My wife has a secret

Chapter 37 Please enter the urn
"Look at the workmanship and the finishing of the corners of this hairpin. It looks like the work of Master Yao from Baojuzhai."

Qin Shuying moved her jade fingers, and the tassels hanging from the golden hairpin swayed slightly, as if moving in the wind, making a crisp sound.

"That's right. Master Yao has always liked to use gold-plated sequins to decorate the tassels. When they sway with certain steps, they will make a sound like a phoenix. The best of these is called the Red Lotus Banner Phoenix."

Qin Shuying saw Xu Qing's bewildered expression, smiled faintly, and explained: "The red lotus refers to the lotus blooming on a woman's jade feet with every step, and the phoenix banner refers to the wind following the movement of the banner, and the phoenix singing on Mount Qishan."

It was the first time that Xu Qing heard that a small gold hairpin ornament could have such profound meaning.

"The ornaments a woman wears are basically her second dignity. Families that are a little bit richer will value them... I remember that when my aunt first entered the palace, she wore the Red Lotus Banner and Phoenix. The old lady should have some impression of this."

Xu Qing nodded as if he understood, then asked, "But I remember that woman told me that these ornaments all came from the Exiled Immortal Tower."

"Exiled Immortal Tower?"

Qin Shuying frowned slightly, as if she was lost in thought.

After a cup of tea, she blinked her eyes and said softly, "The Exiled Immortal House has become prosperous in the past two years. It has opened branches of considerable size in all the major cities of Da Qi. Among them, the store in Suzhou is the most famous. However, it has a bad reputation in the jewelry industry because this business does not follow the rules and poached all the masters of other shops as soon as it opened."

Business competition?

It turns out that the habit of job-hopping has been formed so early?

"The style of this hairpin is very new. It is definitely not Master Yao's early work. It seems that this craftsman who has persisted for many years has also changed his employer."

Qin Shuying looked away and glanced at the ornaments in the box again.

"This hairpin inlaid with white magnolia is delicately constructed. The center of the flower is made of our company's mutton-fat jade. It should be made by Master Wu of Bao Daxiang. The same is true for the snow lotus and colorful phoenix over there... Although the red lotus and phoenix are the most precious among the ornaments in the box, the others are equally as valuable. They are all made by famous masters in the jewelry industry."

“What do they have in common?”

"If we talk about the common points, I don't know much about the whereabouts of Master Yao, but the other masters basically went to the Exiled Immortal Building in the early years and only made the goods ordered by the building."

Xu Qing suddenly understood that the location of his next stop seemed to be very clear.

The shop of the Exiled Immortal Tower is located in a downtown area and receives many customers every day. After getting news from Chief Jiao and Shan Yongpei tomorrow, we can plan the next course of action.

"A rough calculation shows that the ornaments in the box are worth hundreds of thousands of taels. I'm afraid that the shop in the Exiled Immortal Building doesn't have so much in stock. Where did you find so many treasures, my husband?"

"You don't need to know that."

Xu Qing closed the lid and put it away.

When he walked out of the pavilion, he seemed to have thought of something, and suddenly turned around and said, "Don't leave the house these days. Now the old account between you and me is just temporarily put aside. I will come to settle the account with you after I finish other things."

Qin Shuying nodded and saluted, with a hint of calmness on her delicate face.

"I will follow my husband's orders."

Xu Qing's figure disappeared in the forest, and Yang Liu's figure emerged from behind a tree not far away and came to the front of the pavilion.

"Miss."

Qin Shuying's smile faded, and a gleam of light flashed across her almond-shaped eyes.

"Have you seen anyone?"

"Yes, the man who came this time was wearing black clothes and a white mask. He claimed to be Yaoguang Xingjun. He brought two kilograms of mandragora, which should be enough for Miss to use in the near future."

Qin Shuying tilted her pretty face slightly and rinsed the purple clay tea set with clean water.

"The mandragora is so valuable on the black market and in short supply, but they actually have so much stock? How interesting... Tell me, what else do they want?"

Qin Shuying stopped what she was doing and stared at Yang Liu with an indifferent look, and found that there was a hint of uneasiness and panic on the other's face.

Yang Liu clenched her hands and lowered her head and said, "Miss, although we need this item very much, the other party's request is really too much."

"any request?"

"They want us to kill the young master."

Qin Shuying looked at Yang Liu and didn't speak for a long time.

After a moment, a hint of relief appeared on her pretty face, and she turned around and continued to wash the tea set.

"can."

"Miss! You can't do this..."

Qin Shuying interrupted calmly, "Xu Qing has already traced the matter of the jewelry to the Exiled Immortal Tower. My explanation just now was full of loopholes, and I couldn't hide it from him for long... They gave me such a large amount of mandragora, in fact, they were forcing me to make a decision."

Qin Shuying sighed when she said this, and a bitter smile appeared on the corner of her mouth, which was a mixture of helplessness, sadness, fatigue, and even a slight self-mockery.

A woman born in the secular world is worried that her innocence will be ruined? If you tell others this reason, I'm afraid it will be laughed at.

Although she was indeed innocent, her statement just now was too forced.

What's more, what kind of aphrodisiac in the world can cause people to hallucinate?
Only Mandragora can, under deliberate guidance, give rise to this dreamlike feeling of erotic dreams. Therefore, when Xu Qing came to stay overnight in the Fourth Courtyard, the incense burner and musk balls in the room were all made of this item.

"Xu Qing is really abnormal after losing her memory. Originally, we were able to maintain a relatively peaceful relationship as husband and wife, but now it seems... my young mistress doesn't have much time left."

Yang Liu said timidly, "Miss, you are worrying too much. Xu Qing clearly believed what we said. Things don't have to come to this point."

"It's just you. His last words were actually a hint for me not to act rashly. It shows that he doesn't completely trust us."

No one knows better than Qin Shuying how much Xu Qing has changed in recent days.

From the information received from various sources, it can be learned that Xu Qing has completed a secret that had not been noticed in the past few years in just a few days.

And the first wife is coming soon, and that woman is someone Qin Shuying doesn't even want to touch.

"I have already led him to the Exiled Immortal Tower. The rest of the matter will be resolved there."

……

Xu Qing walked for a distance towards the Third Hospital and saw Ji Xia walking hurriedly on the road.

Ji Xia lowered her head, focusing only on the road ahead. Only after Xu Qing called her twice did she come back to her senses from her trance.

"Master."

Xu Qing observed the expressions of the maids in the third courtyard and found that the girls looked a little flustered, as if they were worried about something.

The Xu Mansion is such a small place, and you can easily guess who Ji Xia is worried about.

"What happened to your lady?"

"No...nothing."

When Ji Xia said this, he lacked confidence and his eyes were evasive.

After seeing that Xu Qing had no intention of leaving, she sighed and said, "My young lady fell ill in bed after returning. She said she caught a cold in the pavilion... But she didn't want the young master to know about this, fearing that you would blame the fourth young lady after you knew it."

"The young lady said that the fourth young lady had good intentions in inviting her out for the first time since she came into the family. This is all because of her poor health. She will get sick if she stays outside for a while. I am going to the nearby Huichun Hall to ask a female doctor to come to the mansion to treat her."

"Okay, got it, go ahead."

After sending Ji Xia away, Xu Qing walked towards the Third Hospital with a worried look on his face.

Just now in the pavilion, Lu Wanhe must have been feeling a little uncomfortable, but she was stubborn and at the very end she just forced a smile and pretended to be calm as she said goodbye to the two.

This girl... Xu Qing came to the Third Courtyard again and found that it was much quieter than other courtyards.

Apart from the few potted plants and the clothes and quilts hanging out to dry, there are many calligraphy and canvases spread out on the ground inside the courtyard.

"Ji Xia?"

Lu Wanhe in the room heard the noise at the courtyard door and called out tentatively.

Xu Qing, who was walking to the front of the house, heard the whisper and replied, "It's me."

At this time, the sun was setting in the west, evening clouds were rolling, and the sunset dyed half the sky red.

Xu Qingmu opened the door in the light and saw Lu Wanhe lying on the bed.

A white towel was covering the other person's snow-white and smooth forehead, and thick hair hung between his ears, slightly damp.

There were also some scattered hairs stuck to her cheeks, and her exposed tender skin was covered with sweat, with water droplets soaking the cotton mattress beneath her.

"Husband."

"No need to get up, I just ran into Ji Xia outside the courtyard gate."

Xu Qing came to the bed and stopped Lu Wanhe from trying to sit up.

Lu Wanhe looked pale, and she forced a smile, saying weakly: "Well... this is not the fault of the fourth room, it's my body that is not doing well."

"You should have a good rest."

Lu Wanhe said self-deprecatingly: "My health can only cause trouble to those around me. It has been like this for all these years. My husband doesn't need to comfort me... But in my heart, there is still one thing that worries me."

Xu Qing asked, "What's the matter?"

Lu Wanhe looked at Xu Qing in a daze and asked softly, "My husband asked Ji Xia about my grandfather. Did something happen?"

Lu Wanhe is thoughtful and sensitive.

After Xu Qing found Xiaohuan today, she felt a little uneasy. She always felt that what her husband had done recently was related to her deceased grandfather.

If Grandpa had offended the Xu family before, or if there was some past incident that implicated the Xu family, then her life, which had finally settled down, would be shattered again.

When she thought of this, her mood today became gloomy.

She had just finally reconciled with her husband, and her husband had just started paying attention to her, so why couldn't days like this last a little longer?
"Today I met Master Liu's family."

"Master Liu?"

Seeing Lu Wanhe's slightly surprised expression, Xu Qing decided on what he would say next.

He originally wanted to tell the whole story, but he really didn't expect that Lu Wanhe's physical condition was so bad.

Based on the contact during these days and the other party's physical condition alone, we can basically rule out the possibility that the third room had any connection with the poisoning.

In this case, the matter between Master Liu and the provincial clerk has even less to do with him.

So Xu Qing decided to mix the truth with the lies to let Lu Wanhe calm down first.

"Yes, although Master Liu is no longer with us, he has left some things for you, saying that they are to make up for your dowry when you get married."

When Lu Wanhe saw the box that Xu Qing put down, she remembered the scene when her father died.

When I was a child, the master named Liu was very caring towards me and he was one of the few elders who doted on me.

I wonder how long it will take to collect all the things in the box.

Although she didn't know its specific value, she could tell it was worth a lot just by looking at the jewels and jade on the hairpin.

Thinking of this, Lu Wanhe's eyes became slightly moist.

"Then...where is his grave?"

"I'm going to his old home. His family has moved away... When you're feeling better, we can go visit him together."

"Thank you, husband."

Lu Wanhe's expression gradually softened, and all that was reflected in his eyes was Xu Qing's figure.

At this moment, she sincerely hopes that she can stay with her husband day and night and see each other every day.

……

It was already evening when Xu Qing returned to the yard, and Xiaohuan was preparing dinner on the table.

Hearing the noise at the door, Xiaohuan looked outside the house. After seeing Xu Qingfeng's dusty figure, she paused for a moment and then continued to prepare the food.

But after a while, she couldn't hold back her joy and turned around and called out, "Master is back."

"How did you know I was coming back?"

The food on the table was steaming, obviously Xiaohuan had just brought it from the kitchen.

Xu Qing looked at the sumptuous scale and realized that this girl must have started preparing for it long ago.

"I asked the servants in the next courtyard and heard them say that the young master went to the woods to drink tea with the third and fourth young mistresses. But later I heard from the people in the main courtyard that the young master went to the third courtyard to see the sick young mistress. I guessed that the young master should be back soon."

"Very smart."

Xiaohuan looked at Xu Qing with hope, her two big watery eyes sparkling.

Xu Qing passed by her and realized what she was expecting. Then he suddenly realized and reached out to touch her head.

Xiaohuan was in high spirits after receiving the reward. She closed her eyes with a look of happiness on her face, and her two ears were trembling slightly in comfort.

"Xiao Huan has become smarter. I can rest assured now."

When Xiaohuan heard Xu Qing's words, she looked frightened and her pretty face turned pale.

She said anxiously, "Master, what nonsense are you talking about? Why is it like you are making arrangements for your funeral arrangements... Don't ever say such nonsense again."

Xu Qing took two bites of food, then turned around and tapped Xiaohuan's snow-white forehead with the tip of his chopsticks.

"You're lecturing me? I just think you have some brains and can get things done."

"That's right..."

Xiaohuan felt relieved after hearing this and smiled shyly.

"Bring some hot water and warm up the mattress. I've been out for a long time today and I feel like I'm not very clean."

"it is good."

Xiaohuan was waiting for her young master to say this.

Hearing that she could help Xu Qingnuan warm the bed again, the pretty and tender girl blushed and was extremely happy.

The bathtub that usually required two people to carry into the room was brought in by Xiaohuan today with swift movements and filled with hot water.

(End of this chapter)