I'm a humble concubine. My acting skills are off the charts. You can check my performance.

Chapter 300 Meeting an Old Friend

Zhao Fangyu was in a daze, so Pei Deben wanted to let him go. He asked some trivial questions to find out Zhao Fangyu's motive for leaving the city. He asked about the time when he returned to the city and when he left the city. He then sent people to chase him to verify whether the location of the cliff was real...

After finding some passable answers and handing them in, Pei De left.

The red-lettered iron certificate was placed at the head of Zhao Fangyu's bed, and the eldest lady gently stroked Zhao Fangyu's forehead.

"I have finally grown up."

Mother Cui's eyes were slightly red. Even though they knew that this dangerous incident was planned by Zhao Fangyu himself, they still felt extremely distressed.

If Zhao Fangyu had not been forced into a corner, how could he, who as a child would cry in front of the eldest lady when he got a cut on his skin, have taken the initiative to step into the sea of fire?

In order to gain people's trust, you voluntarily inhale smoke, surround yourself in a sea of fire, and pass out?

Who could believe that the journey these girls had taken, step by step, could have been so difficult?

It seems that coming to the world is to suffer and to be a Bodhisattva who transcends disasters and saves the world, but after only a few days of good days, a sudden disaster will strike and shatter everything.

Mrs. Zhao Fangyu coaxed him to sleep again. Cui's uncle came over early in the morning, cursing. When he heard that Zhao Fangyu had nearly killed him when he went out yesterday, he was so angry that he even let go of the stones placed in the garden at the door.

"With that body, can she get out?"

"Still trapped in the fire... If no one came to rescue him, wouldn't the person I've been treating for the past six months be dead?"

The uncle of the Cui family couldn’t accept that the patient he had treated with great effort for half a year died not because there was no cure, but because he brought death upon himself!

Wouldn’t all his efforts over the past six months be wasted?

He walked in cursing all the way, from the lanterns at the door to the flower pots on the steps. As soon as he stepped into the house, he met the eldest lady's calm eyes and slightly raised eyebrows.

Cui's uncle: "..."

"Sister Shuqing..."

Cui Zimin had been to Longxi, and Cui's uncle had naturally been there as well. Because he was younger than the eldest lady, he was quite familiar with the female relatives.

It was a pity that he had difficulty traveling because he traveled everywhere. Also, Zhao Fangyu's health was not yet incurable, so the eldest lady had been waiting to see when the younger uncle of the Cui family would pass through the capital and ask him to come and treat Zhao Fangyu. Unexpectedly... he had been wandering around the border for more than ten years.

After seeing the eldest lady, the Cui family's uncle's arrogance suddenly subsided, and he checked Zhao Fangyu's pulse listlessly: "Sister, do you want to hear the truth or a lie?"

"Of course it's the truth."

Cui's uncle took out a bag of silver needles from his bag and spread it out on the quilt: "She was frightened yesterday and hasn't eaten since then. She has been unconscious and hungry."

"I'll give her an injection, and when she wakes up I'll feed her something that's easy to digest."

The eldest lady glanced at Cui Zimin, lowered her eyes slightly, and stuffed the needle back into Cui's uncle's hand: "This is a lie."

The uncle of the Cui family said "oh" expressionlessly, turned around and went to the table to write a new prescription: "Princess He has been sick because of missing you. She has been suffering from a stubborn disease since she was a child and has not been treated for many years. She fell into the water when she was young, and she had a cold body when she grew up and had no doctor. She took good care of herself, but she encountered misfortunes frequently, and the medicine did not work. As a result, she is now so weak, with a bad temper, an irregular stomach meridian, and blood deficiency. She needs to be well nursed for a few years, otherwise she will not live long and will be childless."

When Madam Cui heard this, she immediately put her hands on the eldest lady and asked, "Is it too heavy?"

It sounds and looks like the person is unconscious and terminally ill, and will die early and become infertile. It's a bit of a curse.

The eldest lady should think in the long term. If the illness is not serious enough, how can she stop the emperor?

There are three prescriptions in total. The first one is for making Zhao Fangyu's pulse as serious as Cui's uncle just said. The second one is the antidote. The third one is for recuperation after the incident is over.

"Originally I only needed to recover until the end of next year, but now it's gone. I won't be able to recover until the end of the year."

The eldest lady took the prescription and handed it to Mother Cui. Mother Cui tactfully left, leaving only the eldest lady and Uncle Cui.

"How is it? You have never been back to Qinghe and have not even been to Longxi in these years. But which young man in my family has offended you?"

The uncle of the Cui family restrained himself and looked at the eldest lady's finger: "Sister Shuqing, please don't slander me. It's just that I have been doing too much work to save the dying and the wounded at the border these years, and I can't leave."

He has been wandering around the border these years, deliberately not returning to Qinghe and deliberately not going to Longxi, as if if he doesn't see those old people and old things, he won't think of the past.

If Cui Zimin had not written more than a dozen letters this time, Cui's uncle would never have come to the capital to fall into the trap.

The eldest lady smelled the alcohol coming from the young uncle of the Cui family. She scanned him up and down. She didn't see any scent sachets or pendants that ordinary men wear on him. She couldn't help but wonder, "How come he is still single after all these years at the border?"

Cui's uncle immediately stepped back and said, "I wanted to drink under the moon last night, but I fell asleep. I came in a hurry, so I didn't want to make my sister feel uncomfortable."

"I said I was saving lives and healing the wounded at the border, but when I was really on the battlefield, there was no clean person left. We were rolling in the dust, our bodies were covered in blood and dirt. How could anyone look up to me?"

Cui's uncle pretended to laugh and changed the subject: "Fang Yu is so sick, why doesn't her father come to see her?"

The eldest lady tucked in the quilt that was lying on the ground with the jade in her arms and said frankly, "Her father is now guarding the house."

"Fang Yu is not in good health. I thought that if you came to the capital, I would entrust him to you. I didn't expect that we would become estranged as we get older."

"But now Fangyu's health is of great importance, so I won't be polite to you, Afu. Since you consumed so much of my wine in the past, I will treat her well."

Cui Fu wanted to step forward, but before he could move, he remembered that the time was different now, and he could not help but restrain himself.

The hem of the round-necked robe moved slightly, as if a gust of wind came out of nowhere, causing a few ripples as the person was thrown.

"It's not worth it. Her health is very bad. If she takes good care of herself, she will be able to recover."

The eldest lady nodded, then went to the side to wring out a towel with warm water and put it on Zhao Fangyu's forehead.

"She came to me when she was little, and she was no different from my own child."

“It has helped me a lot over the years.”

"There are some things I can't say, but I should thank you for treating her."

Cui Fu met the eldest lady's eyes and couldn't help but take a half step back. His fingers, covered with rough calluses, felt slightly hot, and he remembered the time when she dozed off under the peach tree...

"No need to say that. If you call me, I will come."

He waited at the border for more than ten years, until she got married and had children, until she... had many children and grandchildren, and until he was sure that she was living a good life, then he traveled across the country alone.

Cui Fu said nothing, but stared at the hem of the eldest lady's skirt out of the corner of his eye.

Sure enough, over the years, she still likes green the most.

There seemed to be a faint aroma of wine diffused in the air, not strong, but particularly intoxicating.

The lady seemed to have the words on her lips, but she didn't ask them.

Sensing that something was wrong with the atmosphere in the room, she turned around and went out to call Zhao Fangyu's personal maid.

Cui Fu stood there without moving until he could no longer see the dark green figure. Then he let out a long breath.

No matter when, Cui Fu was always vulnerable in front of Li Shuqing.

His deliberate alienation over the years seemed like a ridiculous joke when he saw her today.

Cui Fu secretly wondered why he was as weak-willed as he was in his teens at his age. He pinched his joints, but the pain could not suppress the curve of his lips. He was still happy and met Zhao Fangyu's black eyes that seemed to see through everything.

Cui Fu: “…”

Zhao Fangyu felt something was wrong.

The look in Cui Fu's eyes when he looked at the eldest lady did not seem innocent!

In fact, Zhao Fangyu had already woken up after Cui Fu took his pulse, but he heard Cui Fu and the eldest lady talking, so he didn't open his eyes to disturb them.

Now that the eldest lady has gone out, Cui Fu's look really makes people...think deeply.

The panic that Cui Fu revealed on his face for a moment disappeared in the blink of an eye, as if it was all Zhao Fangyu's illusion.

Zhao Fangyu pinched himself secretly and said weakly: "Hello, Mr. Cui."

Cui Fu nodded and said to Zhao Fangyu who was still lying down: "You still need to rest now. After you drink the medicine, your condition will get much worse. But don't worry, you will recover in the future."

After saying that, he followed the eldest lady's footsteps and went out.

For the rest, Zhao Fangyu could only hear a faint voice from outside: "Sister Shuqing..."

Putting aside the past for now, Zhao Fangyu planned to wait until he met the eldest lady in the evening and find a chance to ask her.

"Have the Royal Guards been here?"

Seeing that Zhao Fangyu had woken up, Xingzhi hung up the curtains and said, "She was here, but the princess was still unconscious at the time. She answered in a daze, so we can't be sure. The Jinyiwei will probably come again tonight or tomorrow."

Xingzhi told Zhao Fangyu about how the eldest lady held the imperial edict and sat in front of the door to intimidate the Jinyiwei. Zhao Fangyu half-struggled to get up, drank a few mouthfuls of rice porridge, and when his stomach felt a little full, he changed to the medicine juice boiled from the first prescription that Cui Fu had just mentioned.

"Is there any other movement in the capital?"

She was in a coma for a day and a night, and no news came in from inside or outside the capital. No one knew whether it was because the Jinyiwei were keeping a close eye on her or because they had failed.

Xingzhi shook her head. "Yesterday, the princess and the commander of the Northern Pacification Division of the Jinyiwei had a quarrel in the street. The princess was furious and went to the Zongzheng Temple to seek justice."

"Then the Jinyiwei people thoroughly investigated the fire in the city and arrested many people."

"Even our aunt from the Fourteen States was sent to the Imperial Prison, but fortunately our family was not implicated and she was released last night."

"The strangest thing is that the city gates are under martial law. Many vegetable farmers are stopped from entering. People in the city are strictly controlled when they come in and out. Even the carriages of officials and their families have to be opened to see the sun."

In the past, when officials and their wives left the city, they only had to show their faces or family crests. But it was really inappropriate for a young lady who was raised in a family with great wealth to be checked by soldiers at the city gate like a commoner with a curtain lifted.

Although the people of Daliang were relatively open-minded and women were allowed to walk on the streets, once family was involved, it took on another meaning.

If everyone is treated equally, there would be nothing to say, but the key point is that the capital is full of powerful people. Whoever investigates and rewards will be judged according to their level. How carefully they investigate and how strictly they check will actually make different levels.

Zhao Fangyu hummed, and with Xingzhi's help, he ate another tofu skin bun, then leaned against the head of the bed for a while with his eyes closed to rest.

The red-lettered iron certificate left by the eldest lady is still placed on it. The red-lettered iron certificate bestowed many years ago still exudes the unique luster of metal.

Zhao Fangyu reached out and touched it, and it seemed as if he was frostbitten by the cold metal. The moment he touched the red seal and iron certificate, it separated.

She had a dream. In the dream, she was not smart enough. With a pretty face and ordinary status, the emperor arranged for her to be married to the second prince.

But the third prince fell in love with her and seduced her while forcing and threatening her. The young girl eventually died in the secret prison of the Embroidered Uniform Guard before she could even have her wedding night. Her affair was exposed and she was sentenced to death by the emperor.

After Zhao Fangyu woke up, he felt his eyelids were so heavy that he couldn't open them at all. This dream seemed to last a lifetime.

This seems to be the original owner's life, but it's not. In the original novel, the original owner should have died due to family involvement, not being caught in bed with an adulterer in the dream...

It was just a dream, and he would wake up when he woke up. However, after waking up, Zhao Fangyu became even calmer.

"How is Chunshao these days? Is she still obedient?"

Xingzhi couldn't explain it. After all, although she was young, she wasn't as accustomed to the things that Chunshao and Xiangyao had brought with them. Even after some time of adjustment, she still wasn't happy.

If it were Chunshao, she should have answered the questions she asked by now. If she couldn't answer, she would have told her what she knew so that she wouldn't be left in the dark.

As the most important maidservant around her, she can't even take care of an area as big as the palace. How can we expect her to do anything else?

Zhao Fangyu couldn't help feeling a little disappointed, but after all, he still had to make the decision.

It’s different in the past.

"Wait until the storm dies down and send Chunshao home."

Zhao Fangyu seemed to be extremely tired. After saying this, he lay down again.

Xingzhi went out, not quite understanding what was going on. She bumped into Nongbo coming in, poked her head into the room, and immediately pulled him to the door: "Sister, do you know where Sister Chunshao's hometown is?"

Nong Bo was originally a servant of the Zhao family. He knew all the details of the maids around the girls. He asked calmly, "Did the princess give any instructions?"

Xingzhi repeated Zhao Fangyu's words. Xingzhi still didn't quite understand, but Nongbo understood it clearly.

Chun Shao was a maid bought from outside. She was lucky enough to follow her godmother's luck and entered the eldest lady's courtyard. She was then assigned to the fourth girl by the eldest lady.

From then on, she became the head maidservant of the Fourth Young Lady.

How could a maid who was bought from outside and who had served in such an important position be sent outside?

What's more, Chunshao almost betrayed her master, so she must not be let go.

Zhao Fangyu didn't really want to send Chunshao home, but to send Chunshao to the west.