Tiger Owl

Chapter 262 Using Medicine as an Excuse
Da Qiao hesitated for a moment and said, "Ah Ren isn't in a good mood today!"

Gan Ning was taken aback. "Why?"

Da Qiao sighed softly, "Today is the first day of the Lunar New Year, a day for family reunion. She might be missing her mother a little."

"Does she want to go home?" Gan Ning asked.

"Neither!"

Da Qiao shook her head. "It's just that today is a special day, and she misses her mother a little."

Gan Ning thought for a moment and then asked, "So what do you want me to do?"

Da Qiao hesitated for a moment and said, "Her mother doesn't know where her daughter is or whether she is safe. She must be very worried. Husband, is there any way to send a message to her mother to put her mind at ease? Only when her mother is at ease will A Ren feel at ease staying at our house."

Gan Ning nodded. "I understand. I will make arrangements. Tell Miss Sun not to worry and to comfort her."

"I will."

Da Qiao gently bit her lip again and said, "Could my husband come to my place tonight?"

Gan Ning laughed, "Good!"

Da Qiao glanced at her husband with a fleeting look in her eyes, then hurried away.

On the third day of the Lunar New Year, in the Wu Hou Palace, Lady Wu sat in her room in a daze, as usual, holding her daughter's handkerchief in her hand. Her daughter had been missing for more than a month, and there had been no news of her since. Lady Wu had cried countless times and was extremely worried about her daughter's safety. Sun Quan had come to comfort her several times, but it was no use. Lady Wu was about to fall ill from missing her daughter.

At this moment, a eunuch came in and whispered, "Gan Ning from Chaisang has brought a jar of wine for the old lady, saying it's the wine she's been wanting to drink this month the most."

Wu Guotai was no longer in the mood for drinking. She waved her hand and said, "Take it away!"

Just as the eunuch turned to leave, Lady Wu suddenly had a thought: "The wine I most want to drink this month." What does that mean?
She then changed her mind and said, "Bring the wine over!"

Before long, a eunuch brought in a very elegant box. "Madam, this is the box of wine!"

"You all stand down!"

After dismissing everyone, Madam Wu said to her personal maid, Xiao Lan, "Open the lid!"

Madam Wu was a little nervous. "Gan Ning only gave her a gift once, a jade Buddha, and never again. For him to send her a jar of wine during the New Year for no reason, she knew there must be a reason."

Xiao Lan, the personal maid, opened the wooden lid, and sure enough, there was a jar of wine inside. When she saw it clearly, she was stunned.

A silk ribbon hung on the wine jar, with three characters written on it: "Daughter's Red".

Daughter Red is a unique wine from the Jiangnan region. When a daughter is born, a jar of wine is buried in the backyard, and it is dug up and the bride and groom drink it when the daughter gets married.

Madam Wu's heart was in turmoil. She understood. Her beloved daughter was in Chaisang. In a flash, she thought of Xu Wei. It must be so! It must be so! Her daughter was with her good friend Xu Wei.

Madam Wu could no longer contain herself. After a moment of contemplation, she took a box, filled it with a few slices of angelica root, and handed it to her trusted maid, Xiao Lan. She whispered, "Go to the liaison office of Xi Chu in Dantu, find Manager Song, ask him who gave you the wine, and then give him this box. He will understand."

Since the other party was communicating with her through riddles, it meant that the other party also had their own difficulties, so Madam Wu responded in the same way.

Xiao Lan bowed and left in a hurry.

As soon as Xiao Lan left, a eunuch reported from below the hall: "A message came from Lord Wu. Lord Wu wants to know what kind of wine the Western Chu sent?" Old Madam Wu reached out and tore off the silk ribbon on the wine jar, saying indifferently, "A jar of medicinal wine to nourish the body."

After the eunuch left, Old Madam Wu suddenly had an indescribable idea in her mind. Marquis Wu had actually sent someone to monitor her every move. He knew as soon as she received the wine.

An hour later, Xiao Lan returned. Old Madam Wu hurriedly asked, "Tell me quickly, what news do you have?"

Xiao Lan bowed and said, "Steward Wu said that this jar of wine is a token of their Madam Xu's goodwill!"

Madam Xu is Xu Wei. Old Madam Wu breathed a sigh of relief, "I was right after all, Shangxiang is with Xu Wei."

"Any other news?" the old lady pressed.

"This is it!"

Xiaolan handed the box back to the old lady, saying, "It seems they switched the medicine."

Madam Wu quickly took the box and opened it. Sure enough, it wasn't angelica root inside; it had turned into a piece of saposhnikovia root.

The old lady understood after a moment's thought. The "wind" referred to the fact that Wu Hou forced her to marry Liu Bei, and she had run away to Xu Wei's place, hence the name "Fangfeng" (meaning "to guard against the wind"), meaning she would not return home for the time being.

Previously, in order to marry his sister to Liu Bei, Sun Quan embellished the marriage to his mother, saying that if Liu Bei were to ascend the throne and become emperor, then his sister would be empress. He used all sorts of persuasive tactics to finally convince Madam Wu to agree to the marriage.

Unexpectedly, after her daughter's strong objections were ignored, she ran away from home. Madam Wu immediately regretted it, and for more than a month, she was filled with remorse.

She remembered that she had promised her daughter that she would decide her daughter's marriage, but in a moment of confusion, she was persuaded by Wu Hou and broke her promise to her daughter.

She was furious and refused to see Lord Wu when he came to pay his respects several times. Now that she finally knew her daughter's whereabouts, Lady Wu would certainly not tell Sun Quan and cause any more trouble.

Moreover, the other party's subtle way of telling her meant that they didn't want Sun Quan to know. Once she understood this, Madam Wu immediately made up her mind that this secret could only be known by herself.

She repeatedly instructed Xiaolan not to reveal to anyone that he had gone to the liaison office in Xichu.

Upon learning of her daughter's situation, Madam Wu finally felt relieved. Her daughter should be doing well with Xu Wei. It is said that Gan Ning's wife, Qiao, is a very kind and tolerant person, and she will treat Shangxiang well.

After a month of worry and distress, Madam Wu finally felt relieved. A smile appeared on her face as she ordered, "Send word to start the meal. I want to have a good meal."

Sun Quan was also in the Wu Hou Palace. Although he was a little surprised that Gan Ning would send a jar of tonic wine to his mother, he thought it was normal. Giving gifts during the New Year is a common practice, so he did not investigate further. He never dreamed that Gan Ning would send news of his sister Sun Shangxiang's safety to his mother through a jar of wine.

However, Sun Quan has also had a hard time these past two days. His wife, Xu Fen, is causing trouble. He signed an agreement with Cao Cao, the first clause of which stipulates that he will marry Cao Cao's daughter as his principal wife. How could such a thing be kept from his wife, Xu Fen?

Xu Fen immediately started making a scene, threatening suicide, and a few days earlier she had scratched Sun Quan's hand with her fingernails, leaving three deep bloody marks.

Xu Fen is not as weak as Bu Lianshi. She and her cousin Xu Wei have similar personalities. They are both the kind of people who will do anything for their own happiness, but their actions are exactly the opposite. Xu Wei is brave in pursuing happiness, but she will not hurt others and is willing to share her husband with her sister.

Xu Fen, on the other hand, resolutely defended her own interests, determined to monopolize her husband, and eliminated all competitors. She was willing to use any means necessary to achieve her own interests, even resorting to witchcraft to force Bu Lianshi to his death.

So when Xu Fen learned that her husband was going to marry Cao Cao's daughter to replace her, she threw Sun Quan's entire harem into turmoil, causing chaos throughout the New Year. Sun Quan was so overwhelmed that he couldn't care less about his mother.

At this moment, a guard reported, "Reporting to Lord Wu, the military advisor has urgent business to discuss!"

(End of this chapter)