Feng Jue was missing, and the Xiao family spared no effort in searching for him. Although they didn't explicitly state whether they were looking for a person or an object, the entire mansion city was filled with unease because of this incident. Everyone in the city was discussing whether the prefectural office was apprehending someone or searching for something.
The matter was the talk of the town in inns and restaurants, and Li Nian and his son were no exception.
"Father, do you think something happened to Big Sister?" the less-than-ten-year-old Li Qingyan mumbled unhappily. "Is something going to happen to Big Sister?"
Li Nian patted his son's head. "Don't talk nonsense. Your Big Sister is blessed with good fortune and will be fine. Besides, the Xiao family wouldn't dare." He originally wanted to say more, but his audience was only one person, so he gave up the thought. "Alright, go back and review your studies. Don't let your Big Sister find out your grades have slipped when she returns. I won't stop her if she decides to punish you then."
The father and son had a small agreement. Since they were traveling, they needed to be more cautious. Especially the incantations left by Li Man'er, which could easily attract covetous eyes. Therefore, they agreed that reciting the incantations would be considered reviewing their studies, thus avoiding unnecessary trouble.
"Who are you trying to scare!" Li Qingyan retorted stubbornly but still nimbly returned to his room to review the incantations. In fact, he had already memorized most of the key points of the incantations left by Li Man'er and could understand the meaning of some sentences. However, he remembered Li Man'er's words and dared not try them in secret, showing his obedience.
As soon as Li Qingyan left, Li Nian called over a few trusted guards.
"The prefectural office has sent out so many people, and the streets are swarming with them. There must be a major operation. We can't just wait here; do you think news will fall from the sky? You guys go out and gather some information, but prioritize safety and don't alert anyone. In two hours, regardless of whether you find anything, we will rendezvous back here."
The others naturally had no objections. After a slight disguise, they left the inn one after another, each attending to their own tasks.
Li Nian sighed helplessly, secretly praying for his niece's safety.
Li Man'er, meanwhile, was living a carefree and joyful life in the prefectural office.
Xiao Qiniang, busy searching for Feng Jue, had no time to pay attention to her. The two maids were at her beck and call. One moment she would ask the kitchen to steam her an egg custard, the next she would order someone to fetch water for her bath. She also wrote a list for someone to buy medicinal herbs from outside, and after they were brought back, she asked for a complete set of tools for preparing them. There was slicing, pounding, and grinding of herbs, keeping her busy and happy.
What was even more infuriating was that Li Man'er had also set up a mud stove in the courtyard and placed a pot on it to boil medicine. She was happy, but everyone in the small courtyard suffered with her, constantly being bothered by all sorts of noises and enduring the unpleasant medicinal smell.
No one knew what Li Man'er was thinking. For several days, she kept asking Jiaoniang where Feng Jue was.
"Him? The Ghost Doctor is a person of noble status. How could a mere servant inquire about him?"
"That's true." Li Man'er drew her cloak tighter. The small fan in her hand fluttered with great delight. The rich aroma of medicine made Jiaoniang want to vomit.
She felt as if her whole body was permeated with the smell of medicine, and even her hair felt bitter.
"The seven-day agreement is also approaching. This fellow Feng actually ran away. Does he know he's going to lose, so he's hiding behind closed doors like a coward?"
Upon hearing this, Jiaoniang immediately said, "Miss Li, I heard that Doctor Feng came to see you that day? What did you two talk about in the room?"
Liu Ya walked over and slapped Jiaoniang, causing her face to swell up instantly.
She covered her face, her eyes filled with fear and disbelief. "I am a servant, but I am a servant of the Xiao family. Even if the eldest lady is a guest, and wants to punish me, there is no reason for you, another servant, to take action."
Both were maids, so who was nobler than the other? Why should you hit me?
"Who do you think you are, to dare to probe our eldest lady's words?" Liu Ya had been on the battlefield before. She usually hid her sharpness like a dark stone, but she could transform into a drawn sword at any moment if she wished.
Seeing Liu Ya like this, Jiaoniang trembled with fear, covering her face and not daring to speak again.
"Alright, you may go."
Just as Jiaoniang was about to flee in disarray, she suddenly heard Li Man'er say again, "Jiaoniang, does this medicine smell good?"
Jiaoniang shook her head, then nodded. In any case, she dared not speak.
"This medicine can heal people, and it can also harm people. If you can't control your mouth anymore, next time this medicine won't just be unpleasant to smell."
Jiaoniang took two steps back and, without looking back, entered the room, hiding behind the gauze screen and refusing to come out.
"Boring." Li Man'er threw away the small palm-leaf fan in her hand and told Liu Ya to get a bowl to pour out the medicine.
This was Li Shu's medicine. Li Man'er was afraid of tampering, so she boiled it herself.
Liu Ya quickly brought a bowl and chopsticks. Li Man'er used the chopsticks to push the medicinal residue aside, murmuring softly as she poured the medicine, "This medicine is very precious. Not a single drop can be wasted."
Indeed, not a single drop was left before she had Liu Ya take it inside.
Liu Ya directly gave the medicine to Jiaoniang, signaling her to go and administer the medicine to the Marquis. Even though Jiaoniang was a thousand times unwilling, she could only accept it.
Li Man'er alone dealt with the dregs and washed the pot, not minding the cold in the middle of winter. Finally, she carried the medicine pot into the room.
She placed the medicine pot on the windowsill and then went to tend to her herbs. The two guards had been secretly monitoring her, which was somewhat annoying. She hadn't done anything out of line.
Every day she just fussed with medicine, or else she was dealing with Jiaoniang. She ate and slept well, with nothing special about her.
To say that Feng Jue's disappearance was related to her was a bit far-fetched.
Li Man'er lay down on the small couch, also puzzled. Who had carved those words into the medicine pot? Their thoughts were truly clever, and they weren't afraid of being discovered.
However, whether this person was an enemy or a friend was yet unknown, so she had to wait.
The next day, while Li Man'er was decocting medicine, she accidentally broke the medicine pot. There was no choice but to have someone choose a new one.
This time, there were no words in the pot.
As Li Man'er washed the pot, she thought to herself, the pot was bought from outside. The Xiao family would certainly not trust it. Everything sent to her hands would be inspected, so this pot must have been inspected as well.
Then how did the words in the pot escape inspection?
The great writer Lu once said, the world originally had no roads...
Therefore, the words in the pot did not exist from the beginning, or rather, their existence made those people turn a blind eye.
Medicinal decoction.
The color of the words was the same as the medicinal decoction. It must have been during the process of boiling the medicine that the words in the pot became visible.
Li Man'er eagerly picked up the new pot and began preparing and boiling medicine again.
The two guards thought she had gone mad.
"Perhaps the Marquis's illness is not so easy to cure, otherwise, why would she be so preoccupied?"
"Exactly, I think she might be testing the medicine on her own father!"
Another said, looking terrified, "What do you mean by that?"
"Treating a dying horse as if it were alive."