Li (☲) - Upper-middle trigram
Chapter 30 Li Hexagram (Upper-Middle Hexagram) - Labor-Inducing Drugs
Everyone rushed to the main house, even the old lady who had been staying in the Buddhist hall for a long time was disturbed. If Xie Chengzhi did not appear at this time, it would inevitably cause controversy.
"Huali, quickly go and fetch a basin of well water. Don't use the water from the vat; it must be from the well. Hurry."
After giving the instructions, he went back to his room, changed into clean clothes, and then went back to the bedside to touch Xie Chengzhi's forehead.
He was burning hot; she estimated it to be around 40 degrees Celsius. Even through the thin blouse, she could feel the intense heat emanating from him.
"Young Madam, what are you doing? Perhaps I can do it," Hua Li said softly, glancing at Xie Chengzhi on the bed.
Rong Yan pondered for a moment, then shook his head and took the basin of water. "I'll do it. You prepare the hand warmers first. The eldest young master and I are about to head to the west courtyard."
She soaked the towel in well water, and her fair and delicate fingers dipped into the icy water in the middle of the night, but she still shivered from the cold.
After wringing out the towel, I placed it on his forehead, then dampened another towel and wiped his neck. As I brushed past his Adam's apple, the room was dimly lit, and the yellow light shone through my fingers onto his sliding Adam's apple. With his skin glistening with moisture, his Adam's apple moved up and down with his breath, and I could almost feel the heat emanating from him through my fingertips.
She abruptly withdrew her fingertips, hesitated for a moment, and then rolled up his sleeves. At that moment, he slowly opened his eyes.
His eyes were bloodshot. He glanced up at him, then kept his head down as he wiped his eyes. He spoke slowly, his voice hoarse, "What's wrong with me?"
"You have a fever, can you still hold on?" Rong Yan told Xie Chengzhi everything that had happened in the West Courtyard that night, and Xie Chengzhi's face turned very pale after hearing it.
Could it be that even he suspects it was Wang's doing?
Without saying a word, he took the cool towel off his forehead. "Let's go."
Rong Yan took the towel, her fingertips touching his palm. Unlike the warmth of his body, his palms were cold. If his hands and feet were icy, his body temperature would have to rise.
He should feel very cold right now.
"My lord, why don't we send someone to secretly invite a doctor back to examine this wound? I think it must be because of the wound that I have internal heat."
"No need." His muffled voice came from behind the screen, his figure illuminated by the lamplight, both hazy and ambiguous.
As soon as he finished speaking, he seemed to realize that his tone was too harsh, so he added, "It's nothing."
He was dressed very lightly when he came out from behind the screen. Rong Yan took his mink cloak from the screen hook and draped it over him.
At this moment, Rong Yan only thought of him as a patient who needed care, and had no other thoughts. So she didn't think too much about it. She also didn't notice Xie Chengzhi's slightly red ears, assuming it was due to body heat.
The two carried lanterns along the way, and she did not allow the two maids to follow. Rong Yan deliberately walked slower, holding his arm, afraid that he might faint due to his high fever.
People with high fever are most afraid of catching a cold when it's late at night and the dew is cold.
Fortunately, Xie Chengzhi did not try to push her arm away this time, and let her half-support him to the main hall of the courtyard.
When the two arrived, everyone in the hall was already there. The Marquis and his grandmother were sitting in front of the hall. Madam Wang stood in the hall with her back straight and her clothes were neat, obviously having tidied herself up before coming.
Even her grandmother was alarmed, considering that the old lady had rarely appeared since she married into the Marquis's mansion. She had even explicitly stated that the morning and evening greetings would be waived, saying she didn't want to cause any trouble.
As a result, there were even more rumors circulating outside, with people saying that she looked down on her granddaughter-in-law and therefore preferred to ignore her.
Only the people in the Marquis's mansion knew that the old lady spent most of her time in her own courtyard eating vegetarian food and chanting Buddhist scriptures, and even the Marquis's wife rarely saw her.
At this moment, the old lady's gaze fell on Rong Yan. Her calm and wise demeanor showed no sign of panic, and Rong Yan quickly bowed.
Second Aunt and Second Uncle sat to one side, looking very anxious, while Xiao Wangshi and her illegitimate daughter Wang Musong also knelt on the ground.
Du Chunhong and Xie Qisheng looked worried, but Rong Yan knew what they were thinking at a glance.
Others thought they were putting on an act, but only Rong Yan knew they were genuinely worried. If this was truly Wang Shi's doing, her good days were numbered.
Upon seeing Xie Chengzhi arrive, the Marquis didn't say much and went straight to the point: "Daoheng, how many times has your mother committed the seven grounds for divorce over the years? I have tolerated her for all the years she has diligently managed the household affairs and served her in-laws in my Runan Marquis's mansion, even though she has made many mistakes. But now, she has raised your mother to be so audacious and reckless, daring to harm the bloodline of my Xie family!"
During the Song Dynasty, witchcraft and sorcery were prevalent. Although the birth rate was relatively high, very few babies survived, resulting in a large number of stillbirths and making offspring extremely important.
Not to mention ordinary people, even the princes of the imperial family, most of them died of illness.
So over the years, it's not that Wang Shi never got pregnant, including her concubines and aunts; quite a few of them got pregnant and died.
They had finally found a male heir, and just a few days ago, the Marquis had someone take his pulse. When he learned it was a boy, he was overjoyed. He never expected that something would happen so soon.
Rong Yan looked at Wang Shi, who stood proudly, and she didn't say a word when she heard the Marquis say such things about her.
Xie Chengzhi's voice rang out calmly from the side, "What evidence does Father have that he believes Mother did it?"
"The evidence is overwhelming, and she herself is no longer trying to deny it. You don't need to plead for her. How can a matriarch be so intolerant of others?"
Several maids immediately knelt down. Xie Chengzhi looked at Wang Shi and, seeing that she remained unmoved, he lifted his robe and knelt down as well.
Rong Yan was startled. The floor was cold, and even a strong man would find it hard to kneel down in the middle of the night, let alone someone like him.
She gritted her teeth and knelt down as well.
Grandmother sighed, seemingly wanting to call Xie Chengzhi to get up, but was interrupted by the Marquis, "What, are you also trying to exonerate your mother? Do you think you can get away with threatening me with your frail body this time?!"
“My lord, please believe Madam just this once. This certainly wasn’t her doing. If she really wanted to harm Consort Zhou, why would she allow them to enter the house…” Granny Li knelt on the ground, her eyes brimming with tears, desperate to protect her mistress.
Her words only enraged the Marquis further.
"Shut up! You're not acting like a servant at all. This house is no better than a proper home, all because of this good mistress! Ever since you took charge of the household affairs, the family's income has been insufficient to cover expenses, and the servants in the house have become unruly. I think you are completely incompetent. Even so, the power to manage the household affairs has fallen into the hands of someone else!"
Rong Yan knelt behind, somewhat surprised. It seemed that the Marquis was truly angry this time, disregarding Wang Shi's feelings and launching into a tirade of scolding and complaints.
Rong Yan came intending to be a bystander, but unfortunately, the gossip involved her own mother-in-law, so she didn't feel quite right about it.
If one thing isn't done well, it might even implicate her.
Grandmother seemed to have had enough and slammed her hand on the table. "Shut up, you're all really ugly!"
The only sound in the room now was Li Mama's sobbing; Wang Shi hadn't uttered a sound the entire time. Rong Yan sensed something was amiss. Her mother-in-law was always proud and arrogant, yet she remained calm and silent even as her husband questioned her in front of so many people in the main hall.
Indeed, it's a bit strange.
Xie Qisheng quickly spoke up to defend her, "Brother, you know your sister-in-law's personality better than anyone. She absolutely could not have done this."
Madam Du: "Yes, my sister-in-law is so busy that she doesn't even have time to drink water. When Aunt Zhou complained that she wasn't comfortable living in the house and insisted on having the feng shui checked and moving, my sister-in-law just let her have her way and went along with everything she wanted. You can't be so careless about this, brother."
The Marquis's eyes flickered slightly, and he angrily flicked his sleeve and sat down again.
Madam Wen from the second wife sighed and offered a word of advice, "Brother, don't blame your wife. Perhaps she did it in a moment of confusion."
Upon hearing this, the Marquis became even angrier.
"A moment of confusion? Imperial Physician Li from the palace told me that three packets of labor-inducing drugs were added to the porridge, and it was specially made as a medicinal porridge to mask the taste. Is that a moment of confusion? This was clearly intentional!"
Three packs of labor-inducing drugs?
This isn't inducing labor, this is clearly trying to kill someone!
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