In the hall, Wang Daifu, who was about to reprimand his disciple, suddenly choked back his words.
His eyes instantly turned vacant, his previously stern expression froze, and his mouth uncontrollably fell open.
“That medicine…”
It worked!
Lin Shu’s heart leaped with joy.
But at that very moment!
[Warning! Warning! Key plot character “Lin Wan’er” detected entering a “certain death” route, severely deviating from original plot!]
[Plot Correction System activated! Correcting…]
The icy mechanical voice pierced Lin Shu’s brain like steel needles.
“Ah!” She groaned in pain, her vision darkening intermittently.
Simultaneously, Wang Daifu’s impending confession transformed into a piercing scream.
“Monster! There’s a monster speaking!”
As if witnessing something utterly terrifying, his eyes bulged wildly, nearly popping out of their sockets.
He scrambled up from the floor, frantically clawing at his own face while shrieking: “I didn’t provide that medicine! Stay away! Don’t come after me! It wasn’t me! I didn’t harm you! Don’t come after me!”
In a state of complete madness, he screamed while rampaging through the medical hall, knocking over medicine cabinets and scattering herbs everywhere.
This sudden turn of events stunned everyone present.
Xiao Che shot to his feet, his face displaying unprecedented gravity.
Gone mad?
How could he suddenly go insane?
He was just about to confess!
“Restrain him!” Xiao Che commanded sharply.
Several guards immediately rushed forward, struggling with great effort to pin down the deranged Wang Daifu.
“Damned system, you’re playing dirty!”
Lying prone on the cold roof tiles, Lin Shu cursed the system vehemently in her mind.
Just when she was about to break Wang Daifu’s silence, this wretched system had driven him insane!
What kind of skill is flipping the game board? If you have the guts, come out and face me one-on-one! Let’s see who gets eliminated first!
Needle-like pain stabbed through her mind. She gritted her teeth hard to suppress any cries of agony.
Inside the hall, Xiao Che’s expression had progressed beyond mere displeasure. Watching Wang Daifu rolling on the ground foaming at the mouth, then glancing at the terrified Cen Yi beside him, the aura around him turned freezing cold.
“Take them away! Keep them under strict surveillance!”
“Yes!”
The guards hastily dragged away the insane Wang Daifu and the paralyzed Cen Yi.
Xiao Che stood motionless amidst the wreckage of the medical hall for a long time.
Lin Shu knew she couldn’t stay any longer.
Forcing her weakened body to move, enduring the excruciating pain, she clumsily crawled down from the rooftop, her movements far more pathetic than when she ascended.
The moment her feet touched ground, she leaned against the wall retching dryly, her vision filled with swirling stars as the whole world seemed to spin around her.
The side effects of the Incantation grew more violent with each use.
Not daring to delay, she stumbled through the protective darkness, moving unsteadily toward the Prime Minister’s residence.
When she finally returned to Tingxue Courtyard and pushed open the door, complete exhaustion overwhelmed her, and she collapsed straight into Hua Ping’s arms.
“Young mistress!”
…
Several days passed in utter calm.
Xiao Che didn’t return, and all movement from Lin Wan’er’s side completely ceased, as if she had been forgotten.
Lin Shu remained bedridden for two full days before recovering from that life-threatening exhaustion.
In the following days, she thoroughly experienced the tedious monotony of an ancient noblewoman’s life.
Unable to access the internet, without a mobile phone, and not even a decent storybook to be found.
She was so bored she felt mushrooms might sprout on her, reduced to counting leaves on trees by the window and staring blankly at the clouds in the sky.
“Hua Ping, what’s happening outside?” Lin Shu asked listlessly.
Hua Ping was shelling walnuts for her and paused at the question, a trace of concern appearing on her face.
“Miss, the estate has been very quiet these past few days. I heard that Second Miss from Qing Feng Courtyard has also fallen ill and is refusing visitors. However…”
“However what?”
“But this servant heard that Old Madam Xiao from Jing An Marquis Estate isn’t doing well.” Hua Ping lowered her voice. “They say the poison can’t be cured. Several groups of imperial physicians have come from the palace, but none could do anything. These past two days, she’s started coughing up blood.”
Lin Shu’s heart sank heavily.
Coughing up blood?
According to the original plot, although Old Madam Xiao was poisoned, it wasn’t life-threatening. Lin Wan’er would present the antidote at the critical moment, thereby gaining the gratitude and trust of the entire Marquis Estate.
But now, Wang Daifu had gone mad, completely cutting off the clue to the antidote.
Had she influenced the plot, causing Old Madam Xiao’s condition to worsen?
Once this thought emerged, Lin Shu could no longer remain seated.
Old Madam Xiao had genuinely cared for the original host. After the original host’s mother passed away, she had frequently invited her to stay at the Marquis Estate and supported her.
But the original host, raised with excessive pampering by Liu Yiniang, had gradually distanced herself from Old Madam Xiao.
She couldn’t stand by and watch an innocent elderly person lose their life because of her.
Moreover, this was also an opportunity.
An opportunity to completely reverse the situation and make Xiao Che, along with the entire Jing An Marquis Estate, owe her a favor.
“Hua Ping, help me change clothes.”
“Miss, where are you going?” Hua Ping asked uneasily.
A peculiar light sparkled in Lin Shu’s eyes—the excitement of a hunter spotting prey, yet tempered with the calmness of a physician facing a patient.
“To Jing An Marquis Estate, to visit Grandmother Xiao.”
At the entrance of Tingxue Courtyard, two guards still stood like door gods.
Seeing Lin Shu and her maid emerge, they instinctively moved to block the way.
“Eldest Miss, Young Master has given orders that you cannot…”
“Did Young Master Xiao order me to be confined, or to stand by and watch Grandmother Xiao die from illness?” Lin Shu’s voice wasn’t loud, but carried undeniable authority. “Before my mother passed away, she entrusted me to take good care of Grandmother Xiao. Now that she’s seriously ill, it would be unreasonable for me not to visit her.”
She looked calmly at the two guards. “If you stop me now and something happens to her, can you bear that responsibility?”
The two guards exchanged glances, both seeing the dilemma in each other’s eyes.
Just then, a steward-like figure hurried over and whispered something to the guards.
After listening, the guard’s expression changed, and his gaze toward Lin Shu became much more complicated. Ultimately, he stepped aside to make way.
“Eldest Miss, please proceed.”
Lin Shu understood clearly.
It seemed Xiao Che had tacitly consented.
Without another word, she led Hua Ping and walked out of Tingxue Courtyard with her head held high.
From the Prime Minister’s Estate to Jing An Marquis Estate was merely separated by a wall.
Along the way, servants from both estates looked at her as if they’d seen a ghost, avoiding her and whispering among themselves while pointing.
Lin Shu acted as if she heard nothing, keeping her eyes straight ahead.
The atmosphere at Jing An Marquis Estate was even more solemn than at the Prime Minister’s Estate.
Servants coming and going moved hurriedly, their faces etched with unshakeable worry.
Lin Shu was directly led to Songhe Hall where Old Madam Xiao resided.
Before even stepping through the doorway, she could hear muffled coughing and a woman’s soft sobbing from within.
Taking a deep breath, she lifted her skirt and crossed the threshold.