The Divine Doctor and Adorable Consort: The Demonic Emperor is Too Cunning

However, at this moment, her heart was aching as if it were being torn apart.

Yesterday was the day her three children attended the banquet at the Yuan family residence.

After her three children returned home, she learned that none of them had been betrothed by the Emperor.

Fang Runhui, the son, looked disappointed and was not happy, but he did not make a fuss. He just didn't mention a word about what happened at the banquet.

The youngest daughter, Fang Qingwei, didn't even glance at her after returning home, as if she were an insignificant person.

The eldest daughter, Fang Qingman, cried her eyes out at her, saying that Fang Qingwei shone brightly at the banquet, overshadowing her, her older sister. She also said that Fang Qingyou and Fang Qingyun were both vixens who only knew how to seduce men and had become the focus of everyone's attention. She also said that Fang Qingyun had been bestowed by the Emperor to the Third Young Master Liang...

Zhou was already feeling upset, and Fang Qingman's crying for so long only made her feel more annoyed.

As she collapsed, she had a bad feeling, and now it seems that those premonitions have come true.

This banquet not only brought Zhang into the public eye, but also caused her three children to miss out on the opportunity for a marriage bestowed by the Emperor.

After hearing these things, Zhou was upset and confused. Coupled with Fang Qingwei's estrangement and indifference towards her, and Fang Xing'an's neglect of her these past two days, she had no energy to ask Fang Qingman about anything else.

I thought I'd wait until she recovered first. Although she seems to be at a disadvantage now, this situation will change quickly once she gets better.

But how could these things be so easily let go?

That night, Zhou had nightmares all night long. She dreamt that Old Madam Fang came to demand her life, that Fang Qingwei was berating her for favoritism with red eyes, that Fang Qingman was crying and saying that Young Master Gu didn't like her, that Zhang became the head lady of the Fang family while she became a concubine, and that Fang Xing'an said the Emperor had issued an edict to behead Lord Song, and that the Fang family would also be implicated and executed...

After a night's sleep, Zhou's condition did not improve at all; in fact, her face became much paler, and she looked even weaker than before.

Zhou was half asleep, not fully awake from her nightmare, when she was startled awake by the sound of the door being pushed open forcefully.

"boom--"

Zhou woke up with a start, and the first thing she saw when she opened her eyes was Fang Xing'an. She was overjoyed.

The master finally came to see her; it seems he still has feelings for her.

I'm only ignoring her for a few days; I just can't bring myself to be cruel to her.

Unexpectedly, when she blinked her slightly blurry eyes, she saw Fang Xing'an's angry face almost right in front of her.

"master……"

Zhou opened her mouth weakly, but before she could finish speaking, Fang Xing'an said with a stern face, "Get out of here, all of you!"

They were referring to the maids and servants in the house.

Fang Xing'an, both inside and outside the home, has always been a good-tempered person, and he never speaks too loudly to his servants. This is the first time he has ever been so furious.

The maids and servants were all terrified and immediately retreated.

Once only Zhou Shi and Fang Xing'an were left in the room, he couldn't help but ask, "What is the nature of the relationship between the Zhou family and the He family?"

"The He family?" Zhou was taken aback by the question. Over the years, Fang Xing'an had never referred to the Zhou family so directly. He usually said "father-in-law's family" or "brother-in-law's family." It took her a while to realize that the Zhou family he was referring to was her maternal family.

Zhou thought for a long time but couldn't figure out which He family it was.

“It’s Minister He of the Ministry of Personnel,” Fang Xing’an replied irritably.

A bad feeling suddenly arose in Zhou's heart, and her face turned pale instantly: "Could it be that Lord He has also encountered an accident?"

"That's right! This morning, Lord He was also impeached by an imperial censor, who accused him of abusing his power to buy and sell official positions, enriching himself, secretly cultivating cronies, corrupting the officialdom, and illegally seizing civilian houses and land..."

Every time Fang Xing'an mentioned a crime, Zhou's heart would beat a little faster. These crimes of Lord He were all serious. If convicted, with so many crimes combined, he would surely face the death penalty and possibly even the execution of his entire family.

For some reason, Zhou suddenly remembered the nightmare she had last night. Could this be considered a comeback?

No, the reality is even more terrifying than the nightmare. In her dream, she only dreamed that Lord Song was in trouble, but now it is Lord He who is in trouble.

Lord Song was merely Fang Xing'an's subordinate, but Lord He was related to the Zhou family by marriage.

If these officials are truly convicted, wouldn't her family and husband's family also be implicated?

"Pfft—" Zhou was so anxious that she immediately spat out a mouthful of blood.

Fang Xing'an was speaking to Zhou Shi with a stern face about Lord He's affairs when, unexpectedly, Zhou Shi vomited blood that stained his official robes.

Bright red blood splattered all over him, making his official robes look particularly eerie.

He was initially startled, but after realizing what had happened, his face darkened even more.

Zhou's situation had already given him the answer.

If the He family and the Zhou family were just ordinary in-laws, Zhou's reaction wouldn't have been so intense, to the point that she vomited blood.

When Lord Song had his accident, he was filled with worry, but Zhou did not vomit blood!

"Zhou family, do your Zhou family and the He family have some shady dealings going on?" Fang Xing'an was no saint either. He had been an official for many years and appeared to be clean-cut, but he had done a lot of things for personal gain behind the scenes.

With a little thought, one can guess that the Zhou family and the He family must still have a business relationship, and they may very well be implicated by Lord He's crimes.

“Master, don’t worry. Those things aren’t so easy to investigate. His Majesty…” Seeing the way Fang Xing’an looked at her, Madam Zhou felt as if her heart was being torn apart. She still wanted to explain to him and reached out to grab him, but as soon as her hand touched Fang Xing’an’s hand, he suddenly flung it away.

Fang Xing'an guessed correctly; the Zhou family was involved in many of the things the He family did.

Zhou had been living in the Fang family mansion for years and was not very clear about the relationship between the Zhou family and the He family, but the two families already had many interests before she got married.

Over the years, she has seen that the relationship between the two families has only deepened, not diminished.

It's quite possible that the two families are already in cahoots.

"Not easy to investigate? That censor presented a lot of evidence in court, and the Emperor clearly believed it. He only said he would send someone to investigate to completely convince the public. Zhou, Zhou, my Fang family has treated you well. How could you cause my Fang family to fall into such a predicament?" Fang Xing'an suddenly jumped away, widening the distance between the two, as if Zhou were some kind of monstrous flood.