The gambling god's wife in the Duke's Mansion is getting divorced again

Chapter 172 Are you asleep?

"Qiu Chaoge!"

Xiao Ji woke up from his dream naked.

He could hardly believe his eyes.

Last night...wasn't a dream!

Uncle Li trembled as he pushed the door open and came in:

"Your Highness is awake now. Do you want some hot water?"

Xiao Ji's face flushed red, and she looked under the quilt again and again, as if she had lost her parents: "Last night... last night... where is she?"

"Miss Qiu rushed back to the General's Mansion early this morning. The Zhennan Army's carriage should have left the city by now!"

Uncle Li was also confused. Didn't they do that last night? Why did the girl run away so early in the morning?

Could it be that the prince drove her away?

Of course it is!

Uncle Li stood up for Qiu Chaoge:

"Your Highness, I'm not being nosy, but since we men have done this, we must be responsible for the girl. After all, the matter is done, how can we let the girl go away crying?"

Xiao Ji clutched his hair and gritted his teeth.

He is the victim, okay?

Qiu Chaoge actually drugged him.

This damn girl!

Pull up your pants and run, what kind of thing is that?!

"Go and call the princess to my study!"

*

When you are lying at home, disaster may come from the sky.

Sang Wan vomited so much last night that he almost died. He was still confused, but was dragged up by the maid to wash up and was sent to the study to be scolded.

"Did you give me the medicine in the tea last night?"

Xiao Ji had a dark face and was holding a small white porcelain bottle in his hand. It was left by Qiu Chaoge.

You can tell at first glance that this thing was made by Sang Wan.

Sang Wan's mind was confused. She thought about it for a long time but couldn't remember when she gave this thing to Qiu Chaoge.

"I really can't remember."

She looked at Xiao Ji weakly: "Did I really give it to you?"

Suddenly, she seemed to have discovered a new world from Xiao Ji's face: "Are you asleep?!"

Xiao Ji blushed to her ears and immediately covered her mouth: "Shut up! Don't show off!"

"Then why don't you go chase your sister-in-law!

She is going back to Lingnan today!"

Xiao Ji glanced at her sideways, his heart filled with worry and sorrow. He was at a loss as to what to do and wanted to bang his head against the wall.

"How do I pursue her? Marry her? Or should I marry into the Zhennan General's Mansion? You, you really are my biological father!"

"It's just a trivial matter, there's no need to be so polite as to call me dad..."

"Ah Wan!" Xiao Ji exploded with rage. "Go, kneel down in the ancestral hall!"

Sang Wan followed Uncle Li with a pout and a sullen face.

Uncle Li consoled him, "Just kneel for a while, the prince is angry. Princess, well done!"

"Uncle Li, it really wasn't me." Sang Wan cried out in injustice.

Qiu Chaoge, you're awesome! You've got a way!

She began to look forward to how Xiao Ji would save the situation.

*

The ancestral hall is brightly lit day and night.

Sang Wan knelt on the mat and yawned.

Father and Mother, your eldest son has finally taken the first step. Your spirits in heaven must bless him and Sister Chaoge to marry soon.

There were footsteps outside the door.

Xiao Yue laughed out loud when she saw her kneeling in the ancestral hall:

"Oh, what immoral thing did you do to deserve to be punished by kneeling in the first month of the lunar year? How dare you, brother, bear with it?"

Sang Wan laughed dryly twice: "Sister Yue is here."

Xiao Yue respectfully offered incense to the King of Nan'an and the Queen, then knelt down and kowtowed.

"I've been so busy during the New Year holidays. Now that I have some free time, I must come and pay my respects to my father and mother."

She sniffed at Sang Wan and said, "What a strong smell of alcohol. Where did you hang out last night?"

It seems that Xiao Ji finally couldn't stand his sister's behavior anymore and taught her a lesson.

"Sister Chaoge is leaving today. I saw her off last night and had a few extra drinks."

Although Shangjing is a big city, the interactions between the noble families cannot be kept secret. Sang Wan simply told the truth to prevent Xiao Yue from making random guesses.

"It's better to go back, so that she won't be upset when she sees my brother getting married in the near future."

Xiao Yue couldn't say that she liked Qiu Chaoge, nor did she dislike him; they were not the same kind of people. She liked exquisiteness, while Qiu Chaoge was careless and didn't care about food, clothing and other expenses. However, she understood the social customs of the aristocratic families and was polite and friendly in her interactions with others, without the roughness of a military family.

If it weren't for the sensitive nature of her identity, she would even be willing to accept Qiu Chaoge as the princess of Nan'an Palace. After all, compared with the scheming girls from aristocratic families, Qiu Chaoge was upright and generous to her, her sister-in-law.

"Have you, Her Majesty, chosen a favorite?"

Sang Wan raised her eyebrows.

"Your Majesty and the Empress are interested in the Minister of Rites' youngest daughter, Yan Qianzhi. I heard that the Yan siblings have close ties with the royal palace. I imagine my brother is interested in this girl, too."

Xiao Yue also came here today specifically to find out.

Sang Wan didn't dare to say anything. "We usually just play dominoes, and my brother doesn't get involved much. This is my brother's marriage, I dare not say anything careless. Sister Yue, you should ask me yourself."

"How dare I ask him now? I'll just end up getting myself into trouble and getting beaten for nothing."

Xiao Yue still holds a grudge against that slap, and is always cold when she sees Xiao Ji.

"Brother regretted it very much. Afterwards, he made a special trip to the Prime Minister's residence to seek justice for you. The Prime Minister beat Ling Muchi in front of him. But brother was actually protecting you in his heart."

Sang Wan didn't want them to have any rifts. "Prime Minister Shen promised that he wouldn't give Ling Muchi another concubine within three years. Sister, if you trust me, I can take care of your body. Maybe you can have a child soon."

Xiao Yue sneered.

Although Jiaojiao was not promoted to a concubine, it did not prevent Ling Muchi from having his heart and soul drawn to her.

The Shen family is best at putting on a show. They act one way in front of Xiao Ji, but behind his back they still don't take Xiao Yue seriously.

Why should she give birth to a child for such a person?

What she wants is power.

"The imperial physician in the palace is fine, sister, don't worry about me. With my brother's warning, the Ling family won't dare to embarrass me anymore. My mother-in-law caught a cold on New Year's Eve, and it has gotten worse in the past few days. I'm busy tending to the sick and don't have time to give birth to a child."

Xiao Yue was indifferent and showed no emotion.

"The cold isn't incurable, so don't worry, sister." Sang Wan consoled her, "I have some medicine here. You can take it back and let the Prime Minister's wife try it later."

Xiao Yue lowered her eyes, bowed her head to express her gratitude, and gestured for Zijuan and Uncle Li to go get the medicine.

Only two sisters are left in the ancestral hall.

Xiao Yue looked at Sang Wan with a look of shyness and regret:

"Ah Wan, I'm the one who's in trouble with Ye Shizhao, not me. I hope you won't tell my brother. I didn't know he was such a mean person. I just listened to your brother-in-law's instigation and thought it would give you two a chance to get to know each other better in private. I didn't expect it would almost hurt you."

Sang Wan knew that this belated apology was just to cover her up and was not genuine. It was just because they were related, so there was no point in exposing it. She smiled and said:

"It's all in the past, Sister Yue, I understand. I won't tell my brother, don't worry."

Xiao Yue finally breathed a sigh of relief and said affectionately:

"I'll go find my brother and plead for you. Kneeling for a while in the first month of the year is enough. Don't get hurt by kneeling."

*

Xiao Yue went to the study.

Xiao Ji was not there. He went to chase Qiu Chaoge.

He knew in his heart that even if he stopped her he wouldn't know what to do, but his legs still took a step forward involuntarily.

"The prince left in a hurry and told me to take the New Year gifts to the princess. I have prepared them long ago. Even if the princess doesn't come today, I will personally deliver them to the mansion tomorrow."

Uncle Li handed over the gift list with a smile.

Xiao Yue took a quick look. It was as rich as in previous years, with ginseng, deer antlers, precious jades, and several boxes of gold and silver. Xiao Ji still loved her very much.

She felt relieved, but she couldn't help but ask, "Where's my little sister?"

"The prince said that the princess hasn't married yet, so she won't need it. She can prepare it after she gets married."

In fact, Xiao Ji prepared a separate copy and sent it directly to Sang Wan's private library, but he did not allow Uncle Li to tell Xiao Yue.

"It's mine alone! Brother, you're so kind. My little sister also needs money! You can take this one thousand taels of silver from me and say it's her New Year's money." Xiao Yue felt completely relieved.

"Well, the princess will be so happy to know how kind you are to her."

"My own sister should be treated well. Let's go."

Xiao Yue walked out contentedly. She met the embroiderer, Madam Li, and knelt down to greet her.

"This servant pays homage to the princess."

Xiao Yue didn't even nod, and walked out:

"She looks unfamiliar, is she a newly bought servant?"

Uncle Li bent his waist and replied, "She is the new embroiderer in the mansion. She is thinking that the prince will get married after the New Year, and perhaps the princess will also get married in two years, so she has a lot of embroidery to prepare."

"Well, you're still more careful. We need to get things done sooner rather than later." Xiao Yue nodded. "If we're short of manpower, just tell me and I'll borrow some from the palace."

"You know, our prince has always been reluctant to cause trouble for the palace. If there are not enough people, I will go buy a few more to avoid causing you any trouble."

Uncle Li responded neither humbly nor arrogantly.

"Brother is just so cautious. Actually, why bother? The emperor has always taken good care of our palace, and now the concubine is also very close to me. It's just that I need a few embroiderers."

Xiao Yue wanted to say something, but suddenly realized something was wrong and immediately smiled to cover it up:

"I'm just saying it, don't tell my brother."

Uncle Li was very obedient: "I understand."

Only then did Xiao Yue get on the carriage back home with satisfaction.

On the way, they passed the moat. Xiao Yue handed Sang Wan's medicine to Zijuan and said, "Pour these medicines into the river and replace the bottles with our medicines."

"But this medicine was given by the princess. Doing this..."

Zijuan didn't dare.

"Humph, that old hag should have died long ago."

Xiao Yue's face was sinister. "It would be better to use Ah Wan's name. If she dies, we'll see if the Xiangfu dares to cause trouble with the Nan'an Palace. We'll see how my good brother can still protect his sister."

Zijuan didn't dare to disobey her. She lowered her head, got off the carriage, and poured the pills into the river.

After she got back on the carriage, Xiao Yue took the porcelain bottle, put the brown pill she took out from her sleeve into it, handed it back to Zijuan, and told her to keep it.

"I'll give it to the old woman when I get home."

"Yes."

Zijuan took it with trembling hands and dared not say a word.

"My husband has to go to Hu County on business tomorrow. It's time to deal with that little bitch!"

Shen Muchi received an errand and was going to be away for half a month. Madam Shen was ill and unable to take charge of the affairs. Now all matters in the mansion were controlled by Xiao Yue. That Jiaojiao relied on her favor and acted arrogantly, and still did not take her seriously.

Zijuan whispered the news to her:

"My cousin's maid said that her period hasn't come since last month. I'm afraid... she's pregnant."

Xiao Yue twisted the handkerchief in her hand:

"Then you can't stay."