Chapter 247: Chapter 247: Elopement (Part 2)
"Young Master Hong is dead?" Xiqiu was startled and also sat up from the bed, frowning as she asked Sixing, "Did they say how he died?"
"They said he died in a drunken state at home, and his body was only discovered this morning, already stiff." So, it was an accidental death?! Xiqiu appeared very surprised. She had just discussed the matter of an evil ghost with Master, and coincidentally, the man was now dead?!
Sixing also looked a bit frightened, "Miss, could what Master said about the evil ghost be true?" Even she started questioning the reality of the situation; it was too coincidental to be merely an accident.
Xiqiu glanced at her, "Stop letting your imagination run wild." As she spoke, she leaned back against the pillow again, her fingers lightly touching the worn cover of the "Great Zhou Geography." She said to Sixing, "How is Lady over there? Did the concubine come?"
"She came and said that upon seeing Lady, her eyes were all red..." Since yesterday, Lady had not eaten anything and kept muttering nonsense in a dazed state: "They said they invited Master Puning, who will come tomorrow to conduct the Water and Land Dharma Assembly."
Xiqiu nodded. She truly hoped Lady wouldn’t have any issues. If something were to happen to her, both she and her seventh brother were still young, and too many matters needed their legitimate mother’s intervention. If Lady were indeed to die, with First Master’s age, he would certainly take another wife. At that time, the new mistress entering the mansion might be younger and not necessarily better than the current Lady, which was unpredictable!
So, Lady must live, and live well for now!
Xiqiu thought for a while and then sat up straight. Sixing quickly knelt down to help her put on her shoes, "Miss, are you going out?" They had spent three days on this act together. Thinking back on it, Miss truly had all the bases covered, predicting that Nanny Fang would come that night, arranging for Chunyan to be on watch outside early; sure enough, Nanny Fang came, watched quietly outside the courtyard for a while, and then left... But she found it very strange how Lady suddenly had a nightmare!
What she didn’t know was that Xiqiu hadn’t originally planned this. It was only after Grand Dowager sent the Miao medicine that she conceived this idea. The Miao medicine was ground from flowers and stalks of large leaf mandala, which had some effect on treating rheumatism, but the flowers of large leaf mandala had hallucinogenic and anesthetic effects. Xiqiu placed some into Lady’s teacup. After returning from Grand Dowager’s mansion, she vomited all over, and being convinced of the efficacy, deliberately "forgot" her pocket in Lady’s room. Lady had just vomited and felt weak by noon, which led to such an effect...
"You’re still sick; is it appropriate to go now?" Sixing helped Xiqiu with her clothes and supported her to the dressing table. Xiqiu replied, "It’s precisely because I’m sick that I must go!" Sixing seemed to half understand and did not ask further questions. After helping Xiqiu arrange her hair, they called Chunyan, and the three of them went to Zhui Garden.
"Sixth Miss!" When Daihe saw Xiqiu entering the door, she stopped her steps, turned sideways, and greeted with a bow. Nanny Qian also stood under the porch, smiling at her. Xiqiu nodded to both and asked Daihe, "Is Lady feeling better? Did the Imperial Physician come?"
Daihe glanced in the direction of the bedroom and said with a smile, "Much better. The Imperial Physician prescribed medicine and said he’d return in three days." Not coming every day indicated an improvement in the condition.
Xiqiu nodded and, supported by Sixing, entered the room. Nanny Fang was sitting on the footstool, massaging Lady’s legs under the Imperial Physician’s orders. Her gaze lifted upon seeing Xiqiu, and she spoke softly, "Sixth Miss is here." Finishing her words, her eyes glanced over Xiqiu’s face. Sure enough, finding her complexion with a tinge of greenish-black, very similar to Lady’s.
Xiqiu glanced at Lady, who was presently asleep, her breathing shallow, her frame much slimmer, and her sleep restless. She nodded at Nanny Fang softly, "I’ve come to see Mother." She spoke, then sat herself on the embroidery stool by the bed: "Did Mother still dream at night?"
Nanny Fang shook her head, "Much better, probably due to the medicine." Indeed it was much better; when Daihe cleaned the room and found the pocket, she asked around to confirm it belonged to Xiqiu and then returned it.
"That’s good!" Xiqiu sighed with relief, her eyes reddening slightly as she looked at Lady. Daihe brought in tea; she took it in her hands, staring at the teacup in a daze, neither leaving nor speaking to Nanny Fang. After sitting for a while, Lady awoke, finding Xiqiu by her bed and appearing surprised. Seeing her complexion unfavorable, she said, "Weren’t you ill? Why did you come here?"
Xiqiu assisted as Nanny Fang helped Lady up against a large pillow, handed a tea cup to her, and only then spoke, "I felt much better today. Worried about Mother, I came to see you." Lady’s face showed satisfaction; she looked at her and said, "Master Puning will arrive early tomorrow morning. For these two days, you shouldn’t move about unnecessarily." After losing the marriage proposal with Marquis Xuanning, the Tong Mansion had become the capital’s laughingstock. Behind multiple facades, she seemed to sense those gleeful eyes and the sounds of mocking laughter.
Marquis Xuanning chose to leave the Tong Family of the small secondary fifth rank, marrying instead Commandery Princess Chengning, highly favored by both the Emperor and Empress. Had the Crown Prince not died early, Chengning would be a princess by now, not a commandery princess... The Marquis Mansion is seemingly regaining its prosperity, with the commandery princess influencing the Emperor and the Marquis making strategic moves in court. The rise of the Marquis Mansion is undoubtedly near.
Every time Lady thought of such things, she felt a pain as sharp as a knife in her heart... Her beloved Xihua, who remembers her beloved Xihua anymore!
Lady’s eyes turned red, and she was startled to discover that Xiqiu, sitting beside her, was also quietly crying. Frowning, she said, "Stop this weeping for no reason!" Xiqiu wiped the corners of her eyes, her voice tinged with sorrow, "It’s I who burdened Mother... If not for my marriage affair, how would Mother have..."
Lady’s brow furrowed slightly, a cold look flashed in her eyes but was suppressed... Now that things had come to this, despite her anger towards Xiqiu, it was not the time to act. Losing the marriage engagement with the Marquis Mansion, the prospective groom had taken the Princess, and here the daughter was unmarried while the fiancé died; if any more incidents occurred, the Tong Mansion would truly become a joke in the eyes of those waiting to see them humiliate themselves in the capital.
"Stay put in your room and stop dwelling on such matters." As soon as the words fell, Daihe spoke through the curtain, "Lady, the Marquis is here!"
Lady’s eyes narrowed, she straightened up, staring at the doorway in silence for a while before extending her hand to Nanny Fang, "Help me up... I want to see what he has to say." Xiqiu also rose, supporting Lady. Once Lady got out of bed, Xiqiu said, "Then I will return now." The ties between Xiao Yanyi and the Tong Family were entirely severed, and meeting was no longer possible without caution.
Lady didn’t answer her, seated herself in front of the dressing table, murmuring words unknown, while Xiqiu’s gaze paused before she greeted Nanny Fang and left the room.
In the main hall, Xiao Yanyi sat upright on a huanghuali chair, holding a teacup but looking unsettled and heavy-hearted, devoid of smile. At the slightest movement of the curtain, his gaze fell on Xiqiu, first brightening his eyes before he stood up, "Sixth Sister!"