The Mute Wife Who Brings Prosperity-Chapter 657 - 619: The Next Move (Part 2)

The next day, as daylight brightened the sky, Mrs. Fang came to knock on the door.

Qiu Yan, who hadn’t slept all night, quickly opened the door, facing Mrs. Fang’s anxious old face.

"What’s wrong?" Qiu Yan asked.

"Why hasn’t Madam gotten up at this hour?" Mrs. Fang said, "The road to Suzhou is far, we need to make haste to get there by New Year’s Eve!"

Qiu Yan’s mouth twitched. Even after being dispatched, she’s still thinking about New Year’s? Does she think Suzhou is like any other place? To have something to eat and somewhere to stay would already be considered quite good.

However, Qiu Yan didn’t say these words out loud and instead replied blandly, "I checked earlier, Madam indeed hasn’t gotten up yet. Perhaps we should wait a bit more."

Mrs. Fang frowned, "Could Madam be sick?"

Qiu Yan gave a look to Qiu Yun behind her, "Go find a doctor to take a look."

Qiu Yun jogged downstairs. Mrs. Fang went inside, saying she wanted to see Madam, and Qiu Yan didn’t stop her.

When they reached the inner room and saw Su Yi’s face showing an abnormal redness, Mrs. Fang reached out to feel her, immediately shocked, "It’s not good, Madam has a fever."

It is said that the early signs of this epidemic include a fever.

It seems Qi Hai wasn’t lying; Madam has indeed been infected.

Qiu Yan quietly retreated a few steps, and after moving quite a distance away, she said, "Madam wasn’t in good spirits when we left, and traveling in such cold weather, getting sick is quite normal. There’s no need to worry, Qiu Yun has already gone to fetch a doctor."

Mrs. Fang sighed, mumbling something to herself. Qiu Yan, losing interest in listening, went to the outer area to wait.

A quarter of an hour later, Qiu Yun returned with an elderly doctor with a beard streaked with white.

Mrs. Fang had already drawn the curtain, leaving only Su Yi’s wrist exposed.

The elderly doctor sat on a round stool, reached out to check Su Yi’s pulse, and eventually diagnosed it as a fever caused by a warm pathogen, prescribing a remedy to clear heat and release the surface.

Qiu Yan squinted slightly, "Sir, perhaps you should take a closer look?"

The elderly doctor replied with conviction, "The symptoms of this lady indeed indicate a warm disease. Having practiced medicine for so many years, I won’t mistake this."

Afraid of showing any flaws, Qiu Yan didn’t argue further and personally saw the elderly doctor out the door, collecting the medicine at the same time.

Mrs. Fang borrowed the inn’s small stove, personally prepared the medicine for Su Yi, and fed her.

Su Yi awoke at noon, her head a bit dizzy. She looked at Mrs. Fang, who was watching over her beside the bed, "What hour is it?"

"Madam, it’s almost noon."

Su Yi frowned, "Why didn’t you wake me?"

Mrs. Fang said, "Madam, you developed a high fever overnight and couldn’t wake up. I invited a doctor to see you. I suppose it’s due to leaving the Capital suddenly yesterday and not adapting in time. Luckily, we discovered it early, and you’ll recover quickly after taking medicine. Please rest, and it’s not too late to travel once you’re better."

"Alright." Su Yi indeed felt uncomfortable. She was even a little nauseated and wanted to vomit.

Mrs. Fang was just about to leave when Su Yi couldn’t hold on anymore and requested a spittoon, turning to the side to vomit.

Mrs. Fang was startled, "You’ve already taken the medicine, why are you still like this?"

Outside, Qiu Yan and Qiu Yun heard the commotion and came to the inner room, but did not approach the bedside, only watching from afar.

Seeing Su Yi’s symptoms, Qiu Yan felt she didn’t need to worry anymore. She looked at Mrs. Fang, "I doubt the previous doctor had much skill. We should consult another doctor."

Still, it was Qiu Yun who went to fetch a doctor, and when he arrived, Su Yi almost fainted from nausea, her whole body like it had been drained of water, lacking any strength.

The doctor placed an embroidered cloth over Su Yi’s wrist, felt the pulse for a while, his face looking grim as if unsure. Eventually, he gathered courage and removed the cloth to examine again.

Mrs. Fang intended to scold him, but Qiu Yan stopped her. She asked the doctor, "Well? Can you determine the symptoms?"

The doctor looked grave, "If I’m not mistaken, Madam has contracted the epidemic."

"Oh heavens, are you kidding? How could Madam, who was fine, possibly catch the epidemic?" Mrs. Fang’s vision blurred.

Sighing, the doctor cupped his hands, "I beg your pardon for being inexperienced and unable to treat your Madame’s ailment."

"Doctor, doctor, I beg you, please save my Madam."

Mrs. Fang almost knelt before him.

The doctor looked helpless, "It’s not that I refuse to save her, but the formula for treating the epidemic is unique, and I currently don’t have it. Even if you held a knife to my throat, I couldn’t prescribe it."

"Then, what should we do?" Mrs. Fang was utterly at a loss.

"Please seek another expert. Oh, and the epidemic your Madam has is very contagious, so it’s best for everyone to keep their distance."

After the doctor left, everyone in the room had a change in complexion, even Mrs. Fang didn’t dare to approach Su Yi casually.

The most despairing was Su Yi, her eyes fixed on the ceiling, lacking even the strength to cry. 𝓯𝓻𝓮𝙚𝙬𝓮𝙗𝒏𝙤𝒗𝙚𝙡.𝒄𝒐𝓶

She couldn’t understand why she had just left the Capital yesterday and inexplicably contracted the epidemic; where exactly had she caught it?

The room fell into silence for a moment before Qiu Yan spoke, "At this point, only Qiu Yun and I can return to report to the Master, to see if we can find a skilled doctor to come and help Madam."

Upon hearing that the two were leaving, Mrs. Fang became anxious, "Can’t one person go?"

"In this dreadful weather, who knows what might happen along the way? Two people must help each other." Seeing Mrs. Fang still hesitating, Qiu Yan said with displeasure, "Are you trying to prevent Madam from recovering quickly?"

"I..."

"Mrs. Fang, let them go." At this moment, Su Yi was terribly afraid that she might be tormented to death by the epidemic, and even her voice trembled.

Since Madam had spoken, Mrs. Fang dared not argue further. She looked at the two with a glance, "Then go and return quickly."

Qiu Yan and Qiu Yun quickly packed their things and left the inn.

After walking for a while, Qiu Yun then asked Qiu Yan, "Is the Master planning to let Madam die here from illness?"

"How is that possible?" Qiu Yan coldly laughed, "The Master will arrange for a doctor to come."

"Ah?" Qiu Yun was quite perplexed.

"Are you stupid? Once Madam dies, Aunt Wen cannot be promoted, and the Master will have to remarry. Do you think the new wife will be as easy to control as this one?"

Qiu Yun suddenly realized, "I see, so the Master means...?"

"The Master will have the doctor keep Madam barely alive - not recovering but not dying either, meaning she can’t seek life nor death."

Saying the words herself made Qiu Yan shiver down her spine.

——

Once Qiu Yan and Qiu Yun left, the two second-class maids took over the night watch for Su Yi.

Knowing that Su Yi had contracted the epidemic, neither of them dared to enter, so they rested early on the couch outside.

In the latter half of the night, the two maids were knocked unconscious by confusing smoke, and a tall figure dressed in black slipped into Su Yi’s inner chamber through the window.

Su Yi was shocked awake, and upon opening her eyes, she saw a dark shadow standing in front of the couch, scaring her soul nearly out of her body, "Who... who are you?"

The voice of the person in black was cold and devoid of any emotion, "Previously helping you evade the Song Wei’s hidden guard pursuit of Wang Xiaolang, my Master put in quite an effort. Does Madam plan to leave without a word? What about the promise you made to my Master?"

Without the reminder from the person in black, Su Yi almost forgot that she had a deal with someone.

When she kidnapped Wang Xiaolang, she wasn’t discovered by Song Wei’s subordinates, all thanks to someone’s assistance.

"I have arranged an informant in the Song Mansion, she is a widow," Su Yi said, "You try to bring her out to see me, and I promise that once she returns, she will be able to ruin Song Wei effortlessly."

"Poisoning?" The person in black thought the method was too foolish.

In a wealthy family, poisoning isn’t easy, and moreover, since Mrs. Wen is already the Commandery Princess, the Song Mansion will be particularly cautious in both defense and food; if poisoning could succeed, why would they seek out Su Yi?

"Not poisoning." Su Yi didn’t want to reveal she was infected with the epidemic, "In short, bring her to me, I have my ways."

"You better mean what you say."

Su Yi didn’t respond, merely chuckling coldly. The rules for nurses in the Song Mansion were too strict; it was too difficult to smuggle poison in, and the risk of poisoning was too great. If caught, not only would she fail, but she would also implicate herself first.

The epidemic was different; it not only could kill the little brat still nursing but also infect everyone inside.

Lu Pingzhou doesn’t care much about this recently acknowledged niece, does he? Then she would ruin her, making the Song family become the second Su Family to be wiped out.

——

After finishing her chores, Wen Wan relaxed and accompanied Song Jiao and Jinbao cutting window flowers in preparation for the New Year.

Outside the window curtain was lifted, and it was Nanny Qin who walked in, saluted the masters, and then said, "Madam, I received a message from my family saying that the child is ill, I would like to request leave to go back to see him."

Upon hearing this, Wen Wan paused her action of cutting window flowers, "How long would the leave be?"

"Two days." Nanny Qin lowered her head, "I will definitely return on time in two days."

Wen Wan didn’t agree directly, seeming to ponder something.

Song Jiao said, "Since the child is ill, Aunt, let her go back. It sounds quite pitiful."

Wen Wan returned to her senses and nodded, "You may go."

"Thank you, Madam."

Wen Wan’s eyes were too sharp, as if seeing through something, making Nanny Qin break out in a cold sweat; her legs were weak as she left the room.

After packing simply, Nanny Qin took the token given by Wen Wan and left the mansion.