Chapter 137: Su's Fake Illness

  Tie Wenyang didn't seem surprised at all when he saw Qin Dai, and instead seemed to know everything already. He thought back to the rumors he had heard about his own younger sister.

  Everyone says that the third young lady of the Qin manor is a mixed bag, with a quick temper and an arrogant attitude, being extremely overbearing; he recalled the scene when he first met her, just a 14 or 15-year-old girl, who was calm and composed in the face of things, leaving a deep impression on him.

  The girl in front of her quietly listened to others' troubles, not interrupting or asking questions, showing that she was well-bred and very patient. A pair of clear and spirited eyes seemed to see through everything.

  How could such a woman have such an evaluation?

  Qin Dai Xin didn't know that Tie Wei Yang was guessing her thoughts, thinking he was still troubled by past events, so she asked: "Master Wuben had recognized you back then and gave you four sentences, why didn't he directly tell you about your origins? Instead, after you figured out the meaning of those four sentences, when you found him again, only then did he speak up? And what about Ying Er, how did you find her, and how did she send you to Master Wuben's hands back then?"

  Qin Dai Xin was very curious about this Wu Ben Master. He looked ordinary and didn't seem like a high-ranking Taoist, but he had an almost prophetic ability. How did he know that he would meet Su Shi's lost child while carrying a sparrow lamp?

  Qin Dai suddenly felt a strange sensation in her heart, wondering if this person had some kind of special ability and could see that she was an imposter from another time.

  Tie Yangdao said: "Ying'er was not crazy before, she became like this for me."

  It turned out that when Su had discovered she was pregnant, she hadn't announced the good news to the Qin family. Instead, she secretly planned a way out for herself. Having been in the Qin manor for so long, she understood Madam Fang's style all too well. If Madam Fang hadn't given birth to a legitimate eldest son, then it would be impossible for any other woman in the manor to become pregnant. Everyone would take their contraceptive medicine on schedule, including herself.

  It was just that somehow, Su Shi, who had always been taking medicine, became pregnant.

  After learning about this matter, she was both delighted and worried.

  She was overjoyed that after many years of marriage, she was finally pregnant and would soon experience the joy of motherhood; but she was worried that once her pregnancy became known, both she and the child in her womb would be in danger.

  Su thought and thought, feeling that she had to think of a way to keep this child. The only solution was to leave the Qin Manor.

  She had no one around her who could be trusted, only her wet nurse and Ying'er, who had followed her from her mother's home, were reliable.

  She thought back and forth for a while. Deciding that no matter what, she had to keep this child safe, so she discussed a plan with the wet nurse and Ying Er.

  Su began to live a reclusive life, minimizing her appearances in public and being extremely cautious about her daily habits. Except for the wet nurse and Ying'er who stayed by her side to attend to her needs, she would not let anyone else approach her. She wanted to be extra careful, so when her belly started to show, she would bind it tightly every day and wear loose clothing to conceal her pregnancy from others.

  There's just one problem - how can I deceive Qin Chongwen's eyes? If he wants to get close to me, won't that expose everything?

  Just as Su was worried about this matter, a message suddenly came from the government office that Fang Wanyu was pregnant! What surprised people was that she, who had always disliked Qin Zongwen's closeness to women, actually took the initiative to give her dowry maid Feng Juxiang to Qin Zongwen as a concubine!

  Upon learning the news, Su's emotions were complicated as she was already nearly three months pregnant. Her belly would soon be showing, and if Qin Zongwen still came to her, it was feared that the pregnancy could not be hidden. However, things happened to be so coincidental that Fang Wanru also became pregnant at this time. In order to maintain her position, Bai let Qin Zongwen have a clever and beautiful daughter, and with new people nearby, he might not even think of his old lover anymore. This would instead help Su herself. The arrival of Feng Juxiang from the sky solved Su's predicament but also proved Qin Zongwen's heartlessness from another aspect.

  Su didn't have time to grieve for spring and autumn, and immediately arranged for things to be packed up.

  To get out of the Qin manor and give birth safely, this is the only plan that can be carried out.

  Pretending to be ill is a delicate art. If you don't pretend convincingly, it may arouse suspicion and backfire; if you pretend too convincingly, you'll attract attention, which isn't a good strategy either. If you pretend lightly, the doctor will just take a look and prescribe some medicine, but that won't achieve her goal of getting out of the house. If you pretend too heavily, you're afraid the doctor who comes to diagnose you will see through it, and your plan will fall apart.

  Su thought he was clever and decided to pretend to have a contagious illness, not only could it ward off those who came to probe, but also make ordinary doctors hesitant.

  Su Shi made up her mind and asked the wet nurse to secretly find out if there was any prescription or medicine that, after being taken, would make someone appear as if they had contracted a contagious disease.

  The wet nurse kept this matter in mind, but she didn't dare to ask openly and loudly. She could only secretly inquire about some gossiping women's words in private, although she asked many questions, she had no clue, making the wet nurse anxious with a big mouthful of water bubbles.

  Su watched as her belly grew bigger and bigger every day, feeling the little life inside her jumping around, she was even more determined to keep this child.

  A young Englishman was chatting with a fellow countrywoman when he learned about a type of "chicken foot grass" that resembles chicken feet and is normally non-toxic. However, if it comes into contact with horse urine, it will react and cause the person who touches it to break out in blisters all over their body, similar to poisoning. The affected area won't hurt or itch, but it's quite serious. Fortunately, it will heal on its own after about 10 days to half a month.

  The young boy was delighted to hear this, but he feared that everyone would know about it, so he pretended to ask casually: "This thing is very common, who doesn't know how to prevent and cure it, what's the big deal?"

  That girl retorted, "Who would have the leisure to dig up the chicken claw grass, remove the roots and stems, mash them up with horse urine, and put them together? This thing is rare, most doctors haven't seen it before, let alone know how to treat it. You've never seen it before, so just drop the act of being able."

  The young man intentionally annoyed her and asked back, "Since it's rare, how did you know?"

  It turned out to be this girl's younger brother, who was young and mischievous. He had collected horse urine in a jar and placed it in the courtyard, but then forgot about it. A group of children went to play in the fields and somehow got covered in chicken foot grass juice. When they returned home, the child kicked over the jar that had held the horse urine, splashing himself all over.

  That night, he broke out in a rash all over his body, which scared everyone to death. My father rushed to the town overnight and arrived at the doctor's office, but the old doctor was not there. He said that he had never seen anything like it before. My brother did not have a fever, nor was he in pain or itchy, so the doctor couldn't prescribe any medicine. After taking his pulse, the doctor said that everything seemed normal, and my father took my brother back home. The whole family worried for half a month, but the rash suddenly disappeared overnight without leaving any symptoms. Everyone was puzzled, and after asking him in detail, he told them what had happened that day. Except for the strange things about the chicken foot grass paste and horse urine, there was nothing else unusual.

  The girl proudly said: "My brother tried some horse urine and found some chicken foot grass to try it out, and indeed, the rash appeared. Only then did our family put their minds at ease."

  The boy was overjoyed and said: "Your brother is really extremely intelligent!"

  That girl was very pleased, "My brother is really smart, he reads the best books. If my mother hadn't been ill, he could have continued to read and I wouldn't have been sold to the mansion as a maid."

  Ying'er didn't have time to chat with her, so she said there was something going on at the mansion and hurried back to tell Su Shi.

  The three of them discussed it together and thought the plan was feasible, so they found some chicken foot grass and horse urine to try.

  It's August, and wild grass is everywhere. Chicken feet grass isn't hard to find. Although horse urine smells bad, the wet nurse still covers her nose and secretly gets some from the Qin family's stable.

  The wet nurse thought that if it were just Su who fell ill, it would probably be all right.

  "Both the mistress and the lady are clever! We attend to you day and night, how can we not be infected? Only when all three of us fall ill can we be sent back to the village."

  Su felt it was reasonable, but in her heart she felt sorry for the two of them.

  The three of them each wiped off some of the horse urine mixed with chicken foot grass juice, and then destroyed a bunch of related items. Only then did they feel their hearts pounding wildly, with sweat all over their palms.

  At night, Su's body indeed broke out in large blisters, on her face and hands. The wet nurse and Ying'er were slightly better off, but upon closer inspection, those shiny blisters could also be seen.

  Three people followed the plan and took action. Ying Er rolled and crawled to Fang Wanru's courtyard, shouting for Mrs. to save her life.

  The people in the courtyard were startled by her, Fang Wanyu was less than two months pregnant at this time and was feeling tired. She didn't want to see a little maid, so she directly ordered someone to drive the person away. But unexpectedly, her confidant Li Mama came from outside with a serious face and whispered a few words in her ear.

  Fang Wanru did not expect the "plague" to appear in the mansion, so she immediately had someone bring Qin Congwen back from the woman's bedroom. This matter concerned the lives of the entire family, and naturally, they would not hide it from Fang Shi. After a simple discussion among the three, they sent for a doctor.

  The doctors were invited, and more than one was invited. However, this so-called "water bubble" had never been seen by anyone before. Coupled with Su's painful expression, sometimes saying that her body itched, sometimes saying that her body hurt, even a face full of blisters appeared in front of everyone, scaring those old doctors who didn't dare to get close, and naturally, they couldn't take her pulse either.

  Everyone thought this "illness" was the plague, and with Ying'er adding fuel to the fire by saying that she and her wet nurse had been infected, those white-bearded doctors grabbed their medicine boxes and ran. The doctors all said it couldn't be cured, they'd never seen anything like it, which means isn't that just waiting for death?

  The Qin estate was in an uproar, with all the servants who had attended to the Su family being isolated. The three of them - Su Shi, the wet nurse and Ying'er - who had already shown symptoms were locked up in a small room, with the windows and doors nailed shut from the outside.

  Su coldly gazed at Qin Zongwen's actions, extremely disappointed in this man. She felt more and more that the child in her womb couldn't stay in the Qin Manor. Although she was reluctant to part with it, with a father like him, could she still expect him to protect the child thoroughly?

  For ten whole days, all three members of the Su family were locked in a small room and their meals were passed to them through the gap under the door.

  Just as the three of them thought they were going to be imprisoned until death, the door was suddenly pushed open.

  ps：

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