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

Du Mingxian was taken aback, realizing that she had been too hasty. "Father, it's all my fault."

"I'm going to lock her up for a few days."

Du Mingxian looked up and instantly understood what he meant. "Yes."

Immediately afterward, Lord Wen slammed his hand on the table and shouted angrily, "Insolence!"

Du Mingxian immediately stood up. "Father, where did I go wrong? We're both marrying off daughters, so why is my dowry so much less than Shiyan's? Is it because I'm marrying someone with no background?"

“Malicious speculation! Go kneel in the ancestral hall! And your maid, who's always running around the mansion, lock her in the woodshed. No one is allowed to come out without my order.”

"Father."

"Guards, lock the young lady in the ancestral hall, and lock the maidservant beside her in the woodshed. Have someone guard her."

"Yes." The housekeeper immediately led several people in. Du Mingxian walked out looking heartbroken. Chun Tao, standing outside the door, was completely dumbfounded. What was going on? Why was she being locked in the woodshed?

Chuntao called out hurriedly, "Miss."

Du Mingxian looked heartbroken. "I've dragged you into this. You go first, I'll find a way to get you out." She added, "It's all because I was too impatient."

Too impatient.

Chun Tao understood; she had pushed him too hard and angered Lord Wen.

One was locked in the woodshed, the other in the ancestral hall. The two went in different directions. Du Mingxian walked all the way to the ancestral hall, and after being pushed inside, the outer door was closed directly.

On her second visit to the ancestral hall, Du Mingxian remained calm. She sat down on the prayer mat. Although there were candles in the hall, it was still dim. Just as she was wondering when Lord Wen would let her out, there was a commotion behind the memorial tablet.

She was startled and jumped up from the prayer mat, staring warily behind her. Then... she saw Lord Wen, who had just reprimanded her, standing there.

"This...is there a secret passage?"

Lord Wen, his face dark, replied, "Hmm."

Du Mingxian didn't understand his actions. "Father, what are you doing...?"

"Since you suspect the cause of her death, we will investigate."

Before Du Mingxian could understand, Lord Wen said, "Come with me."

Following Lord Wen down the secret passage, which was very dark with only one torch inside, the two continued forward until they reached a fork in the road. After walking a short distance further, they reached the exit.

Du Mingxian was utterly shocked. When did she become so familiar with Lord Wen that she was even qualified to know about the Wen family's secret passage? This was a bit too frightening.

"Come out."

Du Mingxian followed them out. It was a small room that had been simply tidied up. Someone was still living in it, and she could clearly sense that there were people outside.

"This is……"

Lord Wen tossed down a set of clothes, saying, "Change into this, then come out." After saying that, he took another set of clothes and went out.

Not understanding what was going on, she did as instructed, changing into servant's clothes. Upon exiting the house, she saw an old man in the courtyard and Lord Wen, who had changed into ordinary clothes.

"Let's go."

Before Du Mingxian could react, the old man stepped forward and said, "I've offended you, Miss." He picked her up with one hand, as if she were a chick, and carried her directly outside the wall.

Outside in the alley, there were already carriages ready.

Wow, that's fast!

The old man put Du Mingxian down, then flew back into the wall and brought Lord Wen out as well.

Lord Wen got into the carriage, and Du Mingxian was about to get in when he complained, "You sit outside and drive the carriage, but if you sit inside, who will drive?"

Du Mingxian turned to look at the old man, "He..."

“He has other things to do.”

Du Mingxian didn't know what to say, so she resigned herself to driving the carriage ahead and heading out of the city, with Lord Wen giving her directions.

Once they reached the outskirts of the city and onto the official road, Du Mingxian finally had a chance to ask, "Where are we going?"

"Go find the midwife who delivered your baby back then."

"Oh." Du Mingxian didn't ask any more questions. The carriage sped up, and Wen Daren felt like his whole body was falling apart. "Slow down, slow down, what's the rush?"

"Time is tight. Father has to attend court tomorrow, and we will be questioned there. If we don't hurry, I'm afraid we won't be able to get back in time."

"It will only take two hours to get there. She lives in the city closest to the capital, so there's no need to rush."

"Let's hurry, in case something unexpected happens and we can't get back?"

Lord Wen shut up and gave Du Mingxian a somewhat resentful look.

Du Mingxian sensed this and could only try to distract Lord Wen from the jolting of the carriage by changing the subject, "Why do you trust me so much, Lord Wen, that you even told me about the secret passage of the Wen residence?"

"I don't know, but I always felt that you wouldn't hurt me."

“Yes, I won’t hurt Lord Wen.” Du Mingxian laughed at herself. “I just want to find out who’s behind this, take revenge, and then restore my identity.”

Lord Wen bluntly stated, "Since he is a prince, he won't be so easily discovered. You should still be more careful."

"Yes."

Du Mingxian's thoughts had already drifted away. She still couldn't understand under what circumstances Lord Wen would be demoted to guard the city gate, a position held by a high-ranking official.

Because she was quick, she managed to reach the destination in just one and a half hours instead of two. Once inside the city, the two went straight to a restaurant, where Lord Wen's face turned deathly pale.

Seeing him like this, Du Mingxian was afraid something bad might happen. "Should I go find a doctor to take Father's pulse?"

Lord Wen rolled his eyes at her, "No need, just order some food first, and we'll go find someone after we eat."

"it is good."

The waiter came forward, and the two ordered their food. Du Mingxian gave the waiter an extra tael of silver, saying, "Brother, I'd like to ask you something."

In those days, paying a tael of silver to inquire about something was considered quite generous. The waiter smiled so much that his eyes narrowed into slits. "Please speak, sir. There's nothing in this city that we don't know."

"I've heard there's a famous midwife in the city named Wang Hua. Is there such a person?"

"Wang Hua? No, are you sure you're not mistaken?"

"No, the name they gave us is Wang Hua. We heard that their midwifery skills are excellent, so we came here because of their reputation."

"No, if she were that famous, I would know her." The waiter said with great certainty, "You must have misheard. The most famous midwife in our city is Midwife Zhao. She used to work in the capital and delivered babies for many high-ranking officials and nobles."

"No way, he's famous in the capital, why would he come back here?"

The waiter said mysteriously, "You wouldn't believe it, but when you come into contact with high-ranking officials and dignitaries, you naturally encounter a lot of gossip and trouble. There are some things that ordinary people like us would never know."

"When Zhao the midwife's son fell seriously ill more than ten years ago, a wise man advised that the child was not suitable to live in the capital. So, for the sake of her son, Zhao the midwife moved here."

"I've delivered quite a few babies over the years, and I'm quite famous for it."

Du Mingxian glanced at Lord Wen and saw him nod slightly, so she knew it was him. "After she came back, did her son get better?"