Chapter 27 Self-Deception
"Last night, Silang was taking care of the old lady. In the second half of the night, Silang fell asleep. The maid waiting outside heard the old lady crying and thought it was haunted. She was so scared that she hid under the quilt and didn't dare to say a word..."
Qiu Xuan frowned slightly. The old lady was ill, but the family was not completely without rules.
Something was amiss, so Qiu Xuan asked, "Who discovered this?"
"It's me," Zhemei said, her words emphatically. "I was halfway through my sleep when I suddenly felt very anxious, so I quickly got up and went to the old lady to check. When I entered the room, Silang was still asleep. I had no choice but to go find Sanniang."
Qiu Xuan listened as she walked. It was obvious that Zhe Mei was also afraid and did not dare to enter the house. So she asked:
"What was the old lady's situation at that time?"
"The old lady seems to have fainted." Zhemei lied and turned the conversation back to how she had called Jing Youzhen over.
"The doctor said it was a good thing I called for help in time."
Yes, doctor.
Qiu Xuan immediately asked, "Why wasn't the doctor in the room last night?"
This doctor specializes in treating the old lady and usually lives in the east room of the old lady's courtyard.
"This... maybe he was called away by the princess?"
Qiu Xuan stopped and looked back at Zhe Mei. The latter knew that he had said something wrong and quickly bowed his head to admit his mistake.
"Don't spread this kind of talk around anymore."
"I know my mistake."
Everyone was there in the old lady's room, except Jing Beian who was out again, and even Feifei came.
But she did not go into the house. She sat in the pavilion in the yard with two maids to get some fresh air.
"They won't let me in." Feifei saw that it was Qiuxuan and hurried out to greet her.
The nanny was sent from the Princess's Mansion. She was quite polite to Qiu Xuan and took the initiative to come over and greet him.
After Qiu Xuan returned the greeting, Fei Fei hurriedly asked, "Is it done?"
"Liu Hui is safe." Qiu Xuan grabbed Fei Fei's hand and patted it. "Wait here for me."
As the two of them were talking, Feifei leaned close to Qiuxuan's ear and whispered:
"Be careful when you go in. I think she's just pretending."
The house was relatively peaceful.
There was a curtain hanging in front of the old lady's bed, and one could vaguely see Jing Youan and the doctor discussing something inside.
Jing Youzhen was sitting in the outer room, with a maid of about twelve or thirteen standing in front of her.
Qiu Xuan guessed that it was this child who had been keeping watch with Jing Youan last night.
When Jing Youzhen saw Qiuxuan coming back, she pointed at the girl and said angrily, "Look, you're so daring when you're lazy and play tricks on me on weekdays, you could poke a hole in the sky, but when it comes to important matters, you just want to find a turtle shell to hide in."
Qiu Xuan glanced at the maid who was being scolded. Her name seemed to be Shiyue.
How did Gan Tang describe her?
She was like the paperweight on the table. She took root wherever the old lady put her, and she wouldn't say a word for a month.
"She should be taught a lesson." Qiu Xuan echoed, and then ordered Shiyue, "Go out and stand still. Don't get in the way here."
Shiyue bowed obediently and walked out with his head down.
Jing Youzhen couldn't help but say, "I get angry just looking at her, and she won't say anything when asked."
"How is the old lady?"
Jing Youzhen took a look inside and confirmed that the old lady was asleep inside, and called Qiuxuan to come over and take a look.
She lifted her sleeve to reveal the teeth marks on her arm, right on her wrist.
Qiu Xuan glanced into the inner room and then looked at Jing Youzhen, who nodded.
"That's right. Don't think everything is peaceful now, there was quite a commotion just now."
The teeth marks looked horrifying, so Jing Youzhen simply pulled up her sleeves, out of sight and out of mind.
Qiu Xuan thought, the old lady cried all night long with Jing Youan, why did she make a fuss when she saw Youzhen?
"Have you made her angry lately?"
Qiu Xuan's voice was low and her words were fast. Jing Youzhen didn't understand and was about to ask more when Jing Youan rushed out from the inner room and angrily said to his sister:
"The doctor said Mom was just too angry. I think it was you who made her angry."
"Why me?" Jing Youzhen was so angry that she almost stood up. Then, remembering that there was a doctor in the room, she suppressed her anger and whispered back, "I think Mom is mad at you, a good-for-nothing who idles around all day."
"What can I do if I don't have a position in the Yulin Army? Besides, am I much better than those in other families? At least I haven't been harassed by anyone with their children."
"Whose family is this?" Jing Youzhen asked hurriedly.
"It's the one from the Ministry of Justice..."
"Stop." Qiu Xuan saw that the topic was getting further and further away, so he quickly stopped it.
"What happened after I returned to the house yesterday? Can anyone tell me?"
"She made my mother so angry that she slammed the table."
"Mom is looking for chopsticks." Jing Youzhen pushed her brother away and said, "I'm telling you something."
"Last night, I told my mother that I was going to the North."
"The North?" Qiu Xuan was a little surprised.
"My sister-in-law probably thinks this is a bad idea." Jing Youan took the opportunity to complain.
"Don't say anything." Jing Youzhen growled in a low voice, "I've been thinking a lot these past two days. Now that my marriage with the Ji family is annulled, I'll have nothing to do in the future."
"Look for another family, or look for a son-in-law." Jing Youan kept talking, "So that mother won't have to urge me to meet someone every day."
"It's better to get you out."
Jing Youzhen said this viciously, then continued to Qiu Xuan, "It just so happens that a classmate of mine is now a retainer of the eldest princess. I was thinking about going to the north to look for something to do."
"Are you going to dig sweet potatoes in the snow?" Jing Youan said sarcastically, "Don't you think about it? Our family is now on the side of the Fourth Prince, and you're going to the First Princess. That's called speculation and profiteering. That's called playing both sides."
It can also be called putting eggs in different baskets, Qiu Xuan thought.
"The sweet potatoes were harvested before the frost, you idiot who can't tell the difference between grains." Jing Youzhen laughed in anger, "The emperor is still very healthy. We ministers serve His Majesty and are loyal to him. You are just trying to instigate a fight among the princes. You have evil intentions."
"Everyone knows that the eldest princess was banished to the Northland because she had ulterior motives."
You all should talk less, Qiuxuan is tired.
At this time, the doctor quietly lifted the gauze curtain and came out from the inner room.
The brother and sister then remembered that there was a stranger in the room. They smiled at her awkwardly and stopped talking.
"Mother is still resting. I think we should discuss this another day."
Qiu Xuan put an end to the siblings' quarrel and asked the doctor, "Is there anything serious?"
"The old lady's illness is probably caused by this," she said, pointing to her heart.
"Just look." Jing Youan glared at his sister, and was retaliated by Jing Youzhen who stepped hard on his foot.
"How can we relieve this?" Qiu Xuan asked.
"The old lady wants to find a magician," the doctor paused, as if he also felt that this statement was inappropriate, and then added: "It's mainly for peace of mind."
"Since it's Mother's wish," Qiu Xuan said to Nangong Shao behind the curtain, "then please let Mother rest for two days before arranging for someone to come into the mansion."
*
"Don't be impatient. Nothing can be accomplished if you are impatient."
Wu Zhuang looked at the one-armed wizard in front of him, who was panting and blushing.
"What happened that made you so eager to see me?"
"Master Wu Zhuang, Master Ji Zhuang is dead."
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