Volume 1, Spring Lock in the Garden, Chapter 17: Gelsemium elegans pollen
That night, no one in the east wing of Liaoyuan could sleep.
Huaihua's injury wasn't serious, but it was truly frightening. When she closed her eyes, all she could see was Ruan Bi casually waving a razor blade around.
Tea Girl was both shocked and frightened, thankful that she hadn't gotten close to Huaihua. She also thought that the usually gentle and kind Fifth Sister was actually quite terrifying, and that she must be more careful in serving her from now on.
Tang Pozi tossed and turned, torn between secretly telling the First Madam or obeying Ruan Bi's orders. The thought of the hefty reward money made her want to jump out of bed and see the First Madam immediately. Then she remembered Ruan Bi's smiling face and the knife she brandished, and realized how unfathomable this Fifth Miss was. She worried that if she offended her, Ruan Bi might not be in power in the future, but if she were, she might just slash her own face with a knife. With this thought, her desire for the reward faded.
As for Ruan Bi, she was too hungry to sleep. She ate half of the plate of snacks that Cha Mei had brought from the kitchen, keeping the other half just in case. Besides, she was going to start feigning illness tomorrow; being hungry would make her look sickly even without pretending. Of course, she had also considered the sudden poisoning incident, but since she hadn't inherited the original owner's memories and only had a superficial understanding of the people and affairs in the mansion after transmigrating, she really couldn't understand who wanted to harm her, or why they wanted to harm her.
Early the next morning, Huaihua, with dark circles under her eyes and a sallow complexion, walked into the inner room and said timidly, "Miss, I'll go find Granny Sun right now."
Seeing that she was as frightened as a stray dog, Ruan Bi was afraid that Granny Sun would become suspicious if she saw her, so she said in a gentle tone, "It's not too late to go after you have breakfast."
Huaihua couldn't stomach the food, and fearing Ruan Bi, she forced herself to eat a steamed bun.
Ruan Bi was worried that she would be too scared and act erratically, so she said in a gentle and coquettish tone, "Huaihua, I know you have no intention of harming me. You are just confused for a moment. Don't worry, once we find the mastermind, I will forgive you."
Huaihua perked up and said gratefully, "Young lady, you are wise. I truly never intended to harm you."
Ruan Bi nodded, then asked the tea maid to comb her hair and smooth her face before letting her out of the east wing.
No sooner had Huaihua left than Ruan Bi called in the hot water bottle, gave her five hundred coins as a reward, and said, "Follow her and see who she meets. If she tries to run away, drag her back."
The old woman readily agreed and left the east wing.
Ruan Bi sent Cha Mei away, took a small amount of the medicine powder that had been confiscated yesterday, wrapped it up again, and hid it under Huaihua's pillow.
An hour and a half later, nearing noon, Granny Tang returned with some locust blossoms and said, "The girl guessed right, that little vixen really did try to run away."
Huaihua knelt down with a thud, crying, "Girl, Huaihua didn't mean to run away, she just wanted to go back and see her parents."
Tang Pozi said, "Pah! Your parents live in a village in the suburbs. It takes a whole day to go back and forth. You still say you're not trying to run away?"
The locust flower was speechless, and just cried loudly, its face covered in tears and snot.
Ruan Bi was speechless. She usually thought the girl was very domineering, but it turned out she was a coward who bullied the weak and feared the strong. Thinking that she had to keep her calm, she said softly, "Huaihua, don't be afraid. After this matter is settled, I will go and report to the Madam and ask her to grant you a few days' leave. It won't be too late for you to see your parents then."
Huaihua was terrified and, without even considering how Ruanbi would report to the First Madam, nodded while sniffling.
"Huaihua, have you seen Granny Sun?"
Before Huaihua could answer, Granny Tang interrupted, "We haven't seen a single ghost. This little vixen has been wandering around the flower garden aimlessly. Miss, this Granny Sun is probably just a fabrication she made up to deceive you. This little vixen has a dark heart and wants to harm you."
Huaihua shook her head repeatedly and said, "No, no, there really is Granny Sun."
Ruan Bi was not surprised that she did not see Granny Sun. After thinking for a moment, she said to Granny Tang, "Granny, please go and tell Madam and Old Madam that I am very ill."
The hot water bottle responded and turned to leave.
Ruan Bi called out to her again, "Mother-in-law, don't forget what I said last night."
She spoke casually, but the old woman immediately recalled the way she held the knife and felt a chill run down her spine. She naturally detected a hint of threat in her voice, nodded haphazardly, and went out. Ruan Bi looked at Huaihua, whose face was covered in tears and snot, stood up, reached out to pull her up, took a handkerchief to wipe her face clean, and said, "Don't cry, go back to your room and rest."
Seeing that she was always kind and gentle, Huaihua thought that she really didn't blame her, and felt a little more at ease. She was frightened and scared last night and didn't sleep at all. Today she walked around the garden several times and was very tired. But she was still scared and couldn't fall asleep. After returning to the side room, she just lay down.
Tea Girl went to the kitchen to fetch lunch. Ruan Bi ate the food, but still used her fingers to poke her throat to induce vomiting, spitting into the spittoon (a spittoon in later times). Then she sprinkled the medicine powder in, and after it dissolved, she covered it with the lid. Then she lay down on the bed. She had been hungry for several days, vomited yesterday, and vomited again today. Without having to pretend, she looked listless and sickly.
As she was drifting off to sleep, she heard footsteps coming from the outer room, followed by the voice of Granny Tang: "Miss, Granny Zheng from the old lady's courtyard has come to see you."
Ruan Bi was taken aback, gave the tea girl a wink, and then closed her eyes.
Tea Girl walked to the door and whispered, "The young lady just threw up and is now dozing off in bed."
Granny Zheng asked in a low voice, "Why did you vomit? Did you eat something bad? Or did you catch a cold?"
"I don't know, I vomited once last night."
Ruan Bi heard the footsteps and voices getting closer, so she focused on feigning weakness. A moment later, a hand touched her forehead, followed by the soft call of Granny Zheng: "Fifth Miss, Fifth Miss..."
Ruan Bi slowly opened her eyes and said weakly, "Aunt Zheng...you...have come."
Seeing that her face was pale, her lips were dry, her eyes were lifeless, and there was a nauseating smell in the room, Granny Zheng knew that she was indeed seriously ill. She frowned and glared at the old woman, saying, "Why did you only come to report when she was this sick? If something had happened to Fifth Miss, how could you bear the responsibility?"
Ruan Bi quickly said, "It's not their fault... I didn't allow it. I thought it was just a small matter, that I could get better after a good night's sleep... I never expected it to get worse." She gasped for breath after saying just a few words.
Feeling a pang of pity, Granny Zheng patted her hand and said, "Rest well and don't talk." Turning to the old woman, she asked, "Has anyone reported this to the First Madam?"
Tang Pozi said, "I went to the First Madam's courtyard first. She was having lunch, and the maids refused to tell her, so I had to ask them to pass on the message."
Granny Zheng frowned and said, "Go to the First Madam's courtyard again and tell her to send someone to invite a doctor over."
The old woman answered and went out. She returned a moment later and said, "The maid said that the Madam is taking a nap right now and asked me to go later."
Looking at the weak and powerless Ruan Bi, Zheng Mama felt a surge of anger and said, "You all guard the Fifth Miss well. I'm going to report to the First Madam."
As soon as she left, Ruan Bi asked the old woman, "Why is it Zheng Mama who came?"
Granny Tang said, "Just now when I went to the old lady's courtyard, the maid refused to announce my arrival, saying that the old lady was having lunch and it was not good to disturb her unless it was urgent. Just then, Granny Zheng came out and came over to ask me. I told her that the fifth young lady was sick, and after she went in to inform the old lady, the old lady sent her to come and take a look."
Granny Zheng returned quickly, accompanied by Baozhen, the head maid of the First Madam.
Baozhen glanced at Ruan Bi, then turned and left. A quarter of an hour later, Baozhen returned with a young doctor. This doctor, in his early twenties, wore a blue robe, had delicate features, and looked somewhat like a scholar. After examining Ruan Bi with observation, listening, questioning, and palpation, the doctor looked at Ruan Bi with a puzzled expression.
Baozhen asked, "Doctor Xu, what illness does the Fifth Young Lady have?"
Looking at Ruan Bi, Doctor Xu said vaguely, "The young lady is fine; she can eat normally."
The others didn't understand at first, but Ruan Bi did. The doctor meant that she wasn't sick, just hungry. She couldn't help but take a closer look at him, thinking, "He's so young, but he's quite skilled."
Granny Zheng whispered a reminder from the side, "The young lady just vomited, shouldn't the doctor take a look?"
"Alright."
The tea girl brought over the spittoon from under the bed, lifted the lid, and immediately a strange smell wafted out. Upon smelling this, Doctor Xu's expression changed. He took the spittoon, sniffed it, and examined it carefully. Seeing his serious expression, Granny Zheng asked, "Doctor, is there something wrong?"
"It seems that the girl's food has been poisoned."
"What medicine?"
"The scent is like Gelsemium elegans pollen."
Granny Zheng asked again, "What are its effects?"
Doctor Xu hesitated and said, "If taken regularly, it will cause dizziness, muscle weakness, ataxia, cold limbs, and eventually death from unconsciousness."
This was a deadly poison, and everyone present, including Ruan Bi, turned pale.
Suddenly a howl was heard outside the door, and Huaihua rushed in, knelt down in front of Doctor Xu and kowtowed, saying, "Doctor, save me, doctor, save me."
Granny Zheng frowned and scolded her, "What are you doing? It's all so nonsensical."
Huaihua simply kowtowed, pleading, "Doctor, save me."
Ruan Bi quickly gave the hot water bottle a wink.
Tang Pozi stepped forward, grabbed Huaihua and dragged her outside, saying, "You little devil, the doctor is here to treat the young lady, why are you making such a fuss?"
Huaihua cried out, "I'm not feeling well! I've taken medicine too! Doctor, please save me!"
Realizing something was amiss, Granny Zheng stepped forward and slapped Huaihua, silencing her. She then turned to Chamei, who was standing there dumbfounded, and said, "Why aren't you helping to drag her away?"
Tea Girl rushed over and dragged Huaihua out of the room. Huaihua initially screamed, but suddenly fell silent, probably because her mouth was gagged.
Granny Zheng glanced thoughtfully at Ruan Bi and said to Physician Xu, "Physician, please take another look at my fifth daughter."
Doctor Xu was worried that his diagnosis might not have been thorough enough, and hearing this was exactly what he wanted to hear. He then took Ruan Bi's wrist to feel her pulse, and after a while said, "There is mild poisoning, but it's nothing serious. I'll prescribe some antidote."
Ruan Bi frowned almost imperceptibly.
"Then please ask the doctor to prescribe some medicine."
Doctor Xu immediately sat down at the table and quickly wrote out a prescription. Granny Zheng took the prescription and said to Baozhen, "You see the doctor out, I'll go and report back to the old lady."
Those head maids are all clever; Baozhen had already discerned the hidden meaning in this matter and was thinking of quickly informing the Madam. She nodded and hurriedly left with Physician Xu. Granny Zheng looked at Ruan Bi for a while, then asked thoughtfully, "Miss, you already knew that someone had put a frightening drug in your food, didn't you?"
Ruan Bi countered, "Is Mother Zheng going to report this to the old lady in this way?"
After a moment of silence, Granny Zheng waved the prescription in her hand and said, "The doctor just said that the young lady has been slightly poisoned."
Ruan Bi smiled and said, "Thank you, Mom." She paused and asked, "Does Mom know who might harm me?"
Granny Zheng shook her head and said, "I'm wondering the same thing. You're just an insignificant girl, how could anyone want to harm you?"
Ruan Bi couldn't tell whether she genuinely didn't know or was lying, so she remained silent.
Although Granny Zheng wanted to say a few more words, she had little friendship with her after all, so she had to give up. She waved the prescription in her hand and said, "I will send someone to get the medicine right away, and I will also inform the old lady."
No sooner had she left than the old woman came in. Knowing that her reward money was gone, she was quite unhappy and said, "How could you break your promise, young lady?"
Ruan Bi was annoyed and sneered, saying, "Does Mother-in-law have time to think about reward money? She should think of an excuse for herself in front of the First Madam and the Old Madam later."
Granny Tang was startled. Suddenly, she remembered that the manor would never tolerate a servant bullying their master, especially since this time it involved poisoning her mistress. She quickly changed her tune and said, "Miss, this old woman has always been loyal and has never thought of harming you. Please put in a good word for me later."
Ruan Bi said meaningfully, "Mother-in-law, don't worry, I will naturally help the person who helps me."
Granny Tang understood the implication in her words and was about to show her loyalty when she heard hurried footsteps outside, followed by someone banging on the door and shouting, "Open the door quickly, the old lady and the first lady are here!"
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