Chapter Sixteen: The Sudden Death of Liu

  The whole family moved back to Sangyuan.

  Liu returned to the garden from her mother's home in a state of exhaustion.

  The old lady led a group of female family members who were already waiting in the front hall.

  "How is it?" The old lady asked hastily before Madame Liu had even sat down.

  Liu drank a sip of the clear tea brought by the maid, moistened his throat, and shook his head saying: "Father said that this matter is very difficult to handle."

  Upon hearing this, everyone's face turned dark.

  "Ah-choo!" The chronically ill Zheng Shi let out an inopportune cough, provoking a scolding from the elderly lady, who ordered her back to her room.

  Zheng's weak and sickly body had never been pleasing to the old lady, and now that everyone was feeling anxious and annoyed, her frail appearance only made people more disgusted. Seeing the old lady scolding her, no one spoke up for her, except Qing Sang who gave her a concerned glance.

  "Old lady, this matter can only be helped by Mr. Liu. You must be more careful." The old lady was also confused at this time, and there was no male in the family to rely on, so she could only seek help from her relative, Minister Liu.

  "Mother-in-law, rest assured. My husband is my lifelong dependence, and I will definitely do my best. Moreover, Father asked me to go again tomorrow, he must have a way." As she spoke, she also started coughing.

  Qing Sang saw Mrs. Liu's face was flushed, coughing continuously, and suddenly remembered that she had seen Mrs. Liu cough more than ten days ago, how come so many days have not improved, anxiously asked: "Madam has been coughing for over half a month, but hasn't gotten better, is it serious?"

  Liu nodded while coughing: "Already... uh-huh, uh-huh... I've already asked the doctor to take a look and taken quite a bit of medicine. It had shown some improvement, but these two days my heart has been racing and I've become more anxious again. Nothing serious."

  The old lady saw that she was coughing badly and also showed concern for a few words. Erniang and others also echoed and said a few words of concern. At this moment, Qing Sang suddenly realized that Wu Niang Shu Wan was not in the front hall.

  The old lady also found out and asked: "Where's Shu Wan?"

  The house owner came back and said that Wu Niangzi had left early in the morning with a green brocade.

  "This good-for-nothing, with troubles at home, still has the nerve to go out." The old lady scolded.

  Everyone did not dare to respond.

  After a moment of silence, there was suddenly a commotion outside. Xiang Shu rushed into the front hall, saying that a horse carriage had just passed by the mansion and thrown down two black cloth bags. Two servants opened them to find that they were Wu Niangzi and Lu Jin.

  Everyone was shocked upon hearing the news and followed the old lady into the courtyard in a flurry.

  Then, Shu Wan was seen being supported out of the sack with her hair disheveled and her clothes in disarray.

  After removing the cloth stuffed in her mouth and untying the hemp rope on her body, Shu Wan finally caught her breath and burst into loud sobs.

  Lu Jingyu was rescued and collapsed to the ground, sobbing quietly.

  "Don't cry anymore, speak quickly, what's happened?" The old lady stamped her cane and urged anxiously.

  Shu Wan finally stopped crying, and with a sob, she said that she and Lu Jin had gone to the nearby temple this morning to pray for good fortune for their master, but they were robbed and beaten. After finishing speaking, she brushed aside her long hair covering her face, revealing a swollen and disfigured face.

  Qingsang looked carefully under the dim lamp, and Shuwan's heavily made-up face had swollen to the size of a pig's head, looking pitiful.

  Qingsang looked at Lüjin again and saw that she was only a bit disheveled, but there were no visible injuries on her face or hands.

  Looking again at the open cloth bag, there seemed to be something inside. Before leaving, he took out two bundles.

  Shu Wan saw this and changed her expression, rushing forward to grab it back, but Qing Sang dodged quickly.

  The green box was opened in front of everyone. One contained all sorts of jewelry and ornaments, gold bars and silver ingots; the other contained some intimate clothing.

  "This is what you meant by 'being robbed'?" The old lady, although advanced in years, was still sharp-minded and had already understood that Shu Wan must have seen Pu Jiannian being taken away and had secretly escaped with him, but didn't know why they were caught again.

  Shu Wan knew that things had been exposed and she was speechless. She collapsed onto the edge of the green brocade, wailing in tears.

  At this moment, Qing Sang's mind flashed back to that day at Tai Chu Guan. When the Crown Prince knew that her facial injury was caused by Wu Niang Shu Wan, there was a hint of 'malice' in his eyes. Now, Shu Wan had mysteriously been beaten and escaped, with all the injuries concentrated on her face. Qing Sang couldn't help but suspect that this was done by someone sent by the Crown Prince.

  "Quickly, quickly, get this cheap person out of the house." The old lady angrily ordered the servants to take action.

  Shu Wan saw this and still wanted to rush over to grab the soft things in the package, but was stopped by Xiang Shu and others. The servants in the mansion had long been dissatisfied with her evil deeds, and today they saw her finally getting what she deserved, feeling relieved and pleased. Two young servants quickly stepped forward, lifted up Shu Wan, and dragged her out of the mansion with force.

  The curses from Shu's mouth grew fainter and fainter until they were drowned out by the sound of the gate closing.

  The green jade was already trembling with fear, kneeling on the ground and kowtowing repeatedly, begging Old Lady and Madame not to drive her away, saying that she was also bought after Shu Wan married Master, and not in cahoots with them. If she were driven out of the mansion, it would be difficult for her to survive outside as well.

  The green brocade usually followed Shu Wan in the mansion, making a show of herself, and no one was willing to plead for her. But the old lady, who was fasting and reciting Buddhist scriptures, saw her kowtowing and bleeding, and suddenly felt kind-hearted, so she didn't let anyone drive her out of the mansion, but instead sent her to the laundry room to wash clothes for the female members of the household.

  Green silk hurriedly thanked him.

  Qing Sang was somewhat perplexed, unclear why Lu Jin wanted to stay in the mansion. Although life outside was not easy, as a maid, she could sell herself to another household and make a living without issue. It was better than staying here where no one treated her well. Moreover, with Father's downfall, the Pu Mansion was now struggling to survive, yet Lu Jin still insisted on staying. Was it really just because she came from Ningzhou and didn't know anyone in this place, so she didn't dare seek another livelihood?

  Although Qing Sang had doubts, she also thought that maybe she was being too suspicious. After all, it was difficult for an ancient 'daughter' to make a living. Moreover, whether Green Brocade stayed or not wasn't the main issue; what was most important was rescuing her father as soon as possible. However, up until now, Qing Sang still didn't know what had happened to her father in the imperial court.

  Although the old lady also asked Liu Shi, Liu Shi only said that Liu Gong had not informed her, so everyone still doesn't know why Pu Jiayou was put in prison.

  Qingsang had been worried that her father was the person the crown prince wanted to bring out, because the timing of her father's imprisonment coincided with the lifting of the crown prince's ban and the recall of the seventh prince. However, if her father were truly a traitor who colluded with the enemy, then their whole family would have been imprisoned together. Moreover, Qingsang had known her father for seven years and believed that he wouldn't commit such an act of treachery. Furthermore, after the incident, the prime minister didn't distance himself from them, which made Qingsang even more convinced that her father's imprisonment was due to another matter; otherwise, the prime minister would have found a way to sever ties with them.

  After dealing with Shu Wan and Lu Jin, the old lady was also tired, and Liu Shi was even more exhausted, so she let the maid support her back to her room to rest.

  On the second day, Liu returned to her mother's home and didn't come back until after noon.

  This time, the old lady didn't ask everyone to wait together in the front hall, but only called Qingbi, Qingsang and Wangshi to her room for discussion.

  Liu finally found out the reason for Pu Ji's imprisonment. It turned out that the Northern Rong had been invading our dynasty's border for months, and General Li Feng and General Xu Yan of the Defending Far Army had also died in battle, and countless soldiers were killed or injured. Under pressure from all sides, the Emperor sent someone to negotiate a peace treaty, but the Northern Rong demanded that the city of Duosai be ceded to them, and required the Xuan dynasty to give them 1,000 taels of silver, 1,000 bolts of silk, and 10 "gate" girls before they would withdraw from our territory.

  Qing Sang asked, "Wasn't Father demoted last time because of this matter? Is it also because Father opposed the peace talks and advocated for war that he offended the Emperor and was imprisoned again?"

  Liu coughed several times, drank some water, and calmed down a bit before continuing: "This time it's because of this 'door' girl. At the beginning of the year, our court had already sent five girls to the Northern Rong, but unexpectedly, the Northern Rong said that these five girls were ordinary daughters of common people, not some noble ladies. This time, our court must select a daughter from an official's family to send to them. So, they started selecting from the families of high-ranking officials, and any family with two or more daughters over 15 years old who had not yet married were included in the list of candidates. My older brother has no daughters, my second brother has one daughter who is only three years old and doesn't meet the conditions. However, our family has Qingbi and Qingsang, two daughters who are over 15 and unmarried, so they were naturally included on the list. When the prime minister heard about this, he had some reservations and was criticized by some ministers who didn't get along with him, saying that he was unclear about the greater good, didn't care about the country's difficulties, and intentionally disobeyed orders. The emperor saw this and asked the prime minister to recommend a daughter first to show his loyalty and dispel the rumors, but the prime minister firmly refused, which is why he was put in prison."

  Liu's words were finished, Qingbi, Qingsang and Wangshi all changed their faces.

  The old lady was even more distressed, beating her chest and stamping her feet, wailing: "What sin have I committed? My son has been captured, and my granddaughter is also going to marry that barbarian."

  Qing Sang looked at Qing Bi and saw that her face was pale, her eyes were dull, and she knew that she was frightened to the extreme. But wasn't he also terrified? Those Northern Tribesmen were born with a cruel and savage nature, and their homeland was a harsh and cold place. If these delicate young ladies from wealthy families went there, it would be no different from sending them to their deaths.

  Liu's family saw the children's faces pale, grandma wailed, and her heart felt even more bitter. Qingbi was her own daughter, after Qingyu died, only Qingbi was left; while Qingsang grew up under her care, usually very close to her, flesh of her palm and back of her hand, she couldn't decide who would go to Beirong.

  Liu Gong was also in a difficult position. Qingbi was his niece, the only child of his younger brother's daughter, and he did not want her to go to Beirong at all. However, Qing Sang was indeed the one he had tried hard to marry off to the Crown Prince, so it would be a pity to send her to Beirong instead. With his son-in-law in prison, he could not avoid making a decision for the old and young of the Pu family, otherwise, the Pu family would truly be finished.

  After careful consideration, he finally decided to sacrifice Qing Sang. In any case, the Pu family must produce a 'daughter'. If the Crown Prince has Qing Sang in his heart, when the Emperor issues an edict, Qing Bi will definitely go to Beijiang. Although Qing Sang is a good move, she is not a blood relative of the Liu family and may not be able to help the Liu family in the future. On the other hand, Qing Bi is her own niece, even if she cannot enter the palace or marry a prince, marrying a son of a high-ranking official should not be a problem. If it's offering Qing Sang, although there may be opposition from the Crown Prince, the final decision still lies with the Emperor. Qing Sang is a concubine daughter, her status is relatively low, and in similar situations, other officials' families also offer their concubine daughters, so this can also be justified. Moreover, Qing Bi is Qing Yu's younger sister, as long as she can make the Emperor think of Qing Yu, he will naturally agree to let Qing Sang go.

  So he had a detailed conversation with Nü Er Liu and asked her to go back and persuade her family to agree to offer the green mulberry.

  Liu knew the pros and cons beforehand, but still had no intention of doing so. Seeing her father's analysis was reasonable, she didn't know whether it was right or wrong. She could only return to the mansion and tell him about these things, but when she wanted to say that Qing Sang should go to Beijiang, she couldn't say it out loud. In a hurry, she coughed even more severely.

  Wang's wife gradually came to her senses, feeling that under the circumstances where Master was not around, Old Madam and Liu would definitely let Qing Sang go to Beijiang, and she also cried out in anxiety.

  Liu's family saw this and couldn't bear it, saying: "Sister, there is no need for this, the matter has not been decided yet."

  However, everyone in the audience already knew that this matter had basically been settled, so Liu's consolation did not have any effect.

  Liu sighed sadly.

  At night, Qing Sang had a series of chaotic dreams. In one dream, Lu Sheng covered in blood came to demand her life, and in another, her father covered in wounds begged her to save him.

  After waking up, I was already drenched in sweat and my clothes were soaked. Just as I wanted to call Xuepan to bring me a change of clothes, there came a hurried knock at the door. After Xuepan got up to open the door, I heard her let out a cry of surprise.

  Just as he wanted to speak up and ask her what was going on, Xue Pan entered the inner chamber and said sorrowfully: "Miss, Geng Shang Uncle sent word that Madame... has passed away."

  Qing Sang, who had just sat up on the edge of the bed, was shocked and suddenly stood up, grabbing Xue Pan's arm and asking, "What did you say?"

  Today is the last day of April, thank you for the support and rewards from Meng Yan Kong Kong, Sun Jiuniang, s, Aunt-level horse 1, 24-hour business, Shui Ai Tianxin, Ming Wang, Si Quanquan, Ming Yu Chi, Aili Xiangrong. Thank you to all the silent supporters of Gezi, thank you! Tomorrow is May, I hope the new month will bring better results, and Gezi will work hard to write more colorful stories for everyone! Wishing everyone a happy Labor Day! (*^_^*) Hehe