When Jiang Wu saw her son bringing Mingzhu, she felt a moment of panic in her heart. It was hard not to panic in this situation, her lover’s daughter appeared in front of her husband and children.

But Mingzhu had always been a child who knew her limits.

So Jiang Wu quickly calmed down.

“Mother, father,” Chu Ye had to introduce the people he had brought with him, “This is the one who just won first place in the horse race…”

Chu Ye was speechless for a moment. He didn’t know the person’s name, and he didn’t know whether to call her “young lady” or “young master”. He was really embarrassed for a moment.

During the moment he hesitated, Mo Mingzhu had already clasped her fists and saluted: “Your Highness, I pay my respects to the Prime Minister and to the Madam.”

As soon as her voice came out, everyone naturally recognized that this was a woman, and the surprise in Nian Yin’s eyes became even stronger.

Mingzhu did not shy away from her identity as a woman. Even when facing the prime minister of the current dynasty, she remained calm and composed without showing any fear.

Jiang Wu admired her even more in her heart. She was someone who traveled around the country with her father and was indeed different from the ordinary ladies from wealthy families.

Mingzhu had already bowed for a while but still didn’t hear Chu Ling return her greetings. Jiang Wu was dissatisfied but didn’t dare to say it out loud. She could only pull Chu Ling’s sleeve secretly and remind him quietly: “Master…”

When she turned her head and met Chu Ling’s gaze, she realized that Chu Ling was not looking at Mingzhu, but at herself. So Jiang Wu began to panic again and slowly tried to withdraw her hand that was holding the corner of his clothes. As soon as she let go, Chu Ling held it.

The man’s gaze then turned to the woman in men’s clothing standing next to Chu Ye.

“No need to be polite.”

After Mo Mingzhu stood up straight, he asked again: “What’s your name?”

“My Lord, my surname is Mo, and my name is Mingzhu, Mo Mingzhu.”

Jiang Wu listened and pondered Chu Ling’s tone, but she could not hear any emotion in it.

“Nice name.”

It was even rare that Chu Ling actually commented on someone’s name. The name Mingzhu was used by many people among the people. Jiang Wu was a little surprised that he even went out of his way to praise her. Although his tone didn’t sound like he was praising her, the words he said were indeed a compliment.

“Your Excellency is too kind.”

Jiang Wu heard Chu Ling sneer and said, “Ah Ye, you actually lost to a woman.”

He actually turned his criticism towards his son. Moreover, this one sentence belittles both of them. Jiang Wu glanced at Chu Ye again and became even more unhappy when she saw that her son looked very unhappy.

She squeezed the hand that was holding hers and said, “There have been many heroic women since ancient times. It’s just a loss. What’s so strange about it?”

The look in Chu Ling’s eyes was unfathomable, but he let her pinch his hand. After a while, he looked at Chu Ye and said, “Your mother is right.”

The tone softened a lot.

Jiang Wu couldn’t be happy. She wanted to speak for her son, but she didn’t know why, she felt that Chu Ye’s expression became even uglier.

Did she say something wrong?

Mingzhu was probably the only one who was not affected by this strange atmosphere. She smiled and said as usual, “I have heard that Madam is extremely beautiful. Now I see that the rumors are true. Just now, your son wanted to buy the Night-Shine Jade Lion from me as a gift to Madam. I feel that we are destined to be together, so I will just give it to you.”

Jiang Wu was a little surprised. She didn’t know there was such a thing. “I’m not good at riding. I don’t ride every day all year round. It’s a waste to gift such a good horse to me. Ah Ye, since this is Miss Mo’s prize, don’t make things difficult for her.”

Although she was happy that her son took special care of her, she did not want her child to become a domineering person like Chu Ling.

Chu Ye smiled somewhat reluctantly and stiffly: “Mother, I know.”

He had never expected to be tricked like this and was speechless for a moment. The culprit smiled generously at this moment: “I already have a favorite horse. Since Madam likes it, I sincerely want to give it to you. If Madam feels that her riding skills are not good enough, I can also teach you.”

Jiang Wu was really thinking about the feasibility of this. Mingzhu had her own beloved horse, and she knew it. Besides, this way she could meet Mingzhu openly. Just as she was thinking about how to start, her sleeve was suddenly pulled.

She turned around and saw Nian Yin, who had been silent the whole time. “Mother,” her voice was very weak, and her already delicate face was even paler. “I feel a little uncomfortable.”

Jiang Wu almost immediately let go of Chu Ling’s hand, stood up and supported her daughter who seemed to be unable to sit still: “What’s wrong, Nian Yin? Are you feeling uncomfortable?”

She panicked and blamed herself for all the time she had been focusing on Ah Ye and Mingzhu. How could she not notice that her daughter was not feeling well? Nianyin was a quiet person, so she must have been enduring for a long time.

“It hurts in my heart.” Nian Yin covered her chest.

Jiang Wu looked at her weak daughter nestled in her arms and was so distressed that she didn’t care about anything else. She quickly looked at Chu Ling and anxiously called out to the silent person: “Chu Ling, come and take a look.”

She usually called him “Master”, but at this moment, perhaps because she regarded Chu Ling as the father of her child, she called him out of habit.

Chu Ling was stunned for a rare moment, but he quickly returned to normal, stood up and walked over. Chu Ye had already come to his sister’s side.

Jiang Wu watched him take out a bottle of medicine from his arms and feed it to his sister. Chu Ling didn’t seem surprised. He skillfully handed over a glass of water from the side and watched Chu Nianyin drink it.

“Are you feeling better?” His tone softened.

After drinking the medicine, Nian Yin took a breath and seemed to be feeling a little better. She nodded reluctantly.

Jiang Wu was still worried and was not in the mood for a spring outing: “Let’s hurry back home and let the doctor take a look. Nian Yin, can you walk?” After asking, she felt that she couldn’t, so without waiting for her answer, she looked at Chu Ling.

Chu Ling said: “Chu Ye.”

Chu Ye immediately picked up his sister.

They left in a hurry, and Jiang Wu had no time to think about anything else. Looking at Mingzhu who was still standing aside, she could only say goodbye with her eyes and left immediately.

Only the woman was left standing there, looking at the family huddled together, her eyes filled with gloom.

---

They returned to the Duke’s Mansion.

Obviously, the Duchess was very unhappy that her granddaughter fell ill after returning from a trip.

“She was fine at home, why did she become like this after you took her out once?”

If it were in the past, Jiang Wu would definitely feel unconvinced and want to argue. It was not like she took the child out alone. Wasn’t her son there too?

But at that moment, because she was worried about her daughter, she didn’t have the energy to talk to her more.

The doctor came out after a while.

It was obvious that this was not the doctor’s first visit and he was very familiar with everyone.

“It’s just a heart palpitation. Be careful not to cause too much stress to the young lady.”

The Duchess’s eyes immediately swept towards Jiang Wu again. She had always looked down on Jiang Wu’s background and felt that she couldn’t teach the children well. Now her eyes seemed to be saying, “You can’t even take care of the child for a short while.”

Since there were no outsiders around, she didn’t hide her disdain.

“Grandma,” Chu Ye spoke for his mother, “I didn’t take good care of my sister.”

“Oh, my dear grandson,” the Duchess immediately changed her expression, “What does this have to do with you? Protecting children is a mother’s responsibility.”

Jiang Wu didn’t have the heart to talk to her about this. When she saw the doctor leave, she hurriedly followed him.

“Doctor, what’s the matter with Nian Yin’s heart disease?”

The old doctor was slightly surprised as if he was surprised that she didn’t know, but he immediately answered: “Miss has had this heart disease for the last five years. But because of proper treatment, she is fine normally. She just needs to avoid being emotionally stimulated or do strenuous activities.”

Jiang Wu stood there blankly for a long time until he left.

Her daughter had a heart disease, but as a mother, she knew nothing. No wonder Nian Yin always looked so fragile.

She felt extremely upset, feeling sorry for her daughter’s illness and feeling regretful for her own incompetence.

When Jiang Wu returned, the Duchess was gone.

She heard what seemed to be voices talking in the room.

“How could you lose to her?” It was Nian Yin’s voice, filled with anger.

Chu Ye seemed to be comforting her: “She just happens to be called by that name, don’t take it too seriously.”

“How could I not care? You just can’t lose to her.”

Jiang Wu couldn’t hear their conversation clearly, nor could she understand it, but as soon as she heard that her daughter was angry, she hurried in.

Seeing her, both children stopped talking.

Nian Yin was sitting there, and when she came in, her angry expression immediately softened.

Jiang Wu walked over and pushed her back to bed to sleep: “The doctor said that you need to rest and not get angry, understand?”

As she spoke, she covered Nian Yin with a blanket.

The daughter lying in the quilt only showed bright eyes and nodded at her obediently.

Jiang Wu’s heart ached again. She suppressed her emotions and continued, “Winning and losing are common in the military. It’s nothing for your brother to lose once. He is already very powerful.”

She knew that her daughter might not be able to accept that her brother lost the race to someone else. After all, she had said so confidently that her brother would win.

Nian Yin bit her lip and said softly, “No,” but after thinking about it, she changed her words and said, “I know.”

After settling her children, she and Chu Ling boarded the carriage back home.

Jiang Wu was so annoyed that she didn’t say a word since she left the Duke’s Mansion. After getting on the carriage, she sat far away from him and shrank into a corner.

She knew Chu Ling was looking at her, but her anger made her completely lose her usual fear and awe, and she stubbornly refused to look at him.

The carriage had been moving for a while before the man’s voice was heard.

“What are you upset about?”