Chapter 40

Chapter 40

An hour later, I saw Meng Huaiqing again.

He had arrived in a hurry, his hair slightly disheveled by the cold wind.

He looked much the same as he did when we first met in my past life-refined, elegant, and seemingly indifferent to worldly matters-but I felt that something about him had changed.

When he removed his heavy cloak, I saw something “interesting.”

His right hand was injured, held in place by a splint and suspended from his neck by a cloth sling.

When the maid took his medical chest and cloak, he thanked her with a slight, shy smile. He didn’t let his gaze wander, instead offering a respectful bow to Yuan Heng.

When he turned to pay his respects to me, he raised his eyes with a smile.

As our eyes met, the corners of his eyes were actually rimmed with red. However, he was an expert at masking his emotions. “Marquis,” he asked politely, “where is the Madam feeling unwell? How long has it been?”

So that was it.

I realized in an instant: he had been reborn too.

Yuan Heng quickly beckoned him over. “Huaiqing, come quickly and take a look. I noticed red marks on Qing Qiu’s face and neck earlier, and in just half an hour, she’s broken out in a severe rash.”

“Let me see.”

Meng Huaiqing wiped his hands with a warm towel handed to him by Nanny Lin and sat on the small round stool by the bed.

“Madam, I shall check your pulse,” Meng Huaiqing said with a nod and a faint smile.

I looked at Yuan Heng.

Yuan Heng pressed a hand to my shoulder. “Huaiqing is a Master of the Apricot Grove whom I hired at great expense. We have known each other for years; you can put your mind at ease.”

I turned my wrist upward.

As Meng Huaiqing took my pulse, I could feel an almost imperceptible tremor in his fingertips.

He paused in thought for a moment, then inspected the side of my face and neck again. He turned to ask Nanny Lin, “What did the Madam eat today?”

Nanny Lin thought back. “The Madam said she had a poor appetite this morning and only had a bowl of millet porridge and some side dishes. At noon, the Madam’s father, Master Ye, arrived and brought some pastries, saying his wife made them personally. I caught a glimpse of them; they seemed to be lard and sugar cakes or something similar. Lunch was served at Tinglan Pavilion. Since we were hosting Master Ye, several extra dishes were prepared: tender bamboo shoots stewed with ham, Eight-Treasure Duck, sliced sea bass…”

Yuan Heng was already losing patience. “Just say which ones the Madam ate and how much!”

Nanny Lin said cautiously, “The Madam wanted to speak with Master Ye and told us servants we didn’t need to wait on them. I… I don’t know…”

I tugged at Yuan Heng’s sleeve. “Don’t be angry. I just had a little bit of everything. I didn’t eat much.”

Yuan Heng keenly caught the key point in Nanny Lin’s words and asked, “Then the pastries your legal mother sent-did you eat those?”

I nodded. “I ate two pieces.”

Yuan Heng’s expression soured. “Someone, go and bring all those pastries here. Let Mr. Meng examine them.”

I watched coldly. Did he really think food was the cause of my rash?

This Nanny Lin was a crafty one as well, subtly shifting the blame onto my Ye Family.

“Wait.”

Meng Huaiqing looked at Yuan Heng and said, “While it is possible for this kind of rash to be caused by an improper diet, it is more likely that it was transmitted to her by someone else.”

Yuan Heng frowned. “What do you mean?”

Meng Huaiqing glanced at the maids and nannies serving in the room. “Think back. Which of you has had a red rash recently?”

The maids looked at each other with varying expressions, but no one admitted to it.

Yuan Heng was already quite impatient. “Huaiqing, go and check them one by one.”

As soon as the words left his mouth, Nanny Lin fell to her knees.

Trembling, she rolled up her sleeves. Sure enough, her arms were covered in a rash and bloody scratches from where she had clawed at them.

Yuan Heng’s face turned livid. “So it was you!”

Nanny Lin was so terrified she kept kowtowing. “Marquis, have mercy! It… it wasn’t me.”

Meng Huaiqing gave a speechless laugh. “My good woman, it’s quite obvious. Why do you still deny it?”

Nanny Lin sobbed, her voice as faint as a mosquito’s buzz. “It… it was many days ago. My husband broke out in a rash. I thought it was just a heat rash from drinking too much, but who knew it would get more and more serious and… and spread to me.”

Yuan Heng barked in a rage, “Drag her out and flog her! Don’t let This Marquis see you ever again!”

Meng Huaiqing hurried to persuade him. “Marquis, do not let anger ruin your health. This ailment can be cured.”

Yuan Heng pressed a hand to his forehead and asked urgently, “Qing Qiu won’t have scars on her face, will she?”

Meng Huaiqing pondered for a moment. “It may take some effort to heal completely, but please, trust me.”

Yuan Heng breathed a sigh of relief, then suddenly remembered something. “In that case, does that mean This Marquis cannot go near Qing Qiu for the time being?”

Meng Huaiqing said solemnly, “This type of rash is contagious. In severe cases, it can leave dark spots that never fade. Keep one or two close servants by the Madam’s side; the rest should be isolated for now and treated separately.”

Ha.

No matter how I looked at it, this seemed like a trick Meng Huaiqing was playing.

Yuan Heng agreed.

He immediately gave orders that he would move to another courtyard for the time being, leaving Ying’er and Ping’er to serve me closely.

As for Meng Huaiqing, the small courtyard in the southeast corner facing the street was to be tidied up for him to stay in so he could focus all his efforts on treating me.

Once these arrangements were made, Yuan Heng patted Meng Huaiqing on the shoulder.

“Come outside for a moment.”