good season

"Brother-in-law, I know you're very busy right now, but there's something I've thought about and I still want to remind you."

"His Majesty has nine princes, not just Prince Jing and the third, fourth, and fifth princes. Brother-in-law, you might as well broaden your horizons."

Zhao Shiqing smacked her lips for a moment, and Yan Xia's mind went from blank to clear in the blink of an eye.

People who are good at solving cases are never stupid.

He immediately thought of someone: "The one who only reads the classics?"

Zhao Shiqing's eyes lit up immediately: "What you heard, and even what you saw with your own eyes, is what others want you to hear and see. At the same time, it is also what they want the emperor, their brothers, and all the civil and military officials to see."

As soon as she finished speaking, Zhao Shiqing realized that there was no sound around her. She straightened her chest and felt a sense of sudden height.

Yan Xia clasped his hands in a fist salute to her, saying, "Yan Xia has learned a lot from you."

Zhao Shiqing: "I'm just giving my brother-in-law a heads-up. It's just for reference. He should make his own judgment."

Yan Xia thanked them again and said to the grandfather and grandson, "Yan Xia has official business to attend to and must take his leave now. Until we meet again."

Yan Xia was a man of few words, coming and going as quickly as he could.

Once Yan Xia's figure had completely disappeared, Zhen Wuduo said, "It's obvious he learned it from that kid."

Zhao Shiqing blushed slightly. What's wrong with her learning on the spot? Just because something is right doesn't mean she can't learn it.

"Grandpa, I have learned so much from you."

Zhen Wuduo felt a little better: "Yan Xia is reliable, your sister is lucky."

Zhao Shiqing wanted to say that her sister was unlucky in that life, marrying the eunuch Zhu Yu. Fortunately, God was kind to her sister, leaving the reliable Yan Xia behind.

In fact, Yan Xia was not engaged in that life. It was just that the dog emperor thought that the Baoqing Marquis's mansion was more suitable as a prison for his sister, so he did not consider Zhu Yu as a second choice.

In this life, Zhu Yu was eliminated early on. With that scumbag no longer in front of the dog emperor, he remembered the Duke of Wei's mansion, which was more loyal to him.

Thinking of Zhu Yu, Zhao Shiqing recalled the old lady of the Baoqing Marquis's mansion who held a great secret.

Oh dear, so many fun things have happened lately that she's forgotten about that old woman.

That old woman still lives in the village.

Zhao Shiqing felt that things weren't chaotic enough yet, and she needed to get the old woman to add fuel to the fire.

The case has been handed over to Yan Xia to investigate. As long as the case remains unsolved, the Third Prince will keep his tail between his legs and act as a well-behaved and obedient prince. As for the Fourth and Fifth Princes, if they have any sense, they won't try to be clever at this time. Therefore, Zhao Shiqing can predict that the biggest excitement in the next month or two will be the Fifth Prince taking a concubine.

Since she had nothing better to do, Zhao Shiqing thought she should do something before her sister went to the capital.

The estate where the old lady of the Baoqing Marquis now lives is not the one where the body was dug up before. That one was bestowed by the emperor, while this one was her own dowry.

The estate is small, but it has a hot spring. The old lady of the Marquis of Baoqing used to come here to soak every winter. Now that she doesn't have to travel so far, when the Marquis of Zhu sent his mother here, he didn't plan for her to go back.

From now on, you can soak it however you like, for as long as you want.

Lord Zhu is now a frightened bird. Come to think of it, anyone with a mother who tries to blackmail others with her secrets every day would become a frightened bird.

Especially since it was a secret that could overthrow the royal family, and the people she used to blackmail were the emperor and his own mother.

Countless times, Lord Zhu would wake up from his dreams in a fright, thinking of his dead son and the repeated miscarriages, and he would feel that the knife above his head was getting closer and closer to him.

If he didn't want to avoid mourning, he would have poisoned his mother to death, letting her take the secret to her grave.

Madam Wei was indeed a strong-willed person. Before she was sent to the estate, she could no longer walk properly, and half of her body felt like it didn't belong to her.

But after she arrived at the village, she practiced again and again with her own perseverance, and eventually she was able to walk on her own without any support.

Not only that, she can also feed herself. In short, apart from not speaking as fluently as before, she looks like a robust old lady.

Ruanruan was already heavily pregnant, and her due date was next month. After entrusting Ruanruan's belly to Old Madam Wei, Lord Zhu ignored the remaining pregnancy.

Because he has a new beauty and is considering remarrying.

After causing Sun Lingzhi to miscarry, Madam Ma lost her mind and died not long after, before Old Madam Wei.

Lord Zhu didn't care whether Sun Lingzhi was alive or dead, but the death of Madam Ma did affect him.

After all, she was a legitimate Lady of the Marquis, with a maternal family and relatives, and had been granted an imperial title by the emperor.

Fortunately, after Zhu Yu became a eunuch, Madam Ma's family avoided the Baoqing Marquis's mansion. Madam Ma's funeral was not held in a grand manner, and the Ma family only sent two nephews over. Once the forty-seventh day memorial service was over, the Ma family hurriedly came over and took back Madam Ma's dowry.

Lord Zhu scoffed, saying that the Baoqing Marquis's mansion wouldn't even consider such a small dowry.

However, after the Ma family took the dowry back, no trace of Ma Shi could be seen in the Baoqing Marquis's residence.

It was time for Lord Zhu to remarry.

Lord Zhu had considered several suitors, all of whom came from respectable backgrounds but were not of high social standing.

After much deliberation, he finally settled on a nineteen-year-old woman who had missed her marriage due to mourning. She was dignified and elegant, well-educated, and good at accounting. She would not be a disgrace to the palace, and could also manage the household affairs.

Of course, this girl wasn't Lord Zhu's preferred type; women are more attractive when they're a bit alluring.

But alluring women are only suitable for bed, not for taking out in public. The empresses and concubines in the palace wouldn't look favorably upon them, and they wouldn't be tolerated in the circle of noblewomen. In the end, he would be the one who loses face. So it would be better to find someone that old women like.

As for her family background, she was of impeccable character. Her father had died, and her brother was in charge of the household. Her brother was originally only a sixth-rank official, but after observing three years of mourning, he wanted to return to the rank of public servant, but there were no vacancies. He was so anxious that he was jumping up and down in desperation.

Upon learning that Marquis Baoqing was looking for a second wife, her brother went to great lengths to establish a connection, allowing his sister to catch the eye of Marquis Zhu.

As for Lord Zhu's age and the bad reputation of the Baoqing Marquis's mansion, these are nothing.

For her brother, this was a way to make the best use of his sister. She was already past the age for marriage, and staying at her parents' home would only be an eyesore. Marrying her off would not only give him a powerful relative, but also allow him to make a smooth comeback. Wasn't that a great thing?
Lord Zhu agreed to the marriage, and the bride's family also agreed, so the engagement was considered finalized.

As for Madam Ma's family, they seemed eager to sever ties with the Marquis of Baoqing's mansion, so the Marquis of Zhu's mansion didn't bother to inform them.

Besides, Madam Ma had no children of her own, not even a son registered under her name. Without the bond of children, the two families were completely cut off from each other.

Lord Zhu came to the estate today to inform Old Madam Wei about this matter. Madam Ma has been dead for less than three months. Although there is no strict law in the Great Yong Dynasty that husbands must observe mourning for their wives, most families will still reconsider marriage after a year to save face.

Of course, this is on the premise that the former in-laws have no profit to offer. If it were a family like the Feng family, the son-in-law would want to tie himself to the Feng family to the bone. Even if his wife died, he would still cling to the in-laws' coattails. He would stay for at least three years, let alone a year. Ideally, the former in-laws would send him a second wife so that he could continue to cling to them.

Lord Zhu looked down on this kind of person.

Madam Ma was able to be his first wife, so her family background must have been quite good. But Lord Zhu also broke off all ties with her completely. Lord Zhu felt that, based on this alone, he had already surpassed countless men in the capital!
He has no shortage of women, and the reason he is in such a hurry to remarry is simply because of his attitude.

He was thinking of continuing the family line, refusing to compromise his principles. How noble and selfless he was!

Lord Zhu pondered all the way, and just as he was about to float away, he entered the manor.

Unfortunately, he saw Ruan Ruan before he even saw Madam Wei.

If it weren't for that captivatingly sweet voice, Lord Zhu wouldn't have recognized the person before him.

The current Ruanruan is three sizes bigger than before.

Her once slender waist has now become like a bucket; from behind, it looks like a buffalo's waist.

And that face, it has spots, spots!

Lord Zhu almost vomited.

"How did you become so ugly?" Lord Zhu asked, barely suppressing his nausea.

Ruan Ruan stroked her belly, her face flushed with shyness: "My lord, the midwife said that only those who carry daughters will be beautiful. I am like this now, so it must be a son in my belly. My lord, I am carrying your son. Feel it, he will move."

As she spoke, she thrust her large pregnant belly toward Lord Zhu and tried to reach out to take his hand. Lord Zhu was so frightened that he took a few steps back: "You are pregnant now, go back and rest quickly. Someone, help your concubine to rest."

"My lord, I miss you."

Ruan Ruan wanted to throw herself at Lord Zhu, but fortunately, she was heavily pregnant and it was inconvenient for her. Before she could throw herself at Lord Zhu, she was grabbed from behind by two burly old women and dragged away.

Looking at that reluctant figure, Lord Zhu felt a great sense of relief. He wiped the cold sweat from his forehead and let out a long sigh: "That scared me to death! My frail body couldn't possibly withstand that pounce! Fortunately, she's about to give birth. Once my son is born, I'll send this fat pig away, as far away as possible, and never let her appear in front of me again, or I'll definitely throw up!"

As for the child, let's leave him in the village after he's born.

Previously, Madam Ma couldn't have children, so we had no choice but to register the illegitimate son under her name. But now, I am about to remarry. My new wife is young, healthy, and can have more children. I have plenty of legitimate sons and daughters, so why would I care about this illegitimate son?

Moreover, the new wife is clean and pure, and has been pampered since childhood. Wouldn't the children born from such a body be a hundred or a thousand times better than those born from these inherently lowly and worthless women?
Lord Zhu felt a surge of pride. Based on this alone, he was far superior to those who couldn't distinguish between legitimate and illegitimate children!
Lord Zhu felt that he was a breath of fresh air in the capital.

How come I never noticed this before?

Yes, it's all because of Madam Ma. Because she gave birth to a good-for-nothing son, he, as the father, is also being smeared.

Now that we've brought in a new person, you can see that their strengths can't be hidden anymore.

Why didn't Ma die sooner? He was misunderstood for so many years!

Lord Zhu was eager to see his elderly mother, unaware that Madam Wei was scolding him for the umpteenth time.

Madam Wei felt a chill in her heart. Ever since she was sent to the estate, that unfilial son had never come to see her.

While she was diligently practicing walking, that unfilial son was probably indulging in the sweet embrace of some vixen.

Whenever she thought of these things, Madam Wei would have trouble sleeping all night.

However, all her resentment vanished after she heard that her son was going to remarry.

"Alright, alright, I agree. Go back and get started."

Lord Zhu knew his mother would agree, and he was about to leave when he heard Madam Wei ask, "Have you heard anything about that person?"

Lord Zhu's lips twitched. Who was it? That nun? Or the father and his two sons?

What are you looking for? Ever since he sent the old lady to the estate, he hasn't looked for her at all. These aren't four people, they're four bombs, bombs that could blow up the entire Dayong Dynasty!
Anyone who goes after them is doomed!

He's about to have a new wife and a new son, and he doesn't want to be blown to bits.

“Mother, I’ve been so worried these past few days searching for them that my hair has turned white. I’ve spent money like water, but I’ve been disappointed time and time again. Mother, it’s my fault. Don’t worry, as long as I live, I will search for them and I will definitely find them.”

No one knows a son better than his mother. When Madam Wei heard him speak so readily, she guessed that he must not have searched for him with any real effort.

But she's currently on the estate, and it's inconvenient to use the people she has, so she can only rely on this unfilial son.

"Find them! We must find them! If anyone finds them before us, not only me, but you and your entire manor will die! No one will escape!"

Lord Zhu swore an oath to the heavens, but in his heart he didn't believe it.

Was someone else found you?
Just kidding!
Even those four people themselves didn't know what was going on behind the scenes, so how could anyone else know?

Would Consort Li tell others?
If Consort Li doesn't speak, my mother doesn't speak, he doesn't speak, and everyone else was silenced forty years ago, then who else could possibly know?

nobody!
Unless their words are heard by insects, birds, cats, or mice.

But what good does it do to hear it?
I can't understand those things either.

Lord Zhu used all his strength to coax Old Madam Wei into a happy mood before leaving the manor and returning to the capital.

Yes, he didn't even want to spend the night at the manor; he was worried that Ruan Ruan, that sow, would come and climb into his bed, which would scare him to death!

Zhao Shiqing sat on a large rock, swinging her toes. She was wearing a brand new pair of calfskin boots today. Looking at her feet, Zhao Shiqing felt like she was a female knight-errant.

A familiar sound came from the sky—the sound of wings beating and the wind blowing.

Xiao Guai landed beside her, its claws growing stronger. It wasn't for show; Zhao Shiqing no longer wanted it to stand on her shoulders.

"gone?"

Xiao Guai nodded. He watched as the man and his entourage marched up the official road, and he even saw them off for a long distance.

Zhao Shiqing jumped off the rock, brushed the dirt off her clothes, and said, "Come on, it's our turn to make our appearance!" (End of Chapter)