In her slumber, Wei Dongling felt her body alternating between chills and fever, and she trembled uncontrollably. There was always someone talking by her ear, which made her head throb with pain.
She tried to wave her hand to shoo away the people around her, but her arm ached, and she was too weak to even lift it.
Vaguely, she heard a woman sobbing, "Brother Zixi! You have to believe me. I didn't instigate this! I would never do such a heinous thing! Don't drive me away, wuwuwu..."
Luo Xunlong roared angrily, "Yu Zixi! My girl has been hurt like this. Are you just going to drive that woman away and call it even?"
Ruan Niang had found out from the medicinal dregs that a poisonous herb had been added to the Chinese medicine Wei Dongling had taken, which was why she had a persistent fever.
Apart from Ruan Niang, the only person in the inn who was proficient in pharmacology was the maid beside He Yao.
After a little interrogation, the maid readily admitted her crime and cursed Wei Dongling for shamelessly seducing the fiancé of the County Princess of Rong'an.
This enraged Uncle Li and the others. If it weren't for the fact that she was a woman, they might have beaten her up on the spot.
Yu Zixi looked down at the delirious Wei Dongling in his arms, his heart filled with pain. If he hadn't brought that mistress - servant pair, Wei Dongling wouldn't have ended up like this.
Cold sweat dripped down Yu Zixi's forehead. He lowered his head and sighed, "It's all my negligence. Please forgive my cousin, uncles. She is simple - minded and really couldn't have done such a thing. As for the one who poisoned her, I'll leave her to your disposal."
Hearing this, He Yao trembled all over. She rushed in front of her personal maid and pleaded with Yu Zixi through her tears, "Brother Zixi, please spare Cai Qing. She only made this big mistake because she couldn't bear to see me cry. I'll make her apologize to Sister Dongling right away..."
Yu Zixi ignored He Yao and waved his hand, asking Tian Qi to send her back to Yangu Mountain.
The maid Cai Qing tried to follow, but Luo Xunlong at the door grabbed her by the neck and forced her to drink all the poisoned medicinal juice on the table.
After Luo Xunlong finished pouring the medicine, he flicked his sleeve and left, leaving the maid kneeling on the ground, retching.
Yu Zixi glanced at the maid and snorted coldly, "End your own life."
The maid knelt on the ground shakily, kowtowed to Yu Zixi, then took out a pill and poisoned herself to death.
Ruan Niang whispered to Uncle Li, "The poison the girl was poisoned with is not an incurable disease, but there are no proper medicinal materials in Xingshan. I have to take her back to the capital for treatment!"
Uncle Li thought for a moment and nodded, "The Crown Prince is quite sensible. He has opened the granaries to relieve the people's illnesses and the famine recently. You take the girl back to the capital first. If there are no major problems here, I'll go back later."
So, the group split into two batches to return to the capital. Yu Zixi, Luo Xunlong, and Yu Haiming escorted Old Su back to the capital, while Pin Hao, Ruan Niang, Wei Dongling, and Cui Huan each got into two carriages and set off immediately.
Pin Hao's carriage was full of women, and Wei Dongling was still shivering from the fever. He didn't dare to be the least bit careless. He whipped the horses and galloped towards the capital, leaving Yu Zixi and the others far behind.
As the sky gradually darkened, they left Xingshan after four hours.
Wei Dongling still had a high fever. While the others were taking a break, Pin Hao asked Ruan Niang to write a prescription and then rode off at full speed to the neighboring town to buy medicine. When he came back, he not only brought the medicine but also bought some dry rations for everyone.
Ruan Niang checked the medicinal materials he bought one by one. Two herbs were missing, but they could still somewhat relieve Wei Dongling's fever. She immediately asked Cui Huan to boil the medicine and carefully fed it to Wei Dongling. After about an incense - stick's time, the fever symptoms did ease a lot, which finally made everyone breathe a sigh of relief.
After the break, they set off again at night. They finally arrived in the capital one after another the next afternoon.
Wei Dongling was still in a daze when Pin Hao rushed back to the Prince's Mansion. He came back with a large amount of ginseng, bird's nest, and other tonics and stuffed them into Ruan Niang's arms, which shocked everyone.
"The Young Master Yun asked me to bring these," Pin Hao said. Then he took out the two herbs they couldn't buy in the town yesterday and handed them to Ruan Niang. "Do you think we're still short of any medicine? If so, we can go to the palace to get them."
Ruan Niang hugged the pile of tonics and nodded repeatedly, "Thank the Young Master and thank you, young man. There's more than enough!"
Then she asked Cui Huan to boil the medicine.
At night, when Wei Dongling woke up again, she found herself lying in a room on the second floor of the Tingfeng Tower. Her sweaty clothes were sticking to her body uncomfortably.
Seeing that her fever had subsided, Cui Huan quickly came over to give her water, medicine, and change her clothes.
Looking at Cui Huan's haggard face, Wei Dongling pouted and said coquettishly, "Huanhuan, I want to take a bath."
While feeding her porridge, Cui Huan coaxed her softly, "How about we take a bath tomorrow when you're feeling better? You're still weak today."
Wei Dongling pursed her lips in grievance.
Not long after, Shangguan Yun came to visit. He said that he had heard that Miss Wei had woken up and wanted to check on her injuries.
Cui Huan lowered the bed curtain, invited Shangguan Yun into the room, and served him good tea.
Hearing that he had sent a lot of tonics, Wei Dongling was grateful. She thanked him through the bed curtain.
Shangguan Yun shook his head and murmured, "You never have to be so polite with me."
Wei Dongling froze there and didn't know how to respond for a long time. Then she heard Shangguan Yun say, "The Magistrate Tao of Xingshan County has been reported by the Crown Prince and escorted to the capital."
"What?"
Shangguan Yun said in a deep voice, "The Emperor has read the secret letter and the account books from Minister Shen. After discussing with the Censor - in - Chief Yu, he finally decided that the Crown Prince's report was meritorious. His relief efforts for the disaster - stricken people have won the hearts of the people, so the Emperor has given the Crown Prince some rewards."
"What?" Wei Dongling suspected that she had heard wrong. She quickly asked, "Even with the account books and details, doesn't the Emperor still believe that the Crown Prince has been embezzling money and ignoring people's lives during the epidemic?"
Shangguan Yun remained silent.
Wei Dongling was so angry that she coughed continuously. She roared, "Is there any justice in this world?"
Shangguan Yun sighed softly, "You shouldn't get too excited at this time. The Emperor has his own considerations in doing this. The forces behind the Crown Prince are intricate. The Empress Zhao has lost her power in the harem, and the Noble Consort Xue has become dominant. It's not easy to uproot them."
Wei Dongling was so angry that she laughed. She cursed, "That dog - emperor!"
Cui Huan coughed repeatedly beside her, signaling her not to talk nonsense.
Considering that it was late at night and it was inappropriate to stay in a young girl's boudoir for too long, Shangguan Yun lowered his eyes and said, "Heaven sees all our deeds. Miss Wei, don't take these things to heart. Just focus on recuperating. It's getting late. You should rest!" With that, he got up and left.
Wei Dongling lifted the bed curtain and watched Shangguan Yun's departing back. She was full of worries and tossed and turned in bed, unable to fall asleep for a long time.
The Crown Prince had made a fortune out of the national disaster, and finally, he had pushed the Magistrate of Xingshan County out as a scapegoat. Was he just going to get away with it like this?
The more Wei Dongling thought about it, the angrier she got, and she couldn't fall asleep.
Suddenly, she saw a figure standing beside the bed, which made her tremble. Looking closely, she found it was Yu Zixi. She couldn't help but complain.
Yu Zixi looked much better than a few days ago. When he saw her looking at him, he quickly lowered his head and knelt beside her bed on one knee. He said softly, "Wife, I've realized my mistake."