The study was in a mess. Duke Qi was propped up with his head behind the desk, so he couldn't see his features, but he could hear his heavy breathing.
After the wife of the Duke of Qi entered, she slightly closed the door.
The Duke of Qi raised his head slightly, his eyes full of pain as if he was bound. He struggled hard but could not get out, and could only turn over weakly on the spot.
"Madam..." he said in a hoarse voice.
“Duke, what happened? Why did you rush out as soon as you heard about what happened at Minister Qu’s residence?” Lady Qi calmed down and asked gently.
The two have been married for many years, and it can be seen that the Duke of Qi is exhausted both physically and mentally at this moment. He is like a trapped beast, with a trapped red in his eyes.
She took two steps forward holding the hem of her skirt, stepped over the messy things on the ground, and walked to the table. "My Lord, what happened? Can't you tell me? We are a couple who have been through thick and thin together. We have already gotten through the most difficult time that year. Is there anything else that you can't get over now?"
The wife of the Duke of Qi spoke with concern. As she looked at the Duke of Qi, tears slowly welled up in the corners of her eyes and gradually fell.
He reached out and held the hand of the Duke of Qi that was placed on the desk. Even though both of them were already very old, they had supported each other for half a lifetime.
The Duke of Qi's hands were very cold and hard, and felt stiff and tense. With the gentle comfort of the Duke of Qi's wife, his hands relaxed a little.
"My Lord, please speak up. I am listening!" Lady Qi continued softly, "Is it because of Xiao Yue? Is the relationship between Xiao Yue and our family very special?"
The Duke of Qi lowered his head again, closed his eyes tightly, and his hands involuntarily wanted to clench.
The wife of Duke Qi was not in a hurry to force him, but just held his hand tightly, not letting him close his palm on his own. After a long while, she felt that Duke Qi's hand was no longer resisting, and then she said, "Duke, we have been married for many years. Even if you do something... I won't say anything. Don't you think you can trust me after so many years of love?"
These words were somewhat sad, yet still calm, revealing a heartbreaking discomfort. The tone was neither slow nor hurried, indicating that the wife of the Duke of Qi had given it careful thought.
She continued speaking, her voice slowly becoming a little choked up, but not sharp: "We have been married for so many years, and the Duke has always been very good to me. Many people in the mansion and our generation envy me and say that I married well. I also... I think so. Over the years, the Duke has been very good to me. In fact, I... After I got married, I didn’t think the Duke would be so good.”
At that time, the Duke of Qi was just a playboy. The affairs in the mansion were the responsibilities of the eldest brother, and he also had a capable eldest sister-in-law. For a playboy like him, it didn't matter who he married. They were just superficial brands in the mansion. The wife of the Duke of Qi who married into the family understood it at the time and only blamed herself for not being able to make the decision.
"Something happened in the mansion at that time... Fortunately, the Duke was there, otherwise... otherwise I might not know what to do at that time. Jiao'er was just born at that time... I..." Lady Qiguogong couldn't say any more and tears fell, "Duke, after going through so many things, don't you still believe me? Even if you really... really did something... I... I will forgive you!"
The wife of the Duke of Qi finished the rest of her words with difficulty.
I couldn't stop crying.
The room was very quiet, with only the sound of the Duke of Qi's wife sobbing. It took a long time before the Duke of Qi's hoarse voice was heard: "Don't think too much, I... didn't do such a thing."
This shows that they suspect he has other women and children outside.
"Since you didn't do such a thing, is there anything you can't say? Your Majesty, are you afraid that I will get angry, or that I will do something bad, or that you simply don't trust me?" Lady Qi asked, wiping away her tears.
“How could I not believe you, it’s just that this matter… this matter…” Qi Guogong said, his eyes full of pain.
"Duke, you have been so distressed about this matter. Are you still unwilling to tell me? Husband and wife are one. We have been doing well for so many years. Are you still hiding it from me?" The wife of the Duke of Qi continued softly, staring at Qi Guo with red eyes.
"You... you don't understand..." Duke Qi took a deep breath, but the pain in his heart did not subside but became even more severe.
"My Lord, I understand what you said. Please tell me. I can handle it. No matter what you say, I can handle it. It won't affect our relationship. We are so old now. Is there anything else that we can't get over? My Lord, look at our ages. No one knows if I can get up tomorrow. Even if you want to say something, I won't be able to listen!"
The wife of the Duke of Qi laughed at herself, her hand holding the Duke of Qi's hand trembled for a moment, and then her eyes fell on the two people's holding hands.
The hands of both of them have aged. They are no longer as tender as when they first met when they were young, nor are they as white and plump as before.
The Duke of Qi's heart seemed to be hit hard by something, and the pain was so severe that he almost wanted to cry. His heart was aching and sour.
The two of them are really not young anymore, is this secret really going to be kept from her forever? In fact, she also has the right to know this, doesn't she
"Do you still remember my elder brother and his wife?" he heard himself say this.
The words just came out of my mouth, and it was too late to regret and cover them up.
"How could I forget? Even after so many years, my elder brother and elder sister-in-law... how could they forget!" Lady Qiguogong sighed and wiped her tears with a handkerchief. "I always remember that when I first came in, you were immature... I would also lose my temper, and every time at this time, my elder sister-in-law would come to persuade me, even though her status at that time was far beyond my reach."
The Duke of Qi's parents died early, and his only eldest brother was much older than him. The Duke of Qi always respected his brother and sister-in-law who supported his family.
At that time, he never imagined that his brother and his elder sister-in-law would collude with the enemy, let alone that his entire mansion would be destroyed overnight.
“Before my elder brother and sister-in-law passed away, I… I went to see them…” Duke Hu of Qi, with tears in his eyes, stared blankly at a certain point in the sky, slowly recalling.
The wife of the Duke of Qi was startled and raised her head suddenly. She didn't know about this matter and never heard the Duke of Qi mention it again later. She clenched her hands tightly, then relaxed a little, knowing that this must be the key point of the matter. She didn't press the issue and just listened quietly.
As expected, there was no need to ask, Duke Qi continued: "My sister-in-law was pregnant at the time. When I went in, she had fallen down again because of what happened before.
I was frightened and went into premature labor. I just happened to give birth to the baby..."
Duke Qi stopped talking here, lowered his head, and knocked his wrists, trying hard to calm the pain and excitement in his heart.
Should he continue talking about this? He originally wanted to keep this to himself, but in his excitement just now, he actually said it out loud
Lady Qiguogong's eyes were filled with shock and panic. She remembered that her elder sister-in-law was pregnant at that time, and her pregnancy was not much different from hers.
The entire eldest branch of the family was ransacked, and her own branch was spared because of the Duke, but how could she not be frightened under the circumstances? She had also given birth prematurely at that time, and had been lying in bed in a daze to recuperate, only paying attention to her newborn daughter. She knew that she could not help with the things happening outside, so she just wiped away her tears secretly for a few times, and did not dare to ask too much about other things.
For fear of upsetting her husband again, she did not dare to ask about other matters.
"Xiao Yue... Xiao Yue is my eldest brother's daughter?" Lady Qi Guogong asked in a trembling voice. Her face was as pale as snow. She swayed and almost fell. Her voice was filled with a broken breath, as if she couldn't breathe. "That... That's a crime of deceiving the emperor."
Duke Qi grabbed his wife's hand, as if to give her strength, and also as if to give himself strength, and then continued vaguely: "This is Big Brother's only hope, and Big Brother's only bloodline. I... I don't want to see Big Brother and Big Sister-in-law cut off their only bloodline, so I secretly brought the child out, and then... and then..."
Having said this, he couldn't say any more. He just felt pain in his internal organs. If it happened again, would he do the same thing
The child will definitely be brought up, but what will happen next? Will there be so many mistakes
"It's all my fault, it's all my fault!" Duke Qi blamed himself endlessly, he closed his eyes weakly, and felt a buzzing in his head. Although he couldn't take back the words he had said, he was unwilling to say more at this moment.
"I'm fine, I just want to be quiet for a while!" He let go of the wife of Duke Qi's hand and said weakly, "I will write a memorial to the emperor and give the title to my son."
"Duke, what do you want to do?" Lady Qi asked anxiously in a panic.
"I'm fine, I'm just tired, and I just want to...think quietly for a while." Duke Qi said, and his head slowly lowered again, as if his head was as heavy as Mount Tai at this moment.
"It's all my fault. If I had taken good care of this child... then nothing would have happened today. I am sorry for this child, I am sorry for her." Duke Qi said sadly, his eyes reddening once again.
“It’s not your fault… You have done your best…” Lady Qiguogong heaved a sigh of relief. She felt that she had figured out the whole thing. Seeing Duke Qi so sad, she felt very uncomfortable. Seeing that he didn’t want to talk at this time, she could only turn around and leave.
When he reached the door, he turned around and wanted to give a few more instructions, but when he saw the Duke of Qi's head buried in his arms, he could only sigh deeply in his heart, and then walked out slowly.
This result surprised her, but it didn't seem to be a complete surprise. It was just that the shock in her heart could not be calmed for a long time. This matter was considered a crime of deceiving the emperor...
If this is exposed, the entire Duke of Qi's Mansion will be held responsible. It is better to keep this matter to oneself...