Xiaocao nodded, then watched them leave. She was unconsciously lost in thought again, and it took her a while to come back to her senses. She patted her face, did not wash up, and did not throw away the clothes she had torn off before. She wrapped them around her waist, took out two pieces and soaked them, then left the yard, closing the door.
Inside, Wei Jincheng and his servants were unconscious. The effect of the drug would not wear off until twelve hours later. As for when they could move to a more comfortable place to "sleep", it depended on when those servants who had run away would remember them.
Stepping into another deserted alley, Xiaocao began to tidy herself up. She wiped her face with wet cloth to cover it, patted off the dust on her body, took off the "headscarf" on her head, let down the tied part of her dress to cover the dirty part, and then simply tidied her hair. Although it could not be restored to its original state, she looked somewhat like a lady.
At least, Wei Jincheng's servants passed by her and didn't recognize her.
Just as I walked to the back alley of the teahouse, "Fourth Sister—"
Wen Renying ran over quickly without caring about her image, and Wen Renyang behind her was not slow at all.
"Fourth sister, where have you been?" The question was a little sharp, but the red eyes could not stop showing anxiety and worry.
Xiao Cao hurriedly comforted them, "I'm sorry, I'm sorry, it's all my fault, don't worry, I'm fine."
"Where did Fourth Sister go?" Wen Ren Yang asked. He was really scared when he found that Fourth Sister was missing.
"I encountered an emergency and didn't have time to inform you. I'll talk about the details when I get back. This is not the place to talk."
When the brother and sister calmed down, they noticed something strange about Xiaocao. It was not obvious at first glance, but a closer look revealed a huge difference. It must be no small matter for Xiaocao to be like this. Both of them looked unhappy, but they were considerate and did not ask any more questions.
"Where are my elder brother and elder sister-in-law?"
"My eldest brother is still in the teahouse with the shopkeeper looking for you. I don't know what happened, and I dare not say anything. My eldest sister-in-law has gone back. We can't hide such a big thing from our family."
"Then let's go home quickly and don't let mom and the others worry."
"Okay. Fourth sister, where is the maid following you?"
Speaking of this, Xiao Cao felt a little sorry for the two maids. "I hid them in the flowers. Let's drive the carriage to the back. They won't wake up for a while."
The brother and sister looked at each other in bewilderment. What on earth did the fourth sister do? Even the maid fainted? !
It was not convenient for Xiaocao to meet anyone at this time, so Wenren Yang went to find Wenren Xu. No one else saw them. After the carriage came, Xiaocao and the maid got on the carriage directly. She didn't need to worry about how to get around it later.
Not long after Wei Tingyu was taken away from the courtyard by Jin Wenjie, while he was still half-dead on Jin Wenjie's back, he whispered to Jin Wenjie to clean up the mess and not let Wei Jincheng have any chance of finding out about his Xuan'er.
"Take care of yourself. You only have one breath left. If this happens two more times, you can just lie in the grave and not have to worry about anything. - Tsk, your plan was ruined by your wife. You suffered in vain. How do you feel?"
Wei Tingyu closed his eyes and endured the pain in his body. "You should ask Wei Jincheng about this."
After hearing this, Jin Wenjie couldn't help but laugh. He was gloating. It was really too tragic. After laughing, he said, "I say, did you know that your wife is so cruel?"
Wei Tingyu did not speak again, and remained motionless, as if he had fainted. — He really didn't know. In the seven years they lived together, although he had seen her use a knife and set bones, he had not done anything else. However, he did not think that his Xuan'er was cruel. He knew her very well. Even if she cut flesh and disassembled bones, it was for the purpose of better studying medicine and benefiting the world. As for the means of breaking tendons and disassembling bones, she was a woman, and there was nothing wrong with having some means of self-protection.
Jin Wenjie stopped talking. He knew that in Wei Tingyu's heart, his wife was perfect in every way. Even if she was guilty of a heinous crime, he could glorify her as pure and kind. No matter what you did to him, he might not bother to care about you. But if you did anything to his wife, he would try his best to kill you.
On the way back, she met Han who was rushing to the teahouse with her men. In the carriage, she swallowed her reproachful words, hugged Xiaocao, and kept crying. She was really scared to death.
The joy of regaining what she had lost had not yet completely passed. When she found out that Xiaocao was missing, she was completely overwhelmed by fear. She didn't feel anything before, but when she was about to lose it again, she almost collapsed. It was much more serious than it was more than ten years ago. If something really happened to Xiaocao at this time, Han might really not survive.
Xiaocao hugged Han's trembling body and truly felt her emotions, the deep maternal love.
Xiaocao comforted her and apologized, reminding herself in her heart that this kind of thing would never happen again.
When they got home, Xiaocao took a shower and changed her clothes. Han stayed by her side all the time. It was obvious that she had not yet recovered from her emotions.
Xiaocao did not express helplessness about this, but instead used his utmost patience.
By the time everyone sat down to ask about what had happened before, an hour had passed and it was already past lunch time. However, before eating, they still wanted to understand the whole story, otherwise they wouldn't be able to enjoy their meal.
Apart from their family, the only people serving them were Han's two trusted mothers.
Xiaocao didn't hide it, but the place where he attacked was a little weak.
Even so, they were still horrified when they heard it.
"You are so brave, girl. Have you ever thought about what would happen if you were caught? How could a beast who dares to harm his own brother show mercy to someone who ruins his good deeds?" Han was furious.
Xiaocao kept saying that he was wrong and there would be no next time, and begged for mercy in a soft voice.
Han, however, "relentlessly insisted," "We don't even know what kind of person the Prince of Wei is. Your kindness should have a limit. In my opinion, even if you meet the Emperor, you should pretend you didn't see him."
"Mom, be careful with your words." Wen Renxu reminded from the side.
"Shut up." Han shouted angrily.
Wen Renxu knew his mother was furious, so he rubbed his nose and shut his mouth obediently. His fourth sister was his mother's favorite, and she couldn't bear to scold or beat her. If he went to her, she might vent her anger on him. In her mother's heart, her daughters were treasures and her sons were weeds. Compared with his fourth brother, he was just the shorter weed. Oh, how sad...
Regardless of whether Wen Renxu was truly sad or pretending to be sad, in short, Wei Tingyu was also severely remembered by his mother-in-law. If there was no intersection, it would be fine, but Wei Tingyu wanted to remarry Xiaocao in the future, and Han was furious. Wei Tingyu dared to confront other people, but did his mother-in-law dare to confront him
Wen Renyang was the quietest person beside him. He did not daydream this time. After Xiaocao finally coaxed Han, he slowly spoke, "Then Yuan Qiyu and the second son of the Pingyang Marquis's Mansion are also relatives, right?"
Compared to Wen Ren Yang who turns a deaf ear to what is happening outside, Wen Ren Xu is still in the Hanlin Academy. Although he is going to be transferred this year, if nothing unexpected happens, he will stay in the imperial city for at least one month and at most three months. He will also get to know people who may become his colleagues or opponents in the future. Therefore, before the imperial examination, he will almost know the basic details of the group of people who are more valued.
"Empress Shun and the second son of Wei's biological mother are sisters. Their mothers' surname is Yuan, and Yuan Qi Yu is from the Yuan family. They are not very close in terms of blood relationship. However, it is said that Yuan Qi Yu is very smart since childhood, and this side is willing to cultivate him, and he also wants to establish a relationship. After Yuan Qi Yu entered the imperial city, he regarded himself as the nephew of Empress Shun's mother. It seems that this person is very good at scheming. After all, judging from the fact that Prince Dun came to us before, even if he has some minor problems, he has a good image in Prince Dun's heart, and he is willing to come forward in person to protect him." Wen Renxu said slowly.
"Prince Dun came to see you when I was away?" Is this prince so idle
"Fourth sister, you left the private room just as I arrived. Although I haven't asked, I guess that Prince Dun is with the second son of Wei, and his target is the Crown Prince of Wei. It's just a coincidence that he interfered in Yuan Qi Yu's affairs. After all, the confrontation between fourth brother and Yuan Qi Yu was temporary, and it's impossible for the news to reach Prince Dun's ears so quickly." Wen Renxu said.
"Wait, what's going on with Yang'er fighting with someone?" Han asked.
"This matter started with me." Xiaocao couldn't help but reflect that it seemed that she had done more than one "wrong" thing today.
"It has nothing to do with Fourth Sister." Wen Renying interrupted, and then took the lead in explaining the whole story to Han.
After hearing this, Han sneered, "What a good guy! Prince Dun came to you to ask Yang'er not to care about it?"
"If things really get out of hand, not to mention Yuan Qi Yu's future, even Prince Dun's reputation might be damaged. Prince Dun didn't say it explicitly, but his meaning couldn't be more obvious." Wen Renxu has been in officialdom for two or three years after all.
"Yang'er is well-educated and defeated the guy named Yuan. But what if he lost? Would they let Yang'er go?" Han was still angry.
Everyone was silent.
"Yang'er, what about you? What do you think?"
Wen Renyang slowly met Han's gaze and said, "I was ready to go to the palace to see the emperor from the beginning. Even when Prince Dun came to see me, I didn't give up the idea. With the addition of the Second Young Master Wei, I have even more reason."
Wen Renxu was drinking water at first, and he was choked when he heard this. His family said that the idiot's mind and eyes were full of all kinds of books. He was very well behaved and never caused trouble, but now he was ready to cause big trouble
Is this what they call making a splash when you don’t make a sound? !
Therefore, Wen Renxu didn't see things as clearly as Jin Wenjie. Perhaps it was because he was too confused by his brother's nerdy image. Wen Renyang's fangs were exposed, and his elder brother still treated him as a soft little puppy.
Han glanced at her eldest son with dissatisfaction, then looked at Wenren Yang, "Yang'er, you'd better think about it carefully. If you do this, you will actually offend Prince Dun." But there was no blame in her tone.
"No, Xiaosi, you don't have to do this." Xiaocao advised.
"Fourth sister, I'm only eighteen, and I'm young and energetic." He is full of blood, so he can be impulsive and reckless.
“No…” Xiaocao knew that Xiaosi did this because of her.
"That's enough." Han interrupted Xiaocao, "Xuan'er, don't worry about him. Your brother is a man. He will get married in a few months. He has his own ideas. Let him do whatever he wants."
Xiao Cao looked at Han with a hard time explaining. Is there really a mother like you? Wouldn't Dad be angry if he knew
Wen Renying opened her mouth and wanted to say something, but finally pursed her lips and fell silent. She seemed absent-minded and distracted.
In fact, it was not her fault. Prince Dun was the lucky one who inherited the throne from his father, Emperor Xuanren, in her previous life. He was also the unlucky one whose throne was taken away by his brother a few years later.
Among the princes, Prince Dun ranks ahead of Prince Heng and is second only to the former Crown Prince and current Prince Duan. However, in comparison, he does not have much advantage in competing for the throne. His personal ability is mediocre, which can be seen from his title. The power of his mother's family is also average, and he has few court officials supporting him. To be honest, except for Prince Heng, the other princes younger than him have advantages over him.
As to how he got the throne, there are many different opinions, two of which are more common.
First, Emperor Xuanren suddenly fell ill. In order to stabilize the situation in the court, the matter was concealed. Until his death, only important officials in the court were summoned. However, for some unknown reason, Prince Dun was there and became the only son who saw Emperor Xuanren off. So Prince Dun got a great advantage.
Secondly, the power of Emperor Xuanren's other sons is not small. No matter who inherits the throne, it is afraid that it will not be stable. Instead of this, it is better to choose one with weaker power and assist him with court officials. The other sons can check and balance each other, and perhaps the situation can be stabilized. Compared with others, Prince Dun actually has an advantage, after all, he has the word "elder".
Emperor Xuanren was wise and brave, and there was no shortage of capable generals in the court. Emperor Xuanren never held all the power in his hands. He trusted his ministers and was willing to delegate power. The emperor and his ministers got along well with each other, so naturally there was no physical and mental fatigue. On the contrary, he paid great attention to health preservation and sometimes lived a very interesting life. Therefore, at the age of nearly 50, he was still in his prime and had great energy. There was absolutely no problem for him to be the emperor for another 10 or 20 years.
Many princes thought so, and they were in awe of their father. Even if they tried to seize power in private, they never dared to go too far and were prepared for a long battle.
Emperor Xuanren never worried too much about the issue of succession.
As a result, Emperor Xuanren's sudden illness disrupted everything and caught everyone off guard.
In fact, if Prince Duan was not blind, there would be no problem for the other princes, and the sudden death of Emperor Xuanren would not cause any chaos. But...
And now, who can guarantee that the same thing will not happen at the same time next year.
Even if Prince Dun would still become the unlucky guy whose throne was snatched away by his brothers, as long as he sat on the throne, it would be easy for him to settle accounts with the Wen family who had offended him.