Li Yuzhu’s eyes glinted as she loudly said, "Housekeeper Chai, do you have a grudge against your Miss? Are you bent on ruining her reputation?"
"You’re talking nonsense! Little brat!" Housekeeper Chai angrily replied, "Where did these kids come from, daring to cause trouble here? Do you want to die?"
Li Yuzhu chuckled softly, "We don’t want trouble, we’re just selling rabbits. It was you who killed our rabbits for no reason, yet you refuse to pay! If you want to cheat, we’ll go to the Pavilion Chief and discuss it. By then, your Miss might hate you to death, because her illness will become known to everyone! Even if your master doesn’t kill you, he’ll cripple you!"
"Housekeeper, Third Miss’s temper..." An old man guarding the gate quietly reminded Housekeeper Chai.
"What’s going on?" At that moment, someone from the Chai Family courtyard walked in briskly, "What’s the fuss this early in the morning?"
A young man around twenty years old strode over.
He glanced at Li Yuzhu and the others, then coldly stared at Housekeeper Chai, "Is this about Yingying again?"
Housekeeper Chai saluted, "Yes, Young Master."
"How much today?" the young man asked again, as he took a purse out from his sleeve.
"Six rabbits, three thousand cents," Housekeeper Chai said.
"You won’t be short of money, take it and leave at once, but remember, don’t talk about the rabbits to anyone. If there’s any word against my family..." The young man swept his eyes over them icily, "I won’t be polite."
He took a few pieces of silver from the purse and tossed them towards Li Yuzhu and her group.
He also signaled a servant to take away the basket with the dead rabbit and bury it all.
The Second Young Master, being the tallest, reached out to catch the money.
He opened his palm to see the weight of the silver, estimating it to be around three taels.
"We’re not interested in your family matters," he said to his siblings, "Let’s go!"
Although they lost the basket, they got the money, and it was a considerable amount.
None of them were interested in lingering around, so they turned and left.
Mu Yuanxiu put away his machete and followed them out.
But he noticed that after walking a few steps, Li Yuzhu looked back towards the Chai Family.
"What are you looking at?" Mu Yuanxiu asked her.
Li Yuzhu smiled slightly, "Nothing."
"Right, nothing worth seeing." Li Xing’an walked over, pushing Mu Yuanxiu aside, and pulled Li Yuzhu’s arm, striding forward.
Mu Yuanxiu, "..." He frowned slightly and followed them with big steps.
"Where are the rabbits?" A sharp voice of a young girl suddenly came from the Chai Family’s gate, "I didn’t kill the rabbits, it wasn’t me!!"
Li Yuzhu looked back and saw a round-faced girl of about sixteen or seventeen running out of the Chai Family gate.
The young man stopped the girl, pulling her back, "Little sister, stop making a scene, let’s go home."
"No!" the girl said angrily, "You’re framing me, I didn’t kill the rabbits!"
Housekeeper Chai sighed, "Third Miss, we have paid for the rabbits, let it go. Your body is weak, you can’t get angry."
"You’re the one who’s sick!" The girl yelled angrily.
"E Ying!" The young man’s face darkened.
"I didn’t kill the rabbits, why say I did? Why?" The girl started to cry, "None of you believe me."
Li Yuzhu squinted her eyes at the girl.
This girl... indeed has an illness.
Her eyes protruded, she spoke in short breaths, and her round face was so thin that only bones were left.
If she wasn’t mistaken, the girl likely had hyperthyroidism, and it was quite severe.
If she got angrier, she might faint.
"Brother, let me go, if you stop me, I’ll cry at mother’s grave! You’re bullying me!" She cried and made a fuss.
But soon, her voice stopped abruptly.
"E Ying? E Ying?" Mr. Chai’s voice called out anxiously.
Li Yuzhu, with the group, had already walked a dozen steps away. Hearing the anxious voice behind, she quickly turned back to look.
She saw the round-faced girl who was making a ruckus just now faint on the ground.
Mr. Chai shouted anxiously towards the courtyard gate, "Quick, get a doctor, Third Miss has fainted again!"
The Chai Family servants were in chaos.
Some went to find a doctor, while others called for help.
"Second brother, third brother, I’ll go take a look at that girl," Li Yuzhu said as she walked towards the fainted Miss Chai.
"Hey! Third sister?" The Second Young Master shook his head, then followed her over.
"You guys wait here, I’ll go take a look too," Li Xing’an said.
He also went over to check the situation.
As Li Yuzhu headed back, Mu Yuanxiu followed quickly.
Li Yuzhu crouched beside Miss Chai, checking her pulse with her hand and then feeling her neck.
Mu Yuanxiu watched her from the side, contemplating something.
"Miss Chai seems to have palpitations. Recently, she’s often restless over trivial matters, has a temper, eats frequently yet inexplicably loses weight, has diarrhea, and is constantly losing hair. Has she been sick for over a year?" Li Yuzhu asked Mr. Chai.
This girl’s heartbeat was too fast, her fingernails were coarse and deformed, her body was thin, and there was a lump at the thyroid area in her neck.
Her hair was so sparse that you could see her scalp easily and count the strands.
These are symptoms of hyperthyroidism.
No wonder the Chai Family servants said Miss Chai had a bad temper, having this illness, it’s not something she can control.
Mr. Chai looked at her in surprise.
"I met a girl who also had this illness," Li Yuzhu said.
"She is not sick, she just caught a cold recently and fainted from weakness," Mr. Chai coldly said, "If you falsely accuse her, don’t blame me for not being polite."
Li Yuzhu said nothing more.
It was understandable that they wouldn’t trust a stranger.