Su Qingyu said she was going to fetch medicine for Mrs. Tong, but in fact, she was just killing time.
She deliberately dawdled around several halls, asking groups of pilgrims, making everyone aware of Mrs. Tong's critical condition and earning herself a reputation as a filial daughter.
After estimating that the time was about right, she finally slowly returned to the Hall of Immortality with a ginseng root in hand.
She had thought she would come back to hear Su Zeqian wailing, but unexpectedly, she happened to stumble upon the confrontation between Su Zeqian and the Duke Yong's Mansion inside the Hall of Immortality.
Learning from snippets of conversation that Mrs. Tong was still alive greatly surprised her.
She should have entered the hall and stood with Su Zeqian.
But thinking about how she had always suffered setbacks at the hands of the people from the Duke Yong's Mansion recently and had even been punished to kneel in the ancestral hall because of it, she hid outside, planning to go in after everything had settled down.
However, it was precisely because she was hiding here that she heard such astonishing news.
That little fool from the Duke Yong's Mansion had suddenly gained intelligence after a visit to the Buddhist temple?
A thoughtful look crossed her face.
Since the confrontation with this little fool at the Autumn Feast, she had always felt a sense of incongruity from this little fool.
Although Su Yuanbao always seemed a bit dull, every word she said was so appropriate, as if it had been carefully planned.
Coming from the future and thinking more than people of this era, Su Qingyu subconsciously thought that this little fool might not be stupid at all but was just pretending.
It all started when she pushed this little fool into the water!
She had every reason to believe that the problem originated there!
Could it be a time - traveler like herself? Or a reborn person?
Humph, it seemed that she would have to find another opportunity to meet this little fool later.
Not until the figures of the people from the Duke Yong's Mansion disappeared did Su Qingyu take a deep breath. Then, holding the ginseng she had obtained in the Buddhist temple, she pretended to be in a hurry and stepped into the Hall of Immortality.
By now, Master Kongwen and Cang Xuan had already left. Inside the hall, only Su Zeqian, Mrs. Tong, and a few young monks remained.
Holding the ginseng in her hands, Su Qingyu stepped forward and said, "Brother, Yu'er has fetched the medicine for Mother! It's a century - old wild ginseng. Let's quickly feed it to Mother..."
Su Zeqian suddenly looked up, his eyes filled with anger:
"Mother was unwell. Why didn't you stay by her side? Why did you leave without permission? Do you know that Mother almost had an accident because of this?!"
Su Qingyu felt extremely wronged: "But Brother, Yu'er went to find medicine for Mother." Inside, she scoffed in disdain.
He was just venting his anger on her after getting angry himself. He really lived up to his reputation as the good heir of the Marquis Mansion. Didn't he bear any responsibility for the lack of care around Mrs. Tong? He only knew how to shift the blame onto her. What a man!
"There are so many young monks in the temple. Does it need a young lady like you to run errands in person?" Su Zeqian scolded her head - on. "As a child, staying by Mother's side is what you should do most!"
Su Qingyu lowered her eyes and said in a low voice, "Brother is right. Yu'er won't be so reckless in the future."
After scolding, Su Zeqian finally felt a bit better. He said in a gruff voice, "What are you standing there for? Hurry up and take a look at Mother!"
Su Qingyu knelt beside Mrs. Tong, pretended to examine her, and then chewed the ginseng she had fetched and put it into Mrs. Tong's mouth.
Without the help of the system, she had no idea why Mrs. Tong had fainted. However, ginseng was a good medicine for replenishing qi and nourishing blood, so she thought it would be of some use to Mrs. Tong.
Su Qingyu was always on tenterhooks, fearing that the ginseng wouldn't save Mrs. Tong. Fortunately, after Mrs. Tong put the chewed ginseng in her mouth, she opened her eyes.
Su Zeqian and Su Qingyu said happily, "Mother, you're awake!"
Actually, Mrs. Tong hadn't completely fainted. She had just been overly emotional. After Su Yuanyuan was pushed away by Su Zeqian, she was so angry that she blacked out and lost consciousness for a short while.
But soon, she regained consciousness and heard the conversation between Su Zeqian and Su Yuanyuan during the confrontation. She found that because of her fainting, Su Zeqian had had a huge misunderstanding with the Duke Yong's Mansion.
At that time, she was eager to open her eyes and tell Su Zeqian the truth, but she seemed to be in a nightmare and couldn't open her eyes no matter how hard she tried.
It wasn't until Su Qingyu put the ginseng into her mouth that, perhaps with the help of the medicine, she finally woke up completely.
The first thing she did after waking up was to grab Su Zeqian's hand. Gasping for breath, she said in an extremely weak voice, "Qian, Qian'er... You've misunderstood. The Duke Yong and his wife didn't push Mother..."
Su Zeqian was stunned for a moment, then immediately lowered his eyes and remained silent.
"That little girl from the Duke Yong's Mansion... didn't... didn't mean any harm to Mother either... She... She saved Mother..." Thinking of the red mole she had seen on the girl's neck just now, hot tears rolled down from her eyes and sank into her temples.
This was the truth that Su Zeqian had been stubbornly clinging to.
And this truth was indeed completely different from what he had thought.
Realizing this, Su Zeqian tightly closed his eyes and clenched his fists at his sides.
In his ears, it seemed as if the girl's resounding refutation was echoing again.
"As a doctor in the Ministry of Justice, ignoring all kinds of doubts and only believing your own judgment, one can't help but wonder how many unjust cases you've judged in the past, and how many innocent people you've wronged and killed!"
It turned out that what he had seen with his own eyes was indeed not the whole truth, but he had stubbornly thought that what he saw was the whole truth.
The noble families in Shengjing were entrenched, and there were many interactions and complex relationships among the major forces. Su Zeqian, the heir of the Marquis of Pingyang, got the job in the Ministry of Justice not by his real talent and learning, but by the power of his father, the Marquis of Pingyang, and the Tong family.
Although he didn't enter officialdom through the imperial examinations, Su Zeqian also had aspirations in his heart. When he served in the Ministry of Justice, he clocked in on time and never dared to slack off. He took care of many matters personally and was also very vigilant when judging cases and conducting trials, never daring to miss the slightest detail.
There were no less than a hundred cases that had passed through his hands. He considered himself fair and strict, a dedicated and responsible official.
But now he couldn't help but doubt himself. Among the cases he had handled in the past, were there also many unjust cases?
Was it also like the Autumn Feast and today, where he had been blinded by his own stubbornness?
Pretending not to understand the conversation between Mrs. Tong and Su Zeqian, Su Qingyu stepped forward to help Mrs. Tong up and asked with concern, "Mother, how do you feel now? Are you feeling better?"
Unexpectedly, Mrs. Tong waved her hand away and said coldly, "I don't need your concern. I'm not dead. Are you disappointed?"
Su Qingyu stood there stunned and said in a small voice, "Mother, what are you talking about? Why can't Yu'er understand?"
But Mrs. Tong turned her face away and never looked at her again. Instead, she said to Su Zeqian, "Qian'er, Mother is hungry. Go and ask someone to find some food for Mother. After eating, we'll immediately go down the mountain and return to the mansion."
Su Zeqian came back to his senses, temporarily putting aside his heavy thoughts, and said, "Yes, Mother."