Hearing her daughter's sobs, Mrs. Mo felt extremely heart - ache.
It turned out that Su Yuanyuan had suddenly run a high fever, not because of illness, but because she had "encountered evil".
There were indeed such rumors among the people. It was said that if one saw too many ghosts, they would have a persistent fever and talk nonsense.
Mrs. Mo hadn't forgotten that the last time at Foxing Temple, the great master Kongwen said that Yuanbao's eyes had the "celestial eye". It could see the fortune of others, but at the same time, it would also bring disasters to herself.
Presumably, the "dead people" she talked about were attracted by these eyes.
If they wanted to change this situation, they could only find a powerful person who could protect her to resolve it.
During this period, she hadn't been idle. She and Su Qing had selected many people together, but none of them were "powerful" enough in their eyes. They were inferior in martial arts, wealth, and power. It was really a headache.
She originally thought that as long as Su Yuanyuan didn't reveal the mystery of her eyes to others, it would be okay.
But unexpectedly, her daughter's symptoms seemed to have worsened a bit.
"Yuanbao, don't be afraid. Mother will find a way for you." Mrs. Mo stroked her daughter's hot little face and said lovingly, "These two days, you can stay with me."
Su Yuanyuan nodded vigorously in her arms.
Because of the "evil encounter" due to her eyes, Su Yuanyuan moved to Mrs. Mo's room to stay temporarily. However, to the outside world, Mrs. Mo only said that Su Yuanyuan had caught a cold and was ill.
When they learned that Su Yuanyuan was ill, the second and third elder brothers asked the kitchen to make her favorite tremella, red date and lotus seed soup and came to visit her specially.
The sweet and glutinous lotus seed soup melted in the mouth. Su Yuanyuan closed her eyes contentedly.
"It's really delicious. Chef Liao in the mansion has really good skills."
Su Huaiyuan said, "That's right. Yuanbao, do you know what Chef Liao used to do?"
Su Yuanyuan asked curiously, "What did he do?"
"Chef Liao used to be a military doctor." Su Huaiyuan said, "His medical skills were peerless. With him in Father's military camp, every time they went to war, our soldiers could be full of energy again and continue to fight after only one or two days of rest."
"A military doctor?" Su Yuanyuan was extremely surprised. "Then how did he come to our mansion and become a chef?"
Su Huaiyuan said, "Since Father repelled the Northern Barbarians' army and they surrendered and submitted to the Great Chu, there have been few battles between the two countries. Chef Liao couldn't stand being idle. He also liked to study delicious food, so he volunteered to come to the mansion to be a chef and a doctor. No matter who in the mansion gets sick, big or small, they will ask him to treat them first."
While eating the dessert in her mouth, Su Yuanyuan thought thoughtfully.
No one knew about her learning medicine with Xiao Ba for the time being, but one day it would surely be exposed. The excuse of learning while her soul was wandering outside was almost worn out. Maybe she could think of a better reason.
Just as she was thinking, Su Yuanyuan suddenly heard her third elder brother whispering, "Yuanbao, I heard that Cang Xuan went to the brothel last night. His fiancée found out about it and came to the brothel to ask for an explanation. I didn't expect that scoundrel to be such a lecher. He already has a fiancée, but he still flirts with women outside. It's really disgusting!"
"Yes, yes. I also heard that the scoundrel Cang Xuan slapped his fiancée twice in the brothel and scolded her for being so jealous before she even got married. He said she violated the seven reasons for divorce and wanted to break off the engagement with her!" Su Huaiyuan also said loudly.
"Pfft, cough, cough..." Caught off - guard by these words, Su Yuanyuan couldn't help choking on the food in her mouth and coughed violently.
The second and third elder brothers were frightened. One stepped forward to pat her on the back, and the other poured water for her.
"Yuanbao, are you okay?" the two elder brothers asked worriedly.
Su Yuanyuan coughed loudly, her face flushed.
The things that happened in the brothel last night had spread so fast?! Moreover, what fiancée, what slapping? What a mess!
After finally catching her breath, Su Yuanyuan stared at them slightly and asked, "Second and third elder brothers, where did you hear this from?"
The two elder brothers glanced at each other and said, "It's spreading all over the street."
Surprised, Su Yuanyuan couldn't help but feel a bit strange.
It was said that Liuyun Pavilion controlled all kinds of information in Shengjing City and was more well - informed than anyone else. How could they let the rumor be distorted like this?
Could it be that someone did this deliberately?
...
At the same time, there were drastic changes in the court, and a storm was brewing.
The incident that happened in Zhenmanlou some time ago was temporarily suppressed after the official surnamed Zhang fell to his death and was not made public.
Until last night when Cang Xuan broke the hands of a judge in the yamen at "Manluoyao", these two things were mentioned together and used against him.
"Your Majesty, since Lord Zhang entered the court as an official, he has been humble and polite. He has been dedicated to his duties and never slacked off. We have all witnessed this. Unexpectedly, Lord Zhang would rather fall to his death from Zhenmanlou than yield to the treacherous official. His integrity is worthy of the admiration of thousands of people. We are extremely sad about the loss of such a loyal official."
"And Judge Jing. His performance in the yamen has been excellent for many years. He has assisted the prefect in solving several major cases. Such a pillar has had his hands broken by Lord Cang. It's really infuriating!"
"Yes! With just one word 'evil star', Lord Cang has caused panic. We don't know if there are any evil things in the harem, but Lord Cang, who tried to disrupt the court and harm his colleagues, has malicious intentions!"
Everyone chattered away, and in a blink of an eye, Cang Xuan became the target of public condemnation.
Listening to the noisy voices in the main hall, Wang Chongling, the crown prince, and several other princes such as the Prince of Jin didn't say a word.
Cang Xuan stood at the very front. Listening to the disputes behind him, he never frowned even once.
It seemed as if all this had nothing to do with them.
Those who didn't get involved in this matter also included Duke Yong Su Qing and Su Huaichen. The two of them were also sitting there with their eyes closed, as if it had nothing to do with them.
The quarrel in the court became more and more intense. In the end, except for those who hadn't said a word throughout the process, everyone knelt in front of the emperor and demanded that the emperor remove Cang Xuan from his position as the chief minister of the cabinet and never let him be involved in any political affairs again.
Wang Chongling folded his hands in his sleeves and secretly exchanged a knowing look with the crown prince.
No emperor could ignore the requests of his ministers and act willfully, especially when the requests involved the stability of the court and the lives of the ministers. If he was a bit careless, he would be stigmatized as a tyrant, leaving a bad name for generations and being condemned by his ancestors.
The emperor sat on the dragon throne. His face darkened after the dispute started. He just kept looking down, his eyes slowly scanning over the ministers who were kneeling on the ground, crying and begging the emperor to punish Cang Xuan. He could see every expression on their faces clearly.
At first, everyone thought he was just thinking about countermeasures.
But slowly, the emperor's silence made their hearts start to pound. Cold sweat slowly oozed from their backs, and their bodies began to tremble slightly.
Even Wang Chongling began to feel something was wrong. He quietly looked up at the emperor, but unexpectedly met the emperor's cold and scrutinizing eyes. That look that seemed to see through everything and the majesty that only a king had made Wang Chongling subconsciously bend his knees and kneel down with a thud.