Oh no! Seven kids at the start, all yellow and skinny.

Chapter 295 Qi Guanshi's Qi

Fang Tang's eyes lit up: "Where is she?"

“Our men saw someone in Longxi City who looks exactly like the young lady, but they lost track of him.” Su Mu lowered his head. “But I think this news should be told to the Lord.”

Fang Tang frowned. "Send someone to look for her." He paused, then added, "Also, bring Granny Xu from the back gate over here."

A quarter of an hour later, Granny Xu knelt before Fang Tang and said, "Greetings, Lord."

"Old Mrs. Xu," Fang Tang said, sitting in a chair and lightly tapping the table with his fingers, "how did the young lady get lost back then?"

"Huh?" Granny Xu was stunned and looked up abruptly, but when she met Fang Tang's sinister gaze, she trembled and hurriedly lowered her head. "Miss... she eloped with someone."

"With whom?" Fang Tang's eyes narrowed slightly.

"With..." Granny Xu couldn't finish her sentence, and she couldn't help but swallow hard, "...with a wandering swordsman."

Fang Tang's lips twitched: "Heh, do you think I'm stupid? Yun Yi is engaged to the Third Prince, would she fall for a wandering swordsman?"

Cold sweat immediately streamed down Granny Xu's face, and she hurriedly kowtowed to the ground: "My lord, spare my life..."

"Speak, what is the actual situation? Don't force me to investigate further, or you and your son will suffer a fate worse than death." Fang Tang pinched the bridge of his nose.

"I'll tell you everything, I'll tell you everything." Granny Xu had no choice but to compromise. "It was all instructed by the madam. This old servant was just following orders."

Fang Tang waved his hand.

Su Mu came over and dragged the person away.

"Master, spare me..." Granny Xu tried to shout, but her mouth was quickly covered.

Fang Tang sighed. His father had made the decision to marry Qi Miao'er. He agreed because he thought Qi Miao'er was beautiful and knew medicine. However, he had someone he liked, Sun Qingli.

He had always known that Sun Qingli was unwilling to accept it, but after all, it was a childhood affection. Even though he knew that there was something fishy about Qi Miao'er's adultery, he let her be. His father couldn't blame him for that. But no matter what, Fang Yunyi was his eldest daughter and had a marriage contract with the royal family. As long as she got married, the Fang family would rise to a higher level.

Of course, he did consider having A'duo take over the engagement, but that was an engagement that Qi Miao'er had obtained by using her life-saving grace to the Chen family. Was it so easy to take over?

Even though the Third Prince didn't like Yunyi, he didn't dare to easily break off the engagement. Otherwise, after being missing for so many days, Consort Chen hadn't mentioned canceling the engagement.

He now regrets making Sun Qingli his official wife; her vision is simply not good enough to be a proper head wife.

After pondering for a long time, he got up and went out to the Jingxin Courtyard in the northern suburbs.

The old man, Fang Jing, lives in Jingxin Courtyard. He was injured when he was young, so after his son inherited the title, he moved directly to the suburbs. There is a hot spring in this courtyard, which is good for your health.

He kept two beautiful concubines here, so he didn't even go back to the mansion for the New Year.

When Fang Tang arrived, Fang Jing was soaking in a hot spring with his two beautiful concubines; their joyful laughter could be heard from afar.

"Father," Fang Tang greeted respectfully as he entered the room.

Fang Jing glanced at Fang Tang and patted the two beautiful concubines beside him.

The two concubines then smiled and got up to leave. One of them even secretly tugged at Fang Tang's sleeve as she passed by.

"Why did you come here during the New Year?" Fang Jing leaned against the edge of the hot spring pool, looking at his son.

"Father, your son has news of Yunyi."

"Hmm." Fang Jing didn't seem surprised. "So, what do you plan to do?"

"Father, is it really impossible to change the engagement with the Third Prince?"

Fang Jing smiled and said, "You want the clouds to be on top?"

Fang Tang remained silent.

Fang Jing got up from the hot spring pool, took the robe handed to him by the guard Ahua, put it on, and sat down on the soft couch next to him.

Fang Tang hurriedly went over and personally brewed some tea and handed it over.

“I know you like Sun Qingli, so after Qi Miao’er drowned herself, I didn’t stop you from making her your official wife. But can she really shoulder the responsibilities of a duchess?”

Fang Tang remained silent. In the past, he might have argued a bit, but now, he was too ashamed to argue.

“You know perfectly well how our family came to be. If Emperor Wen hadn’t fallen in love with your great-aunt at first sight, disregarded her background, and made her empress, our Fang family wouldn’t have had the chance to inherit such immense wealth. Son, one must know one’s place. Apart from your great-grandfather and your great-aunt, the Fang family has been utterly useless for the next few generations. To put it bluntly, you and I are both good-for-nothings.”

Fang Tang was taken aback, his expression somewhat embarrassed.

"So, I don't ask for anything else, I only ask that the Earl's Mansion be preserved, that we good-for-nothings can continue to live comfortably. That's why I used the life-saving grace to plead for your marriage to the Qi family. There are some things I can't say outright, but I said back then that as long as Qi Miao'er is well in the Fang family, then ensuring the Fang family's wealth and prosperity for another hundred years won't be a problem. It's a pity about you, you're useless." Fang Jing gave a bitter smile. "I'm already over sixty years old, even if I die now, it would be enough. But what about you?"

"Father, you're exaggerating."

Fang Jing looked at her son with disdain: "Do you even know which Qi family you're talking about?"

"Huh? Not the Qi of Qi Jia Ping Tian Xia?"

"No, it's the Qi from Qiguanshi. You're a scholar who passed the imperial examination, so you must know who Qiguanshi is, right?"

Fang Tang couldn't help but gasp. Qi Guan Shi was the wife of the most revered teacher Confucius, and was posthumously honored as "Lady of the Great Sage and Teacher Confucius".

People with that surname are said to be descendants of the Qi Guan clan. Their numbers are small, but it is said that in each generation of that clan, a girl will awaken the bloodline of her ancestors, inherit the wisdom and fortune of the Qi Guan clan, and is called the chosen one or the woman of destiny. If you get this woman, you can be said to have the world.

The founding empress of the previous dynasty was surnamed Qi.

If Qi Miao'er is Qi Miao'er, then...

Fang Jing sighed again: "I've said what I needed to say. Do whatever you want, just don't regret it."

"Father, why didn't you tell me sooner?" Fang Tang truly regretted it.

"Do you think I don't want to?" Fang Jing frowned. "But this is a heavenly secret. To reveal it would be to expose a heavenly secret, which would bring divine retribution. The Fang family would also suffer a backlash."

"And now you've said it again?"

"It's been almost two years since Qi Miao'er left, and her ties with the Fang family have been completely severed. That's why I dare to say this."

Fang Tang fell completely silent.

"Alright, it's getting late, I need to rest." Fang Jing got up and left.

Fang Tang went to the courtyard where he always stayed, but as soon as he entered, he was embraced by someone: "My lord, I have been waiting for you for a long time."