Chapter 9 Covered in sores
As soon as she stepped into the house, the sound of weeping and a faint, fishy stench assaulted her senses at the same time, instantly overwhelming her ears and sense of smell, causing her to frown uncomfortably.
After she entered the room, Butler Lin immediately followed her, covered his mouth and nose, and let her go first.
"Master...how could you bear to abandon this family...why didn't you try a little harder...wake up..."
Aunt He sat on the edge of the bed, holding a handkerchief and weeping sadly. Her face was pale and filled with despair. Her beautiful face, with tears streaming down her face, was so lovely that anyone who saw her would feel sorry for her.
Then Tao Tao's gaze shifted to the person opposite her.
Standing there was a woman who looked to be of some age, dressed elegantly and gracefully, but her face was rather pale. Even though her brows were not furrowed, there were wrinkles in the middle, which were the marks left by years of frowning.
This person is either short-tempered and easily angered, or ruthless and cold-blooded.
"Alright, let's not disturb Youhui's final journey."
Sure enough, her stiff tone and expressionless face, but the slightly reddened corners of her eyes, showed that she still had a trace of affection for the dead.
Aunt He immediately shut up, seemingly a little afraid of her.
Butler Lin bowed and said respectfully, "Madam, the funeral director has arrived."
Qiu Zhaolan turned to look at her, gave her a cold glance, and then walked out with a swift stride.
After she left, Butler Lin turned to the woman sitting on the edge of the bed and said, "Aunt He, why don't you go out first?"
"No! I want to stay with you, sir."
"this…"
Butler Lin was somewhat speechless and looked at Tao Tao with difficulty.
She smiled faintly and said, "It's alright."
Hopefully she can stay longer.
Tao Tao stepped forward and slowly lifted the blanket over the deceased's head. She wondered who it was that covered the body in such hot weather. No wonder it smelled so bad so quickly.
Suddenly she heard a sharp, terrified scream.
She frowned and looked at her. Aunt He was shocked. She tried to get up, but her legs went weak and she fell to the ground in a disheveled state, looking like she had lost her soul.
As for Butler Lin, she had already left when she was about to lift the covers.
"Calm down, why don't you go out?"
Aunt He replied with a mournful face, "I...I can't get up!"
She really couldn't get up. Recalling the terrible scene she had just witnessed, she instantly closed her eyes.
Tao Tao touched her head, then helplessly stepped forward to help her up, letting her lean on her shoulder.
I helped her, and she struggled to the door.
Steward Lin was waiting at the door. When he saw the people inside come out, he went up to them and helped the maid to her feet.
The people in the courtyard looked at Aunt He as if she were a joke, their eyes full of mockery and disdain.
Tao Tao happened to see their expressions and couldn't help but wonder, apart from the original wife, these should all be concubines, so why are these people looking at this woman with such mocking eyes?
Could it be that there's a hierarchy of contempt among concubines?
Looking at Tao Tao's calm and composed demeanor, which contrasted sharply with Aunt He beside her, Steward Lin knew that he had found the right woman.
He's far better than those eloquent men.
After handing the woman in her hand to the maid, she turned and went inside, standing by the bed to look at her.
The person on the bed was covered in festering sores. The flesh on the wounds was covered with small pink granules, which looked like tumors. There were small red spots on the unbroken skin. There wasn't a single patch of good skin on the body.
It looks creepy, not just disgusting, but it makes you feel itchy all over just looking at it.
People with trypophobia will be thrilled to see this, so thrilled they won't be able to sleep at night.
"Is this smallpox? No wonder those people didn't want to come."
She murmured to herself.
Smallpox infection was almost always fatal, as there was no cure for it at that time.
But...it doesn't quite look like it...
Tao Tao slowly walked away, took off her handbag, and put a handkerchief on her face to cover her mouth and nose. She then took out sheepskin gloves and put them on.
"Come on in, guest."
"Would you like me to sing you a song...?"
She hummed a little tune, took out a rolled-up makeup bag, and a whole set of sewing needles and thread, with a long and sharp knife on it, somewhat like a scalpel.
"The red sun rises in the east, its avenue bathed in rosy light..."
She picked up a small knife and carefully cut away the small festering sores on her face, then used tweezers to remove them and place them on a white handkerchief placed to the side.
Suddenly she shouted towards the door, "Housekeeper, has the rice water arrived yet?!"
"They're here! They're here!"
The steward outside the door was getting anxious. Although he said that, the person still hadn't arrived. Just as he was about to call someone to urge them, two servants finally came with rice water.
"Quickly! Get it in!"
They nodded and hurried inside.
"Girl, the water is here."
Without looking up, she said, "Put it aside for now."
Just as the two were about to leave after putting it away, she suddenly called them back.
They turned to look at her, and saw the young woman leaning over, her eyes fixed on the corpse's face, her hands making some kind of movement.
Moreover, she was standing very close. When the master was still alive, they had seen his face and almost threw up their dinner from the night before. How could this young lady be so calm?
As expected of someone in this line of work, they're not afraid of anything.
"This is your master, you shouldn't be afraid, right?"
The two looked at each other, both seeing the fear in each other's eyes.
One of them spoke, stammering, "Miss, what's wrong?"
"Do me a favor, move the chaise longue to the south side, and then move your master onto the couch."
Upon hearing this, he immediately exclaimed in surprise and fear.
Tao Tao looked up at them and said, "I can't move it by myself."
At this moment, Butler Lin walked in, smiling, and asked, "Miss, is there anything else you need?"
“Perfect timing, you can help me carry the body and put it on the soft couch by the south wall.”
Upon hearing this, his expression changed drastically, and a hint of regret flashed in his eyes.
If he had known, he wouldn't have come in to ask.
Suddenly, his gaze shifted to the two servants beside him.
"Young lady, I... I'll have those two people help you..."
“No need, they have other work to do.” But she refused outright.
Tao Tao looked at him: "What? Is there something you need? Is it something more important than your master?"
Butler Lin immediately looked troubled and walked over.
"You two go to the corner under the west wall, dig a pit to make a stove, and wait for me to bring you the things in a little while."
The two nodded, turned and left.
She stopped what she was doing, looked up at him standing far away, and didn't dare to get any closer.
"Tell me, your master has smallpox, doesn't he?"
He paused for a moment, then nodded: "Yes."
That's why they ran away.
He gave a wry smile.
If I tell them, who will come?
"Young lady, I didn't mean to hide this, it's just... sigh..."
Pretending to be something you're not.
Tao Tao had nothing to say, nor could she directly criticize him.
Even in modern times, some people conceal the fact that a corpse may carry an infectious disease. They know this, so they are always very careful with corpses, for fear of contracting some incurable disease.
Later, an intern, trying to show off his bravery, touched the corpse without gloves, only to find that the corpse was an HIV-positive patient.
Blood came into contact with the skin before the blocking injection was administered immediately.
Then the intern's internship ended early, and I don't know what happened to that person afterwards.
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