The Seventh Day of Taking a Wife Home

“What poison is she under?” Lu Ling had never expected that the beauty she’d spent a fortune to redeem would be carrying so many hidden troubles.

He Chou pulled the needle out of Shen Wanxin’s arm. Seemingly lost in thought, she gave the poison’s name: “Shigugu.”

“A poison that can seep into the bones. Its symptoms vary wildly,” He Chou said. “Some go blind, some lose their memory, some lose their mind; in the end, it takes away whatever the victim prizes most.”

At the mention of losing one’s mind, Lu Ling couldn’t help reaching out to touch Shen Wanxin’s forehead. “Her brain doesn’t seem damaged.”

As soon as she said that, Shen Wanxin let out a muffled groan in her sleep, as if protesting.

Lu Ling withdrew her hand. “She knows a bit of martial arts, so what’s being lost is her fighting ability and her memory.”

He Chou reminded her, “In any case, Miss, I’ll do my best to find the antidote. And don’t let her use force; every bit of exertion lets the poison spread a little more.”

“If we find it within a hundred days, she still has a chance. After a hundred days, the flowers...”

Even Lu Ling’s heart sank at the rest of the sentence.

Gone like incense smoke and shattered jade. The phrase flashed through her mind, and she said, “Though I have no blood ties to her, helping her is only a small effort. But since I’ve already stepped in, I might as well see it through.”

It wasn’t as if she was sending the beauty off to her fate. She still hoped Shen Wanxin would live.

As for introducing her to work, helping her make a living, and earning back what she’d spent, that probably all amounted to throwing money into water.

“Another act of charity?” she muttered.

He Chou laughed. “Miss doesn’t lack for one more. Since you’ve already saved her, what’s one more?”

“And besides, don’t you still have me? Right, Lu xiaoniangniang?”

“Spare me. Don’t think I don’t know you’re having an attack of doctor fever,” Lu Ling said, not taking the bait. “You’re just itching for a ready-made case to sharpen your medical skills.”

“And the expenses going forward probably won’t stop at five hundred taels.”

The moment money was mentioned, Lu Ling felt a pang.

She had rescued Shen Wanxin because she pitied beauty and couldn’t stand that stinking foreign merchant. She hadn’t expected to get dragged into a vicious poison case, and now she still had to keep spending money.

Sigh. Just as that straight-arrow He had said; since it wasn’t the first time, might as well save her.

“Whether she lives or dies now depends on her fate?” Lu Ling gave the unconscious Shen Wanxin one last look.

Even her pale face had a peculiar allure.

Though it wasn’t right to think that way about someone who was ill, she was the one paying now; a few extra looks counted as some kind of compensation.

Still, if Shen Wanxin could be saved, it wouldn’t be a loss.

“You take care of her. If anything happens, let me know. I’m going to Qingyu Pavilion first.”

“Go slowly, Miss.” He Chou pushed the door open for her.

Lu Ling sighed, then gave Shen Wanxin’s cheek a light pinch before leaving. She didn’t use much strength; only a faint red mark was left behind.

“Such a delicate body,” she clicked her tongue, withdrawing her hand and striding out of the room.

After that, she told He Chou to continue caring for Shen Wanxin.

She needed to make a trip to Qingyu Pavilion first.

It was time to teach certain people a lesson.

At the same time, Qingzhu Tower was already in complete chaos.

Pedestrians on the street hurried to the sides, watching wide-eyed as the tower’s guards carried a stretcher inside. On it lay a bloodied man, clutching one arm and gripping two severed fingers tightly in his other hand, teeth clenched as he forced himself back to Qingzhu Tower.

“Heavens! Isn’t that Wang the Eldest? How did he get hurt so badly?”

“Could there be fighting at the docks again?”

“How could there be? The dock gangs were cleared out ages ago. Now it’s all Water Manor laborers, and Water Manor has strict rules. The thing they hate most is bullying and fighting. Besides, Water Manor treats people so well; who would still go risk their life?”

“This isn’t five years ago!”

Though the passersby knew only fragments, they were all talking at once.

Wang Er was close to tears.

Liu Yuer’s face had gone deathly pale; it looked as if she had nearly lost her soul.

Soon after Wang Yi was carried into Qingzhu Tower, officials from Feng County arrived as well; ten in total, also carrying a corpse covered with a white sheet, specifically detouring through the back lane toward Qingzhu Tower.

Lu Ling had just come downstairs.

Why was Qingzhu Tower suddenly so noisy?

Then Wang Er rushed in, eyes brimming with tears, and dropped to his knees in front of her, his voice breaking with emotion. “M-Miss, my brother, my brother is injured.”

“What?” Lu Ling’s eyes turned cold at once.

Could it be that the Ye family dared to move against her people at a time like this?

Soon Wang Yi was carried in on the stretcher and laid on the carpet. Blood was still dripping as Wang Yi gritted his teeth and reported, “Miss, I, I lost him.”

“But at noon I found him.”

“But that surnamed Wu still died. I couldn’t save him.” As he spoke, he tremblingly reached into his chest and took out half a jade pendant tassel. “This was torn off the back of the killer by this lowly one.”

After saying that, Wang Yi finally passed out completely.

Lu Ling couldn’t help widening her eyes, utterly shocked.

That surnamed Wu was dead?

He was only a small-time merchant; was it really necessary to kill him in broad daylight, with someone already watching him?

That killer was far too lawless!

Or was there something else hidden in this?

Lu Ling didn’t know; the more she thought about it, the more she felt this matter was far from as simple as she’d imagined.

All that talk about offending people from the Xu Palace and being ordered to be sold to Haicheng, or the concubines of convicted officials; perhaps all of it needed to be overturned and investigated again.

Only then could the truth be found.

And whichever it was, she would never abandon the investigation from now on.

For the moment, Lu Ling had to steady the situation. She said, “Carry him to the back courtyard. Let Doctor He treat him personally.”

“Yes!” Wang Er quickly hoisted his brother onto his back and hurried toward the steward’s back courtyard.

But it wasn’t over yet. The moment Liu Yuer stepped in, she tugged lightly at Lu Ling’s sleeve and whispered a reminder, “Captain Sun is still at the back door. That surnamed Wu’s corpse is there too.”

Lu Ling understood at once.

She told Liu Yuer not to panic, to go calm herself first; she would handle the rest.

And she knew very well that Captain Sun and the other officials were her father’s old subordinates. On ordinary holidays, the ceremonial gifts and benefits from the yamen were basically all distributed by her.

These officers were likely thinking of the favors they’d received and, worried the matter might come to light, had come to tip her off first to ask how it should be handled.

But they generally wouldn’t help her bend the law, and she wouldn’t do that either.

As for Captain Sun, he had not immediately taken the body back to the yamen precisely because he trusted her.

After all, this involved too many interests tied up with Qingzhu Tower.

Not to mention that the Lu family stood tall like a tree in the forest; even the slightest disturbance could become a thorn in some people’s eyes.

“It looks like this is getting more and more tangled,” Lu Ling murmured, clutching the half-white jade pendant and tassel shaped like a beast’s ear. The material didn’t seem to be from the south.

Captain Sun saw her come out from the back door.

He hurried forward. “Greetings, Miss.”

Lu Ling said, “You’ve worked hard. Where was the body of the merchant from Kyoto found?”

“On a fishing boat marked three-five-five near the Lu family’s dock,” Captain Sun replied. “I asked the boatman about it. Apparently the boat was bought outright. The deceased didn’t mention where he was going, but he did ask the boatman for a map to Luofu Island.”

Luofu Island? Wasn’t that one of the three islands under her mother’s command?

For someone unfamiliar with the place to try to go ashore without applying first, Fang Shu and the others would normally stop them.

But now all three islands were surrounded by official ships. What was that surnamed Wu going there for?

He had said he was working for the Xu Palace. Could it be that he knew someone on the official ships, which was why he wanted to go ashore?

Strange.

“Anything else besides that?” Lu Ling asked.

To her surprise, Captain Sun really did have more. He motioned for the other officers to turn their backs, then took a Great Chong banknote from his sleeve and handed it to her.

It was precisely the banknote from Wan Tong Money House that she had previously given the surnamed Wu.

Captain Sun said carefully, “We found this at the scene. I hid it for now because I was afraid handing it in would cause trouble for you.”

“Thank you, Captain Sun, but it’s fine.” Lu Ling returned the banknote to him. “Just submit it as it is. This transaction was signed under contract; Qingzhu Tower has a copy on file.”

Captain Sun didn’t dare take it, and instead reminded her, “These days, with even the slightest disturbance, the Ye family keeps their eyes on you. It’s better to be cautious.”

Lu Ling felt that hiding it would only make it more conspicuous, so she said, “If the Lu family could be brought down so easily, the prefect wouldn’t have a headache over all of Haicheng, unable to control it within his own reach.”

“Besides, later on this Miss still has a meeting at Qingyu Pavilion. Miss Ning, the prefect’s sister-in-law, will also be there.”

At those words, Captain Sun immediately understood what she meant.

“Yes! Then I’ll prepare it as evidence and turn it in to the documents office in the household division for filing.”

“Go ahead. There’s no need to hide it; that would only make people suspicious.”

Captain Sun immediately led the others away with the stretcher.

Only then did Lu Ling take out a handkerchief to cover her nose and mouth, watching the officers depart as the stretcher carried away a life that had simply ended there.

The man was indeed detestable, but even if he had committed a crime, the law should have punished him.

Taking private revenge was, in the end, a mistake.

She didn’t linger any longer and directly called for a carriage to take her to Qingyu Pavilion. The sisters had probably been waiting for quite some time.

This summary meeting had been convened with her as the representative; if she didn’t arrive, the meeting couldn’t begin.

Lu Ling arrived at Qingyu Pavilion by carriage.

As soon as she got down, the proprietor of Qingyu Pavilion, who had clearly been waiting for a long time, hurried over. “Miss Lu, the other young ladies are all upstairs waiting for you.”

“And Miss Ye is here too.”

Ye Meishen? Lu Ling couldn’t help frowning. “Got it.”

Ye Meishen was the prefect’s youngest daughter; among all the daughters of Zhangzhou Prefecture, her status had once been the highest.

Lu Ling remembered that when she had just turned fifteen, Ye Meishen had already been competing with her over whose future husband would be more capable. Beyond marriage, even what they ate, wore, and drank had to be compared.

Whatever Lu Ling had, Ye Meishen had to have something better.

She had compared herself with Lu Ling in everything.

By now, at eighteen, Lu Ling had already taken over the family business, and the gap between them had naturally widened.

Gradually, Ye Meishen moved on from petty comparisons and began trying to manage the prefect’s shops in Zhangzhou.

Apparently she was doing quite well.

Even a certain marchioness from Kyoto had personally chosen her to serve as the main wife for the household.

Yet Ye Meishen, who had once been clamoring to marry up, actually gave no response to that.

Wasn’t that her dream back then?

Lu Ling didn’t think much more of it and went upstairs. Before she had even stepped into the main hall, a sweet, birdlike voice drifted out.

“Miss Lu has arrived.”

“Miss Ye hasn’t been to Haicheng for a long time; surely Miss Lu must have missed her very much as well.”

“I heard the two of you knew each other before. Why haven’t we ever heard Miss Lu mention you?”

She hadn’t even gone in yet, and the little trick of stirring up trouble had already started.

Lu Ling sighed and stepped into the hall. “Miss Ning, don’t make me sound so petty.”

“As the prefect’s daughter, Miss Ye is surely forgetful by nature; she probably forgot all about me long ago.”

She looked up just as her eyes met the woman seated in the main chair. The other woman was studying her, and she studied her back for a few moments too.

How to put it? She was prettier than before, and taller too, no longer skinny as a stalk of sugarcane.

She’d filled out quite a bit.

A white dress with a gold-trimmed ruqun; a longevity-lock circlet hung at her collar; her bearing was steadier too.

Only her sharp tongue had not changed at all.

Ye Meishen said, “I heard that someone was killed at Qingzhu Tower.”

“I also heard that Miss Lu bought the freedom of a pitiful woman.”

“And I heard that before coming here, Miss Lu even helped the constables examine a corpse.”