A sentence of "as much as possible" eased the heavy weight on Fan Zehao's chest, and his breathing became much smoother!
He asked his wife with some suspicion, "You said that Huangfu Xu would leave Shuya alive, right?"
Zhao Jiaqi thought for a moment, then slowly nodded, "It should be possible, but don't hold out too much hope. Even if she is left alive, she will probably be half-dead or only able to spend her days in bed, barely surviving!"
"Why!" Fan Zehao frowned, "Since he could give up on Shuya's life, why do this?"
Seeing his worried look, Zhao Jiaqi took a deep breath and asked instead, "If I had a child with someone else, what would you do to me?"
"How dare you!" Fan Zehao's face instantly turned red, and he gritted his teeth, "If you really dare to betray me, I'll break your legs. I'd rather raise a cripple than allow you to cheat!"
Zhao Jiaqi smiled, "See? You're still like this, let alone Huangfu Xu?"
"Back then, Murong Shuya schemed to marry Huangfu Xu, but in the end, because of loneliness, she did unspeakable things with another man, becoming pregnant. If this happened to you, could you tolerate it?"
Seeing him shake his head, she sighed, "Every man has his pride. It was already a great hardship for Huangfu Xu to marry Murong Shuya. Now he's supposed to be magnanimous again and divorce her? This is clearly impossible. You saw his attitude just now. Leaving Shuya alive is already quite accommodating! Do you still expect him to beat gongs and drums as he marries Shuya off?"
Fan Zehao fell silent upon hearing his wife's words!
"You've done your best, let this matter end here. No matter what Huangfu Xu does, he's not wrong. Sheng ge loves his daughter, which is understandable, but those who make mistakes must bear the consequences!"
Fan Zehao also understood. He had oversimplified the matter and ignored Huangfu Xu's feelings!
"Fine, I'll go find Mengmeng and have her prepare well for the next two days. She'll be sent to the military camp the day after tomorrow. Whether she can conquer those troublemakers will depend on herself from now on!"
Speaking of Yu Meng, Zhao Jiaqi tugged at his sleeve and hurriedly asked, "If Yu Meng takes over your position, do you really agree?"
"What's there to disagree about? They are all my children, no different. I just want them to live their lives safely and smoothly. Everything else is just a passing cloud. When our eyes close, can we still control who sits on the throne and who doesn't?"
He smiled and patted his wife's shoulder, saying, "Huangfu Jintao, who was as cunning as a monkey, arranged the throne before he died, but in the end, the throne wasn't taken by his son or me, was it? It eventually fell to a collateral branch. So, we should learn to let go. Whoever wants to sit on the throne can sit on it. We just need to be happy!"
Looking at her husband's smug expression, Zhao Jiaqi chuckled and shook her head. There were probably few people in the world like him.
However, he was right. You come into this world with nothing, and you leave with nothing. Even if you leave the best for your children, if they are unaccomplished and squander it all, it's useless.
If the children are capable, why would they need the wealth and property they leave behind? They can earn it themselves!
Therefore, it's better to leave some experiences and knowledge for the children, so they can figure things out for themselves.
Zhao Jiaqi suddenly felt that although she hadn't disciplined her children well throughout her life, she had raised relatively reliable children. She didn't know whether to laugh or cry at this outcome!
Time flies.
After Yu Meng prepared for two days, her father, Fan Zehao, personally sent her to the military camp to train with a group of men.
Zhao Jiaqi felt heartbroken just thinking about it, but it was her own choice, so there was nothing she could say!
As she was distractedly gazing at the cheerful birds in the sky, Su Ya rushed over!
"Madam, the Princess Consort of Xiaoyao is gone!"
Zhao Jiaqi was startled, "Gone... what do you mean? Ran away?"
Su Ya shook her head, "She's dead. In the detached villa of the Xiaoyao Prince's Mansion, she used a three-foot white silk to end her own life!"
She was shocked, hanged herself?
"What happened!"
Su Ya also looked bewildered, "Your servant doesn't know. Just now, the personal guard of the Xiaoyao Prince came to report the death and left after saying these two sentences!"
Zhao Jiaqi took a deep breath and slowly exhaled. It seemed that the next few days would be uneasy again!
"Prepare the carriage, I want to go and see!"
How could this person have hanged herself when she was fine? Was it forced by Huangfu Xu?
That's not right either. Huangfu Xu said he would try his best when he left that day, so he wouldn't force someone to death. Could there be some hidden reason?
In just a quarter of an hour, she had formed many guesses in her mind, but in the end, she rejected them all herself!
The carriage slowly drove away from the Prince's Mansion. Not long after they left, Fan Zehao returned, heard the news, and chased after his wife on horseback!
He secretly scolded her in his heart. This woman was afraid of nothing. The faces of people who had hanged themselves were extremely terrifying, and anyone would avoid them. Yet she still wanted to go and see, wasn't she afraid of having nightmares at night?
In the detached villa of the Xiaoyao Prince's Mansion, as soon as she got off the carriage, Fan Zehao arrived right behind her!
He dismounted, his face ashen, and grabbed her, warning her, "No matter what your intentions are for coming here, remember not to look at the dead, understand?"
Zhao Jiaqi rolled her eyes fiercely at him, "I know, don't worry, I absolutely won't go near the dead!"
Besides, a death is a funeral. What kind of couple would show affection at someone else's funeral? They would be asking for trouble!
Zhao Jiaqi pried open his rough palm and gave him a serious look, "Don't mess around. You go and see the Xiaoyao Prince first, and I'll go see Sheng ge!"
Fan Zehao, pressured by his wife's authority, reluctantly let go of her hand, but did not do as she said.
"According to me, we shouldn't see either party. If we see them, we should see them together to avoid collusion!"
He emphasized the word "collusion" heavily, indirectly pointing out something to his own wife!
The two of them stood outside the detached villa of the Xiaoyao Prince's Mansion interacting. Later, Huangfu Xian saw the two of them standing at the entrance without going in. He stepped forward and said, "Brother, Sister-in-law, what are you whispering about at the door? Aren't you afraid of others hearing you!"
The two of them turned around and, upon seeing him, immediately stopped talking.
Zhao Jiaqi glanced at Fan Zehao and entered the mansion. The latter touched his nose, ignored Prince Xian, and hurriedly followed her into the mansion.
Only Huangfu Xian was confused and asked the guard sideways, "Did I say something wrong?"
The guard was also honest and shook his head, "Maybe the Prince of Zhen has disturbed the couple's conversation!"
The implication was that he had interrupted their private chat!
Huangfu Xian tutted and shook his head, a bright smile on his lips.
The guard lowered his head and glanced at Prince Xian, advising him, "Your Highness, the Princess Consort of Xiaoyao has just passed away. Shouldn't you express some sorrow or grief?"
Upon hearing this, Huangfu Xian scoffed, "Nonsense, it's not Huangfu Xu who died, why should I be grieved!"
It was just a concubine who was not favored who died. If he were to cry, he feared the Princess Consort of Xiaoyao might not be able to bear it!
If it were the Princess Consort of Zhen, he might shed a few tears.