My wife has a secret

Chapter 59: Helping Her Husband
"So the lady handed this matter over to him to handle, just to observe his character?"

Shen Shuangxu did not answer Mingzhu's words, but looked back at her with a pair of clear eyes and asked back.

"What's the situation in the capital?"

"Yesterday at noon, Prince Kang entered the palace to meet the young emperor and had a long conversation with him."

Shen Shuangxu hummed but did not respond.

Mingzhu has been with Shen Shuangxu for several years and knows that what the other person is concerned about is not that simple.

"Miss, Prince Kang is the leader of the imperialist party in the capital. This time, while the Queen Mother is worshipping Buddha at the Taihe Temple, is he planning something?"

Shen Shuangxu's graceful body stood with her back to the light, making her skin look whiter than winter snow.

Her expression remained calm. “The situation is turbulent and precarious.”

"What the lady means is..."

"Order Chengxuanfang to remove the control over Prince Kang's surroundings."

Mingzhu was slightly stunned, and the surprise on her face was difficult to conceal.

Chengxuanfang was formerly known as the Jinyi Office, an underground intelligence agency that was painstakingly cultivated by Empress Dowager Xu and passed on to the young lady.

He is also responsible for many tasks, such as keeping an eye on all directions, investigating corruption, and gathering military intelligence.

If Chengxuanfang were to give up its control over Prince Kang, wouldn't that mean the other party could let loose and do things that were detrimental to the court?
"Yes."

Mingzhu knew the young lady's temper, so she didn't ask why she did this.

But she suddenly thought of the main mission of the two of them returning to Suzhou, so she asked, "Chengxuanfang has a Yishimen under its jurisdiction, and there are many capable people in it. Don't we need to dispatch people from here to protect the safety of the young master of the Xu family?"

Mingzhu himself was one of the talented people discovered and cultivated by Chengxuanfang. Later, he became famous for his strong body and was able to break the eight strong men of the country by himself at the age of twelve.

Later, he was favored by the Queen Mother and was assigned to be the young lady of the Shen family.

There are many people there who have experienced the same thing as her, so protecting Xu Qing should be an extremely easy thing to do.

"Do you think that the Xu family of Suzhou looks weak and fragile, and will break at the slightest touch?"

Seeing Mingzhu speechless, Shen Shuangxu sighed softly and said calmly: "Mingzhu, you will understand in the future that none of the other concubines that Xu Qing married are mediocre."

……

In the carriage, Lu Wanhe, who was wearing a snow-white fox fur coat, frowned slightly, put her hands in front of her cherry lips and coughed continuously.

"Cough, cough..."

The continuous coughing made her face pale, like a lily trembling in the wind.

Ji Xia couldn't bear to watch it any longer and asked with concern, "Miss, why don't you just go back to the mansion? I can handle it over there. They have seen me before anyway."

Lu Wanhe shook his head and took a deep breath.

After her body recovered, she bit her lips and whispered, "This is the first thing my husband has given me. I must do it myself and not mess it up."

"Miss, you are working too hard. I know you have been coughing at night these past two days."

Ji Xia exposed her young lady's disguise and said dissatisfiedly: "But you always try not to show it in front of the young master and other ladies. Why do you do that?"

Lu Wanhe pinched her skirt knees and remained silent. She didn't know what she was thinking.

In recent days, the relationship between Mrs. Xu and the ladies of several other hospitals and their three hospitals has eased.

Especially Mrs. Xu, who had been cold to her before, would send Manager Hai to the Third Hospital every day to check on the situation, to check whether there were any leaks in the houses and whether the charcoal fire in the heater was supplied on time.

Even the meals in the backyard kitchen are given priority in supplying the third hospital.

"I...if my husband and the old lady knew that my illness could not be cured, they might dislike me for it."

Lu Wanhe's eyes were filled with tears, and her voice was filled with a hint of helplessness and bitterness. "A few days ago, my husband got the house back for me, and cleared out the clansmen who came to cling to me. Even the dowry that Master Liu prepared for me was taken back by my husband."

Ji Xia hurriedly advised: "Miss, please don't underestimate yourself... It's all because of your bad luck that you met this disease."

Lu Wanhe smiled slightly, and the smile on her face seemed more like a kind of relief.

"In the past, I only felt that my life was miserable, but aren't other people's lives miserable? Compared to the refugees who were poorly clothed and hungry, I was not doing badly."

Speaking of this topic, Lu Wanhe couldn't help but think of Xu Qing.

The young master of the Xu family, who was seen by the world as a playboy and a tyrant in Suzhou City, was just pretending.

How could her husband's situation over the years be any better than hers?
"Ji Xia, if I have any health problems in the future, you must stay by his side and take good care of him for me..."

"Miss! Stop talking nonsense!"

Seeing that her young lady's words were becoming less and less taboo, Ji Xia angrily rebuked her and admonished her, "Young lady, if you continue to say such nonsense, I will tell the young master everything that happened in the third courtyard."

Lu Wanhe's cheeks turned slightly red, and she had no choice but to give in to Ji Xia.

If Ji Xia told Xu Qing about her illness, who knows what might happen.

More importantly, in the incident of falling into the water, the Third Hospital was not as innocent as it seemed.

"Okay, I won't say anything more, and you should stop talking too much."

"understood."

As soon as the master and servant finished their conversation, the groom came out to remind them, "Madam, after passing this bend ahead, we will reach Hongfu Inn."

"Okay, thank you for your hard work."

Lu Wanhe replied softly, "Ji Xia, give the driver some money when you get off the car later."

"Yes, ma'am."

After a while, the carriage stopped on a street with few pedestrians.

Ji Xia helped Lu Wanhe get off the carriage. After a few steps, they saw a familiar young man standing at the street corner.

The other person was carrying a long box wrapped in thick black cloth.

"Miss, the person the young master introduced is really strange. We drove the carriage... but we were still not as fast as him."

As soon as they left the Xu Mansion, the three of them met at the back door.

Although he knew that the other party was a captain of the Zhennan Zhongwu Army, Ji Xia had never expected that there really existed such a skill in the world that could allow one to walk so fast.

"Third Young Mistress."

Shan Yongpei saw Lu Wanhe and the maidservant coming over and greeted them with a fist salute.

Then he followed the young lady of the Xu family and entered the Hongfu Inn together.

When Lu Wanhe goes out, she usually wears a hat to cover her face, and this time is no exception.

The waiter at Hongfu Inn recognized the nobleman in plain clothes and fox fur as the big money sponsor who had booked the second floor of the inn earlier, and hurried over to greet him.

"Miss, you are here?"

Ji Xia took out a piece of silver from the bag and threw it into the clerk's hand. "You have nothing to do today... The news that my lady is here must not be leaked to others."

Ji Xia put on what he thought was a ferocious expression, but a waiter like him, who had worked his way up the restaurant ladder, didn't think there was anything wrong with paying customers.

What's more, the maid was very pretty. Even the waiter, who had many guests to serve, was stunned at first sight.

I just don't know which family the lady is from, and why she is so generous and magnanimous.

After sending the shop assistants away, Lu Wanhe and the other two slowly went up to the second floor.

Without waiting for the master and servant to go ahead, Shan Yongpei reached out to stop them and pushed open the door of a room.

"drink!"

The cold light tore through the surrounding air and headed towards Shan Yongpei.

Then the arrow was shot out from the bow with a "whoosh" sound!
Shan Yongpei stretched out two fingers to clamp the blade, broke the wooden block on the door frame with his right hand, and knocked the sharp arrow aside.

The whole process went smoothly without any hesitation.

"Good work!"

Uncle Li led the border troops out of each house. Many of them showed fierce hostility in their eyes when they looked at Shan Yongpei.

The sharpness in the pupils can only be possessed by those who have experienced the battlefield.

"Your footsteps were steady and full of heritage when you went upstairs. I guess you must have practiced martial arts for many years and had a military career, right?"

When soldiers are training or traveling, they wear riding boots that are not easily worn out and are very easy to identify.

When Uncle Li and his group heard the unusual footsteps on the stairs, they immediately became suspicious and planned a killing together.

"What's going on with you guys?"

Ji Xia didn't quite understand the situation, so she angrily shouted, "My young lady was kind enough to help you, but you guys started a fight and ambushed us upstairs?"

"Please forgive me, Third Young Madam. We, the people from Huangling Pass, must be careful when we go south... Any brother who lets down his guard will not survive more than three days."

Uncle Li didn't want to explain too much, because there were countless people who wanted to kill them along the way. If they were not veterans who had been through many battles, how could they have reached Suzhou?

"Okay, it's all a misunderstanding."

Lu Wanhe stopped Ji Xia and Shan Yongpei who were standing with their hands behind their backs and preparing to draw their swords.

She untied her sash, took off her hat, and walked slowly towards the group of border troops.

"This is the Zhaowu Commander of the Zhennan Zhongwu Army. I asked someone to find him to lead the way for us."

"Zhennan Zhongwu Army?"

When Uncle Li and his companions heard the name of the Zhongwu Army and observed how Shan Yongpei was dressed, they all let down their guard.

The Zhennan Zhongwu Army and the Yang Family Army were both elite divisions of the Great Qi, but the former was located in a prosperous area and was more loyal to the court.

In the past few years, the two armies often held military exercises and competitions, so the relationship between the two sides can be considered good.

Shan Yongpei was quite famous in the Zhongwu Army, and Uncle Li and the others had heard of him.

"We were wondering which army's soldiers were so fierce. It's not surprising that they are from the Zhongwu Army."

Although Shan Yongpei did not say anything, he looked at the border troops at Huangling Pass with new eyes.

He was already a leader among the younger generation in the Zhennan Zhongwu Army. He was hard to beat in the army and could often defeat a hundred men alone.

But these border troops at Huangling Pass are experienced and extremely vigilant.

If a fight had really broken out just now, he wouldn't have been able to protect himself, let alone guard the third wife of the Xu family behind him.

It seems that the only way to strengthen the army is through actual combat.

Uncle Li thought for a long time and finally thought of the key question, "The Third Young Lady invited the Zhaowu Captain to come over, but did she get any clues?"

Ji Xia made a face and stuck out her tongue, "I won't tell you if I have it, you ungrateful bastards."

Uncle Li and his group were so embarrassed that they didn't dare to say anything back.

Third Young Madam Lu not only found a place for them to stay, but also kept their goals in mind. It was indeed because they were too suspicious that they caused such a misunderstanding.

You have to know that the affairs of Huangling Pass are extremely complicated, and no official is willing to intervene in this matter. The fact that the Lu family is willing to take care of food and accommodation is already a great favor.

"It's nothing. I just got some kind of intelligence and learned that there might be weapons to be transported to Huangling Pass hidden somewhere in the city."

"Really?"

Upon hearing the news from Lu Wanhe, several border troops were overjoyed.

In the past two months, they have encountered countless setbacks when heading south, and no one expected that they could actually find clues in Suzhou.

"Li, on behalf of the hundreds of thousands of soldiers and civilians at Huangling Pass, would like to thank Third Young Madam for her great kindness."

"No, this is all my husband... these are all trivial matters."

When Lu Wanhe was halfway through his speech, he suddenly realized that Xu Qing didn't want to be personally involved, so he changed the subject.

"Ji Xia, bring us the box we prepared this morning."

Lu Wanhe opened an exquisitely decorated jewelry box, which was filled with delicate gold hairpins and jade ornaments.

She specially divided the dowry into two parts this morning and brought all the valuable jewelry.

"This is part of the dowry that my elders prepared for me when I got married... It will be inconvenient for you to travel so far, and the banknotes from Jiangnan may not be valid there. You can take these things with you and exchange them for food and grass in the prefectures near Huangling Pass to solve your urgent needs."

There were few women's ornaments in the army, but they were all veteran soldiers and knew that the things Lu Wanhe brought out were very valuable, and they were all extremely difficult to find jewels and jades.

"Uncle Li, this... this thing is jade, right?"

The young soldier opened his eyes wide, and wanted to go forward to touch it, but was slapped away by Uncle Li.

"Get lost! Don't touch Third Young Madam's treasure with your dirty hands!"

Uncle Li, who had some experience, resisted the temptation and shook his head, saying, "I appreciate Third Young Madam's kindness. I have a wife, and I know what dowry means to a married woman... I heard that the most favored one in the Xu Mansion is the fourth room, so Third Young Madam should put these things away for future use."

Although Uncle Li would fight for the interests of the soldiers and civilians on the border, he also didn't want to see a gentle and kind-hearted woman lose her trump card in her husband's family because of helping them.

What's more, Xu Qing does not do his job properly and has a bad reputation. If the Xu family is destroyed by him, the situation of the third young lady will be difficult.

"The situation at the border is urgent and human lives are at stake. Take it."

"This... then Mr. Li thanks Third Young Madam."

Seeing that Lu Wanhe was determined to give it to him, Uncle Li knelt down and took it with both hands.

"Third Young Madam has been so kind to Huangling Pass. We brothers have no way to repay her except our lives... After the border issue is resolved, if Third Young Madam can be of any use to us, please let us know."

After saying this, Uncle Li kowtowed three times solemnly, and the other border soldiers followed suit.

　This chapter is 4K, take a break and continue coding in the evening

　　
　
(End of this chapter)