【You’re the one who’s wild! Your whole family is wild!】
【Brother! Cousin! Please stay strong!】
【If we don’t leave tonight, I’ll be burned alive! After tonight, Song Li will be gone from this world forever!】
Song Hailan’s heart tightened.
He held Song Li even more firmly.
“Hmph. It’s an honor to be my maid. Who wouldn’t want that?”
“When she wakes up, if she says she doesn’t want to come, I’ll bring her back immediately. I won’t force her.”
He said it proudly.
Just as Zhaodi was about to argue again, Song Haiming stepped forward.
“Cousin, my cousin brother is only worried that you’ll be unfamiliar with the Song family at first. If Song Li stays with you, you’ll feel more comfortable. He’s just awkward. He cares about you but is embarrassed to say it.”
Song Hailan desperately shook his head in his heart.
Not true at all.
Zhaodi also wanted to shake her head just as hard.
“No! How can I selfishly take away Song Li’s freedom just for my own sake?”
“When I return to my family, I’ll become a young lady with family members to care for me and maids to serve me.”
“But if Song Li goes, she’ll only become a servant. No one will take care of her, and she’ll have to serve others. How is that fair?”
“Brother, please put her down!”
Song Haiming laughed.
“Cousin, from the way you’re talking, you’d think the Song family is some dangerous place.”
“Song Li is your good friend. Naturally, we’ll treat her like half a young lady.”
“Besides, aren’t you there too? Would you let anyone bully her?”
Zhaodi opened her mouth but could not think of anything to say.
Song Hailan was even more direct.
“If you’re really worried, then let Father adopt Song Li as his goddaughter.”
“I think Father likes her too.”
Song Yannian laughed loudly.
“Finding two daughters at once is a blessing for the Song family.”
“I wouldn’t dare trouble Father!”
Zhaodi quickly waved her hands.
The moment Song Yannian agreed, her heart almost jumped out of her throat.
That helpless feeling of fate had returned.
Only killing Song Li could make it disappear.
But she had just reunited with the Song family and could not object too strongly.
She could only force a gentle smile.
“Brother and Cousin have thought everything through. I have nothing to worry about.”
“Let Song Li stay with me as my maid. She’s sick, so I can take care of her at any time.”
【Sure, sure. You just want another chance to force medicine down my throat, don’t you?】
【Thank you so much!】
【Brothers! You absolutely cannot agree!】
【Next time, the poison won’t be this mild. I’ll really lose my life.】
Mild?
Feeling his sister’s burning fever, Song Hailan wondered how long she had been suffering.
He had only one thought now.
Hurry and cure her.
“Enough. We’ll discuss this after we get home. First, let’s cure her. We can’t have the master constantly serving a maid.”
“That’s right! Let’s go home first. We can discuss everything else later.”
Yang Yuhua took Zhaodi’s hand and helped her into the carriage.
There were two carriages.
One was for Yang Yuhua.
The other was for the maids.
Zhaodi insisted that Song Li ride in the same carriage as her.
Song Hailan firmly refused.
He directly placed Song Li into the maids’ carriage.
“A servant is a servant. How can a servant ride with the master?”
Although this increased the risk of exposing themselves, he didn’t care anymore.
Song Li’s poison had not been cured.
If Zhaodi secretly did something during the journey, Song Li might be dead before they even got home.
He would never allow that to happen.
Even so, Song Hailan still wasn’t at ease.
He stayed close beside the carriage the entire trip.
If Song Li made even the slightest sound, he would hear it immediately.
Fortunately, nothing happened.
The group safely arrived at the Xie residence.
The Song family had come from the capital to Qingzhou to search for their daughter and were temporarily staying there.
Yang Yuhua’s husband was Xie Mian, the richest man in Qingzhou.
Song Hailan first settled Song Li into a room.
He called Old Zhuang to examine her.
Then he assigned four guards to stand watch.
Other than the three members of the Song family, no one was allowed inside.
Only after that did he return, and the welcome banquet officially began.
The banquet was lively, with everyone eating, drinking, and chatting happily.
Everyone present gave Zhaodi a gift.
Song Yannian gave her a jade pendant.
Song Haiming gave her a painting and calligraphy scroll.
Yang Yuhua gave her a complete set of hair jewelry.
Xie Mian gave her five rolls of expensive fabric and a box of pearls.
Even Xie Mian’s son and daughter gave her interesting little gifts.
Finally, it was Song Hailan’s turn.
He carefully took out a bag of pine nut candy from his robe and sincerely said,
“Little Sister, from now on, I’ll take care of all the sweetness in your life.”
Zhaodi was deeply moved.
She immediately opened the bag and ate one piece.
“It’s very sweet. Thank you, Brother.”
But inside, she was speechless.
I was only being polite, and now you’re addicted to giving me candy?
Is this even worth one tael of silver?
You’re really giving this as a gift?
What a typical straight man.
The men of the Song family really don’t know how to give presents.
Look at the Xie family. Their gifts are much more thoughtful.
After drinking a few cups of wine, Song Yannian excused himself to use the restroom and went to check on Song Li.
Seeing that his son’s arrangements were acceptable, he secretly added four more hidden guards.
Old Zhuang had already examined Song Li and reported,
“If it hadn’t been me, this illness really couldn’t have been treated.”
“Most doctors would think she simply had a cold because they wouldn’t realize she’d been poisoned.”
“The truth is, she’s been poisoned with a rare Southern Barbarian poison called Red Infant. It’s made by grinding red-bellied scorpions into powder.”
“The victim burns with a high fever for seven days.”
“Even if they survive, they’ll become an idiot.”
【What the hell!】
【So even if I don’t burn to death tonight, I’ll become mentally disabled in a few days!】
【My life is so hard!】
【Luckily Father saved me. Having a father is wonderful!】
Song Yannian gently tucked the blanket around her again.
“Fortunately, I once traveled through the Southern Barbarian lands and kept some antidote pills.”
“I’ve already given her one.”
“After sleeping through the night, she’ll be fine tomorrow morning.”
【Old Zhuang is amazing!】
【Sadly, in the original novel, Old Zhuang was just a supporting character. Zhaodi liked traditional medicine, so he devoted himself to teaching her everything he knew. That became the foundation for all her future success in the palace.】
A strange light flashed through Song Yannian’s eyes.
Some of Song Li’s words sounded strange, but he understood what she meant.
From now on, he would make sure Old Zhuang stayed away from Zhaodi.
He would never let her learn medicine.
Old Zhuang was a retired military doctor who had served on both the northern and southern borders.
He had great experience.
Since he said Song Li would recover, Song Yannian felt relieved.
When he returned to the banquet, Yang Yuhua was asking Zhaodi about her past.
Zhaodi had already prepared her story and had been waiting for someone to ask.
“After the Wang family found me and took me back to Wang Village, all I remember is working every single day.”
“Especially after my younger brother was born.”
“I worked from dawn until late at night.”
“But I still liked Wang Village.”
“There was a wonderful old man living in the mountains.”
“He taught me how to read and write.”
“He opened my mind.”
“He taught me useful skills to survive.”
“He also taught me to face life with a smile.”
She had planned this long ago.
By laying the groundwork now, when she later introduced inventions or wrote astonishing poems, no one would be surprised.
If anyone wanted to find that old man, they were free to try.
There really had been an old man living in the mountains near Wang Village.
The only problem was…
He was already dead.
The three members of the Song family were not fools.
They immediately saw through her exaggerated performance.
Song Haiming couldn’t be bothered listening anymore.
He simply made an excuse to leave and went to visit Song Li.
After Song Haiming returned, Song Hailan suddenly found an excuse to leave as well.
Zhaodi was completely speechless.
It seemed that only Yang Yuhua was seriously listening to her story.
But the problem was…
She wasn’t going to spend the rest of her life with Yang Yuhua!
She was telling such an emotional story!
Wasn’t it rude for them to keep leaving?
If they keep running to the restroom like this, maybe they should see a doctor!