Chapter 1222 I Must Thank Her
After getting the news, Wen Xichi rushed to Huaguang Temple while send a letter to Prime Minister Wen.
He came here on a horse at a high speed, but someone was faster than him. Especially when he saw that the road in front of him was jammed by someone’s carriage, Wen Xichi had to pull the reins.
Prince Chen’s carriage was almost twice as wide as an ordinary carriage. He was now lying sideways in the carriage leisurely, and the speed of the carriage was not slow.
But even so, Wen Xichi was still anxious. Being stuck at the back, he couldn’t wait, so he had to take a few steps forward to catch up with the guard behind the carriage. He cupped his hands to salute the guard and said, “Please report to His Highness Prince Chen that Wen Xichi asks to see him.”
Wen Xichi had extraordinary strength, and his father was the Prime Minister. The guard didn’t dare to neglect him and immediately went to report.
After a while, he came out and said to Wen Xichi with cupped fists, “Your Excellency, His Highness invites you to come in.”
Wen Xichi jumped off the horse, threw the reins to the servant, strode to the front of the carriage, and made an obeisance by cupping one hand in the other before his chest to Chu Liuchen in the carriage.
The curtain was lifted. Chu Liuchen narrowed his eyes and asked lazily, “What’s the matter, Third Young Master Wen?”
“Something happened to my mother in the temple on the mountain. I want to go up the mountain as soon as possible to see her,” Wen Xichi said seriously.
“Something happened to Madam Wen?” Chu Liuchen frowned slightly and said, “Do you need an imperial physician? I happen to have one with me.”
“Thank you, Your Highness. I don’t need it for the time being. Could you make way for me so that I can hurry?” Wen Xichi said.
“Of course. Lord Wen, please go ahead!” Chu Liuchen was very easygoing. After he gave the order, the fleet stopped for a while. After thanking Chu Liuchen again, Wen Xichi mounted the horse and went up the mountain.
“Is Prince Chen really different from what my father said?”
Wen Xichi didn’t expect Chu Liuchen to be so easygoing. He pursed his lips to hide the gloom in his eyes, took a deep breath, and suppressed the unwillingness in his heart.
After Wen Xichi left, Chu Liuchen ordered the carriage to go up the mountain and speed up.
Wen Xichi rode the horse up the mountain and hurried to Madam Wen. As soon as he entered the courtyard, he saw Gu Xishu coming out to him crying. He dodged to the side.
Gu Xishu lost her balance and almost fell. The servant girl standing behind her was smart and hurried forward to support her. The two shook, but fortunately, they stood firm.
“Third Cousin… it’s my fault. I wanted to come up the mountain to offer incense. I didn’t intend to get Aunt into such big danger. Third Cousin, please punish me!”
Gu Xishu cried with tears, and her clothes seemed to be a little messy with a few strands of hair falling down. Somehow, this kind of mess made her appear more delicate and pitiful than before.
“Where is my mother?” Wen Xichi didn’t look at Gu Xishu at all, so he certainly wouldn’t see her carefully made pitiful look.
He strode in.
“Third Cousin!” Gu Xishu hurriedly chased after him and almost fell in a hurry. Finally, she followed Wen Xichi in and saw E’niang bowing to Wen Xichi.
“Third Cousin, this is…” Gu Xishu wanted to introduce E’niang to Wen Xichi, but she saw Wen Xichi rushing in and ignoring E’niang, who was standing at the door.
E’niang raised her head and gestured to Gu Xishu, who hurriedly followed Wen Xichi in.
Seeing Madam Wen lying on the bed, Wen Xichi was so worried that his face changed greatly. He took two steps forward and reached out to hold Madam Wen’s arm.
Hearing the voice, Madam Wen opened her eyes and said softly, “Xichi, you’re here. I’m fine!”
“Mother, let me feel your pulse.” Wen Xichi stretched out his hand. Although his medical skills were not amazing, he still knew how to feel someone’s pulse.
“I’m really fine. Fortunately, Xishu and E’niang are here today. You have to thank them later,” Madam Wen said weakly.
Wen Xichi took his hand off Madam Wen’s wrist and slightly relaxed his handsome eyebrows. His mother’s injury had basically stabilized.
“Third Cousin, it’s all thanks to the ginseng sent by Aunt Lu. Otherwise, Aunt Wen would’ve been in great danger. The imperial physician said she was lucky!” Gu Xishu had already come in. At this time, she spoke softly. She pinched the handkerchief in her hand, lowered her head, and blamed herself. “It’s all my fault that I didn’t take good care of Aunt Wen. Otherwise, such a thing wouldn’t have happened to her.”
“How can it be your fault? I didn’t expect that I would miss my step. I was careless. It’s not your fault!” Madam Wen comforted her.
“Aunt!” The eyes of Gu Xishu turned red again. “It’s my fault…”
“What happened exactly?” Wen Xichi interrupted Gu Xishu impatiently, and his eyes fell on the woman who followed Gu Xishu in.
“She bowed to me at the door of the outer room just now. Is she the mistress of Shao Jing, who is said to be the lost legitimate daughter of the former imperial censor?”
Gu Xishu was interrupted by Wen Xichi and panicked. She looked at Madam Wen pitifully and said, “Aunt, Third Cousin…”
“Xichi, it’s all thanks to what Xishu and E’niang did today. Don’t shout at them. They’re both timid.” Madam Wen protected Gu Xishu right away.
Wen Xichi looked at E’niang without blinking. After looking her up and down for a long time, he suddenly asked, “Where did you get the ginseng?”
“It’s mine.” E’niang had to answer.
“Third Cousin…” Gu Xishu wanted to continue but was interrupted by Wen Xichi rudely. “Cousin, I have to figure out the cause and effect of this matter. Why do you stop me from asking questions again and again?”
What he said rendered Gu Xishu speechless. She could only lower her head and clench the handkerchief in her hand with a guilty conscience.
“Third Cousin is so smart. Will he tell that something’s wrong? Why isn’t Second Cousin the one who came over today? If it were my Second Cousin, he would believe whatever I say. With him around, Aunt Wen would definitely believe that E’niang is her savior. After this, Aunt Wen will introduce her to a Madam from an aristocratic family, and she will do much better than me.
“Moreover, the most important thing is that even if E’niang leaves, it will have nothing to do with me. After all, it will be Aunt Wen who introduces her to some Madam.
“Since Aunt Wen is injured, I can show my filial piety. Of course, Third Cousin will not be in the mood to get married. If his marriage gets delayed, again and again, I will definitely have Aunt Wen agree to let me marry Third Cousin. This is killing two birds with one stone.”
Gu Xishu had thought it through when she took action back then.
But now she was really flustered. She kept twisting the handkerchief in her hand and subconsciously paying attention to the conversation between Wen Xichi and E’niang. “E’niang should be more experienced than me, so she can’t possibly have what we did expose, right?”
“Excuse me, why did you bring ginseng with you when you went up the mountain? I heard that it’s 100-year-old ginseng.” Wen Xichi pressed E’niang rudely, his eyes falling on Gu Xishu’s hand. Gu Xishu had a habit. Maybe she didn’t notice it. Every time she panicked, she would pinch her handkerchief hard.
“I bought the ginseng by chance to nurse my health. I brought it up the mountain because I wanted to have some peace and quiet days on the mountain before I nurse my health.” E’niang lowered her head. Although there was still a smile on her face, it was very bitter. It was obvious that she had something in her mind that she found it hard to disclose.
Wen Xichi raised his eyebrows and asked, “You need to nurse your health? Why?”
E’niang lowered her head more and more. “I’m not in good health. I need to nurse my health, so…”
Speaking of this, E’niang seemed to have come to her senses. She raised her head in astonishment, looked at Wen Xichi, and then looked at Madam Wen, who was lying on the bed. She stretched out her fingers and suddenly realized something. “Your Excellency, do you suspect me? I’m not familiar with Madam Wen. How could I want to plot against her? What’s more, I don’t have the chance to get close to Madam Wen.”
At this point, she was so angry that her face turned pale. She bowed sideways to Madam Wen, who was lying on the bed, and said, “Madam Wen, if that’s what you think, I’ll go back first. It was just a coincidence. I’m sorry if Lord Wen doesn’t appreciate this coincidence!”
She said that Wen Xichi didn’t appreciate that coincidence. That was to say, he didn’t believe that she had saved Madam Wen so coincidentally.
Her words sounded a little guilty. Madam Wen was lying in bed and was in poor health. Hearing what E’niang said, she flew into a rage. She sat up with the help of an old maid, patted the edge of the bed hard with the other hand, and said angrily, “Xichi, what do you mean? Do you think she shouldn’t have saved me? Or do you think I shouldn’t have survived the disaster?”
Thinking that she had almost died, Madam Wen felt sad and burst into tears at once. “Xichi, I thought that you came up the mountain in such a hurry because you cared about me, but you suspected her intention while she had saved me. Why did E’niang save me? Did she try to hurt me?”
At this point, the more she thought about it, the more aggrieved she felt, and she burst into tears.
Wen Xichi didn’t expect that things would turn out to be like this. He glanced at the faces of Gu Xishu and E’niang coldly. He was sure that there must be something fishy about this matter. However, when his mother cried like this, he couldn’t leave her alone. His mother’s body couldn’t stand any torture at the moment. If this fuss got her into real danger, he would regret it.
“Don’t cry, Mother. I’m just asking. I’m not really suspecting anyone.” Wen Xichi comforted Madam Wen while pulling his clothes. He had gone up the mountain in a hurry, and his clothes were still wet. “Mother, if I didn’t care about you, why would I ride a horse up the mountain? I was afraid that Father would be worried, so I sent a message to him before.”
Seeing that his attitude softened, Madam Wen felt a little better. She didn’t really want to make a scene. She knew that her son was also concerned about her. Seeing that he looked tired and he was still wearing the official uniform of the Ministry of Justice, she knew that he came directly from the Ministry of Justice and felt sorry for him.
Among her three sons, Wen Xichi was the most promising and the one she liked the most.
“Son, it’s all thanks to E’niang this time. It’s not an exaggeration to say that she saved my life. You can’t interrogate her like you do in the Ministry of Justice. You should thank her instead!” Madam Wen wiped her tears and stopped making a fuss.
“Don’t worry, Mother. I will definitely thank her.” Wen Xichi promised without hesitation with deep eyes.
He knew that there was something wrong with Gu Xishu and E’niang.
Updat𝒆d fr𝒐m freew𝒆bnov𝒆l.c(o)m