【Quick Wear】My Years as a Mother-in-law

"Well...if Madam Yun's next book can reach a higher level, we can re-sign the contract." Shopkeeper Shi was still a little hesitant, worried that it would not sell well.

Yun Xi had no choice but to say, "Okay, let's sign the contract based on a 20:80 split."

Shi Shu promised, "I'll start arranging the printing of the book this afternoon. I'll print fifty copies first to see how well it sells."

"Okay, I don't know anything about business, I'll leave it to Shopkeeper Shi to decide."

Yun Xi thanked him and left.

Canglan Bookstore is in Dongcheng, quite far from home. When she reached the end of a street, a stone came out from nowhere and hit Yun Xi in front of her. She was slightly startled and saw a dirty child of unknown gender emerging from the alley, so she quickly ran over.

"Any news?"

"How many pieces of news are there? One hundred coins for each piece of news?"

"Yes, pay now."

"Okay, I'll tell you to remember."

"First, the Eighth Prince is well known in the capital as an uneducated and unskillful person. He is ugly, short in stature, and long in face. He lacks the heroic spirit of an emperor. The Eighth Prince is the son of Concubine An in the palace, and his maternal family is the Xu family, a newly rising merchant family in the capital..."

"Secondly, the young master of the Marquis of Changping's mansion is handsome but lacks any intelligence. He is neither good at literature nor martial arts. As the only male in the Marquis of Changping's mansion, he needs to go to the border to guard it, but he still doesn't know how to do anything."

"Third, Marquis Yuanren's wife was once the most beautiful woman in the capital, but her son has a plain appearance and relies entirely on his temperament to hold up."

"The fourth is the Marquis of Jinghe's Mansion. A warrior family gave birth to a premature and fragile daughter who has been taking medicine all year round."

"The Fifth Marquis Guanqing had twins a few years ago..."

"sixth……"

……

The girl provided over thirty pieces of information. After Yun Xi paid her, she said, "Can you get some news from the Imperial City? It's 200 coins each. I also want to check on some news from outsiders. Can you do that?"

"Yes, it will cost extra."

"Okay, I'll pay ten taels for the journey first, and I'll give you another twenty taels if you can deliver the information. The more detailed the better. Oh, and check the birth details of the people mentioned in the first ten items you just mentioned. Each piece of information costs two hundred taels, and you need to do it as soon as possible."

"make a deal."

After a brief meeting, Yun Xi returned home quietly and picked up a pen and paper to write down the news.

Staring at the information on the paper, Yun Xi gained some understanding of the general situation in the capital.

The dynasty she belonged to was called Dongpu. To the west was Xiling, to the south was Sangnan, also known as the Southern Barbarians, and to the north was the grassland. It was only twenty years ago that they were unified and established as Beixiang.

Among all the countries, Dongpu has the largest area and the best geographical location, and is coveted by the other three countries. It has a navy in the east and border guards on the southwest, south and north borders.

The problem is that the navy in the east is controlled by the Marquis of Jinghe, the border in the west is guarded by the Earl of Changping, the south is guarded by the Earl of Yuanren, and the north is guarded by the Marquis of Guanqing. It seems that there are problems with these four families.

Why did the original owner get pregnant? Was she overweight? Who delivered her? Did she give birth herself? All of these seemed plausible, yet the original owner was unaware and genuinely believed she had given birth.

The last question is, the Lu family, whose children were swapped with others, always had to have children to replace them. Where did these children come from? In any case, they couldn't have been born to the original owner.

The situation was like a fog. She seemed to have grasped something, but it also seemed unlikely. If it were true, how big would this game be?

"Mom, Xiaowu is hungry."

Lu Xiaowu ran over and stopped two meters away.

"Oh? Is there any cooking at home?"

Yun Xi looked at the sky and it was indeed late.

Lu Xiaowu, who had been taught a lesson by his older brothers and sisters, stood up straight and said obediently, "Sister can only steam rice, but she can't cook."

"I just brought back a basket of eggs and meat. I'm going to make some steamed eggs and stir-fry some vegetables."

Eggs are hard to buy in winter, so I bought all they could when I saw them. I cracked three eggs, added water and stirred them evenly, then steamed them in a pot. I also cut a pound of lean meat into slices and stir-fried it with radish. These were the two things I had for dinner.

After the dishes are cooked, fill the large clay pot with water. The water needs to be boiled twice. The first time is for everyone to wash and soak their feet, and the second time the hot water is poured into small clay pots. Put one pot of water in each room and drink it when you are thirsty at night.

The winter in the north is really dry. Everyone in the family has to drink a can of water every day, and they are often woken up by thirst at night. Even so, everyone's faces soon become chapped, their lips become dry, and their hands become cracked.

Yun Xi called her fourth sister Xiao Wu over and scooped out a lump of lard for them. "Apply lard to your face and hands to protect your skin. Apply it once a day from now on."

Lu Xiaowu secretly licked it and smiled while covering his mouth. "The lard smells so good."

"Of course lard tastes good."

Fourth sister Lu said nothing, as quiet as a lotus flower, elegant, beautiful, and at peace with the world.

Her gaze lingered on Lu Simei's soft and charming face for a moment, and Yun Xi smeared lard on them as if nothing had happened before starting to eat.

After dinner, Lu Da and his friends went to wash the dishes. Yun Xi was uneasy. Wei had been gone for so long, and logically there should have been some news.

We should always tell the truth.

On the other side, at the Yuanren Marquis's residence, after hearing Wei's revelations, Yuanren Marquis' eyes were deep and he said nothing.

Wei looked at him eagerly, "Uncle?"

Earl Yuanren said calmly, "Wei, there is another hidden story behind this matter."

Wei felt something was wrong, "What's going on?"

"Okay, you can go back and live here with peace of mind. You don't have to serve the young master anymore. Just help out in the sewing room." Uncle Yuanren casually arranged her whereabouts and sent her away.

Wei was apprehensive, and the more she thought about it, the more she felt something was wrong. She returned to the servants' quarters and saw He Xiang, the maid who had a day off the next day. She thrust two silver ingots, one large and one small, into her hand and said, "He Xiang, can you help me pass on a message?"

"Okay, giving money is too awkward."

"No, it's like this. A few days ago, I caught a cold and fainted on the ground. Someone rescued me, and I'm afraid they'll miss me, so I'd like to ask someone to tell them I'm safe. One tael of silver is for the errand, and five taels of silver is for the other person as a thank you."

"Aren't you going to do it yourself?"

"No, the master has transferred me to the sewing room. I am busy."

"Okay, I'll go tomorrow."

Earl Yuanren was in the main courtyard. He was dressed in gorgeous clothes and stood tall, staring at the map on the wall.

"What is the young master doing?"

Someone in the dark said, "The young master bought rat poison."

"Well, protect the Wei family. By the way, is there any news on that matter?"

"There wasn't much contact between the two parties. My subordinates traced the case to Huilinfang in North City, but they didn't expect the other party to escape and disappear without a trace."

"No other clues?"

"Hui Lin Fang has been unsealed, and my subordinates will investigate as soon as possible."

"Faster."

"Yes!"

The next day, a strange and beautiful girl came to the door of the house. She was no more than 28 years old, wearing a half-new light green silk dress, with a slightly round oval face and rosy cheeks. She exuded a calm and gentle aura.

Yun Xi stared at the other person curiously, and the other person also stared at her curiously.

"Excuse me, are you Madam Yun?"