The sickly son died young? After the marriage exchange, I will bring prosperity to his entire clan f

He appeared calm, but his hands were trembling slightly. After opening his purse, he found a note and a jade pendant that looked to be of decent quality. He took out the items and opened the note, which read: Current identity: Wen Huan, daughter of Minister Wen's deceased wife. All is well. She is accompanied by the skilled physician Chun Tao. She is under the care of someone who is extremely loyal. Nian An.

Ling Silang was constantly worried about Du Mingxian, fearing that something might happen to her. Training in such a cannibalistic place, if the people behind her were ruthless, they might launch a large-scale purge, which would be even more troublesome.

After arriving in the capital, he had been following instructions, with the aim of showing his abilities to those behind him so that they would remember him and not make things difficult for Du Mingxian. He also insisted that it was essential to ensure her safety.

The person behind it had given repeated assurances, which shows that there was a mission involved in sending her to the capital. I wonder what mission she was assigned.

On the other side, Du Mingxian wasn't in a hurry to go back. She walked very slowly, thinking about what those people had said as she went.

How could such an important matter be leaked out? This could cause discord among officials, and the Emperor will surely think that even if this year's top scholar's talent is not as good as Ling Silang's, it is certainly not bad either. If this is spread, wouldn't many people doubt the top scholar's talent?

This is not a good thing.

There must be someone behind this, doing it intentionally, and someone pulling the strings. Who could it be?

It hasn't been long, and people on the street are already talking about it, which shows that it was deliberately spread.

After thinking it over, Du Mingxian suddenly laughed. As she walked forward, she encountered some people gossiping, so she simply went up to them.

"Don't talk nonsense here, that's not what I heard."

Who doesn't love gossip, especially the hottest gossip right now? Someone immediately asked, "Oh, is there anything else going on in between?"

"Of course, I heard that this top scholar is talented, but the third-ranked scholar is handsome. Our princess took a liking to him at first sight and said that one can become the top scholar just by looking at one's face. That's why the rumor spread that the third-ranked scholar should have been the top scholar."

"Oh, so that's how it is. So... the top scholar was originally the top scholar, but because of a word from the princess, the story has become like this."

"Yes, but we should keep the affairs of the imperial family to ourselves. You should also keep quiet about them and not tell anyone else. I only know about this because I have some connections."

The group of onlookers nodded in unison, "Okay, okay, we'll definitely not say anything."

Du Mingxian quietly left, found a secluded spot, changed her clothes and appearance, and this time went directly to the little beggars, gave them silver, and asked them to spread the word as quickly as possible.

She repeated this process five times, changed her clothes five times, and sought out four different beggars, spreading the message from four different directions in the capital. Each time, the message was different.

After finishing her business, she changed into the clothes she had worn that day. However, her hairstyle was no good, as she didn't know how to do her own hair. After a quick tidying up, she headed towards the Wen residence.

She was found halfway home by servants from the Wen family who were looking for her, and they went home together.

Upon returning to the Wen family home, she saw Wen Yicheng sitting in the main seat of the main hall with a dark expression. When he saw her enter, his expression did not soften at all, and he immediately questioned, "You haven't come back so late. Where have you been? Do you even remember that you are the eldest daughter of the Wen family? If I don't send people out to look for you, do you not even remember to come back?"

Look at this, what kind of father is this?

It's true what they say, once you have a stepmother, you have a stepfather. What kind of people are they? Don't they have a lot of power? Why don't they go and investigate why they don't come back?

She was extremely disdainful inside, but her face still showed a mix of grievance and stubbornness as she explained in a low voice, "I'm lost."

"Lost? Where is your maid? How could you get lost? How could you get lost in your own carriage?"

Steward Wen was standing at the door. Hearing that his master had misunderstood the young lady, he thought for a moment and then came in to explain, "Master, when the servants found the young lady, she was walking alone. I asked around and found out that the carriage in the manor brought the second young lady back alone this morning, and the carriage hasn't gone out since."

Upon hearing this, Wen Yicheng immediately flew into a rage. "Who is in charge of the stables? They just sold him off. The other master hasn't returned yet, and they didn't even bother to fetch him. What's the point of keeping such servants in the manor?"

This time, Steward Wen did not tell Yi Wencheng that the stable manager was a servant woman who served the madam. It was probably because the madam disliked the young lady that those people neglected her as well. Or perhaps today's events were intentional.

"Yes, this old servant will make the arrangements."

Wen Yicheng felt somewhat embarrassed, realizing he had wronged Du Mingxian earlier. He could only instruct Butler Wen, "Although the young lady lives in the backyard, please keep an eye on her whenever you have time."

"Yes, the old slave understands."

Seeing that Du Mingxian was still standing there looking aggrieved, Wen Yicheng said, "Alright, go back to your own courtyard."

"Yes."

After Du Mingxian left, Wen Yicheng looked at Butler Wen and asked, "Where is the maid she brought back?"

"Not back yet."

Wen Yicheng frowned deeply. "Keep an eye on Huan'er with the people in her courtyard. Cheng Yu won't care about her. From now on, you can report anything about her directly to me. If there's an emergency, you can handle it yourself."

"Yes."

Du Mingxian returned to her courtyard, where two unfamiliar faces appeared. Upon seeing her return, they immediately stepped forward and greeted her, "Greetings, Miss."

"This servant is Ke'er."

“This servant is Lian’er.”

"She was sent by the madam to serve Miss personally from now on."

Ke'er, Lian'er, Poor girl.

They really know how to name things.

Du Mingxian looked at the two of them and said, "I have maids with me, and there are second-class maids and cleaning women in the courtyard. You two should go back."

The two knelt down together, pleading, "Please have mercy, Miss. We were sent here to serve you. If you don't want us, we'll be sold off as soon as we leave this courtyard."

“But my courtyard is full of people, it seems like I’m leaving you all here…” Du Mingxian looked troubled.

"Your maid is not serving you well enough, so I specially chose this one for you."

Du Mingxian turned around and saw Madam Wen and Wen Shiyan approaching together. Wen Shiyan stepped forward, her face full of apology, "Sister, I'm sorry. I was too happy, so I left in a hurry. When I came back, I was busy talking to Mother. I thought there would be a carriage to pick you up, but who knew that the people in the stables had no sense at all."

Madam Wen also tried to smooth things over, saying, "This child is usually the one who gets taken care of by others, she doesn't know how to take care of others, so she hasn't thought things through. Please don't be so formal."

Du Mingxian watched the mother and daughter singing in unison. She was happy to have half a day of free time outside, and she was also happy to see and contact Ling Silang.

"No, my sister is innocent and didn't do it on purpose. I'm not angry."