Chapter 43 "I'll go and sow discord."
She was both ashamed and embarrassed, and while thinking about what medicine to use, she rang the bell by the bed.
Hearing the noise, Baozan pushed open the door and carried a basin of warm water into the inner room.
Baozan had been looking relaxed, but when she saw Ye Mingzhu sitting on the bed clutching her chest, seemingly in pain, she quickly put the copper basin on the shelf and rushed to her side, asking, "Miss, what's wrong? Are you feeling unwell somewhere?"
"..." Ye Mingzhu said, "I'm fine."
"Then you..."
Ye Mingzhu changed the subject, saying, "Call Ruixiang in. I need to ask her how her investigation of the shops in the West Mansion is going. I'm free today, so I might as well take care of this matter."
"Yes." Baozan looked at her with a puzzled expression, then turned and went out to call for someone.
As a result, Ruyi came in and reported: "Miss, Fu'an, who serves the Second Master of the West Mansion, has come to see you. He brought a letter, saying it was written by the Second Master. You will understand once you read it."
Ye Mingzhu asked in surprise, "Where's the letter?"
Just as she had expected, no matter how mildly worded the letter Sheng Huai'an sent was, it conveyed only one meaning: coercion.
In his letter, he wrote that he would keep it a secret from Sheng Yunche and hoped that she would give him a small Gu to heal his wounds.
Liu Rumei's cough needs to be treated, and from now on, she will need to give him one Gu worm every half month.
However, he was short of money and would not give her any more.
He also said that the health-preserving pills Jia Shi was taking had nothing to do with the longevity gu, but were just ordinary medicines, and that he would give her money so that she wouldn't be shortchanged.
He finally said he had no choice but to do it, and that he still had feelings for her...
Ye Mingzhu, wanting to avoid seeing it, had Baozan burn the letter, finding it amusing.
Baozan was furious: "Fortunately, Miss only got involved with the Duke because of the Longevity Gu. That scoundrel Sheng Huai'an is no threat to you at all!"
Ye Mingzhu's smile froze: "...Do you want to study for a few more years?"
Baozan was dumbfounded and asked in a daze, "Huh? I've already been promoted to head maid, do I still need to study?"
The head maid has already reached the pinnacle of her career; she no longer wants to strive for more.
Ye Mingzhu: "..."
Really not going to do it? You can call cooperation "flirting".
Ruyi asked worriedly, "Miss, the young master has always believed that the Longevity Gu is the Jade Pearl Flower. If he finds out the truth, will he become distant from you? Why don't you take the initiative to confess to the young master?"
Ye Mingzhu thought for a moment and shook her head: "Probably not."
Princess Ronghua once said that Sheng Yunche didn't care much about his health, and she agreed.
Not only was he less enthusiastic than her when he went to the Ye residence for medical treatment, but he even turned around and manipulated her, and he didn't even give a second glance to the Jade Pearl Flower that she brought to impersonate the Longevity Gu.
The longer they spent together, the more she wondered why he had agreed to cooperate with her in the first place, and what he really wanted...
Ruyi then reminded her, "Miss, Fu'an is still waiting outside the courtyard gate."
Ye Mingzhu said, "Tell him that I will be going to the West Mansion this afternoon."
"Miss, are you really going to agree to Sheng Huai'an's offer?" Baozan asked angrily. "He's getting off too easy!"
"No." Ye Mingzhu smiled slightly, straightened her sleeves, and said, "I won't let him get away with this. I'll go and sow discord."
...
Ye Mingzhu loosened the soil around the Bizhu flower, read some medical books for a while, and before she knew it, the morning had passed.
She was so bothered by Sheng Yunche last night that she took a nap for an hour, which was unusual for her.
After getting up, thinking that Sheng Huai'an had already put him out of the cold with his patience, she called Baozan and Ruyi to prepare to go to the West Mansion.
Stepping out of Linfeng Hall, she found the mansion even more bustling than yesterday.
In the distance, the shouts of bricklayers and laborers filled the air, creating a lively and bustling atmosphere.
Nearby, two or three groups of servants passed by with light steps and joyful smiles on their faces.
She asked Baozan, "Is there something good happening in our household?"
Baozan covered her mouth and laughed, "The Princess said that it's hot in the summer and that it's not easy for us servants to do our jobs, so she gave us an extra month's pay!"
Ruyi also said, "The Princess is truly happy!"
Ye Mingzhu understood immediately and chuckled softly, covering her mouth.
What sweltering summer heat? It was just that the East Mansion had finally shaken off the restless and ungrateful West Mansion, and Princess Ronghua was in a great mood, so she was just using it as an excuse to reward her servants.
The climate in the western and eastern parts of the province is completely different.
Dead silence, oppressive atmosphere.
I didn't see many servants along the way. The one or two I did see all came over with their heads down, bowed, and left in a hurry, their faces showing the same confusion and worry.
Ye Mingzhu recalled her past life and compared it with her present life, sighing in her heart.
She didn't go to Sheng Huai'an, but went straight to Rongshou Hall to find Jia Shi.
Rongshou Hall didn't have many servants either.
No one stopped her after she entered the courtyard.
Following her memory, she walked to the door of Jia's living room. Before she even went in, she heard Jia's painful groans.
The room was dimly lit and the air was stuffy.
Jia lay on her side on the bed with a headscarf wrapped around her head. Her face was sallow and her lips were dry and white, as if she had aged ten years overnight.
Hearing footsteps, Jia looked up at her and immediately started cursing, as if she had been injected with chicken blood.
"Ye Mingzhu, you bitch, did you come here to laugh at me? You are utterly depraved, with a black and rotten heart. You will surely die a horrible death!"
Ye Mingzhu ignored her foul language and took out a clean porcelain bottle, placing it beside Jia Shi: "I'm here to bring you medicine."
"Medicine?" Jia asked warily.
"Yes." Ye Mingzhu nodded. "The porcelain bottle contains Dacheng Pills, which are unique to my Ye family. They are made with precious ingredients. Taken with a cup of yellow wine after meals, they can relieve pain and reduce swelling. They are very effective for treating severe injuries and bruises caused by caning."
"You're really that kind?" Jia questioned. "Could it be poison?"
"Poison? If it weren't for your son..." Ye Mingzhu's voice suddenly paused, "It's up to you whether you take it or not, I've delivered the medicine anyway. If you're afraid I'll harm you, go buy it yourself with your own money."
As she spoke, she turned to leave.
"Wait, explain yourself!" Madam Jia called out to her, "What happened to Huai'an?"
Ye Mingzhu ignored everyone.
Madam Jia shouted again, "If you don't explain yourself clearly, I'll go to the street and tell everyone that you're not faithful after marriage and that you're seducing my son!"
Ye Mingzhu turned around as if she could no longer bear it: "He's worried about you, so he forced me to get you the medicine, okay?"
"Forced... You have something on Huai'an?" Madam Jia scoffed, finally believing her. Then, she pressed her advantage and asked, "Did you bring the yellow wine?"
Ye Mingzhu did not speak.
Jia asked gruffly, "Weren't you delivering medicine? Where's the rice wine?!"
"I brought it." Ye Mingzhu gestured for Baozan to step forward and help Jia Shi take her medicine.
Jia became even more smug: "You're smart to know what's good for you."
Just as she swallowed the medicine, the beaded curtain at the door suddenly rustled, and a gust of wind swept in. It was Sheng Huai'an, who had heard the news, rushing over from Tingsong Residence.
"Ye Mingzhu! I asked you to deliver medicine, what are you doing at Rongshoutang?" he questioned angrily, his gaze falling on the white porcelain bottle in Jia's hand, his expression changing again, "Mother...you, take the medicine?"
The longevity gu is most effective when it is induced to reproduce once a month, and the shortest time should not be less than seven days, otherwise it will have no effect.
Jia used the Zi Gu poison, and he died!
Ye Mingzhu feigned surprise and asked him, "What? Didn't you ask me to deliver the medicine?"
"What?" Sheng Huai'an asked instinctively.
Ye Mingzhu said, "You sent Fu'an to ask for medicine early this morning. I thought you were worried about your aunt and were asking for it for her, so I sent it directly to Rongshoutang. But looking at you like this... could it be that you didn't ask for it for your aunt, but for yourself?"
She seemed puzzled: "That's not right. You asked me to treat Liu's cough, and you're so considerate to your sister-in-law. You didn't even think about your mother who gave you life and raised you, did you?"
Hearing that it was both his mother and his sister-in-law, Sheng Huai'an felt his heart pound with fear.
Feeling guilty, and worried that Ye Mingzhu might say something more out of control, he quickly said, "Of course not!"
"Then why did you rush over here? I thought you were afraid that your aunt would take the medicine and you wouldn't get it yourself," Ye Mingzhu asked innocently.
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