Chapter 233: Brother and Sister

Old Madam Fan had witnessed two dynasties and was extremely well - informed.

Fan Xiao's restaurant was a place where news spread quickly, and he had many friends from all walks of life.

The news that the Prince of Andong had secretly allied with the Huan family and met with Huan Qingtang, who had returned to her natal family, reached Fan Xiao's ears.

This matter was carried out extremely secretly.

“... Shopkeeper Wu is very grateful to me for saving his daughter from the brothel back then, and he told me about this. Master Qingshan only lets Shopkeeper Wu help sell his pills.

Just after my attendant found out that the Prince of Andong had secretly gone to the Huan family, Shopkeeper Wu contacted me. He said that someone had bought one of Master Qingshan's pills, which was eventually delivered to the trusted aide of the Prince of Andong.” Fan Xiao said.

Old Madam Fan asked, “What kind of pill is it?”

Old Madam Fan was aware of all of Fan Xiao's friends.

Shopkeeper Wu ran a pharmacy. His real surname was “Wu”. As for how he got such a nickname, it was related to his heavy drinking in his early years.

He had reformed and was now taking care of the pharmacy for the divine physician, Master Qingshan.

Master Qingshan didn't like to deal with worldly affairs. If someone wanted him to save a life, they had to go through Shopkeeper Wu. A few years ago, Shopkeeper Wu's daughter had gone missing during the Lantern Festival. It was done by one of Fan Xiao's old enemies from his days in the martial arts world.

Fan Xiao happened to have some connections and managed to rescue the girl. Shopkeeper Wu was very grateful to him.

If Master Qingshan's pills were sold one by one, they were almost sky - high in price, no less than a hundred taels of gold.

The information about the sellers was kept strictly confidential by Shopkeeper Wu and Master Qingshan. Shopkeeper Wu was willing to break the rule and tell Fan Xiao only to repay the favor of saving his daughter, fearing that Fan Xiao might make more excessive demands in the future.

“What kind of pill is this?” Old Madam Fan asked again.

“The 'Resurrection Pill',” Fan Xiao replied.

“Explain,” Old Madam Fan said.

“After taking it, the person will fall into a deep sleep, appearing to be alive. In fact, they are already dead. After a month, there will be corpse spots, and only then will people notice,” Fan Xiao explained.

“Do you suspect that he wants to target someone in the Zhou family? The Dowager Madame?” Old Madam Fan asked.

Fan Xiao nodded.

This kind of poison was hard to detect at first, and people would just think the old lady was in a coma.

It was quite normal for elderly people to be sleepy. If it was delayed for ten days or half a month, it would be too late by the time something was noticed.

After some more time, the person would be completely dead.

In the eyes of the court officials, Zhou Yuanshen was in the emperor's good graces largely because of the Dowager Madame.

The emperor's rewards to the Duke of Chen's mansion always went to the Dowager Madame first.

Without the Dowager Madame, the relationship between Zhou Yuanshen and the emperor would not be as close. The Prince of Andong wanted to be the top among the officials, so he must push Zhou Yuanshen aside.

“As long as Ah Shen falls out of the emperor's favor, after the emperor's death, the Prince of Andong will be the next Prince An, and the young emperor will be his puppet,” Fan Xiao said.

“Ah Shen's being in the emperor's favor has little to do with the Dowager Madame,” Old Madam Fan said.

“We know this, but outsiders may not,” Fan Xiao replied.

Fan Xiao had inferred all this from the slightest clues.

“If something happens to the Dowager Madame... for Ah Shen, it would mean getting rid of a constraint,” Old Madam Fan mused for a while and then said.

“I didn't tell Ah Shen because of this concern. Only our close relatives know how much suffering Ah Shen has endured at the hands of the Dowager Madame.

The Dowager Madame is in her sixties and could live another twenty years. The emperor will also live for a long time. Ah Shen is having a hard time,” Fan Xiao said.

If they told Zhou Yuanshen about the Prince of Andong's sinister plot, would Zhou Yuanshen try to stop it or not?

After all, the Dowager Madame was his grandmother.

Old Madam Fan pondered for a long time.

The room became extremely quiet, with only the whistling of the night wind outside the window.

Fan Xiao looked at his mother, seeking a bit of support.

"Let you be the bad guy. You're his uncle, so bear the responsibility for this matter. If Ah Shen blames you in the future, just take it," Old Madam Fan said after a long while.

Fan Xiao's hesitant look in his eyes gradually turned into determination. "Then I won't tell Ah Shen. I'll just say that the Prince of Andong is in contact with the Huan family and won't mention the matter about the medicine."

Old Madam Fan nodded.

Just as they finished speaking, a maid standing in the courtyard announced loudly, "The Duke of Chen has arrived."

Fan Xiao stood up.

Sure enough, he told Zhou Yuanshen what he had learned about the Prince of Andong's contact with the Huan family and Huan Qingtang's meeting with him during her visit back to her natal family.

Zhou Yuanshen frowned tightly upon hearing this.

"Is there anything else you want to tell me?" he asked.

Fan Xiao replied, "What do you want to hear?"

"About the Prince of Andong."

"He's making good progress in bribing officials in thirty prefectures of seven northern regions. The regions in the north are far away and the officials there are not very wealthy. Money is quite persuasive," Fan Xiao said.

Zhou Yuanshen frowned even more deeply.

"Don't be angry. It's not any better in the capital either. With an often - crazy emperor on the throne, it's no wonder the official governance is in a mess," Fan Xiao added.

Zhou Yuanshen didn't say anything more.

"Time is getting late. I'll go back first," he said. "Keep an eye on the Prince of Andong's contact with the Huan family."

"Sure, you can rest assured and leave it to me," Fan Xiao said with a smile.

Then he added, "Your duchess is very perceptive. She even knew I had something to say."

The frown on Zhou Yuanshen's forehead eased a bit. "She's always like this. She has great natural talent."

Fan Xiao: "..."

Zhou Yuanshen had planned to have a in - depth chat with Fan Xiao, but unexpectedly, Fan Xiao wrapped up the conversation in just a few words. It was still early when he got back. Instead of staying in the outer study, he went straight back to the Chengming Hall.

He told Cheng Zhao about this matter.

Cheng Zhao was puzzled. "Why did Uncle Fan seem to hold back? If it was just about the Prince of Andong's contact with Sister - in - law, he could have just told me directly and asked me to remind you."

As if thinking of something, her expression changed slightly. "Is my fourth brother involved? He's always so thoughtless."

Zhou Yuanshen replied, "Uncle Fan didn't mention it. He indeed had something unsaid. He must have his reasons."

"You're right. Your uncle won't do you any harm," Cheng Zhao said. "I need to go back to my natal family and ask Cheng Chao. If that guy has caused trouble for me, I'll tear him apart. He's always been unable to tell right from wrong and insists on being friends with Helian Xuan!"

She continued, "When we were kids, he always brought Helian Xuan to provoke me. I really should have given them a good thrashing back then."

Zhou Yuanshen couldn't help but smile.

He put his arms around Cheng Zhao. "You're so funny."

Cheng Zhao: "..."

They were having a serious conversation, and suddenly he hugged her and gave such an off - the - mark compliment. What was wrong with him?

Could it be that just because Cheng Chao was mentioned, that kind of foolishness had passed on to Zhou Yuanshen through the conversation?

She glared at him unhappily.

This glare had no deterrent effect at all, but her fluttering eyes were really charming. With great self - restraint, Zhou Yuanshen gently kissed her lips.

Cheng Zhao: "..."

What strange men!

From Cheng Chao to Zhou Yuanshen, Cheng Zhao simply couldn't understand what they were thinking at certain moments. On the contrary, Zhou Yuanqi was better. His thoughts were as transparent as day, and Cheng Zhao liked to play with him.

The Dowager Madame fell ill. The Shou'an Courtyard started to keep the news under wraps. Except for Huan Qingtang who was allowed to attend to her, no one else knew about the Dowager Madame's condition.

Cheng Zhao went back to the Cheng family.

She asked Cheng Chao what he and Helian Xuan had been up to recently.

"I haven't seen him for quite some time," Cheng Chao said. "It's been at least two or three months."

He added, "His ambition is growing bigger and bigger. If I'm not careful, he might drag me and the Cheng family into trouble. It's really dangerous. So I've deliberately kept my distance from him. The court situation has been extremely unstable recently, and he's gone crazy."

Cheng Zhao almost started chanting Buddhist scriptures and sighed with emotion, "You've finally shown a bit of sense."

"You should also use your head. Do you have a brain as small as an almond? How could you suspect that I'd make a mistake? Even a pig wouldn't be that stupid," Cheng Chao said disdainfully.

Cheng Zhao almost got into a fight with him.

It was the senior maid beside their mother who came over and called the siblings to have a meal, so they temporarily made peace and stopped arguing.