Chapter 193
"what you do?"
Jingwu frowned and looked coldly at Madam Xu, exuding an aura of pressure that made people afraid to look directly at him.
"What is this thing of unknown origin? You can't give it to the old lady. What if it's poisonous?" Madam Xu dared not look directly at the person in front of her. Her heart was pounding. But after all, she had planned for so long, and she absolutely could not let it all go to waste.
If we can stall for even a little longer, that old hag will surely die!
Jingwu saw through her thoughts and didn't waste any words with her. He directly cast a spell, freezing her in place so she couldn't move.
Then, he took out a Rejuvenation Pill and fed it into the old lady's mouth, raising her chin to force her to swallow the pill.
After Jingwu finished doing all this, he sat down to the side and waited quietly for the old lady to wake up.
Seeing this, Liu walked slowly to the bedside, looking at the old lady's expression, feeling very nervous.
You must be safe and sound. If you can't be saved, your sister-in-law will definitely stir up trouble and make things worse.
Liu's brows were furrowed, her eyes fixed on the old lady's condition, her mind in turmoil.
Fortunately, after a short while, the old lady took a deep breath and opened her eyes.
She looked at her daughter-in-law, opened her mouth, and uttered two hoarse words: "Water, water..."
"Alright, Mother, please wait a moment!" When Madam Liu saw that the old lady had opened her eyes and could speak again, her eyes shone with light, and she quickly told the maid to pour water.
She helped the old lady up and personally fed her a glass of water, her smile impossible to hide.
"Mother, how do you feel?"
The old lady felt much better after drinking a whole glass of water; it soothed her throat and made her feel much better overall.
My body no longer aches or feels uncomfortable, and I even feel much more energetic.
She patted her eldest daughter-in-law's hand and said kindly, "I'm fine now, don't worry."
Upon hearing this, Liu burst into tears of joy and wiped away the tears from the corners of her eyes.
Then, as if remembering something, he immediately summoned the physician to come in and take his pulse.
The physician cautiously took the old lady's pulse, and the moment he placed his hand on her pulse, his eyes widened in disbelief.
After all, in the morning, this pulse would have been a sure sign of death!
How come he's become so energetic again in just a few hours?
"How is it?" Liu asked anxiously.
"Reporting to Madam, the old lady's pulse is normal, it seems she has survived this ordeal," the physician said with a happy expression.
"That's good, that's good." Upon hearing this, Liu immediately felt relieved.
With a smile, she pointed to the girl sitting at the table and said to the old lady, "Mother, this is the girl who saved you. She's the one who saved you."
"Really? Quick! Help me out of bed, I want to thank you in person." The old lady was very excited and tried to get out of bed by lifting the quilt, but was stopped by the people around her.
Hearing the commotion, Jingwu came over, pressed the person down on the bed, and smiled, "Madam, there's no need for formalities. Do you want to know why you suddenly fell seriously ill?"
Why?
"Because your second daughter-in-law brought an idol of an evil god into your home, and she prayed to the evil god, causing you to fall seriously ill and die..."
"What?" Upon hearing this, the old lady's eyes instantly turned sharp, and she glared at Xu Shi, who was standing not far away.
Xu was the legal wife of that illegitimate son. She asked herself if she had ever mistreated them. Even though they were not her own children, she had never deprived them of anything they deserved. Why, then, did they have to hurt her like this?
"Is what she said true?" the old lady asked coldly, her brow furrowing as she looked at her daughter-in-law who remained motionless. "What are you standing there for? Come over here!"
“Mother, she…” Liu hesitated, unsure of what to say.
Immediately, Jingwu was seen making hand seals and chanting incantations, then casting a spell into Xu's body.
The next second, Xu's legs suddenly went weak and she almost fell to the ground.
Once she realized she could move again, no wonder she slid to her knees by the bed and burst into tears.
"Mother, don't listen to her nonsense. Matricide is a capital offense, punishable by death. How could I dare to do such a thing! That statue was something I prayed for to bring home and protect our family. Don't listen to her slander!"
Xu lay on the bed, sobbing and wailing as if she were the most wronged person in the world.
Hearing the howling, Jingwu didn't want to waste any more words. He cast a mantra into her body before asking, "Do you dare say that what you said is all true?"
"That's definitely not true, it's just something said to fool the old hag."
Upon hearing this, everyone, including Madam Xu, widened their eyes in disbelief.
"You bastard! Say that again!"
The old lady was trembling with anger and pointed at her, shouting furiously.
Xu opened her mouth, about to defend herself, when she heard herself repeating it uncontrollably.
"I wasn't telling the truth when I said those things, I was just trying to fool you!"
As soon as she finished speaking, Madam Xu covered her mouth in horror. She shook her head repeatedly at the old lady, trying to say that this was not what she wanted to say, but before she could speak, a slap landed on her face.
Madam Xu was slapped to the ground, looking at the old lady with teary eyes.
"What did you ask the evil god for?" Jingwu looked at her and asked coldly.
"That old hag should die quickly, and then give me a share of her dowry so I can pay off my husband's gambling debts."
Unable to control herself, Xu uttered these words. She closed her eyes in despair, knowing in her heart that it was all over, everything was over.
"You..." The old lady was furious. She grabbed a pillow and punched her in the face. "Although the second son is not my child, I have never mistreated him. I have given him everything he deserves. I have never made things difficult for you since you came into the family. You two actually conspired to kill me!"
"You're clearly being biased! The eldest son is your own flesh and blood, yet you handed over the reins of the household to your sister-in-law! For your elder brother's official position, you didn't hesitate to use your family connections to ensure he got a government job. But my husband wants to become a government official, yet you say he's not cut out for it. Isn't that biased?"
Xu stopped pretending and stood up abruptly, pointing her finger at her nose and angrily saying.
Since the truth has been revealed anyway, and she's doomed, she might as well take this opportunity to vent her anger.
"The second son spends his days indulging in debauchery. Do you think he's cut out to be an official?" The old lady was furious, glaring at the man before her, wishing she could rush up and hit him. "You two, do you really think I know nothing? He spends his days indulging in debauchery, and I don't blame you for not being able to stop him, after all, I can't control him either. But every now and then you take things from your husband's family to give to your own family. Do you think I dare to hand over the reins of the household to you?"
Xu Shi was still unconvinced by these words. She curled her lip and said disdainfully, "What's the point of saying all this? You pretend to be fair to everyone, but secretly you give all the good things to the eldest son's family. A lot of the good things in your dowry have been given to the eldest son's daughters. If I don't take action, I won't even get a sip of soup!"
"Hmph." The old lady couldn't help but chuckle. "If you're really dissatisfied, go downstairs and find the second son's mother. Ask her why she didn't leave you and your husband a dowry!"
Upon hearing this, Madam Xu choked up, and for a moment, she truly couldn't find the words to refute it.
After all, her husband was born to her concubine. That concubine came from a farming family, and it was only because of her beauty that the old master took a liking to her and made her his concubine.
What dowry could she possibly have? When she died, she didn't leave behind a single penny. When asked, her personal maid said it was all given to her family.
Thinking of this, Xu felt a tightness in her chest. At times she blamed her mother-in-law for her low social status, and at other times she blamed the old lady for being too strict in distinguishing between different social classes.
Her eyes darted around, and just as she was about to speak, she heard the old lady say something.
"Men, tie her up and go fetch the boss back!"
Upon hearing this, Xu panicked and tried to break free, but was pinned to the ground by several strong old women.
"Mother, you can't do this to me... mmm."
The old lady gestured to the maid to gag her, and the room became much quieter the next second.
Seeing this, Jingwu didn't hesitate and immediately stepped forward, saying, "Madam, Madam, please tell me where Madam Xu's courtyard is? I need that statue."
Liu glanced at her mother instinctively, and seeing her nod, she stood up and said, "I'll take you there."
Jingwu nodded and followed behind her. After walking a few steps, he remembered something else.
"By the way, you wasted one of my Rejuvenation Pills, which cost three hundred taels of silver. Remember to compensate me."
She said to the woman kneeling on the ground, her mouth covered by a rag, "If you don't compensate..."
"Ugh... Ugh..." Upon hearing this, Madam Xu sat up halfway, making muffled noises, her face contorted as if she were cursing something.
Jingwu ignored her and followed Liu to the second house's courtyard. After searching the area, they finally found the red cloth statue of the deity in an attic.
She picked up the statue, ripped off the red cloth, revealing its hideous face.
"Heavens!" Liu was startled by the face and stumbled, almost falling to the ground. Fortunately, a maidservant behind her caught her. "What, what..."
Seeing that his wife was terrified, Jingwu immediately wrapped the red cloth back up, then shrunk the statue and put it back into his Qiankun bag.
She had to take the statue home to see if there was any lingering aura on it.
As Jingwu was thinking this, he prepared to turn around and leave. But when he turned back, he saw Liu Shi, who was pale with fright.
"Madam, are you alright?"
Liu shook her head, still shaken. She didn't know why she was so inexplicably afraid of that one glance.
"Thank you, young lady. May I ask what your fee is?"
Upon hearing this, Jingwu blinked and said, "The reward is one hundred taels, and the Rejuvenation Pill is fifty taels, so the total is one hundred and fifty taels of silver."
Upon hearing this, Liu immediately agreed, then realized something was amiss: "But you just said that the Rejuvenation Pill would cost three hundred taels..."
“That was the price for her,” Jingwu said as he walked outside. “She did something bad, so it’s no big deal for me to charge her a little more. By the way, I also need to ask which temple he got this statue from.”
Upon hearing this, Madam Liu immediately nodded and led the person back to the old lady's courtyard.
After all, we need to find out the source of this harmful substance and take it all down to prevent it from harming innocent people again.
As soon as Jingwu stepped into the courtyard, he heard a man's wailing voice, crying so pitifully that it could be heard even outside the courtyard.
“Mother, I grew up under your care, you should trust my character. You can’t just believe whatever she says. She’s just unhappy that I have other women and wants to drag me down with her!”
Jing Wu paused, guessed his identity, and then stepped inside.
Upon entering, one sees a fat, big-eared man lying on the bed, crying with tears streaming down his face and howling.
Xu, who was kneeling not far away, stared wide-eyed, as if she couldn't believe that her husband had pushed her out!
She gritted her teeth, wanting to argue, but found herself unable to speak, only able to mumble "uh-uh-uh."
The old lady had a terrible headache from the noise. When she saw the person return, she looked over and asked, "Did you find it?"
Liu nodded: "Found it, it's in the small attic in the second house's courtyard."
Upon hearing this, Jingwu immediately took out the statue of the evil god and placed it on the table.
"This is the idol."
She walked over to Xu, pulled the rag out of her mouth, and asked, "Where did you get this?"
Xu glared fiercely at the person in front of her and suddenly spat at her: "Pah, don't even think about me telling you."
Jingwu quickly dodged, thankfully he didn't vomit on her face.
Her face turned cold, and she stuffed the rag back into her mouth.
She quickly made a hand gesture to calculate the divination, looked at the image on the wall, and smiled slightly. It pointed to the southwest.
After Jingwu calculated the divination result, he immediately planned to go, but was stopped by someone.
"Wait a moment, young lady, I haven't given you your payment yet." Liu immediately called the person out, a smile on her face: "I have something I want to ask you, please come with me."
Jingwu blinked, and following her towards the next room, adhering to the principle of doing what one is paid for.
"What's wrong?"
With a smile on her face, Madam Liu asked, "Is the old lady really alright? Is there anything we should be careful about in the future?"
Jingwu thought about these words carefully and then said, "Tell your old lady not to be soft-hearted. The person who harmed her must be dealt with as soon as possible."
Upon hearing this, Liu understood her meaning, nodded, and agreed.
“Judging from your mother’s face, she has the destiny of longevity. If nothing unexpected happens, she will live to be a hundred years old.” Jingwu spoke quickly, wanting to finish speaking and leave as soon as possible: “By the way, ask the doctor to prescribe more tonics, to help her recover.”
"Yes, I've noted it down." Madam Liu smiled and thanked her repeatedly. She then led the person out of the room and handed her a wooden box with a smile: "There are one hundred and fifty taels of silver notes inside, please keep them safe, young lady. By the way, may I ask where you usually stay?"
“Oh, I live in…” Jingwu suddenly paused, unsure how to explain his address.
After thinking for a while, he said, "I live at the Shao family's house."
"The newly appointed top scholar, Shao Chengrui, Lord Shao?" Liu asked incredulously, confirming once more.
"Yes, that's his house."
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