Yi Qing said that she had learned enough secrets for the day. Were all the families in the Southern Border full of secrets? Even an ordinary person seemed to have their own secrets.
"You'll surely get better. Then you can tell her yourself." Yi Qing didn't want to know.
"Mon Di is the daughter of the heir of the He Yan Clan," La Ti said without caring whether Yi Qing wanted to know or not.
"Ah?" Yi Qing was stunned. "The heir of the He Yan Clan twenty years ago?"
"Yes," La Ti said with a sigh. "I was the heir's maid back then and was favored by him. After he learned that I was pregnant, he wanted to marry me. But He Yan Mulei killed his father and elder brother, so I've kept this secret ever since, hoping to preserve a bit of the heir's bloodline."
Yi Qing thought for a while. The time Mon Di's mother mentioned should be less than twenty years. Twenty years ago was when He Yan Mulei went to the Great Jin. The incident in the He Yan Clan happened after He Yan Mulei returned from the Great Jin.
"Don't tell her for now, or she might not be able to hide it and get discovered by He Yan Mulei," La Ti said as she drank the medicine.
Yi Qing watched Mon Di's mother drink the medicine. It was just a deworming medicine, but she looked as if she was drinking poison, even starting to arrange her last wishes.
Yi Qing took the bowl and walked out. Xiao Jinghan was standing under the low eaves.
"She should know a lot of things," Xiao Jinghan said, having heard their conversation.
"Let's wait until tomorrow," Yi Qing said. She was too tired that night.
The two of them sat on the wooden ladder, waiting for Mon Di to come back. They wondered if something had happened to her. She hadn't returned for such a long time.
Yi Qing leaned on Xiao Jinghan's arm and felt drowsy. Xiao Jinghan supported Yi Qing's chin so that she wouldn't keep swaying. Suddenly, there came a painful groan from the room. Yi Qing quickly got up and rushed in.
La Ti was curled up on the bed like a shrimp, sweating on her forehead.
Yi Qing grabbed La Ti's wrist to feel her pulse. "The medicine is too strong."
She had estimated La Ti's weight, but it turned out that her estimate was a bit off, and the dosage she used was a bit too large.
At this moment, Mon Di came in from outside, carrying a pile of things. Seeing her mother curled up on the bed in pain, the things in her arms fell to the ground with a clatter.
"Mother!" Mon Di rushed to the bed and grabbed Yi Qing's hand. "What did you do to my mother?"
"Calm down," Yi Qing said as she took out the silver needles and started acupuncture on Mon Di's mother, trying to relieve her pain through acupuncture.
Neither Mon Di nor Yi Qing slept that night. La Ti had several bouts of intense reactions from the parasites on her body, making her itch and hurt so much that Yi Qing had to find various ways to relieve her itching.
When the sun rose, Mon Di went to buy the medicine for her mother's medicated bath, and Yi Qing finally got to rest outside for a while.
"Here," Yi Qing handed the medicine to Xiao Jinghan.
"Isn't this Mon Di's mother's medicine?" Xiao Jinghan looked at the bowl.
"The parasites are highly contagious. Let's drink some first to get rid of the worms," Yi Qing said and drank some herself first.
Xiao Jinghan smiled and drank it too. "It's not convenient to rest here. Let's go to the inn to rest later."
That was exactly what Yi Qing was thinking.
Mon Di bought the medicine and boiled the medicated bath. Yi Qing and Xiao Jinghan found their way there.
After a night of turmoil, Mon Di now knew what was wrong with her mother and was very grateful to Yi Qing.
"Ask whatever you want," Mon Di said, seeing that Yi Qing was also very exhausted.
"You've been in the He Yan Clan for a long time. Do you know who the so - called great - aunt in the He Yan Clan is?" Yi Qing asked directly.
"She's the clan leader's elder sister. I heard from others that the great - aunt of the He Yan Clan was originally from the direct lineage of the He Yan Clan. Later, for some unknown reason, she was expelled from the clan. Then, when the current clan leader killed his father and elder brother and became the clan leader, he welcomed the great - aunt back."
Yi Qing's guess was correct. A person like Mon Di, who was observant and very intelligent, was simply a repository of information. "What's her relationship with Xiang Beizheng?"
"I heard from the old people in the mansion that the imperial son - in - law was brought back by the great - aunt and then fostered under the clan leader's name. Moreover, I think..." Mon Di speculated. "The clan leader is very respectful to the imperial son - in - law."
"Because he's the imperial son - in - law?"
Mon Di shook her head. "Even before Young Master Xiang became the imperial son - in - law, the clan leader was very respectful to him."
Yi Qing knew the reason. "What about the great - aunt?"
"The great - aunt rarely meets outsiders. Once, I secretly climbed over the wall to take a look. She was wearing the clothes of the people from the Jin. She looked very noble," Mon Di whispered.
"Clothes of the people from the Jin? Is your great - aunt from the Great Jin?"
Mon Di shook her head firmly. "No. Maybe it's because the upper - class people like to wear the clothes of the people from the Jin."
Yi Qing didn't think so. Since Xiang Beizheng was the son of the deposed emperor, who was his mother?
Why was the great - aunt of the He Yan Clan expelled from the clan and then welcomed back by He Yan Mulei? He Yan Mulei killed her father and elder brother. Wasn't she angry at all?
Yi Qing thought for a while and then turned to go to Mon Di's mother's room.
Mon Di's mother had already woken up. Her belly had flattened, but it would still take some time for her to fully recover.
"Thank you, divine doctor," La Ti said excitedly. She had suffered so much from the illness.
"Why was the daughter of the He Yan Clan expelled from the clan twenty years ago?" Yi Qing asked directly.
La Ti's eyes flickered. "Who exactly are you? Why do you want to ask this?"
"Don't you want to avenge your husband?"
Hearing the word "revenge", La Ti looked at Yi Qing in surprise.
She was just a low - class person. Revenge was just a thought, but if she could avenge her husband, she would surely do it.
"He Yan Shu was pregnant. For some unknown reason, she had a big argument with the clan leader, and then the clan leader expelled her from the He Yan Clan," La Ti said directly.
Yi Qing had already guessed it. "Whose child was it?"
La Ti shook her head. Suddenly, she seemed to remember something. "I remember that that year, the young lady secretly followed the Southern Border mission to the Great Jin. When she came back, she was pregnant. This matter seems to be related to He Yan Mulei."
"Went to the Great Jin, got pregnant, and it's related to He Yan Mulei," Yi Qing sorted out this information. "Who else knows about these things?"
La Ti shook her head. "Only the old clan leader and a few other people knew about this. I heard about it from the young master later. After He Yan Mulei took control of the He Yan Clan, he killed all the people who knew about this."
La Ti was very cautious. At that time, she never thought she would have a proper status, so almost no one knew about her relationship with the young master, and she was ignored by He Yan Mulei.
"I see," Yi Qing said. She had already figured out the general context.
The young He Yan Shu secretly went to the Great Jin. Somehow, she got together with the deposed emperor. He Yan Mulei also knew about this. He Yan Shu was expelled from the He Yan Clan after getting pregnant with the deposed emperor's child. Then, with the help of the deposed emperor, He Yan Mulei seized the position of the clan leader of the He Yan Clan, welcomed He Yan Shu back, and openly fostered He Yan Shu and the deposed emperor's son as his adopted son.
In this case, there was only one question left: Why did the He Yan clan leader expel He Yan Shu from the clan even though he knew whose child she was carrying?