Reborn in the Three Kingdoms: Da Qiao Doesn't Want to Be a Widow Anymore

Chapter 316 The Gu Family Feud
Sun Quan buried his face in Qiao's shoulder, inhaling her unique scent.

"Whoa..." Suddenly the coachman let out a long sigh, tightened the reins, and the horse came to a sudden stop, almost causing the carriage to overturn.

Fortunately, the coachman's horsemanship was excellent, and with the help of Yourou, Taishi Xiang, and others, the carriage was finally stabilized after several attempts. The coachman, drenched in cold sweat from fear of being held accountable, could only kneel on the ground and beg for mercy.

Sun Quan, having regained his balance, rubbed Qiao Wei's forehead. Qiao Wei winced in pain and gasped, noticing a red, swollen bump on his forehead.

Tears welled up in her eyes from the pain.

Sun Quan pushed open the small door of the carriage, his brows furrowed and his voice serious, "What happened?"

The coachman trembled and dared not speak. Youru brought Youxuan closer. "My lord, it's Youxuan. He came in a hurry and bumped into the carriage. Please forgive him!"

Before Sun Quan could ask what was wrong and why he was in such a hurry, Qiao Wei pushed open the car door from behind, her voice urgent, "Is it Youxuan? Has something happened to An'er or Deng'er?"

Before You Xian could catch his breath, he cried out, "Young Master and Young Master are both safe and sound, but... but something happened to Madam Qiao and Young Master Zhou!"

As dusk settled over the outskirts of Wan County, turning the world into a vast expanse of darkness, Qiao Wei abandoned the carriage and galloped home on horseback.

Sun Quan accompanied him, the dust kicked up by his horse's hooves swirling behind them, mirroring Qiao Wei's uneasy heart at that moment.

"Giddy up!" Qiao Wei shouted repeatedly, pulling the reins tightly, and his warhorse charged forward like a bowstring released from a bow, the wind whistling in his ears.

Qiao Wei only wished that she could go faster.

The thought of the letter from Youxuan broke her heart. She wished she could fly to Qiao Rong's side immediately. Even though the city gate was only half open, Qiao Wei couldn't wait to rush into the city.

Finally, the Qiao family's residence came into view. Before the horse had even come to a complete stop, Qiao Wei leaped off and strode into the mansion.

Sun An was already waiting at the door, and went up to greet Qiao Wei as soon as he saw her.

“Sister-in-law, Sister Qiao is much better now, but she just couldn’t bring the child over.”

When the servant from the Zhou family came to report the news, Sun An sent Youxuan to inform Qiao Wei. Therefore, he only knew that Qiao Rong had an accident, and he was not very clear about what happened afterward.

"It was a servant sent by Madam Gu to deliver the message, saying that Madam Gu wanted to leave the mother and keep the child. My sister's midwife was from the Gu family. After my sister gave birth to the little prince, she put some other medicine in the medicine soup, trying to make it look like postpartum hemorrhage, but Madam Gu stopped her."

The servant said that Lady Gu knew she couldn't save her sister for long, so she sent someone to deliver the message. I then took the physician and brought my sister back first.

Despite the blazing charcoal fire in the house during the autumn season, the warmth could not dispel the chill in Qiao Wei's heart.

Qiao Rong's hands were icy cold, but his forehead was still burning hot, and the smell of medicine in the room made his throat tighten.

Qiao Rong's face was as pale as paper, still covered in cold sweat. Her eyelashes cast small shadows under her eyes, making her look like a butterfly with broken wings.

Her figure, wrapped in the quilt, looked even thinner. Qiao Wei hadn't seen her for just over half a month, and now she was lying in bed, so weak and sick.

"Where is Madam Xun?" Qiao Wei's voice trembled.

Before leaving the Zhou family, I had clearly entrusted Rong'er to Old Madam Xun, and Old Madam Xun had clearly agreed. Why is it that something still happened, and it was Gu Lingyun who sent someone to ask for help?

"Old Madam Xun goes to her separate residence for quiet meditation every fifteenth of the month, so she happens to be away from the manor on those two days." She felt both heartache and anger; it was the same thing again!

Why is it always like this?

She was weak before and after childbirth, so Old Madam Wu took advantage of the delivery to harm her, and now Qiao Rong is doing the same thing.

They were both women, and they all knew how difficult life was. They also all knew that childbirth was a brush with death for women, yet they insisted on choosing such a time to take advantage of a woman who was at her weakest, both physically and mentally.

Thinking of this, Qiao Wei's anger was already burning like a wildfire in the mountains. "An'er, go and tell Youxuan that he no longer needs to keep the dirt on the Gu family that he found earlier."

"Take the witnesses and physical evidence directly to Haihun and request the Grand Historian to petition the Censorate to revoke the academic honors of the second son of the Gu family."

She would never let those who dared to touch Qiao Rong off so easily; she was determined to make them pay the price.

The second young master of the Gu family is Gu Lingchen's younger brother from the same mother. In her previous life, Gu Lingchen was able to have absolute authority in the Zhou family despite her physical disability, and she was even able to cause Xiao Qiao to be unable to have children. She relied on this promising younger brother.

Since the Gu family's sons are promising, the Zhou family naturally wouldn't punish Gu Lingchen to uphold justice for Xiao Qiao. Instead, they would search everywhere for renowned doctors to prolong her life.

However, many years later, this second son of the Gu family was implicated and reported for poisoning his grandmother.

That person had been hunted for over a decade, and only by disfiguring himself and cutting off his limbs could he have escaped death.

Since Qiao Rong was married to Zhou Yu, Qiao Wei had been secretly instructing You Xuan and others to keep an eye on the matter. After seeing how hard Qiao Rong was being treated under Madam Gu in Shu County, they became even more determined to find this witness.

Fortunately, fate was ultimately on their side. Following the events in Da Qiao's memory, and with the help of You Xuan and the others, they finally found the person in a pigsty in a farmhouse.

Sun An nodded, hurriedly passed the bronze crane lamp, and was about to go out to give orders to Youxuan when she saw the black wide sleeves sweep past her side.

“Reckless!” A deep voice rang out, and Qiao Wei looked up, meeting Sun Quan’s eyes.

Qiao Wei felt a tightness in his throat, but couldn't utter a single word.

"Using public power for private gain, have you considered how much trouble this will bring you?"

Qiao Wei took a deep breath. "If the second young master of the Gu family acts with integrity, then my unfounded framing and wronging of loyal officials would be an abuse of public power for private gain."

The Gu family is corrupt and filthy, their hands stained with blood, they poisoned their own relatives and attempted to kill to cover it up, treating human life like dirt. If they were to enter officialdom and become a local magistrate, wouldn't they be a scourge to the people?

"But your original intention was not for the benefit of the people."

"Regardless of my original intentions, a gentleman judges by actions, not intentions. Since Gu Jia has acted perversely and wickedly, if the world does not criticize his bad character, should it also criticize me for not repaying evil with kindness and for covering up his crimes?"

Moonlight swept across Sun Quan's brow bone, casting deep shadows in his eye sockets.

"The second young master of the Gu family was recommended by the old Commandant Zhou." Sun Quan mentioned Zhou Zhong's name. If it were an ordinary person, Sun Quan would never have tried to dissuade him in the slightest. But the second young master of the Gu family's behavior was so egregious that he would not have been spared even if he died a hundred times.

But Zhou Zhong was not only Zhou Yu's cousin, but also the matchmaker between Sun Quan and Qiao Wei. Even Qiao Hui was able to return from the He family thanks to Zhou Zhong's prestige.