Chapter 66 Zhang plots to poison Lu Zhaoruo.
Tears streamed down her upturned face as she coughed and said, "She...cough cough...coughed up a lot of blood again, and she looks like...she's about to die."
Zhang staggered back to the stone steps: "You wretched, damned servant!"
Staring at the hem of her skirt that Dongrou was clutching, she disgustedly shook off her hand. "Let go! If you dare touch me with your filthy hands again, I'll have you chopped up and fed to the wild dogs tomorrow!"
Dongrou lay on the ground, coughing and trembling all over: "Old Madam, please have mercy... Tomorrow is the day the master returns home, and the eldest mistress only wants to see the master one last time before she passes away... cough cough... Please, Old Madam, help the eldest mistress..."
Even on his deathbed, he still wanted to offend my son's eyes?
That vile woman...
She clenched her teeth.
They should have gone to the underworld long ago, but they kept putting it off until today.
She had always been a Buddhist, and thought that Buddha would surely understand her. After all, everyone in the house was going to die anyway, and she was just sending them off a little earlier to reduce their pain, which was also a good deed!
Granny Zhou suddenly pulled her back two steps, covering her mouth with her handkerchief, and said, "Madam, be careful! This lowly maid seems to have caught it too. If she catches the illness..."
Zhang's expression changed drastically. She didn't want to get infected; she wanted to live to be surrounded by children and grandchildren.
"you go!"
She shoved the bowl of medicinal soup into Granny Zhou's hands with such force that it almost spilled the soup. "Tell her to take it to the people inside and drink it quickly."
Grandma Zhou froze.
I kindly reminded them, but instead they pushed me to deliver the medicine.
But what could she do? She was nothing more than a servant.
"yes……"
She reluctantly took the tray and handed it to Dongrou: "Aren't you going to take it?"
As soon as Dongrou caught the cloth, Granny Zhou stumbled back several steps, frantically fanning herself with her handkerchief as if trying to change the surrounding air, muttering, "Bad luck, bad luck..."
Madam Zhang forced a feigned act of kindness onto her face: "I'm here to help her, aren't I? I'm also thinking of how she's been waiting for Rong-ge'er for more than three years, so I specially asked Miao'an Hall in the south of the city for a century-old ginseng, which cost a full one hundred taels of silver. But the amount of silver doesn't matter, I just hope she can... hold on until tomorrow."
She deliberately emphasized the words "hold on until tomorrow".
After saying that, he sighed again, "It's a pity she had such a short life. Otherwise, she could have enjoyed a life of luxury with Rong-ge'er in the future."
She didn't want to stay in the courtyard for even a moment longer, and shouted into the house, "This bowl of medicinal food is something your aunt has put a lot of thought into. You must drink it all. Your aunt hopes you can hold on until tomorrow so he can see you one last time. He must be thinking of you."
After saying her last words, she retreated outside the door, covering her mouth and nose with a handkerchief, and feigned mourning: "My poor, virtuous daughter-in-law... you must hold on until Rong-ge'er comes back tomorrow, otherwise, he will resent me for the rest of his life."
Grandma Zhou chimed in at the opportune moment, "Madam is blessed with good fortune; she will surely recover."
Dongrou, holding the 'medicinal soup', said, "My wife will get better."
Granny Zhou sneered, "They're already hanging on by a thread. If they drink this bowl of 'medicinal soup,' they'll definitely die before midnight."
The master and servant practically ran away.
Dongrou held the tray, looking at the dark soup in the bowl, which unusually contained slices of Poria cocos and Astragalus membranaceus...
Why is Zhang suddenly being so kind?
She took it back into the house.
Lu Zhaoruo lowered her eyes and stared at the so-called 'medicinal soup' in front of her, and couldn't help but find it amusing.
Dongrou said, "Could it be that she poisoned him? Why is she suddenly being so attentive, and she's actually willing to spend money on him?"
"You guessed right."
Lu Zhaoruo said.
Dong Rou's expression changed drastically. She slammed the bowl down on the table, causing the medicine to slosh around and spill a few drops.
She said angrily, "That Zhang woman has such a vicious heart! She actually tried to poison the eldest daughter-in-law... After all, the eldest daughter-in-law served them for three years. Without her, they would have starved to death long ago. Does she have no conscience at all?"
Lu Zhaoruo suddenly chuckled: "Conscience?"
She looked up at the window and said, "That thing isn't something everyone has."
After saying that, he added, "You must keep this bowl of medicinal food carefully."
A cold glint flashed in her eyes. "Such a 'generous gift' should be returned to its rightful owner."
Upon hearing this, Dongrou carefully placed the medicine bowl on the high shelf. As she turned around, her eyes and brows lit up with excitement: "Tomorrow, the lord... no, the unfaithful man will be bringing someone from outside home. When he sees his wife perfectly fine, won't he be so angry that he faints?"
Lu Zhaoruo smiled gently.
Dongrou picked up the copper basin beside her: "This servant will go and prepare some fragrant water for you to rinse your mouth this evening. My lady must get a good night's sleep tonight."
Lu Zhaoruo said softly, "I won't be able to get a good night's sleep tonight."
Dongrou: "Is my lady as excited as I am to sleep, or...?"
Her voice suddenly choked, and her eyes instantly reddened. "Are you... feeling very unwell? I was only thinking about how happy I was, and I didn't consider you, my lady..."
What are you thinking about?
The flickering candlelight cast an uncertain glow on the calculations in her eyes. "Since Madam Zhang has sent the 'medicinal soup,' she will definitely send someone to collect the body before midnight. If it's past midnight, it might be bad luck for her."
Dongrou exclaimed in surprise, "What should we do then?"
Lu Zhaoru remained calm throughout and said, "Go and prepare a sturdy wooden stick and two hemp ropes."
Although Dong Rou didn't understand the intention, she immediately replied, "This servant will go right away."
At the third watch of the night (9-11 PM), the sound of the wooden clapper had not yet dissipated.
The soft sound of footsteps crunched over the fallen leaves in the courtyard.
With a flick of her fingertips, Dongrou extinguished the candle flame.
There was a soft rustling sound in the darkness, as Lu Zhaoruo adjusted her grip on the wooden stick.
She had already hidden behind the door.
The two servants walked up the stone steps.
"What bad luck!"
A high-pitched voice spat out a mouthful of phlegm outside the door, "I just entered the Shen family mansion and I'm already stuck with this corpse-collecting business."
Another servant stammered, "This...this old woman...how cruel...making us collect her mistress's body..."
The shrill voice said, "Whether she's the principal wife or a concubine, the affairs in the inner quarters are always filthy. We servants only care about getting the money..."
The door creaked open.
Two servants went inside; the room was pitch black.
The stuttering servant had just lit the tinderbox when he suddenly felt a chill on the back of his neck. He turned around abruptly, and in the instant the firelight illuminated him, a jujube wood stick was hanging three inches above his temple.
"Thump!"
His eyes rolled back, and before he could fall to the ground, Lu Zhaoruo had already spun around and swung her stick, using the tip to diagonally poke another person's chin...
"Click"
Before the two servants could even scream, they collapsed heavily to the ground.
Dong Rou's eyes still held fear, yet they shone with admiration: "My wife is so amazing!"
"Bring me a hemp rope."
Lu Zhaoruo said calmly, "Tie them up tightly and gag them with strips of cloth."
The two servants never dreamed that their mission to collect the corpse would end in failure, with neither the body being found nor the five taels of silver they were owed.
Main courtyard.
Lying on the bed, Zhang suddenly smiled: "By now, shouldn't you be dead?"
She squinted, as if she could already see the scene of the corpse wrapped in a bamboo mat sinking into the sea, "and the body was probably even properly tied up."
Shen Qingshu: "Is everything... all arranged?"
"nature."
Madam Zhang yawned lazily, "It'll be perfect if Rong-ge'er brings his new bride home tomorrow."
She suddenly remembered something, and a smile appeared on her lips. "That bride is carrying the eldest grandson of our Shen family. We can't let that bad luck interfere with it..."
Shen Qingshu closed his eyes briefly: "In the end, we are the ones who let her down."
"I'm sorry?"
Zhang sat up abruptly. "Who told her to stubbornly refuse to breathe her last? She insisted on waiting for Rong-ge'er to come back so she could see him one last time. Does she even deserve to be an eyesore for my son?"
Shen Qingshu remained silent.
Zhang lay back down and closed her eyes contentedly.
That night, she slept exceptionally well, dreaming of her sons returning home the next day, a house filled with joy and celebration.
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