Painting Doctor Jinhua

Chapter 111 Grandmother Tells Me the Past

"Brother Qing, what did you want to ask Madam Wei just now?" Fenghuang couldn't help asking on the way back.

"Madam Wei would ask Manager Fang to send a batch of grain and money to Jingzhou in Liang State every once in a while. It was vaguely written on it that they were doing business with a man named 'Dong Jun', but there was only outgoing money and no incoming money."

"So Brother Qing suspects that this gentleman called 'Dong Jun' is actually the real owner of this Xinghua Yanyu Tower?"

Xiao Jinyu nodded.

"But Dongjun should just be a code name. Who could this person be?" Fenghuang asked curiously.

Xiao Jinyu suddenly fell into deep thought: Judging from Madam Wei's reaction when she saw her today, she should know the former owner of this dress, and the real owner of the Xinghua Yanyu Tower might be the "princess" she mentioned.

Princess? Liang State?

Xiao Jinyu seemed to have thought of something, her expression became serious and she paused.

"Brother Qing, what's wrong with you?"

Seeing that she looked strange, Phoenix asked.

Xiao Jinyu just shook her head, said nothing, and continued walking towards Jianxi Hutong.

"Brother Qing, what else did you see in the account book? What should we do next?"

Thinking about how he was about to make King Shixing get the retribution he deserved, Fenghuang's excitement to give it a try was rekindled.

Seeing Phoenix's eyes bright with excitement and curiosity, Xiao Jinyu couldn't help but smile again.

"Phoenix, do you know how to kill a wolf without being attacked by its claws or even hurting your hands?"

Phoenix thought for a moment and replied, "I think... it should be killing someone with a borrowed knife, right?"

Xiao Jinyu smiled again.

"Yes, Fenghuang is very smart. If we need to borrow a knife, we need a handle, and the biggest handle of King Shixing lies in himself."

"From the account books, it seems that he is suspected of forming a clique for personal gain and recruiting soldiers. He also has contacts with high-ranking monks in Buddhist temples. Fenghuang, do you know what to do?"

Phoenix nodded as if something had suddenly dawned on her.

Xiao Jinyu added: "Help me find out about one person tomorrow!"

Phoenix looked at her.

"It's my uncle, Fan Yong from Shunyang Fan family!"

"it is good!"

……

When she returned to "Xiao's House", she saw the yard full of people, each with a worried look on their face, as if they were waiting for her.

There were signs that the courtyard had been searched extensively by soldiers and many tables were damaged, but fortunately no one was injured.

"Girl, you are finally back?" Ling Ye was the first to speak.

After receiving the message from Phoenix last night, Ling Ye hurriedly took Xiao Yuanshi and a group of servants to hide in an underground secret room in the backyard that had been prepared in advance.

This was also the reason why Xiao Jinyu bought this house before. By arranging some mechanisms outside the existing underground secret room, this secret room can be used as a defensible hiding place, just in case of emergency.

I didn’t expect to use it so soon!

Xiao Jinyu noticed that everyone looked unhappy, so she asked with a smile, "What's wrong with you?"

At this time, Xiao Yuan suddenly walked out of the house. She walked straight to Xiao Jinyu, looked at Xiao Jinyu's face that was half-hidden by the curtain, and murmured to herself, "Aluan? You are my Aluan, right?"

As she spoke, she suddenly hugged Xiao Jinyu tightly in her arms, and cried in fear, "Don't go to the palace. They have set a trap to harm you. Don't go...Aluan, mother misses you so much, why did you come back just now?"

Xiao Jinyu looked at Xiao Xian who was standing behind her, and didn't know what to say for a moment. Should she comfort her and let the situation go, or tell her that she was actually her granddaughter?

But she didn't have time to think too much, because Xiao Yuan had already lifted her curtain, as if she wanted to touch her face. But when she saw her face clearly, fear and anxiety appeared in her expression.

"You're not A-Luan? Then who are you?"

"who are you?"

Seeing that she seemed excited again, Xiao Xian hurriedly asked Aunt Lin to help Xiao Yuan into the room to rest.

"Ayu, today the Queen's decree came from the palace, saying that you must come to the palace to see the Queen tomorrow. When mother heard the decree, she must have thought of the situation when your mother was summoned to the palace many years ago, so... she became ill again!"

"Queen?"

"Yes! Why does the Queen suddenly want to see you? Could it be related to Prince Shixing?" Yuan Rujing asked worriedly.

Xiao Jinyu nodded: "It should be!"

"What should we do? Sister, you have finally escaped a disaster. Is the Queen in the palace going to blame you for the incident of Prince Shixing?" Xiao Shiniang became even more frightened.

"It seems that I am to blame for this!"

Phoenix also lowered his head, feeling somewhat guilty.

"It's none of your business, Phoenix. You did a great job!"

The phoenix raised its head happily after being praised, and then heard Xiao Jinyu say, "And I was thinking of going to the palace to see her too!"

Last time I had a dream through divination, but it was just a dream after all, and it might not be the truth. For some things, I still need to go to the palace and ask "those people"!

"Don't worry, I've inquired about the character of Queen Liu Jingyan. She is a virtuous and gentle person. She won't embarrass me. The one who really wants to embarrass me should be another..."

"But with the Queen by my side, this man can't do anything to me!"

At this point, Xiao Jinyu seemed to remember something and smiled secretly: Liu Jingyan, this noble girl who believes in the Taoism of Zhuangzi and emphasizes the benefit of water to all things without competing, was once considered her close friend!

Now she has become Chen Xu's queen...

……

At night, Xiao Xian couldn't fall asleep, so he simply put on his clothes, got up, and went to Xiao Jinyu's door. However, he raised his hand to knock on the door several times, but finally gave up.

Just as he turned to leave, the door suddenly opened.

He stopped suddenly, looked back, and saw Xiao Jinyu standing in front of the door in a fur coat.

"Uncle Xian, do you have anything to say to me?" she asked first.

Seeing Xiao Xian's hesitation, he added, "It's late at night and the dew is cold, let's talk inside!"

Xiao Xian nodded and walked in. He was silent for a long time before asking, "Ayu, will you go to Qi in the future?"

Xiao Jinyu did not deny it.

Xiao Xian's heart sank suddenly, and then he smiled bitterly.

"I should have thought of it earlier, Ah Yu. You are so talented that you would never submit to a small country like Chen. Besides, my sister... your mother died in Northern Qi after all. She was once the exclusive imperial physician of Emperor Wenxuan of Qi and also a third-rank doctor of Guanglu. If you say that her death had nothing to do with the dignitaries in Northern Qi, I don't believe it!"

As he spoke, he looked at Xiao Jinyu with gentle yet sad eyes.

"I don't know what you and your mother went through in Northern Qi, but what Rujing said yesterday still hurts my heart. So, selfishly speaking, Uncle Xian doesn't want you to go back to Qi.

Even if...your mother's death will always be a mystery, but as long as you are alive, living safely and happily, it is enough for me!"

Xiao Jinyu felt the fear of losing from his eyes, and this feeling of being cherished also made her feel warm and touched in her heart.

"Uncle Xian, I promise you that I will live well."

She assured with a smile.

"I will not go to Northern Qi for the time being, before you officially become the head of the Xiao family..."

"And I will take back everything of the Xiao family for you. That is the foundation that my mother tried her best to preserve. It was her last wish!"

The next sentence made Xiao Xian's face change suddenly.

……

As the two were talking, a cool breeze blew in from outside the door. Xiao Xianmeng turned around and saw his mother, Xiao Yuan, standing in front of the door.

"You just said that Aluan is... dead? Died in Northern Qi?"

She murmured, as if she couldn't believe it, but tears welled up and her eyes were blurred again.

"Mother--"

Xiao Xian hurriedly stepped forward and supported Xiao Yuanshi, who seemed to be in unbearable pain and was holding her chest and staggering.

"Alan, is she dead?"

"No, A-Luan is so smart and capable... She is so young... How could she die?"

"No, she won't die. I must have heard it wrong... I must have heard it wrong..."

Xiao Jinyu came to her and called softly, "Grandma!"

"Do you remember everything?"

She asked again cautiously.

The toxins have been completely removed, unless you don't want to remember, don't want to believe, don't want to admit...

Xiao Yuan burst into tears again, her hands convulsively clutching her chest.

"I feel so sad, so sad...my Ah Luan...I didn't even get to see her for the last time..."

Seeing her distraught and miserable look, Xiao Xian felt even more pain in his heart:

"Mother--"

Only then did Xiao Yuan raise her head and looked at Xiao Xian in a trance and sadness.

"Xianlang, it was your mother's incompetence that harmed your elder sister and brothers. It was all because of your mother's incompetence that she failed to protect them..."

"Did you recognize me?"

Hearing that Xiao Yuan finally called out his name, Xiao Xian felt a little happy, and comforted her in a sad voice:

"Mother, we cannot change the dead, but we should cherish the living ones, right?"

As he said that, he pointed at Xiao Jinyu.

"This is my sister's daughter, your granddaughter. She is the continuation of my sister's life. She is back, which means my sister is back!"

Only then did Xiao Yuan raise her head and look at Xiao Jinyu with tears in her eyes.

Fortunately, he did not mistake her for her father this time. Instead, he was stunned for a long time, and then he murmured to himself with tears streaming down his face:

"Aluan's daughter? She looks so much like him... Aluan must have suffered a lot to protect you, right?"

"No wonder... No wonder she didn't take you back to Chen State. You look so much like him, how could the Emperor of Chen State let you go..."

"But with such a face, she will definitely not be able to live in peace in Northern Qi, so Alua..."

"Did she sacrifice herself to protect you?"