In the capital, at the residence of Marquis Wu’an.
In the backyard, in the Third Young Master’s courtyard, inside the small room where the low-ranking maidservants lived…
“Wa… wa… I want… water…”
A faint, almost inaudible voice came from the large shared bed pushed against the wall, coming from a small, slightly raised bump under the thin quilt.
It turned out that beneath the flimsy blanket lay a little maid, her face flushed bright red from a fever.
Unfortunately, at this moment, the room was empty except for her.
This tiny, cramped room was stuffed with six low-ranking maidservants.
With the beds pushed together along the wall, there was barely enough space to turn around freely.
The maidservants living here did the lowest, hardest work in the Marquis’s residence, and yet their monthly wages were the smallest.
At this moment, all of them except the little maid lying on the kang (heated platform bed) had gone to work.
“I want water.”
The little maid on the bed whispered again, this time her voice seeming slightly louder.
In this room with no one else, it seemed that this high-fevered little maid might literally die of thirst.
Suddenly, something supernatural occurred—
A thin stream of water appeared out of nowhere, slowly flowing into the little maid’s mouth.
As soon as the water entered her mouth, the thirsty little maid instinctively gulped down several mouthfuls.
After drinking a few sips, perhaps she had had enough. The water stream vanished into thin air just as suddenly as it had appeared.
If anyone else had been in the room at that moment, they would have screamed loudly—
“There’s a ghost! Ahhhh—!”
Fortunately, there was no one in the room besides the unconscious little maid.
So, no one witnessed this strange occurrence.
Meanwhile, the little maid lying on the bed, whose face had been flushed red from fever, gradually returned to a normal, healthy pink.
Her rapid breathing also gradually slowed, becoming light and calm, as if she had never been sick at all, peacefully drifting into a deep sleep.
At the Wu’an Marquis residence, in the main hall of the Qingzhai Hall where the Old Madam lived…
The Old Madam was sitting on the Luohan couch with her eyes closed, a string of Buddhist prayer beads in her hands.
Everyone else had left; only her trusted attendant, Grandma Liu, who had served her for many years, remained by her side.
“Old Madam, please rest and have some hot tea.” Grandma Liu presented a cup of moderately warm tea to the Old Madam.
“How is that little maid?” The Old Madam didn’t take the tea, keeping her eyes closed. Her fingers moved the prayer beads faster and faster.
“The house physician has already checked her. At noon, Pearl personally went to the main kitchen to watch them prepare the medicine and fed it to the little maid. The physician said as long as her fever subsides, she’ll be fine.”
Grandma Liu put down the teacup and bowed as she reported.
“What is Chang Gong doing right now?” The Old Madam slowed the pace of turning her prayer beads, paused briefly, then asked.
“The Third Young Master has been confined by the Marquis. He’s currently in his room copying the Classic of Filial Piety for you, Old Madam.” Grandma Liu bowed even lower.
“If the little maid recovers, give her some rewards. In the future, let her go to the back garden and follow Granny Wang to take care of the flowers and plants.”
“Yes, with Old Madam’s blessings, that little maid will be extremely lucky. She may even recover from the fever by tomorrow morning, so you can rest assured.”
“Hopefully. Bring me the tea.”
The Old Madam put down her prayer beads and opened her eyes. Though her skin was full of wrinkles from age, her gaze was sharp, decisive, clear, and resolute.
Grandma Liu quickly handed the continuously-warmed teacup to her.
“Is this flower tea?” The Old Madam sipped, looking at Grandma Liu.
“Yes. It’s said that the Empress recommends drinking rose tea at night for a good sleep. So, I took the liberty of having this evening’s tea replaced with rose tea.” Grandma Liu hurriedly explained.
“Hmm, the flavor is quite delicate. Let’s make this the evening tea from now on.”
“Yes, Old Madam. It’s late; please rest early.”
The Old Madam stood up. Grandma Liu immediately went forward to support her as she walked into the bedroom.
After seeing the Old Madam to bed and instructing the night-duty maid to stay alert, Grandma Liu called for Pearl, who had been waiting outside.
“Tell me the truth. How is the little maid? Will she wake up tomorrow?” Grandma Liu asked Pearl in a low voice after moving her away from the main room.
“She’s in a critical state. When we arrived, her face was already bright red from fever. There wasn’t a single person in the Third Young Master’s courtyard taking care of her. She was left lying on the bed.” Pearl looked around nervously and whispered.
“They said the Third Young Master ordered no one to intervene, to just… let her die.” Pearl lowered her voice even further in Grandma Liu’s ear.
“What did the house physician say?” After a brief pause, Grandma Liu asked.
“He prescribed medicine, but he couldn’t guarantee whether the fever would subside. At noon, we force-fed her the medicine; half was vomited back up.”
“You didn’t do anything after she vomited? Is that how you handle things? If the little maid dies, the Third Young Master might not face consequences, but we’d be in serious trouble.” Grandma Liu frowned, whispering sharply.
“Grandma, don’t worry. I noticed her condition was serious, so I had the kitchen prepare another dose of medicine and boiled some rice soup to feed her. But… but…”
Pearl cautiously lifted her eyes to peek at Grandma Liu, then quickly lowered her head again, fear evident on her face.
“But what? At this point, why hide anything?”
“But… while we were feeding the little maid, the Third Young Master was in the main room shouting loudly, saying… saying that anyone who cared for her would pay dearly once he came out.”
Pearl looked terrified, her face pale and bloodless.
A heavy silence fell in the room.
“Grandma, you must think of a way. Otherwise, with the Third Young Master’s temper, neither of us will come out unscathed. It could be… it could end up like the little maid…”
Pearl shivered violently, clearly imagining something horrifying.
Grandma Liu’s face darkened. She remained silent for a moment, then patted Pearl’s shoulder. “Go rest. Don’t tell anyone about this. Understand?”
“Yes,” Pearl nodded heavily, knowing Grandma Liu already had a plan.
Back in the Third Young Master’s courtyard, the low-ranking maidservants, exhausted from a long day of work, finally finished their duties.
“Do you think Ruyi will die?” A small maid sitting on the edge of the bed asked the others with a trembling voice.
“She probably won’t. Didn’t Sister Pearl from the Old Madam’s quarters bring the house physician and give her medicine?” said an older-looking maid.
The others remained silent.
In truth, they all secretly hoped Ruyi would recover—not out of particular kindness, but because they feared for themselves.
Today it was Ruyi; tomorrow, it could be any of them.