Fan Guangping, who had been silent from beginning to end, spoke for the first time: "Then I'll trouble Uncle Qi. Mother only has one biological son. If Mother were to pass away like this, and my younger brother couldn't see her one last time, he might not be able to bear it!"
Qi Xuan merely nodded at him, acknowledging his words, and then departed.
News of the Old Madam's imminent passing had long been circulating throughout the Prince's mansion, but no one knew exactly when. After Qi Xuan's diagnosis today, within the span of less than an hour, all the servants in the mansion were aware.
The mansion was bustling with activity. Many servants wore expressions of sorrow, and even those who usually slacked off dared not be lazy, all finding tasks to do.
On the surface, Zhao Jiaqi instructed Xiao Ce to lead some soldiers to build a tomb. Secretly, however, she began constructing an underground palace beneath the tomb.
He brought over a thousand men, and the tomb was built exceptionally luxuriously, attracting attention from all walks of life.
In the mansion, Zhao Jiaqi summoned her elder sister-in-law to inquire about funeral arrangements.
Wang Zhaodi sighed and explained. She had understood some of it and silently noted down the important matters Zhao Jiaqi had mentioned.
"It's a pity our mother has no daughters. Paper oxen require daughters to provide the money to buy them!" She paused for a moment and continued, "Mother was not unkind to me. I will provide the money to buy the paper oxen!"
Buy paper oxen?
She wasn't quite sure what paper oxen were, but judging by her elder sister-in-law's demeanor, this was something essential.
"Sister-in-law, since our mother has no daughters, let's buy the paper oxen together. If there are any other places where a daughter's contribution is needed, we will do it together."
Wang Zhaodi gave her a wry smile and, with trembling lips, said, "If money could extend Mother's life, I'd gladly sell my house and land. Mother's first half of her life was too bitter. She had finally begun to live a good life, only to be framed by someone. Doesn't heaven have eyes? Why does it always bully good people?"
Towards the end, her voice was filled with grief and indignation. She even felt that the saying "good people don't live long" was true.
Zhao Jiaqi patted her back reassuringly, calming her down. In her heart, she secretly swore to find the person behind all this.
A thousand cuts, their flesh chopped and fed to the dogs.
Meanwhile, Xiao Ce began construction at the burial site recommended by the feng shui master. The two tasks proceeded without delay. Three days later, in the dead of night, a man in black entered the Old Madam's room. After checking her breath, he left as silently as he had arrived, without harming Fan He, who was guarding her.
Te Yi, hidden in the shadows, informed Zhao Jiaqi of this. She felt a chill run down her spine upon hearing it: "Thank goodness, this person didn't harm Father-in-law!"
Still shaken, she didn't forget the man in black: "Were people sent to track him?"
Te Yi nodded: "Te Wu personally went. She excels in tracking and light footwork. With her, the Princess Consort will soon know who poisoned her."
His words were very certain, indicating great trust and regard for Te Wu's abilities.
The two of them sat in the study, staring intently at the candlelight on the desk. They didn't know how long they had been looking until their eyes felt sore and they blinked, realizing that dawn was breaking outside. Yet, Te Wu had still not returned.
Now, not only was Zhao Jiaqi worried, but Te Yi also began to feel concerned for his teammate.
Zhao Jiaqi's brows furrowed involuntarily: "Te Wu hasn't returned for so long and hasn't sent any messages. Could something have happened? Or perhaps she didn't manage to track him and is afraid to report her failure, so she's gone to find clues alone?"
She leaned more towards the latter, as at least that scenario held hope for survival!
However, Te Yi quickly gave her a clear answer: "If tracking fails, no matter the punishment, she would absolutely not act alone. She would definitely return immediately!"
He himself began to worry, and Zhao Jiaqi saw the anxiety in his eyes. This made her increasingly uneasy.
Various speculations flashed through her mind, all developing in a negative direction, further suspecting that the mastermind behind this was far more powerful than herself.
Perhaps, looking at it from another perspective, the person who administered the poison must be very familiar with their Prince's mansion. Otherwise, why specifically target the mother-in-law?
Coincidentally, the mother-in-law was their biological mother, while the father-in-law was her stepfather.
Within the Prince's mansion, besides themselves, no one else was aware of their relationship, not even the children knew their grandfather wasn't biological.
As for outside the mansion, only a few families knew about this matter, but it wasn't impossible for the mastermind to have thoroughly investigated them.
The more she thought about it, the colder her heart felt, and a chill ran down her spine.
*Bang!* A commotion outside the study startled the two into silence. Te Yi instinctively cracked open the door and saw Te Wu lying on the ground, covered in blood and barely alive. His eyes widened instantly.
"Ah Wu!"
With a startled cry, he shot out like an arrow, cradling the injured person, his worry even greater!
Lying in the arms of the one she loved, Te Wu let out a sigh of relief. Using the last of her strength, she said, "In Song Village outside the city, there's a butcher's family. On the surface, it's a family of three, but in reality, there's an underground cellar with about fifteen or sixteen people inside!"
After uttering a long string of words, she gasped for breath. Her eyes lost their vitality and slowly withered. To Zhao Jiaqi, it looked like she was about to breathe her last.
She no longer intended to know what came next. Hurriedly, she instructed Te Yi to carry Te Wu to find Qi Xuan: "Uncle Qi is in the pharmacy. Hurry and take her for treatment, don't delay."
Te Yi, with red eyes, cradled the person in his arms. Before he left, Te Wu's collar was grabbed.
Stubbornly, she wanted to convey the last piece of information: "When I was scouting, I was discovered by an outer sentry. To ensure safety, they spread word that I was tracking the man in black. I dealt with those sentries, which is why I was late in returning!"
Te Yi listened and nodded, choked with emotion. Tears were about to stream from his eyes. He choked out a single word in reply: "Good!"
Te Wu's bloody hand stroked his face. Although they were both wearing masks, they could still feel the warmth on each other's faces.
A moment later, Te Wu said to Zhao Jiaqi, "Princess Consort, please rest assured. Your subordinate completed the mission without alerting those spies. I disguised the deaths of those few people to look like they were attacked by wild beasts!"
"The places where the sword cut them, I used branches to scratch them. Some were also scratched by tiger claws. Finally, I threw tiger carcasses around these people to create a series of illusions. I guess the remaining people should not be suspicious."
These断断续续 words were spoken with the last remnants of her strength, after which she fainted.
Te Yi, holding the person in his arms, strode away, leaving behind a heartbroken Zhao Jiaqi.