Su Xiaoqi harbored the same thought as Yu Changfeng.
The siblings exchanged a glance, each seeing the confusion in the other's heart.
However, this was the official guesthouse for the Northern Chu envoys, and it was not convenient to speak here.
Su Xiaoqi glanced at Shen Yun, seeing that he had everything under control.
Thinking he must have a plan, she said no more and followed Shen Yun and his entourage out of the guesthouse.
Because the Grand Tutor had spoken, none of the Northern Chu envoys dared to step forward to stop Chu Lege from being taken away.
However, Yu Changfeng encountered considerable resistance when he tried to take Chu Yunlang away.
Everyone objected.
It wasn't until Chu Yunwei stepped forward and said, "My mother is the third daughter of the Duke of Yu in Daliang. My brother Yunlang and I are the Duke's grandchildren."
Were they not closer than these people?
Who would dare to obstruct a family reunion?
Yu Changfeng finally brought Chu Yunlang back to the Duke of Yu's manor.
The Old Madam, Madam Wen, and Yu Wan, having heard the news, rushed to greet them.
Seeing the thin and small Chu Yunlang bundled on the stretcher like a ball of cotton, his face deathly pale and his body skin and bones, the Old Madam and the others' hearts nearly broke.
They hastily arranged for him to stay in a side room in the Old Madam's courtyard.
"Poor child, I'll watch over him, and see who dares to bully him like this!"
The Old Madam shed tears, while Madam Wen and Yu Wan accompanied her, offering comfort and shedding tears as well.
Su Xiaoqi understood the Old Madam's feelings.
This was her own flesh and blood grandson.
He had never met her since birth.
He was born to her youngest daughter, whom she cherished the most, so his weight in her heart was different.
Moreover, who could bear to see a child so utterly ravaged without being deeply saddened?
Su Xiaoqi comforted everyone as best she could.
She repeatedly assured them that he would be fine, managing to appease the Old Madam.
But she remained saddened.
She couldn't help but think, if her grandchild had ended up like this, what about her youngest daughter?
Was she even more miserable? Otherwise, given her disposition, she wouldn't have been unable to protect her own child.
Her husband was, after all, the ruler of Northern Chu.
No, they had even lost their own daughter before. It was possible for their youngest son to be so tormented now.
As she thought, the Old Madam's heart ached again.
After much effort, Chu Yunlang, who had been unconscious, finally woke up.
He opened his clear, limpid eyes and looked curiously at the crowd gathered around his bed. He blinked and tried to speak, but a cough escaped first: "Cough, cough..."
"Don't move, you've only just been detoxified, your body is weak," Su Xiaoqi quickly stopped him.
In reality, he couldn't move even if he wanted to.
His limbs were weak and his body lacked strength. Any movement seemed to drain all the vitality from his body.
Chu Yunlang weakly said, "Where... cough, cough... am I?"
Su Xiaoqi replied, "You are at the Duke's manor, you are safe now."
As she spoke, she nudged Xiuzhu forward.
Chu Yunlang, seeing only unfamiliar faces closest to him, became a little flustered.
Upon seeing the familiar Aunt Xiuzhu, his expression finally relaxed.
"Xiu, Aunt Xiuzhu, Aunt..." Chu Yunlang's clear voice was mixed with a trace of hoarseness, like the grating sound of an iron shovel on stone.
"Young Master, you are home. Look, this is the Duke of Yu's manor in Daliang.
Her Majesty the Empress told you about it." Xiuzhu introduced him excitedly.
As expected, hearing this, Chu Yunlang's expression immediately softened.
His previous gloom lessened, and a brilliant smile bloomed.
"Grandmother, you must be Grandmother. Are you Aunt? Are you..."
Xiuzhu quickly helped to introduce, "This is your eldest maternal aunt, and this is your elder cousin.
These are your two elder cousins, and this is your eldest cousin's husband. They are also the ones who just rescued you."
Upon hearing this, Chu Yunlang immediately struggled to get up and leaned forward to pay his respects:
"Yunlang greets Grandmother, Aunt, eldest maternal aunt. Thank you, cousin, thank you, brother-in-law, thank you, two elder sisters!"
Seeing his frail health, no one could bear to accept his bow, and they all pressed him back onto the bed.
The Old Madam said,
"Rest well. Now that you are at our Duke's manor, I want to see who dares to bully you!"
As the grandson of the Duke of Yu, who was deeply trusted by the Emperor, no one in the Daliang dynasty dared to offend him.
Xiuzhu seemed to suddenly remember something, covering her face and shedding tears.
Everyone assumed she was moved by homesickness upon returning to her old haunts after so many years away.
So they let her cry for a moment.
After the introductions and taking his medicine, Chu Yunlang, exhausted, fell asleep again.
The Old Madam was initially worried about him, thinking he might have another sudden illness.
But upon hearing Su Xiaoqi's explanation that his body was very weak and that resting more would benefit his recovery, she understood.
Therefore, she had added sleep-inducing herbs to his medicine.
Upon hearing this, the Old Madam took charge and led everyone out to gather in the main hall of her room.
She invited Xiuzhu to sit and inquired about Yu Jing's situation in Northern Chu.
"Her Majesty the Empress is doing well. His Majesty dotes on her exclusively, but her health after giving birth to the princess..." As Xiuzhu said this, she involuntarily glanced at Su Xiaoqi.
She looked so much alike, it was no wonder the Old Madam had taken her in as a god-daughter.
In her opinion, it wasn't a god-relationship at all; it was as if they were blood relatives.
She had served the Empress for so many years.
No one knew better than her how much the young woman before her resembled her mistress.
And her age also matched.
If the princess could still be found, she would likely be of this age.
However, she had heard of Su Xiaoqi's background.
She knew she came from Bashu.
And she felt it was unlikely.
After all, the princess had been lost in Northern Chu.
This vast distance, from south to north, crossing the entirety of Daliang, made it highly improbable.
But her appearance couldn't lie; her heart was in a turmoil.
Seeing her demeanor, the Old Madam understood her concerns and broadly asked about why Chu Yunlang had become this way.
"The young master's health has been poor since childhood. Ever since he started eating, he has been taking medicine without a break.
But for the past few years, even with medicine, there was no improvement.
It was only last year when a Daoist priest from Daliang came and prescribed him some medicine that he showed some improvement.
However, the Daoist priest said that to fully recover, he would need to seek medical treatment in Daliang.
So, this time, your old servant brought the young master here on the Empress's orders.
I never expected those scoundrels to be so audacious.
As soon as we arrived in Daliang, they poisoned the young master. Fortunately, fortunately, it was Miss Xiaoqi!"
As Xiuzhu spoke, she bowed deeply to Su Xiaoqi again.
Su Xiaoqi quickly dodged.
Although Xiuzhu had been a servant in the Duke's manor before, she was now a capable wet nurse for the Empress of Northern Chu, and to Su Xiaoqi, she was an elder.
She could not accept her bow.
"Enough, enough, stop talking, lest you become sad." The Old Madam, hearing that her daughter was well, signaled for someone to hold Xiuzhu back, as she had no more questions.
With a wave of her hand, she had the wet nurses accompanying her take Xiuzhu around the manor to see if any familiar places had changed.
Xiuzhu was immediately moved to tears and sighed with emotion.
After Xiuzhu left, Yu Changfeng could no longer contain himself and stepped forward, saying,
"Grandmother, you should have seen that dog-like Chu Lege.
Back then, when my brother defeated his father on the battlefield, he was so scared that he wet his pants.
Now, in the capital of Daliang, he dares to flaunt his power and bully someone that our Duke's manor is protecting. He truly deserves to die!"
Yu Changfeng spoke through gritted teeth, filled with deep hatred for Chu Lege.
Su Xiaoqi looked at him, thinking he was quite sensible.
Earlier, when he clashed with Chu Lege,
she hadn't seen such deep hatred for Chu Lege.
He was quite adept at concealing his emotions!
Suppressing Yu Changfeng's agitated emotions, the Old Madam turned to ask Su Xiaoqi,
"Xiaoqi, can you cure the child's illness?"