CHAPTER 42: CHAPTER 42: INDIRECT APPROACH

Lady looked satisfied: "No one needs to go back, everyone stay here for dinner tonight." Then she turned to Nanny Fang and said: "Go and see if Shenzhi has arrived yet."

Nanny Fang went and returned after about half an hour, coming back with Tong Shen Zhi and the doctor they had invited. Tong Shen Zhi, with a frown, appeared even more expressionless and rigid.

Lady noticed something was amiss but didn’t ask anything, merely looked at the doctor and asked, "Mr. Liu, how is Seventh’s illness?"

Mr. Liu, who was quite old, spoke somewhat unclearly. He frowned and said, "The water in the river is cold, and the child is young..." then he hesitated, and Xiqiu’s heart immediately tightened, only to hear Lady’s voice: "Do speak freely, sir."

Doctor Liu stroked his beard and said, "His body still hasn’t dispelled the chill from the alcohol, and he’s taken in more cold, that’s why the fever spiked... I’ve prescribed some medicine. If the fever subsides tonight, then there won’t be much to worry about." The implication was that the condition was still somewhat perilous.

Xiqiu’s hand hidden within her sleeve clenched into a fist, trying hard not to lose composure in front of Lady.

He drank alcohol? No wonder he fell into the river!

Lady inwardly sneered, thoughtfully glanced at Xiqiu, who was sitting quietly with still red eyes, then smiled and had Nanny Fang escort Doctor Liu out. She also ordered a servant to fetch the medicine, rubbing her forehead she said: "It’s just a chill, not a big deal, this Doctor Liu is exaggerating."

Everyone’s expressions changed, but no one spoke. Xiqiu raised her face and looked at Lady: "Mother..." she hesitated.

Lady interrupted her with a frown, lightly dismissing it: "The maids in his courtyard are competent enough, and with medicine prescribed, there’s no need for you to worry." Then she waved her hand: "Everyone is dismissed!"

The young ladies immediately got up, and Tong Xiyang went to mock Xiqiu, only to see her with an indifferent expression as she left the room...

Why is Sixth Sister acting so out of character, not concerned about Seventh Brother?

She stopped Xiqiu with a smile: "With Seventh Brother so seriously ill, how could Sixth Sister not be concerned? Even I am feeling quite anxious." She dabbed her eyes with a handkerchief: "I still remember Second Brother..."

Remember what? When Second Young Master passed away, they were still very young. She was just trying to provoke Xiqiu.

Tong Xiyan also showed a troubled expression, knowing she couldn’t refute Lady’s words.

Tong Xiyang was waiting for Xiqiu to speak, but saw she didn’t even lift her face and just walked out of the courtyard...

She paid her no mind, which left Tong Xiyang feeling uninteresting. She stomped her foot and cursed: "Little slut..." Suddenly realizing she was at the entrance of Zhui Garden, she reluctantly closed her mouth.

Inside, Lady looked at the stern-faced Tong Shen Zhi and asked: "What’s wrong, who has angered you? Are you here to blame me over Seventh?"

Tong Shen Zhi frowned with an ugly expression, briefly glanced at his mother upon hearing Lady’s words, and spoke something somewhat strange: "Mother should really take charge of the people in Seventh Brother’s house."

Lady suddenly understood what he meant, and anger flared up within her. No matter what happens, it is not her son’s place to question her affairs, especially when he normally didn’t concern himself with these inner courtyard matters: "Did Seventh complain to you, or has someone whispered things in your ear?"

The first person she thought of was Xiqiu, who was supposed to deliver clothes today. How could she ensure she wasn’t secretly gossiping? This girl was indeed underestimated!

Sensing his mother’s anger, Tong Shen Zhi’s expression slightly relaxed: "No one has told me anything of the sort." He then got up to leave: "Mother, you should rest early, I will go check on Seventh Brother again." As he walked out the door, he suddenly halted for a moment: "Doctor Hu was not exaggerating!" then left.

He left? Lady was so angry that she almost fainted, her hand holding the teacup trembling as she looked at Zijuan: "What progress have you made on the matter I asked you to investigate?" There was no reason for Tong Shen Zhi to speak like this unprovoked.

Zijuan, knowing Lady was furious and a wrong answer might end with that scalding tea on her, lowered her head and replied word by word: "When I went there, Chunyu and Qiuyun were not in the room. I waited at the door for a moment before seeing them swagger back in, all powdered up." She paused, sneaking a glance at Lady’s face: "They held an official kiln blue and white porcelain plate with snacks in it, looking to be from Madam Wang’s place."

Lady coldly laughed: "Foolish things, making connections with that lowly woman!" She showed no intention to punish them, then added: "Go call Yishan."

There were four boys by Tong Shen Zhi’s side, named in numerical order for easy remembrance.

In a blink, Yishan followed Zijuan in, as if he had been waiting right outside the courtyard to be summoned at any moment.

Lady was still fuming, so she didn’t notice this, and asked in a cold voice: "What exactly happened with Seventh this afternoon?"

Yishan had always been efficient, he might not know what Tong Shen Zhi was thinking, but he was very clear about Lady’s orders: "Seventh Young Master was feverish and confused, and the doctor hadn’t arrived. Eldest Young Master asked Liufu to fetch some ice from the storeroom to apply, and once Liufu left, there was no one to attend him. None of the maids or the servant could be found, so Eldest Young Master had to personally get hot water..."

Lady took a deep breath, knowing that if it were just this, Tong Shen Zhi wouldn’t have shown such a face.

Indeed, Yishan continued: "I managed to find the maids and bring them back, but Chunyu and Qiuyun, upon seeing Seventh Young Master ill, didn’t help at all and... and hovered around Eldest Young Master, busy here and there, almost... almost..." He was still young and too embarrassed to say the rest.

Bang!

The tea cup in Lady’s hand finally shattered on the ground.

Learning those seductive tricks from that lowly woman, the real aim was Shen Zhi!

Who gave them such audacity!

"You go back and tend to him, have Eldest Young Master rest soon, so he doesn’t harm his health by staying up late." As for those two wenches, there were ways to deal with them.

Yishan was quite frightened. He hadn’t seen Lady this furious before and answered with a trembling voice: "My Lady, with Seventh Young Master so ill and no one in charge by his side, Eldest Young Master surely won’t go to bed." He kowtowed: "I dare not speak."

Lady knew her son’s temper, and with an angry gaze, she immediately looked at Zijuan: "Go and have Madam Xia stay in the outer courtyard to guard Seventh."

"Yes!" Zijuan promptly instructed a little maid at the door to run to the East Cross Courtyard. In a short while, the little maid came back breathlessly, whispered a few words into Zijuan’s ear, whose expression changed before entering and reporting to Lady.

"Apparently, before I finished speaking, Madam fainted clutching her chest," Zijuan kept her eyes downcast, her instincts telling her today was particularly troublesome and each issue more thorny than the last: "When Zhuzhu went in, she said the whole room smelled of medicine, and there was a pot boiling on the stove."

Lady sneered repeatedly: "Truly useless!" She finished and frowned, troubled about who could be sent to replace Tong Shen Zhi.