Jiang Yunxu observed Chu Xuanzhi, who was still seated in his wheelchair, but his complexion had clearly improved.
A glimmer of light now shone in his phoenix eyes.
“You…” Jiang Yunxu took a few steps forward and, out of professional habit as a doctor, reached out to touch his leg.
Chu Xuanzhi instinctively frowned, wanting to brush her hand away, but he restrained himself.
After a long examination, Jiang Yunxu finally spoke: “You’re recovering well. A few more acupuncture sessions and you’ll be fully healed. However, due to years of inactivity, some of your muscles have atrophied. Once the poison is completely cleared, you’ll still need to exercise.”
Chu Xuanzhi roughly understood her words. After he woke up, the physician had examined his leg and confirmed that it had indeed improved significantly.
Unable to contain his excitement, he realized he had indeed found the right person.
He had also thoroughly investigated Jiang Yunxu’s background, including what she had done that day, and found himself growing increasingly curious about this woman.
“Why is Xuan Wang looking at me like that?” Jiang Yunxu asked, puzzled, as she touched her face, wondering if something was on it.
Chu Xuanzhi curled his hand into a fist and cleared his throat, his clear and gentle voice as mild as a spring breeze in March: “This prince never owes favors. I came today to repay your kindness. Whatever request you have, just name it.”
Jiang Yunxu raised an eyebrow. She did intend to seek Xuan Wang’s support, but she wasn’t sure yet whether he was good or bad, so she didn’t dare reveal her identity just yet. Her eyes darted around as she lowered her voice and said, “I’m just a kitchen maid, but I have a master. My master is the kind-hearted Third Princess Consort. She’s so pitiful, always being bullied. If Xuan Wang wishes to repay the favor, could you promise me that you’ll protect the Third Princess Consort in the future?”
She blinked, feigning innocence.
Chu Xuanzhi glanced at her clumsy acting and, considering her difficult situation, understood her plight. He took a jade pendant from his waist and said, “Tell your master that this prince agrees. I will definitely protect the Third Princess Consort in the future!”
He emphasized the words “Third Princess Consort” with particular clarity, sending an inexplicable chill down Jiang Yunxu’s spine. She awkwardly accepted the pendant and said, “Xuan Wang is a good person who will surely be rewarded with a long life.”
Amused by her words, Chu Xuanzhi added, “After all, there are differences between men and women, and it’s not entirely appropriate. If there’s anything urgent, you can send someone to Zhixin Fang to inform me.”
Jiang Yunxu nodded: “Deal!”
She decided to test the power of this Ninth Imperial Uncle tomorrow!
“Master, you’re really protecting Xiao Cui like this. I think Xiao Cui is quite bold and not one to stay quiet,” Yin Feng said. Although he was grateful to Xiao Cui, he couldn’t help but feel that she was too daring and wouldn’t stay out of trouble.
Chu Xuanzhi rubbed his leg, which now had some sensation, and a faint smile appeared at the corner of his mouth: “She’s also a pitiful soul. Let her be.”
…
Jiang Yunxu returned holding the jade pendant. Although she hadn’t gotten a clear look at it, its smooth and warm texture made it clear it was no ordinary item.
Standing under the corridor, the anger that had been pent up in her chest earlier now seemed to have found its footing.
“Hong Qiao.”
“Your servant is here!”
A wicked smile spread across Jiang Yunxu’s lips: “I want one of Nanny Lin’s hands. Send it to the main wife’s room in Zaixiangfu. Can you do that?”
Hong Qiao nodded, effortlessly leaped over the wall, and vanished in the blink of an eye.
…
The next day, just as dawn was breaking, a maid’s scream startled Lady He, who had just gotten up, causing her to frown repeatedly.
“What are you screaming about, you wretched girl!” Lady He roared angrily, following the maid’s trembling finger to see a severed hand placed on the table, its blood nearly dried up.
The sudden sight was indeed terrifying.
“Where… where did this come from?”
Lady He stared at the hand, feeling a sense of familiarity. When she saw the warm jade ring on the middle finger, she immediately recognized it: “Nanny Lin’s hand?”
She was both shocked and furious: “Who on earth placed Nanny Lin’s hand here?”
It had been done so stealthily, and thinking back, she couldn’t help but feel a chill.
Soon, another maid hurried in: “The eldest young lady sent word that Nanny Lin had a hand cut off, and it must have been the third young lady’s doing.”
“That little wretch Jiang Yunxu, how dare she!”
Before Lady He could vent her anger, a sharp-eyed maid spotted a note underneath and handed it to her: “Treat my mother well, or your daughter will pay with her life!”
Lady He was seething with rage. Having managed the household for decades, she had misjudged someone. She had finally married off Jiang Yunyue, thinking Jiang Yunxu was an easy target, only to find her a thorny one.
“Madam,” the maid cautiously approached, “the eldest young lady is indeed poisoned. Without the third young lady’s acupuncture, she might…”
Lady He took a deep breath. She knew all about the incident at Sanwangfu. She had intended to teach Jiang Yunxu a lesson but ended up being taught one herself.
For her daughter’s safety, she would endure!
“Go give that old wretch some food. Don’t let her starve to death.”
“Yes.”
…
Jiang Yunxu went out early in the morning, lingering near Yi’an Bo Fu. As soon as someone emerged, she followed and slipped a silver ingot into their hand.
The purchasing cook was taken aback: “Who are you?”
“I have a few questions to ask, about the former shizifei…”
The cook immediately returned the silver, disdainfully sidestepping her. Jiang Yunxu wasn’t about to give up so easily. She caught up and offered two more ingots, pleading softly: “Auntie, please, say a few words. There’s no one else here.”
Tempted by the silver, the cook finally relented: “Sigh, I’m just a servant. The former shizifei was a good person, but her life was cut short. The young master she left behind is simple-minded, locked away in the mansion, thin as a chick…”
There really was a child!
Hearing that the child was being abused, Jiang Yunxu felt her heart bleed. Yi’an Bo Fu treated the child with contempt, allowing everyone to bully him.
If not for the Old Master of Yian Bo’s occasional care, the child would have been long gone. Recently, with the old master away in another province, the child fell ill. No doctor was called, and he was left in the woodshed to fend for himself.
“It’s the third day now. I reckon it won’t be long,” the cook said with pity.
Jiang Yunxu trembled uncontrollably upon hearing this.
These beasts!
Lady of Yian Bo, Jiang Yunyue’s mother-in-law, was Lady He’s cousin. Jiang Yunyue had once attended a banquet and accidentally fell into the water, rescued by the son of this Lady of Yian Bo. Her reputation ruined, Jiang Yunyue had no choice but to marry him.
The cook also mentioned that Jiang Yunyue’s life in Yi’an Bo Fu was worse than that of a dog. She served her mother-in-law from dawn to dusk, endured her husband’s beatings and curses, and even the maids dared to bully her.
In the cold winter, Jiang Yunyue, several months pregnant, was made to stand outside the door for two hours early in the morning.
What decent person could withstand such torment?
Jiang Yunxu was currently seething with rage, almost unable to contain it. Fortunately, Hong Qiao reminded her in time, and she snapped back to reality in a daze. Returning to the carriage, the thought of the small figure in the firewood room reminded her of her little nephew in real life. Similarly, after her sister passed away from illness, her nephew was brutally beaten and disabled by a malicious stepmother.
This was also the reason Jiang Yunxu wanted to study medicine. Living alone with her little nephew, she vowed to provide him with the best treatment possible.
Tears blurred her vision, and Jiang Yunxu couldn’t wait a moment longer. She immediately went to Zhixin Fang.
Taking out the jade pendant, the shopkeeper immediately spoke respectfully upon seeing it: “What assistance does the young lady require?”
“I want a person from Yi’an Bo Fu.”
Without another word, the shopkeeper handed Jiang Yunxu a brocade box from beneath the counter. She opened it to find evidence of the Grand Lady of Yian Bo’s usury and the murder of a virtuous concubine over the years, along with over a dozen testimonies in total.