However, Du Lingxuan's hand never landed on Song Ruotang's face. Pei Zhiyan grabbed her wrist in one swift motion. He lifted his eyes, his gaze frigid, and said in a cold voice, "What do you think you're doing?"
Du Lingxuan gritted her teeth, her expression still filled with hatred as she stared at Song Ruotang. Unwilling to admit defeat, she refused to back down. Pei Zhiyan flung her hand away forcefully. The impact sent Du Lingxuan staggering backward a few steps. She stumbled and fell to the ground.
The sharp pain shooting through her knees and palms stunned Du Lingxuan for a moment. She turned her palm over and saw the abrasions. A surge of grievance welled up in her heart. Tears welled in her eyes. Just as she was about to look up and pour out her complaints, Pei Zhiyan spoke first.
His expression showed a hint of disbelief. He frowned slightly, looking both pained and disappointed. His voice was filled with dejection. "I've always believed you to be a simple and kind person. You come from the prestigious Du family, and I expected you to conduct yourself with grace. But your behavior today is so vulgar. You were about to strike your own sister for no reason..."
As Pei Zhiyan spoke, he shook his head, seemingly utterly disappointed in Du Lingxuan.
Hearing Pei Zhiyan say that he had a good impression of her, Du Lingxuan felt a moment of joy. But then, when she heard his disappointment in her behavior today, panic welled up in her heart. She quickly swallowed back the words of complaint that were on the tip of her tongue and hurriedly explained, "My lord, it's not like that..."
"Don't say another word." Pei Zhiyan sighed, his expression pained. "I didn't blame you for the incident with the Taoist priest before. You were deceived by him. But your behavior just now is really unacceptable. Leave now."
With just a few words, Pei Zhiyan defused Du Lingxuan's jealousy. Instead, she found herself in a passive position. Flustered, she wanted to explain to Pei Zhiyan. "My lord, please listen to me. It was Song Ruotang..."
But how could Pei Zhiyan listen? He merely frowned and said, "Get out."
Seeing a flicker of impatience on Pei Zhiyan's face, Du Lingxuan knew that if she continued to explain, she would only annoy him further. So she forcefully stopped herself from speaking. She lowered her eyes, suppressing her unwillingness. "Yes, I understand, my lord."
She turned around. A tear rolled down the corner of her eye. With a resentful glance at Song Ruotang from the corner of her eye, she was about to leave when Pei Zhiyan raised his hand. His wide sleeve blocked her view just in time.
Du Lingxuan gritted her teeth. She turned around and left, sobbing softly. As she reached the archway, she bumped into Lin Yun, who had arrived late. Seeing the tears on Du Lingxuan's face, Lin Yun asked in confusion, "Second sister, what's wrong?"
Du Lingxuan glanced at Lin Yun. She raised her hand to wipe away the tears but didn't answer. She covered her mouth and ran away quickly, looking as if Pei Zhiyan had wronged her.
Lin Yun was a bit puzzled. She walked over slowly and bowed to Pei Zhiyan. "My lord, what happened to the second sister?"
"I'm handling official business here. She has obstructed me several times. So I told her to leave." Pei Zhiyan had no special feelings for Lin Yun. But at least she didn't target Song Ruotang as blatantly as Du Lingxuan. So he just explained calmly without showing any impatience.
Lin Yun nodded. She turned to look at the corpse in the yard and wrinkled her nose. She took out a handkerchief and covered her face.
Just then, the coroner finished examining the corpse and walked over to report to Pei Zhiyan. "My lord, I just examined the pustules on the deceased. She didn't die from diarrhea. She died from her body rotting all over."
"Was it caused by some kind of drug?" Pei Zhiyan calmly took a sip of tea and looked at the coroner. The coroner pursed his lips and glanced at the two ladies present. He seemed a bit hesitant to speak.
Lin Yun smiled. "It's okay. We're prepared. Please tell us, my lord."
The coroner looked at Pei Zhiyan. Feeling Song Ruotang gently squeezing his hand and receiving a reassuring look from her, Pei Zhiyan nodded slightly.
"The pustules on the deceased look like she had..." The coroner paused for a moment and then said, "syphilis."
As soon as these words were spoken, everyone around was in an uproar. The servants who had been standing closer to Liu'er's body all took a step back in unison.
Because the syphilis the coroner mentioned was a symptom of a sexually transmitted disease. Everyone was afraid of getting infected and also extremely disgusted with her, so they didn't dare to get close.
"Are you sure?" Pei Zhiyan frowned. It was impossible to find the porridge bowl from that night now. But he still felt a bit confused.
When he saw Liu'er that night, she deliberately showed her slender, fair arms and neck. Pei Zhiyan wasn't blind. He just wasn't interested and didn't want to bother. Because a maid dressing so seductively and having such delicate skin must have had ulterior motives.
That night, he was only thinking about how to get Liu'er to leave Song Ruotang's yard openly. He didn't look closely, but he still remembered that there were no such red sores on her arms.
Seeing Pei Zhiyan frowning, the coroner turned to look at the body covered with a white cloth on the ground. "I just examined it. It's really very similar to syphilis."
Pei Zhiyan pursed his lips. His gaze fell on Liu'er, and he fell silent.
"I knew she was always dressing so flamboyantly. She was just a dirty woman..." An oldish voice came over.
Pei Zhiyan looked over. It was a middle - aged maid. She smacked her lips, seemingly looking down on Liu'er.
"Come here and tell me what's going on." Pei Zhiyan looked at her calmly. The maid was stunned for a moment, and fear clearly showed on her face.
But the others around her pushed her. She still cowered forward and knelt on the ground. "There were some bad rumors about Liu'er when she was in the Second Lady's yard. On weekdays, I never saw her do any work. Instead, I saw her buy a lot of jewelry and cosmetics for dressing up..."
Pei Zhiyan's eyebrows twitched slightly. "What were the bad rumors?"
The maid pursed her lips and still answered truthfully. "It seems that Liu'er had an affair with a man outside. So this syphilis she has might have been passed on to her by that man."
Pei Zhiyan nodded and waved his hand to signal her to step back. He looked up at Mo Qing, who nodded understandingly and immediately sent someone to investigate the man outside the maid had mentioned.
It was almost spring now. The temperature was rising, and the sun was out. The smell of the already stinky corpse became even stronger. The coroner also suggested moving the body to a cool and isolated place.
"For this level of syphilis, it's best to screen for whether it has been passed on to others, especially those who had contact with her." the coroner reminded at last.
Pei Zhiyan also nodded. Just as the coroner finished speaking, a maid in the crowd let out a scream and collapsed to the ground.
The middle - aged maid walked over to help her. "What's wrong with you? Don't make such a racket in front of the master..."
"Liu'er asked me to bring her medicine and food every day, and I was also responsible for washing her clothes. I... I'm afraid I might have... " The little maid trembled, her eyes filled with fear.
The people who had come to help her immediately let go of their hands and looked at her warily.
Seeing that the situation was about to get out of control, Lin Yun didn't hesitate to order, "Someone, quickly take her away."
"Wait a moment." Song Ruotang said softly.