Cao Xiwan stood on the stacked porch holding a brass hand stove, looking at the cedar-covered locust courtyard through the snow.
Granny Map said that there were dishonest servants in the Huaiyuan. She wanted to come and have a look.
It was cold, so she deliberately covered herself with a large fur coat with carved slate blue silk, revealing a pink stand-up collar, which highlighted her oval face that was still bloodless, but her eyes were bright.
Manager Lian Er's affairs must be rectified.
The courtyard door seemed to be left open on purpose. She could vaguely see that Liu Ruhai had been sitting in the concierge and had not entered.
She thought about it and understood.
The news of the famous doctor's arrival spread in an instant.
Most of the people standing in the front yard are honest servants, but there are also many oily old servants in the back yard.
Liu Ruhai heard a noise coming from the wall of the courtyard. He stood up and looked out of the window. He saw someone slipping out. He was immediately spotted by someone who had been arranged by Manager Lian Er. Granny Ma and Uncle Mo Wu were guarding outside the wall and caught the person.
Got it right.
Liu Ruhai just pretended not to see what happened in the inner courtyard of the deep house.
He sat down again, and the servant was gagged and dragged away in the blink of an eye.
Cao Xiwan walked a few steps on the stacked corridor. When he got off the corridor, he saw the rockery cedar wall towards the back door of the Sophora Courtyard. There were stone tables and chairs, where the second steward liked to interrogate the servants. Liu Ruhai was sitting in the front porter of the courtyard, just giving
Even the steward is just a foil.
On the left and right are the servants of the Marquis's son who were bribed, but most of the bribers were also relatives of the Marquis.
Cao Xiwan was on guard. If the wife's people drugged the young master and he was too stupid and was caught, she had to go and save him.
It was a good achievement. After all, the Marquis secretly transferred Chen Ming, the ghost doctor, into the house. He was suspicious.
In the corridor, the second steward, Lian Er, was shouting and asking questions.
The escaped servant cried: "Second steward, the young master's illness really has nothing to do with the slaves. How can I dare? I just want to hear the news and see what kind of illness the young master has outside. Please spread the word to the fifth master."
It turned out to be the fifth master. After listening to it for a while, Cao Xiwan knew it was not his wife.
She was relieved but also puzzled. It was impossible for the young master to go out.
Liu Ruhai sipped tea and waited for Manager Lian Er to finish taking care of things.
In front of the window of the Huaiyuan, you can see the undulating and connected one-level corridor on the opposite side, leading to the main corridor of the back hall. At the end of the corridor, there should be the green-painted cornices and iron horses and nails leading to the main hall of the Baihua Hall.
He suddenly saw Cao Xiwan.
Her back was walking up the corridor step by step, heading towards the main room.
He couldn't help but smile.
Has she been staring at him today?
Amidst the snowy sky, he remembered that Mrs. Hou lived in the courtyard there after her wedding, and the couple were extremely loving.
He couldn't help but sigh.
According to Liu Ruhai, Nankang Hou was a man with sharp eyebrows and thin lips. He looked affectionate but was actually extremely callous.
As soon as the Qingluo female ghost became a useless person, he made a mistake and married another woman.
If Song Chengming knew that the female ghost Qingluo was poisoned by Mrs. Hou, who had been a domestic slave in the yamen for ten years, and that he had to let Su Jintian take over the city patrol department, Song Chengming would be furious.
He pondered, thinking about it these days.
There was only one thing that could make her suddenly seriously ill and lose her strength.
Immortality Pill.
But seeing as she chose to be a maid in the main house, it seemed like she had an ulterior motive.
In Huaiyuan, the young master had a fever, but Mr. Liu took action and he was cured after three doses.
"It's okay for the time being. It's just a wheezing and coughing problem that children tend to have in winter."
When the news came, Mr. Hou was overjoyed. He looked at Chen Ming in the outer study. Chen Ming nodded. It was the same after he was diagnosed.
But Liu Ruhai was uneasy. He originally thought that the disease was coming on quickly and would take at least five or six days to be cured. But when he saw that the disease was cured unexpectedly and cured too quickly, he became suspicious and warned him before leaving.
:
"I'm afraid it will happen again. If anything happens, I will call the students in the back alley. I will be at home if I don't go out these days. No matter what time it is in the middle of the night, if the young master does something wrong, I must come and call him."
Manager Lian Er knew that he had seen more than a dozen difficult patients in the capital, but this was the first time such an arrangement had been made.
He was secretly shocked and quickly agreed.
Mr. Hou came back from the Yamen. When he heard the reply, he frowned and pondered, and then the second steward said: "Chen Baihu is a martial arts master in poisoning. He is very proficient in injuries and illnesses, but he may not have enough experience in pediatric diseases."
"He couldn't diagnose Qingluo's disease." The Marquis was displeased.
Liancheng didn't dare to say anything, but Chen Ming explained the reason. He was not as good as Qingluo and couldn't see what was wrong with her. Isn't this the case for the old imperial doctor in the palace and the master's wife in Chengfu Temple?
"Dr. Feng from Huichun Hall is quite proficient in pediatric prescriptions..." Manager Lian Er paused, "Right now, Madam Qing is taking care of Madam's pharmacy. Maybe...it's okay? Lord Marquis?"
The Marquis didn't say anything, so he didn't dare to mention it again. In fact, Mrs. Hou asked Qingluo to take care of Huichun Hall and take care of Dr. Feng just to let the Marquis clear his doubts - she definitely did not murder the concubine Song Jiyu.
It’s not that Mr. Hou didn’t understand.
When he exited, Mr. Hou ordered: "Let Xiao Wan keep an eye on her. By the way, what's wrong with her?"
Manager Lian Er understood what the Marquis meant, and said with a smile: "Although she is a useless person, she is still powerful, and she has arranged the rumors early, who dares to do something to her? Don't worry, the Marquis. Besides, Qing Niangzi is very good.
, she was testing Mr. Liu at his house in the back alley, so close to the Hou Mansion, who would dare to touch a hair on her head?"
After hearing this, the Marquis sighed for a long time:
"It's a pity for her."
Lian Cheng also thought in his heart that she was a useless person and she suspected Liu Ruhai and dared to lure him into action on her own.
He is also very human.
Cao Xi held an oil umbrella and knocked on the door in the evening.
"who?"
"it's me."
Hearing her voice, Liu Ruhai came out of the house in surprise and hurriedly opened the door. He saw her standing outside the door, huddled in the cold. He just smiled: "What's going on? There's a fire in the house -"
She shook her head and saw that there was a suitcase at her feet. She lifted it up and opened it. Inside were two pieces of fine colored silk as thin as cicada wings. She was wrapped in a thick cloak and trembling: "Our wife appreciates your hard work.
You treated the young master."
He couldn't help but laugh: "Come in quickly."
"No, I have to go back to work. It's time to have dinner. I didn't bring a lantern."
She was busy going back to grab dinner. Liu Ruhai turned around and signaled that there was Sister Huo in the kitchen. She saw it at a glance and said quickly: "You might as well have a drink of hot water."
Sister Huo had heard the sound early and quickly poured hot tea. She squatted in front of the stove and exchanged glances with Sister Huo. It was not in vain. Sister Huo meant that this boy had nothing to do with outsiders like Yang Pingcui.
Contact, he probably didn't come into the house to drug him, but wanted to poison hundreds of people in the house.
"Come in and warm yourself up." He hurried over, "The fire is burning. There is a foot stove."
She followed the good example and roasted her frozen feet in the main room while he was away. He took out a piece of bear skin from the room and let her wear it: "It's a piece of wool that no one has ever used."
She hugged the bear skin and sniffed. He held back her amusement and asked: "Your parents are spending the night in the house? After all, it's not as good as staying at home."
She didn't say anything. After she recovered, she stood up and carried the empty box to go back. She sighed and looked at him silently for a while before speaking: "It's so cold today, do you still need to go see the young master?"
He smiled and asked, "Mrs., did you insist on coming?"
She sighed.
She was the person sent by the Marquis. The wife asked her to take this job because she wanted her to report to the Marquis and say good things about the wife. When she left the main room, she was not too prepared for the weather, and she did not expect that in the evening
It's so cold outside.
She was freezing to death.
When she walked out of the yard, she turned to look at her house. The brass lock in front of the door had been slightly moved by someone, and she could tell at a glance.
"I have many enemies. I have to avoid them." She said honestly.
Liu Ruhai looked at her, but he still couldn't tell whether what she said was true or false.
He picked up the empty box at her feet, handed the bear skin to her, and asked her to stand in the yard holding the bear skin. He went into the kitchen and asked Sister Huo to pick up a few handfuls of fresh vegetables from a farm outside the city.
, packed in a box.
"Bring it to Father Cao and Aunt Wu."
"...then, thank you." In the winter, you can't eat this food for three meals in the servant's room. Especially when her mother is at night, it is good to eat some fresh vegetables and heat the pot in the middle of the night. She didn't refuse after thinking about it.
When Liu Ruhai received a generous reward from his wife, he had to give her a red envelope.
Liu Ruhai looked at her. It turned out that she would not say no with a straight face when giving food like this.
He carried the box and walked her all the way to the corner door.
As the sun set in the evening, he took the bear skin, looked at her, carried the box, and walked a few steps in the garden with an umbrella.
He added: "I will enter the mansion tomorrow."
"Oh." She looked back at him and nodded.
When he looked at her, she seemed to have her head frozen, and she looked dull and clumsy.
Come to think of it, Mrs. Hou would not embarrass such a girl.
In the next few days, the frost fell more and more frequently, and snow powder accumulated on the paths leading to and from the inner house, with no trace of it falling.
The young master gradually got better, but at night, the nanny and several confidants in the Huaiyuan kept watch day and night, including Granny Ma.
Cao Xiwan heard about it, and Doctor Liu was afraid that he would not be able to stay at home, so he went into the Marquis's mansion on his own.
He and the Sixth Master were drinking wine and enjoying the snow in front of the martial arts training hall. However, he also carried a large medicine box and specifically informed the second manager, Lian Er, that if anything happened, just come to the Sixth Master and see him.
Because the young master's illness was cured, and the doctor said it was a common illness in children, Mr. Hou came to the wife of the principal wife every day. Not to mention Wenxue and the other girls, everyone in the principal house felt relaxed.
One day, my wife ordered someone to deliver two bowls of vegetables to Xiliu's room.
But the second manager, Lian Er, knew that the Marquis' doubts were still there.
Cao Xiwan was very satisfied. On the surface, they were harmonious. She had already begun to think that maybe if her wife was in a good mood, she would suddenly reward her with the Buddha statue.
In the next few days, she stayed in the warm pavilion in the main room. Lou Shuluan said nothing about the young master's illness. He neither went to visit the young master in the Huaiyuan nor asked why the young master didn't come to say hello. At most, he only asked
One sentence: "Mr. Liu Shoushi, is he in the house today?"
Mother Chen always replied: "Yes."
Even Yanzhi said: "Hey, he is a good doctor. He is not at ease with the young master."
Cao Xiwan knew something was fishy, but she was too lazy to think about it. She was recovering from her illness.