Chapter 1085 The loyal maid promoted to concubine (5)

"Rosewood, there is no one in this world that you can always rely on." Shi Chu couldn't help but want to expose her naive thoughts. "Even my parents who gave birth to me sold me for money, so how can I expect a man who has no blood relationship with me to be my support? Haven't you seen poor women who were beaten or even sold by their husbands?"

Ren Dong was stunned by her words and was speechless. After a long while, she finally reacted and said quickly: "Our master is the Crown Prince's Consort. She will support us. Our husband's family will not dare to offend the master..."

Shi Chu chuckled and said, "You are right. The master will indeed support us, but she can support us once, twice or even three times. But can she support us for a lifetime? Even if she can, do you have the nerve to trouble the master again and again because of your own family affairs?"

Honeysuckle was speechless again after her rebuttal.

Shi Chu continued, "Moreover, think about it, can a marriage that requires the support of the master really be happy? Even if your husband doesn't dare to mistreat you because he's afraid of the master, but between being nice to you willingly and being forced to be nice to you with complaints, which one do you think is truly happy?"

Shi Chu's words were like a bolt from the blue, hitting Ren Dong on the head, making her mind clearer than ever before. She suddenly realized and said, "Du Xiang, you are right. You are so eager to be nice to me because you are afraid of your master. This kind of kindness is fake, and I don't want it."

Rendong fell into deep thought after hearing Shichu's words and no longer cared whether Shichu would get married or not.

In the days that followed, Gui Yunlai continued to be bullied by Lady Anding Marquis, who asked her to take a concubine for her husband, but Gui Yunlai withstood the pressure. When Zhang Qishan learned that his wife was troubled by Mu Qi, he angrily ran to have a quarrel with his mother, which made Lady Anding Marquis so angry that she repeatedly called Gui Yunlai a vixen and accused Zhang Qishan of forgetting his mother after marrying a wife. But no matter what, after Zhang Qishan made a fuss, Gui Yunlai finally had a chance to breathe and was no longer forced so urgently.

Of course, she also hoped to give birth to a child for her husband as soon as possible, so that her position in the Anding Marquis's Mansion would be more stable. So, she began to look for medical doctors and medicine everywhere, hoping to regulate her body and get pregnant earlier.

Shi Chu worked as a head maid for a while. Although the work was not heavy and her master treated her well, she was not someone who was willing to be a slave. Therefore, she never gave up looking for an opportunity to leave the mansion and redeem herself as a commoner.

Soon, the opportunity she had been waiting for came.

A strange epidemic suddenly broke out in the capital city. The sick people would first have a fever and a headache, then develop boils on their faces and bodies. After four or five days, the boils would burst, and then quickly form scars and heal. However, after healing, very obvious scars would be left on the body, which was almost incurable. This meant that once you contracted the disease, even if you survived, you would be disfigured.

Regardless of gender, age or status, as long as one is a human being, they will not care about their appearance. Therefore, even though the mortality rate of this epidemic is not high, because of the disfigurement, people in the capital are terrified of the disease and avoid it like the plague, wishing to be isolated from the sick as far away as possible.

Unfortunately, although the mortality rate of this disease was not high, it spread very quickly. In just seven or eight days, hundreds of people had already shown symptoms, and the number of sick people continued to increase, causing panic in the capital. Some wealthy people urgently left the capital to avoid the epidemic.

The high-ranking officials who had to stay in the capital wished that everyone had a doctor. The palace even ordered the imperial physicians to work around in circles, urging them to find a way to treat the disease as soon as possible.

This strange epidemic had never happened before. Even if the imperial physicians worked day and night to study it, they could not find a cure in just a few days. As a result, more and more people in the capital city were sick soon, and even the heavily guarded mansions of high-ranking officials were filled with sick people.

The Marquis of Anding's Mansion was no exception. Even though the Marquis of Anding's wife and the Crown Prince's Consort had recently instructed the servants in the mansion not to interact with outsiders unless necessary, despite all the precautions, they were ultimately unable to prevent the outbreak of the epidemic in the Marquis of Anding's Mansion.

A maid in the kitchen who was doing the shopping first developed a fever and a headache, and soon she began to develop boils on her face and body. Everyone saw that this was the plague, and everyone in the mansion was immediately terrified, fearing that they might be infected.

In the end, Marquis Anding ordered that the patients be transferred to a farm in the suburbs to recuperate, and those who might be contagious were also sent away.

As for the master's yard, it is guarded even more strictly. After all, this disease can cause disfigurement. For ordinary people, although disfigurement is unsightly, as long as it does not affect making a living, there is no need to worry too much.

But for the masters of wealthy families, disfigurement is a very serious matter. If a male master is disfigured, his official career will be cut short, as the emperor will not want a disfigured subject. If a female master is disfigured, it will be even worse, as she is destined to fall out of favor with her husband. If she is an unmarried girl, her lifelong event will also be ruined, and she will never be able to marry a good husband in this life.

Ever since Shi Chu learned about the epidemic, she immediately realized that she could use the epidemic to escape from the Anding Marquis Mansion. Especially since the servants in the Anding Marquis Mansion were also infected, she hurried to prepare a medicine for herself that could produce symptoms similar to the epidemic, and then took it without hesitation.

So when he started to have a fever, Shi Chu said to Ren Dong in panic: "Ren Dong, I seem to have a fever. Do you think I have been infected with the disease?"

Rendong was startled and her face turned pale. She wanted to touch Shichu's forehead and take her temperature, but Shichu quickly avoided her hand and said in panic: "Rendong, don't touch me. What if it's really an epidemic? I can't infect you, so stay away from me..."

Honeysuckle's eyes turned red. "That's impossible. You haven't left the house and you haven't had any contact with the infected people in the house. How could you be infected with that disease? Don't worry. Maybe your fever is just a common cold."

Shi Chu smiled bitterly and shook his head, saying: "Ren Dong, please don't comfort me. I am sick and can't get close to the master anymore. Please tell the master that I want to take a leave to recuperate in the manor. If I am lucky enough to recover in the future and the master doesn't despise me, then I will come back to continue serving the master. If I am really disfigured, I will not come back to defile the master's eyes. I hope the master will be merciful and let me redeem myself and leave the manor..."

Shi Chu's words were sincere and heartfelt. If she wanted to leave the mansion without leaving any evidence and with a legitimate reason, she had to put on a good show.

Sure enough, after hearing her words, Ren Dong suddenly broke down and cried with tears streaming down her face: "Du Xiang! No, you will be fine. We agreed that we will serve the master together for the rest of our lives..."

(End of this chapter)