However, Cui Fu saw Cui Xingzhou constantly looking towards their car, as if there was something wrong. So she asked Li Guangcai not to just circle around her, but to go to Xingzhou to see what was happening.
When Li Guangcai came over, Cui Xingzhou told him about the hidden pictures in the painting and showed him the appearance of the pictures printed by Miantang.
Li Guangcai was surprised to see such a clever method, and couldn’t help but admire the smartness of the prince.
Cui Xingzhou shook his head and told him that he hadn’t discovered it himself. It was Miantang who first discovered it. He also revealed that Liu Yu had learned about their grain and grass transportation routes through similar methods when Miantang was on the Mountain of Yang.
Immediately, Li Guangcai’s face also became solemn. According to the prince, even the emperor may be involved. If this was the case, that means that if he wanted them to die, they had to die!
Miantang said on the side, “Brother-in-law, how are your painting skills?”
Li Guangcai was momentarily taken aback, then shook his head like a rattle and said, “Princess Consort, you should know, although I have some knowledge in writing and calligraphy, I can’t draw such hidden and revealing paintings.”
Cui Xingzhou naturally trusted Li Guangcai. If he were a speculator, he would not have had the setbacks of being abandoned by the court for many years.
Miantang was startled to see that he was sweating profusely, Suddenly, she chuckled and said, “The pigments used in these paintings are extraordinary. The ochre red color in them is extracted from cochineal insects imported from overseas, and a small box is expensive… Even if you have such painting skills, you may not be willing to buy such precious pigments to paint. What I mean is, if you are skilled in painting and make friends on a daily basis, have you ever found that people close to the prince have such brushstroke skills?”
As they finished speaking, the three of them suddenly involuntarily looked at the Zhennan Marquis in front of the convoy.
If she asked about the person around the prince who was proficient in painting, then it would be none other than Zhao Jiayu.
Finally, he was able to leave North Sea Wilderness and return to see his mother. Marquis Zhao was so excited that he lost his composure. He walked at the forefront all the way, wearing a bamboo hat and riding a horse to recite his homecoming poems loudly.
After watching Marquis Zhao’s gaffe, the three of them withdrew their gaze with great understanding.
Li Guangcai thought for a moment and pondered, “There are not many people in the Military Weapons Department who can know the secret of making artillery. If we arrive in the capital, it will not be difficult to identify the source of the leak. However, now we cannot return to the capital for a while. If that person knows about the defeat of Takatsukasa, they may also annihilate the evidence. Moreover, this person has a deep hostility towards you. If we don’t know who this person is, we will inevitably be passive when we arrive in the capital.”
Miantang said, “If this person deliberately hides his foolishness normally, it would be difficult for people to discover. However, if he was able to know your grain and grass routes during the period during the Mountain of Yang, he now knows the secret of making artillery, which should be related to both the State of Zhen and the military headquarters in the capital, and he must be a crucial person. He is likely to hold high positions and be respected. If we start from here, we can narrow the scope.”
Speaking of this, Li Guangcai was also anxious for the prince. Currently, the court has a mess waiting for the prince to deal with, but now the Old Princess Consort is critically ill, and the prince’s time has been delayed. He also doesn’t know what kind of Tiger Cave the hidden enemies will arrange when he goes to the capital again.
When he arrived in the State of Zhen, Cui Xingzhou did not go directly back to the residence but instead went directly to another courtyard in the suburbs.
When he separated from his mother, Miantang also considered various situations carefully. She once told the steward that if there were any accidents with the Old Princess Consort, move to another courtyard and not contact outsiders casually, just wait for them to come back.
After the symptoms of the Old Princess Consort worsened, the steward urged her to temporarily stay in another courtyard in the suburbs, with only a few maids who were serving her, as well as some loyal residence guards. The others continue to remain at the residence.
The steward personally purchased bedding, room furnishings, and other items, replaced everything in other courtyards with new ones, and declined all visits.
However, the symptoms of the Old Princess Consort have continued to worsen in recent days. She was able to get up slightly a few days ago. However, she has already started to lose consciousness in the past few days.
When Cui Xingzhou was about to arrive at the other courtyard, he saw his Aunt Lian-Chu standing outside the gate with several servant girls and nannies, shouting at the top that he was a betrayer. How dare he make his own decision and refuse her entry?
“Son of a dog! My sister is sick, and you still move her around. Several elders in the clan want to see the Old Princess Consort, and how dare you not let them visit. Is it possible that you are trying to seize the master’s property while the prince is in the North Sea? Is this why you are watching my sister being ill and you restricted all visits to hinder for money?”
Just as she cursed fiercely, the door opened and the steward quickly walked out with one of the few guards in the other courtyard.
Aunt Lian thought that the stewards came out to greet her and apologize. She was standing proudly waiting for the dog slave to kneel and apologize.
But she saw the steward leading a gust of wind over her and straight towards the countryside road.
Until then, Aunt Lian realized that they were rushing towards the other courtyard.
The steward received a message from the post station early on, knowing that the prince had come from the North Sea, covered in dust and wind.
After more than a month of a lingering illness, seeing that the Old Princess Consort could no longer do it, as a loyal servant, he had no master to make up his mind, and could only follow the previous instructions from the Princess Consort. Despite the criticism of the elders of the Cui family, he silently prayed for the masters to come back as soon as possible.
Now that the prince has finally returned, the steward can be truly relieved that they can finally offload a thousand pounds of burden.
Aunt Lian didn’t even know that Cui Xingzhou had returned. After a moment of silence, she hurriedly welcomed him and only shed her nose and tears, expressing her concern for her sister.
Unfortunately, Cui Xingzhou was now anxious to see his mother, and he couldn’t afford to pick up the polite etiquette between relatives.
Without waiting for Aunt Lian to finish crying and complaining, he strode towards his mother’s courtyard, and Cui Fu, with the help of Miantang, hurried to see her mother.
Aunt Lian also wanted to follow in, but the steward sternly stopped her and said, “The prince and the Old Princess Consort have reunited after a long separation. I think there is a lot to say. If you wanted to visit the Old Princess Consort, please come back another day, Madam Lian.”
As he spoke, the steward stiffened his face and politely ordered someone to close the door in front of Lian-Chu.
Nowadays, no one knows that the Lian-Chu family seems to have offended Prince Huaiyang and was not favored by the new princess consort. Even her daughter Lian Binglan has not been very close to her mother since she married the fifth son of the Cui family.
That was to say, the Old Princess Consort was kind-hearted and willing to follow Lian-Chu around various tea banquets normally, imbued with the atmosphere of a wealthy circle.
But if it weren’t for her frequent collusion with the Old Princess Consort to go out, the Old Princess Consort wouldn’t have caught a cold and contracted strange diseases.
When the Old Princess Consort first fell ill, she saw her coming and occasionally bothered her with her trivial matters. Later, the Old Princess Consort was transferred to another courtyard, and it was only then that she was able to settle down.
The steward was also angry when they looked at Madam Lian!
Besides, Cui Xingzhou entered the inner room and saw the Old Princess Consort lying in bed, feeling drowsy. The Old Princess Consort’s cheeks were sunken, her face had lost its former luster, and she was yellow, thin, and haggard. Where was she still the graceful Old Princess Consort she used to be?
But even in her lethargy, she seemed uncomfortable, her eyebrows furrowed tightly, and she occasionally rolled over and made a humming sound.
The steward said, “Since the departure of the prince, princess consort, and young lady to the North Sea, the old princess consort has returned to the State of Zhen, leaving her alone in the residence. She is quite lonely. Madam Lian often enters the residence and invites her to attend banquets between the ladies of each Mansion. The old princess consort does not want to go, but Madam Lian repeatedly advises her, and the old princess consort doesn’t want to lose her face. She went there twice. After a few days, her body feels a bit cold, and then her chest and back are sore. We invited a doctor and he said that she seemed to have caught a cold wind. However, the symptoms are slightly different, so the doctor wasn’t sure. Later on, the Old Princess Consort became even more ill, and I remembered the previous instructions from the Princess Consort. I am afraid that the residence had many people and complicated matters, and someone with a bad motive will tamper with the Old Princess Consort. So I moved her to another courtyard.”
Zhao Quan sat by the bed and diagnosed the Old Princess Consort’s wrist to feel her pulse. His eyebrows furrowed tighter and tighter, and after a while, he stood up and said to Cui Xingzhou, “The pulse of the Old Princess Consort seems to be cold to the bone, but it seems plausible. In fact, she has been poisoned by venomous insects.”
Cui Xingzhou’s face changed and he asked, “Is there a way to save her?”
Zhao Quan said, “I have never heard of Venomous Insect Poison before, but I have benefited a lot from this trip to the North Sea. Witch doctors are popular in the local chieftain, and many of them are skilled at using Venomous Insect. I met a stranger while communicating with the local witch doctors in the North Sea, and only then did I learn some about it. Generally, the person who uses Venomous Insects has the mother insect in their hands, and they can control the child insect with it. Only by finding the mother insect can I relieve the child insect poison.”
Cui Xingzhou’s face was gloomy, and his eyes shone two cold lights. As expected, his mother’s illness was man-made, intending to drag him to the State of Zhen and not be able to rush to the capital in time.
Zhao Quan continued, Although the mother insect can control the child insect poison, it must be nearby. If the mother insect is far away, the child insect poison will fall into silence. I see that the Old Princess Consort’s nails are blue, and the child insect poison is already deep into the internal organs. However, because the mother insect is far away, the child insect poison does not attack, and the Old Princess Consort is only sleeping soundly. I observe the pulse, and the child insect has already sucked up enough blood gas, becoming pupae and breaking cocoons. Once the mother insect comes close, the child insect will attack, and it will break the blood vessels in the brain, looking like an old man with a stroke, no matter how tested, one will die at the end of their life.”
Cui Fu’s face was shattered upon hearing this, and she repeatedly said, “Who is it with such malicious intentions, who is so scheming to harm the woman in the deep house?”
Cui Xingzhou’s face was livid, and he knew that the person who had bewitched him was coming towards him. To delay his entry into the capital, he did everything he could to extend his poisonous hand to his mother.
Miantang said, “Since that’s the case, the person who placed the poison must do everything possible to send the mother poison to another courtyard. Steward, who will definitely come to visit after you move to the other courtyard?”
The steward said, “I have already said to the ladies of various prefectures that the old Princess Consort needs to rest and should not be disturbed, so they did not come. At the beginning of the month and on the fifteenth day, the fifth master and his wife usually come to pay their respects to the Old Princess Consort, but they never enter the other courtyard. They all knelt outside the gate to pay their respects and then left. The doctor often stayed in the other courtyard and did not leave. Only Aunt Lian came here from time to time, and sometimes even brought the elders of the clan to make trouble.”
Loveguy On CFRFGC Chapter 12