"This is truly despicable! Who on earth provided this harmful thing?"
"That's right, beheading! They must behead him!"
Leaving aside the onlookers' enjoyment and indignation, let's just say that Jiayin arrived at the Liu family's house by horse-drawn carriage.
Madam Liu personally greeted Jiayin at the second gate, then took her hand and chatted intimately as they walked inside.
"Auntie, is Uncle Liu busy at the yamen?" Jiayin asked.
“No,” Madam Liu replied, “The market is so lively today, how could we miss it?”
"You, Uncle Liu, specifically took Zhimin and Xiujie to see how the Hibiscus Ointment was destroyed."
“These two lads are getting bolder and bolder. Your Uncle Liu just wants to take this opportunity to teach them a lesson.”
Jiayin nodded and replied with a smile, "Brother Zhimin is becoming more and more mature, but Brother Xiujie is just as naughty as my fourth and fifth brothers."
Madam Liu smiled and said, "It's all thanks to your eldest brother, who takes good care of them at the academy."
“I was originally planning to trouble your brother to teach them a bit more, but your older brother is going to be a day student, and I’m worried about that now.”
Jiayin waved her hand, trying to reassure Madam Liu, "Don't worry, Auntie. Brother Zhimin and Brother Xiujie are both very smart. I heard that the teacher often praises them."
“My eldest brother won’t go to the academy often in the future, but my sixth and seventh brothers will keep them company, so they definitely won’t be bullied. There’s no need to worry about the family.”
"As for the future, without my older brother supporting them, they may be able to learn to be more mature and handle things independently."
Madam Liu felt relieved to hear this, and seeing Jiayin, so young, with her chubby face and round body, shaking her head and making the golden-winged butterfly on her braid seem to come alive, she was truly adorable.
But the little girl spoke like a little adult, with reason and logic, which made her like her even more.
So she called over the old woman who served her personally and brought over a set of jewelry she had bought at the jewelry store. "I went to the jewelry store the other day and saw this set of ivory jewelry. It is especially suitable for a princess of your age to wear, so I bought it."
Madam Liu opened the box and urged Jiayin, "Princess, take a look quickly, do you like it?"
Jiayin peeked out and couldn't help but smile, her eyes crinkling.
Ivory is naturally fine and lustrous, and now that it has been carved into a whole set of jewelry, it is naturally outstanding.
Hairpins, hair ornaments, bracelets, rings, pendants—they had everything, and every piece was exquisite.
Most surprisingly, most of the jewelry is carved with nine-tailed foxes, which are cute and ethereal.
Jiayin happily picked up a plaque and played with it, feeling a surge of emotion.
This is only possible in Tianwu. If it were in modern times, this box would be enough to send her and Madam Liu to eat "peanuts".
"Thank you, Auntie. I really like it, so I won't stand on ceremony and accept it. When I get back, I'll definitely show it to Santiao and tell her to work hard to cultivate so she can grow nine tails as soon as possible!"
Jiayin's joke made Madam Liu and her personal maidservant laugh.
They all knew that Jiayin had a white fox with three tails, which the Marquis himself had led to capture in the mountains and whose name was even mentioned to the Emperor.
Occasionally, someone would jokingly say that the little fox had become a spirit, but no one took it seriously.
After all, it was all just a joke!
Jiayin put away the ivory jewelry, then called Shuiling forward, placed the basket in her hand on the table, and said, "Auntie, the matter you mentioned when you came to our house last time has been taken care of."
"Please trouble you, Auntie, to send someone to those families to let them know that everything is alright."
"In addition, the medicine packets in this basket are labeled with names and instructions for use and dosage. They should also be sent to each household. Once the medicine is finished, they will be cured."
Madam Liu was delighted to hear this, her eyes shining. "That's wonderful! I'll send someone out right away to inform them that this prescription was written by the divine physician Zhang."
Jiayin nodded, picked up a piece of pastry and ate it, saying, "Yes, Auntie, Grandpa Zhang had someone test it, and it's guaranteed to work."
"He's been obsessed with developing new drugs lately, and yesterday he was complaining that there weren't enough medicinal herbs!"
Madam Liu understood and quickly nodded, "Oh dear, that's wonderful! These maids have actually benefited from this misfortune. I thank him on their behalf!"
After saying that, she asked again, "Have you made arrangements with your aunt and the Jia family?"
“My aunt sent someone into the city this morning. I came to Auntie’s place first, and I’ll go to the Jia family in a little while. I’ll play with Baozhu for a while.”
After finishing her snack, Jiayin clapped her hands and asked without any hesitation, "Auntie, your snacks are so delicious! Can you give me a box to take with Baozhu?"
"Good, good!" Madam Liu was overjoyed.
She only has two sons, and she dotes on Jiayin as if she were her own daughter.
Seeing Jiayin being so close to her now made her feel even more at ease.
So, when Jiayin finally left the Liu family, she took four pastry boxes with her.
In the Jia family courtyard, Baozhu was throwing a tantrum at her mother.
"Mother, you don't love me anymore. Why can my brothers go watch the fun, but I can't?"
“Because they are boys, they are bold and not afraid to show their faces.” Madam Jia tapped her daughter’s forehead, not giving an inch.
"What are you, a young girl, doing watching beheadings? Aren't you afraid of having nightmares when you get back?"
Just then, the old woman came to report that Princess Kangle had arrived.
Before Madam Jia could respond, Baozhu had already darted out like a rabbit.
Soon she and Jiayin came running in hand in hand, all smiles.
Madam Jia was overjoyed and quickly busied herself serving tea and adding charcoal to the brazier.
Jiayin, worried about delaying the delivery of the medicine, quickly explained the important matter first.
Madam Jia was all smiles and immediately arranged for trusted servants and maids to go out.
Baozhu accompanied Jiayin to pay their respects to Madam Jia. The two chatted with Madam Jia for a long time, making the old lady smile from ear to ear before returning to Baozhu's boudoir together to enjoy the wonderful time of eating, drinking, and gossiping with her best friend.
At this moment, the commercial street was packed with people, and the sound of weeping was deafening at the vegetable market entrance.
The noble ladies were all crying their hearts out.
It wasn't that their beloved was in the line of beheadings, but... they were afraid of dying too!
The Emperor had already stated in court that anyone who had come into contact with the hibiscus ointment would be beheaded.
They waited anxiously for several days, but no officials came to their door.
But today is the day of the beheading. Who knows, at any moment, they might be dragged out like dead dogs and have their heads chopped off...
There is a large courtyard in the south of the city, which is also a famous scholarly family in Tianwu. The head of the family is surnamed Gu.
The family has two brothers, both married with children, who bring joy to their parents.
The family is usually quite harmonious and lively, but today the gates are tightly closed and the entire house is eerily silent.
In the main courtyard, Old Master Gu and Old Madam Gu, Master Gu the Elder and his wife, Master Gu the Second and his wife, along with his widowed sister—now the headmistress of the girls' school—were all gathered in the main room…
Master Gu's eldest daughter, Gu Qingqing, is sixteen years old and at the prime of her life, a time of great beauty.
But at this moment, her face was pale, her eyes were red and swollen, and she couldn't stop wiping away her tears, looking as disheveled as if she had been ravaged by a storm.
"Mother, sob sob, I don't want to die, I'm scared!" Gu Qingqing hugged her mother and cried pitifully.
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