Thirteenth Lady's Comback: Her Everyday Life as a Bystander-Chapter 289 - 1: Encountering That Strange Fragrance Again (Part 1)

Chapter 289: Chapter 1: Encountering That Strange Fragrance Again (Part 1)

Susu quickly walked towards the inner chamber. Only when she was inside the room and out of the sight of others did she cover her head with both hands, swallowing a painful groan.

Then she glanced around, and sure enough, there was an Inverted Golden Bell placed on the tall purple sandalwood stand beside the bed.

The Inverted Golden Bell, also known as the lantern flower, hangs like a bellflower; in the bedroom, this particular one was a white calyx Inverted Golden Bell. The red flower and white calyx contrasted against the green leaves, giving it an indescribable charm.

But now, in Susu’s eyes, the blooming flower seemed like a devouring demon, making her want to smash it into pieces.

Stay calm, impulsiveness is the devil!

Biting her lip fiercely, Susu listened to the ruckus outside, then pushed over the tall purple sandalwood stand, causing the delicate alabaster porcelain basin and the charming flowers to crash onto the ground with a dull thud.

"Mistress..." The maids who were confronting Yue Baiyou ran in, terrified, only to see Susu glaring at them with bloodshot eyes, her face furious, "Get out, all of you, get out!"

The five young maids had never seen their mistress so enraged, as if she had become a different person, and were scared out of their wits. Yet, even so, none of them left.

Fen Dai, in particular, started sobbing, "Mistress, don’t be angry. This servant will drive that troublemaker away right now!"

With that, the young maid ran towards the front hall, but there wasn’t a single person in sight...

Let’s go back two minutes earlier.

After getting the result she wanted, Yue Baiyou’s lips curled into a smile. She personally picked up the sachet from the ground and said sadly, "This was originally embroidered for my sister-in-law, but I guess she wouldn’t like anything I give her now."

Saying this, she carefully tucked the sachet into her sleeve. The contents inside were precious and would be very useful in the future.

After securing the sachet, Yue Baiyou motioned to her maid Xiang’er, "I understand that my sister-in-law is in a bad mood today, and I won’t take her words to heart. We will come back tomorrow to greet her, but for now, let’s take our leave."

Xiang’er, looking at her mistress whose footsteps seemed much lighter, couldn’t help but shudder. Even though it was June with blazing sun, she felt a chill that penetrated her heart.

Previously, she thought her mistress was just a bit shallow, selfish, vain, odd, and overly bold.

But she never knew her mistress could be so malicious and shameless. With the way she nearly drove the legitimate wife insane, and her plans to visit tomorrow to "pay respects", this is truly like "the sting of a wasp’s tail is the most poisonous woman’s heart."

But the person in front of her was her mistress; her contract of service was held in her mistress’s hands.

Mistress had said more than once that if she dared not to obey, she would be sold to a private brothel.

Xiang’er, timid and cowardly, dared not resist, nor did she want to. As long as she obeyed, at least she could have enough to eat and wear in the Hong Family, and her mistress even allowed her to have her own room and never required her to work night shifts. Life now was much better than in the male-preferred household she came from.

Fen Dai looked at the empty living room and the broken sweet white-glazed tea cup on the ground, wishing that the woman named Yue hadn’t left so that she could use the porcelain shards to scar her face.

"Mistress, that Yue woman fled." Fen Dai returned to the inner room, seeing that although Susu’s face still didn’t look well, at least she wasn’t possessed... pfft! Fen Dai mentally smacked herself, even if possessed, it would be a fairy possessing the mistress.

In short, as long as the mistress gave the command, even if it meant chasing to the ends of the earth, she wouldn’t let that wretched woman off.

Susu instructed Shuimo to pour all the ice from the indoor ice basin into the washbasin filled with water, and ignoring the maid’s exclamations, she submerged her entire face into the water. The icy coldness penetrated from her cheeks straight to the back of her head, finally relieving the intense headache.

Susu only lifted her head when she couldn’t hold her breath any longer, looking at the dazed maids with a weak smile, "I didn’t mean to yell at you earlier."

The young maids didn’t know what terrible thing had happened to their mistress, but seeing her in such a state yet still wanting to explain to them, the five little maids were moved beyond words.

Such a gentle and beautiful woman should be cherished and adored by all.

Thinking of Yue Baiyou, who drove their mistress to rage, some partial maids, even blamed Hong Sheng.

"Mistress, what exactly happened to you? Should we call the master back?" Shuimo, the most stable and calm among the five, asked. Though the mistress seemed fine now, she felt there was something off.

Susu pondered; she had many things to instruct the young maids, and if she didn’t tell them the truth, things might go wrong.

Moreover, although the five maids were young, they had been through many ordeals with Susu, even the seemingly carefree Fen Dai had her own survival strategies.

"I was poisoned."

"Ah!" That was Fen Dai.

"What?" That was Qi Qiao.

"How could that be?" That was Linglong.

"Who did it?" That was Shuimo.

"Miss Yue!" That was Linlang.

Susu and the other four maids all stared at Linlang in surprise.

Susu hadn’t expected the simplest-minded Linlang to hit the nail on the head, while the other four hadn’t expected Yue Baiyou to be so unscrupulous as to poison their mistress!

But this wasn’t the time to dwell on that, "How to detoxify?" Seeing the poison-affected mistress still "joking around", the young maids were both shocked and terrified, a bit at a loss.

"Call a doctor, quick!"

"Notify the master..."

"Drink mung bean soup first, it helps detoxify."

...

Susu watched the group of maids in disarray, covering her face, unable to look directly, she thought, just moments ago she praised them, this was a slap in the face!

"It’s alright now." Otherwise, how could she be sitting here?

She had just gotten married, found a family, and reconnected with her brother. Wasn’t she more careful with her life now?

The five young maids wore expressions of utter despair, "Mistress, don’t speak so dramatically, you’re scaring us to death!"

But what does "it’s alright now" mean? Did the poison act up earlier? Is this a buffer stage, or will it flare up again later?

Indeed, one only realizes the lack of intelligence when it’s needed.

Susu wasn’t planning to keep them in suspense any longer; while listening to the noises outside, she split her attention to explain to the young maids what treacherous human nature was like!

"Did you notice, when Miss Yue was pulling out her handkerchief to cover her face, a sachet fell from her sleeve!"

The five maids all nodded; when the sachet fell, the tied knot seemed to have come undone, and a rich fragrance spread. They all smelled it and naturally noticed the sachet.

The pink background with an unclear embroidery.

Fen Dai suspiciously said, "Was it that fragrance?" Oh heavens, if she was also poisoned, what then?

"We all smelled it, even Miss Yue and her maid couldn’t avoid it. But only the mistress’s condition was off! There’s no evidence!"

Linglong touched her chin, taking on a bit of a detective-like demeanor!

Susu nodded, then shook her head, "It was because of the fragrance, but not just because of the fragrance!"

Her gaze shifted to the white calyx Inverted Golden Bell on the ground, yet to be cleared.

Who would have thought that such an ordinary flower could be the key to unleashing a demon!

When or how long had they been plotting, and for what exactly?