Thrown out of the house, the wet nurse enters the noble household and becomes a person of high statu

Xiao Chenlin ascended the throne as emperor.

It goes without saying that Xiao Chenlin's first step after ascending the throne was to eliminate Xiao Yiheng's cronies in the capital.

Those old ministers who placed high hopes on him are probably already imprisoned or beheaded.

He miscalculated.

But as long as he has a breath left, he must return to the capital.

Expose Xiao Chenlin's conspiracy with the Northern Di and reclaim everything that rightfully belongs to him.

But... Xiao Yiheng opened his eyes, his vision becoming increasingly blurry.

The world before my eyes seemed shrouded in a gray veil, all the outlines melting and distorting.

The black dots spread from the edge of the field of vision, becoming more and more numerous and larger.

It's like ink dripping into clear water, quickly spreading and spreading.

Recurrence of eye disease...

The eye-brightening pills prescribed by the imperial physician before leaving the capital were lost during the escape.

Without medicine, the old wounds flared up again.

First, there is double vision, then a loss of vision, and finally, complete darkness.

My leg is broken, my ribs are broken, and I'm going to go blind.

Can such a body really hold out until the day it returns to the palace?

The snow started falling again.

Fine snowflakes drifted down from the gray sky, landing on his exposed skin.

He had never imagined that the fine snow could be so cold, so despairingly cold.

Consciousness began to fade.

Just before plunging into complete darkness, a pair of embroidered shoes stopped in front of him.

The shoes had a pinkish-white upper embroidered with light blue patterns, and the toes were speckled with snow.

Xiao Yiheng struggled to lift his head.

My vision was already very blurry; I could only see that the person was wearing a blue cloak and holding an oil-paper umbrella.

The umbrella was pulled low, covering half her face and revealing only a bit of her chin, which was as white as new porcelain.

"How are you?"

Her voice was clear and gentle, like snow melting in springtime, even in the biting cold wind.

That sound...

The edge of the umbrella was slowly raised.

The first thing that catches the eye is a pair of eyes, clear almond eyes with gentle dark pupils, slightly furrowed brows, and fine snowflakes clinging to long eyelashes.

Her cheeks were slightly red from the cold wind, which made her skin appear even whiter and more like jade.

Her hair was simply styled in a bun, with a few stray strands blowing in the wind and clinging to her cheeks.

"Liu..." Xiao Yiheng stared at her blankly, his lips moved, and he managed to utter a sound with difficulty.

The black dots in her field of vision spread rapidly, gradually engulfing her face.

The last color he saw before he went blind was cyan.

……

The donkey cart drove into Zhiyun Village; it was nearly dusk.

Granny Wang jumped out of the carriage and hurriedly shouted into the courtyard, "Quick, someone come and lend a hand!"

Lu Ye strode over and saw the person lying on the car floor.

He was covered with a woman's cloak, revealing his mud-covered feet.

"This is……"

"There's no time to say more, let's take him inside first." Liu Wenying got out of the car, her face somewhat pale.

Wasn't Wenying supposed to go to the city to see a doctor? Why did she bring a man back with her?

"Let me do it." Lu Ye didn't ask any further questions.

He bent down and hoisted the person onto his shoulder.

The movements were swift and decisive, as if the person were carrying prey that they had hunted.

Liu Wenying was horrified. "Be gentle! He probably has broken ribs and a broken leg!"

Lu Ye froze for a moment, then barely managed to adjust his posture and carried the person into the house.

Liu Wenying hurriedly followed, while Granny Wang went to the kitchen to boil water and find the village doctor.

Lu Ye placed the person on the couch and lifted the cloak covering his face.

Although his face was covered in dirt and he was so thin that he looked almost emaciated, the outline of his brow bone and the lines of his nose were very familiar to him.

"Does the head of the village know him?"

Liu Wenying paused for a moment, then said softly, "Yes, but I can't tell you who he is. Saving people is the priority."

……

The snow outside had stopped, and Liu Wenying listened to the village doctor speak.

Each sentence she heard made her frown more.

"I had three broken ribs and a fractured tibia in my left leg. Fortunately, they were set in time, but I'm afraid I won't be able to bear weight in the future."

"I have more than a dozen knife wounds of varying sizes on my body. Fortunately, it's not hot, so they won't fester, but I still need to change the dressings every day."

"As for the internal organs... they have all been shaken, and there is blood stasis inside. They need to be well cared for..."

Liu Wenying was shocked. In other words, Xiao Yiheng had been able to hold on until now because of his extremely strong willpower.

"And what about the eyes?"

The village doctor said helplessly, "His eye ailment didn't develop overnight. I can only prescribe some remedies to improve his eyesight, but whether they'll be effective depends entirely on fate."

If it were an imperial physician in the capital, perhaps there would be a way, but where could one find an imperial physician in a remote village?

Liu Wenying didn't ask any more questions. After thanking the village doctor, she asked Granny Wang to send the person out.

The person in the bed had been washed and dressed.

He lay there with his eyes closed, his breath as faint as a flickering flame in the wind, as if it could go out at any moment.

Xiao Yiheng...

Lu Ye brought in hot water from the outer room, and placed the copper basin on the wooden shelf, where it steamed with white mist.

"Go back and rest, I'll take care of things here."

Liu Wenying nodded; it was time for her to leave.

I'm exhausted after a long day of running around.

But there's one thing I still need to say: "Lu Ye, I'm no longer the head of the village."

Lu Ye stopped wringing the cloth, looked up, and waited for an explanation.

"I have my employment contract, and I am now a free agent."

"Did you receive it today?"

"Yes, I went to the Duke of Yu's residence and got it from the First Madam."

She didn't go into details, but Lu Ye could tell from the weariness in her eyes that things had gone wrong.

He smiled, genuinely happy for her.

"Congratulations, Wenying."

Liu Wenying, however, recalled the events of the day.

After she and Granny Wang entered the capital, they visited three different medical clinics, and the doctors all said the same thing after taking her pulse.

"Madam, this is a sign of pregnancy."

Finally, the old doctor, seeing her pale face, added, "The pregnancy is still in its early stages, about a month or so. You need to take good care of yourself."

A month or so later, it was the night Pei Zeyu came to the manor.

She and Granny Wang walked out of the clinic. Pedestrians hurried by on the street. A woman was leading a child to buy sugar figurines, and the child's laughter was clear and crisp.

She touched her lower abdomen, which was still flat as usual, but already harboring a life.

She had no time to be distracted; she needed to get the employment contract and make her point.

The vermilion gates of the Duke of Yu's mansion remained unchanged. The gatekeeper recognized her and went to announce her arrival with a beaming smile.

Before long, a maid led her to see the First Madam.

When the First Madam saw her arrive at the mansion, she greeted her with a warm smile and said that she had come at the right time, as the employment contract had just been found.

After receiving it, Liu Wenying naturally asked the Second Master.

But the First Madam's smile faltered slightly. It turned out that the late Emperor had passed away, and the male masters of the mansion, including the Duke, the First Master, and the Second Master, had all been summoned to the palace to keep vigil.

Liu Wenying failed to meet Pei Zeyu and was about to leave after receiving the employment contract.

Before leaving, Wen Jingshu did tell her some things.

"The employment contract was taken away by the master. That night, when the news of His Majesty's death came, the master left the mansion and went to the palace. In his haste, he gave many instructions, including a box."

"When I opened it, your employment contract was inside."

Some things don't need to be said too explicitly. Pei Dingxuan hid the employment contract because he didn't want her to leave.

How could she not know how Pei Dingxuan treated her?

But some things cannot be changed simply by being unwilling; she is a living, breathing person, not an object to be manipulated.

She didn't say anything about the child.

Pei Zeyu was not at the residence. In these turbulent times, if she sent someone to deliver a message, it was inevitable that the news would leak out.

This matter must be told to him in person.

…………