"But as long as the person who poisoned him stops, Lord Jiang will recover without any medicine."
After saying that, Mu Fengqie took Zhu Fei and left. This time, Lord Jiang didn't stop them. Instead, he frowned and pondered.
According to Mu Fengqie, he had been taking that poison for all these years?
Lord Jiang was suddenly startled into a cold sweat. He never thought there was such a person hiding beside him. If Mu Fengqie hadn't told him today, he might never have discovered it.
Lord Jiang didn't make a big deal out of this matter. Instead, he quietly started an investigation. The first person he investigated was the mother of his youngest son.
She was the only one in the mansion who had given birth to a son, so she was the most suspect.
But after investigating for a long time, Lord Jiang didn't find anything suspicious about her.
"Master, tonight is the day to redeem Miss Zizhu. Are we still going?"
The servant beside Lord Jiang asked.
Lord Jiang had forgotten about this matter because he had been busy investigating the poisoning incident in the past two days. Now that it was mentioned,
"Go, of course we're going. And I'm determined to win her!"
It had been a long time since he brought a woman back from outside. He heard that the current top courtesan was extremely beautiful. He was eager to see just how beautiful she was.
Xiujuan, now known as Zizhu, was sitting in the room prepared by the madam of the brothel, doing her makeup. Looking at the lively beauty in the mirror, Zizhu curved her lips into a smile.
This face was surely going to drive many people crazy for her. However, she already had someone in mind. She hoped that person wouldn't bid too low.
"Miss Zizhu, it's almost time to start. The madam asked me to come and ask if you're ready?"
Hearing the urging voice of the maid outside, Zizhu smoothed out the non - existent wrinkles on her clothes and slowly walked over to open the door.
The moment the maid saw Zizhu open the door, she was stunned. Miss Zizhu truly deserved to be the top candidate for the top courtesan. She was really beautiful.
"Let's go. Don't keep the madam waiting." Zizhu said to the dazed little maid.
The maid came back to her senses when she heard Zizhu's voice. She looked at Zizhu awkwardly, then lowered her head and led Zizhu to the madam.
The madam looked at Zizhu's attire with satisfaction. If it weren't for the order from above that this girl could only be redeemed from here, not sold for sex but only for performing arts, she would really be reluctant to part with such a beauty.
"Miss Zizhu, don't be nervous later. After it starts, you just need to show up. Leave the rest to me." The madam said to Zizhu with a smile on her face.
"Thank you, madam." Saying that, Zizhu stuffed a silver note into the madam's hand.
The madam smiled even more happily when she saw it. This deal was really worth it for her.
Seeing that most of the guests had arrived, the madam walked up onto the stage with a beaming smile.
"Gentlemen, good evening. Today is our annual competition for the top courtesan. However, this year, we only have one top courtesan, Miss Zizhu.
So next, let's see which lucky gentleman will win Miss Zizhu's heart?"
After the madam finished speaking, she motioned for Zizhu to come onto the stage. After all, no matter how many nice words were said, it was not as exciting as seeing the real person.
When the people who came to the brothel today saw Zizhu's enchanting figure and her face like a lotus emerging from the water, everyone went wild.
No wonder there was only one top courtesan this year. No one else could compare with her.
Just as the madam had said, Zizhu just walked across the stage and then came down.
She stood on the third - floor, indifferently watching the competition downstairs.
The bid had risen from the initial one hundred taels to five thousand taels.
"Five thousand taels once!"
"Five thousand taels twice!"
The madam looked at the people downstairs and her smile grew wider and wider. No one had ever bid more than two thousand taels before. Miss Zizhu today was an exception. She had directly reached five thousand taels. It was really worth it.
"Five thousand taels three..."
"Wait a minute!"
Just as the madam was about to strike the gavel to confirm the deal, someone stopped her.
People followed the sound and found that it was Lord Jiang who had just come in.
Lord Jiang was a well - known figure in the capital. Almost everyone knew him. So when they saw him coming, those who thought they could still raise some more money suddenly felt hopeless.
Who was Lord Jiang? He was a royal merchant and the richest man in the capital. How could their financial resources compare with Lord Jiang's?
When Zizhu saw Lord Jiang coming, she curved her lips. He finally came. She thought he wasn't going to come.
"I'll bid ten thousand taels of silver. I want to take Miss Zizhu away."
As soon as Lord Jiang said this, everyone was shocked. They thought that Lord Jiang would only add one thousand taels at most, but they didn't expect that he would directly raise the price to ten thousand taels as soon as he came. How could others continue to bid?
The madam was also stunned for a moment, but soon she smiled widely. It could be said that she was smiling from ear to ear because Miss Zizhu had directly broken all the records in the brothel.
"Lord Jiang bids ten thousand taels. Is there anyone else who wants to raise the price?"
The madam looked around at the people and finally struck the gavel to seal the deal.
"Lord Jiang wins!"
The moment Lord Jiang came in, he saw Zizhu's beauty and his eyes never left her. He just stared at Zizhu directly.
Zizhu slowly walked down from the upstairs. When she came in front of Lord Jiang, she gracefully curtsied and said,
"I'm Zizhu. I've come to pay my respects to Lord Jiang."
Lord Jiang looked at Zizhu with satisfaction and kept nodding. "Good, really good. From now on, you'll be my side wife."
Such a beautiful woman, he didn't want to make her a concubine. If it weren't for the fact that Zizhu had no background, he would definitely make her the main wife.
Zizhu didn't expect that Lord Jiang had such a good impression of her and directly gave her the position of side wife.
Zizhu smiled sweetly. "Thank you for your kindness, Lord Jiang. But I'm from a brothel. I'm afraid I'm not worthy of being your side wife."
Lord Jiang didn't expect Zizhu to reject him, but the reason for her rejection made him feel gratified.
"Don't worry. I won't let you be wronged." Lord Jiang said, looking at Zizhu with affection.
He couldn't trust the women in his family anymore. He was basically sure that the poison on his body was put there by one of the women in his backyard.
After he found out who the culprit was and his body recovered, he would have a child with Zizhu. The child they had would surely be very good - looking.
Zizhu didn't know what Lord Jiang was thinking. If she did, she would surely scoff. She was already infertile. How could she have a child with him? It was just wishful thinking.
When Lord Jiang was taking Zizhu back to his mansion, he encountered an obstacle.
None of the women in his mansion agreed to let Zizhu enter.
When they first entered the mansion, they were just concubines. Why should a woman from a brothel be able to become a side wife?