Du Gu Qingyong tapped her nose with his finger and said lovingly, "Silly girl."
The matter of Du Gu Qing going to court to petition for the title of prince was thus settled.
"What about Yu'er?" Mei Qingxue suddenly thought of Rong Yu'er. It wouldn't be appropriate to take her everywhere. Although she had the title of a concubine, Du Gu Qing didn't regard her as his wife.
"At that time, we'll have her pretend to be seriously ill and die. When the Marquis of Anning comes to mourn, he'll find a girl who looks very much like his beloved daughter and take her as his adopted daughter."
"This method seems good, but that Rong Yu'er will grow up!"
"So what if she grows up?" The child was still young, and it was only natural for her to grow. It would be strange if she didn't.
"She'll be a great beauty when she grows up," Mei Qingxue was worried about this. Leaving a beauty with the title of a concubine around, it was only a matter of time before something happened.
"What are you daydreaming about?" Du Gu Qing pulled Mei Qingxue over and made her look into his eyes. He placed her hand on his chest. "There's only room for you here. If there has to be someone else," Du Gu Qing pointed at Mei Qingxue's belly, "it's the baby here!"
"Get out of here." Mei Qingxue gave that cheeky guy a disdainful look. "You're always so unruly. When we get there, you'd better prepare your memorial carefully."
"I know. You should take a nap later. You got up early today!"
"Hehe... I can't even talk about it. As soon as I do, I'm so sleepy," Mei Qingxue yawned widely. She liked to sleep in. She got up early today only because she had to drink the tea of greeting from the new bride. It was really a rare early rise.
"Who is the eldest prince's father - in - law?" Mei Qingxue suddenly remembered to ask this. It was because the Minister of War didn't seem to be among those who pleaded for the eldest prince.
"It's the Minister of War." Du Gu Qing glanced at his wife. Didn't she know? Why was she pretending to be confused now?
"I remember that the Minister of War didn't send a gift last time!"
"Why are you still thinking about this? You're not short of money!"
"It's not that. I'm just thinking about how much of the people's fat and cream his family has embezzled?"
"The Minister of War doesn't have any major crimes of embezzlement. He's just very short - sighted, but he doesn't have any major faults. Generally speaking, he's still a good official."
"Judging from your evaluation, that person seems to be quite good. It's just that he's on the wrong side."
"What are you going to do again?"
"I'm not going to do anything. Well, we're here. I'll go back to take a nap. You can handle your official business properly." As soon as the carriage arrived at the door, Xuan Qiao reached out to help Mei Qingxue out. Du Gu Qing was behind. Han Zhao would take care of him. The sick prince was weak and needed Han Zhao to "support" him to walk.
"Your Highness, shall we go to the study?"
Han Zhao asked. The prince hadn't been to the study for a long time. He would go straight to Qingxue Pavilion as soon as he returned from court.
"Yes, the study. I need to write a memorial."
He didn't know if the emperor would approve his petition for a fief. The most likely thing was that his mother would interfere because she was reluctant to let him go. He had always been sickly, and his mother had worried about him a great deal. He would go to see his mother after court tomorrow.
"Xuan Qiao, have you seen Miss Yu'er today?"
"I have. Don't worry, Your Highness. Xuan Qiao will handle it properly for you." Xuan Qiao said proudly. She had learned from Sister Yue Ru how to serve the princess.
"Your Highness, I have good news for you." Xuan Qiao said cheerfully.
"What is it? Tell me so that I can be happy too."
"If I tell you, you'll definitely be happy. It's Sister Yue Ru. Sister Yue Ru is pregnant."
"Really?" Mei Qingxue beamed with joy. "Tomorrow, no, this afternoon. You go and find a well - known gynecologist to feel Sister Yue Ru's pulse and get some anti - miscarriage medicine. You handle this. If you need money, just take it from that box. Don't be stingy. Buy some good tonics. See what's lacking in her family and take it from the mansion."
"Yes, yes. This servant will go right away." Xuan Qiao carefully took a few pieces of silver from the box. "Xuan Qiao, do you take the princess's words as wind in your ears?"
Seeing Xuan Qiao take a few pieces of silver carefully, Mei Qingxue had to get up herself. She spread out the cloth that Xuan Qiao used to wrap the silver on the table and scooped up several handfuls of silver from the box.
"If you see people selling their children, and you feel sorry for them, buy one back to serve Sister Yue Ru. The mistress of a sixth - rank official should have someone to serve her."
There were people selling their children everywhere on the street. Buying them back could help them out, preventing them from being taken to bad places and suffering from displacement.
Mei Qingxue felt a bit ashamed. When had she become so used to talking about buying and selling people? Buying them back was definitely not the key to solving the problem. The root cause needed to be addressed.
She couldn't do this yet, but she believed that one day she would succeed.
"I'll take a nap. If there's anything, go to the prince!" Mei Qingxue said this and slumped onto the bed, starting her nap plan.
To be honest, when her brother got married, she was both happy and sad. She was happy that someone would take care of his life, but sad that someone had taken up all of her brother's attention. From now on, her brother would no longer dote on and care about her as much as before.
To be honest, she was really being awkward.
Sleep, sleep!
This was the most practical thing!
"Han Zhao, which fief would be the best for me?" He was the first prince in the Feng Kingdom. Since he needed to recuperate, it was most suitable to choose a place with a suitable climate.
"Jiangnan would be the best." He needed his mother to ask for this place for him. If he asked himself, people might misunderstand his intentions. God knew that he just wanted to get away from the center of this turmoil quickly. His father was indecisive when choosing the crown prince, which only made the court more chaotic.
He had achieved nothing here. Instead, he had to act weak even after he recovered from his illness. Otherwise, his own brothers would see him as a thorn in their side.
"That's settled. You can go back. I'll call you if I need you." Now he just wanted to be with his wife. He wondered if Mei Qingxue was asleep. He also wanted to take a nap.
He was so tired.
"Your Highness..." Just as Du Gu Qing was walking in the garden, Uncle Fu came up and whispered something in his ear. "Take them to the front hall first. We'll identify them later."
He had to be careful in case someone was trying to cause trouble.
Several people claimed to be from the frontier. Du Gu Qing didn't know them. He could only ask Mei Qingxue to accompany Rong Yu'er and sit behind the curtain to identify them.
Mei Qingxue hadn't fallen asleep when Du Gu Qing sent someone to wake her up. She heard that the Marquis of Anning had sent people. Du Gu Qing was afraid that someone was impersonating them. "Xuan Qiao, go and invite Miss Rong to come here."
"Yes!"
"Miss Rong, the princess invites you to go there." Xuan Qiao stood respectfully in front of Rong Yu'er. Rong Yu'er looked surprised. "Is it Sister Princess who is calling me? What for?"
"The princess said that several people have come and she wants you to identify if they are from your mansion."
"Ah, Sister Princess is so considerate." After what happened last time, the little girl had been very suspicious all day. Mei Qingxue could understand her behavior. She could understand all her actions. There were only two things that were not allowed.
One was not to disturb her sleep.
The other was not to covet her husband.
If she wanted to eat, drink, spend, or use anything, it was all right. The Sixth Princess was generous. She had everything except money!
"Sister Princess, Rong Yu'er pays her respects."
"Get up quickly. Come on. You've heard what Xuan Qiao said. This time we'll make sure before we let them in. You need to interrogate them carefully. Don't be careless. These are people around you. If there's something wrong, it'll be hard to guard against."
"Sister Princess, Yu'er understands."
Mei Qingxue accompanied Rong Yu'er and sat behind the curtain in the front hall. Du Gu Qing sat in front.
"Bring the people up," Du Gu Qing shouted.
Hearing this, Han Zhao immediately brought up two middle - aged women and a girl of fourteen or fifteen.
"State your names."
"I'm the hair - dressing maid who serves the ladies in the Marquis of Anning's mansion. My name is Yu Shu."
"I'm Nanny Wang. I'm the wet - nurse of the Third Princess!" Hearing Nanny Wang's voice, Rong Yu'er was a bit nervous. This was the person closest to her, and she was scared now.
"I'm Nanny Fang. I'm the cook in the Marquis of Anning's mansion."
"Who sent you three?"
"Reporting to Your Highness, the three of us were sent by the Marquis himself." Nanny Wang stepped forward among the three and said. Mei Qingxue looked carefully at the maid named Yu Shu. She always felt that she looked familiar. It was strange. This maid looked a bit like Rong Yu'er.
"Sister, ask her if her right leg still hurts?" Rong Yu'er was not convenient to ask herself. As soon as she said this, Mei Qingxue understood. "Xuan Qiao, go and ask her."
Xuan Qiao walked from the side of the curtain to Nanny Wang's side and asked, "Does your right leg still hurt?"
Nanny Wang was stunned. "My leg doesn't hurt. It was just that the year before last, it was raining. I slipped on the road and accidentally broke my arm. Oh, it was my right arm." Rong Yu'er nodded. "Sister, this one is right." "Ask the next one."
"Nanny Fang, who makes the Bing Shao Tang Dao that I like to eat?"
This was asked by Rong Yu'er herself. Nanny Fang answered steadily, "The best person to make Bing Shao Tang Dao in the mansion is Fatty Li. The Second Young Master likes to eat Bing Shao Tang Dao, and he always picks out the ice before eating it."
Rong Yu'er nodded. "Sister, this one is also right. It's just the last one. I'm not sure because my mother always did her own hair - dressing!"
"Then it's not right?"
"If it's not right, why didn't Nanny Wang and Nanny Fang say anything?" Rong Yu'er really didn't know what to do with Yu Shu. She didn't have such a hair - dressing maid at home.
"Separate the three of them and interrogate them carefully!" Mei Qingxue said seriously.
"I think Yu Shu looks a bit like you. Could she be your half - sister?" Mei Qingxue voiced her doubt.
Rong Yu'er opened her mouth in shock and then covered it with her hand. She stammered, "Could it be... yes, it's her!"