"Poisonous!" Lanxiang cried out in horror upon seeing it, covering her mouth tightly with both hands.
Upon hearing this, the man hidden behind the beaded curtain gave the madam a wink, and the madam immediately pulled out a shiny, seemingly extremely sharp dagger from her sleeve and slowly approached Lanxiang step by step.
Lanxiang stared in astonishment at the dagger held in the madam's hand, pressed herself tightly against the wall behind her, and shook her head and begged, tears already streaming down her cheeks.
Just as she closed her eyes in despair, gave up pleading, and prepared to accept the disaster before her, she suddenly heard the crisp sound of a dagger falling to the ground.
She opened her eyes instantly, only to see the madam kneeling heavily on the ground, pleading with the man behind the beaded curtain for her: "Master, please spare this girl. I promise, I will keep a close watch on her, and she will absolutely not reveal a single word of what happened today. If she does, I will be willing to die to atone for my sins, please, Master."
Before she finished speaking, the madam kowtowed heavily, waiting for the man's response, while Lanxiang was already terrified and frozen to the side.
The man remained silent, and after a moment of silence, he suddenly stood up, walked straight to the door, and gently closed it behind him.
At this moment, the madam finally raised her head, wiped the fine sweat from her temples, and slowly got up to help Lanxiang, who was still standing there in a daze, to sit down at the table.
Lanxiang sat down and saw Xiaobai's pitiful corpse on the table in front of her. She then buried her face in the table and cried.
The madam, however, had no time to care about her feelings. She turned her gaze to the ground on the other side, hurriedly went over to check Yu Niang's pulse, who had been lying on the ground until now, and then examined her eyelids for a moment.
Then, he looked up at Lanxiang, who was still sobbing and slumped over the table, and said, "Aren't you going to come and help?!"
Hearing the sound, Lanxiang finally came to her senses, wiped the two lines of hot tears from her cheeks with the back of her hand, and sniffed. She then got up and walked over to Yu Niang on the ground, bent down and helped the madam carry her to the bed in the inner room.
At this moment, Lanxiang asked with some disappointment and sadness, "Mom, what happened to Yu Niang? Did she also die from poisoning like Xiaobai?"
"No, I've already checked Yu Niang's condition carefully. She won't die as quickly as Xiao Bai," the madam replied to Lan Xiang while tidying Yu Niang's disheveled hair as she lay unconscious.
"Mother, why is Master treating Yu Niang like this? Doesn't Master like Yu Niang very much? He even took her to his room. Master has never brought any woman into his room in the backyard before!" Lanxiang asked in confusion.
The madam looked at Yu Niang's calm yet pale face, sneered, and said, "Hmph... How could someone as cold-blooded as my master possibly fall in love with anyone?!"
Upon hearing this, Lanxiang fell into deep thought. It turned out that all her meticulous planning and scheming towards Yu Niang, day and night, for that person, had been in vain.
This Wanjiao Pavilion is truly rife with conspiracies.
After regaining her composure, Lanxiang thanked the madam, saying, "Thank you so much for saving my life today, Madam. I will never forget it. But from now on..."
The madam glanced around the room, interrupting her thoughts, and said, "You can stay in this room from now on, but you must keep your mouth shut about what happened here today. Also, you must listen to me from now on. After this matter is over, I will ask my master to return your indenture and set you free. I know you were sold here by a heartless man."
"Is everything Mom said true? Can Lanxiang really live in this room from now on? This is the best room that all the girls in Wanjiao Pavilion live in. Also, will Mom really give Lanxiang her freedom after this is over?" Lanxiang asked with a look of joy and disbelief.
The madam nodded affirmatively. In fact, she herself didn't know why, but she had always felt a sense of pity for the clever but unfortunate Lanxiang and treated her with special consideration.
Despite her joy, Lanxiang suddenly changed her mind and asked with concern, "So, what are you going to do with Yuniang, Mother?"
Upon hearing this, the madam looked intently at Yu Niang, who was sleeping soundly on the fragrant couch. After a long while, she hesitated and said, "She..."
As she spoke, the madam walked over to Yu Niang, examined her for a moment, then bent down, helped her up, carried her on her back, and stood up.
Lanxiang saw this and quickly stepped forward, asking, "Where is Mother taking Yuniang?"
The madam said with a hint of helplessness, "She's someone the master has taken a liking to. I'm afraid she'll never be able to leave this Wanjiao Pavilion again in her lifetime."
After saying that, he walked straight out the door.
However, as they reached the door, the madam suddenly stopped and warned, "You must remember everything I just told you, or you will be killed."
Upon hearing this, Lanxiang was once again stunned by everything that was happening before her eyes and the madam's warning.
Everything that happened that day is still vivid in Lanxiang's mind, making her feel terrified.
As the saying goes, "Fortune favors the bold," and Lanxiang accidentally discovered this secret, nearly facing punishment. However, the madam unexpectedly pleaded with her master, saving her life. The madam couldn't bear to kill her, but had to pretend to control Lanxiang to appease her master, hoping to find an opportunity to grant her freedom in the future.
Lanxiang agreed to help her master conceal the secret with the madam, and in doing so, she obtained what she wanted most.
However, at the same time, she also realized that it was time for her to pull back from the brink.
It turns out that the man she's been obsessed with is no ordinary person. And this Wanjiao Pavilion must be rife with conspiracies; she must find a way to leave as soon as possible.
Just when she thought that Yu Niang would disappear forever and that everything would end there, Yi Shangyun unexpectedly appeared in Wan Jiao Pavilion looking for Yu Niang.
If the madam or the master found out, they would definitely kill her to silence her and wouldn't let her leave Wanjiao Pavilion alive.
So, feeling guilty about what happened to Yu Niang, and also seeking solace for her own soul, she took advantage of the chaos caused by the soldiers searching for someone in Wan Jiao Pavilion, and secretly brought Yi Shangyun out of Wan Jiao Pavilion without anyone noticing.
But right now, how could she explain to this brave and persistent woman and persuade her not to approach the perilous Wanjiao Pavilion again? And then there's Yan Hong's matter; it seems that now is not the best time for her to leave alone.
Thinking of this, Lanxiang suddenly remembered something very important.
Perhaps she should go home now and properly deal with Yi Shangyun.
With this thought in mind, she stood up, took the madam's arm, and said, "Mother, please don't be angry. I was just anxious and careless. Actually, I haven't been feeling well lately and want to rest properly. I wonder if you could allow me to take a few days off and find a quiet place to recuperate?"
"Of course, that's no problem. But you must be careful while you're out alone. Once you're feeling better, you should come back as soon as possible, lest your master become suspicious." Seeing that Lanxiang had also given in, the madam gently patted Lanxiang's hand and said with concern.
Lanxiang smiled gently at her and said, "Thank you, Mom. I understand."
For a moment, their eyes met, and they smiled at each other...
Before we knew it, it was almost dawn.
At this moment, Yi Junhao hurriedly returned to Xiangmanlou. Upon entering, he found that the manager was no longer at the counter, so he went straight up to the top-class room on the second floor.
When he reached the door of Yi Shangyun's room, he slowly stopped, only to find the room completely dark. He thought to himself, "It seems the girl is resting."
Just then, a servant came upstairs. He had come specifically to open the door for Yi Junhao after seeing him return. The servant seemed to be holding a letter in his hand. As soon as he reached Yi Junhao's side, he respectfully handed over the letter and said, "Young master, there is a letter for you."
Afterwards, she quickly opened the door for Yi Junhao. Yi Junhao took it and read it in one go. Then he muttered, "Well, there are still some things to take care of in the south of the city. I'll come back to Xiangmanlou to meet up with the girl and go back to the west of the city after I've finished everything."
Coming to his senses, Yi Junhao asked the servant, "Do you know if the guest in the next room has returned tonight?"
"It's so late already, the guests should all be back to rest by now!" the waiter said, scratching his head and guessing.
After a slight hesitation, Yi Junhao instructed the servant beside him, "I have something to attend to and need to leave Xiangmanlou for a few days. I'm leaving a letter here now. Tomorrow, you can deliver it to the guest in the next room."
As Yi Junhao spoke, he walked to the desk, picked up a pen, left a letter, handed it to the servant, and rewarded him with a silver ingot.
Then, he went downstairs with the servant.
When the servant escorted him to the entrance of Xiangmanlou, Yi Junhao reminded him once again, "Remember, you must personally deliver this letter to that guest."
"Rest assured, young master, I will personally deliver the letter to that guest," the servant replied confidently.
Yi Junhao glanced at him, then looked up at Yi Shangyun's window on the second floor with lingering reluctance for a moment, thinking to himself, "Little girl, wait for me to come back." Only then did he turn and leave, disappearing into the vast morning mist…
No sooner had Yi Junhao left than Xuan Yuanhan, dressed in a brocade white robe with his black hair tied up, descended slowly from the third floor like a deity.
Cheng Liang led her directly to the top-tier guest room on the second floor. As if afraid of disturbing the sweet dreams of the person inside, he gently opened the door to Yi Shangyun's room.
Xuanyuan Han slowly walked in, taking in everything before him.
Everything inside the room was designed according to the style of a daughter's boudoir.
The room aims to make every guest feel at home, from its design and furnishings to personal items and even the smallest details like cosmetics.
As Xuanyuan Han walked inside, his eyes carefully explored the surroundings.
suddenly……
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