Peach Blossom.

The current official?

Isn’t that Si De, the son of Emperor Xiaozong Si Yu and Concubine Zhou?

No, she can't be called Concubine Zhou, she is now Empress Dowager Zhou...

Tao Ye's mind was in a mess.

Si De had a stern face. After being brought down from upstairs, he glared at Chen Xi fiercely, and went out without saying a word.

Chen Xi ordered the troops to withdraw, and all officers and soldiers immediately left Meixiangxie.

Wang Ao and Tao Ye also walked out quietly and saw Si De being invited to get on a carriage. Chen Xi rode in front to lead the way, and the officers and soldiers escorted him away.

Wang Ao watched those people go away and breathed a sigh of relief: "Fortunately he didn't see you."

"Why are you afraid that he will see me?" Tao Ye was very puzzled.

Wang Ao laughed and said, "Silly sister, how long have you been away from the capital? If he saw you coming back at this time and our father just "died of illness", would he think it was just a coincidence?"

Tao Ye suddenly realized and asked again: "How could he, a minister, dare to arrest the emperor?"

"Of course it was the Queen Mother Zhou who instructed him. The emperor was young and playful, and the Queen Mother Zhou couldn't leave the palace, so she always asked Chen Xi to arrest people and send them back to the palace for punishment. According to my sister-in-law, this kind of thing happened at least dozens of times."

"Dozens of times? What do the eunuchs and guards in the palace do for a living? Can they watch the emperor run away every day?"

Wang Ao smiled and shook his head, approached Tao Ye, and whispered: "It was the Empress Dowager who deliberately let the emperor go... She hoped that the emperor would be ignorant and incompetent, so that she could stay in power for a few more years! Empress Dowager Zhou punished the emperor's closest eunuch several times for this. The eunuch was forced into a dilemma by the two Empress Dowagers, so he simply jumped into the well and died... Now everyone in the palace is in danger and has no words to grievance..."

"Someone has died?" Tao Ye remembered what she heard in Yongchang, that the Empress Dowager and the Grand Empress Dowager had been in frequent conflicts recently, and it was probably because of these things.

Wang Ao nodded.

The two were chatting when they passed by a drug store. Wang Ao naturally walked in to get some medicine. He spoke to the clerk in a very casual manner and looked like a regular customer there.

Tao Ye suddenly remembered what she had heard before, that Xiao Rui had been ill for a long time after Yu'er was stabbed in the face, and he was not well until Yu'er was sent away.

When Wang Ao walked out of the pharmacy, Tao Ye asked hurriedly, "Is mother sick again?"

"She has been bedridden for four years." When he said this, the smile on Wang Ao's face disappeared, replaced by a sad look.

Tao Ye was somewhat shocked: "You mean, she hasn't been well since Yu'er got into trouble?"

Wang Ao nodded and couldn't help but sigh.

Tao Ye immediately criticized him: "Then you still want to take me out to play?"

Wang Ao lowered his head and said listlessly: "In the first few months when my mother fell ill, I couldn't eat or sleep all day. But as time went by, it was inevitable that I became a little numb, but it's not that I don't care about her."

Tao Ye probably understood this emotion, and hurriedly comforted Wang Ao: "Take me to see her! I'll tell her about Yu'er's recent situation, maybe she'll feel better after hearing it!"

So the two of them returned to Situ Mansion together, and met Wang Dun as soon as they entered the backyard.

As Tao Ye expected, Wang Dun frowned as soon as he saw her and started to scold Wang Ao: "Why did you bring this demon back? Do you want to die? Or do you want to bring death to your whole family?"

Wang Ao was dissatisfied and said to Wang Dun in the same manner: "You are so rude! Guests are guests, how can you call them "fairies" in front of them?"

Wang Dun sneered: "It has long been rumored in the palace that she is a demon. Don't you know?"

Wang Ao held his head high and sneered like Wang Dun: "People in the palace say that Emperor Xiaozong died of a nightmare! Do you believe it?"

Wang Dun was speechless: "She almost killed her mother with the spicy soup. You must have seen it with your own eyes, right?"

Wang Ao still answered fluently: "At that time, Sister Taoye didn't understand mother's condition. Ignorance is not a big deal!"

"Okay! Even this makes sense! But she seduced my second brother, causing Yu'er to be disfigured and disgraced, and causing unrest in the family! My mother is still ill today..."

Before Wang Dun could finish, Wang Ao retorted: "That was all the princess' fault. How can you blame it on Sister Tao Ye?"

Wang Dun also spoke even more harshly: "If she hadn't interfered, would the princess have done this?"

Wang Ao seemed to be deliberately trying to anger Wang Dun, and he continued to argue: "As long as the second brother does not recognize the status of the prince consort, the princess will do evil sooner or later!"

"What's the noise outside?" A trembling voice came from Xiao Rui's room.

Wang Dun and Wang Ao stopped talking and walked into the room together.

Tao Ye followed behind Wang Ao.

Wang Dun stopped Tao Ye again and put on a sour face: "How can you be so shameless, woman? You are not welcome in our home! Get out of here!"

When Wang Ao heard this, he was furious. He pushed Wang Dun and said, "This is my yard. I complain that you dirty my ground by standing on it and dirty my door by leaning on it!"

"You..." Wang Dun was furious and turned around to walk out.

Wang Ao then pulled Tao Ye into the house.

Tao Ye suddenly remembered the purpose of this trip and hurriedly reminded Wang Ao: "You haven't shown him your father's letter yet!"

Wang Ao suddenly remembered and hurried out to chase Wang Dun.

On the bed, Xiao Rui had already seen Tao Ye and called out weakly, "A Jiao...you're back?"

Tao Ye was just leaning over to look at Wang Ao. When she heard the call, she turned around and saw Xiao Rui, and she couldn't help but feel surprised.

Xiao Rui looked much older than before. He was thin, his skin was sagging, his face was covered with wrinkles, and he had more white hair than black hair.

"Ah Jiao... why don't you come over? Are you angry with me?" Xiao Rui was originally lying down, and at this moment he raised his head slightly.

A maid serving at Xiao Rui's bedside hurriedly raised the pillow for Xiao Rui.

Tao Ye hurried to the bed, supported Xiao Rui, and called softly: "Mother...you...what's wrong with you..."

Outside, Wang Ao had dragged Wang Dun back with a smile, and went to Xiao Rui's room to take out Wang Yi's letter.

"Why didn't you say so earlier if you have something important to tell me?" Wang Dun simply rebuked him lightly. He didn't care about what Wang Ao had said before and quickly read the letter carefully.

Xiao Rui finally sat up, holding Tao Ye with both hands. Before he could speak, tears rolled down his eyes: "Ah Jiao... I'm sorry for you... I forced you to leave... I promised to protect Yu'er with my life... But I didn't take good care of her... I'm ashamed of you..."

Xiao Rui sobbed, cried and talked.

Tao Ye felt uncomfortable all over and didn't know how to respond.

"Mother, actually I..." Tao Ye was about to explain, but saw Wang Ao winking at her.

Seeing Xiao Rui's tearful face, Tao Ye had to change her words: "I... I never meant to blame my mother, and... and Yu'er is now with her father and grandfather, and she is living well..."

"Yu'er..." Xiao Rui was somewhat obsessed. She stared at Tao Ye with a helpless look: "Does Yu'er hate me too?"

"No, no..." Tao Ye held Xiao Rui's hand and started to make up a story half-truthfully: "Yu'er keeps talking about how much she misses her grandmother! My second brother went everywhere to seek medical help to treat her face. The scar on her face is not that obvious anymore. Prince Yongchang has also accepted the marriage. It won't be long before Yu'er is married. I came back this time to tell you the good news!"

"Really?" Xiao Rui believed it and couldn't help but smile. He got out of bed in a hurry and put on his shoes.

Wang Dun and Wang Ao both stared with wide eyes. They both knew clearly that Xiao Rui had not gotten out of bed for four years.

After Xiao Rui got out of bed, he rummaged through boxes and cabinets, found a box, and showed it to Tao Ye: "Here are all the dowry I saved for Yu'er. This time I'm finally going to use it..."

Tao Ye's fingers brushed across the box, and her fingertips touched some dust. She looked at Xiao Rui, who was weak and haggard but full of love, and her eyes became moist unconsciously.

She took the box and gently put it back to its original place. She then took Xiao Rui's arm and walked him back to the bed: "Mother, be careful not to get tired. You should take a rest!"

Xiao Rui smiled and nodded, then slowly lay down with Tao Ye's help, and the maid hurriedly covered him with a quilt.

Tao Ye walked to Wang Ao and asked in a low voice: "How could mother be so confused that she didn't even remember that Ah Jiao was dead?"

"So, you know how much of a blow Yu'er's matter has dealt to our family!" Wang Ao sighed, glanced at Xiao Rui secretly, and lowered his voice very low: "Look, my mother is like this, let alone how my second brother feels? He ignored you for Yu'er, but it's not that unforgivable..."

In this situation, Tao Ye couldn't refute Wang Ao's words of advice, but she didn't completely agree with them in her heart.

After Wang Dun finished reading Wang Yi's letter, he immediately placed the letter on a burning candle and burned it to prevent the news from leaking out.

Tao Ye watched the letter turn into ashes, then looked back at Xiao Rui who seemed to be asleep, and said goodbye to Wang Ao: "I have delivered the letter you wanted to take with me, and I have comforted my mother. It's time for me to go."

"Oh..." Wang Ao nodded, glanced at Wang Dun first, and then replied to Tao Ye: "Okay. When mother wakes up, if she asks about you, I will say that you were chased away by my eldest brother!"

Wang Dun glared at Wang Ao and said nothing.

Tao Ye ignored all this and walked out the door.

Wang Dun stood up quickly, stopped Tao Ye, and smiled: "Miss Tao, how about... how about you stay for two days and accompany my mother? Maybe it will be good for her recovery..."

Before Tao Ye could answer, Wang Ao hurried over and pushed her: "Sister, hurry up and leave! Otherwise, what if someone calls you a "witch" or "shameless"? "

Wang Dun's face was long, and he had no choice but to bend down and bow to Tao Ye: "It's my brother who speaks without restraint, please don't take it to heart, Miss Tao!"

Tao Ye was about to speak when Wang Ao interrupted her with a smile: "Brother, if you ask for help, you have to act like you're asking for help. Be sincere! Otherwise, people will think you're being sarcastic!"

Wang Dun looked up with a hint of anger and asked, "Do you want me to kneel down and beg her?"

"With what you just said, it's not too much for you to kneel down!" Wang Ao said seriously, but he laughed accidentally.

Wang Dun was really ready to kneel down.

"Brother, don't..." Tao Ye hurriedly stopped Wang Dun, and then pushed Wang Ao casually, scolding him: "You've gone too far, haven't you? How can you make my brother kneel before me?"

Wang Ao stood aside and couldn't help laughing out loud.

Tao Ye listened to the hearty laughter, but felt a little depressed. She had finally made up her mind to leave Wang Jing and stop being Mantangjiao's substitute. Now she was playing the role of Mantangjiao in front of Wang Jing's mother again. She wondered if she had lost her mind.

Just as she was daydreaming, she suddenly heard someone outside shouting, "The princess is back!"