Chapter 17

Translator: Henyee Translations Editor: Henyee Translations

Although Fulu was already seventeen, it was the first time she had heard of such a horrible dirty trick.

Qiao Ruoyun blushed and said, “Jinniang, my husband is not that kind of person… Are you thinking too much?”

Qiao Jinniang tucked Qiao Ruoyun in and said, “Even if I really am thinking too much, the Duke Qin’s Mansion is not a good place for you to recuperate. If you keep pining away, I’m afraid you won’t be able to see Mother again.”

Qiao Jinniang arranged for Qiao Ruoyun to live in her old courtyard.

The servants in the Duke Mansion were all shocked when they learned the news. Qiao Jinniang said to them, “Don’t tell anyone about it. If it is leaked, I will definitely not let any of you off.”

With that, Qiao Jinniang went to her grandmother.

The Duchess Dowager was already asleep at the moment, but she still came out wearing clothes after she heard the report from her mammy.

Qiao Jinniang knelt to the Duchess Dowager and said, “Please forgive me for my recklessness, Grandma. I did one thing without asking for your permission.”

The Duchess Dowager hurriedly asked a mammy to help Qiao Jinniang up. “Get up quickly, didn’t you go to the North Mountain for the spring hunt? Why did you come back?”

Qiao Jinniang said, “I happened to hear a Qin Family’s servant report to Miss Qin that Sister Ruoyun had a miscarriage, so I went to the Duke Qin’s Mansion only to see that she was very gaunt and almost dying…

“And her husband’s concubine maid was repeatedly provoking her, purposely irritating her.

“Sister Ruoyun’s mammies are incompetent and the maids were slacking off, letting the windows wide open, and with the wind blowing into the room, it is very harmful for a woman who had just had a miscarriage.

“So I asked Princess Fulu to do me the favor of taking Sister Ruoyun into the Princess Mansion, but in secret, I took her back home to recuperate! ”

The Duchess Dowager clenched her hand and pounded her fist on the table angrily. “That old witch from the Qin Family wants to kill my Yun’er!”

Among her granddaughters, the Duchess Dowager had special feelings for Ruoyun. After all, as the eldest daughter of the Duke, she was brought up by the Duchess Dowager.

“Good girl, you did the right thing. Come on, take me to see Ruoyun.”

Qiao Jinniang said to the Duchess Dowager, “Grandma, don’t worry. If anything happens to you, Sister Ruoyun will feel guilty, but you really should persuade her to eat and drink. Otherwise, she might lose her life.”

The Duchess Dowager ordered someone to bring the sedan chair and went to Qiao Ruoyun’s courtyard with Qiao Jinniang.

Qiao Ruoyun was so skinny and ghastly pale that she looked a bit scary.

Seeing the Duchess Dowager come over, Qiao Ruoyun said, “Grandma…”

The two of them cried on each other’s shoulder until the doctor came.

After examining Qiao Ruoyun, the doctor said, “She has just had a miscarriage and has been depressed, so she is currently very weak. If she still doesn’t eat or drink, she might die. You should take care of yourself, lady.”

Qiao Jinniang took out the locust cake that she had just made. “Sister, this is the locust cake I made. Please have a taste of it.”

Qiao Ruoyun said, “I really can’t eat. Ever since I learned about what happened to us back then, my appetite has been poor, causing me to vomit every time I ate. Seeing this, my grandmother-in-law gradually began to dislike me. In order to avoid vomiting, I simply stopped eating. And in the end, I couldn’t even drink medicine anymore. Now I can’t even drink any water…”

The doctor said, “This is anorexia!”

As Qiao Jinniang ran a restaurant before, she had heard of anorexia. “Anorexia can be cured.

“However, Sister Ruoyun, vomiting should be a symptom of pregnancy. Even if you didn’t know that, how could the elders in the Duke Qin’s Mansion not know it?

“And how could your mammies and maids not even notice that you got pregnant? This doesn’t make sense. The only explanation is that the people at the Duke Qin’s Mansion did it on purpose!”

Qiao Ruoyun panicked when she heard her words.

The Duchess Dowager looked at Qiao Jinniang appreciatively. “Jinniang is right. Ruoyun, take a good rest first. When your mother comes back, we’ll go to the Duke Qin’s Mansion to settle the accounts with them.”

Qiao Jinniang said to the Duchess Dowager, “Grandma, I had met anorexics when I ran my restaurant in the past. Let me cook some dishes that an anorexic can eat…”

The Duchess Dowager said, “You don’t have to do it yourself. Just let the cooks do it. Good girl, the Duke Mansion owes you a lot, but you don’t mind it at all and even try to help your sister.”

“Grandma, Sister Ruoyun’s biological parents were very kind to me. I can’t be an ingrate.”

Qiao Jinniang said to Qiao Ruoyun, “Sister, you don’t have to put too much pressure on yourself. I’ve never suffered. But if you just pass away, this will only sow a discord between the Duke Mansion and I.”

In tears, Qiao Ruoyun took the pastry and forced herself to swallow it. “Jinniang, please rest assured. I will definitely live well.”

Qiao Jinniang said, “Don’t force yourself to eat. It will damage your body even more. Anorexia needs to be treated slowly.”

…

In the palace.

Junior Duke Rong was talking about the woman he had just met to the Crown Prince.

“It’s a pity that I don’t know her name. She is so courageous that she just grabbed such a long snake without batting her eyes. If you find her, please reward her for me!”

The Crown Prince nodded. “Okay.”

“She appeared under a locust tree. If she hadn’t spoken, I would have thought she was a Fairy Locust Flower!”

Sitting next to Junior Duke Rong were Qin Shu and Qin Miaomiao.

Hearing his words, Qin Miaomiao said, “Junior Duke Rong, are you talking about the Second Miss of the Qiao Family? She made Golden Locust Flowers and snake broth that day.”

“Yes, she said her surname is Qiao, but didn’t the Second Miss of the Qiao Family marry to the Southwest a long time ago?”

As soon as he said so, the people of the Qin Family present all looked a bit embarrassed.

Qin Shu said frankly, “Well, as a matter of fact, the eldest daughter of the Qiao Family was swapped with a cook’s daughter when she was born, so the real eldest miss of the Qiao Family is not my wife but someone else.

“The people of the Qiao family took her back from Lin’an, and claimed that she was the second daughter of Duke Anyuan and my wife was the eldest daughter.”

This matter was known to all in Chang’an, so Qin Shu didn’t need to conceal it.

Junior Duke Rong flipped open his folding fan and said, “So is she your wife? But the Second Miss is really pitiful. With such a graceful demeanor, she turns out to be raised by a cook in Lin’an. Destiny makes fools of the people!”

Qin Shu said, “No, Junior Duke Rong, my wife is not her but Ruoyun, the one who was engaged with me in our childhood.”

The Crown Prince narrowed his deep dark eyes. “Is Miss Qiao from Lin’an?”

Qin Shu nodded. “Yes, she seemed to have run a restaurant in Lin’an, which is quite famous. I remember it’s called the Myriad Taste…”

The Crown Prince almost dropped the wine cup in his hand. “What is Miss Qiao’s name?”

Qin Shu certainly didn’t know it. Qin Miaomiao was surprised the Crown Prince would ask this but she still answered, “Jinniang.”

The Crown Prince swept his gaze to the people of the Duke Anyuan’s Mansion, but didn’t see that familiar face. “Did she not come to the North Mountain for the spring hunt?”

“Your Royal Highness, my eldest sister-in-law had a miscarriage. She was worried about her so she returned to Chang’an.”

Qin Miaomiao noticed that the Crown Prince didn’t look right.