Chapter 117 Where is Qingya going?

Inside the house.

Aunt Su had taken off her coat and was leaning against the bedside. Madam Lin held a rattan whip and lashed Aunt Su hard, one lash after another.

“Originally, you only needed to receive five lashes, but you shouldn’t have brought that bitch Shen Qingnian with you. The remaining five lashes are what you deserve!”

As he spoke, he lashed out with the whip again.

Blood was seeping from Aunt Su's back, and her face was pale.

The pain of the whip made her tremble and break out in a cold sweat.

She gripped the quilt tightly, not daring to make a sound, and kept looking in Xie Songyi's direction.

The sight of Aunt Su in agony only excited Madam Lin more. She leaned close to Xie Songyi, her voice filled with perverse pleasure: "Yi Lang, just watch how the person you cherish most repays what she owes me!"

Every time Aunt Su brought medicine, Madam Lin would scold her; this was the price she paid for seeing the Second Master.

After Lin finished venting her anger, she left the room. Xie Songyi always spilled medicine everywhere when he drank it, which annoyed her greatly.

"Look at your second uncle, he's like a useless piece of trash, he can't protect you anymore."

Do you regret being with him in the first place?

"No regrets!" Aunt Su said through gritted teeth.

She has no regrets; without Xie Songyi, she would have died long ago.

After Madam Lin left, Aunt Su carefully carried the medicine bowl to the bedside.

Whether it was her imagination or not, Xie Songyi's previously empty eyes seemed to have regained a spark of life.

Her lips, which had been tightly closed, moved almost imperceptibly.

Upon seeing this, Aunt Su burst into tears. She knew that her second master was telling her not to cry!

Shen Qingnian took Ling'er for a walk around the estate.

This estate is truly enormous! It has orchards and fishponds. There's also a large mulberry grove to the east. In the distance, wisps of smoke rise from chimneys, and the sounds of chickens and dogs fill the air—a picture of prosperity.

Shen Qingnian was determined to find the location of the kitchen. She came today to find out the reason why Master Xie was sick.

As Shen Qingnian walked through a field, she saw some women dressed as peasant women picking melons and fruits, and an idea suddenly came to her mind.

Shen Qingnian also led Ling'er to the plum tree next to them, pretending to pick plums and eat them.

After one of the women left carrying a bowl of vegetables, Shen Qingnian and Ling'er followed behind.

Sure enough, they found the location of the kitchen in no time.

"Miss, how do you know that following her will lead to the kitchen?"

Ling'er really thought her young lady was too intelligent.

There were clearly several people in the field, so why did the young lady choose this woman?

Shen Qingnian smiled and said, "Because those people picked the fruits and vegetables and put them into big baskets, but she only brought over a small basin."

"Then it must be for preparing food for lunch."

"And the ones in the large baskets are intended to be sent back to the Marquis of Jingnan's residence or sold."

After hearing this, Ling'er suddenly understood. Although her mistress had told her to look for the kitchen, she didn't know why she needed to go to the kitchen.

So Ling'er asked again, "Miss, what are we doing in the kitchen?"

Shen Qingnian whispered, "I want to find the Second Master's medicine residue."

Ling'er was still a little confused. Why was she looking for the dregs of the medicine?

Shen Qingnian continued, "I can smell that the medicine Second Master drank is different from the medicine we got."

“So, Miss suspects there’s something wrong with Second Master’s medicine!” Ling’er said as if she had suddenly realized something.

Shen Qingnian nodded, then frowned.

Even though we've found the kitchen, how can we go in to look for the dregs of medicine? Going in rashly would probably arouse suspicion.

Shen Qingnian looked at Ling'er in front of her, and a sudden idea struck her, and she naturally came up with a solution.

She walked to the kitchen and saw a woman tending a fire. Shen Qingnian gently knocked on the door: "Sister, could I have some water?"

The woman turned around and saw Shen Qingnian wiping the sweat from her forehead with her sleeve, clearly looking tired and thirsty.

She was stunningly beautiful, but looked like a complete stranger.

A young maidservant followed beside her, but judging from her attire, she was a servant girl.

She looked at the two of them and asked, "Who are you?"

Shen Qingnian glanced at Ling'er, who stepped forward and said, "My young lady is a cousin of the Marquis of Jingnan. She came to the estate today for a stroll but got lost."

Ling'er then said, "Good sister, may my young lady sit down here and rest for a while? And have a drink of water."

It turns out she's a young lady from the household.

No wonder, this estate is so big that it's easy for first-time visitors to get lost. Especially for a delicate young lady like her.

The woman pointed to a small stool next to her that was covered in wood ash, and then scooped some water with a ladle and handed it over.

"Miss, please try this spring water."

Shen Qingnian took the water ladle and brought it to her lips; it was the first time she had ever drunk water so boldly.

As she drank water, her eyes scanned the room.

Behind the stove were several small stoves, and on the road were medicine pots for decocting medicine.

Shen Qingnian could already see the dregs in the medicine pot.

Shen Qingnian put down the water ladle, nudged Ling'er with her elbow, and then looked at the woman.

Ling'er was taken aback for a moment, then immediately understood.

She got up, went over and gave the water ladle to the woman, and then chatted with her.

His body blocked the woman's view.

Shen Qingnian seized the opportunity, went to the medicine pot, and stirred it with the small stick in her hand.

He immediately returned to the stool he had been sitting on.

Ling'er caught a glimpse of Shen Qingnian sitting back down.

She stopped bothering the woman with idle chatter and returned to her mistress's side.

Shen Qingnian said to the woman, "Thank you, sister."

The couple waved their hands and said, "You're too kind, Miss."

As they were talking, Madam Lin blocked the doorway. When she saw Shen Qingnian, she raised an eyebrow and asked, "Qing'er, what brings you to the kitchen?"

As she spoke, she glanced at the medicine pot over there, and seeing that the dregs were still there, she turned her gaze back to Shen Qingnian.

Shen Qingnian said, "Ling'er and I have been walking for a long time and were a little thirsty. When we saw this house, we came in to ask for some water."

Ling'er nodded in agreement.

Lin didn't quite believe it. There was clearly a dining hall next door, so why did she choose to come to this small kitchen instead of going there for tea?

She looked at Shen Qingnian with a probing gaze, but couldn't find a trace of lying on her face.

It seems that Shen Qingnian did not discover anything.

That secret wasn't so easy to discover.

A slight smile appeared on Lin's face, but the way she looked at Shen Qingnian made Shen Qingnian feel somewhat uncomfortable.

"Let's go, come with me to find Aunt Su."

"She's waiting for you over there."

With that, he took the lead and walked ahead.

Shen Qingnian and Ling'er had no choice but to follow.

As she walked, Shen Qingnian still hadn't seen Aunt Su, and she hadn't encountered anyone on the road. She couldn't help but suspect that Madam Lin was hiding something from her.

She looked at the house just a few steps ahead and felt a little uneasy.

As she turned to leave with Ling'er in tow, Madam Lin suddenly reached out and stopped her, a smile on her face: "Qing'er, where are you going? Aunt Su is inside."

As she spoke, Madam Lin and the old woman beside her threw Shen Qingnian and Ling'er inside.