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

Chapter 317 The Child
Upon hearing this, Qiao Wei's tone turned icy cold. "So, does Your Majesty mean that in order to preserve the relationship between the Sun family and the Zhou family, I should keep this matter quiet?"

When Sun Quan heard Qiao Wei's distant way of addressing him, he knew how angry she was. She was even going so far as to draw a line between them for Qiao Rong's sake.

He sighed softly and slowly explained the pros and cons.

"The matter of the Gu family is not so simple. Once this witness is sent to Ziyi, and Ziyi writes a letter to the court, the governor will use his power of supervision, and the court will definitely send an envoy to the Gu family to verify and investigate."

With such a complicated process, the Gu family will surely investigate the matter thoroughly. Whether it's the Gu family, the Zhou family, or Ziyi and you, things will not end well.

Even you, Xiao Qiao, and that helpless witness will face life-threatening situations. Have you considered that this situation involves a great deal of issues? How can you guarantee that the outcome will be as you wish?
The Gu family has operated in this area for centuries, and their influence in the court is deeply entrenched. To think that a single witness could bring down the second young master of the Gu family is like an ant trying to shake a tree.

Qiao Wei slowly came to her senses from her anger. Although Sun Quan's words were blunt and unpleasant, they were like a bucket of cold water poured on her feverish head.

Even if Youxuan safely delivers the witness to Taishi Ci, it is uncertain whether Taishi Ci would be willing to offend the Gu family for this matter.

Even if Taishi Ci was willing to submit a memorial, it would still take more than ten days to travel from Haihun to Xudu. Would the letter be leaked along the way? Would Cao Cao let the matter drop? Would Guo Jia and Jia Xu use this memorial to cause trouble in Jiangdong? Would the Gu family's connections in the court reveal this matter to them?

Each link in the chain is unknown.

If she wanted to control the Gu family's lifeline, she couldn't give up this trump card so easily. She had to find an opportunity to strike decisively and not give them any chance to retaliate.

Seeing that Qiao Wei was gradually calming down, Sun Quan took two steps forward, put his arm around her, and whispered to comfort her, "You must be tired from traveling back these past few days without sleep. There are people watching over Xiao Qiao here, so you should go back and get some sleep. Leave the Gu family's affairs to me, and I will give you a satisfactory explanation."

Qiao Wei also realized that her attitude towards Sun Quan had been a bit too aggressive. She had indeed rushed back to Wan County without sleep, but Sun Quan had also been with her and hadn't had a proper rest for several days.

Thinking of this, she felt even more guilty, and her eyes softened. "I was being too attached to you. You've worked hard these past few days, and I shouldn't have snapped at you."

Ultimately, what angered her was Gu Lingchen's ruthlessness, the fact that Old Madam Xun allowed it, and the fact that powerful families fawned on the powerful while protecting each other.

No one cares that beneath their glamorous facades lie countless lives struggling to survive, fighting tooth and nail for existence.

But Qiao Rong was also a girl who had been pampered by her parents since childhood, and they were her own flesh and blood. The two of them grew up together.

Before getting married, she was a shy and innocent girl. In less than two years, she was tormented and left half-dead.

How could she not feel heartbroken?

Sun Quan gently placed his chin on Qiao Wei's hair bun. "I know you didn't mean it, and I won't be angry with you. You're worried about Xiao Qiao. If it were me, and An'er were lying in front of me like this one day, I'm afraid I would be able to take a knife and chop the person down to vent my anger."

Qiao Wei bit her lower lip so hard it almost bled.

"The Gu family is arrogant and domineering, wantonly humiliating people and taking lives. Her brother is no better, an unfilial person who is despised by everyone."

Qiao Wei was preoccupied with Qiao Rong's affairs and couldn't sleep well. Sun Quan got up in the middle of the night and added some benzoin to the stove, which finally put Qiao Wei into a deep sleep. He didn't even know that it had been pouring rain outside all day.

She hadn't been able to sleep for several days, and this time she slept for two whole days before waking up. Qiao Rong gradually regained some color in her face, and Qiao Wei sat by the bedside to accompany her during meals and conversations, even personally wiping her hands and washing her face, refusing to let anyone else do it.

Dr. Zhang said that Qiao Rong was severely deficient in qi and blood and needed to be properly cared for during her postpartum period. The choice of medicinal herbs was carefully considered. If there were too many herbs, the herbs might be too strong and cause her to be unable to tolerate the nourishment; if there were too few herbs, the herbs might be too weak and cause her to not be able to keep her alive.

The strong smell of the medicine made Qiao Rong turn her head away, somewhat resistant.

Qiao Wei patiently coaxed her to drink, spoonful by spoonful. Later, even Deng'er learned to do it, taking a spoon and imitating Qiao Wei, feeding Qiao Rong the food from her own bowl, saying in a childish voice, "Auntie, eat..."

Qiao Rong cooperated fully as Sun Deng fed her, and didn't forget to praise her, "Deng'er is so good."

But halfway through her sentence, she seemed to be choked by something, and tears suddenly burst forth, falling in a steady stream onto her clothes.

Sun Deng didn't understand what had happened between the adults, but he reached out and wiped away Qiao Rong's tears, saying, "Auntie, don't cry."

Qiao Rong held Sun Deng's warm little body with trembling hands, as if she could hold the little life she had given birth to with all her might but never had a chance to see.

As soon as she gave birth, the baby was taken away by the wet nurse and sent to Gu Lingchen. She struggled to get up and take her child back, but in the end, she was no match for the strength of so many midwives in the delivery room, who pressed her firmly back onto the bed.

“This is the general’s eldest son. How can he be raised by a lowly woman? Madam is kind-hearted. From now on, this child will be the bloodline of the Zhou and Gu families.” Wu’s voice, which was like a sharp knife, pierced Qiao Rong’s heart without mercy.

"That's my child..." Qiao Rong shouted with all her might, "Give me back my child!"

"You must be joking, my dear wife. My name isn't on the Zhou family's genealogy, and I've never even paid respects to the Zhou family's ancestors. How could such a respectable young woman from an honest family have a child?"

Qiao Rong stared wide-eyed at Wu Ao's ferocious and vicious face. Only then did she belatedly realize that all the tolerance she had once thought she had shown had now turned into a deadly weapon in their hands, taking away her child and trying to kill her.

"It's only because the lady is kind-hearted and can't bear to see the general's bloodline wandering outside that she allowed Qiao Xiaofu to be raised in the courtyard temporarily. Which noble family's young master and young lady aren't raised under the care of their mistress?"

How could Qiao Xiaofu still harbor the delusion of using the young master to covet the Zhou family's wealth?

Qiao Rong was speechless. Wu Ao turned around and took the child away, leaving behind the words, "If the young master loses his mother within three days of his birth, it will be an ominous sign."

The implication was that even if Qiao Rong had to die, she couldn't die right now.

Qiao Rong shed tears, and even Qiao Wei shed tears with her.

When Sun Quan entered, this was the scene that greeted him with such sorrow.

"Madam, why are you crying? Let's go."

Qiao Wei wiped away her tears, "Where are we going?"

"Zhou family, go pick up the child!"