Four Harmonies and Good Fortune

Chapter 648 Alertness
The prefect sent people to the camp, so the matter of the demonic cult could no longer be kept secret.

Xue Long had no choice but to inform the constables about capturing the sorcerer and have them report it to the prefect.

The envoy was completely disheartened.

At this point, no one here could change the situation. After careful consideration, he decided that he could only send people to secretly help the leader so that she could leave safely.

Before leaving, there was one more thing. The messenger asked the constable, "I heard that a caravan plundered a village. Is that true?"

The yamen chieftain was unaware of the details, but he was clear about this particular matter: "Someone deliberately framed the caravan, and the wanted criminal was arrested by the caravan's owner."

The envoy was startled: "The caravan owner you're talking about, is he... from Bianjing?"

The constable nodded and said, "It is a lady."

The clerk gasped inwardly, feeling a wave of dizziness wash over him. The constable must be referring to Lady Xie. He had come here to join forces with the demonic sect to deal with Lady Xie, but it seemed like everything was over before it even began.

He should be thankful that he didn't rush into action, otherwise he might not have been able to escape. He began to worry that after the news was sent back to the capital, the Privy Councilor might be furious and simply punish him.

……

The capital city, the Xie family.

"Second Mistress, Second Mistress."

Xie Wenjing opened her eyes with difficulty and saw Chunxi's face.

Chunxi's voice kept echoing in her ears, but she just couldn't muster the energy. She closed her eyes and was about to fall asleep again.

Lately, she doesn't know what's wrong with her; she's just incredibly tired, doesn't want to eat, and doesn't want to go out. She just stays curled up on the soft couch. Sometimes she can sleep from morning till night.

At first, Chunxi thought it was because she hadn't rested well before, but seeing that the second young lady was sleeping more and more, she became anxious and reported to the madam, asking the doctor to come and treat the second young lady.

"Second Madam, the Madam has brought the doctor. Please get up!"

Chunxi reached out and shook Xie Wenjing awake again.

Xie Wenjing took a while to come to her senses. She reached out to have her maid help her up, and looked dejectedly towards the door: "Who called a doctor?"

“Madam,” Chunxi said, “Madam was worried about Second Miss’s health, so she sent someone to fetch a doctor early this morning.”

Xie Wenjing said, "I have no illness, so let the doctor go back!"

Seeing this, Chunxi immediately advised, "It's all Madam's good intention. Second Madam, please let the doctor take a look. If everything is alright, everyone can rest assured."

Xie Wenjing then stopped talking and let the servants help her tidy her clothes before leaving.

A moment later, Madam Zhou arrived with the doctor.

Upon seeing Xie Wenjing, Madam Zhou was also taken aback. In just a few days, Xie Wenjing had lost a lot of weight, and her eyes were devoid of any light, as if... her life force had been drained away.

"What exactly is wrong with you?" Madam Zhou looked Xie Wenjing up and down.

Xie Wenjing didn't mind. She bowed to Madam Zhou before saying, "I'm sorry to have worried you, Mother. I just slept a little longer. Perhaps... I did a lot of needlework before, so it's understandable that I felt tired."

“You silly child,” Madam Zhou complained, “there are so many things needed for the wedding. You only need to make a few. Leave the rest to the embroiderers. Anyway, the Prince’s mansion doesn’t know anything about it. You’re just too honest. You’re ruining your health, which is not worth it.”

When the topic of marriage came up, Xie Wenjing's eyes lit up a little more: "Mother is right, it was my oversight that I didn't think things through." Madam Zhou said nothing more and had the doctor come forward to take her pulse.

After a moment, the doctor said, "Second Madam has overworked herself, which inevitably depletes her qi and blood. I will prescribe a medicine for her. If she takes good care of herself for a while, she will naturally recover."

Mrs. Zhou was relieved and instructed Xie Wenjing, "We must not do that again."

Xie Wenjing responded and bowed.

Madam Zhou then instructed Chunxi, "Quickly help Second Sister to the inner room to rest. Don't come to pay your respects to me until she is fully recovered."

Seeing Xie Wenjing lying in bed, Madam Zhou instructed the head housekeeper to take good care of her and ordered the kitchen to cook some soup and send it over every day before leaving with her people.

As she walked along the road, Madam Zhou kept thinking about Xie Wenjing. She felt something was off, especially the strange sound Xie Wenjing had made when she spoke.

"Did you hear that?" Madam Zhou looked at Zhao Mama. "Why do I feel that Jing'er's tone sounds a bit like someone from the south?"

When Xie Wenjing first came to the mansion, she spoke very little, but gradually she started to speak more. At the time, Madam Zhou found it strange. Although she spoke Mandarin, it sounded somewhat stiff, and it became even more obvious just now.

Zhao Mama said, "I think I have some too."

"That's really strange. Second Madam grew up in the countryside with the Old Madam, so she should have spoken Mandarin from a young age. Why would she..."

Madam Zhou gently waved the fan in her hand. For some reason, ever since the fire in the Buddhist hall, she had felt uneasy. Her younger brother had whispered many things in her ear, nothing more than telling her to be more careful and not to always do what her husband wanted.

Xin Ge'er was acting strangely, and Zhao Chang's words were also ambiguous, as if they were hiding something from her.

Besides, Prince Huai stopped coming to the mansion. When she went out to visit guests, the servants would often overhear the women talking about how Prince Huai had taken a liking to Lady Xie.

Back then, the Prince of Huai made a huge fuss over his desire to marry a daughter of the Xie family. Now, before the marriage is even finalized, he has already changed his mind, which is truly embarrassing for the Xie family.

These incidents, one by one, are like dark clouds piling up in the sky, destined to unleash a thunderclap sooner or later.

"Have someone keep an eye on Second Madam's side," Madam Zhou instructed Zhao Mama. "If there's any movement, inform me immediately."

Xie Wenjing slept for half a day before getting up. After drinking the medicine sent from the kitchen, she felt even more sleepy and fell asleep again after eating.

Another day passed, and when Xie Wenjing was about to take her medicine again, she was stopped by Chunxi.

Xie Wenjing watched with some surprise as Chunxi poured out the medicine.

"What are you doing?" Xie Wenjing asked, puzzled. "Why are you throwing away the medicine for no reason?"

Chunxi closed the window tightly before whispering, "Second Madam can't take this medicine."

Xie Wenjing's mind went blank, like someone who wasn't fully awake and couldn't concentrate on thinking. She looked at Chunxi and asked, "Why?"

Chunxi took a deep breath: "Ever since Master gave me a bottle of pills for Second Madam to take, she has been sleeping all day. Now, after taking the medicine brewed in the manor, Second Madam is even more drowsy... I suspect there is something wrong with the medicine."

“Master doesn’t want Second Mistress to wake up, or rather… Master is secretly harming Second Mistress.”

“Second Madam was right before. We can’t stay in Bianjing. If we stay here, we’ll only face death. Master won’t let anyone find out your identity. If someone keeps coming after you,” Chunxi said, pursing her lips, “Master will have no choice but to target Second Madam for the sake of his career and official position.”

"When a person dies, everything is over, and there's no need to worry about being exposed."

(End of this chapter)