Niu Baoquan immediately called Chen Shou to go into the kitchen to get torches. Everyone was startled by the sudden appearance of the black snakes and retreated to where Lan Qin was standing. The black snakes were very thin, wriggling their bodies on the ground as they crawled forward.
"Master, please go inside quickly. Why are all these snakes crawling towards us from the same direction?" Cui Niang said, looking at the snakes.
"What kind of snakes are these?" Lanqin asked, clutching her stomach and staring at the snakes.
"I don't know, I've never seen a snake like this before," Nianxue said.
"Quick, go get some alcohol! Cui Niang, do we have any wine here? Let's pour some wine around them, then light it on fire to stop them from advancing!" Lan Qin said.
"Yes, the sorghum wine we prepared for our master is in the small kitchen!" Cui Niang remembered and said.
"Go and get them all! Also, hurry up and find someone to catch the snakes!" Lanqin felt her stomach sinking down and her heart was filled with panic.
Cui Niang, along with Shui Ling, rushed into the small kitchen to get more wine. Niu Baoquan and Chen Shou had already come out with several torches and happened to run into Cui Niang, who was about to come in. They quickly handed the torches to them and then turned around to get more wine.
Cui Niang and Shui Ling took four torches and walked back to Lan Qin, then distributed the torches to Jin Ju and Si Hua.
The four of them held torches up to the snakes, which seemed genuinely afraid of fire, appearing hesitant in the face of the torches. However, they didn't retreat; instead, they coiled and twisted in place.
"Lan Qi, go out from the back and go through the Second Princess's side. Go find the Head Granny and tell her to send someone over immediately to drive away the snakes," Lan Qin said to Lan Qi.
Lan Qi nodded in agreement and then turned and went to the back of the main house.
"Master, the wine is here, the wine is here!" Cui Niang saw Niu Baoquan and Chen Shou carrying two jars of wine out.
"Open the wine lids, start pouring from there and keep pouring all the way over there, then use fire to surround them!" Lan Qin instructed Niu Baoquan and Chen Shou.
Niu Baoquan and Chen Shou immediately began pouring wine, starting along the path of the snakes. The snakes, upon smelling the wine, immediately retreated.
“Hey, look! Those snakes seem afraid of this wine. As if they’re afraid of getting splashed with it,” Cui Niang said, protecting Lan Qin.
"Light the fire and see if we can burn them to death!" Lanqin said.
Niu Baoquan and Chen Shou nodded, then immediately picked up torches and lit the alcohol. The fire quickly blazed up, and the black snakes hurriedly retreated, but Chen Shou blocked their path from behind.
The snakes immediately panicked, trapped inside the circle of fire, unable to escape. The snakes behind them began to retreat, quickly disappearing into the grass.
“Master, it seems the snakes behind us have all left. They must be scared!” Nianxue said happily.
“All animals are afraid of fire!” Lanqin said.
"Master, please go inside quickly. The snakes have already retreated. The snakes in the fire can't escape now," said Cui Niang.
By the time the head nanny arrived with her men, the snakes that weren't trapped in the fire circle had already retreated, while the snakes inside the fire circle had long since been burned to ashes.
"Greetings to Consort Lanqin. I am late and have frightened her," the head nanny immediately greeted.
"It happened so suddenly, how could the head nanny have known? They arrived very quickly. But I don't understand, where did those snakes come from?" Lanqin was already sitting on the main couch. "They came suddenly in the middle of the night. It was as if someone was directing them."
The head nanny frowned and said, "There's no news from other places. The Fourth Prince's residence has never mentioned snakes before. Even if there are water snakes in Bixin Lake, it shouldn't be like this today."
Lanqin said in surprise, "Yes, I've never seen a snake before, not even an earthworm."
The head matron said, "Consort, it's already late at night. Should we send someone with torches to search for the snakes, or wait until tomorrow?"
"Let's wait until tomorrow. The snakes have already retreated. The head nanny should send people to various places to give instructions and be careful of snakes. Then, when it's light tomorrow, send people to the mansion to catch the snakes and see how to get rid of them." Lanqin knew that it was impossible to send people to catch snakes overnight, so they could only wait until dawn.
"Yes, this servant will take care of it right away!" The head nanny quickly replied and withdrew.
After the head maid and her men searched the entire south courtyard, they found not a single snake, except for the charred snake corpses.
"My lady, it's late. Let me help you to rest. The head nanny has already searched the south courtyard thoroughly and found no trace of the snake. Everything should be fine tonight." Cui Niang saw Lan Qin slumped on the main couch, looking rather listless.
“Yes, everyone go back and rest. These snakes today are really strange; they seem to have appeared out of nowhere,” Lanqin said.
Lanqin didn't sleep well that night. No one could sleep soundly if snakes suddenly appeared in their yard and then vanished without a trace.
Early the next morning, a maid came to Song's courtyard and said that Song had been bitten by a snake.
Lanqin hadn't slept well the night before, so she hadn't woken up this morning. Song was bitten early in the morning and immediately went to call Doctor Lin. The snake venom was brought under control, but she remained unconscious.
Cui Niang knew that Lan Qin valued Song Shi highly, so when she heard that Song Shi had been bitten by a snake, she immediately went to report it.
"What? Sister Song was bitten?" Lanqin heard Cui Niang say this in her daze and immediately opened her eyes in shock.
"Yes, Master. Doctor Lin has already gone there and said that the snake venom has been contained, but Princess Song is still unconscious." Cui Niang dared not hide anything and told the truth.
"Hurry and help me get up, I want to go see Sister Song." Lanqin tried to get up immediately, but her belly was too big. No matter how hard she tried, she just couldn't get up.
"Cui Niang, hurry, hurry and help me get up." Lanqin said, supporting her waist with one hand.
“My lady, Doctor Lin is watching over there. If you're like this, I'm afraid you won't be able to get to Consort Song's courtyard. There are snakes outside. I'm afraid you'll get bitten.” Cui Niang didn't want Lanqin to go out of the south courtyard, so she had to tell the truth.
"No, Sister Song's life is uncertain, how can I not go and see her?" Lanqin refused to listen to Cui Niang's advice.
"But my lady, you are six months pregnant now, and there are some venomous snakes of unknown origin outside. You should think of the child in your womb, if not yourself. What will happen if you are bitten?" Cui Niang was almost crying with anxiety.
“You’re right, but I’m just worried about Sister Song. How about this, you go and prepare a sedan chair, and have someone carry me there,” Lanqin said.
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