There is a god in the sky

Chapter 190 Sowing Discord 7

After a few days apart, Shen Lan noticed that Xiao Ji's complexion was much rosier, indicating that his injuries had healed.

Xiao Ji bowed to Marquis Pingyang with the respect due to a junior, while Sui Feng, who was standing nearby, also presented the festival gifts he had brought.

The two families are related by marriage, so it's normal for them to visit each other during the Lunar New Year.

Lady Hou adored Xiao Ji. "It's already a great honor that you came to see your aunt. Why did you bring so many things?"

Xiao Ji helped her walk a few steps. "I haven't been home for three years. I should have come to visit you with generous gifts this year. Aunt, please take good care of yourself. I will send someone to pick you up and take you home for a short stay in a few days."

Lady Hou was taken aback at first, then a warm smile spread across her face.

Even for women who married out of the family, like Lady Hou, who lived only a few streets away from her parents' home, they could only go back a few times a year, let alone stay for a while.

But since Xiao Ji brought it up, Marquis Pingyang couldn't object.

Marquis Pingyang snorted lightly, "Nephew Xiao, do you think I haven't taken good care of you?"

"How could I dare? It is normal for the Marquis to neglect the affairs of the inner quarters due to his concern for the court. However, the elders in the family are very concerned about my aunt and would like her to return home for a few days. You would not refuse, would you?"

"What about the household management of the Marquis's residence?"

"Don't worry about that. My aunt has managed the household affairs for many years. She won't cause any chaos if she leaves for a few days." Xiao Ji's words blocked the Marquis of Pingyang's idea of ​​letting his concubine temporarily take charge of the household.

"My lord, please go ahead with your business. I'll talk to you later."

After seeing off Marquis Pingyang, Xiao Ji stopped being polite, inquired about the details, and went to the small house where Yonghe was imprisoned.

Fu Qingyan immediately felt relaxed all over.

"It's so good to have my cousin. My mother and I will never be bullied again."

Shen Lan reminded him, "Your Highness is already an adult. You can't rely on others forever. The person your mother wants to rely on the most is you."

Only when one's own son cannot stand up will one expect others to help.

"Now that the Marquis has entered the court and gained real power, he will inevitably be drawn into the political struggles of the court. You are a family, so you must guard against outsiders using you as pawns, and also guard against enemies infiltrating your ranks."

"To manage one's family, govern the state, and bring peace to the world, one must first manage one's family. If you cannot even manage your family affairs, how can you expect to manage the affairs of the government office when you enter officialdom?"

Fu Qingyan bowed to Shen Lan and said, "I will remember Miss Shen's words. It was my fault for not doing enough."

Shen Lan said those words because she genuinely wanted to help him.

Lady Hou had been taking the medicine for half a year, and Fu Qingyan, as her son, had been back in the capital for quite some time, so he should have known about it.

Where did that medicine come from? What are its effects? Should Consort Li take any risks for it? These are all things he, as her son, should know.

It is said that serving a ruler is like serving a tiger. Even if Consort Li was favored, she could be deposed with just a word from the emperor.

Xiao Ji came out of the hut and said to them, "Yonghe was misled into thinking that Consort Li wanted you to be her concubine, so she believed Bai Wu's words. If she hadn't had ulterior motives, she wouldn't have added unknown drugs to her aunt's medicine."

Fu Qingyan was stunned.

"I...I never thought of that..."

He and Yonghe practically grew up together, so their relationship was naturally special.

But he always treated her like an older sister; there was not a trace of romantic love between them.

Shen Lan hadn't expected her to have such thoughts, and sighed: "Once a woman falls in love, it's like she's possessed."

Being love-struck is a bad thing no matter where you go.

"Now that Bai Wu is dead, only Consort Li knows best what happened in the palace."

Marquis Pingyang had just entered the palace intending to bring Bai Wu out, but he was unable to see Consort Li.

According to palace rules, men from outside the palace were not allowed to enter the inner palace, and relatives could only visit with the emperor's grace.

It's normal that the Marquis of Pingyang can't see him, but Consort Li should have received the news by now.

Sure enough, at dusk, Bai Zhi hurriedly arrived at the Marquis's residence.

Xiao Ji asked her, "How did Bai Wu die?"

Bai Zhi clutched her chest and replied, "He threw himself into the well, the well in the Empress's back palace. The Empress was so angry that she fell ill."

Even if such a case is reported, it won't implicate the person behind the white fog.

In the end, he will only end up committing suicide.

"Could it be the Empress who did it?" Fu Qingyan speculated.

In the imperial harem, the empress is the easiest target to bribe the maids serving the concubines.

Moreover, even Consort Li knew that the Emperor was taking the secret medicine, so it was impossible for the Empress not to know.

"There is no evidence." Xiao Ji shook his head.

Although Consort Li's favor with the emperor affected the empress's authority, Consort Li had no children, so logically the empress had no reason to eliminate her.

But the person who could bribe Bai Lu must be in the palace.

The imperial physician, Lan, left before nightfall.

Before leaving, he quietly asked Shen Lan if she wanted to become his apprentice.

Shen Lan works as a coroner full-time and runs a shop part-time, so she can't be in two places at once.

Moreover, in this era, becoming an apprentice is not just about learning a skill.

Once a teacher, always a father.

If something happens to me, it might even implicate my master.

"Alright, if you need anything in the future, feel free to come to me. Also, please pass on a message to your wife."

Shen Lan asked in surprise, "Please speak."

"Some medicines may seem good for the body in the short term, strengthening the body's foundation and nourishing the body's vitality, but if taken in excess, they are not good for women."

Shen Lan was surprised that he could tell that Lady Pingyang had taken special medicine.

"Will stopping the medication affect Lady Hou's health?"

"I don't know that, and I don't know what the medicine is either. But I've heard that there was a very skilled imperial physician named Shen in the palace back then. He had a unique prescription that could bring the dead back to life."

I always thought it was just a rumor spread by later generations, but maybe the palace really did have such a treasure.

Shen Lan froze.

After a long while, she asked, still dazed, "You just said that the imperial physician's surname was Shen?"

"Yes, isn't it because we share the same surname?"

However, Imperial Physician Shen resigned from his official post decades ago and has long since passed away.

"You know him?"

"If I were ten years older, I might have met him, but the imperial physicians in the palace have all heard of his great name."

"what is his name?"

Shen Lan's heart was beating a little fast.

After recalling for a while, Imperial Physician Lan frowned and said, "I think his name was either Shen Jingyuan or Shen Yujing."

Shen Lan remembered that her grandfather's name was Shen Huang, but the name didn't match, so it shouldn't be the same person.

After seeing off Imperial Physician Lan, Shen Lan also took her leave.

She conveyed that message, and as for how the Lady of the Marquis decides, that is her own business.

Walking down the street, the festive atmosphere of the New Year is still strong.

She overheard someone talking animatedly about the latest happenings at Vice Minister Liu's residence.

She slowed down and listened a few more words before she learned that Liu Engui had personally delivered the concubine to the Tong residence.

He originally wanted to be a coward and pretend he didn't know the woman.

However, Tong Juntao discovered the woman's identity himself and, with his servants, smashed up the Liu family's gate.

Tong Juntao realized that he had been tricked by a woman.

I went around asking around on the pleasure boat, but no one recognized the heavily made-up maid from that night.

In addition, Qiu Yu said that she had been knocked unconscious and when she woke up, he was gone. She and the servants of the Tong family searched everywhere inside and outside the residence.

Little did he know that he would be stripped naked and thrown out of the Ministry of Revenue's office with a woman, making a fool of himself.