maid out to plead for her when everyone in the family knows that she is under house arrest?"
This matter must have been tacitly approved by Zhou Yu. He was secretly plotting something, so I decided to bring it out into the open to make it seem like you were completely open and honest.

The more difficult something is to talk about, the more it should be brought to the table to avoid unnecessary suspicion and rumors.

Qiao Rong always trusted Qiao Wei's words implicitly, but what she wanted to tell Qiao Wei at this moment was something else entirely.

Zhou Yin has been taken back to the Marquis's residence, and Qiao Wei and the wet nurses are taking turns guarding him.

The child seemed to be asleep, occasionally making "humming" or murmuring sounds as he turned over.

At first, Qiao Wei thought it was a sign that she was about to wake up, so he sent someone to invite Doctor Hua to take her pulse, but Doctor Hua still shook his head.

Two days have passed, and Zhou Yin still shows no signs of waking up. Every time Doctor Hua comes to check his pulse, his expression becomes more and more serious.

Qiao Wei gradually went from being full of anticipation and joy to becoming numb and disappointed.

Although Dr. Hua did not give a despairing conclusion, both Qiao Wei and Qiao Rong knew in their hearts that the sigh without an answer was already a "hopeless" notice to the child.

Qiao Rong took out a small medicine box from a box under the bed. The medicine box was filled with various bottles and jars, mostly powders or herbs that could be used on a daily basis for emergency treatment.

Qiao Rong took out a white jade bottle from among them. "This is the dried stream water that you gave me, elder sister. I used some of it back then, and there was some left, so I put it in this bottle for emergencies."

She paused for a moment, then hesitated and ultimately couldn't bring herself to say Zhou Yu's name.

Qiao Wei also had a jar of the product in her possession. She had considered giving it to Zhou Yin, but in the end, her selfish desires prevailed.

"I know what you're thinking, sister." When Qiao Rong saw that Qiao Wei didn't reach for the bottle, she simply forced it into her hand.

"Because of me, elder sister naturally favors Xun'er more. The fact that Yin'er has been sent to the Marquis's mansion shows that the Zhou family will not put all their eggs in one basket with Xun'er alone. Are you worried, elder sister?"

Qiao Rong clearly remembered that when her older sister gave her the dried river water, she said that her older sister still had a small jar of dried river water.

Zhou Yin has been ill for several days, but his elder sister has never used the dried stream water to save him. At first, she did not understand why, but since such a question involved such a sacred object as the dried stream water, she could not ask others for answers.

It wasn't until she was helping Qiao Wei prepare the gifts to reward the meritorious soldiers that she realized why Qiao Wei's gift to You Ye was more substantial than those to the other young generation of family generals.

Xiao Ye had served Qiao Wei since childhood, so their relationship was different from others. As a result, You Ye also benefited from this and received more favor from Qiao Wei than others.

The same applies to Zhou Xun and Zhou Yin.