Chapter 22: The scum fell sick
Madam Chen was so angry. Her brows furrowed and her eyeballs looked like they were about to pop out of their sockets. However, she did not want to make a scene and lose face in the General’s manor. She could only scold, “You little beast! Are you a pig? How did you manage to get lost and wonder into the inner courtyard at your age! Did you know that your Young Master almost drowned to death? Damn servant! See how I’ll deal with you when we get back. Apologize to the Old General now!”
“Ahem!” coughed the Duke. He became embarrassed as his wife rashly condemned the servant; she even showed such a scary expression in public. He awkwardly apologized to the Old General. “It was us that spoiled this servant. We’ll definitely deal with him properly and hold him accountable for his actions.”
At least the Duke was more sensible than his wife. He did not try to evade responsibility and make excuses for Cheng Cai nor make light of the matter by trying to resolve it with just an apology.
Despite that, Old General Mu became very upset. If this incident got out, the reputation of his dear granddaughter would be damaged.
The Old General’s face darkened. “Yes. This is a serious issue. A servant such as Cheng Cai should not be attending Young Noble’s side. He will become a bad influence. It’s better to sell him off.”
The Duke immediately understood what the Old General meant. This caused his blood to boil. He lost face because of this servant.
That servant! He’s trying to ruin things for me.
The Duke was pleased with Zi You despite her young age. She was well brought up. Girls like her were uncommon. Plus, she saved his son. By using her sash to help him out of the water, she displayed an adaptable and quick wit that the other people present did not possess.
However, him being keen on Zi You was useless. Old General must first be satisfied with his son. Now that they’re in this situation, there’s no way Old General Mu would be satisfied with Hong Xiang.
The Duke’s face was red with embarrassment as he left the General’s manor with his family.
Before the Duke left, Zi You had hurried back to her courtyard to retrieve a packet of flower powder used to cure diarrhea and handed it to the Duke. “This powder is made from Hero Flower. If Young Noble has diarrhea or stomach ache tonight, mix this with water and drink it. It is very effective.”
(Note: Hero Flowers aka poppies)
It is indeed very effective. This flower had not yet been brought to Great Yan. Even the top physicians here did not know what its uses were.
However, the powder packet Zi You was giving the Duke was extremely concentrated. Once Hong Xiang consumes it a couple of times, he would become addicted. He would never be able to stay away from it again.
Zi You looked at the Duke, his wife and Hong Xiang with a gentle smile. She swore in her heart that she would make them wish they were dead for treating her so horribly. In the past life, they schemed and strangled her to death while she was pregnant. Now, she would let them experience suffering and live a miserable life worse than beggars.
As Zi You predicted, Hong Xiang experienced stomachache and vomiting during the night. The Duke took out the Hero Flower powder. He was about to mix it with water for his son to drink when his hand was stopped by his wife.
“Such a young lass, not even a physician, how could we trust her? What if she misdiagnoses our son? It would be better to summon an imperial doctor.”
