Yuxi thought it would be better to talk to Physician Bai first to be on the safe side. It would be more credible to have a physician testify.
Momo Quan said, "Miss, this matter requires the cooperation of the First Lady. Only if the Lady gives the word will Physician Bai cooperate." Although Yuxi had a high position in residence, her words did not carry as much weight as Qiu Shi's. If they only relied on Yuxi, Physician Bai might not be co-operative.
Yuxi nodded and said, "Then you will tell Mother about this tomorrow." Qiu Shi wasn't good at pretending. If they had to tell her now, Yuxi couldn't guarantee that Qiu Shi wouldn't expose their plan at that time.
Momo Quan reminded Yuxi, saying, "Miss, once you withdraw from the marriage, you may not be able to get married in this lifetime. And if you don't withdraw from the marriage, there is still a good chance that you can get over this hurdle if you be a little more careful." Just as Han Jianming had feared earlier, if Yuxi carried the reputation of having a bad fate, who would dare to marry her then?
The next day at noon, Qiu Shi had just put down her bowl after eating when she heard a commotion outside. She instantly had a bad feeling about it. She immediately got up and left her room.
When she reached the yard, she saw two maids were holding onto Zisu. When a tear-stained Zisu saw Qiu Shi, she choked up and said, "My Lady, my Miss was eating her meal when her mouth suddenly foamed and fell to the ground. My Lady, someone has poisoned Miss's meal and now Momo Quan is urging her to vomit. Whether she is still alive or dead is still unknown." Miss had gone to get something from Wangfei when she was in the wangfu before, but ended up being unconscious and was carried back by Zijin. The culprit had never been found. Even while having a good meal at home, Miss could still be poisoned, making Zisu frightened by this current situation.
Apart from Momo Quan, the only person who knew about Yuxi's plan was Zijin. It's not that Yuxi was wary of Zisu, but if Zisu knew, she wouldn't have acted as realistically as she did now. Zijin, on the other hand, had always spoken very little, and for her to only have her cold face on was already enough for the plan to work.
Qiu Shi froze for a few seconds. When she finally reacted, she immediately headed for Taoran House.
Mama Li was relatively calmer and asked Zisu, "Have you gotten ahold of the physician?" When she saw Zisu nodding her head, she immediately rushed after Qiu Shi.
When Qiu Shi arrived at Taoran House, Momo Quan was digging at Yuxi's throat with her finger, making Yuxi spit out everything she had eaten. As Qiu Shi watched Yuxi's tears fall one by one, her eyes also turned red. But she knew it was a critical moment and did not dare disturb Momo Quan.
When Momo Quan saw that Yuxi had vomited a great majority of what she had eaten, Momo Quan began to fill mung bean soup, which had the effect of detoxifying the poison, into Yuxi's throat. She poured a big bowl of it until Yuxi's face turned blue and then stopped.
Mung Bean Soup
It was only when Momo Quan let go of Yuxi that Qiu Shi rushed up to Yuxi and hugged her while crying, "Momo Quan, what is going on? How could a good meal be poisoned?"
Momo Quan sent all the other maids out, leaving only a few trusted ones in the room to look after Yuxi, before telling Qiu Shi, "My Lady, Miss had no choice but to use such a desperate measure." After saying this, she revealed the truth to Qiu Shi.
Since there was no other way, to be realistic, Yuxi had to suffer some hardships to convince Song Guifei and the Chen family.
Qiu Shi was so angry that her teeth chattered after hearing Momo Quan's explanation. Even Mama Li also found it incredulous. "Just because Qinxin Gongzhu has taken a fancy to Second Master Chen, she wants to put our family Fourth Miss to death?" There were still such unreasonable things in the world.
Momo Quan added, "The main reason is that the Chen family won't withdraw from the marriage, so Song Guifei feels that Miss is a stumbling block. She believes that by removing Miss, the Chen family won't have any more excuse for not marrying Chen Ran with the princess."
Qiu Shi hugged Yuxi and cried, "My child, you're trying to take your mother's life!"
Momo Quan reminded Qiu Shi in a whisper, "My Lady, Miss is genuinely unconscious. She's not pretending." Yuxi had just eaten something unclean, but it wasn't poisonous. She only had a stomach ache after eating them. She would be fine if she vomited them all out. It would not leave any after-effects, except that she would have to suffer for a bit.
When Qiu Shi heard this, she hurriedly released Yuxi. "Didn't you say there was no poison in the food? How did Yuxi pass out?"
Momo Quan let out a bitter smile as she explained, "To be realistic, Miss hadn't eaten anything or didn't sleep at all last night. Besides, with all the tossing and turning just now, she has become physically exhausted, causing her to faint." This method was already considered the mildest. After all, Yuxi was only starving herself by skipping two meals and had been up all night. She would be fine after recuperating.
Qiu Shi's eyes puffed out with tears as she felt distressed and started to grumble, "This child is so foolish. How could she not tell me about such things?"
Momo Quan comforted her, "Miss was afraid that my Lady would be anxious, so she didn't dare to tell my Lady." The main point was that it was useless for Yuxi to inform Qiu Shi. In the end, Miss would have to find her own way out. Therefore, it was better not to tell Qiu Shi about it, to save one more person from worrying.
When Qiu Shi heard this, she only felt her heart, liver, and lungs ache. "This child, how come she is so disaster-prone?" When she was a child, she had an unfavourable life. Only after being adopted into her name did she have a couple of days of comfort. Then, something like this happened to Yuxi when she was about to get married.
Mama Li also felt that Yuxi was out of her luck. It was just as well that the Gongzhu had fallen for her fiancé, and then she had to face murder attempts one after another. But the other party was Song Guifei, the birth mother of the 9th and 10th Prince, and this revenge could not be avenged even if they wanted to. [+]
Momo Quan said, "My Lady, Physician Bai will surely be here soon, so please speak with Physician Bai later and tell him to diagnose Miss as being poisoned. Since I have dealt with the poison properly, it will not hurt Miss' life. But it will take at least a year and a half for Miss to heal completely."
Qiu Shi nodded hastily, "Yes, I'll tell Physician Bai when he comes."
Physician Bai did not quite understand why Qiu Shi had to do this. In his hesitation, he asked, "My Lady, isn't Miss going to get married in a few days? If word of this gets out, won't her marriage be in jeopardy?"
Qiu Shi answered with a bitter smile, "Physician Bai, you are also an old-timer in our household. So I won't hide anything from you. If it weren't for Momo Quan's vigilance in warning Yuxi to look out for any poisoning attempt, my Yuxi would probably be gone by now. So that's why I'm asking this favour from you, Physician Bai."
Physician Bai's heart leapt. When he looked at the unconscious Yuxi lying on the bed, his heart softened, and he finally agreed to Qiu Shi's request.
Momo Quan immediately gave the poison that Guo Daniang had handed to Physician Bai and requested, "Mister Physician, please take a look at what kind of poison this is." The physician had to prescribe an antidote based on this poison. Those who followed the inside movements of the State Residence would undoubtedly notice it if they made a haphazard prescription.
Physician Bai studied the poison carefully and spoke after quite a while, "The good thing is that this isn't the type of poison that uses blood to seal the throat. It is just an ordinary poison. As long as the poisoned one vomits in time, it is still possible to save that person." Physician Bai meant that if it were a poison that uses blood to seal the throat, it would be difficult for even the Gods to save the poisoned one. And even if he were asked to fake it, it would still be useless.
Momo Quan had already tested the poison yesterday and knew its toxicity level, so she had used this method. "Then I'll have to trouble Physician Bai to prepare the antidote."
Physician Bai nodded and said, "Alright, I will prescribe an antidote to the poison."
After the physician wrote the prescription, Momo Quan immediately ordered someone to get the medicine. As Physician Bai carried the medicine box, he said, "Madam, if anyone asks, I will say that the Fourth Miss has eaten something unclean. Do you think this excuse is good?" It was not pleasant to say that Yuxi had been poisoned, but by saying that she had eaten something unclean, those who did not know would think that Yuxi was unlucky, while the observant ones would naturally realise that she was poisoned.
Momo Quan felt that Physician Bai was very proper. Hence, she told him, "If ordinary people ask Mister Physician, just say it so. If someone forces you, you tell them the truth."
Qiu Shi's main concern now was whether Yuxi was still in danger. It was sad to hear that this incident did not yet save Yuxi's life, but her life was not in jeopardy for now. "I have to trouble Physician Bai."
Physician Bai only said, "A physician has a heart just like a parent's heart."
After sending Physician Bai away, Momo Quan reminded Qiu Shi, "My Lady, this matter couldn't be said to anyone including the Old Lady, except for the Lord Duke. If not, once Song Guifei learns that the Miss has pretended to be poisoned, there is no telling what other tactics she will use against her." Momo Quan would purposely say this to Qiu Shi because she was worried that Qiu Shi would tell the Old Lady the truth.
Qiu Shi took her handkerchief, wiped her tears and said, "Don't worry, if the Old Lady asks, I will tell her that Yuxi was poisoned, and I won't say a word to her about the rest. Also, when her Dage returns later, I will have him go to the Chen family to withdraw from the marriage."
Mama Li said with some concern, "My Lady, if the marriage is withdrawn, this will only confirm Miss' reputation of having a bad fate." Now Mama Li somehow doubted whether the Fourth Miss's fate was unquestionably terrible. Otherwise, how could she be so unlucky? Of course, Mama Li did not believe that Yuxi would bring bad luck to others. After all, a few masters of the Main House had smooth sailing lives for so many years.
Qiu Shi didn't think about it much as she replied after listening to Mama Li's words, "Even if the rumour of her having a bad fate is confirmed, it's still better than her dying in vain. If no one dares to marry her, I will raise her for life, and my dowry will be enough to clothe and feed Yuxi for the rest of her lifetime."
These words somewhat moved Momo Quan. No wonder Yuxi treated Qiu Shi with absolute sincerity. Such a person indeed deserved to be treated this way.
The news that Yuxi had eaten something unclean soon spread. The Old Lady felt that something was wrong, and how could Guo Daniang, a senior servant who had been with Yuxi for so many years, let Yuxi eat something unclean. "Go and get the First Lady to come here." There was something fishy about this matter.
When Qiu Shi arrived at the upper courtyard, she cried and said to the Old Lady, "That child did not eat something unclean. Her food had been poisoned."
The Old Lady's hand, holding the Buddhist beads, gave a start as she asked, "What happened? Who would poison Yuxi? Why was she being poisoned?"
Qiu Shi's tears came again as she remembered the suffering Yuxi had to bear. "I have already investigated it. It was Cook Guo who poisoned her. The criminals captured her son and threatened to kill him if she didn't poison Yuxi's food."
A stern look flashed across the Old Lady's eyes as she asked, "Did you find out who was behind it?" What kind of person would have the audacity to do such a thing?
Qiu Shi was silent for a moment, then told the Old Lady about the incident where Yuxi was almost assassinated at the wangfu. "At that time, Yuxi was afraid that I would worry, so she did not tell me about it. I suspect that both of these incidents came from the same person."
The Old Lady nearly dropped the Buddhist beads in her hand to the ground but quickly hid her discomfort and said, "Take good care of Yuxi. Leave the rest to me!" This matter was not as simple as it appeared.
Qiu Shi said, "Mother, you are getting older. Why doesn't Mother leave this matter to Jianming? The one who can harm Yuxi in the wangfu is surely not an ordinary person."
The Old Lady nodded and said, "You are right. It's better to let Jianming handle this matter."
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The Rebirth of Han Yuxi