Chapter 358
~ SUSPICIOUS OF THE OLD MADAM ~
Jin Lan was a little dumbfounded: “Miss, why did Second Madam suddenly arrange this?”
“Previously, when Eldest Aunt was in charge of the household, she had intimidated the Second Madam from the side. When Second Aunt wanted to live a bit more comfortably, she had to be liked by the Old Madam and not be feared by Eldest Aunt. Thus, she had a straightforward disposition and was not to be feared. But now, the authority to manage household falls on Second Aunt, plus on top of that, knowing that someone is secretly attacking Elder Sister Su You. Do you think she will not make any changes?”
“From the looks of it, it seems like the Second Madam is suspecting that it was the Eldest Madam who secretly dealt Fifth Miss?”
Mu Yunyao shook her head. The confusion in her heart accumulated and slowly twisted into a mystery. “I’m not too sure either. But as a girl, Elder Sister Su You isn’t too eye-catching, and her body is too weak, so what’s the use of dealing with her?”
“That’s right. Your servant is also very curious.”
“Let’s take a look later. I wonder how many things Second Aunt can find out.” In the end, the Second Madam had lived in the Su family for more than twenty years. Thus, she had a much better understanding of the Su family than she did. Her connections and roots were also deeper than hers, so it should be easier to investigate.
Two days passed in the blink of an eye.
In the Western Courtyard, Mu Yunyao carefully helped Su You check her pulse, nodding slightly: “I’ve pretty much cleared away most of the poison. But there’s still a portion left over, and I’ll slowly remove it later. Elder Sister Su You’s foundation is too poor. If I clear out the poison in one go, her body might not be able to take it.”
In the past two days, Su You had been extremely tortured and already extremely weak. Mu Yunyao used medicated baths to help her remove the poison, combined with acupuncture and massage, took some laxative and divergent medicinal materials. Su You thought she would not be able to hold on and die directly.
Mu Yunyao put away the silver needles and looked at Su You with a smile, “How does Eldest Sister Su You feel?”
“I....” Su You slowly sat up. Although she still felt quite weak, it was as if a heavy burden was lifted from her body. Her entire body was light and airy, and even her breathing was a lot smoother than before. “I feel surprisingly good. It’s never been better.”
The Second Madam, who was anxiously waiting at the side, couldn’t help but cry, “That’s great. That’s really great. Yunyao, I don’t know how to thank you.”
“The next recuperation is the key. Elder Sister Su You’s body has been heavily attacked by the poison. If anything goes wrong, I’m afraid that she’ll really be in danger.”
“Alright, I’ll definitely pay attention to these dirty tricks and not let them get in front of You’er again.”
“Elder Sister Su You, you must has a good rest. I’ll go and prepare some prescription for you first.” Mu Yunyao held Su You and helped her pull back the quilt. Only then did she follow the Second Madam outside.
When the maid brought the tea up, Mu Yunyao lightly took a sip.
The Second Madam waved her hand, telling all the maids to step back, then she said, “Yunyao, I’ve been investigating for the past few days, and faintly feel that the person secretly attacking Su You seems to be... ....”
Mu Yunyao raised her head and saw Second Madam looking in the direction of Ning He Garden where the Old Madam was. “This is really too inconceivable, Second Aunt. Did you not investigate wrongly?”
The Second Madam smiled wryly, “I also hope that my own investigation was wrong. After all, she dotes on Su You and even sent a portion of precious herbs to the Western Courtyard first. Who would have thought....”
Mu Yunyao lowered her head, her fingers gently pinching the edge of the teacup. “Knowing people, knowing a person’s appearance, but not knowing his heart. I guess that’s probably about the Old Madam looked like. Her face is kind, and she’s muttering buddhist chants. It can’t be more kind, but in reality....”
“Heart like a snake and a scorpion!” The Second Madam slowly spit out these words, and the look in her eyes is particularly gloomy. “There are a lot of things that I didn’t understand in the past, but now, I think I’m just extremely shocked. Back then, my mother personally asked someone to marry me in the Qi family. At that time, my mother strongly opposed it, but I fell in love with your second uncle and married him happily, regardless of the opposition of my family....”
Mu Yunyao raised her gaze. She was slightly felt surprised in her heart as she didn’t expect such a thing to happen. The Second Madam’s lips carried a bitter smile and continued, “At that time, the Su family was not completely given priority. The Old Madam was extremely good to me, and it could even be said that she was very partial to me. However, my own belly was not very good. First, I did not get pregnant in a few years. Then I became pregnant, but the child could never be kept. I was happily found out that I was pregnant, but after a few months, I had inexplicable miscarriage. This happened several times in a row. I knelt in the buddhist hall all night long to confess whether I had done something wrong. Fortunately, there was Su You later on, which allowed me to feel alive....”
“Second Aunt” Mu Yunyao passed the silk handkerchief over and looked worriedly at the Second Madam.
“I’m fine. I wasn’t able to think of the crux of the matter before and only felt that my life was miserable. But now, it’s inevitable that there is someone deliberately harming me from behindt. I don’t know why the Old Madam did this, but no one else in this house has such great ability except her!”
Mu Yunyao nodded, “Indeed.”
The Second Madam wiped her tears. “Thinking that of all these years I’ve been trying to please a venomous snake, I feel terrible, and it was cold like fall into the ice cellar. When I was pregnant with Su You, it wasn’t easy. After that, I went through a lot of labor and risked my life to give birth to her. I also lost the possibility of being pregnant again. Over the years, I’ve been trying my best to help Su You recuperate, but I didn’t know that there was a problem with the medicine she drank.... ”
Muyunyao didn’t know how to persuade her, and this matter was too cruel for the Second Madam.
“Yunyao, it seems that there is a knife stirring in my heart all the time in these past two days. When Su you was a child, her health was not so bad. She didn’t like to drink medicine and always lost her temper, so I always advised her and coaxed her to drink it one by one. As long as I thought that, over the years, what I fed her was not life-saving tonic, but it was a deadly poison...I wish I could kill myself!”
The Second Madam hated herself and hated the Old Madam even more!
If the Old Madam did not like her, it would be fine no matter how hard she tried. However, she should not have touched Su You, and she is her own granddaughter. How could she not have a little bit of compassion in her heart?
“Second Aunt, there’s still time. It’s not too late because the situation hasn’t reached its worst state yet.”
The Second Madam took a deep breath and raised her head slightly to prevent her tears from flowing too fiercely. “That’s right. Fortunately, I met you. Everything was in time. Yunyao, I swear to you from the bottom of my heart, I won’t beg you to treat Su You properly. I just want you to give it your all, and as long as you do your best, I will never forget it. From now on, I’ll do whatever you want me to do!”
Mu Yunyao shook her head and stretched out her hand to hold Second Madam’s hand, “Second Aunt’s love for her daughter is truly touching. I can assure you that I will do my best to ensure Elder Sister Su You’s safety.”
The Second Madam nodded: “Well, you must be careful. In the Su family, the Old Madam has a lot of ability. I don’t know when she will know that you helped Su You to recuperate her body. Previously, I could vaguely tell that she wasn’t happy with you. If she secretly takes action against you or Sister Su Qing, it would be too easy for her to get rid of you, and it’s really troublesome to guard against.”
“Thank you for the reminder, Second Aunt. I will be more careful.”
When Mu Yunyao returned to Jiyue Pavilion, she had received the eighty thousand silver banknotes that the Eldest Madame had collected. She carefully examined the stack of banknotes, and when she thought about the two dowries of the Eldest Madam had given her, she felt comfortable in her heart. “Get someone to send the banknotes over to Qi Ming, tell him that he will moved in the next day or two, and let him be prepared.”
“Yes, Miss.”