"What's the name? Wei (Ting) (Yu), I think. I don't know which two characters it is. If you say that Prince Wei is really a recluse, I may have only seen him once when I was a child. I have no idea what he is like now."
Xiao Cao was not disappointed with this answer. "Muyao, can I ask you for one more favor?"
"I've already told you, Sister Xuan. You don't have to be so polite. Just say it."
"Help me check the Xue family, the maternal family of the Wei prince's grandmother. In the imperial city, there seems to be only one Xue family among the noble families. Just look at the previous generation to see if there are any concubines in their early twenties. Keep it secret and don't be too ostentatious."
Zhen Muyao was even more confused at this moment, but he couldn't help but be curious, "What is Sister Xuan going to do?"
Xiao Cao was silent for a moment. "If I achieve my goal, I will tell you later. If not, ..."
"Okay. I'll have someone check it out tomorrow, and I'll come find you when I get home."
Xiao Cao nodded, "Thank you, Muyao."
"Sister Xuan, you must be polite to me, right? Then how about what happened at Tianshui Lake last time, how about the Wang family's matter, and how about Jian Shu's matter today? Wouldn't it mean that I have to say 'thank you' until my lips are dry?"
Xiao Cao laughed, "Okay, I won't say anything. - I won't bother you anymore. Jian Shu's body is not a porcelain doll, but it's better than a porcelain doll. You better be careful at night."
Zhen Muyao was not shy about Xiaocao's teasing. Instead, she sighed quietly, "He is injured. It is impossible tonight. We have to wait until his injury gets better. Sister Xuan, don't worry. He is my own husband. I will definitely pity him."
Xiao Cao: “…” Okay, I’m sure I can’t be as thick-skinned as hers, bye bye.
After this incident, Xiaocao's negative emotions were restrained a lot, at least Han didn't notice it anymore.
The party for the female guests would inevitably end earlier than that for the male guests. They would sit together in groups of three or four to chat, while some who were a little tipsy would just sit there and close their eyes to rest. Of course, some people would leave early. As the host, they were naturally busy.
Wenren Taibo also drank a little too much and felt a little unsteady when he walked.
When the people from Wenren returned, it was almost dark, and they estimated that curfew would be in effect soon after they got home.
Xiaocao was relatively peaceful at night, she just had another dream, but Wei Tingyu was not so peaceful.
He had been sitting in the study since the afternoon, almost motionless. On the desk in front of him was a piece of paper, on which was written, apparently, the oath that Xiaocao had asked Jianshu to say, with the beginning and the end cut out...
Respect and love each other, trust and encourage each other, understand and accommodate each other, support each other, and love each other for a lifetime.
No matter good times or bad, no matter rich or poor, no matter healthy or sick, no matter happy or sad, we will stick together through thick and thin, share weal and woe, and never leave each other.
When Wei Tingyu heard these words, each word seemed to turn into a sharp blade, stabbing his heart again and again, making him bloody and painful. He vomited blood on the spot and couldn't stop it.
At this moment, he realized how wrong he was. In Xuan'er's heart, she wanted to "stand by him through thick and thin, share weal and woe, and never leave" no matter what the situation was. So, he could imagine how angry Xuan'er would be if she knew his current situation and what had happened in the past two or three years.
At some point, he even wanted to go to her regardless of the consequences and tell her that he was wrong, tell her that he needed her. However, he did not act on his impulse. He could understand her feelings and her thoughts. However, in his current situation, he really did not want to make her worry and be sad. It had come to this point, so it would be better not to let her know anything. If she knew nothing, nothing would happen.
I became more determined to hide it.
The decision is a decision, but the grief in one’s heart is another.
From afternoon to evening, and from evening to dawn, they did not eat, drink or sleep, and no matter how the people around them tried to persuade them, they remained indifferent. Finally, he resorted to his trump card. If the prince continued like this, they would be afraid that they would disobey him and go directly to find his wife. After coming back, they would be willing to be punished and death would not be a pity.
This threat must have been useful, and Wei Tingyu finally went to rest for a while.
However, even when he was lying in bed, he couldn't fall asleep and just endured it.
I don’t know when it will end.
For the next two days, Xiaocao was waiting for the result of Zhen Muyao's investigation. However, before she got her chance, Xiaocao learned another thing. That was that the day after Zhen Muyao got married, after he had tea with Jianshu, he caught the cousin who had injured Jianshu and beat him up. No one could stop him with such ferocity.
It is said that when the other party wanted to run away, Zhen Muyao simply said - just stand there and let her beat you, and the matter would be over. If you dare to run away, then don't blame her for asking the people from Cheng'en Mansion to block you in the future. They will beat you up every time they see you, and except for that life, the rest will be half dead or half disabled, no matter what.
Zhen Muyao's threat was genuine, and everyone knew that she would definitely do what she said.
So, what can I do? I will just stand there and let her beat me. After all, it is her fault. She can't just go crazy just because she is drunk.
Zhen Muyao picked up a wooden stick that was as thick as two fingers and started beating the man. The stick was not thick enough to injure the man's bones, but the place where he was hit would definitely have bruises. Zhen Muyao didn't hit the man's head, but he basically didn't spare any other places...
During the process, the mother naturally felt sorry for her son and wanted to tear Zhen Muyao to pieces. However, Zhen Muyao's maids were basically servants following their masters, and their fighting ability was not very strong, so they easily stopped the opponent.
Unfortunately, no one else stepped forward to help, and no one tried to dissuade Zhen Muyao, because Zhen Muyao's parents-in-law just sat there and watched coldly, seeming to approve of what Zhen Muyao did.
Zhen Muyao knocked the man to the ground so that he could not get up. Then he turned around, smiled coldly and said: Aunt, you don't have to yell. I didn't break your son's bones because he is a member of the Jian family. After all, my Jian Shu has tasted the pain of having his bones and flesh crushed because of him. His level is nothing. If you are not convinced, come and fight with you because you are my elder. But if you do, I will punish your son tenfold. Let's see who can't stand it first.
The Jian family had naturally heard of Zhen Muyao's arrogance and domineering nature, but they had never seen it with their own eyes. As a result, on her first day as a bride, they all saw it for themselves.
Naturally, some people were dissatisfied. How could such a shrew enter the Jian family? It was a disgrace to the family and a real misfortune for the family.
Zhen Muyao had good ears and happened to hear everything that was said. He turned around and smiled coldly: Otherwise, just kick me out. Anyway, the dowry has not been touched. I can just move it back intact and take Jianshu with me. It's such a simple thing.
As a result, he was choked to the point of being speechless. He was so angry that he turned around and scolded Jianshu, saying that it was a disgrace for a man to let a woman climb over his head.
As a result, Jianshu didn't hear anything at all, and he was staring at his wife with starry eyes the whole time, and he was almost cheering for her. It looked really embarrassing, but it wasn't just today that he was like this, so as his parents, there was nothing they could do but cover their eyes and ignore it.
Zhen Muyao is indeed fierce, but they are actually satisfied with him. Their son is too soft-hearted, and with such a daughter-in-law to protect him, he will not suffer any loss.
However, after Zhen Muyao made such a fuss, everyone in the Jian family knew that Jian Shu was a "porcelain doll" and could not be touched at all. Whoever touched her next time would know what the consequences would be. The scene was still waiting for them. If someone knowingly committed a crime, Zhen Muyao's revenge would probably be even more severe, and he might really break the person's limbs.
When Zhen Muyao returned to her parents' home on the third day, she learned a very interesting thing from the Zhen family. Her aunt, who was mean-mouthed, narrow-minded, jealous, and petty, had a mouth as swollen as a sausage on the day of her wedding. Not to mention that there were mean people everywhere, she was simply too ashamed to see anyone. What's even more interesting is that the doctor's prescription medicine didn't work, and she had no idea how she got like this. Zhen Muyao laughed so hard that she fell forward and backward, and her stomach hurt from laughing.
Sister Xuan said she would help her deal with that aunt, and Zhen Muyao didn't think of anyone else except her.
Originally, Zhen Muyao had forgotten about it, but her sister Xuan didn't forget and left her such a big gift. She felt so relieved that she even wanted to go to her aunt in person to take a good look at it. Unfortunately, it was just a thought.
However, Zhen Muyao was more curious about how Sister Xuan did it. She was clearly with him the whole day and had no chance or time to contact other people.
No one gave her an answer. The next day after returning home, she went directly to the Wenren Family, this time bringing her new husband with her. It was obvious that she wanted to take Jianshu with her wherever she went, and Jianshu was happy to follow her happily.
To some extent, this kind of man is really despicable. However, no one can interfere as long as he is happy.
Let Jianshu go find Wenren Shudai to play with him. As for whether he will be "bloodily abused" by Wenren Shudai, let's not talk about it for now.
Zhen Muyao pulled Xiaocao aside to talk, and since he didn't get an answer from other places, he asked Xiaocao directly.
"That is, when I left Duke Cheng'en's mansion, I took something for your mother."
Zhen Muyao: “…” Therefore, Sister Xuan has her mother as an accomplice. Her aunt suffered a great loss but could not find the reason at all. It is not without reason. Sister Xuan’s things are powerful, and her mother’s methods are powerful. When they join forces, whoever they bully will be overthrown.
However, her mother would actually help Sister Xuan do such things, but had never helped her. Instead, whenever she did something, she would be beaten. It was unfair treatment. So, it turned out that Sister Xuan was her mother's biological daughter, there was no doubt about it.
However, through this and the previous anesthetic, Zhen Muyao knew that Xiaocao should have a lot of interesting medicines here, so he pestered Xiaocao to see them, and insisted on seeing them.
Xiao Cao was so annoyed that he took her to see his own "secret medicine".
These medicines can really be said to be varied. There are medicines that can make people cry non-stop, medicines that make people laugh non-stop, medicines that make people itchy all over, medicines that make people get rashes without any pain or itching, medicines that make fake illnesses look like real illnesses, and even some poisons. They are all "deviant". Probably since the first time they developed "fake disease" medicines, things have become somewhat uncontrollable and have gone further and further off the track. Xiaocao himself didn't even know that he had tinkered with so many of them.
Zhen Muyao's eyes lit up and he really wanted to pack up all of Xiaocao's things.
Unfortunately, Xiaocao firmly disagreed and no matter how hard Zhen Muyao tried to persuade her, it was of no use. Zhen Muyao had to give up with regret.
After reading all this, Zhen Muyao mentioned to Xiaocao the matter he asked her to investigate. Seeing that Xiaocao had not asked about it just now, she almost thought that Xiaocao had forgotten about it. However, it was precisely because of this that she felt that this matter might not be very important.
"The Xue family does have a concubine who fits what you said. She looks to be about 21 years old. However, she disappeared many years ago. As for the details..." Zhen Muyao spread his hands, indicating that he was helpless.
Xiaocao pursed her lips gently. Did Prince Wei lie to her? However, he worked for the emperor and could easily mobilize the Kaiping Guards. The information he had was far more than that of ordinary people. If he made some arrangements, it would not be impossible for people to find out something that seemed to be true. Therefore, Xiaocao had doubts and would not easily believe anything.
Prince Wei was determined to hide from her, so it would not be easy for Xiaocao to see him. However, Xiaocao was also determined to meet him face to face, take off his mask, and see what kind of face he had underneath the mask.
"Sister Xuan? Sister Xuan—"
"Hmm?" Xiao Cao came back to his senses, "What's wrong?"
"You're asking me what's wrong? Shouldn't I be the one asking you what's wrong? What are you thinking about? You're distracted. I called you several times but you didn't respond."
“I just feel that there are some things that probably have to be done.”
"In that case, just do it. It's no big deal. If you need help, just let me know."
Xiao Cao smiled and nodded, "Okay."
The servant came to report that Miss Xia had arrived.
"Miss Xia? Xia Bihe?" Zhen Muyao turned his head and asked Xiaocao.
"Yes, it's her."
"She got right on you."
"Don't talk nonsense, Bihe is a good girl." Xiaocao patted Zhen Muyao's head gently.
Zhen Muyao grumbled in dissatisfaction but didn't say anything else. She couldn't be so overbearing as to not let Sister Xuan make friends with other people. Not to mention others, she herself would feel disgusted.
But when Xia Bihe came in, Zhen Muyao was extremely surprised and looked at Xiaocao, "Is this really the obese girl?"
Xia Bihe didn't expect Zhen Muyao to be there, and she felt a little timid at first, but she tried not to show it, and greeted Zhen Muyao with a smile, "This is all thanks to Sister Xuan."
Zhen Muyao circled around Xia Bihe twice and even couldn't help pinching her face. He turned around and looked at Xiaocao, "Sister Xuan, you are so amazing. You have created a great beauty from scratch." Although it has not been completed yet, the prototype has already appeared.