Chapter 284 Blindness
"Take a step with your left foot...slowly...yes, just like that, good! Good! Old lady, steady yourself first...then lift your right foot..."
The secretary was supporting the old lady and was struggling to move step by step. Mengxi was patiently directing her from the side. Feeling the old lady's body trembling with every step, the secretary could not help but say:
"Miss, the old lady can't hold on any longer, let's take a rest first."
The old lady has been paralyzed in bed for nearly two months. If she doesn't practice like this, she will probably have to spend the rest of her life in bed. It's not that she is cruel. If it were the emperor, who has been paralyzed for two months, he would also have to practice step by step like this and endure this hardship!
Ignoring Shishu's words, Mengxi said softly:
"Old lady, you have been lying down for too long, and your legs and feet have become weak. Only by practicing like this can you recover faster. Look, in less than a month, you can already walk. As long as you persist, in another month or so, when the flowers bloom, you can come..."
I wanted to say that we could go to the garden to admire the flowers, but suddenly I remembered that the old lady’s eyesight could not be cured, and she would no longer be able to see this colorful world. Mengxi’s face darkened, and she stopped talking and looked at the old lady with pity...
The old lady gnashed her teeth and said:
"Qing'er, don't blame yourself. I was blind and didn't see Zhang Xiu's true face. I brought her into the mansion and almost made Jun'er take her as a concubine. This is God's punishment for me. It made me blind. Qing'er, don't worry, I will live well. I want to see with my own eyes what the end of this ungrateful Xiu'er will be!"
A strong hatred made the old lady grit her teeth and take another trembling step forward. Looking at the old lady's unfocused eyes, who never showed her emotions on her face, and her face distorted by strong hatred, Mengxi sighed secretly. She didn't expect Xiu'er to be so crazy.
It turned out that after Xiao Yun left that day, Mengxi, Ouyang Di and others discussed that under the current situation, it would be as easy for King Yan to destroy the Xiao family as crushing an ant. Otherwise, King Yan would not have hunted down Xiao Jun for so long just because Xiao Jun snatched Mengxi away on his wedding day, forcing Xiao Jun to hide under an assumed name. Everyone in the Xiao mansion knew Mengxi, and there were many people and many gossips. Once the news of Mengxi entering the Xiao mansion again leaked, King Yan could find any excuse to come to the Xiao mansion to search and capture Mengxi.
Knowing that re-entering the Xiao Mansion would be like entering a tiger's den, she still had to treat the old lady's illness, especially when she discovered that she had fallen in love with Xiao Jun. Mengxi wanted to live in peace with the Xiao family from the bottom of her heart, hoping to resolve the grievances between her and the Xiao family through her meager efforts.
In the end, Zhiqiu and others were left in Canghai Cottage, and only Ying'er and Haitang were brought along. They were protected by Ouyang Di, and dressed up as an unmarried girl. She claimed to be the granddaughter of the old lady's nephew and went by the alias Shangguan Qing. Because the old lady was ill, she came to visit her. Fortunately, it was still winter. Mengxi was dressed in bulky clothes and covered her face tightly. As soon as she entered the Xiao Mansion, she was taken to Shouxi Hall, and even the second master and the second lady were kept in the dark.
Mengxi took a look and found that the old lady had been poisoned by a strange poison made of dead leaf grass and graveyard moss as the main ingredients. These two kinds of grasses are saprophytes, one grows beside dead tree roots, and the other grows on rotten corpses. They are already very toxic, and the person who made the poison used a special method and added other herbs, so you can imagine how toxic it is.
In theory, the poison of dead leaf grass should not be difficult to detect. Since the old lady is blind, it should be possible to detect it. But the person who poisoned her was very smart. He did not use the poison all at once, but a little bit every day, so that the old lady was slowly poisoned and her eyesight gradually deteriorated. The initial symptoms were completely like those caused by depression, and thinking of the decline of the Xiao family, the doctors were naturally misled, including Doctor Li.
To the old lady's surprise, according to the clues provided by Mengxi, after investigation and interrogation, it was found that the person who poisoned her was Shihua, the always loyal maid.
It turned out that Xiu'er had completely fallen out of favor since her miscarriage. Xiu'er was abused in the palace. In her hatred, she was paranoid and believed that the source of her suffering came from the Xiao family, from her cousin, from the old lady, and from the first wife.
If it weren't for the promises made by the eldest wife, giving her hope time and time again, she wouldn't have waited so long in vain; if it weren't for the old lady protecting and doting on Mengxi, perhaps her cousin wouldn't have changed his mind; if it wasn't for revenge on her cousin, she wouldn't have married the King of Yan in a rage, and she wouldn't be suffering today. If...
But there are not so many ifs in this world for her to regret. How can she go back on the path she has walked? In the end, all that is left is the almost crazy hatred.
The eldest wife is dead, and Xiao Jun is being hunted down by King Yan with a bounty on his head, and his whereabouts are unknown. Although the Xiao family is defeated, the old lady is not dead yet. When Xiu'er thinks of the old lady still living freely in the Xiao Mansion, she grits her teeth and wishes she could eat her flesh and skin her, and grind her bones to ashes.
As the saying goes, you're not afraid of thieves stealing, you're afraid of thieves thinking about it. Xiu'er thought about the old lady every day and couldn't help thinking of Shihua.
Shihua has two younger brothers. Her father is a laborer. When she was 8 years old, her father suddenly fell seriously ill. In order to treat the illness, Shihua's mother sold her to the Xiao Mansion, but her father still could not be saved. From then on, the family relied on her mother's sewing and Shihua's meager monthly income to survive.
Shihua's younger brother loved reading since he was young, but he could not afford to go to school because of his poor family. Later, Shihua became a maid beside the old lady. The family's financial situation improved a little. Every time Shihua went home, she would persuade her mother to support her younger brother to study well. As expected, her younger brother lived up to everyone's expectations and passed the provincial examination three years ago. However, he failed in the imperial examination in the spring of the following year. His family was unable to recommend him, so he stayed at home unemployed and became a poor scholar with high expectations but poor skills.
It happened that Xiu'er was in Xiao's house at that time. Shihua complained to Xiu'er inadvertently. Xiu'er casually promised that when she returned home, she would ask her father to find a way to recommend her as a student, and then recommend her as a minor official when a real vacancy came in the future. It was just a casual remark at that time, but Shihua took it to heart, and from then on, she and Xiu'er were secretly in love.
After the old lady was released from prison, she sent away a large number of people, especially those in Yangxin Garden. Almost everyone was replaced. Xiu'er could no longer reach the Xiao Mansion, so she remembered that Shihua was a ready-made person. As long as she was promised fame and fortune, there was no doubt that she would be tempted.
So the crazy Xiu'er ignored Yuxin's best efforts to stop her and asked her to contact her brother from her mother's side. As expected, he recommended a supervisor to Shihua's brother and gave him a property. He also promised that after Shihua poisoned the old lady, he would ask her father to recommend a real position for her brother, take her out of the Xiao Mansion, and arrange a good place for her...
When she heard that she was asked to poison the old lady, Shi Hua was so frightened that her face turned pale and she refused to do it no matter what. After all, the old lady had treated her well in the past few years. Moreover, although the Xiao family was defeated, the old lady's power was still there.
But her younger brother tried to persuade her that the Xiao family had already failed and was only holding on by some foundation, and she would be sent away sooner or later, so it would be better for her to marry Princess Xiu. In the future, he would become an official and redeem her, and then she would be a rich lady; besides, Prince Yan was very powerful and would become the emperor sooner or later, and Princess Xiu would be the Imperial Noble Consort.
As long as they hold on to this thigh, their future will definitely be bright!
Seeing her brother's eyes glowing blue as he spoke, she suddenly realized that the whole family had already become very successful. Thinking back to the coldness and decline of the Xiao family these days, Shi Hua finally couldn't resist the confusion about her future and the temptation of fame and fortune, and was moved.
For fear of being discovered, she only put a little bit in the old lady's tea every day. She was worried all day long and was often awakened by nightmares. Seeing that the doctor could not diagnose the disease, Shihua became bolder and gradually increased the dosage, putting it directly in the medicine to make it more difficult to detect. Until Doctor Li could not find the cause of the disease, Shihua had long forgotten what fear was and had begun to fantasize about the life of a superior person.
As the saying goes, if you walk too much at night, you will always encounter ghosts. Shi Hua never dreamed that the Xiao family could invite the legendary God of Medicine to diagnose the cause of the disease.
The old lady’s life was saved, but because the poison was too severe, her eyes could not be saved.
In shock and anger, the old lady wanted to execute Shihua immediately, but was persuaded by Mengxi, who said it would be better to wait for the time being and transfer the case to the government after Prince Yan lost power, and perhaps they could bring down Censor Zhang. The old lady thought about it and agreed, so she detained Shihua.
Frightened, the old lady simply sent away Shiqin and Shiqi, leaving only Shishu, and replaced them with three newly bought maids, Ruyan, Ruyun and Ruyi, for fear that their coming and going in the mansion would attract attention. The old lady's paralyzed legs needed daily massage, so Mengxi simply stayed in the Xiao Mansion. A month passed in a flash, and under Mengxi's treatment, the old lady was finally able to get out of bed and practice walking.
After practicing for nearly half an hour, Meng Xi saw sweat on the old lady's forehead and said:
"Let's stop here for today. The old lady is tired too. We can continue practicing tomorrow."
After Mengxi finished speaking, Shishu let out a long breath and said:
"You walked for nearly a quarter of an hour longer than yesterday, and you look much better. If you keep going like this, you will be back to normal in no time. You are so lucky that Miss Qing is in Pingyang."
The old lady heard this and scolded with a smile:
"You silly girl, you are just so sweet-talking. I will send you away to marry someone else tomorrow. Let's see if you still refuse..."
"Old Madam...you are talking nonsense again. I will never marry. I will always serve you..."
"Okay, okay, I still want to keep you as my eyes."
After hearing what the old lady said, Mengxi and Shishu looked at each other, their expressions darkened. Shishu glared back the tears in his eyes, turned around and called Ruyi loudly, and the two of them helped the old lady back to the room and put her on the bed.
Seeing the old lady lying down, Mengxi was about to speak when Ruyan came in with the boiled medicine. When the secretary saw her, he said:
"The old lady has prepared the medicine. I will serve you."
As the secretary spoke, he took the medicine from Ruyan's hand, picked up a spoon, scooped a spoonful of it, put it to his mouth to test the temperature, and then brought it to the old lady's mouth.
While the old lady was taking medicine, Ruyan and Ruyi had already prepared some hot water. They helped the old lady wipe the sweat off her body and put her into a set of dry clothes. Then they helped the old lady lie down. Mengxi sat beside the bed and started to massage her legs.
Seeing that the room had become quiet, the old lady sent Ruyan and Ruyi out, and asked the servant to guard the door. When she heard the door close, she reached out her hand to Mengxi, and shouted as she touched him:
"Xi'er..."
When Mengxi saw this, he quickly reached out and held the old lady's hand and said:
"Old lady, what do you want? Mengxi will get it for you."
"I don't want anything. I just want to talk to you while no one is around."
