When Zi'an returned home, it was almost the evening hour.
After killing Afa, she went to the Empress Dowager's palace to bid farewell, naturally, escorted by Madam Yang and the guards.
The Queen Mother talked to her for a long time before letting her go.
When Prince Liang returned home, she had to go to Prince Liang's mansion first, settle Prince Liang down, and instruct the accompanying imperial physician on things to pay attention to before she could return to the Prime Minister's residence. So, she asked Nanny Yang to send Xiaosun back first.
After entering the prime minister's residence, the sky gradually darkened.
According to the rules, she should pay her respects to the old lady when she came back from an outing, but she went straight back to Xiazhi Garden.
When Yuan saw her coming back, she hugged her gently and said, "You've suffered."
Zi'an hugged Yuan, the pain in his heart spread, and the pain hit his heart directly. He said exhaustedly: "Mother, Linlin is dead."
Yuan was shocked, pushed Zi'an aside and looked at her, "What did you say?"
Zi'an told Yuan what happened this morning. After hearing this, Yuan fell into her chair and tears started to flow.
That child, what a good child! He was the only pure person in this filthy prime minister's mansion, and yet he was gone just like that
Yuan thought for a moment, then looked up at Zi'an, "How dare they do this in the palace? How dare they do this? Ah Fa is Mei Fei's man. He shot the arrow without seeing clearly, which means someone has issued a killing order. However, Mei Fei has always been cautious, so she would never do this."
"Prime Minister Xia is in Concubine Mei's palace." Zi'an said coldly.
Yuan's eyes were cold, "He entered the palace early in the morning, not for anything else, just to kill you."
"But I killed Linlin by mistake." Zi'an felt indescribable guilt.
Yuan held her hand and said, "Zi'an, don't blame yourself. It's not your fault."
Zi'an saw Xia Lin die with his own eyes, and he couldn't get rid of the sadness and pain at all.
"By the way, how is your poison? I know they poisoned you." Yuan suddenly remembered this and asked hurriedly.
Zi'an said, "The imperial physician prescribed me a detoxifying decoction. I drank it for two days and I feel much better. I just need to take the medicine for a few more days and I will be fine."
"That's good. You must be careful in the house from now on. Both we, mother and daughter, must be careful." Yuan said.
Zi'an sat down and thought: Even if she is careful, she cannot avoid the intensive plots. However, during the time when she is treating King Liang, she is safe for the time being. At least, even if there are plots, they dare not be so blatant.
Prime Minister Xia did not return to his mansion until evening. After leaving the palace, he went to the tavern to drink and came back drunk.
As soon as he arrived at the mansion, the old lady came to tell him to come over.
He came straight over without even washing his face. Madam Linglong looked around and didn't see Xia Lin, so she thought he was playing in the yard. She didn't care about him and hurriedly followed Prime Minister Xia.
The old lady sat in the porch, the lantern in front of the porch casting a gloomy light on her face.
She turned the Buddhist beads in her hand, raised her head, squinted her eyes and looked at Prime Minister Xia, and said unhappily: "You went to the palace early in the morning and just came back now. It would be fine if you came back, but you are still so drunk at this time, you don't understand anything."
After saying that, she glanced at Madam Linglong angrily, "You too, don't know how to feel sorry for your husband at all. Why don't you make him a cup of sobering tea?"
Madam Linglong said aggrievedly, "Didn't you send this over before it was even cooked?"
The old lady got angry when she saw her face which was as swollen as a pig's head. The news of her embarrassing moments in the palace had already spread back to her, and she was so angry that she knocked over a cup of tea.
"Okay, just stay away." The old lady said sternly.
Madam Linglong no longer dared to act rashly and could only step aside, occasionally looking up and glancing at the old lady with resentment.
The old lady would have ignored it even if she saw it. If it weren't for the fact that she gave birth to a son and a daughter for the Xia family, she would have never tolerated such a superficial and ignorant woman.
"Your good daughter is back, but she's so arrogant that she doesn't even want to pay respects to an old woman like me. So, you came to the palace today and accomplished nothing?" the old lady asked sternly.
Prime Minister Xia had always been afraid of this old mother. Hearing her scolding and thinking about being threatened by his own daughter today, he couldn't help but feel even more frustrated. This frustration soon turned into anger. He gritted his teeth and said, "This little bitch is so cunning that even Concubine Mei couldn't control her."
"For the past ten years, she has always been timid in the mansion. She suddenly became like this. I was suspicious. How could a woman like Yuan give birth to such a timid daughter? Now that I think about it, I'm afraid she is very scheming and has been holding back and waiting for an explosion. Our Xia family cannot be defeated by such a person. You can decide for yourself."
Doesn’t Prime Minister Xia also want to destroy Xia Zian
"But, mother, she didn't die the last time I poisoned her. This is too weird. Also, why was she appreciated after entering the palace? They didn't even blame her for breaking off the engagement."
The old lady glanced at Madam Linglong calmly, "The last time the poisoning failed, it was caused by someone. If she hadn't said that she wanted to teach that little bitch a lesson and reduced the amount of the poison, it would have been gone long ago."
Madam Linglong heard that her tone was blaming, and she couldn't help but say aggrievedly: "Who knew that Nanny Yang would suddenly appear? Besides, mother also acquiesced at the time."
A trace of anger flashed in the old lady's eyes. "In short, if you are a little slow in dealing with the enemy, you will be counterattacked. This kind of mistake must not be made again in the future. Either don't do it, or do it thoroughly."
Prime Minister Xia has been pretending to be a tiger these past two days, but he doesn't know what to do anymore. Everything is out of his control. Now that he has seen his mother and seen how strong she is, he has developed a sense of dependence on her. "Mother, in your opinion, what should we do now?"
The old lady pondered for a moment and said, "Now that the queen has sent Nanny Yang to the mansion to watch over it, Xia Zian must not be touched. But as for your wife, you can do whatever you want. Your reputation is already ruined. Only by proving that she really cheated on you can you clear your name."
"How could my son not know? But..." Prime Minister Xia was filled with resentment. He thought this was just a fictitious charge, but he didn't expect it to be true. He felt that he had been deceived and treated as a complete fool.
He could label Yuan a sinner, but she couldn't really be a sinner.
This shameless idea came from the fact that he had been in a high position for so many years and was used to being domineering.
Madam Linglong stepped forward and offered a suggestion, "Mother, we can still make use of Chen Er."
"Chen Er?" The old lady frowned and thought for a moment, "This man already knew our plan last time. I'm afraid we can't use it again."
Madam Linglong said, "We didn't explain it to him last time, but this time, as long as we give him some silver and guarantee that he will be safe and sound, he will definitely agree. This man has worked for me for many years, and I know he is extremely greedy."
The old lady looked at Prime Minister Xia, "What do you think?"
Prime Minister Xia remembered that Chen Er always came to the mansion and was indeed the best candidate.
He looked at Madam Linglong and said, "You will be the one to discuss this matter. Don't make any mistakes this time."
Madam Linglong wanted to make amends, and seeing that he agreed, she quickly said, "No, I will definitely say goodbye to him clearly."
The old lady hummed, and suddenly asked, "By the way, where is Xia Lin? Why didn't he come to greet me after returning?"
(End of this chapter)