"Did you mix pollen into the old lady’s tea?"
The housekeeper’s expression was grim, and the sound of whip after whip filled the entire firewood room with crackling noises.
"It wasn’t me... I didn’t... I..."
The woman’s voice grew weaker, and finally, her head tilted, and she fainted.
"Did we beat her to death? We haven’t gotten anything out of her yet."
"Barely gave her a few strokes, how could she be dead? She must be pretending. Splash her with a bucket of cold water and see if she wakes up!"
The two maids discussed it and then splashed a bucket of cold water on her.
Qu Fulan was awakened by such a bucket of cold water.
She slowly opened her eyes, bewildered by the scene in front of her. Wasn’t she just resting at home after tiring herself reading a novel? How did everything change upon waking?
Before she could figure it out, many unfamiliar images and information flooded her mind, causing a headache that lasted until she finally came to her senses.
She had time-traveled!
Meanwhile, the doctor summoned for Mrs. Pei diagnosed, "It’s wind-pollinated pollen. If the elderly lady inhales this pollen, she will develop hives and even run a fever just from inhaling it. Now it’s mixed into her tea and ingested... This symptom is beyond my ability. We need to promptly seek a renowned doctor for treatment, or there could be life-threatening consequences!"
Immediately, the old lady began to convulse and foam at the mouth, leaving the doctor helpless.
The famous doctor was far away, and traveling to and fro would take an hour. The person sent to invite the doctor hadn’t returned yet, and it seemed the old lady couldn’t wait any longer. The source of thɪs content is 𝓷𝓸𝓿𝓮𝓵⚑𝓯𝓲𝓻𝓮⚑𝓷𝓮𝓽
The entire Pei Mansion was in chaos.
Having pieced together the situation, Qu Fulan slowly spoke, "Let me out."
The original host was beaten too harshly, and now that she had crossed over, she felt half-dead as well, speaking very weakly.
The two maids heard people outside saying the old lady was not going to make it, and they panicked, not hearing Qu Fulan’s words initially.
Qu Fulan mustered her strength and spoke louder, "Quick, let me out."
Though her voice was still weak, one maid heard it and immediately flew into a rage, "Let you out? After you harmed the old lady , you still want to go out? See if I don’t beat this wretch to death!"
As she spoke, another whip lashed down mercilessly.
Qu Fulan grunted and then struggled to say, "I can save the old lady. Let me out quickly, or if she dies, none of you will be spared!"
The maid sneered, "You can save the old lady? You..."
Qu Fulan bore the burning pain on her back and, gritting her teeth, interrupted the maid, "There’s no doctor in the mansion now. If you don’t let me save her and delay the treatment, when the old lady dies, none of you can escape the blame!"
The maid hesitated at once.
"Convey the message that I can save her. Even if I end up failing, my death will have nothing to do with you."
The maid found the reasoning sound and consulted with others, sending one of them to relay the message.
Soon, Yueyuan, the old lady’s personal maid, arrived.
"You say you can save the old lady?"
"Yes, my family used to run a clinic, and I’ve treated hive symptoms before. Earlier, I was too nervous to remember, but I now know how to save her."
Yueyuan saw her stand up with a battered body, wipe the blood from her mouth, and despite her weakened state, her expression was firm, inexplicably engendering a desire to believe her. But...
"Why should I trust you? Who knows if you’re trying to harm the old lady further."
"The old lady’s condition is urgent. If my deductions are correct, the old lady is breaking out in rashes now, and time is running out. If you delay further, she won’t survive!"
Yueyuan widened her eyes upon hearing this; the rashes on the old lady had appeared just as she left the room, and the news hadn’t spread yet. How did she know?
It seemed her claimed medical knowledge had some merit.
Qu Fulan saw Yueyuan still hesitating and seemed to know what she was concerned about, saying immediately, "I didn’t poison her. If you delay any longer, you’re just playing into the hands of the one behind this."
Yueyuan gritted her teeth, "I’ll trust you this once, but if you can’t save the old lady, you..."
"I can die a thousand or ten thousand times and wouldn’t mind. Saving the old lady is the priority!"
Upon entering the old lady’s room, Qu Fulan directly grabbed the doctor’s medicine box. After a series of needlings and pressing acupuncture points, she finally had the old lady take some medicine.
In less than a quarter-hour, the old lady woke up.
Everyone immediately breathed a sigh of relief.
Qu Fulan, however, due to her severe wounds, had held on until now, and then she collapsed to the ground and fainted completely.
Yueyuan, looking at the fainted person, frowned and said, "Although she saved the old lady, we can’t rule out her suspicion. Take her down and lock her up, and when she wakes, we’ll question her thoroughly."
Another maid, Hua Hao, suggested, "She seems severely injured, and since the matter isn’t fully investigated, if she dies, it would complicate things. We must have a doctor examine her and prescribe some medicine."
Qu Fulan was dragged away and locked in the firewood room again, but this time, no one beat her, and someone even administered medicine to her.
This scene was observed by a little maid, whose eyes revealed an unwilling look. She stood there clenching her hands for a while, and finally, as if thinking of something, her mouth curved into a malicious smile.
That night, in a large room with eight sleeping pallets, after the lights went out and everyone was asleep, someone quietly got up. They tiptoed to another bed, lifted the quilt, placed something down, and then soundlessly returned to their position and slept.
Everyone was deeply asleep; no one noticed her actions.
Qu Fulan spent the whole night in a dazed sleep and only awoke hungry with nothing to eat, her wounds still aching, before being interrogated.
Yueyuan asked why she had poisoned the old lady, what the motive was, and who was behind it.
In order to quickly clear her name and get food, Qu Fulan didn’t waste words and said, "Finding out the culprit is simple. Everyone’s a maid, and anything they have would be hidden in the quarters. Search the room and you’re bound to find clues."
Yueyuan, with reservations, led people to the maid’s quarters to search for evidence.
The maids stood neatly to one side, watching as the housekeepers rummaged through their beds and cabinets as if looking for something. No one knew what had happened.
Only one maid’s eyes showed a victorious glint when a housekeeper searched the bed by the left wall.
The housekeeper first felt around, paused as if touching something, then decisively turned over the quilt and found a package lying there, unmistakably.
She sniffed it and confirmed, "It’s wind-pollinated pollen."
Yueyuan’s expression immediately darkened, and she said sternly, "Whose bed is this?"
The maids shivered for a moment before responding, "It’s Haitang’s."
Yueyuan sneered, "Bring the maid named Haitang here. Let’s see how she explains this!"