"A thank-you gift from the Duke?" Lady Qi, the Duke's wife, asked in surprise. She really didn't know about this. When she took the deed of the shop presented by Yudong, her face changed immediately.
"They said it was a thank-you gift from our young lady for finding the Duke's Jade Finger. Our young lady doesn't dare to accept such an expensive gift." Yu Dong said respectfully.
There was silence for a while, and after a long time, the Duke of Qi smiled and said, "Thank you very much, young lady. Although your young lady doesn't accept these, our thank-you gift cannot be less."
After the wife of the Duke of Qi finished speaking, she waved to a maid behind her. The maid came over and she whispered a few words. The maid looked at the wife of the Duke of Qi in surprise, and the wife of the Duke of Qi nodded.
The old woman went out and came back soon with a gift box.
"This is our thank-you gift to your young lady. You can't refuse it this time." Lady Qi said to Yudong with a smile, and called a maid to lead the way for Yudong.
Yu Dong did not refuse this time, as long as it was not those hot shop deeds. After accepting the gift, he thanked the wife of the Duke of Qi and left with the maid who led the way.
After Yudong left, the wife of the Duke of Qi's face darkened.
"Madam." The old woman serving beside her said cautiously.
"Let's go and see the Duke." The wife of the Duke of Qi stood up and walked out, holding the deeds in her hand.
In the study, Duke Qi heard that his wife had arrived, and nodded and asked Xiao Qing to invite his wife in.
The wife of Duke Qi entered the room alone, leaving all the maids and servants outside. After entering the room, she bowed to Duke Qi, then looked up at him with a serious expression and said, "Duke, what does this mean?"
She took the contract out of her sleeve and placed it on the desk in front of Duke Qi.
"Where did it come from?" After seeing what was on it clearly, Duke Qi frowned and said unhappily.
"Don't you know, Lord Duke?" Lady Duke Qi stared at Duke Qi and said with an unhappy look on her face.
"This is to express my gratitude for finding my jade ring." Duke Qi was silent for a moment and explained.
"How come I didn't know such a big thing had happened? The Duke's jade ring was given by the Emperor, right? He has been wearing it on his hand all the time. When did it disappear?" The Duke of Qi's wife's gaze fell on the Duke of Qi's hand, where the jade ring was worn on the thumb.
"I lost it before, but I was afraid you would worry, so I didn't tell you and just randomly found another one to put on." Duke Qi leaned back and said impatiently.
The room fell silent, and the wife of the Duke of Qi did not speak for a long time.
When the Duke of Qi opened his eyes, he was met with a reproachful expression from his wife.
"My Lord, I know you must be hiding something from me. We have been married for so many years. Although we cannot say that we have lived and died together, we have gone through a lot to get to where we are today. If it weren't for your contribution, our entire family would not have survived, let alone this title."
The wife of the Duke of Qi said.
These words evoked memories for the Duke of Qi. The expression on his face was no longer as gloomy, but there was a hint of sadness in his dim eyes. At that time, the Duke of Qi's Mansion was still prosperous. In addition to him, there was also his elder brother. It is said that the eldest brother is like a father. Even when he was learning martial arts, it was his elder brother who taught him in the beginning.
"Duke, at that time... my uncle listened to my sister-in-law and almost implicated the entire Duke's Mansion... We almost did that at that time, and I gave birth to a daughter because of the shock.
A premature baby... My eldest sister-in-law was also pregnant at the time, and finally..." Lady Qiguogong shed tears, lowered her head, and wiped her eyes with a handkerchief.
When he looked up again, he saw that the Duke of Qi opposite him also had red eyes.
Those days were the most helpless time, both the Duke of Qi and his wife, who had just given birth to a child. This was also the past that his wife was most reluctant to mention.
Over the years, the couple almost simultaneously forgot about this past event.
When she brings it up now, Lady Qiguogong feels filled with sadness. Because of her premature birth, her daughter has been in poor health since childhood.
"You... stop talking..." Duke Qi's voice became hoarse.
"No, Duke, what I want to say is that for so many years, my husband and I have been of one mind and have discussed everything. Even in the most difficult times, Duke always kept me informed of anything. Whenever I think of it, I am grateful to Duke countless times. At that time, I also thought that even if I was implicated and died with Duke, it would not matter. At least our family is together, close to each other, and we can be companions in the underworld..."
Lady Qi, the Duke of Qi, could not continue speaking until here. Tears began to fall, and she reached out to hold them back with a handkerchief but could not hold them back.
"Don't say anymore. I know... I am the one who let you down!" Duke Qi's eyes were wet. How could he be willing to think about that past again
I had to put my hands on the corner of the table to suppress the pain in my heart.
He originally thought that he could handle it, but he never imagined that he was just afraid, and used indifference to express his fear. In fact, he was a coward.
A coward who can't face himself.
"The Duke has never done anything wrong to me!" Lady Qi shook her head.
"No, I'm sorry. Even if I die in the netherworld, I... I'm sorry." The Duke of Qi's voice became more and more guilty. He looked at the wife of the Duke of Qi and spoke almost word by word.
It can be seen that what he said was not false.
The wife of Duke Qi wiped away her tears with a handkerchief: "Duke, you really have not done me any wrong. I have lived a good life since that incident. For so many years, the only concubine in the mansion is still the previous concubine. Duke has not taken another concubine since then. Even if the emperor sent one to you, you rejected it with an excuse."
In fact, a long time ago, the Duke of Qi had many concubines around him. At that time, the Duke of Qi was still a playboy who did not have to inherit the family business, so naturally there were many women around him. When the Duke of Qi's wife first married him, she was unwilling and was secretly ridiculed by some of her former close friends.
But no one expected that after experiencing that incident, the Duke of Qi seemed like a different person.
Not only did he drive away those concubines who had never given birth to children, but from then on no other women entered his life around him, and he was also wholeheartedly devoted to the wife of the Duke of Qi.
"My Lord, I won't talk about the past. We have forgotten all those things...over the years!" Lady Qi wiped her tears with a handkerchief and raised her red eyes again. "I don't understand what you did today. Why are you so nice to the fourth young lady of the Qu Mansion and even find a way to send her a shop? My Lord, don't talk about the jade ring. I...don't want to hear these empty words."
Duke Qi lowered his head, clenched his fists in annoyance, then loosened them, and then clenched them again. After several times, he said, "Don't ask me.