tallest building

Chapter 159 Eccentricities
"Get in the car quickly!" Wen Mingqian saw that Sister Zhao and the woman were soaking wet, so he hurriedly told them to get in the car.

Although it was a bit crowded with four people in the car, it was at least warmer.

The driver lit a lantern.

Sanger took off his cloak and wrapped it around the woman.

Wen Mingqian gave his cloak to Zhao Pokuang.

"No! No!" Zhao Pokuang was so frightened that he quickly dodged. "Don't get such nice clothes dirty. I'm thick-skinned and it won't bother me."

"It's just a piece of clothing, how can it be more important than a person? You're soaked, you can't be careless." Wen Mingqian forcefully draped the cloak over Zhao Pokuang.

Then he went to look at the unconscious woman. Her hair was wet and stuck to her face, making it impossible to see her features. Wen Mingqian reached out and tidied her hair to one side.

“This…isn’t this the second daughter of the Cui family?!” Sang Er and Wen Mingqian recognized Cui Baozhu almost simultaneously.

"Quietly." Wen Mingqian gave her a meaningful look.

Sang Er immediately understood and quickly shut her mouth, saying nothing more.

Cui Baozhu's determination to die must mean something terrible has happened. But she is, after all, a young lady from an official family, so it's best not to let this get out.

“Since we don’t see anyone following us, let’s go back to the nunnery first.” Wen Mingqian made a quick decision. “Master Jing’an is knowledgeable in medicine, so let’s trouble her to treat him.”

The people at Wuqiu Nunnery are very discreet, so Cui Baozhu can get medical treatment there without worrying about being gossiped about.

“She didn’t choke on the water,” Zhao Pokuang said. “She just fainted from the shock of the cold water. Find a warm place to change her wet clothes and keep her warm, and she’ll be fine.”

"Sister Zhao, we really owe you a lot today! You're amazing! You got that person out of there in no time," Sang Er said. "You're truly a heroine!"

Upon hearing this, Zhao Pokuang blushed on his rough, dark face: "Please don't praise me like that, young lady. I'm just strong and know how to swim. Who wouldn't want to save someone in this situation?"

When I rushed over, I saw my wife was about to go back into the water! She's such a precious person, and she's willing to go through all that trouble, so what's mine?

When the carriage arrived at the gate of Wuqiu Nunnery, Wen Mingqian walked in front, while Zhao Pokuang followed behind, carrying Cui Baozhu.

Sang Er stayed behind to settle the fare with the driver.

"No need, young lady. You saved someone today, so I've also done a good deed." The driver refused to accept the money.

“Uncle, this is your hard-earned money, how can you not accept it?” Sang Er placed a string of coins on the cart, “and you even got your cart wet.”

"That shouldn't cost that much," the driver said, feeling quite apologetic.

"Just take it! Don't argue with me, I'm freezing to death," Sang Er said as she ran inside.

Back in the room, they quickly lit the charcoal brazier. Huiming had already invited Master Jing'an over.

“You’ve caught a cold, so you need to brew some medicine quickly and drink it to induce sweating,” said Abbess Jing’an. “You’ve all caught a cold, so you all need to drink it, but the dosage will be different.”

He then went to brew the medicine.

"Sang Er, put on your clothes and go help," Wen Mingqian said. "I'll go," Huiming hurriedly said, "You all stay inside and don't go out and cause trouble."

Sang Er boiled water on the stove, and together with Wen Mingqian, they took off Cui Baozhu's wet clothes and wiped her body with warm water.

Wen Mingqian found a set of his own undergarments that he wasn't wearing and gave them to Cui Baozhu to change into, and then fed her some warm water.

She then found several more of Zhang Ma's clothes and gave them to Zhao Pokuang: "Sister Zhao, these were left behind by the mother who used to live with me. These clothes are all brand new, but she didn't wear them because she didn't like the colors. If you don't mind, please put them on!"

"Oh dear, these... these fine clothes haven't even been worn yet, it's such a waste for me to wear them. Why don't you find me some old, worn-out ones? I'd feel more at ease wearing them." Zhao Pokuang hesitated to accept.

“Sister Zhao, please don’t be so polite. It’s not good to wear wet clothes. If you’re embarrassed to change here, come on, I’ll take you to the outer room.” Sang Er pulled her out.

Afraid that she would feel embarrassed, and not being near her, he turned back.

Cui Baozhu gradually regained consciousness, groaning as she opened her eyes.

"Miss Cui, you're awake," Sang Er called out hurriedly. "How are you feeling now?"

"I..." Cui Baozhu's voice was hoarse. It took her a while to recognize Sang Er. "It was you...you saved me?"

"You're feeling weak right now, so it's best not to talk too much," Wen Mingqian advised. "Wait until you take your medicine before you talk."

"Don't give me any more medicine," Cui Baozhu said, tears streaming down her face. "I don't want to live anymore."

“How can you say such short-sighted things? You’re still so young.” Wen Mingqian sincerely advised her, “You have a long road ahead of you.”

“Others may have a long road ahead, but I’m left with only a dead end,” Cui Baozhu said in despair. “Madam Wen, please stop trying to persuade me.”

She already knew about Wen Mingqian's divorce, so she no longer called her Madam Gong, but instead called her Lady Wen.

“Even if you were determined to die, you didn’t. As the saying goes, those who survive a great calamity are destined for good fortune. You’ve already died once, and now God has given you another chance. You should think carefully about how to live.” Wen Mingqian handed her his handkerchief to wipe her tears.

"Lady Wen, you're a kind person. I was once so blinded by greed that I wanted to harm you," Cui Baozhu said with shame. "Perhaps this is my retribution! Who told me to be so wicked before!"

"What exactly happened? Why don't you tell me? Let my wife help you figure it out. Maybe things will take a turn for the better," Sang Er advised.

“My father and stepmother plan to marry me off to the youngest son of the Marquis of Fengxian…” Cui Baozhu could only say one sentence before she could not continue.

"Is it...is it that idiot?" Sang Er's eyes widened in surprise.

“He’s not just stupid,” Cui Baozhu said weakly but with deep resentment. “Do you know that his family buys five or six young maids every year? Most of these maids don’t live more than three months before they are tortured to death.”

"Could it be that the young master of the Fengxian Marquis's family has some strange quirks?" Wen Mingqian asked, sensing something amiss.

"That's right. If he were just mentally challenged, that would be one thing, but he's both stupid and wicked. He's born to torment people, and yet his inhuman parents dote on him in every way."

I heard that he used to only torture and kill cats, dogs, and rabbits, but when he grew up to be a teenager, some heartless person corrupted him, and he actually took pleasure in torturing people. At this moment, Cui Baozhu didn't care that there were some things an unmarried girl shouldn't say, "This is what my wet nurse found out. She said that those maids who were carried out were often covered in blood and gore on their chests and lower bodies. Their deaths were more gruesome than the last."

The Fengxian Marquis's family, relying on their close relationship with the Prince of Zhao and the fact that they bought only destitute, pitiful daughters sold under death contracts, managed to cause so many deaths, yet no one cared.