He dared not show it on his face, but in his heart he already harbored resentment towards the old lady.

Fortunately, it wasn't real smallpox; otherwise, their lives would have been lost as if the old lady had played a game with them.

Just as she was thinking this, she heard Ye Zhen say to Fu Guang in an extremely serious tone, "Be careful to take the bedding to an open area and burn it, and do the same for Sui Sui and the others."

After giving his instructions, Ye Zhen turned to Granny Chun and asked, "Do you know why I used a wooden stick instead of a sword just now?"

Without waiting for Granny Chun's reply, Ye Zhen said to herself, "Because you were deceived; it's not a common case of smallpox."

Since the handkerchief has passed through your hands, you are very likely already infected. If I let you bleed today, the virus will form dust along with the dried blood.

These dust particles can cause infection if inhaled or come into contact with.

Granny Chun was horrified. Did the young mistress mean that it was real smallpox?

Even more shocked than her was the old lady, whose face turned pale. "What do you mean?"

Ye Zhen sneered, "What I mean is, Granny Chun has been serving you these days. Besides her, the person in the mansion most likely to be infected next is you, Grandmother. That's why I don't approve of you leaving the mansion."

The old lady couldn't hear what Ye Zhen said after that. She murmured, "How is this possible? There's no smallpox in the capital. It can't be smallpox..."

After leaving Beijing, Fu Jiang continued to correspond with her. When he learned that she had noticed something amiss between Xie Tingzhou and Ye Zhen and that she planned to ruin their reputation, Fu Jiang gave her some advice.

Let her use the fake epidemic to gain the power of housekeeping first, and then make a plan, so as not to be passive like last time.

Fu Jiang was her own son, so she naturally trusted him. However, Ye Zhen told her that the handkerchiefs that Fu Jiang had sent contained the real plague.

How is that possible?

How could Fu Jiang possibly harm her own mother?

Just as she was thinking this, Ye Zhen asked, "Grandmother, are you feeling sore and weak all over, have a headache, difficulty breathing, or even a fever?"

When the old lady was asked that question, she realized that she was indeed feeling unwell in many ways.

She could no longer remain calm. "Are Chaolu and the other two really suffering from the plague?"

Ye Zhen didn't answer, but instead asked, "Who gave Grandmother the handkerchief?"