Chapter 5

Chapter 5

After the physician finished examining me, he said in astonishment, “Madam’s body is riddled with many interwoven toxins. That she has lived safely until today is something of a miracle. If she wishes to recover fully, she will need careful, gradual nursing back to health.”

Li Jing wept, half sincere and half putting on an act. “My mother has suffered so much all these years. If she hadn’t feared she wouldn’t live much longer, she never would have brought me here to seek our family.”

I secretly pinched him hard. You little brat. Are you cursing me?

Zhao Zhengbei listened in silence.

He stroked my head. Only after a long while did he say, “From now on, I will take good care of your mother.”

I kept pretending, and somehow truly fell asleep.

When I woke, Zhao Zhengbei was nowhere to be seen.

Xinyu rushed in, her face bright with excitement. “The Eldest Young Master went and gave the Second Young Master a sound beating! Every punch landed solidly. It was so satisfying to watch.”

I asked in surprise, “Why would my husband suddenly go beat the Second Young Master?”

Xinyu blurted out, “Of course it was because he felt sorry for Young Madam…”

Just because Zhao Zhengbei felt sorry for me, he had impulsively gone and beaten Zhao Rong’an.

If word of this spread, wouldn’t it become an ugly scandal that the Great General had started a feud with his own brother the moment he returned home?

Wouldn’t that make the Emperor criticize him and affect his future prospects?

I thought to myself, Could it be that Zhao Zhengbei has never experienced love before?

All it took was the effect of the Love-Enchanted Flower Poison making him develop feelings for me, and he already cared this much.

If one day I used a hallucinogenic poison on him and made him mistakenly believe we had tumbled into bed together…

Wouldn’t he dig out his heart and present it to me on a platter?

Xinyu realized she had misspoken and vaguely changed the subject, then turned to fetch my medicine.

I heard two maids at the door deliberately raising their voices as they spoke. Every word between them implied I was unworthy of Zhao Zhengbei.

The moment Xinyu heard the commotion outside, she charged out, not forgetting to close the door behind her.

Even so, I could still hear their conversation clearly.

Alas. Sometimes having exceptional hearing was a kind of torment. When others spoke ill of me, I had no choice but to listen.

Xinyu lowered her voice, furious. “The one living inside is our mistress! The Young Madam! You had better stop wagging your tongue.”

The maid said defiantly, “Who doesn’t know she’s just a village woman dragging along a burden? Who knows how she bewitched the Eldest Young Master? It’s only a bowl of medicine, yet Chimo was in such a hurry to make me take this small-leaf red sandalwood painted Eight Treasures box from the storeroom, and all just to hold some candied fruit for her!”

Now that piqued my interest.

I went to the window and saw that the box in her hands was painted in color.

A golden base, red flowers, green leaves.

The colors were vivid without seeming gaudy. It was a rare treasure indeed.

Xinyu scolded, “Zhihua, I know the Madam prepared you to be a concubine for the young master. But the Eldest Young Master refused, so you should give up on that idea. There’s no need to pick a fight with me here. And another thing! The young master has been entered into the family genealogy. You keep calling him a burden. Where is your sense of rank and propriety? If I hear it one more time, I will report you to the stewarding nanny and make you pay for it!”

Zhilan refused to back down. “The Eldest Young Master is being whipped by the Marquis right now, and the whole courtyard is in chaos. Who would care about this tiny little matter of mine? Stop trying to scare me!”

Zhao Zhengbei appeared silently behind them. His face was dark as he said, “Xinyu, expel her from the estate.”

Zhilan jumped in fright and hurriedly sobbed, “Eldest Young Master! This servant knows her mistake! My whole family has served in the household for decades. Even if we have no great merit, we have worked hard. Please spare me this once.”

The servants in the inner courtyard of the Marquis’s Mansion were all born into household service. If one person made a mistake, the whole family would be implicated, lest anyone develop thoughts of betraying their masters.

Zhao Zhengbei’s tone was unyielding. “Then expel them all, so your family won’t harbor resentment and harm the Young Madam in the future.”

I looked up at the white magnolia tree in the courtyard.

For some reason, I remembered what my elder sister once told me.

“Zhichun, if you always use flower poison to obtain other people’s love, what if one day you meet someone who treats you with true sincerity? Won’t you miss him?”

But flower poison was so useful.

It could make Father return to Mother’s side.

It could make Grandmother stop ignoring us sisters.

It could even help me get the candied hawthorns I wanted, and help my sister get the pipa she wanted.

Human love could not be controlled.

But the love created by flower poison could be controlled by me. Sister, I only hate that my skills were not deep enough back then.

That was why Mother died with hatred in her heart, and why we sisters were left wandering the streets, homeless.

But things are different now. The flower poison I cultivate is already good enough.

I will raise Li Jing well and give him everything he wants.

I am also living earnestly, Sister. Don’t worry about us.