Seeing the doctor's face change, Aunt Gui coughed twice and asked, "Cough, cough, doctor, what's wrong with me? I accidentally caught a cold before the New Year, and I've been feeling unwell ever since. I asked the doctor to see me a few days ago, and he said I caught a cold. I took several prescriptions, but it didn't help. My cough is getting worse and worse. I feel like I'm going to cough my heart out."
After talking for such a long time, Aunt Gui started coughing again. She coughed so hard that she covered her mouth with a handkerchief. When she removed the handkerchief from her mouth, there were a few spots of blood on it.
Seeing the bloodstains on the handkerchief, the old doctor broke out in sweat on his forehead.
Aunt Gui was not too alarmed when she saw the blood on the handkerchief. Her daughter had told her before that after using the ointment, in addition to these symptoms, the teeth would also bleed a little, which was normal. She told her not to worry, and that after returning to the Pei family, the ointment would not be used anymore. She would wait for a few days for the medicinal properties to dissipate and everything would be fine.
So the blood on the handkerchief is actually from the teeth.
My daughter said that this idea was thought up by Yu Niang. She asked Xuan Ge'er about it, and Xuan Ge'er also thought it was feasible.
That is to let her pretend to have tuberculosis. Of course, how can she pretend to have tuberculosis? Once the doctor comes to take her pulse and sees her symptoms, he will know that it is not her. So she must have real symptoms of tuberculosis to deceive the doctor and the Wen family, and make Old Master Wen write a letter to let her go.
Xuan Ge'er is a doctor. When she applies the ointments he made under her armpits, she will experience symptoms of tuberculosis. However, she does not really have tuberculosis, the symptoms are just the same.
"Doctor?" Aunt Gui clutched her handkerchief, looking a little frightened. "Cough, cough, why am I coughing up blood?"
"This, this..." The old doctor's face was pale and sweaty. "I, I'll go out and talk to your family's head and see if I can get you some medicine."
After the old doctor finished speaking, he ran out with the box and came to the yard. The old doctor's face was not very good. The symptoms of the old concubine in the ear room were exactly the same as tuberculosis. Seeing that she lived in the ear room in such a big house, and there were no other servants, and she was a concubine, it was obvious that she was not favored by the owner of the house. She must have often done hard and tiring work, and she was prone to tuberculosis due to excessive fatigue.
Tuberculosis is a highly contagious disease. Although it is not as terrible as the plague, it is also a disease that doctors are more afraid of.
Aunt Bai was still standing in the courtyard. When she saw the doctor coming out, she hurried over to ask, "Doctor, is my sister okay? She's been coughing for almost a month, and she hasn't gotten better even after taking several prescriptions."
The old doctor whispered a few words, and Aunt Bai's expression changed.
After the old doctor went to the old man of the Wen family, Aunt Bai went to the ear room without any hesitation. She saw Aunt Gui lying on the bed, her face pale and sick. Her eyes suddenly turned red.
That's tuberculosis. I'm afraid the old man and the old lady won't care at all. They might even have someone throw Concubine Gui out.
If the Pei family also dislikes her, what will Aunt Gui do in the future?
Aunt Bai had never interacted with the Pei family, so naturally she didn't believe that the Pei family would take a patient with tuberculosis back home.
Seeing Aunt Bai's expression, Aunt Gui knew that she had already learned from the doctor that she had tuberculosis, but she still came in.
Aunt Gui's eyes also turned red. She looked at Aunt Bai firmly and said, "Sister, don't worry, I'm fine."
Aunt Bai is smart, and she knows that Aunt Bai can understand what she means.
But she couldn't say it clearly, she just asked Aunt Bai not to worry about her.
At this moment, Aunt Bai vaguely understood something. They had been together for more than 30 years, and their relationship was better than that of many sisters. They had supported each other for so many years. She probably knew what Aunt Gui meant, and might not have figured out the key point, but she already knew what to do.
Aunt Bai said, "No matter what, you should rest well first. I'll go to the front yard to take a look."
Aunt Gui nodded.
When Aunt Bai left, she slowly walked towards the main courtyard along the Nine-Curved Corridor.
When they arrived at the main courtyard, Old Master Wen and Old Lady Wen were both there. Their faces were not only ugly, but also shocked, angry and upset. They must have learned about Concubine Gui's illness from the old doctor.
When Old Master Wen saw Aunt Bai, he immediately asked, "Have you visited Aunt Gui? How is she?"
Aunt Bai stammered, "Old, old master, the doctor said that my sister had tuberculosis. How could I dare to go into the ear room? I just stood outside and asked a few questions. Aunt Gui kept coughing and didn't say a word. Then I came here." Finally, she added, "Don't worry, master. I haven't visited Aunt Gui in the past few days." The implication was that she would not be infected.
In the past few days, because Concubine Gui had a severe cough, Old Master Wen was afraid that she would cough saliva into the kitchen while cooking, so he did not allow her to enter the kitchen and stayed in the ear room to watch the door.
Old Master Wen was so choked by Aunt Bai's words.
He couldn't help but ask the doctor, "Is it really tuberculosis?"
The old doctor nodded and said, "The symptoms and pulse are almost the same. If you are still worried, why not find another doctor to take a look at the concubine in the mansion? I will prescribe some medicine first. You can take it back and try it."
Mrs. Wen couldn't help but said with a droopy face, "If it's tuberculosis, what's the point of prescribing medicine? It might spread to everyone in the mansion."
After saying that, she went to see Old Master Wen and said, "Old Master, if this is really tuberculosis, what should we do?"
Old Master Wen didn't say anything. He sent the doctor away and asked another doctor to come and take Aunt Gui's pulse.
When the doctor came out of the ear room, his complexion was similar to that of the previous doctor, and the final conclusion was also tuberculosis, with similar symptoms and pulse.
Old Master Wen was completely convinced that Aunt Gui was suffering from tuberculosis. She must have suffered a lot during the exile and did not get enough rest after coming here, so she developed tuberculosis.
Mrs. Wen was extremely anxious. "Old Master, what should we do? We should send Concubine Gui away as soon as possible."
We can't let everyone in the mansion get sick.
"Nonsense." Old Master Wen was afraid of what others would say, "How could we throw our aunt out of the house just because she's sick? How will outsiders see us?"
Mrs. Wen was relentless, and Old Master Wen was annoyed. Finally, he shouted, "Then go call Second Sister back and take Concubine Gui to live with the Pei family for a while."
The second sister is Wen, who is the second daughter of Old Master Wen.
Old Lady Wen spat on the ground. "That second sister is so cruel! She hasn't been here for a while. Before, she often visited her aunt under the pretext of doing laundry at home. Ever since she found out about her aunt's illness, she's been visiting less and less. It's true that a son is unfilial to a patient's bedside." She then said to Aunt Bai, "Keep your mouth shut! When second sister comes back, don't tell her that her aunt has tuberculosis."
Aunt Bai nodded timidly.
Old Lady Wen didn't want people from the first and second houses to go to places like Guihua Lane to call for help, so she asked Wen Shuncheng, the illegitimate grandson of the third house, to run an errand.
Wen Shuncheng didn't want to go, but his grandfather had given the order.
He also asked his grandfather why he wanted to look for his aunt. His grandfather did not tell him and told him not to worry about it and to quickly go and call his second aunt back.
The Wen family knew that the second sister lived with the Pei family in Guihua Lane.
Wen Shuncheng ran to Osmanthus Alley. He didn't know the exact location of his second aunt's house, but when he asked, the neighbors in the alley enthusiastically told him, "Walk toward the back of the alley. The one with steam rising from the courtyard is the one that smells the best."
It was noon, and Xu Qinyu was cooking fish balls in the yard.
Hearing a knock on the door, she went over and saw that it was a young boy. She recognized him as someone from the third branch of the Wen family, but she wasn't sure of his name.
"Are you from the Wen family?" Xu Qinyu asked.
Wen Shuncheng smelled the fragrance and gulped his saliva greedily. "I am Cheng'er, from the third branch of the Wen family, and my fourth sister-in-law. Grandfather asked me to call my second aunt over. It seems that Aunt Gui is sick."
He is thirteen years old this year, a pretty boy. Although the food in the mansion is not tasty, he eats a lot to fill his stomach, but it is not oily and he feels hungry after eating.
The other two families could often go out to find some food, but their third family had no money. Their great aunt would occasionally secretly give him some silver, but not often, probably because they were afraid that their grandparents would find out, so they were still hungry most of the time. Since coming to the border, he had never smelled such delicious food.
He controlled himself and didn't look at the big pot in the yard.
Xu Qinyu knew clearly that it was because of the symptoms of Concubine Gui that the Wen family had invited a doctor, thinking that Concubine Gui had tuberculosis. Now they were definitely unwilling to let Concubine Gui stay in the Pei family any longer.
But seeing this, I'm afraid he doesn't want to write a letter to release the concubine, and wants Wen to take Concubine Gui back first.
She had anticipated these situations and had discussed them with Wen long ago.
"Mom, someone from the Wen family is here."
Xu Qinyu turned around and shouted towards the west room.
Wen came out of the room. She was sorting out the scraps of fur and cloth.
The bags she and Ning Jie'er made last time were actually bought the next day. Each bag was sold for one or two taels of silver, but they were still sold.
You should know that these fur scraps are only worth a dozen cents.
She and Sister Ning's daughter Hong are good friends. She doesn't know how the stitching was done, it's very dense and you can't tell it's spliced together at all. The cloth bag is not made of leather, but a lining made of leftovers from large pieces of gauze.
The two small fur bags were indeed very beautiful and cute. When they were made, even Ning Jie'er and Xu Qinyu couldn't let them go.
They spent several days working on those two bags, and their patience paid off.
I'm planning on making a second bag right now.
Each bag is different, and we strive to make it a unique style.
This is also what Xu Qinyu told Wen and Ning Jie'er, that it must be unique.
This time, it was Sister Ning who came up with the design herself. Xu Qinyu saw it and thought it was very cute too.
Wen came out and saw Wen Shuncheng and said, "Brother Cheng, why are you here?"
Wen Shuncheng briefly explained, and Wen frowned and said, "I have work to do myself. Okay, then I'll go with you to take a look."
When we arrived at the Wen family, Mrs. Wen also looked a little anxious. "Father, Mother, why did you call me back? There is a lot of work to do at home, and I have to go back quickly."
Old Master Wen coughed and said, "It's like this, Second Sister, your aunt isn't feeling well and misses you, so I was thinking, why don't you take her back to live with you for a while."
Wen frowned. "But my family only has a shabby yard with six people crammed in. Where is the room for Auntie to stay? And what's wrong with Auntie? She seemed to have a cough before the New Year. Did Father ask a doctor for advice? What did he say?"
"It's just that I have a cold and a heart disease, so I haven't been feeling well. It must be because I missed you too much." Old Master Wen avoided the gaze.
He had just told the two legitimate sons of the first and second wives about Concubine Gui's tuberculosis, but he was still keeping it a secret from the third wife. He also warned Concubine Bai not to tell anyone else, not even Concubine Gui.
Wen said, "Then I'll go see my aunt first."
She walked over to the side room.
Now, Old Master Wen and the others no longer enter or exit through the main gate, but go directly in and out through the side door.
On the way, Wen was still thinking of an excuse to find out that Concubine Gui had contracted tuberculosis, and was worried that it would be transmitted to her family, so she was unwilling to take Concubine Gui back.
Before I even reached the second room, I saw Aunt Bai.
Aunt Bai had actually figured it out. If Aunt Gui didn't really have tuberculosis, then she was just acting.
But who was he performing for? It was only for the Wen family.
Then this scene is not simple. It should be that Concubine Gui and the Pei family had colluded long ago. That means the Pei family did not dislike Concubine Gui and had long wanted to take Concubine Gui away. Moreover, they wanted Concubine Gui to leave without any other concerns. They wanted Old Master Wen to release her as a concubine!
So she had to help in the middle! She also hoped that the Pei family would help Concubine Gui escape from her suffering as soon as possible.
Aunt Gui's life in the Wen family was much more miserable than hers.
Aunt Bai gave Wen a wink.
Wen Shi also understood and stepped forward and said, "Aunt Bai, why are you here? My aunt has been ill recently and I haven't visited her for a while. How is she? What is wrong with her? When I asked my father and mother, they said it was a heart disease."
Aunt Bai hesitated, "No, I, I didn't go to the side room, I was just passing by, I don't know what disease your aunt has, no, no, your aunt seems to have a cold, she will be fine after a few days of rest."
"Then Auntie, come over and take a look with me. I remember Auntie likes talking to you, Auntie Bai."
Aunt Bai's face changed drastically. "Well, well, I have something else to do, so I won't go to the side room."
Mrs. Wen felt something was wrong and pulled Aunt Bai to her side, "Aunt Bai, why did you look so different?"
The two of them pulled each other for a while, and Wen felt something was wrong. She questioned Aunt Bai and insisted on dragging her to the ear room.
Aunt Bai screamed in fear, and finally shouted: "Tuberculosis, your aunt has tuberculosis."
Wen naturally did not go to the side room and returned to the main courtyard angrily.
Of course, she couldn't directly scold the two elders of the Wen family. She just cried and blamed her father and mother for hiding the fact that her aunt had tuberculosis. She also said, "Even if I want to take my aunt back, it's not possible. The family is full of children. What if the disease is passed on to the children at home? Besides, Brother Xuan is the head of the family. I can't make this decision."
After saying that, Wen also returned through the side door.
Even if she was worried about Aunt Gui, she knew she had no choice but to endure it now.
Old Master Wen and Old Lady Wen didn't know how Mrs. Wen knew that Concubine Gui had tuberculosis.
Seeing Aunt Bai standing outside the yard hesitating, he called her in and asked, and it turned out that it was Aunt Bai who told the story.
Aunt Bai cried, "Second sister insisted on dragging me to the side room. Even the old master and the old lady didn't dare to go there, so how could I dare to go there..."
Old Lady Wen was almost mad to death. "How can your life be compared with ours? If you can't send Aunt Gui away, you'll have to serve her every day!"
Aunt Bai muttered, "No matter what, Aunt Gui is my second sister's concubine. Tuberculosis is terrible. The longer Aunt Gui stays in the mansion, the more likely someone in the mansion will contract tuberculosis. It would be better to write a letter of release and throw Aunt Gui to the doorstep of the Pei family."
Old Master Wen hesitated a little and finally said nothing.
But there was no idea at the moment, and no one in the mansion was willing to go to the ear room.
When Wen returned home, she told her family about the progress. Her heart was still pounding. "Fortunately, Aunt Bai helped me. Aunt Bai should know that I was faking illness, but she probably didn't know the specific circumstances."
Seeing that no one spoke, Wen said quickly, "Don't worry, Yu Niang and Xuan'er. Aunt Bai and Aunt Gui have a very good relationship. Old Madam Wen doesn't know that they are close friends in private." When she was a child, Aunt Bai treated her very well and gently.
It seems that Aunt Bai from the Wen Mansion also contributed.
Mrs. Wen also briefly talked about the situation of the third branch. Upon learning that the third branch was different from the other two branches, Xu Qinyu couldn't help but sigh that a friend in need is a friend indeed. She also hoped that the third branch of the Wen family would be successful in the future and that they could separate from the family in the future. Otherwise, the third branch would just be a servant working in the Wen family.
Pei Weixuan said slowly: "For now we can only wait. The Wen family will probably be anxious in a few days."
Xu Qinyu nodded in agreement. Now all she could do was wait. As long as she could get the letter from Old Master Wen to release her concubine, everything would be easy. Even if they fell out at that time, it wouldn't matter.
…
The Wen family was in a state of panic. The third room prepared food in the evening, but the whole family could not finish it.
By now, the Wen family had basically all heard that Concubine Gui had contracted tuberculosis. Wen Yunling frowned, knowing that Wen Shuncheng had gone to the Pei family that afternoon and asked him, "Did you see what your fourth sister-in-law was doing at home?"
She just thought this was a little weird.
"Nothing." Wen Shuncheng pretended to be stupid, "I just saw Fourth Sister-in-law cooking fish in a big pot, and the yard was full of fish scales and internal organs from killed fish. It smelled very fishy." He didn't want to tell the Wen family that the food Fourth Sister-in-law cooked was so delicious.
After hearing these words, Wen Yunling lost all her appetite and even felt a little nauseous.
They were eating when they suddenly heard two coughs outside, followed by Aunt Gui's weak voice, "Grandpa, Madam, I'm so hungry, cough cough..."
The Wen family members were so frightened that their faces changed drastically. Old Mrs. Wen screamed, "Why did she come here?"
Aunt Bai said weakly, "No one brought her food, and Aunt Gui seemed to have not eaten all day."
"Can't you send her some food?" Old Lady Wen was so angry that she almost fainted.
Aunt Bai stopped talking.
Old Master Wen's face turned pale, and he finally said to Aunt Bai, "You, hurry up and pack some food for her."
Then he shouted outside, "Don't come in, wait outside first."
Aunt Gui didn't really go in to scare them, but stood outside waiting.
Aunt Bai packed some food and put it under the corridor, asking Aunt Gui to come and get it herself.
Aunt Gui came over to get the food box, hunched over and coughing as she returned to the side room.
A few days passed like this, and it was Aunt Bai who brought food to Aunt Gui. It was Old Master Wen who forced her to do so. Aunt Bai didn't dare to go too close when bringing food to Aunt Gui. She would just put the food box under the corridor and hurry back.
This is not a solution at all. Old Master Wen and Old Lady Wen are worried to death.
Old Lady Wen even suggested that Aunt Gui be carried directly to the Pei family.
Old Master Wen glared at her. "Who will carry her? You? Or let someone from the third house do it? Who do you think is willing to do it? Even if they do, will the Pei family be willing to take her? She is my concubine after all. If she goes to the government and makes a scene, I will be the one who gets embarrassed."
Madam Wen had a worried look on her face, "Then tell me, old master, what should we do?"
Tuberculosis is highly contagious and it is impossible to die in a short period of time. Some people can survive for one or two years.
Aunt Bai thought for a moment, "Grandpa, Madam, I think it would be better to just tell Aunt Gui that she has tuberculosis and let her make her own choice. If she stays in the mansion, everyone will be afraid of her and won't want to care about her. I'm afraid she won't have a good life. If we give her a concubine certificate and some money for medicine, and let her go back to the Pei family on her own, then when the time comes, she can take the concubine certificate and go to the Pei family on her own, where she can be taken care of by her daughter and grandchildren. That's definitely better than staying in the mansion. As long as Aunt Gui is willing to stay in the Pei family, even if the Pei family reports her to the government, it won't be any use."
After being given the letter of release as a concubine, Aunt Gui will no longer have any relationship with the Pei family.
After hearing this, Old Lady Wen nodded immediately. She had not been kind to Concubine Gui in the past. She was afraid that Concubine Gui would know that she had tuberculosis and would die if she stayed in the mansion. She might be willing to go to the Pei family in order to survive.
Even if she has to force her, she must force Concubine Gui to leave. Now Old Lady Wen thinks Concubine Gui is a plague and just wants to send her away quickly. Why is she still torturing her? If she continues to torment her, she might get tuberculosis.
In the end, Old Master Wen decided to tell Aunt Gui the truth and let her make her own choice.
He went to the ear room in person, of course, he didn't go there, but just stood under the corridor in the distance and called Aunt Gui twice.
Aunt Gui came out of the ear room, looking extremely old, with wrinkles all over her face, a hunched back, a thin body, and she was still coughing. These symptoms could not be faked at all!
Old Master Wen stood far away and told Aunt Gui that she had tuberculosis. At the end, he said that if she was willing, he would give her some money and a letter of release as a concubine, and let her return to the Pei family. Maybe she could get better by recuperating in the Pei family. Of course, this was to deceive Aunt Gui. People with tuberculosis basically could only wait to die.
After hearing this, Concubine Gui cried sadly. In the end, she did not directly agree to let Old Master Wen take the letter and leave. She just asked her to think about it for one night.
Both Old Master Wen and Old Madam Wen were extremely anxious.
Mrs. Wen scolded Aunt Gui while she was sleeping.
Fortunately, the next morning, Aunt Gui asked Aunt Bai to tell Old Master Wen that she was willing to take the silver and the letter of release and leave.
Old Master Wen wrote two letters to release the concubine, both of which were sealed with his own handprints. He also gave twenty taels of silver and asked Aunt Bai to deliver the two letters and the silver to the ear room.
Looking at the two ingots of ten taels of silver, Aunt Bai felt disdainful in her heart, thinking that they were just giving away beggars.
Over the years, he has made a lot of money by taking advantage of his second sister being the queen.
But Aunt Gui was finally able to leave.
Aunt Bai took the silver and the concubine's letter to the ear room, but as usual she did not enter the ear room. She just stood far away and called Aunt Gui.
When Aunt Gui came out, she put the letter of relinquishment and the silver on the ground and asked her to put her fingerprint on it. Then she could take one of the letters of release and leave.
Aunt Bai stepped back, and Aunt Gui stepped forward and pressed her fingerprints on the two copies of the letter of release as a concubine. She folded one of them and put it on her body. She also put the silver on her body and finally left the Wen family.
Before leaving, Aunt Gui looked at Aunt Bai with tears in her eyes.
The same goes for Aunt Bai. It’s great that Aunt Gui can finally leave this disgusting house.
I hope that one day, the three branches of their family will be able to separate smoothly and she can leave this broken place.
…
In Guihua Lane, Xu Qinyu was washing the pig intestines after breakfast.
Before breakfast, Tian the butcher came over and delivered three pieces of offal, and took away her braised pork intestines and asked his wife to sell them at the braised meat stall.
The braised pork intestines sell very well. Three pieces of braised pork intestines are prepared every day, weighing about 17 or 18 kilograms, and they are all sold out. Xu Qinyu does not plan to sell more. It is best to let customers have some left over after they finish their meals. Therefore, some customers who cannot buy the pork intestines can only go to buy them early the next day.
Uncle Ganghe also brought all the fish over.
Now she doesn't have to go to Tian the Butcher and Mr. He in person to buy water and fish. They are delivered directly to Guihua Lane, which saves her a lot of effort.
While washing pig intestines with her fourth brother by the well, Xu Qinyu saw her fourth brother raise his eyes, look outside the yard and say, "Grandma is back."
Xu Qinyu's face lit up with joy. She wiped her hands casually, went to open the gate, and sure enough, she saw an old figure in the alley slowly walking towards her.
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