Chapter 7

In a fit of shock and anger, Shen Li, without much thought, lifted the carriage curtain and shouted, "Stop the carriage!"

Without waiting for the carriage to stop, Shen Li was about to jump out, but Lady Xie quickly grabbed him, "My lord, don't be hasty, please listen to me for a moment!"

Shen Li, half of his body already out of the carriage, glared with red eyes and angrily said, "What more do you want to say? Auntie only has this one descendant. If anything really happens, I will be unable to redeem myself even if I die a thousand deaths."

Lady Xie remained calm and said, "When Qiaoyue went to relieve herself, she was also mistaken for someone else, and she heard the same phrase, 'Lancao, Second Brother is dying.'"

Shen Li's eyes widened, and he slowly sat back in the carriage, saying, "Tell me exactly what happened."

Lady Xie said, "According to Lamei and Qiaoyue, the person was wearing coarse mourning clothes, with a white headband in her hair, a young maid of about ten years old. When she realized she had mistaken the person, she covered her face with her sleeve and ran away."

"Mistaken for someone else, twice in a row?" Shen Li fell into deep thought.

"It's not twice, but three times. When Auntie Zhao went to relieve herself, she also heard someone mistaking her and saying the same thing," Lady Xie said. "My lord, I suspect someone is deliberately spreading this news."

The maids and wet nurses who accompanied the mistress on outings would not go to the toilet at the guest's house one after another. It was only because Lady Xie had the intention of gathering information that she arranged for the group to use the pretext of going to the toilet to gather information. She didn't expect it to work out by chance.

Shen Li, worried about Shen Rui, even though he sensed something amiss, still said, "No, I have to go back to see Brother Rui."

Lady Xie held onto Shen Li's sleeve, saying, "My lord is a junior. Even if you force your way to see Uncle Rui, what can you do? If Uncle Rui is truly being mistreated, there are still the old lady and Uncle in charge. They can simply say that the family is busy with the funeral and the servants are negligent. What can you say then?"

Shen Li frowned, "Then we just stand by and watch? There has been no news of Brother Rui for days, which clearly indicates danger. Auntie was the kindest person, and I suspect a loyal servant couldn't bear to see this and used this crude method to warn us."

Lady Xie said, "Auntie's affairs are not yet settled, and many people are watching. If Uncle Rui were truly ill, the doctor would have been called long ago. It may not be an illness at all. Even if he is truly ill, you going alone won't help. Whatever the truth is, it's better to bring it to the attention of the clan. With the elders in the clan, even if the old lady and Uncle from the fourth branch say something, there will be others to suppress them."

She viewed the situation from a woman's perspective, thinking that if there was something strange, it might naturally be due to conflicts between mother-in-law and daughter-in-law or between wives and concubines. She didn't think the old lady would be so heartless as to harm her own grandson. As for Lady Zheng, who was from a scholarly family and was about to be elevated to a higher position, she knew the power of words. Even if she saw Shen Rui as a thorn in her side, she wouldn't be foolish enough to harm him at this time.

Shen Li, though concerned about Shen Rui, knew that as a junior, even with the status of a top scholar, he couldn't overstep the authority of the clan elders. Acting alone for Shen Rui would be difficult to justify.

He thought for a moment and then got off the carriage, saying, "You go home first, I'll go to the fifth branch's uncle's house..."

Many in the clan had benefited from the Sun family, and there were more than a few who, like Shen Li, were concerned about Sun's biological son. Other clan members were also surprised by the news.

If it weren't for Sun's remaining influence, Shen Rui's plans would have been in vain, and this would be a case of retribution for good and evil.

That night, the news of "Second Brother is dying" spread quickly among the clan members.

*

Liuya hid in the corner of the wall, watching the last female guest leave the old lady's courtyard, and then breathed a sigh of relief, hurrying back to the annex.

After staying up all night and being busy outside for half a day, Liuya looked exhausted, her eyes even brighter. Perhaps because she had seen many people in the afternoon, her shyness had diminished somewhat.

Wang Mama, who had been detained by Shen Rui, had not returned to the room. Liuya yawned twice after entering the room, frowning, "Why are you still so tired after resting in the afternoon?"

Liuya rubbed her eyes, "The more I sleep, the sleepier I get."

Shen Rui had already gotten up and was leaning against the bed, looking at Liuya.

Wang Mama frowned, "Spring drowsiness, autumn fatigue, summer drowsiness, and winter lethargy—these are true, but if you sleep too much during the day, you won't be able to sleep at night. Second Brother didn't sleep today, so you mustn't disturb his sleep tonight."

Shen Rui, wanting to speak privately with Liuya, took the opportunity to say, "She will be on night duty tonight."

Wang Mama was hesitant, "Second Brother... this girl is yawning so much, she might not be able to stay awake."

To detain Wang Mama, Shen Rui hadn't slept all afternoon and had slept little the night before. Seeing Liuya yawn, he yawned as well, saying, "I can't stay awake either."

Wang Mama, seeing both of them yawn, thought that since Shen Rui had slept well during the day the past few days, he would be more alert at night. Since he hadn't slept today, he would be more rested tonight, so she didn't nag anymore.

It was already time for the evening meal, and the main kitchen had not arranged for anyone to deliver food to the annex. Wang Mama had to go and fetch it herself.

Although Wang Mama was worried, it was time to fetch the food, so she gave Liuya a few instructions and left.

Shen Rui was already starving. As soon as Wang Mama left, he immediately took out a paper-wrapped package from under the pillow, opened it, and picked out two pieces of rock sugar to put in his mouth.

Liuya, unable to bear it, said, "Is Second Brother very hungry? I'll sneak some of my evening meal to you. I can endure hunger."

Shen Rui smiled lightly, "I can't eat, or the past few days of hunger would be for nothing." The rock sugar melted in his mouth, the sweet syrup flowing down his throat, making him even hungrier.

However, he didn't continue eating but handed the remaining rock sugar and the paper package to Liuya, saying, "Eat quickly, don't let Wang Mama see."

Liuya, though puzzled, obediently chewed and swallowed the remaining pieces of rock sugar, crumpled the paper, and stuffed it into her pouch.

When Wang Mama returned, she, as usual, brought the food box to the outer room and called Liuya to eat.

Even though the room was cold, the aroma of the food was hard to resist. The servants still had three meals a day, but Shen Rui, the sick young master, was on a "cooling" diet and could only eat two meals of porridge a day.

Shen Rui didn't need to go to the outer room to see the food table. From the smell, he could tell there was chicken and meat. The Shen family, though wealthy, didn't serve the servants a feast every meal. It was a "sword in hand, intent on the target," ostensibly for Wang Mama, but actually to let him, the young master, smell the food.

For the starving Shen Rui, this was like a form of torture. Whoever arranged this had hit a child's weak spot. Even a real nine-year-old child, let alone Shen Rui, a pseudo-child, was drooling and couldn't resist the urge to go out and grab some food.

Shen Rui, lying in bed, pulled the quilt over his head, pinched his nose, and gritted his teeth, mentally cursing the Shen family's ancestors. But his mind was filled with images of various dishes, and his saliva kept flowing, his stomach rumbling even more.

Roast duck, roasted chicken, braised fish, braised pork ribs, mutton soup... all kinds of delicious dishes flooded his mind, making his eyes red.

Under the torment, time seemed to slow down.

When he heard Wang Mama leave, Shen Rui lifted the quilt, his forehead covered in a fine sweat.

Liuya walked in, her expression uncertain.

Seeing this, Shen Rui's heart sank, "What's wrong? Did something go wrong this afternoon?"

Because he was afraid of being overheard, he originally wanted to wait until night to ask Liuya about the afternoon, but now he couldn't wait. Liuya shook her head, pushed the window to check, and, confirming no one was around, walked to the bed, opened her pouch, and revealed two rice cakes.

Shen Rui swallowed, "Didn't you say you wouldn't save any for me? Eat them quickly."

Liuya whispered, "Wang Mama gave them to me, saying she was afraid I would be hungry at night. She said to eat them if I was hungry. But at dinner, Wang Mama said she had no appetite and only ate a couple of bites, giving the rest of the bowl to me. I ate two people's worth of food and was so full, I couldn't possibly be hungry."

Shen Rui was taken aback.

Liuya whispered, "Perhaps Wang Mama left them for Second Brother but didn't dare say so, and used me to give them to you?"

Shen Rui sighed, "Wang Mama is a good person."

It seemed the old lady's judgment was poor. She chose this old woman and young girl, who appeared dull and clumsy, but were actually kind-hearted. Otherwise, if she had really assigned two evil servants, it would have been much harder for him to survive.

Liuya was still young and didn't know the danger of the task. Wang Mama, an experienced woman who had seen many ups and downs, must have guessed the old lady's intention in choosing her and Liuya to "serve" Shen Rui. Both the old and the young were alone in the Shen family, with no other connections. Whether to make them "take the fall" or to deal with them in some other way, it would be very convenient.

Of course, Wang Mama's willingness to speak up and leave food for Shen Rui, indirectly "betraying" the old lady's arrangement, was not just because of her kindness. The underlying reasons didn't need to be explained to Liuya. Realizing this, Shen Rui's heart grew heavier. From the moment this old woman and young girl started "serving" him, their fates were intertwined. It might be a false alarm, or it might truly be a matter of life and death.

When it was time to light the lamps, Wang Mama came to draw the curtains and gave Liuya some instructions before returning to her room.

Shen Rui called Liuya into the tent, and the two of them whispered about the afternoon.

"Six ladies came to the old lady's courtyard this afternoon, with about twenty maids and wet nurses. Seven of them went to the toilet, three wet nurses, and four maids. Most were led by the old lady's sisters, but they couldn't go into the toilet with them and waited outside. I did as Second Brother instructed, waiting for the wet nurses to enter the toilet and shouting outside. For the maids, I pretended to mistake them and spoke before they entered." Here, Liuya was puzzled, "Why say it to each one? If two people from the same family go to the toilet and hear it, won't it be exposed?"

Shen Rui said, "If we only acted with one or two people, and they were honest and didn't cause trouble, they might keep it to themselves, which would be unfair. It's better to expose it, the more strange it is, the more attention it will draw."

The master and servant, having "shared hardships," Liuya's courage had grown a bit since the night before. She couldn't help but ask, "Isn't Second Brother afraid that a lady close to the old lady will tell her?"

Shen Rui said, "The closer someone is to the old lady, the more they will think. If they know the old lady can be so heartless to her own grandson, who would dare to be close to her? Such a private matter can be talked about behind closed doors, but it can't be brought to the surface."

Liuya understood somewhat, feeling a bit more at ease, but was very sleepy. Her eyes were already closing. Shen Rui remembered something and said, "Wasn't Lancao the one who bullied you?"

Because the old lady was superstitious about her age, the maids and wet nurses in her courtyard only wore mourning clothes for three days before changing to plain clothes. Shen Rui had Liuya choose a maid's name to use, and she chose Lancao.

If the matter was exposed, Liuya could cover her face to hide, but Lancao would be hard to escape punishment.

Liuya lowered her head and whispered, "When I worked there, she always made me do her work, stole my food, and often poked me with her hairpin."

Shen Rui laughed, and the master and servant settled down.

Soon, Liuya fell into a deep sleep. Shen Rui, to prepare for the next day, had to stay awake, his eyes wide open.

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