Dong Ming's face was pale, his eyes staring straight ahead as he sat on the bed, like a soulless wooden puppet.

  Nanny Zhou hugged her and burst into tears.

  Dòu Zhāo stood in front of the window, coldly gazing at everything before him.

  Ever since Duan Ming was rescued by Duan Gongyi, she has become like this.

  If Pong was upright and honest, how could Duan Ming misunderstand that he was sent by Pong? How could he fall into the trap set by Yu Er?

  It's just wonderful how things work out in life.

  They always like to play those conspiracies and tricks, only to be taken advantage of by those conspiracies and tricks.

  Is this a case of the good swimmer drowning in water?

  In her contemplation, Su Xin suddenly walked in hastily and reported in a low voice: "Miss, Captain Du's guard has arrived!"

  Dòu Zhāo glanced at Dòu Míng and turned around to walk out of the inner chamber.

  Everyone didn't notice that Du Ming's fingers moved slightly.

  In the hall, Duan Gongyi respectfully saluted Du Zhao: "Fourth Miss, I have handed over the person to the government according to your instructions. Lu Zhifu said that he will definitely handle this matter impartially and will not allow Wang Laoseven and Mo Ergou to speak nonsense. Please rest assured." When saying this, his tone was slightly cheerful - if it weren't for being a guard in the Du family, would Governor Lu, a two-time imperial scholar and fourth-rank official, be so polite to him? This gave him a sense of righteousness, more reassuring than receiving any amount of silver.

  "Thanks for your hard work." Du Zhao said gratefully and asked Mo Er'gu, "What did she say?"

  Duan Gongyi smiled bitterly: "Saying it is the same as not saying it - Yu Er was very close to Wang Laoqi when he was in Lingbi County, and this time he only said that he had committed a crime at Wang's house, lacked silver, and halfway through, he kidnapped a rich young lady to exchange for a few taels of silver. That little servant called Shang Er was also killed, wanting to know what wind Yu Er was blowing, or if you can find out something in the capital."

  "This matter is likely to trouble Duan Wei again," Du Zhao said, "such a big thing has happened, even if we can suppress the rumors outside, but at home, we cannot avoid explaining it to our elders. Fifth Miss's situation is not suitable for staying in Zhending. I plan to let Su Xin replace me to see my father, or let Duan Ming return to Kyoto, and also tell the Wang family about this matter. Firstly, to see if we can find some clues, secondly, to let them know that Fifth Miss was deceived because she believed in Yu Er's words, so they should be more open and honest in their actions in the future, not always being secretive and suspicious like before."

  Duan Gongyi was originally a bold person, and having had experience at Lord Lu's place, he felt much more at ease visiting the Governor of Yunnan.

  He responded in a low voice, "Yes." He thought about how much respect and trust Du Zhao had for him. When it came to guarding the house, he only asked about results, not processes. The ten taels of silver given to him each month for entertaining expenses were also never audited. Even when something big happened at home, it was left to him to handle. He felt grateful for Du Zhao's kindness and treated him with even more sincerity. With a bit of frankness between friends, he reminded Du Zhao: "Su Xin is just a young girl from a good family. Will the Wang family listen to her?"

  Dong Zhao smiled and said: "Isn't there still Second Mistress?"

  Duan Gongyi was puzzled.

  Dong Zhaoli smiled and said: "I'll keep it a secret for now, you'll know when the time comes."

  Just then, two robust women with surnamed Kong pushed in a maid with a pale face.

  Duan Gongyi knew that Du Zhao was going to deal with family matters and hurriedly stood up to bid farewell.

  Ji Hongmu knelt on the ground.

  Dong Zhaodao said, "It's a good thing to serve one's master with loyalty, but it can't be used as an excuse for not distinguishing right from wrong or good from evil. Fortunately, the fifth young lady has been found today. If she hadn't been found, what would you have done? The Dong family cannot keep you any longer. When the matchmaker arrives later, take your things and leave with her!"

  Ji Hong was stunned. Tears immediately fell down.

  "Thank you, Fourth Miss! Thank you, Fourth Miss!" She "thudded thudded thudded" as she knocked her head against Du Zhao's, "Thank you, Fourth Miss, for sparing my life!"

  If such a thing happened to someone else, they would probably have been beaten to death by now.

  I've managed to save my life after all!

  Dong Zhao waved his hand, indicating that two rough servant women should take Ji Hong to see Ya Po.

  Two rough-looking women nodded in agreement, bent their knees and bowed, and pushed Qi Hong away from the Qixia Temple.

  Zhou Ayi walked out of the inner room with red and swollen eyes.

  She knelt in front of Du Zhao, feeling ashamed and humiliated: "Fourth Miss, I know that no matter what I say, it's useless. I also don't have the face to serve Fifth Miss again. I only ask Fourth Miss to find a few reliable people to serve by Fifth Miss' side, so even if Fifth Miss wants to do something, she won't be able to... I will be grateful to Fourth Miss for my entire life." After finishing speaking, she kowtowed three times to Du Zhao.

  Zhou Nian's nanny was different from those maids and old ladies. She was Dou Ming's wet nurse, who had nursed him with kindness, and she didn't have a slave contract, only an employment agreement. If she wanted to leave during the employment period, she just needed to compensate a few taels of silver. The reason why she took care of Dou Ming so diligently was that she truly regarded Dou Ming as her own child.

  Dong Zhao couldn't help but let out a quiet sigh: "Nanny, why don't you just stay here instead? I think Dong Ming was really scared, and it's likely she'll need to rest for a while. She's the one you've taken care of since she was little, with you by her side, she might recover a bit faster."

  Zhou Ayi was shocked.

  Dong Zhaodao said: "However, the other people around Dong Ming should be changed. I will discuss with Aunt Cui to see how to handle this matter."

  Old Lady Zhou finally came back to her senses.

  "Fourth Miss, no wonder others praise you for having a Bodhisattva's heart!" She wiped away her tears and said, "You are magnanimous and don't hold it against Fifth Miss; this is Fifth Miss's good fortune!"

  "I don't dare to accept such good fortune." Dou Zhao said calmly, "I only hope that she can learn from this experience and remember it for a long time. In the future, when doing things, she shouldn't always think about those crooked ways, but should think about the right path and walk on the right path. Father doesn't allow her to return to Beijing, she wants to go back, just try every means to ask father, ask her grandmother, but it's not right to follow others secretly back to Beijing in such an unclear manner. If she didn't have this idea, how could Yu Er deceive her?"

  Auntie Zhou nodded repeatedly: "Fourth Miss has taught you well. I will slowly tell Fifth Miss later."

  Just as they were talking, the doctor came over.

  Because the doctor was already over 50 years old and had been visiting the Duan family since he was a child, Duan Zhao did not avoid him. After the doctor took Duan Ming's pulse, Duan Zhao invited the doctor to sit down in the flower hall and carefully asked about his condition. He handed the prescription to Gan Lu to fetch medicine and personally escorted the doctor out of the second gate. Afterwards, she went to her grandmother's place but did not dare tell her that Duan Ming had been kidnapped. She only said that Duan Ming was clamoring to go to Kyoto, and the servants at Qixia Temple had secretly hired a carriage for her outside. If it weren't for Zhou Mama telling her, Duan Ming would have probably sneaked back to Kyoto. Therefore, she wanted to deal with the people of Qixia Temple.

  Du Ming didn't have much regard for his grandmother, and usually only came to visit her every now and then. He was even less diligent than when he went to see the second lady of the house. Moreover, Du Zhao had specifically instructed him to keep it a secret, so their grandmother didn't know what had happened last night. She just sighed and lamented about Du Shiying's misfortune: "A good child like that, ruined by his upbringing." And she also instructed Du Zhao, "As her older sister, even if she does something wrong, you should teach her properly and not let her do as she pleases."

  Grandma has always been perceptive and had long since noticed that Du Zhao had always maintained a respectful yet distant attitude towards Du Ming. Although she thought this was not good, Du Zhao had grown up in front of her and had been close to her since childhood. She unconsciously showed some bias towards Du Zhao and pretended not to know about some things.

  Dong Zhao also understood in her heart, and smiled perfunctorily. It wasn't that she didn't want to take care of it, but rather that Dong Ming's parents were both present, so it wasn't up to her to take care of it. But this time, she made up her mind to send Dong Ming back to Kyoto, perhaps fulfilling his wish. Dong Ming would be more obedient.

  She came out of her grandmother's house and began to tidy up the people in Qixia Temple.

  The west tunnel was both asking for a doctor and releasing people selling them. The east tunnel side soon detected the anomaly.

  The second mistress called Dou Zhao over to talk.

  Dong Zhao's face turned red as he told the story of Dong Ming to the second lady, and said: "...... Such a thing is really unspeakable, I don't know how to say it to you, can only drag one day at a time."

  The second lady was so angry that she almost fainted, and it wasn't until the second lady and Liu Mama pinched her people's pulse for half a day that the second lady finally came to.

  "Abominable, abominable!" The second mistress cursed, "I knew it, not a single good thing in the Wang family!" She then asked Dou Zhao, "Have you investigated clearly why Yu Er wanted to kidnap Dou Ming?"

  No more calling me sister.

  Dong Zhao told Er Tai Fu Ren everything he had found out and also mentioned his plan to let Su Xin visit the Wang family.

  The second lady nodded repeatedly and patted Dou Zhao's hand: "Good child, it's really hard for you! In the end, it was all your father's fault..."

  A child does not criticize his father's mistakes.

  The second wife was busy on one side and coughed a few times.

  The second lady also noticed that she had lost her words, and quickly changed the subject to comfort Du Zhao for a while. She asked if there was anything difficult for Du Zhao, and if there was any difficulty, she would come to find her directly.

  Dongfang Bubai obtained the Shangfang Treasure Sword and thanked him again and again.

  Second Aunt said, "However, Su Xin's status is lowly and she's just a young girl, it wouldn't be suitable for her to go talk to the Wang family. I think this would be better: I'll write a letter to your fifth uncle, and have Liu Yiniang accompany Su Xin to Kyoto to see your fifth aunt. This matter can be left to your fifth aunt to handle. After all, you're an unmarried sister, don't get yourself involved."

  Dong Zhaoren waited for Er Tai's words.

  The greatest advantage of Lady Yu is her ability to adapt to changing circumstances.

  At first, she was able to leave a good impression on Zeng Yifen for the sake of her son, and she stood up straight with her own younger brother's support. When Wang Xingyi had the opportunity to compete with her son for the position of Grand Secretary, she could also unhesitatingly humiliate Wang Xingyi. Now that Fifth Uncle has entered the cabinet, Wang Xingyi has been transferred from Shaanxi Governor to Yunnan Governor, it is time for her to avenge the humiliation she suffered in front of the Wang family members! The servant of the Wang family made such a big mistake, if she doesn't take this opportunity to trample on Wang Xingyi and make her unable to hold her head up high, then she wouldn't be the Second Lady of the Dugu family!

  Just as she always remembered Mrs. Wu, Dou Shi-zhu entered the cabinet and told people that Wu Shan's success in the exam was entirely due to the fact that Du Fu-zi, a scholar from the Dou family, had helped Wu Shan by giving him a special opportunity, and the reason why Du Fu-zi did so was because when Dou Shi-zhu was in trouble, Wu Song-nian had once invited Dou Shi-zhu for a drink.

  Dou Shi Hui became a person who repays kindness with gratitude, while the Wu family, who gradually drifted away from the Dou family after their son's first examination success, became ungrateful and disloyal.

  Mrs. Wei couldn't even make excuses and certainly couldn't lead her son and daughter to visit the Dous' as they used to.

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  Sisters and brothers, catch up on the update from March 28th.

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