Mistakenly Connected to the Jade Flower Branch

The long painting of flowers and birds on the wall was moved aside, revealing a hidden door, just big enough for one person to pass through. The person slipped inside, then moved the door back to its original position as if nothing had happened.

Xu Chengyao quietly entered the room, and rotated the dragon and snake celadon jar and the phoenix blue porcelain bottle clockwise back to their original positions. He heard a soft click, as if something had been locked.

Soon, someone behind the flower and bird painting started pushing and banging on the wall, the force getting heavier and heavier, until even the painting hanging on the wall started to shake.

When Luo An arrived at the fire, he saw the servants frantically splashing water to put out the flames. Just as he was about to rush into the fire, he saw Jie Qian carrying a child in each arm and Jie Se carrying a large rolled-up quilt as they rushed over.

The blanket was placed in front of Luo An, and inside was Madam Qian. Madam Qian struggled to crawl out from under the blanket, crying out, "Husband, husband, husband is still there..."

Jie Se looked at the increasingly fierce fire and hesitated: "Your Highness?"

With so many servants, isn't there a single one with a brain who's loyal to the First Madam's faction? Do they all need his people to save them? He's out making house calls today for the consultation fee, not to be a chivalrous knight-errant.

Just as Luo An was about to shake his head, he saw a gray-haired man stumble out of the thick smoke. A servant went up to help him up: "Butler Tu, is there anything wrong with you?"

Butler Tu coughed as he spoke, "The young master is missing, the young master is missing..."

A comatose, living dead person has simply vanished. Even in robbery, you need a living person to have any value. Indeed, the wealthier the family, the more complicated their affairs tend to be.

The baby in Jieqian's arms was crying loudly, so loudly it didn't sound like a newborn. Jieqian was at his wit's end, feeling like he was holding a hot potato, and said with a worried expression, "Your Highness, what should we do?"

What could Luo An do? He couldn't knock them unconscious, nor could he poison them to make them mute. Luo An pointed to several female onlookers nearby: "Give them to them."

"Your Highness." Jie Zao appeared behind Luo An without anyone noticing: "The manor is a mixed bag; the child is safer in our hands."

The man, who was trying to quit money, shoved the child into his hand and said, "Here you go."

Fortunately, the two children were wrapped up thickly and tied tightly, otherwise the two rough men would not have been able to hold them.

Mrs. Qian had already crawled out of bed and continued crawling forward. The firelight illuminated her pale face and the tears streaming down her face, as well as the determination and recklessness in her eyes.

Luo An couldn't bear it any longer, so he squatted down and said to Madam Qian, "Madam, you'll die if you do this."

Mrs. Qian cried, "Xue Lin is still inside, in the bedroom on the left. I have to go save him..."

Luo An calmly stated, "The butler just said he's not here. Even in your condition, you can't save him. You have children now, two children. If he dies, your children will still have a mother, but if you keep climbing, your children will lose their mother too."

Mrs. Qian touched her stomach and felt her hand was wet. She took her hand out; her palm was covered in blood. She turned her head with difficulty to look at the child in Jie Zao's arms, speechless.

Luo An added, "The wound needs to be treated again to stop the bleeding. I'll have them carry you to Madam Qian's main courtyard. You won't be able to get out of bed for the next month. Can you manage that?"

If he can't do that, will he just give up on saving me? How come the doctor in the delivery room, who was so gentle, suddenly became so cold? It's frightening.

Mrs. Qian nodded and added, "I can do it."

Abstaining from money and lust, the steward lifted the young mistress onto the palanquin, while several servants followed, jogging to lead the way.

The main courtyard was lit but empty. Jieqianjiese carried the young mistress to the bed and then withdrew.

Luo An covered Madam Qian's eyes with a face towel, re-bandaged the wound and applied medicine, then removed the face towel and instructed her again: "Madam, for the next month and a half, you must not get out of bed, be exposed to wind, catch a cold, sit for long periods, or hold the child..."

Just a month ago, and now another month and a half? And so many more? Does this mean the situation is very serious?

Mrs. Qian dared not utter a single word of doubt, and replied in a low voice, "Okay, okay, okay..."

Luo An summoned a maid to help Madam Qian bathe and change her clothes, gave her some instructions, and then left.

Jie Jiao was pacing around in circles when he saw Luo An and immediately rushed up to him, whispering, "Your Highness, the First Prince is missing."

Luo An was still thinking that the four people Xu Sheng had left for him were really good, but in the blink of an eye, such a big mistake had occurred.

He had just arrived when Xu Chengyao got into trouble. Even a fool would think that the new crown prince couldn't tolerate the emperor's own son.

Luo An didn't care what others thought, but Xu Chengyao was someone the late emperor had personally held. It was said that the late emperor was already in poor health at the time, but he held on for a while longer in order to wait for this child to be born.

Luo An's voice instantly turned cold: "Go find them all."

The four brothers scattered in a panic. Luo An looked at Madam Qian, who was still unconscious in the armchair, and remembered a saying he had heard from his master when he was practicing medicine: "Money is hard to earn, and shit is hard to swallow."

Luo An has never lacked money since he was a child, so he has no concept of money. Now he is experiencing it for himself.

He just wanted to earn some consultation fees, but he inexplicably got involved in so much trouble. If Xu Chengyao were to be lost at the Qian residence, he would burn the entire Qian residence to the ground.

Madam Qian slowly woke up, looked up and saw Luo An, and suddenly felt a chill and sneezed.

Before Madam Qian could recover, Luo An said, "Madam, my... little apprentice is at the Qian residence..."

The commotion outside the door interrupted Luo An: "You adulterous couple, you adulterous couple... drown them in a pig cage, drown them in a pig cage..."

Xu Chengyao entered first, with Jie Jiao carrying a pile of clothes beside him. Behind them, servants escorted two scantily clad men and women, who were none other than Aunt Feng and the gatekeeper.

Aunt Feng knelt before Madam Qian, pointing at the gatekeeper and wailing, "Madam, you must do me justice! He forced himself on me! How could I, a concubine of the Qian family, possibly fall for a mere gatekeeper..."

The doorman, realizing what was happening, pointed at Aunt Feng and said, "You're spouting nonsense! You clearly told me that the master is old and can't do anything right, unlike me, who's young and strong and can give you the ultimate pleasure..."

Xu Chengyao added fuel to the fire: "Madam, the two of them set fire to try to burn the young mistress and your grandchildren to death. Fortunately, we discovered it in time and managed to rescue the young mistress and the children."

Madam Qian was so angry that she trembled all over. She raised her hand and slapped the gatekeeper and Aunt Feng hard each: "Drag them away and lock them up. Send them to the government office first thing tomorrow morning."

The gatekeeper immediately protested his innocence: "Madam, I didn't set the fire, she did. Before the young mistress even gave birth, she made a little doll that looked like the young mistress, and it was in her room."

She also said that if the young mistress and the child were gone, the Qian family mansion would belong to the second young master. She would then make sure the second young master sent the mistress back to her hometown. Therefore, she must have started the fire.

"Madam, I've told you everything, not a single word of it is false. Please, for the sake of my elderly parents and young children, forgive me this time. I will repay your immense kindness by serving you like a slave in the future."