Chapter 93: They've all been poisoned and rendered mute.

“Mother, I’m sorry you’ve had to go through this hardship.” Sheng Huai’an bowed to Madam Jia and said gently, “I went out today and brought some snacks for you and the people in Rongshou Hall. This portion is for you, and you can decide how to distribute the rest.”

Sheng Huai'an took a beautifully packaged box of pastries from Fu'an and handed it to Jia Shi, then pointed to the others wrapped in oil paper.

Feeling uneasy, Jia asked nervously, "Is it absolutely necessary to eat this snack?"

She was afraid the desserts had been poisoned.

"What do you mean by 'must eat'?" Sheng Huai'an looked her over and asked in confusion, "Is your son buying you snacks to show his filial piety, or is he trying to harm you?"

"That's true." Madam Jia forced a smile, then asked, "Would you like some too?"

“Sure,” Sheng Huai’an agreed without hesitation.

He opened the exquisite red lacquered wooden box, took out a golden and crispy mung bean cake, and ate it in two or three bites.

Not only that, he randomly picked a piece of each pastry and ate it all. When he was almost finished, he even asked Jia to help him choose, and he ate whatever Jia picked out for him.

Seeing him like this, Madam Jia felt much relieved.

She even felt guilty for being paranoid and for believing others' instigation to doubt her own son.

With a smile, Granny Wang urged, "Madam, this was specially bought by the Second Master as a gift for you. There's also your favorite rose pastry. Please have a couple of pieces."

Jia's expression softened, and she nodded with a smile, actually eating two pieces.

Sheng Huai'an also smiled: "These pastries wrapped in oil paper are also from Juxianglong. Each package costs one tael of silver. They're not cheap stuff. Granny Wang, please open the package and take them to the courtyard so everyone can have some."

Granny Wang smiled and said, "Yes, Second Master."

Madam Jia has no money and has recently been skimping on the servants' pay, which has caused considerable discontent. Today, she hopes to use this snack to appease the servants.

She took the snacks into the courtyard and called out to everyone to come and collect them.

The master bestowed some snacks, and the quiet courtyard suddenly became incredibly lively. All the servants were overjoyed and gathered around excitedly.

Some people, missing their children at home, even though they couldn't leave the yard themselves, thought of saving their snacks and asking someone to take them home.

Seeing the lively scene in the courtyard, Jia felt quite pleased with herself and unconsciously picked up another of her favorite rose pastries.

Before she could even take a bite, she heard Sheng Huai'an's eerie voice say, "Those pastries outside are poisoned."

What?

Startled, Jia slammed the rose pastry onto the table and it rolled to the floor.

Sheng Huai'an smiled and said slowly, "It's not a deadly poison, it just makes them unable to speak from now on. They are all illiterate, and since they can't speak, we can just keep a closer eye on them in the future. We don't need to be as strict as we are now, which will save us a lot of trouble."

He looked at Madam Jia: "Mother, do you think this is a good way for me to handle this?"

"...Fine, fine," Jia forced a smile. "But why didn't you tell me sooner? Did you think I would stop you?"

Sheng Huai'an smiled and said, "Of course not. I just know you're kind-hearted and I was afraid of scaring you, so I didn't tell you beforehand."

"It's just punishing a few servants. I'm not someone who hasn't seen the world," Jia said.

Sheng Huai'an readily agreed, "Then from now on, your son will not hide anything from you and will discuss everything with you."

He made another round of promises, which made Jia smile again.

As the two were talking, heart-wrenching screams came from outside.

When the poison took effect, the servants who had been smiling just moments before were now either crying and wailing, gagging, or rolling on the ground clutching their necks, their faces contorted in agony.

In a short time, the quiet courtyard turned into hell.

The evil spirit who created hell himself sat elegantly in a chair, sipping tea, appearing refined and gentle.

Wang Mama watched all this silently, and suddenly remembered the scene in Qinghui Garden that day when Sheng Huai'an pushed her to the ground, and shivered.

She had never realized so clearly before: she regarded Sheng Huai'an as her own junior and doted on him, but he only treated her as a servant.

In the eyes of Sheng Huai'an and Jia Shi, all servants were pigs and dogs, including her, who was loyal to them and their son.

She looked into the courtyard again, but the screams were no longer heard outside.

Those people all fell silent.

...

At the same time, at Linfeng Hall.

Ye Mingzhu listened to Yan Zhi's report and found it hard to believe what had happened at the Sheng residence in the past few days.

She never expected that Chen Mama, who seemed to be the weakest, would dare to kill an innocent maid and even negotiate with Jia Shi.

She never expected that Sheng Huai'an would be so "powerful" as to poison everyone in Rongshoutang to the point of muteness... She thought he would target Jia Shi.

"Although Jia Shi wasn't poisoned into losing her voice, after this incident, she certainly won't dare to talk nonsense outside anymore. As for Granny Wang, she's probably just there to keep Jia Shi company, in case Jia Shi goes completely mad," Yan Zhi speculated.

Ye Mingzhu nodded heavily.

“Keep an eye on the people at the Sheng residence, and report back immediately if anything happens. If a situation like today occurs again…” Ye Mingzhu paused here, feeling helpless.

Then she instructed Lianyu to investigate where the poison that Xiaosun gave to Liu Rumei came from.

After carefully studying the three poisons, including the one that made her mute, she discovered that they all used an extremely rare medicinal herb that grew in the harsh, cold borderlands.

This medicinal herb is called Five-Day Grass. Not only is it expensive, but ordinary doctors are completely unaware of its existence, let alone using it to make medicine.

Where did Xiao Sun get the poison?

This is a problem.

She had a feeling that something was wrong.

Just then, she needed to send medicine to Qin Xuefei, who was far away at the border. She simply wrote about it in the letter, asking Qin Xuefei to help her investigate and, while she was at it, to get her some five-day herb.

Speaking of Qin Xuefei, after disguising herself as a man to join the army and serve her country, she embarked on a path different from the fate in the storybooks. Not only did she become more cheerful, but she also developed very well in the army.

Ye Mingzhu was happy for her and felt more confident about her own future.

After writing the letter to Qin Xuefei, Ye Mingzhu recalled that the winter of the year after next would arrive early with frost and snow, and that the Tatars, due to lack of food and clothing, would invade Datong Town several times, burning, killing, looting, and committing all sorts of atrocities.

Starting the year after next, border wars broke out, and the country gradually descended into chaos.

Even if they escape the fate depicted in the storybook, how to protect their lives and property, and ensure the peace and stability of the Ye family, is a problem that must be considered.

Ye Mingzhu pondered for a moment, then called Ruixiang over: "Please organize all the businesses I have and make a detailed list for me."

"Yes," Ruixiang replied quickly and went off to do her work without another word.

Ye Mingzhu sat by the window, lowered her eyes and thought for a while, then picked up a pen and wrote down her plans for the future on a piece of paper.

Just in case, she planned to secretly stockpile food and medicine from now on, to have a backup plan. Fortunately, she still had two or three years, enough time for her to make arrangements.

...

Another half month has passed.

With Chen Mama tipping her off, Jia Shi once again planned to send money to her family. Liu Rumei had Jinzhu mention it to Sheng Huai'an, who then intercepted the money from Jia Shi.

Liu Rumei sent Jinzhu to the study to deliver willow branches to Sheng Huai'an and invited him to meet her in Qinghui Garden. Just as the two were deeply in love, Jia pretended to be sick and sent a servant to Qinghui Garden to call Sheng Yunche back.

Such as these.

The two fought back and forth several times, but neither gained any advantage.

Taking advantage of being an elder, Jia cried and made a scene in front of Sheng Huai'an, accusing him of being unfilial and forcing him to break up with Liu Rumei.

But a dead pig doesn't fear boiling water; since Jia had already discovered their affair, Sheng Huai'an didn't care anymore. He even told Jia that he only wanted Liu Rumei, and no one could separate them.

After Jia talked about it so much, he stopped going to Rongshou Hall altogether.

Enraged by Sheng Huai'an, Jia Shi was in a bad mood for several days, and would often beat and scold the servants in the courtyard to vent her anger.

Although the servants dared not resist her and could no longer utter a curse, they all buried their resentment in their hearts, and the more they suppressed it, the more suffocated they felt.

Seeing that things were getting worse, Wang Mama, who had already decided to be cautious in her words and actions, had no choice but to suggest something to Jia Shi: "Madam, have you ever thought about finding a proper wife for the Second Master?"