Pei Zhiyan knew that Du Lingxuan was forcing him to come and see her. His eyes were cold as he flicked his sleeves and walked up to Nanny Jiang. "Lead the way," he said.
He had never been to Du Lingxuan's residence before. Today, he was going to pay her a visit.
When Pei Zhiyan arrived at Du Lingxuan's courtyard, a maid was just coming out with a basin of water. Nanny Jiang grabbed the maid anxiously. "How is the Second Lady?" she asked.
The maid saw Pei Zhiyan and shook her head. "She's been holding on and refusing to sleep. She's just waiting for the Master to come," she replied.
The coldness in Pei Zhiyan's eyes didn't fade. He stepped into the room. Du Lingxuan was wrapped in a sheer veil, revealing her slender waist. She posed in a charming yet delicate manner, raising her hand to press on her temple, and said in a coquettish voice, "Where's the Master? Why doesn't the Master come to see me..."
Just as she finished speaking, a tall figure walked in from outside. Du Lingxuan saw Pei Zhiyan's hazy yet handsome face through the gauze curtain. Her heart began to pound uncontrollably.
She pretended to be surprised and looked at him. "Master, is that you? Master, you've come to see me..."
But Pei Zhiyan remained cold in the face of her enthusiasm. "The doctor will be here soon. Next time you're sick, just call the doctor. I don't know how to treat illnesses," he said.
Du Lingxuan was stunned for a moment. She bit her lower lip gently and still said in a tone full of grievance, "The Master has never come to my room before. Now that he's finally back, I hardly ever get to see him. I was so sick that I lost my wits. I've been thinking about the Master all the time, longing for the Master to come and take a look at me..."
As she spoke, she even choked with sobs. Her voice was filled with a crying tone. Pei Zhiyan pursed his lips and frowned slightly. "I've come. Wait for the doctor to examine you. I still have official business..."
"The Master hasn't even come close to me. He's only seen me through the curtain. How can this be considered a proper visit?" Du Lingxuan looked at Pei Zhiyan with grievance.
Pei Zhiyan looked at the hazy figure behind the curtain. A feeling of disgust welled up in his heart. Nanny Jiang beside him was still fanning the flames. "Master, the Second Lady is very ill. Please go in and take a look at her," she said.
"Master, I'm already yours. Won't the Master even come in?" Du Lingxuan said coyly.
The coldness in Pei Zhiyan's eyes grew stronger. Just as he was about to speak, the doctor came in with his medicine box. He then instructed the doctor, "Go and examine the Second Lady. I'll leave first."
After saying that, without any hesitation, he turned around and left. Du Lingxuan called out to him several times from behind, but he didn't stop.
The doctor bowed respectfully behind the curtain. "Madam, please allow me to examine you..."
"Get out!" Du Lingxuan suddenly interrupted the doctor and shouted sternly.
The doctor was startled. He had no idea what was going on. But thinking that it was Pei Zhiyan who had sent for him, he still wanted to say something.
Du Lingxuan sat up. Seeing that the doctor was still there, she gave him a disgusted look. "What are you still standing there for?"
If it weren't for the doctor coming at the wrong time, maybe Pei Zhiyan would have come in. Then all her elaborate dressing up would not have been in vain. Pei Zhiyan would surely be fascinated by her...
"Second Lady, it was Lord Pei who invited me to examine you. I haven't even started the examination yet. How can I report back to Lord Pei?" the doctor said helplessly.
He didn't really want to stay here for long, but he was worried about Pei Zhiyan. If Pei Zhiyan asked him about it, he wouldn't know what to say.
Hearing this, Du Lingxuan rolled her eyes. Her tone softened. "Look at my temper. I was so sick that I lost my wits. Please don't take offense, Doctor. I've been feeling really uncomfortable, so my temper has been a bit bad..."
The doctor shook his head. "Madam, please stretch out your hand."
Du Lingxuan stretched out her hand from behind the curtain. She felt the doctor's hand on her pulse and said softly, "I don't know what's wrong. I went to the Third Sister's place today. When I came back, I got sick. My head hurts, and I feel weak all over..."
But when the doctor felt her pulse, he didn't detect any abnormalities. He couldn't help but frown. "Second Lady, are you sure these are your symptoms?" he asked.
Du Lingxuan nodded. "I've been sick for so long. How could I be wrong about my symptoms?"
The doctor thought for a while, sighed, and shook his head. "My medical skills are not good enough. I can't detect any illness in Madam..."
He stood up and said to Nanny Jiang beside him, "You'd better find another doctor to take a look."
After the doctor left, Nanny Jiang lifted the curtain and came in. Du Lingxuan also sat up, with a hint of a smug smile in her eyes...
Two days later, Song Ruotang was woken up early in the morning by a hasty ringing sound. Liu'er was on leave, so she got up by herself, put on her coat, and opened the door. She saw an old man in Taoist robes standing in her yard. There was an altar in front of him, filled with incense, candles, and paper money.
The Taoist priest was muttering something. Song Ruotang frowned tightly. She had seen this kind of scene many times. Every time Song Wanying got a little sick, a group of Taoist priests would come to the manor and chant incantations around her. Then they would blame Song Ruotang as a malevolent star and openly scold her.
Song Ruotang subconsciously took a step back and looked at the old Taoist priest warily. "Who allowed you to enter the yard without permission?" she asked.
The old Taoist priest didn't answer Song Ruotang's question. His closed eyes suddenly opened wide. After shouting "Hurry up as the law commands!", he picked up the copper coin sword on the table, dipped it in the yellow talisman written with cinnabar, and laid it across the bowl with an oil lamp in front of him. With a whoosh, the yellow talisman was lit.
Song Ruotang was startled by his shout. She took a few steps back and saw the old Taoist priest looking at her fiercely. "Bold evil spirit, don't you dare resist!" he roared.
Saying that, he raised the copper coin sword and struck at Song Ruotang. Song Ruotang gritted her teeth and dodged the old Taoist priest's attack sideways. She ran towards the house.
But the old Taoist priest seemed to have caught the right moment. He struck at her ankle with the sword. Song Ruotang instantly lost her strength and knelt on the ground. As soon as her hands hit the ground, they were scratched by the rough sand.
"Evil spirit, today I, Taoist Priest Qingshan, am here. You won't be allowed to cause trouble here!" the old Taoist priest said again. He lifted the corner of his robe, took out the wine gourd from his waist, took a gulp, walked around to Song Ruotang's front, stared at her extremely beautiful face, and was about to spit the wine at her.
When Song Ruotang knelt down just now, she saw the flowerpot beside her. Now, taking advantage of the moment when the old Taoist priest was drinking and had just put down the wine gourd, Song Ruotang suddenly jumped up. She grabbed the flowerpot full of soil and smashed it hard on the old Taoist priest's head.
The old Taoist priest let out a pained cry. He stared with wide eyes, covered his head, took a few steps back, and fell to the ground. Song Ruotang gasped for breath. Just as she was about to run back into the house, several strong men suddenly rushed out from all around and held her down tightly.
"Let me go! Let go!" Song Ruotang struggled a few times but couldn't break free. The old Taoist priest wiped the blood from his forehead. His eyes were wide with anger. He picked up the copper coin sword that had fallen to one side and struck Song Ruotang hard.
The copper coins hit Song Ruotang's face hard. Clear marks of the copper coins instantly bulged up. Song Ruotang only felt a buzzing in her ears. The corner of her mouth was torn and painful, and blood flowed out from the corner of her mouth.