Help! The cunning and treacherous minister and I were reborn together!

Chapter 116 Chu Xia Regains His Memory

For several days in a row, Yuan Zhi hardly got out of bed, and Xiao Zong seemed to have gotten a taste of the sweetness, pulling her close and entwining them in passionate embrace.

The other day, she simply asked, "Why don't you attend court?" and it seemed as if she had touched a nerve, as he gave her a cold look for a long time.

He wasn't here today, so she had some free time and decided to take a walk in the yard.

The guards stood under the eaves. When they saw the door open and didn't see anyone, they bowed and saluted.

Just as Yuan Zhi was about to speak, the two men stood up and looked straight ahead into the courtyard. She immediately understood; Xiao Zong must have given the order not to speak to her.

A light rain began to fall from the sky. She leaned against the balustrade, lost in thought.

Xiao Zong has been quite idle lately. I don't know if he's away on official business or has been dismissed from his post, but he's been staying here all day enjoying himself.

If he was indeed dismissed by His Majesty, it's unlikely that Xiao Zong would have gone far away. This place should be a residence somewhere in Shengjing.

Unfortunately, she only dared to guess, but didn't dare to ask him for confirmation.

Ever since she revealed her true identity to Xiao Zong, his temper has become increasingly erratic. If she angers him, she'll be the one who suffers. Although she's not clever, she's not stupid either, and she won't provoke him when he's in a bad mood.

She sighed, wondering how her third brother and Aunt Zhao were doing.

Now she's a fugitive, and she's easily caught if she goes out. She wants to get some information, but she has no one to talk to, so her situation is really passive.

*

Compared to the peace and tranquility on Yuanzhi's side, the Changping Marquis's residence was in complete chaos.

After hearing that Yuan Zhi had disappeared, Chu Lan hesitated for a long time before finally deciding to give the jade pendant to her uncle. However, the uncle went berserk as soon as he saw the item, covering his head and screaming loudly, running around wildly.

Jade artifacts and antiques were scattered all over the ground. Fearing that he would get hurt, Chu Lan hurriedly ordered the servants to tie him up and throw him onto the bed.

The maids were cleaning up when Marquis Changping arrived, having heard the news.

Chu Jiuchuan stared at the mess on the ground, then looked at his out-of-control son, and asked with heartache, "What exactly happened?"

Chu Lan was so frightened that she lost her mind and explained the whole story.

"Yin'er, you're confused! Yuanpu is the real culprit who harmed your uncle, so what good could his daughter be? This jade pendant must be an evil object she used to curse Xia'er. Smash it now!"

“Grandfather, my cousin-in-law saved Brother Fengchen and Uncle. She's not like Yuanpu! I don't believe she would harm my family! Uncle reacted so strongly to this jade pendant; it might remind him of the past. How can we destroy it?”

Chu Jiuchuan roared, "If you won't smash it, I will! Lan Yin, give it to me!"

"grandfather!"

Chu Lan was no match for him in strength, and he took away her jade pendant.

Chu Jiuchuan raised his arm high and slammed it to the ground with all his might.

"Grandfather, you mustn't!"

"father--"

At the critical moment, Chu Lan threw herself to the ground and caught the jade pendant. After shouting, the person on the bed became so emotional that she fainted.

Chu Jiuchuan's hands trembled as he murmured, "Yin'er, did you hear me?"

Chu Lan nodded, still shaken, "My...my uncle calls you...calls you father!"

"I heard right, I heard right! Quick! Go get a doctor!"

Chu Jiuchuan was filled with mixed feelings of joy and sorrow. He had just been happy for a short while when he saw his son faint, and he sat down by the bedside with tears streaming down his face.

Chu Lan held the jade pendant, looking completely dazed, sometimes crying and sometimes laughing.

A short while later, the rest of the family members arrived. The fourth wife held her daughter in her arms and gently comforted her. Her brothers also tried to cheer her up.

After the doctor administered acupuncture, Chu Xia slowly regained consciousness. Marquis Changping held his hand and gently called his name.

"Xia'er, do you still remember who I am?"

"……father."

"Eh!"

“Jade…jade pendant.”

Chu Lanyin suddenly looked up, rushed to the bedside, and stuffed the jade pendant into his hand.

"Uncle, the jade pendant is here. Look, it's perfectly fine, not damaged at all!"

Chu Xia stroked the jade pendant, his chapped lips turning slightly white.

"Meng'er, Father...please...help me find Meng'er!"

Chu Jiuchuan asked, "Who is Meng'er? Where is she?"

"My...madam, your...daughter-in-law!"

Chu Jiuchuan was surprised. When did the hero get married? Could it be that he met a soulmate in Shuozhou?

"Alright, I'll send someone to Shuozhou right away to help you find her!"

"Not in Shuozhou, Father, go...go to Qingzhou...to the Su Family Trading Company, find Su...Su Meng!"

"Okay, Father has remembered!"

"And also, the person who harmed me was Yuan..."

"Yuan Pu!" Chu Jiuchuan gritted his teeth and said, "Don't worry, His Majesty has sentenced him to be executed in the autumn. You take good care of yourself, and then your father will take you to watch his head roll!"

Chu Xia nodded, a relieved smile spreading across his face. His head seemed to lose its support and slid down the pillow.

"Xia'er? Doctor! Quickly, take a look at what's wrong!"

The series of frights kept Chu Jiuchuan on edge. He held on to his breath, trying not to collapse.

After examining the man, the doctor said he was just tired and told him to relax.

The second son came over to help him up. "Dad, you've had a long day. Go back and rest. We brothers are here to keep an eye on things; nothing will happen!"

Chu Jiuchuan nodded. Before leaving, he apologized to Lan Yin and instructed his men to hurry to Qingzhou to find someone.

When Xiao Zong heard that the Chu family had sent people to Qingzhou, he became suspicious and kicked Su Ziyuan, who was slumped in a chair drinking tea and eating snacks.

"Su Meng is, after all, the eldest daughter of the Su family. After she disappeared, the Su family didn't send anyone to look for her?"

“How could we not have looked for her? My father told me that my grandfather sent three groups of people to Shuozhou to search for her, but they all came up empty-handed. It’s not hard to guess, you said yourself that your aunt used an alias, it would be a miracle if we could find her!”

“The Su family lives a life of luxury, so your aunt must have never experienced hardship. Back then, when Shuozhou was plagued by floods and epidemics, and refugees were everywhere, why did your aunt disregard the danger and insist on staying there?”

"Don't underestimate my aunt; she's not some delicate, weak woman. My father once said that when it comes to business and winemaking, none of my siblings can surpass her. Even my grandfather preferred her to inherit the family business back then."

However, the elders of the clan strongly disagreed, and the matter was shelved. It wasn't until the floods struck Shuozhou that my aunt, wanting to avoid troubling my father and to help the people of Shuozhou, secretly went there without telling my grandfather.

Xiao Zong analyzed, "So, even though they haven't found her, the Su family hasn't shown any urgency because you think Su Meng herself doesn't want to come back?"

Su Ziyuan nodded, "That's true."

Life is unpredictable. If they had known earlier that their aunt was suffering so much outside, they should have persevered and found her sooner!

Xiao Zong had an idea.

"Is it possible that the people sent by the Su family actually found Su Meng, but she didn't want to go back at the time and made them lie?"

Su Ziyuan suddenly realized, "That's possible! You wait here, I'll go investigate right away and see if any of the people who knew about it back then are still around!"

Xiao Zong stared at his back, burying his even bolder idea deep in his heart.

If Su Meng is truly a woman who is just as capable as any man, then back then, would she have discovered that Chu Xia's death was not ordinary?

The fact that she didn't tell Yuan Pu her real name meant that she was wary of him.

Could it be that she guessed that Yuan Pu was the murderer who harmed Chu Xia, and deliberately lurked by his side, waiting for an opportunity to take revenge?

If that were true, how could a woman as righteous and vengeful as her tolerate being pregnant with her enemy's child?