Chapter 91 Corpses

"What are these? Are you taking these to the Princess's residence?"

Madam Li had already noticed the contents of the two heavy baskets on the ground, and upon hearing that the Fifth Miss was still at the Princess's residence, she couldn't help but ask a few more questions.

What doesn't the Princess's residence have? Why would she need to take these things from the Xiao residence?

“These…” Bi Sui paused, glanced around to make sure no one was around, and then said hesitantly, “These are what our young lady instructed us to send to the woodshed.”

“As you know, Miss didn’t grow up in the manor, so she hasn’t seen much of this kind of sordid stuff. Chunwen did serve you for a while, and although you hate her for betraying you, it was still a human life. You are kind-hearted and couldn’t just sit idly by, so you asked me to secretly send some things over. If you can be saved by chance, it will be a good deed.”

“Mother Li, please don’t tell the master and mistress. Just pretend you didn’t hear anything today.”

Bihui looked at her pleadingly. She knew Li's mother's personality; she was always sharp-tongued but kind-hearted.

Sure enough, when Li's mother heard that two lives had been lost, she was also somewhat moved.

Chunwen and Caihe committed heinous crimes. It would have been easier to just beat them to death or sell them off. But to torture them like this, leaving them half-paralyzed and left to die, is truly heartbreaking.

"So much? And there's a portion for Caihe too?"

Li's mother glanced at the two identical baskets.

"Indeed, in our eyes, Chunwen and Caihe are both human beings."

Bi Sui remained unfazed, even though she hated those two traitors to the core, she still feigned a look of reluctance and sorrow.

"Never mind, Fifth Miss is a kind-hearted person after all."

Mrs. Li sighed.

This kind of heart is exactly like that of the lady when she was young, it's just a pity...

"You have to send so many things over, and change their dressings. How long will it take? Fifth Miss is all alone in the Princess's residence right now, and she can't be without someone to serve her."

Madam Li turned her head and whispered to the maid beside her:

"Xinrui, you go with Bihui, and come back quickly when you're done."

Xinrui was considered one of Li Mama's confidantes. Hearing Bihui's words, she felt a shared sense of sorrow and readily agreed to the task.

Bi Sui breathed a slight sigh of relief.

The first and most important task the girl asked me to do was finally completed successfully.

Next, it remains to be seen whether Xinrui, her former best friend, can keep up with her.

The two little girls, carrying baskets, took a quiet, secluded path and soon arrived at the woodshed where the servants lived.

Along the way, Bihui tried to get close to Xinrui, telling her about the fun times they had when they worked together under Li Mama.

Xinrui's initially somewhat distant attitude has softened slightly, and her smile has become more genuine.

That's why I say Fifth Sister's place is a good place to go.

When Bihui was first assigned to Lanting Pavilion by Li Mama, everyone thought she would never have a chance to rise in the world. But now, Bihui is dressed in gold and silver and looks even more beautiful than she did in the main courtyard.

Fifth Sister was also such a kind-hearted person who cared about those below her...

Xinrui had a plan in mind. If given the chance, she would like to serve at Lanting Pavilion.

Aside from the kitchen staff who come to collect firewood, the woodshed is rarely visited.

Chunwen and Caihe stayed here for several days. At first, they were able to use the silver they had saved to buy water and food. But now they were starving. The pain from their festering and inflamed wounds had gone numb. The real torment was having an empty stomach and not being able to eat or drink.

Upon hearing the voice, Chunwen's gaze slowly focused, and when she saw who had entered, she was so startled that she widened her eyes in surprise.

"Bi Sui?! Did Fifth Sister send you to kill me?! Am I going to die?!"

She shouted excitedly, but having not eaten for so long, she was too weak from hunger. What she thought was a shout was actually just a weak, breathy sound.

It was too painful; she didn't want to live like this for even a second longer.

But she was too timid to bite her tongue and commit suicide, otherwise she would have ended it all long ago.

Bi Sui understood her meaning, and sneered inwardly, but on the surface she shrank back half a step in fear.

Xinrui saw her actions and understood.

Compared to Caihe, who lay quietly against the wall, her life hanging in the balance, Chunwen's mad appearance was truly terrifying.

"Let me apply the medicine to Chunwen."

She took the initiative to take care of Chunwen, and Bihui visibly breathed a sigh of relief.

"Then I'll leave it to you, Sister Xinrui!"

I was just worried that the play wouldn't be able to continue.

She walked over to Caihe, and from a distance, gently pushed her. Caihe kept her eyes closed, and her chest didn't rise or fall at all...

Bi Sui thought of a possibility and felt a sense of unease. She tentatively extended two fingers to test it—

Caihe, she's stopped breathing! She's dead!

Bi Sui was terrified. Fear and unease gripped her body. She resisted the urge to collapse to the ground and clutched the thing in her sleeve with her other hand.

No, she can't fall down yet; the girl hasn't finished what she asked her to do.

Out of the corner of her eye, Bi Sui saw that Xin Rui had already lifted Chun Wen's clothes and was preparing to apply medicine to her, while Chun Wen was still shouting that she wanted to die and told her to go die.

She took a deep breath, quickly stuffed the object from her sleeve into Caihe's collar, and then deliberately shouted loudly:

"Caihe?! Caihe, what's wrong?"

Xinrui turned around when she was called, and saw Caihe's corpse, which was already ashen-faced. Her hand trembled in panic.

Could it be what she's thinking?

Xinrui mustered her courage and took a few steps in that direction.

"What's wrong with Caihe? Did she faint from hunger or pain?"

As soon as she finished asking, she saw Bi Sui turn pale, hurriedly get up and take several steps back, almost bumping into her.

"Caihe, she's gone..."

Bi Sui's voice trembled, her eyes filled with disbelief, as if she couldn't accept this fact.

Xinrui, no longer caring about her fear, rushed forward to check Caihe's condition. Sure enough, her wrist was ice-cold, indicating that she had been dead for a long time. If they waited any longer, she would probably start to smell of decay...

Upon hearing this, Chunwen's face broke into a smile that was more like a grimace:

"Caihe, that's wonderful. I envy you so much. You died so quickly, unlike me, who has to linger on for so long..."

Nobody paid any attention to her right now.

"No, we must inform Madam Li immediately and move the person out as soon as possible. What if they get infected with a disease if they stay there too long?!"

Xinrui covered her nose with a handkerchief and immediately realized the crux of the problem.

Bihui seemed to awaken from a dream, nodding repeatedly:

"Yes, yes, I'll go find Mother Li! Sister Xinrui, don't get too close to Caihe, I'll be right back!"

Even at this point, she still cared about her, which improved Xinrui's impression of Bihui.

"Okay, hurry up and go. I'll keep watch at the door."

Xinrui stopped worrying about why it wasn't her, Li Mama's confidante, who went to report. She simply assumed that Bihui was too scared to stay there.