Xiuqu soon began serving at Jinchao’s side, taking on small tasks like needlework and embroidery.
Yuzhu no longer tended to Xiuqu and instead began watching Linyan Pavilion daily with Yutong. Beside the bluestone path outside the pavilion, a thick cluster of golden cassia trees was in bloom. Yuzhu dragged Yutong behind the trees and opened a large box of sesame candy, sharing it generously.
Yutong whispered to her, “Look at you—your hands are already getting chubby dimples, and you still eat so many sweets. Watch out or you’ll turn out round and plump like Nanny Li…”
Yuzhu licked her fingers with a giggle. “I’m not afraid of getting fat. Denying yourself good food just to stay thin—how miserable would that be?”
The two girls kept chattering in hushed voices, but Yutong suddenly tugged Yuzhu’s sleeve when she spotted someone approaching along the bluestone path. Yuzhu perked up immediately, crouching low behind the cassia trees to peer through the foliage.
It was Yuxiang, one of Song Yiniang’s maids.
She crossed the bluestone path and turned left, heading in the direction of the outer residence.
Yuzhu whispered, “Yuxiang usually stays close to Song Yiniang, serving tea and such. What’s she doing heading that way? Put away the candy—we’re going to follow her!”
But Yutong said cautiously, “The Young Miss told us to watch from here. If we leave our post, who’ll keep watch? If we mess up her plans, Baiyun-jie will punish us…”
Yuzhu tried to explain, “We’ve been here for days and haven’t seen a thing. This is our first lead—if we don’t follow, what’s the point of watching?”
Yutong huffed, unwilling to follow. Yuzhu, seeing the figure getting farther away, frowned. “Fine! You stay here. I’ll go alone!” She tucked the candy box into her sleeve and went after Yuxiang, while Yutong nestled deeper into the brush, keeping her eyes on the road.
Yuzhu stuffed the candy box hastily into her robe and crept after Yuxiang. Though the maid headed toward the outer courtyard, she didn’t pass through the chuihua gate. Instead, she stopped beside the rockery, then turned down a side path into a small grove of twisted willows.
Yuzhu followed her, heart pounding, a mischievous grin creeping onto her face. Coming to such a secluded spot… must be up to something shady!
Yuxiang soon paused ahead. Yuzhu quickly ducked into the brush.
She spotted a man waiting beside the rockery, dressed as a servant—tall and well-groomed. Yuxiang approached him and spoke softly, too low for Yuzhu to hear. The grove was too sparse for her to risk getting closer. All she saw was the man smiling as Yuxiang turned to leave.
Yuzhu withdrew, disappointed. She had hoped for something more scandalous. So it was just a secret meeting with a manservant…
Still, it would make for a fun story to tell the Young Miss.
When she returned, Yuzhu reported everything to Jinchao. “…I saw her myself, Miss! If someone caught her meeting a man in secret like that, she’d be beaten and thrown out of the household. Should we tell Madam?”
Jinchao smiled with pursed lips. “Getting Yuxiang kicked out is a small matter. How would you explain how you saw all this? That I told you to watch Linyan Pavilion, and you followed one of their maids?”
Yuzhu pouted and fell silent. Even if Yuxiang were cast out, it wouldn’t mean much—Song Yiniang’s real threat was Qiaowei.
By midday, Jinchao had, as usual, prepared a medicinal meal for her mother.
Ji Shi asked whether she had prepared a birthday gift for Gu Deshao. Jinchao smiled, “…I plan to gift Father a painting of pines and cypress. I’ve already asked Steward Luo to handle it.”
Ji Shi sighed. “Steward Luo does manage those Hangzhou silk shops well enough. But after all, he’s a businessman without education. His character and virtue can’t compare to Steward Ge from Changzhou. The other day, some refugees arrived from the flood there, and Steward Ge opened the grain stores to help them. Meanwhile, Steward Luo swallowed up the neighboring Lu silk shop, leaving that whole family without a place to live…”
Jinchao smiled without comment. She and her mother clearly had different views on such matters. She believed that since she fully trusted Steward Luo, the business should be left in his hands. It was unrealistic to expect every transaction to be spotless. Her grandmother, who managed the Ji family, had also made decisions that brought both benefit and harm. Her mother, on the other hand, was too gentle and kindhearted—that’s why Song Yiniang could suppress her for so long.
As they were speaking, Xu Mama came in carrying a clay pot of gastrodia and pigeon stomach soup.
“You always avoid anything bitter. But not today—you’ll have to drink it with me,” Ji Shi said warmly, ladling out the soup for Jinchao herself.
Jinchao looked into the golden-yellow broth and whispered reluctantly, “Mother…”
Ji Shi laughed. “When you were little and refused to drink medicine, you used to cling to your grandmother just like this. But I won’t go soft like she did.”
Jinchao gave a bitter smile. As a child, she hated anything bitter. Whenever she was sick, the maids would have to coax her for ages before she agreed to take her medicine—and even then, it had to be one spoonful of medicine followed by a sweet preserved plum.
Fine, she thought. I’ll just treat this like medicine.
She raised the bowl and, frowning, gulped it down.
Xu Mama chuckled from the side. “Young Miss, it’s just pigeon stomach soup—not poison!”
But the word poison made Jinchao’s heart skip.
She quickly put down her bowl and grabbed a ladle, stirring the soup in the clay pot. All she saw were slices of gastrodia, pieces of pigeon meat, and a few goji berries.
She turned to Xu Mama. “You said the medicinal dishes always have herbs. Why don’t I see any?”
Xu Mama looked puzzled. “The herbs aren’t meant to be eaten, so we take them out before serving.”
Jinchao stood and asked, “You also said everything Mother uses is checked. But are the herbs in these dishes ever inspected?”
Xu Mama seemed surprised. “Are you suggesting…? These herbs are prescribed by Doctor Liu and delivered by his apprentice. The housemaids collect them from Qinglian Alley and send them here. If anything were wrong with them, surely we’d notice…”
Jinchao said coldly, “What I fear is that something could be slipped in—herbs can be easily disguised. It’s impossible to guard against everything.”
Xu Mama immediately grew cautious as well and had the maids bring over the remaining packets of medicine. They were wrapped in oiled paper, containing dried herbs—roots, rhizomes, and stems. None of them could recognize the ingredients, so they couldn’t tell anything by sight alone. Without needing Jinchao’s instruction, Xu Mama hurried off to summon Doctor Liu.
Meanwhile, Jinchao called for Moyu.
“…In Xiexiao Courtyard, how many people have access to Madam’s medicine?”
Moyu dropped to her knees at once.
“Miss, only Moxue, Xu Mama, and I handle Madam’s medicine. We would never dare let anyone else touch it!”
Jinchao thought for a moment and asked, “What if someone sneaked into your rooms?”
Moyu shook her head. “Our rooms are always locked, and each of us keeps our own key with us.”
That meant it likely wasn’t anyone from within Xiexiao Courtyard. Jinchao helped Moyu to her feet.
“Don’t worry… let’s wait for Doctor Liu to arrive before saying more.”
Madam Ji, reclining against the large brocade pillow, gave her daughter a smile and reached out her thin, frail hand to hold hers.
“My Chao’er isn’t so hasty anymore. If there really is a problem, we’ll just stop using that medicine.”
She patted the seat beside her, gesturing for Jinchao to sit down.
Jinchao smelled the faint scent of herbs on her mother’s body and looked at her skeletal hand. She let out a soft sigh.
An hour later, Xu Mama returned with Doctor Liu. Jinchao brought the medicine package and met him in the flower hall.
Doctor Liu examined the oiled-paper wrapping, using his fingers to separate and inspect the contents. His expression changed dramatically. He pulled out a thick rhizome, inhaled deeply, and said,
“Miss, this is da huang—rhubarb.”
Jinchao saw his face darken. In a low voice, she asked, “Is it poisonous?”
Doctor Liu shook his head.
“Da huang clears stagnation, purges heat, cools the blood, and detoxifies. It’s typically used to treat constipation, dysentery, fever with yellow tongue coating, and the like. It’s a very cold herb with a powerful effect. But Madam’s condition is one of deficiency—spleen weakness and stomach cold. Da huang is absolutely contraindicated. Its medicinal nature directly opposes her condition. If taken over a long period… her life would truly be in danger.”
Jinchao’s expression shifted slightly. So her mother’s recurring illness really did have an external cause!
She suddenly remembered that the second time her mother fell ill, for nearly half a month, she had been the one preparing the medicinal meals—and during that time, her mother had actually improved. Could it be that the absence of da huang during that period was what allowed her condition to stabilize?
No wonder she could never recover!
Xu Mama asked, “Could it have been a mistake when you picked the herbs?”
Doctor Liu shook his head firmly. “I personally wrote the prescription, gathered the herbs, and wrapped them myself. There is absolutely no chance I made a mistake.”
Jinchao trusted Doctor Liu. He had no reason to harm Ji Shi. And even if he had made a mistake, it wouldn’t have been the same one repeated for over half a year. This had to be deliberate.
She asked again, “When did you begin sending this tonic prescription?”
Doctor Liu thought carefully. “About a month after Madam fell ill, I began sending the supplements.”
Which meant her mother had been taking rhubarb, off and on, for over half a year.
After Caifu escorted Doctor Liu out, Xu Mama leaned in and whispered,
“Miss, I suspect someone from the Household Provision Office tampered with it…”
Jinchao fell into deep thought.
In her past life, her mother had died such a tragic, drawn-out death… Could it also have been because of rhubarb?
And now, due to her own interference, the use of rhubarb had decreased—and her mother’s health hadn’t deteriorated nearly as badly.
But who put it there? Was it Song Yiniang?
If it wasn’t on Doctor Liu’s end, and not from anyone within Xiexiao Courtyard either…
Jinchao suddenly recalled what Yuzhu had said: Yuxiang had been seen secretly meeting a man dressed as a servant in the twisted willow grove.
Who was that man?
Juju’s Note:
In case you missed the update — we now have a new posting schedule!
New chapters are released every Monday, Wednesday, and Friday at 1:00 PM (UTC-4).
Also, if you’d like to receive 2 early-access chapters by email for every $2 Ko-fi donation, just include in your message:
- Your email
- Which novel(s) you’d like
Thank you so much for reading and supporting!