The passers-by are vicious

In the summer of the 13th year of Yong'an, the sun was blazing and the heat was rolling. At this time, Marquis Changping, wearing armor, led a large army to attack Lingnan to quell the rebellion.

His eldest son Zheng Hongyu served as deputy general, and the father and son fought side by side. However, the army encountered an unknown disease during the march, and the army was eventually wiped out.

Marquis Changping and his eldest son Zheng Hongyu both died in the battlefield. This sudden tragic news caused the marquis's mansion to collapse instantly.

The court was furious, and ministers wrote to the emperor that it was the failure of the Marquis of Changping and his son that led to the destruction of the entire army.

In the end, the Zheng family was stripped of their titles, and the three clans were implicated. Not only were they dismissed from their official positions, but their homes were also confiscated and their entire families were exterminated. All male members of the family were exiled to a desolate place in the north and were never allowed to be employed as officials again.

Only the female relatives survived.

In addition, the women from the second and third rooms of the Marquis's Mansion returned to their hometown in Xuzhou after the Mansion was raided.

Zheng Zhaorong, the daughter of the old Marquis of Changping from the first wife's family, and her elder sister-in-law Jiang Wanwan chose to stay in the capital.

In a shabby courtyard on the outskirts of the capital, a beautiful woman in purple was nervously wiping the sweat off her little son, who was lying in bed with a fever and a red face.

She was extremely anxious at the moment because her youngest son's condition was getting worse but she was powerless to do anything.

Jiang Wanwan could no longer endure the torment in her heart. She pushed open the door and rushed to her sister-in-law Zheng Zhaorong, who was still reading quietly in the yard. She said anxiously, "Zhaorong, Ying'er is still running a fever. If this continues, he will probably get burned. He is your eldest brother's only blood!"

Zheng Zhaorong, who had a beautiful face, raised her head, a trace of pain flashed in her eyes, but then she answered firmly: "Sister-in-law, I won't go to find him."

Jiang Wanwan was extremely anxious and tried to persuade her sister-in-law: "Zhao Rong, are you going to watch Ying'er suffer? You can go find that Master Sheng. After all, he is still your fiancé. As long as you ask, he will definitely help you."

Zheng Zhaorong put down the book and looked at her sister-in-law, whose face was anxious but whose beauty could not be concealed. If she didn't have a good appearance, how could she be worthy of marrying into their Zheng family.

At this moment, listening to Jiang Wanwan's words, I just felt that she was an ignorant woman who knew nothing.

If Zheng Zhaorong went to ask the Sheng family for help now, the engagement between her and Sheng Hongyi would probably be invalidated.

What's more, even if Zheng Ying recovered from his illness, he would still be exiled. He was still young and it was uncertain whether he could survive the long journey to the place of exile. Why waste the only chance?

Only if she marries into the Sheng family can she find evidence to prove her father and brother's innocence and revive the family.

Thinking of this, Zheng Zhaorong's eyes became firm. She bit her lips tightly and responded in a low but firm voice: "No, I can't go to him."

"You are wiping Ying'er's face with a handkerchief. It's just the typhoid fever. It will be fine once it goes away."

After saying that, she frowned, waved her hand impatiently, lowered her head and continued to read the book in her hand, no longer paying attention to the persuasion of her sister-in-law Jiang Wanwan.

Jiang Wanwan tightly grasped the handkerchief in her hand, unable to understand why Zheng Zhaorong was not in a hurry at all when her nephew Zheng Ying was seriously ill and in danger. She still insisted on her so-called nobleness and pride and was unwilling to seek help from her fiancé's family.

She was not a stupid person. How could she not see that Zheng Zhaorong was unwilling to marry into the Sheng family?

It's just that I'm unwilling. Don't I know whether the marriage can be successful is more important than my nephew's life?

But Jiang Wanwan had no other choice but to beg Zheng Zhaorong. She couldn't help but grab her sleeve and cry softly, "Please save Ying'er!"

Zheng Zhaorong was disturbed from reading, and Jiang Wanwan's crying beside her made her feel upset. She couldn't help but scold him, "As a mother, you just cry when you encounter problems. What can an unmarried girl like me do? If you have the guts, go get a doctor yourself!"

When Jiang Wanwan heard this, she immediately stopped crying, grabbed Zheng Zhaorong's arm tightly and said, "Give me the money, I'll go get a doctor."

"Where do I have the money?"

When Zheng Zhaorong heard Jiang Wanwan asking her for money, her face instantly turned gloomy and she mercilessly shook off her hand. "Since the Marquis's Mansion was confiscated, we don't have much property anymore. Now we have to support you and your son and the maid. How can I afford to hire a doctor?"

Jiang Wanwan retorted anxiously, "But isn't the money all with you? After the mansion was confiscated, all the servants were sold off by the court. The money from selling my jewelry is clearly in your hands, how could you not have money?"

After the marquis's mansion was ransacked, all the servants were sold by the court. Fortunately, Qiuyu, the maid that Jiang Wanwan brought with her as a dowry, was kept. The jewelry that Jiang Wanwan brought from her mother's home was naturally not considered Zheng family property and was naturally retained.

For example, the courtyard we live in now is one of Jiang Wanwan’s dowries.

The silver from the sale of the jewelry was in Zheng Zhaorong's hands.

"That money is still useful and cannot be touched."

Zheng Zhaorong broke away from Jiang Wanwan's hand with an evasive look in her eyes.

She also planned to use the money to buy a gift so that she could go to the Sheng family to inquire about the marriage proposal. Naturally, she couldn't use it to hire a doctor for Jiang Wanwan.

Jiang Wanwan thought that Zheng Zhaorong's selfishness had nothing to do with her, because she always had the old marquis. But now, only Zheng Zhaorong and her only nephew Zheng Ying are left in the Zheng family.

How important could something be than Zheng Ying’s life?

Just as Jiang Wanwan was disappointed and was about to continue asking for more, Qiuyu, who was taking care of Zheng Ying in the room, suddenly shouted anxiously: "Madam, it's bad! I'm afraid the young master can't hold on..."

Upon hearing the news, Jiang Wanwan suddenly felt dizzy, her legs went weak, and she could barely stand.

Her heart was filled with fear. She gritted her teeth, rushed into the house with difficulty, and threw herself on the bed.

Jiang Wanwan gently stroked the face of her youngest son Zheng Ying with trembling hands.

Zheng Ying's face was as pale as paper, his eyes were closed, and his breathing was weak, as if he might die at any time.

Tears flowed uncontrollably from Jiang Wanwan's eyes and dripped onto Zheng Ying's face.

"Don't be afraid, Ying'er. I'll take you to see a doctor right away."

Without bothering to wipe away her tears, Jiang Wanwan picked up Zheng Ying with a choked voice and rushed out of the yard.

But when Jiang Wanwan passed by Zheng Zhaorong who was still sitting in the yard reading a book, her expression immediately became angry. She handed Zheng Ying to Qiuyu and walked up to slap Zheng Zhaorong in the face.

While she was still not reacting, I reached out and snatched the purse from her waist, then pulled Qiuyu, who was holding Zheng Ying, out of the yard.

Zheng Zhaorong, who had covered her face, finally reacted. She touched the place where the money bag was hung, her expression changed drastically, and she rushed out of the yard to chase after him without even covering her face, cursing, "Jiang Wanwan, you dare to hit me? As expected, you bully me when daddy and brother are gone. Now you dare to steal my money. I'm going to report to the police."

Jiang Wanwan heard it but ignored it. If she hadn't seen that Zheng Ying was in bad condition and didn't have time, she would not just slap her but would have torn her apart directly.

She prayed in her heart that her son Zheng Ying was okay, otherwise Jiang Wanwan would come back and not just tear her apart.

No one should underestimate the determination of a mother.

Even Jiang Wanwan, who has a soft personality.

In the clinic, the doctor was giving acupuncture to Zheng Ying. The silver needles accurately penetrated the acupuncture points on Zheng Ying's body. As the last silver needle was inserted, Zheng Ying's originally pale face gradually turned red and his breathing became steady.

The doctor then breathed a sigh of relief, slowly put away the silver needle, turned to Jiang Wanwan and said, "Fortunately, Madam sent him in time, otherwise the young master would be in trouble."

Jiang Wanwan carefully wiped Zheng Ying's forehead with a handkerchief and bowed to the doctor, "Thank you, doctor."

The doctor waved his hands repeatedly. He used to go to the Marquis' Mansion frequently to treat the people there. Now that the Marquis had died in the battle and the Marquis' Mansion had suffered such a disaster in an instant, he sighed deeply.

"I don't deserve it. I just saved you from danger temporarily. But after this illness, I'm afraid your body is weak. If you want to cure it completely, I'm afraid you need another medicine."

"But what's the difficulty?" Seeing that the doctor didn't say it directly, he thought that the medicine might be extremely rare.

In fact, the doctor also sighed about this. All the men in the Zheng family were convicted and exiled. In Zheng Ying's current condition, even if he recovers from his illness, it is unlikely that he will survive to the place of exile.

"The missing medicine is probably Cordyceps sinensis, which is only available in the palace. If you want it, Madam, if I remember correctly, the current emperor once gave it to Princess Wencheng." The doctor naturally understood what Jiang Wanwan meant and had to tell her.

Princess Wencheng was the mother of Sheng Hongyi, who was engaged to Zheng Zhaorong.

If I go and beg, I'm afraid only Zheng Zhaorong can be of use, but only if I exchange it for a letter of withdrawal of engagement.

Jiang Wanwan knew very well that Zheng Zhaorong would not go.

He had no choice but to let Qiuyu look after his son Zheng Ying while he went back to the Jiang family.

Jiang's father was just a minor official of the fifth rank. She married Zheng Zhaorong's brother Zheng Hongyu because they met by chance. Zheng Hongyu fell in love with her at first sight and asked Lord Zheng to propose to her in person.

Seeing that Zheng Hongyu was deeply in love with Jiang Wanwan, Jiang's mother agreed to the marriage. After all, given their family situation and her daughter's looks, if she found someone from a too humble family, she might not be able to protect her.

After marriage, Zheng Hongyu treated her sincerely. Although her sister-in-law Zheng Zhaorong often looked down on her family background, she only showed disrespect in words.

The Marquis treated her as his daughter-in-law sincerely, so Jiang Wanwan was very tolerant towards her sister-in-law.

But now, her father-in-law and husband are dead, leaving only her and her sister-in-law as two female relatives.

To this day, sister-in-law Zheng Zhaorong still only thinks about herself and the health of her son Zheng Ying.

When Jiang Wanwan arrived at the Jiang Mansion, a servant immediately welcomed her in.

As soon as I walked into the front hall, I saw Jiang's mother wiping her tears and rushing over to hug Jiang Wanwan in her arms.

"My daughter, Hongyu was unlucky and left you and your mother alone. How can you survive in this world?"

"Mother." Jiang Wanwan leaned in her mother's arms, sobbing with tears in her beautiful eyes. Her husband died, the Marquis's Mansion was accused, and her son was seriously ill. All these things made her feel suffocated.

Now that she had seen Jiang's mother, she could finally vent her anger. The more she thought about it, the more miserable she became and she couldn't help but burst into tears.

The mother and daughter hugged each other and cried for a long time. Jiang's mother wiped her tears and said, "Daughter, don't leave this time. Stay at home with me and your father."

As he spoke, he looked at Jiang Wanwan with eyes full of expectation. Jiang's father and mother only had this one daughter. Now that something like this had happened, how could they just watch her suffer outside?

Although Jiang's father was only a fifth-rank official, it was not a problem for him to protect his daughter.

After all, Zheng Hongyu is dead, so the husband-and-wife relationship between the two is naturally no longer there. Jiang Wanwan, a married woman, will naturally not be implicated by the affairs of the Zheng family.

What's more, His Majesty had no time to pursue the guilt of Jiang Wanwan for becoming a widow.

After all, Lord Zheng and Zheng Hongyu died in battle for Daqing. In order to avoid being executed, the Zheng family was not sent to the Jiaofang.

(Again, I emphasize that this is all just a setting, brainless literature, and has no logic.)

Jiang Wanwan did not refuse Jiang's mother's request to stay, but she shook her head and sobbed when she thought of her son Zheng Ying. "If I bring Ying'er back with me, I'm afraid it will implicate my father."

If only Jiang Wanwan returned home, no one would care. However, if Zheng Ying was brought home with her, the Jiang family might suffer.

Hearing his daughter mention Zheng Ying, Jiang's father, who had been sitting on a chair watching the mother and daughter, sighed immediately, "My daughter, if you come back, I will be willing to support you for the rest of your life. But Zheng Ying is not an option. He is the son of a criminal, and the Jiang family cannot protect him at all."

"My daughter understands." Jiang Wanwan did not feel any resentment towards what Jiang's father said, because it was the fact. She loved Zheng Ying, but she also cared about her parents.

Jiang's father and mother treated her very well both in the past and now, and she agreed to the marriage with the Zheng family only after she nodded.

I can’t blame anyone for what has happened to me.

Jiang's mother had wiped away her tears by this time. After calming down, she grabbed Jiang Wanwan's hand and said, "Husband and wife are birds of the same forest. When disaster strikes, they fly away separately. Give Ying'er to Zheng's sister-in-law and keep her for yourself."

She had never let her daughter suffer, and now that she was a widow, how could she bear to let her wander around outside?

It doesn't matter if Zheng Hongyu died. She can find someone she likes for Jiang Wanwan, or find a son-in-law from a poor family and feel at ease with him by her side.

How could Jiang Wanwan not know what her mother was thinking? But that was her child, how could she bear to give him up? "Mom, Ying'er is my life, I can't abandon him."

In the end, Jiang Wanwan took the silver and returned to the clinic despite the objections of her father and mother.

Sitting in the clinic's side room, Jiang Wanwan was thinking in her mind how she could find Cordyceps sinensis.

Just when Jiang Wanwan was feeling discouraged, she suddenly thought of something. She looked at her son Zheng Ying who was sleeping on the couch.

Suddenly I had the idea of ​​remarrying.

She walked to the mirror and looked at her reflection, which was pale but still charming.

With her looks, if she were to find a powerful family to be their second wife, I think he would be willing to ask for medicine to save Zheng Ying.

With the idea in mind, Jiang Wanwan immediately asked Qiuyu to collect all the powerful people in Beijing who have not remarried after their wives died, without any age limit.

Looking at the people on the list, Jiang Wanwan set her sights on the most powerful Prince Yong'an, Situ Haonan.

He is the oldest among them, and has enough power, but he seems to like abusing women.

What's more, she had only met the Prince of Yong'an once from afar and he was not an easy person to get along with.

After thinking for a long time, he finally shook his head and crossed it out in his mind. Then his eyes fell on General Dinghai. Although he had dozens of concubines in his family, he only had one youngest son, and he was a bastard.

If she had the chance to marry him and give birth to a legitimate son, her position would be secure and it wouldn't matter which concubine he favored.