After the door closed, Old Master Bai and Mrs. Bai left. The maidservants and old women also filed out. The noisy courtyard quietened down. Yu Wan climbed over the courtyard wall and walked towards Bai Tang’s room.
This time, the door was not locked from the outside, but Yu Wan could not push it open.
Had the latch been inserted?
Yu Wan gently knocked on the door. There was no reaction from the room. She did not dare to make too much noise, afraid that she would alarm Mrs. Bai and the others who had not gone far.
Yu Wan went around the corridor and walked to the windowsill of the room. She reached out and pulled open the window.
Bai Tang was sitting in front of the dressing table, holding a pair of scissors in one hand and her long hair in the other. The scissors had already been opened, and with just a click, the black hair was gone.
“What are you doing?” Yu Wan supported herself with one hand and jumped into the room.
Bai Tang was disheartened. She didn’t even look at who had entered the house. She snipped her hair with the scissors and in the blink of an eye, Yu Wan pulled out the hairpin from her head and inserted it into the scissors.
Only then did Bai Tang look at the person angrily, only to discover that it was Yu Wan. Her tear-stained face froze. “Miss Yu?”
“It’s me.” Yu Wan took the scissors from her hand and placed them on the makeup box on the dressing table. “What do you want to do? Shave your head and become a monk in the temple?”
“It’s a nun!” Bai Tang corrected.
Yu Wan nodded. “Isn’t that the same?”
Bai Tang was about to speak when Yu Wan interrupted her. “To put it nicely, you will always be accompanied by green lamps and ancient Buddhas, you would be pure-hearted and have no desires. To put it bluntly, you’re cowardly and avoid the world. I don’t know if others are like this, but you must be!”
“I…” Bai Tang was speechless.
Yu Wan said, “To think that I always felt that you were different from other women. Now it seems that there’s no difference.”
Bai Tang was so angry that she couldn’t even cry even if she wanted to. “You… Are you here to mock me?”
Yu Wan said sincerely, “I’m not being sarcastic. I’m telling the truth. Although I’m an outsider, I still can’t help but want to say: Miss Bai, your father is really a piece of trash! Your stepmother is even worse. If you shave your head and become a nun in the temple, won’t they… and your half-brother be the ones to benefit?”
Yu Wan also had a younger brother. When she transmigrated here back then, if Little Bruiser hadn’t been so obedient and clingy, she probably wouldn’t have been a good sister who treated her younger brother well. When it came to matters of the heart, regardless of age or seniority, they were all equal. There was no need to ask for anything, nor was there a need to give everything. It didn’t mean that just because we had the same blood, I had to dote on you to the heavens. Mrs. Bai had raised her son into a stranger who had no feelings for Bai Tang. How could Bai Tang like him? How could she give her family assets to him?
Bai Tang said aggrievedly, “So be it. Anyway, everyone wants me dead. I’m an eyesore to them if I live at home!”
“Have you given up on yourself?” Yu Wan moved a stool and sat down beside her.
“How’s your father?” Bai Tang asked.
Yu Wan handed her a handkerchief. “At this time, you’re still in the mood to think about my father. He’s out of prison. We’re just waiting for a witness to prove his innocence.”
“That’s good.” Bai Tang took the handkerchief and wiped her tears. “Is your father good to you?”
If she answered this question honestly, it would pierce Bai Tang’s heart and Yu Wan’s own heart if she lied. Yu Wan simply changed the topic. “Let’s not talk about my father. Let me ask you, do you still want to cancel this marriage?”
Bai Tang muttered, “I thought you were here to ask me if I wanted to marry your brother? Shopkeeper Cui told you that I was going to marry someone, right?”
Yu Wan nodded. “We went to the White Jade Restaurant. We wanted to send you the salt and eggs, but you weren’t there… Speaking of which, you seem to have seen through my brother’s intentions.”
Bai Tang curled her lips. “That fool thinks he hid it well?”
Yu Wan thought about Yu Feng’s embarrassment. Even a blind person could tell. She laughed and said, “What happens between you and my brother is your business. Whether you marry him or not, I’ll help you cancel this marriage.”
Bai Tang was touched. She looked at Yu Wan with tears in her eyes and said, “Although you always like to cheat me, I realize that you’re actually quite good.”
Yu Wan touched her chin. “I think so too. I’m really nice, really.”
Bai Tang : “…”
… .
After confirming that Bai Tang would not do anything stupid again, Yu Wan left the Bai Manor and told Yu Feng about Bai Tang’s situation. When she heard that Old Master Bai had slapped Bai Tang in order to protect Mrs. Bai, Yu Feng was so angry that his veins were throbbing. “How can there be such a father?!”
Yu Wan deliberately asked, “Are you still at ease marrying Miss Bai to the Chen family?”
Yu Feng originally felt that his status was low and that he was not worthy of the daughter of the Bai family. Now, he still felt that he was not worthy, but the Chen family was even less worthy. His sister was right. Bai Tang and Mrs. Bai’s relationship was like fire and water. It was impossible for Bai Tang to have a good life after marrying into Mrs. Bai’s maternal family. He could not… could not watch her jump into the fire pit.
Yu Feng stood up and said, “I’ll go back and tell Dad and Mom now!”
Yu Wan stopped him. “Miss Bai didn’t say she wanted to marry you.”
Yu Feng choked. “Ah… This…”
Yu Wan couldn’t help but smile. “I was joking. I didn’t ask her. You can ask her yourself in the future.”
Yu Feng’s face flushed red.
Yu Wan said, “Let’s settle the Chen family’s marriage first.”
Yu Wan went to the nearest pharmacy and bought a few herbs. She asked the people in the pharmacy to boil them for her. She pinched them into pills and brought them back to the Bai Manor for Bai Tang.
“What is this?” Bai Tang looked at the medicine bottle on the table and asked.
Yu Wan removed the stopper from the bottle and poured out a pill the size of a black pearl. She said to Bai Tang, “The main ingredients are herba houttuyniae, panax notoginseng, and senna. There are also some supplementary ingredients. After eating it, you will suffer a little, but it won’t harm your body. I’ve already adjusted the dosage.”
“You know this?” Bai Tang asked.
“It’s written in the medical book Grandpa Bao gave me,” Yu Wan said.
“You have Grandpa Bao?” Bai Tang didn’t know that Chef Bao and Yu Wan had reunited.
Yu Wan looked at the courtyard outside the door where a few servants might come at any time. “It’s a long story. Take the medicine first.”
Bai Tang picked up the black pill. “Have you… given it to anyone else before?”
“No, you’re the first!”
Are you surprised? Are you shocked? Are you touched?
Bai Tang : “…” Shouldn’t she be worried that she would be poisoned to death?
In the end, Bai Tang took the pill.
During dinner, Bai Tang started to feel a little listless. The maidservant who delivered the food thought that she had angered the master and madam so much that she did not take it to heart. It was not until night that Bai Tang began to moan uncomfortably.
The maidservant on duty came over with her clothes. “Miss, what’s wrong?”
“My… my head hurts…” Bai Tang said weakly.
The maidservant touched her forehead and retracted her hand in fright. “It’s hot!”
Bai Tang was sick. At first, she was exhausted and sleepy. Then, she had a headache and a high fever. Mrs. Bai invited a doctor over. As she was going to marry the son of the Chen family, she was really not selfish when it came to treating Bai Tang.
After the doctor took a look, he diagnosed it as an acute cold. He prescribed a few medicines to dissipate the wind and heat. However, after Bai Tang took the medicine, not only did she not improve, but her condition became worse.
No matter how biased Old Master Bai was towards his son, Bai Tang was still his biological daughter. It was impossible for him to sit back and do nothing. He looked coldly at Mrs. Bai and said, “What doctor did you hire? He can’t even treat a cold! Did you get someone to take good care of her?”
“Master, what do you mean? Did I deliberately get someone to make her sick? Or did I deliberately feed her medicine? Master, don’t you understand how I’ve treated Tang’er all these years?” Mrs. Bai cried with an aggrieved expression.
Old Master Bai’s heart softened and he said, “I don’t have any intention of blaming you. You… forget it. Change to another doctor and let Steward Ding take care of it.”
Steward Ding was Bai Tang’s trusted aide. After Mrs. Bai took over the management, she transferred him to the storeroom. Mrs. Bai was naturally unwilling to put him in an important position, but at this critical juncture, it was not good to provoke the old master. She asked the maidservant to pass a message to Steward Ding.
Steward Ding invited Doctor Li, who he was familiar with.
Doctor Li’s medical skills were brilliant, and he specialized in treating the big clans. If not for Bai Tang’s mother’s status, Steward Ding would not have been able to invite him to the Bai Manor.
When Doctor Li was treating Bai Tang, Bai Tang’s condition worsened again. Li Dafang rolled up Bai Tang’s sleeve and found that a faint red lump had appeared on her arm. Doctor Li said that something was wrong.
“What’s wrong? Did Tang’er contract some terminal illness?” Old Master Bai asked worriedly.
Doctor Li stood up and got someone to fetch water. He carefully cleaned his hands with soap before saying with a solemn expression, “I don’t dare to make a conclusion for the time being. If these red lumps don’t spread tomorrow morning, I’ll be over thinking. Otherwise…”
“Otherwise?” Mrs. Bai asked anxiously. No one wanted Bai Tang to fall ill at this juncture more than her.
Doctor Li said, “I’ll come back tomorrow morning!”
However, he could not wait until tomorrow morning. In the middle of the night, Steward Ding knocked on Doctor Li’s door.
Steward Ding was in a terrible fix. “Doctor Li, my young miss is getting worse! Hurry up and take a look!”
Doctor Li took the first aid kit and left without stopping.
The light red lumps on Bai Tang’s arm spread. At first, they only grew on her forearm. In the middle of the night, the maidservant wiped her sweat and found that the same lumps had appeared on her arm, cheek, and even her legs. The speed at which the lumps worsened was astonishing. By the time Doctor Li arrived, there were already uneven rashes all around.
“This is bad!” Doctor Li’s heart sank.
“What happened to my young miss?” Steward Ding asked.
Doctor Li said helplessly, “She… she has smallpox.”
… .
Smallpox was an incurable disease. Not only would people die, but it was also contagious. There was once a village that took in a beggar who had smallpox out of kindness. In the end, the entire village died of illness. If Bai Tang also had smallpox, the consequences could be imagined.
The Chen family came looking for them the next day. It was Mrs. Bai’s sister-in-law, Mrs. Chen.
“What did Sister-in-law say? Break off the engagement?” Mrs. Bai looked at the woman in disbelief.
It had to be said that the reason why Mrs. Bai was so anxious about this was because of the last hand that Madam Xu had left behind. Before Madam Xu died, she had asked Old Master Bai to make a written pledge. As long as Bai Tang was alive, her dowry would belong to Bai Tang. If Bai Tang was gone, the dowry would be returned to the Xu family.
Madam Xu had long expected that Old Master Bai would marry a second wife. She was worried that the second wife would be disadvantageous to her daughter, so she would rather be a bad person and force Old Master Bai to sign the pledge.
Old Master Bai had never thought of coveting Madam Xu’s dowry. Originally, he felt that it was only right to leave Madam Xu’s things to Bai Tang. However, Madam Xu’s behavior was too distrustful of him as a father. Could it be that he didn’t know how to protect his daughter? Why did she have to use such a method to force him?
The couple’s last days were not very happy. No one knew what feelings Madam Xu had when she passed away, but Madam Xu’s decisiveness allowed Bai Tang to grow up safely.
“Sister-in-law…”
“Don’t say anymore. I know everything. Bai Tang has smallpox! Do you still want to hide it from me? Do you want to kill our entire family?”
Mrs. Bai had repeatedly asked the servants to keep quiet. Even she did not understand why the news had spread to the Chen family. She suppressed her doubts and said to Mrs. Chen, “Sister-in-law, I didn’t mean to hide it from you, but that girl… might not really be sick.”
Mrs. Chen frowned. “You mean she’s pretending to be sick?”
Mrs. Bai said, “She was courting death earlier, but she suddenly fell ill. How can there be such a coincidence in this world?”
Mrs. Chen retorted, “Then why don’t you pretend for me! The rashes are all over her body, the high heat that couldn’t retreat, and her withered face. How could she pretend? I went to take a look! That girl is only one breath away from death!”
If not for that, how could Mrs. Chen bear to cancel this marriage?
Although she did not know how Bai Tang did it, Mrs. Bai firmly believed that she was pretending to be sick. “Sister-in-law, give me a few more days. I will definitely have a way to expose that girl’s scheme!”
Mrs. Chen flicked her sleeve and left.
Mrs. Bai went to Bai Tang’s room. “You guys can leave!”
“Yes.” The servant who took care of Bai Tang left.
Mrs. Bai came to the bed and looked coldly at Bai Tang, who was on the verge of death from her illness. She asked gently, “Tang’er, are you really sick?”
Bai Tang cursed Yu Wan countless times in her heart. What kind of medicine was this? She was about to die from eating it!
Bai Tang opened her eyes weakly and smiled weakly. “Mother, what do you think?”
Mrs. Bai’s pupils constricted. “You’re indeed pretending to be sick!”
Bai Tang said intermittently, “So what if I did… You can expose me… See if anyone believes you…”
“Bai Tang, just you wait. Don’t think that you don’t have to get married just like that!” Mrs. Bai went out of the room angrily. This girl was the most rash. When did she become scheming?
Mrs. Bai called over her trusted maidservant and nanny. “Keep a close eye on Miss for the next few days and see if there are any strange people around her.”
“Yes, Madam.” The two of them agreed.
Mrs. Bai thought for a while. “Also, get the people from the outer court to keep an eye on Steward Ding.”
After two days, they did not find anything unusual. The Chen family came to urge them again, and Mrs. Bai finally could not sit still anymore. She used the excuse of visiting her mother and left the Bai Manor.
Yu Wan and Yu Feng were staking out at the Bai Manor for a few days before Mrs. Bai finally came out.
When Mrs. Bai’s carriage arrived at Xuanwu Street, a maidservant alighted.
In the carriage behind: “Big Brother, follow her and see what she wants to do.”
Yu Feng nodded and left.
Yu Wan followed Mrs. Bai.
The carriage stopped in front of a high-end teahouse. At this moment, Mrs. Bai had changed her clothes. She wore a cloak and a white veil. The long veil covered her face. If Yu Wan hadn’t been staring intently, she probably wouldn’t have recognized this woman as Mrs. Bai.
Mrs. Bai entered the teahouse. Yu Wan followed her. It seems that Mrs. Bai was a regular, judging from her familiar manner.
“Hey, where did you come from?” The waiter at the teahouse stopped Yu Wan.
This high-end teahouse was not a place that Yu Wan could afford.
Yu Wan’s expression did not change. She said in a dignified manner, “I came with my madam. Why? Do you want to see my madam?”
Yu Wan’s aura intimidated the shop assistant. The shop assistant hurriedly bowed. “Sorry, Miss.”
With the shop assistant’s interruption, she lost Mrs. Bai. Yu Wan could only try her luck in one room after another. Fortunately, her luck was not bad and she heard Mrs. Bai’s voice outside the furthest and most hidden room.
“… The cooked duck flew away. I’m so angry…”
Her voice was so sweet that Yu Wan had goosebumps.
It was too eye-catching to stand at the door, and it was easy for passing waiters to ask. The room next door was empty, but the wall was too thick to hear. Yu Wan pushed open the window and was pleasantly surprised to find that the window opposite was only an arm’s length away from Mrs. Bai’s room.
It seemed to be an inn opposite? She wondered if there was an owner in this room.
Yu Wan flipped over in danger.
The room was big and spacious. In Yu Wan’s opinion, it could be considered an ancient presidential suite.
Yu Wan lay on the windowsill of the “presidential suite”. She leaned her upper body out and bent her soft waist into an unbelievable angle. This way, she could finally stick to Mrs. Bai’s window.
Yu Wan poked a small hole in the window paper.
Yu Wan swore that she only wanted to know what method Mrs. Bai planned to use to expose Bai Tang. She definitely did not deliberately run into such a shocking secret.
In the room that was burning with a faint fragrance, Mrs. Bai was leaning into a man’s arms. The man was tall and huge. Yu Wan was certain that this was definitely not the middle-aged and fat Old Master Bai.
