Minglan is reborn, this time with no regrets!

The next day, Gu Tingye left the city early in the morning.

After seeing the person off, Minglan turned to the Prince's Uncle's Mansion on her way back.

Just as Guifen said, a courtyard was specially set up in the mansion for the elder Zou to recuperate, and the younger Zou sat in the central hall, as if she had become the new mistress of the prince's mansion.

"Sister Sheng, you are such an honored guest! Please take a seat, please take a seat!" Little Zou was very enthusiastic.

Logically speaking, Minglan regarded the Queen as her aunt, so Uncle Shen could be considered her uncle, Madam Zou could be considered her aunt, and although Madam Zou could not be ranked in the title, she was still one generation older than Minglan. However, she did not understand these etiquettes at all, and in order to get close to Minglan, she called her "sister sister".

"My husband said that Aunt Zou was ill, and he specifically asked me to come and see her." Minglan did not mention Guifen, so as to prevent this little Aunt Zou from talking too much in front of the Queen.

"Lord Gu is thoughtful. However, we are afraid that the rash of our elder sister might be contagious, so we cannot let elder sister Sheng go in to see her."

"I was very surprised when I heard you talk about it. How did you suddenly get this strange disease?"

"Ah, who knows? It's just my elder sister's bad luck that she can't enjoy the blessing of the prince's mansion. But, Sister Sheng, don't worry, I will take good care of my brother-in-law and the people in this mansion for my elder sister."

Minglan didn't want to be polite with her, so she asked, "Have you asked the imperial physician to see you?"

Little Zou: "I've come. Several people have come, but none of them can explain what's going on. Seeing my elder sister in so much pain, there's nothing we can do."

Minglan: "Is it the imperial physician's idea to give Aunt Zou her own courtyard?"

The smile on little Zou's face froze, and she said, "Although the imperial physician didn't say so, everyone knows that the rash is very contagious. My brother-in-law has a heavy responsibility now, and he can't afford to make any mistakes. Of course, he can't stay with my elder sister anymore. We in the Zou family all agree on this." At this point, she was already a little unhappy.

She tried to get close to Minglan several times, but she was like a ball of cotton. She didn't respond no matter how she hit her, and kept talking about Da Zou.

Minglan had roughly guessed at this time that the Zou family must have thought that they could not keep the eldest Zou because of her strange and severe illness, so they quickly stuffed the young Zou into the prince's mansion while she was still alive. The prince's uncle missed the eldest Zou, so he naturally indulged the Zou family and the young Zou in every way.

Minglan: "Can I go see Aunt Zou? We spent many happy years together in Youyang. Now I know that she is seriously ill. I am really heartbroken."

Little Zou became even more annoyed and refused, "Don't do that. I've already told you that my elder sister has a serious disease and it might be contagious. Sister Sheng, you are the apple of my eye. If something happens to our Shen family, how will my brother-in-law explain to Lord Gu?"

Minglan: "Don't worry, I'll go and take a look. Otherwise, if outsiders ask about my aunt's condition, I won't be able to answer, and it will cause gossip and suspicion to the General's Mansion and the Zou family, right?" She calculated that the Zou family was guilty and must be afraid of rumors spreading.

As expected, Xiao Zou said hurriedly: "This... How can there be any suspicion? It is really that my elder sister is seriously ill and difficult to recover. If you don't believe it... Then go and see it yourself!"

Reluctantly, Xiao Zou stood up and led Minglan to the side courtyard.

"If you ask me, Marquis Gu's wife is really rare. Your Marquis Gu has come here many times and he never said he wanted to go and see your elder sister, but you just don't believe it." Little Zou scolded Minglan in a sarcastic tone as she walked. At this time, she no longer called her "Sister Sheng", but "Marquis Gu's wife".

Minglan didn't care about these details at all. She smiled and said, "Aunt has a skin disease. As a man, it's not easy for my husband to suggest going to see her. We are all women. We don't want to be seen even if we have a mole on our face, let alone Aunt's disease. As her sister, you should be able to understand, right?"

The implication is that little Zou did not understand her older sister's difficulties.

However, Xiao Zou Shi could not understand the meaning of Minglan's words, and she turned to Minglan: "Yes, I can understand, and you should understand too. My elder sister is so sick, how can she be willing to see people? Madam Gu Hou, why don't you go?"

Minglan: "We are different. We are her closest people and should spend more time talking to her. By the way, since she got this strange disease, Miss Zou Si, how many times do you visit her every day?"

The corner of little Zou's mouth twitched.

Ever since Mrs. Zou was moved to the side courtyard, she has been busy seducing her brother-in-law and has never visited Mrs. Zou once.

Seeing that she didn't say anything, Minglan asked again, "Isn't it just once a day?"

Little Zou gritted her teeth and made up a story: "Hey, sometimes a few times, sometimes more than ten times. You know, there are a lot of things going on in the Prince's Mansion, and my elder sister is like that, so I have to help take care of it..."

Minglan: "That's really hard work for Fourth Miss Zou. When a person is sick, what he needs most is company. If you spend more time with her and talk to her, she can relax. Maybe her illness will gradually get better."

Mrs. Zou: “Haha…yes…yes…” and then stopped talking.

In terms of eloquence and brains, she is nothing compared to Minglan.

The two of them walked in silence all the way and soon arrived at Da Zou's yard.

Seeing that the door was cleaned and the flowers and plants were well cared for, Minglan secretly breathed a sigh of relief: at least I didn't really ignore her.

She asked Xiao Zou: "Can you send someone to inform them? I want to go in and take a look."

Xiao Zou let out a breath and ordered the maid beside her to knock on the door.

After a while, a clear voice came from inside: "Is it the uncle of the emperor who has arrived?"

Maid: "It's Madam Shengda from Marquis Gu's family. She said she wants to see Madam."

The sound of footsteps faded away, and then came back, saying, "Madam said that she was afraid of infecting Madam Gu, so she disappeared."

Little Zou raised the corner of her mouth.

Minglan stepped forward and said, "Sister, please tell Aunt Zou that I've brought some glutinous rice cakes from Youyang to honor her. If you don't open the door, she won't be able to enjoy it!"

There was a pause, and then another round of footsteps came in.

This time it was faster than last time. The person inside ran back to the door, opened it with a creak, and saw that it was indeed Minglan. He smiled and said, "My wife invites Miss Ming in."

Seeing that the other person was neither wearing a mask nor gloves, Minglan knew that Madam Zou's rash was definitely not contagious, and said with a smile, "Thank you, sister, for passing on the message."

Xiao Tao stepped forward, took out a small oil-paper bag from her bosom, and was about to go in, but Ming Lan stopped her: "Give me the things, I can go in by myself."

Xiao Tao: “How can that be possible?” We don’t know what’s going on inside, what if it’s really contagious?

Minglan: "You and Langya just stand guard at the door and don't let anyone disturb our conversation." The main target was the Zou family.

Little Zou stood at the door and gnashed her teeth angrily: "I didn't know that Marquis Gu's wife also brought gifts." The two sat and drank tea for a long time, and Minglan didn't mention glutinous rice cakes at all.

Minglan left a sentence, "Ms. Zou will definitely not like the food in Youyang countryside," and walked in.

The yard was filled with mugwort smoke.

Minglan followed the maid inside, and the smell of medicine became stronger the further she went. Although there were not many maids, none of them took any protective measures.

Minglan was even more certain that Mrs. Zou's disease was not contagious.

When Minglan saw Madam Zou, her heart trembled - she was so thin that her bones were just visible, and there was a dark circle under her eyes.

She took a few steps forward and took Mrs. Zou's hand: "Aunt, why are you so sick?"

Mrs. Zou wanted to hide, but her reaction was not as fast as Minglan's, so she could only let Minglan lead her and whispered, "Silly Ming'er, don't get so close to me, I'm dirty."

Minglan held her skinny hand and put it close to her face with heartache: "Aunt is lying."

Big Zou's eyes widened slightly, and then she sighed softly: "I really can't hide anything from you."

"What on earth is going on?" Minglan didn't want to cry, but when she saw that the once radiant Mrs. Zou was now so sick that she looked like a ghost, her tears flowed uncontrollably.

"Ah, it's all because of my bad luck. The good days didn't last long, and then... it was gone."

"What did the imperial physician say when he came to check? Could it be poisoned?" Seeing Xiao Zou's reaction, it was hard for Minglan not to think the worst.

Mrs. Zou shook her head slightly: "No, the imperial physician said that I am weak and lack energy and blood. I have been running the huge uncle's mansion for more than a year, and I am too tired. The poison I have been carrying since birth has been brought out." She lifted a corner of her shirt to reveal the rash on her waist. I saw red and swollen blisters growing around her waist in a line like a ferocious snake.

Minglan's heart skipped a beat, but she managed to suppress her expression of horror.

She tried to keep her voice steady and asked, "Is there nothing the imperial physician can do?"

Mrs. Zou put down her clothes and sighed, "This disease is too rare. The imperial doctors have only seen it in medical books. It is said that there were women suffering from this disease in the folk before. It looks like a snake, and there is a nickname called snake coil sores. It is difficult for people with this disease to survive..."

Minglan: "If people have seen it, then why not seek medical treatment from them?"

Mrs. Zou: "The general has already looked for it for me and has looked at it several times, but it was useless..."

The maid next to her couldn't help but say, "They are all swindlers who cheated the world and stole my reputation. They got a hundred or eighty taels from my house, but they can't cure it at all. One cruel one even said that it would be fine if the sores were dug out. Isn't this trying to make our lady die of pain?"

Minglan thought about it and said, "In ancient times, people would scrape bones to cure poison. Maybe this is really a way to survive?"

The maid stamped her feet: "What are you talking about, Madam Gu!"

Mrs. Zou stopped her, "Don't be rude." She looked at Minglan and said gently, "I know what Ming'er means. Rather than waiting to die, it is better to grit your teeth and dig out the rotten flesh. But, hey, that expert also said that if I do this, I will definitely be left with scars on my body, and I am afraid I will never be able to see the general again..."

Minglan: "But the uncle must also hope that you can live well, right?"

Mrs. Zou: "I don't want to face him with such a hideous face from now on. It's better to die than to live like this."

It is difficult to tell the feelings between husband and wife. Although Minglan knew that Uncle Shen had deep feelings for Madam Zou, she was not sure whether the situation that Madam Zou feared would happen in the future. She turned to ask, "So you would rather refuse Uncle Shen the door on the grounds of infection, right?"

Mrs. Zou: "Even if I die, I hope that I am respectable in his heart..."