Chapter 60: Eavesdropping Outside the Door, Mei Zhen's Suicide

  An old man with a nameless surname smiled and announced: "The third round of this round, which was set by the old man himself, was won by Ma Chao of the Ma family!"

  The happiest person in the audience was definitely Miao Taigong. From the second game on, he had been nervous and worried, and as a result, he lost the second game. In the third game, he thought no one would be able to answer, but Ma Chao surprisingly did not disappoint, making everyone convinced and satisfied. This time, his daughter should not blame him anymore.

  At this time, Tao Qian spoke again, "I heard that Master Ma is a descendant of the Ji family, I don't know how the elders of the two families agreed on the marriage contract back then?"

  He clutched at a faint hope, hoping to find a weakness in their plot, but was ultimately disappointed by Tao Qian. Ma Chao thought to himself that what was bound to happen had finally happened, and he was well-prepared. He first repeated what Mi Zhu and Tao Qian had said earlier, then took out the jade pendant given to him by Mi Zhu.

  When Ma Chao took out the jade pendant sent by Mu Tai Gong, Tao Qian knew that he was thoroughly defeated this time. Good you, Mu Tai Gong, good you, Ma family's Ma Chao! For the first time, this governor felt so powerless. Knowing it's all fake, but there's no strong evidence to expose you, this matter is not over, let's wait and see in the future.

  Tao Qian was never a broad-minded person, and now that he has offended the Zhao family, his future days will not be easy. That's why people say it's better to offend ten gentlemen than one petty person, and that's exactly what happened.

  But now no one is thinking about what Tao Qian thinks, almost all are savoring today's trial, especially Ma Chao's final puzzle, which makes people feel very wonderful, and still relish it to this day.

  Everyone had finished competing and was returning home, so they bid farewell to Tao Qian one after another. Tao Qian was in no mood for it, but he still forced himself to see them off.

  Chen Gui left first, followed by Cao Jiao. Although he wanted to stay a bit longer, he also saw that the governor was not in the mood, so Cao Jiao slipped away first. Then it was the old man with no name, but before leaving, he specially invited Ma Chao to visit his home when he had time, and Ma Chao had no choice but to agree.

  Finally, there were Mi Zhi Gong and Ma Chao, as well as Cui An. Originally, according to Ma Chao's intention, they should have left early, but Mi Zhi Gong did not allow it. He understood that the longer his group stayed, the more unbearable Tao Qian would become, so Mi Zhi Gong deliberately delayed their departure.

  Three people returned to the Ma Fu, and Ma Chao had been waiting for them in the government. To say that she was the most anxious of all, although she also had confidence in Ma Chao, but things would sometimes have variables. So she waited for her father, waiting for Ma Tai Gong to tell her the result personally.

  When the three of them saw Zou Xing, Zou Tai Gong knew that his daughter was anxious, so he told her the result, and Zou Xing finally put down her mind. Zou Tai Gong also introduced Zou Xing to Ma Chao and others, Ma Chao had seen her for the first time, with his eyesight, this little girl looked really beautiful, no wonder that Tao Shang's son insisted on marrying her.

  However, what attracted him most was Ma Chao's eyes, which were a pair of particularly bright and beautiful big eyes. At first glance, it was clear that Ma Chao was an exceptionally intelligent and opinionated person. The two exchanged greetings, but Ma Chao didn't think much of it. He didn't have many thoughts on the matter. But Ma Qian was different. Who made her fall in love with Ma Chao? Although she was bolder than ordinary girls, she still blushed when facing the one she liked for the first time. So after greeting Ma Chao, she hastily bid farewell and left.

  Ma Chao didn't understand what was going on, he just thought that Zhen Ji was still so shy, but quite cute. However, he didn't know that Zhen Ji only got like this when she saw him or was in a place related to him, otherwise she wasn't like this at all.

  Ma Chao was just about to bid farewell to Miao Taitai, but the old man asked him to stay behind. Only Cui An returned to the guest room first. Ma Chao understood that Miao Taitai had something to say to him, "What is it, Uncle?" he asked first.

  "Xian nephew, what are we going to do?" Ma Chao was asked by Mrs. Hua Tuo instead.

  Ma Chao didn't understand why the old man would ask him this, but he still replied, "In response to Uncle's words, it is naturally to have a fair competition with Tao Shang, not letting Miss Jin marry him, and also for the cooperation with Uncle!"

  The Old Man of Taigong continued to ask: "What you said is correct, what about the result?"

  Ma Chao thought to himself, "You clearly know everything already, so why are you asking me? What's the meaning of this?" "As a result, Miss Cao doesn't have to marry Merchant Tao after all!"

  "Is that so? What does young master think of Zhen Er?"

  "Miss Mian is naturally very good."

  "Since you think Qian'er is good, I'll marry her off to you!"

  What Ma Chao heard was not light at all. What, wanting to marry his daughter to himself? Ma Chao really didn't think of it, he had some good feelings for Miao Qian, but he hadn't thought too much about it. Without even an emotional foundation, he felt it wasn't very reliable.

  "Uncle, this, how can this be!" Ma Chao hastily shook his head.

  "What? You think Jing'er is not good enough for you?" Old Lady Chai said with a stern face.

  "No, no. Just, just Miss and I have no feelings for each other, how can we talk about marriage?"

  Old Man Ma heard this and thought that this young fellow Ma Chao was indeed different from ordinary people, discussing marriage must have some feeling.

  "Good nephew, your words are wrong. Marriage is about mutual affection and parental arrangement, with the matchmaker's words in between. How many people in this world have feelings for each other before getting married? Moreover, Zhen'er has already had feelings for you, good nephew, which means there are indeed feelings!"

  Ma Chao heard this and thought that someone had already taken a liking to him, but he didn't know what it was about himself that they liked.

  However, this won't do either. He thought for a moment and replied, "Uncle, since you mentioned the orders of our parents, now my uncle and aunt are far away in Liangzhou, they don't know about this matter, let's just forget about it!"

  "Parents' orders are not wrong, so you should return to Liangzhou early and inform your parents about this matter. I believe they will agree. Don't forget, you have already agreed to the marriage, don't go back on your word now!" Zou Taigong had no choice but to use his trump card.

  Ma Chao felt a little surprised, when did he agree to this, and how come he didn't know.

  "Uncle, what do you mean by this? When should I get married?" Ma Chao was full of doubts.

  "Well, old man, I'll ask you, will the young master agree to participate in the contest?"

  "Yes!"

  "That wise nephew has gone and won in the end!"

  "Me too!"

  "Does that young man know the nature of the contest, and that Jing Er will marry whoever wins?"

  "This, this is."

  "This is all, worthy nephew, what else can you say? Of course, Zhen'er will marry you!" Mother Miao said to Ma Chao.

  "Uncle, how can you be like this? Didn't we agree that it was just a favor at first? How can you not acknowledge it?"

  Ma Chao immediately understood that he had been tricked by this old man from the very beginning. Unfortunately, knowing now was of no use, it was too late.

  "It's not that I don't recognize the old man, it's that the young master doesn't recognize me. Old man, I'll ask you again, did the young master receive the jade pendant I sent?"

  Ma Chao nodded and thought to himself, "Didn't you say that acting requires props?"

  "Does the young master know the origin of the jade pendant?" asked Lady Mi again, but Ma Chao shook his head.

  "The two jade pendants in the world were left by Zhen's mother. One was given to Zhen, and the other was given to me, an old man, to give to Zhen's future husband."

  Zi Taigong looked at Ma Chao again after finishing speaking, meaning to say, you understand this time, right?

  Ma Chao finally understood, his feelings from start to finish were just a member of the public who didn't know the truth, always being kept in the dark. It seems that Miao Zhen should have known long ago, and it's possible that this idea was even thought up by this little girl. Thinking he was smart for two lifetimes, but foolish for a moment.

  It has always been himself who calculated others, but now he was also calculated by others, and Ma Chao couldn't tell what kind of taste it was in his heart.

  "Good nephew, I know you think I'm plotting against you. But let me tell you, my daughter Zhen'er has genuinely fallen for you. As a father, how can I not do everything in my power?"

  Ma Chao couldn't say anything to糜太公, after all, he was an elder and it was indeed his own fault for being too careless. As for the marriage, he himself didn't agree with it, so there's nothing to be said about it.

  He took out the jade pendant and placed it on the long table in front of Grand Duke Taigong, "Uncle, I won't blame you, but rather myself for being too careless and thinking too simply. After this incident, I can be considered to have gained some experience and I should thank you instead. However, I really don't dare to accept this jade pendant, please take it back!"

  "This...” Mu Taigong looked at the jade pendant on the case, thinking to himself: "Ma Chao, you little scoundrel! Do you know how many people in Xuzhou want to marry my daughter? Not just Xuzhou, but how many people in the world do you think want to marry her?! And yet she likes you, and I, an old man, have taken a liking to you too. So I swallowed my pride and almost knelt down to beg you to marry my daughter. But what did you do? You took the gift back, which is no different from slapping me in the face!"

  Just then, a person rushed in from outside the door. Miao Tai Gong was about to say who was so rude. As a result, he took a look and it was his own beloved daughter Miao Zhen. Originally, Miao Zhen had returned first, but after she returned, she thought that her father must have a good talk with Ma Chao, so Miao Zhen wanted to see what attitude Ma Chao would take towards her, so she came back to eavesdrop at the door. As a result, Ma Chao's attitude made her heartbroken.

  Ma Chao knew that there was someone at the door, and he also knew it should be Zhen Ji. He was talking to Lady Cai, but also speaking for Zhen Ji's ears, yet he didn't expect the little girl to rush in after listening.

  She said to Ma Chao: "Ma Chao, Ma Mengqi! Is it so hateful for me, Mi Zhen, to be treated like this?"

  After finishing speaking, she picked up the jade pendant on the case and slammed it to the ground in front of Ma Chao, then ran out.

  Looking at the jade pendant broken into pieces on the ground, Ma Chao really didn't know what to say or do, and could only look at Zou Taigong with an apologetic gaze.

  But before Taigong could fully react, which was only a matter of three or four breaths, when he found out that Ma Chao was looking at him, he also looked at Ma Chao and sighed: "My daughter has grown up, and as her father, I can't control her too much. It's just that it made you laugh, please forgive me for my rudeness!"

  "What Uncle said was right, it's my fault, not Miss's!"

  Just as they were talking, someone rushed in from outside and said, "Master, something terrible has happened! Miss, miss, she's tried to take her own life!"

  Old Man Tai was shocked by these words and almost fainted, but as someone who had experienced great storms, he managed to hold on. However, he was still greatly shaken. "Quickly, quickly take me over!"

  Then the servant went ahead, and Tai Gong followed behind, together they went to look for Zhen.

  Ma Chao didn't react for a moment, and when he did, he hastily chased after them, thinking to himself that this time they had stirred up big trouble.

  Mo Jing really couldn't open her mind, but generally people would hang themselves, she didn't. Instead, she took a dagger and directly inserted it into her left chest, it has to be said that Mo Jing's temperament was indeed very fierce, even the method of seeking death was not ordinary.

  Nowadays, her boudoir is busy, the doctor is making every effort to rescue Zou Chen, the knife has been pulled out, the bleeding has stopped, and the wound has finally been treated and bandaged. In addition to external medicine, several prescriptions for invigorating Qi and blood were added to accelerate wound healing.

  The doctor finally finished, and Mrs. Tao hurriedly asked her about the situation. The doctor was still a woman, which was rare. "Don't worry, madam, the young lady's life is not in danger, but she needs to rest for at least a month. Within this month, she must not get angry, otherwise, it will cause the wound to rupture and that would be troublesome!"

  "Thank you, doctor!" Old Lady Mei hastily ordered the servant to hand over the diagnostic fee to the doctor. However, the female doctor seemed to have something else she wanted to say but didn't want to say.

  The doctor has something to say but it doesn't matter if he says it!

  "Alright, I'll say it next time. Patriarch should know that this external injury is easy to treat, but this heart wound still needs medicine for the heart!" The doctor said and took his leave.

  Actually, Emperor Taizong understood it all along, but he truly wanted to cure his heart disease, which was indeed difficult. However, although this matter is related to Ma Chao, he didn't blame him much. The incident happened suddenly, and even the emperor himself hadn't expected it, let alone others.

  Zhen Mei had not woken up all this time, perhaps she herself was unwilling to wake up in her subconscious, or perhaps the injury was too severe and she did not wake up. In short, it wasn't until noon on the second day that she finally opened her eyes, and the first thing she saw was her father, and the second was Ma Chao, with only the two of them in the room.

  "Am I dead?"

  "What's this? Zhen Er, can you bear to leave your father like that?" said Mrs. Chai.

  "Dad, I..."

  "All right, Zhen Er, you don't have to say anything else. Your father understands everything. You two talk it over!" After finishing speaking, Mrs. Mei left the room and gave the space to the young people.

  Looking at the pale and wan little face, Ma Chao felt especially distressed. Because of his own reasons, he almost let such a girl die in vain, if it was really like that, then he would never forgive himself for the rest of his life.

  Zhen looked at Ma Chao and said her first sentence to him, "Don't you like me at all? I want to hear the truth from you!"