Chapter 35 [VIP]
"You're back..."
"younger sister……"
"ah!"
With a startled cry, Lady Ji suddenly opened her eyes.
She gasped for breath, fear filling the depths of her eyes, and for a moment she didn't know what was a dream and what was reality.
"Madam! Madam!" Granny Wan raised her voice and called out, "It's a nightmare, don't be afraid, don't be afraid."
Granny Wan was Ji's wet nurse, who took care of her since she was a child.
A chill ran down Ji's spine, her eyes were vacant, and she murmured to herself, "Granny, I dreamt... I dreamt of my elder sister..."
What! ?
Granny Wan was startled. She instinctively looked around, then quickly put her arm around her and comforted her, saying, "Madam, you're having a nightmare! It's all over now, all over!"
Ji Shi leaned on Wan Mama's shoulder, her delicate body trembling slightly.
Yes, so many years have passed, and she hasn't thought about it for a very long time. Why would she suddenly dream about it again...?
Madam Ji tilted her head back slightly and said in a hoarse voice, "Granny, do you remember what Gu Zhizhuo said?"
What was said...? Granny Wan suddenly remembered, shuddered, and felt a chill run down her spine.
She said: "Don't you have a twin sister...?"
She also said that I was guilty of many sins and that retribution was coming.
Ji Shi, clutching a thin blanket, huddled together in a state of anxiety.
"Madam." Granny Wan was heartbroken.
The lady was nursed by her since she was a baby.
In the Ji family of Jiangnan, twins are considered extremely unlucky, whether they are twin boys or twin girls.
So, the girl was sent away by the master as soon as she was born, and it was she who nursed the lady, who was like a kitten, from head to toe. The lady was no different from her own daughter.
Ji asked in a trembling voice, "Granny, do you think she really figured it out?"
“Impossible!” Granny Wan said firmly. “If she had that ability, she would have said that you have a twin sister!”
"She must have heard some trivial details from somewhere and is just making things up to scare you!"
Granny Wan poured her a cup of warm water to calm her nerves and said gently, "Madam, think about it, isn't that the truth?"
Madam Ji downed half a cup in one gulp. She opened her mouth, "Granny, you don't know... my elder sister was standing right in front of me, covered in blood, smiling at me... her face is exactly like mine. I... I..."
"It's not your fault, it's that the master and mistress are biased." Granny Wan patted her back to calm her down and spoke up for her. "You were only born half an hour after the eldest daughter. The eldest daughter can grow up with the master and mistress, while you have to grow up alone and helpless in the countryside, and your name isn't even in the family register. Even if there's a marriage arrangement, the eldest daughter is betrothed to the heir of the Duke of Zhenguo. Even if it's a second marriage, it's still a noble Duke's mansion! And you? Are you only fit to marry a country bumpkin?!"
"Yes, yes..."
Madam Ji grabbed Granny Wan's hand: "Granny, you're right. It's our parents who are biased. It's all their fault!"
She slowly raised her hands and placed them in front of her eyes. They were soft and fair, without a trace of calluses. Her hair was adorned with gold and jade, she wore silk and satin, and ate bird's nest... If she had accepted her fate back then, she would now be just a dusty, rustic country woman, living a life even worse than that of a lowly servant in the Duke of Zhenguo's mansion.
right.
She was only born half an hour later, so why should she always have to give way to her older sister?
The eldest sister lives a life of luxury, surrounded by servants, while she only deserves to marry a rough man and live a muddled, aimless life?!
Ji twitched the corners of her mouth, a hint of barely perceptible madness on her face.
She refused to accept her fate; she fought for her life!
The twins' identities are unknown, so...
Why not just leave one?
Granny Wan said softly, "I'll go and inquire later if anyone from our hometown has come to the capital recently. Don't worry... Granny is here, Granny is always here."
Ji leaned against her and silently closed her eyes again.
Granny Wan patted her rhythmically, one pat after another.
"Miss, don't be afraid... Granny is here..."
Ahhh!
She had barely fallen asleep for less than an incense stick's time when Ji woke up with a start. This time, her elder sister was even closer to her in her dream.
The string in her heart was taut.
She dared not sleep any longer, but after trying to stay awake all night, she finally succumbed to sleepiness.
As soon as she closed her eyes, her elder sister would get closer to her, from being separated by a courtyard gate at the beginning to later being almost face to face with her.
A face exactly like hers, with the fair complexion of a young girl, was covered in blood, and stood right in front of her.
"Little sister, don't worry, I'm here! I'll never let Father send you back to our hometown again!"
She was smiling at her.
Blood tears streamed from his eyes.
Ahhh!
In just two days, Ji Shi looked visibly haggard.
When she met the head maid at Duanfu Hall, she was also listless. She listened indifferently to their report, then methodically handed over the tasks one by one before leaving.
She went to the small courtyard in front where Gu Yan lived.
These past few days, she's been holding meetings in the morning, then going to her son's yard to take care of him, staying until sunset before going back home.
As soon as I entered the courtyard, I saw Ruihuang rushing out from inside.
The third young master, Gu Yique, now lives in the front courtyard. His side courtyard only has maids and servants; there are no maids to serve him, let alone a wet nurse. But because Gu Yan is young, Gu Baibai agreed to let him stay with a wet nurse and two maids.
Lady Ji placed Ruihuang next to her son.
She wanted all the servants in the manor to know that even if they offended Gu Zhizhuo for her sake, she could still promise them a good place to go and a bright future!
"What happened? Why are you making such a fuss?"
Ji's voice sounded somewhat irritable, unlike her usual gentle and kind tone.
Ruihuang hesitated for a moment before saying, "Madam, the Fourth Young Master has a fever. I was just about to report to you."
What? !
Ji rushed inside: "How did you get a fever? Did you catch a chill last night?"
Ruihuang followed closely behind her and said, "The wound on the Fourth Young Master's back was oozing some fluid last night. He didn't wake up this morning, and that's when I found out he had a fever."
The fourth young master had a lash wound on his back that hadn't fully healed. The ointment would sting when it touched the wound, and the fourth young master cried and made a scene, refusing to apply the ointment. The madam couldn't bear it and decided that it wasn't necessary to apply it.
"I'm a little delirious from the fever now..."
Ji Shi paused, then slapped him across the face, angrily shouting, "Why didn't you report this morning?!"
Madam has never lost her temper like this before! Caught off guard, Ruihuang covered her cheek, knelt down with a thud, and tears streamed down her face.
Ji's hands went numb, and she seemed to hear Gu Zhizhuo's soft voice again:
"Mother, you are guilty of grave sins; I'm afraid things are not going well."
"The child must pay for the mother's debts!"
"Meow! Meow!"
A cat's meow suddenly rang out in the courtyard.
As if her dream had overlapped with Ji's, she shuddered and looked around anxiously.
"Cat, where's the cat!"
She screamed hysterically, "Kill it! Kill it now!"
The maids in the courtyard hurriedly gathered around, and following the meowing sound, they saw a majestic tabby cat sitting on the courtyard wall. It wore an extremely luxurious jeweled collar around its neck, and its beautiful golden eyes scanned the people coming and going in the courtyard before licking its paws.
"Meow!"
"Kill it!"
Ji's beautiful face was somewhat distorted.
The servants all picked up long bamboo poles and started hitting the cat with them.
"Meow!"
The tabby cat was unhappy.
It nimbly leaped and bounded among the long bamboo poles, and with a leap, it pounced on Ji Shi.
Ahhh!
Startled, Ji sat down on the ground with a thud. The cat arched its back, hissed threateningly at her a few times, then arrogantly shook its whiskers and darted out of the yard.
"It ran away! Go after it!"
A swarm of servants rushed out, wielding bamboo poles and shouting as they chased and beat the cat.
"Meow!"
The cat nimbly darted east and west, leading the group through the Zhenguo Duke's mansion in a maze of twists and turns. The old women followed closely behind, panting as they chased after it. In the blink of an eye, the cat was gone.
Where's the cat?
If I can't find the cat, I can't explain myself.
"There it is!"
The cat turned back and glanced at them haughtily, then leaped up and jumped onto the high courtyard wall.
"quick!"
Wait! This, this is the young lady's courtyard!
The old women stopped in their tracks. The eldest daughter had been in a bad mood lately, and even the madam didn't dare to provoke her.
They looked at each other in bewilderment, and one of the old women couldn't help but ask, "Could this cat be the young lady's pet?"
The tabby cat twitched its little black nose and meowed excitedly, "Meow!"
Found it!
The tabby cat ignored the people chasing it and, following the scent it remembered, jumped off the courtyard wall and soon ran to a window.
Chirp!
The cat's attention shifted instantly. Its golden pupils narrowed into slits as it stared intently at the colorful bird that was flapping wildly in mid-air. It became excited and its tail throbbed wildly. With a meow, it pounced.
"Chirp chirp!"
"Meow meow!"
Gu Zhizhuo was concentrating on writing a prescription on the unfolded silk paper when he was startled by a series of extremely excited meows from the cat, causing his hand to tremble and his stroke to become crooked.
She put down her pen, looked out the window following the sound, and saw a fluffy little head peeking out and twitching its ears.
The tabby cat was perched on the windowsill, looking at her adorably.
Their eyes met, and it nimbly leaped onto her desk, rubbing against her hand sweetly, then rubbing again.
Gu Zhizhuo's eyes lit up; he recognized the cat—it was the same Qilin cat from the opera house last time!
"It's you! Did you come to visit me?"
etc!
Gu Zhizhu blinked, her heart pounding in her throat: "What...what's in your mouth?!"
The cat also seems to be biting an even more familiar, colorful bird!
The cat placed the bird on the desk and proudly showed off its accomplishment, meowing as if to say: This is a gift, aren't you surprised?
Unexpected, so unexpected.
Gu Zhizhuo unexpectedly almost burst into tears.
She was on tenterhooks, fearing something might happen to the bird. But before she could even pick it up to check, the bird nimbly rolled over on the desk and hopped up.
Yes. Boom!
The bird, brimming with pent-up anger, leaped up and viciously pecked the tabby cat on the head.
Tap! Tap! Tap!
Gu Zhizhuo gasped; just hearing that sound made her head ache.
Why is this cat so well-behaved?
Just as Gu Zhizhuo had this thought, the tabby cat raised its paw and slapped it onto the desk, not forgetting to meow sweetly.
The bird struggled incessantly under its claws, chirping incessantly.
Well, they didn't even consider it prey.
Look at this bird, covered in drool, its feathers all stuck together. If it were prey, it would have been gone long ago.
I guess it was given as a gift.
Gu Zhizhuo rescued the bird from under its claws and patted its little head: "I like it very much."
Meow! The cat circled around her hand, its little black nose twitching.
Chirp chirp!
The bird got even angrier, flapping and struggling in her hand, pecking wildly at her palm. If it weren't for its broken wing, Gu Zhizhuo had no doubt it would have pecked her face. Unable to beat the cat, and with its bad temper, Gu Zhizhuo was afraid it might do something drastic and she wouldn't be able to explain it to Aman, so she quickly opened the door and called Xuezhong, who was taking care of the bird.
Xuezhong, her eyes brimming with tears, clutched her handkerchief: "Miss, the bird... the bird is gone... I heard a cat meowing, could it have been eaten by the cat... Oh, the bird!!"
Her sorrow turned to joy, tears still clinging to her eyes, and she jumped up excitedly: "That's wonderful! Miss, you scared me so much!"
She went to get some sunflower seeds for the bird, and the bird disappeared. The window was open, and there was a cat meowing outside. She really thought the cat had taken the bird and eaten it, sob sob sob.
Gu Zhizhu smiled and said, "Take him away."
This bird has been spoiled rotten by everyone in the household. It pecks people at the slightest provocation, and now it even dares to provoke cats.
If it waits until its wings have fully recovered and it goes out to roam, it might encounter another bad-tempered cat, and the little bird's life will be in danger.
He happily walked away, clutching his precious bird in the snow, completely unaware that there was a cat in his daughter's little study.
Meow~
Seeing that she accepted her "gift," the tabby cat was overjoyed and rubbed its head and hands against Gu Zhizhuo.
Gu Zhizhuo scratched its chin a few times, noticing that its fur was much shinier and smoother than when he had seen it a few days ago, shining so brightly in the sunlight. Its golden eyes were bright and sparkling, full of spirit and majestic. And looking at the collar around its neck, there was nothing more to understand.
The bracelet is made of leather and is set with a ring of gemstones and diamonds. The ruby in the very center is as big as a pigeon egg, with a clear and bright red color, the kind of red that looks like it might drip blood.
Walking out like that, aren't you afraid of being arrested?
"He took you in?"
"Meow."
No wonder, so it's well-fed and doesn't like eating raw food (birds) anymore.
Judging from Shen Xu's fussy, picky, and eccentric manner, you can tell that the food and supplies in his residence are definitely among the best in the capital.
Last time I said I wouldn't raise them.
Hmm, how come I didn't notice this in my previous life? Shen Xu is a bit of a hypocrite.
How did you know I lived here?
"Meow~ Meow!"
"Never mind, I didn't understand."
"Meow!"
"You've come at the right time. Come with me for a fortune telling. After we're done, I'll treat you to some dried fish."
The Qilin cat is a rare breed, believed to ward off evil spirits and discern good and bad fortune.
Gu Zhizhuo took out her compass from the drawer, and the cat obediently walked over, sat down next to the compass, patted its soft black paws on the compass, raised its round little face, and looked at her seriously.
Gu Zhizhuo picked up the compass and deftly cast a divination.
This divination was performed for Xie Yingchen, to determine whether to use honey pills or start refining elixirs, something she had been unable to decide on.
They dared not gamble with the young master's life.
She cast two hexagrams in a row, both indicating the use of honey pills. The tabby cat stared at her with wide eyes, eagerly, and then slowly placed its paw on the back of her hand.
Meow!
Gu Zhizhuo nodded solemnly and slammed his hand on the table: "It's decided, let's start the furnace!"
Meow?
The Qilin cat likes unlucky people, especially those struggling between life and death. Simply put, it likes misfortune. If it's around, the divination results will be extremely unlucky, and vice versa.
However, this only applies to questions like "yes" and "no," and can't be used for anything too complicated.
"Thanks to you."
Gu Zhizhu touched its wet little nose and praised it generously, "You're so capable!"
"I love you the most, you are the best cat in the world!"
"Meow!!"
The cat, overwhelmed by the praise, twitched its whiskers and swished its unicorn tail on the desk.
"Again!"
Regarding the use of cinnabar, the answer was no.
Gu Zhizhuo decided to use it!
Cinnabar contains genuine mercury, which is cold rather than hot, and can calm the mind, relieve anxiety, and expel evil spirits and malaria. (Note) It is extremely useful for the young master's illness, but cinnabar itself is also poisonous, and the young master's body is very weak. Gu Zhizhuo had been hesitant to decide whether to use it.
Doctors cannot heal themselves; they always find it difficult to make decisions about people they care about, especially when it comes to using strong medicine.
She cast divination repeatedly, spending the entire afternoon finally finalizing the prescription that had been agonizing over for several days. The principal ingredient remained the same as she had originally decided, but several of the secondary ingredients were changed, and the dosages were reconsidered. In particular, because she had decided to start the process, Gu Zhizhuo boldly used an extremely large amount of aconite and cinnabar.
"All done!"
Gu Zhizhuo held the silk paper he had finished writing on in his hand, waiting for the ink to dry. He then asked Qiongfang to bring him a large plate of dried fish as a reward.
"Meow!"
The dried anchovies were all freshly dried by Qiongfang, using small white anchovies that were delivered fresh from the village.
The still-warm dried fish smelled delicious, making the cat's mouth water. It ate its reward with satisfaction, licked its paws, rolled over on Gu Zhizhuo's desk, and lay on its soft belly in the air. Gu Zhizhuo couldn't help but pet it several times before it jumped onto the windowsill and left.
Gu Zhizhuo waved the small handkerchief at it: "Let's play again~"
"Meow!"
The tabby cat was in a great mood. It got to eat something delicious and also caught that extremely unlucky aura!
With its white whiskers twitching, it ran and leaped across the walls and the top of its tail, head held high and chest puffed out.
The cat's going home!
It roamed freely outside all day, and the Shen family searched for it all day. No matter how capable the Eastern Depot's spies were, they never imagined they'd have to keep an eye on a cat. They practically turned the capital upside down.
Now that it had finally appeared on the wall, a young eunuch wept with joy.
"Here!"
Waaaaah, I finally found it!
"My dear cat, you're finally back!"
Before long, a dozen or so eunuchs surrounded it from all directions. They were afraid of angering the cat, so they didn't dare to get close. They cautiously circled it from a distance, and someone shouted, "Go and report to the chief steward!"
"Don't make a sound, what if you scare the cat?!"
Upon hearing this, everyone covered their mouths with their hands.
With a sweep of its golden cat eyes, the cat nimbly leaped down from the wall, its unicorn tail held high, and walked arrogantly toward the study.
Meow!
"My little ancestor, don't worry, I'll open the door for you right away."
The young eunuch respectfully opened the door, and the cat leisurely walked in.
Shen Xu, dressed in a bright red robe, as vibrant as fire, leaned back in his armchair, flipping through memorials, his wide sleeves hanging down naturally. His desk was piled high with memorials impeaching him; more than a dozen officials had submitted theirs simultaneously, and the Directorate of Ceremonial Affairs, after organizing the submitted memorials, first sent them to him.
"Master, the cat is back."
Sheng Jiang replied in a low voice, standing with his hands clasped.
The eunuch took the cat back and didn't name it at all. Everyone in the mansion called it "Little Ancestor" or "Cat Ancestor".
Shen Xu looked up from the folded document, glanced at the tabby cat expressionlessly, and it affectionately jumped onto the desk, walking back and forth in front of him and rubbing its tail against him.
Several plum blossom-shaped footprints suddenly appeared on the desk. Shen Xu grabbed it by the scruff of its neck in disgust: "Where have you been all this time? You're filthy!"
Speaking of dirt, Shen Xu thought of Gu Zhizhuo. Every time he saw her, she looked like she had been rolling in mud.
Shen Xu frowned in disgust.
"Meow."
The tabby cat meowed sweetly, its voice soft and gentle.
Shen Xulang was unmoved, his heart as hard as iron. He simply threw it away. The cat nimbly flipped over in mid-air, its four paws landing on the ground, and then leaped again to continue rubbing against him, completely ignoring the other's dark expression.
It rubbed against the left and right, leaving cat hair and plum blossom-shaped footprints all over the folded paper.
It then raised its paw to hook the prayer beads in Shen Xu's hand, making the dangling beads sway back and forth.
Seeing Shen Xu staring at her with hostility, the cat meowed sweetly and touched his face with its dark little nose.
Shen Xu: "..."
The raccoon is an animal that will take an inch and then a mile.
Sheng Jiang watched as the cat boldly climbed almost onto his master's head, and he sighed inwardly, but also felt a little strange.
This cat is usually very affectionate towards its master, but today it seemed unusually different. He even saw a strange expectation in one of the cat's eyes.
A quote from Gu Zhizhuo flashed through his mind:
The Qilin cat loves unlucky people; the more unlucky they are, the more it loves them...
"Meow!"
The cat suddenly let out a loud meow, not a scream, but a sound filled with excitement and agitation.
At that moment, the heavy display shelf suddenly collapsed without warning, falling unexpectedly towards Chen Xu.
boom.
In an instant, Shen Xu was pressed under the antique shelf.
Meow~~
This antique display shelf was made of rosewood and was extremely heavy. It contained some vases, jade artifacts, and even two unusual stones. As it fell, there was a series of cracking sounds.
Sheng Jiang's face turned pale, and he shouted nervously, "Master Supervisor!"
"Someone come quick!"
His voice was so shrill it was almost unrecognizable. The guards outside burst through the door and were met with a scene of utter chaos: the antique shelves were overturned and the floor was covered in broken porcelain shards.
The cat was still stomping around on the fallen display shelf, meowing excitedly.
"Come over here and move it!"
"Master Supervisor!"
The guards were terrified and quickly went to move the display shelves.
"It's so noisy."
Huh?
Shen Xu emerged from under the display shelf with a cold face. He first dusted off his sleeves in annoyance, then impatiently pushed away the cat that came to rub its face against him.
"The Chief Supervisor?"
Sheng Jiang was stunned at first, then overjoyed.
Very good!
He looked at the fallen display shelf with lingering fear and was shocked to find that one of the long drawers had opened naturally as it fell. Then, it was stuck by something and supported on the ground without retracting, thus forming a small space that, by sheer coincidence, protected Shen Xu underneath.
He was unharmed.
But the disheveled state of his hair and clothes still made him extremely unhappy.
He walked out of the surrounding mess with some disgust and took out a jade pendant from his pocket.
The rectangular jade pendant split in two from the middle.
“Isn’t this…” Sheng Jiang blurted out, “Miss Gu?”
The jade pendant was a gift from Miss Gu; he had seen it from afar at the opera house last time.
Miss Gu seemed to have said that a talisman for protection was engraved on it.
Could it be that...
This talisman saved its master from disaster?!
Shen Xu was also looking at the broken white jade pendant in his palm. The afterglow of the setting sun enveloped him, and the cinnabar mole at the corner of his eye was breathtakingly beautiful.
A note from the author:
Note: References: *Compendium of Materia Medica*, *Ben Cao Feng Yuan*
Continue read on readnovelmtl.com
