CHAPTER 285: CHAPTER 285: COUNTERATTACK (PART 1)

Xiqiu furrowed her brows and responded, "It seems Mother has fallen ill. I don’t know why she suddenly started shaking, threw the pillow on the ground, and couldn’t say a word..." As she spoke, she lowered her head and began to sob, appearing very sorrowful.

After Xiqiu finished speaking, another fierce roar like that of a lion came from within the room behind the curtain.

Daihe was startled to hear this. In recent days, Nanny Fang had been watching closely, keeping the severity of the Lady’s illness completely hidden. Even Daihe didn’t know how severe it was. Now, hearing Xiqiu’s words, she was terrified, feeling utterly lost, and her face turned ashen.

She glanced anxiously at the door curtain, as Xiqiu wiped the corner of her eye and walked out. She happened to run into Tong Xiyan. Seeing Xiqiu’s reddened eyes, Tong Xiyan was surprised and asked, "What happened?" Before glancing nervously inside, "Is it Mother..." Xiqiu shook her head and nodded, "Mother just woke up and became angry upon seeing me. Now she’s throwing a tantrum."

Tong Xiyan sighed in relief, apologetically saying, "Mother is struggling with her feelings, and it’s not just you; even I must tread carefully." Xiqiu nodded, "I should go back now, lest Mother gets angry seeing me and impacts her health."

Tong Xiyan nodded, watched Xiqiu leave, then turned and went back inside.

Xiqiu left the courtyard with Chunyan, while Daihe carefully closed the door behind them. Chunyan came up to support Xiqiu and asked, "Miss, what happened with the Lady just now? The sound I heard... sounded like..." Xiqiu shook her head, "You know enough, don’t speak out of turn." Even if the Lady’s illness became known, it shouldn’t be spread by people close to her; it was more credible coming from someone like Daihe, who was by the Lady’s side.

Xiqiu spoke as she turned to leave, momentarily pausing as she noticed Tong Xiyu standing at the edge of the garden from afar, with an indifferent expression and vacant gaze directed at her. Xiqiu slightly raised her brows, nodding at Tong Xiyu from a distance, but Tong Xiyu grabbed her skirt, turned and ran into the garden without looking back.

Chunyan looked bewildered, "What’s with Eighth Miss?" Tong Xiyu had always been like this. She heard that last night, Madam Mei went to First Master’s study, but was stopped outside by the Master’s servant. Now, with the Lady no longer as their support, their hearts must be filled with anxiety and fear!

That day, Doctor Hu was called into Zhui Garden again, and though she didn’t hear the diagnosis, she guessed correctly: liver qi depression, heart fire blazing, phlegm heat accumulating—signs of a stroke. Though the symptoms were not obvious or severe, careful recuperation was necessary to avoid stimulation; otherwise, it could lead to a stroke.

She didn’t know if the Lady had suffered a stroke, but she figured she likely wouldn’t be able to get out of bed for some time... News of the Lady’s illness spread like wildfire through the inner court...

That night, Xiqiu called Nanny Lai and Nanny Qian into her room, and the three of them talked all night by lamp. The next day, Xiqiu went to Nanny Fang to get the ledger for the past two years, spending two nights to read through it and making detailed notes for the past few months.

In the morning, Doctor Hu came to re-examine the Lady and also checked Xiqiu’s condition, leaving full of doubt as he shook his head. In the afternoon, Lord Xu arrived in the Capital without prior notice and went straight to the Tong Mansion. First Master hurried to the second door to greet him. Lord Xu, thin and dark, looked shrewd, with thin lips giving him a somewhat harsh appearance.

He got straight to the point, asking upon seeing First Master, "Brother-in-law, has my wife done anything inappropriate in your mansion?" He had been urging his concubine to return to Shandong, but despite half a year passing, she stubbornly stayed in the Capital, refusing to leave. Worried but unable to divert his attention, it wasn’t until First Master Tong sent a letter that he realized something might be amiss.

First Master Tong’s face also turned grim as he gestured towards Lord Xu, "You’ve traveled a long way, let’s discuss in my study." This was not the place to talk, so Lord Xu nodded and followed First Master to the study!

Xiqiu didn’t know what First Master Tong and Lord Xu discussed, only that in the afternoon, Lord Xu went to Zhui Garden’s side room with a gloomy face, closed the door, and spoke with the concubine. The concubine went wild, smashing everything in the room to pieces, even injuring the maid beside her, leaving her head bleeding profusely.

In his fury, without a word, Lord Xu had the concubine bound and unceremoniously thrown onto a carriage, driving out of the city. A month later, Xiqiu learned that Lord Xu took the concubine directly to Yingtian, leaving her at Zhang Mansion in Yingtian—this is a story for another time.

Chunyan and Chunliu were overjoyed as they returned from the kitchen with food boxes, smiling, "Miss, today First Master went with the First Young Master to visit a colleague’s home, why don’t we invite Madam and Seventh Young Master for a meal, it’s been half a month since we last saw them."

Xiqiu put down the ledger, walked over to see the table filled with dishes, and smiled, "What is the occasion today to be so merry?" Chunliu laughed, "Just an ordinary day. It’s just that after staying in the temple for so long, having not eaten anything nice for ages, today we hoped to enjoy a little more benefit from Miss and eat something good!" Now, when the kitchen servants hear it’s for the Sixth Miss, they all scramble to cook, wanting the pleasure of serving.

Chunyan and Chunliu invited Madam Xia and Seventh Young Master to Zhiqu Courtyard for a meal. Just as the dishes were laid out on the table, suddenly, the funeral bell tolled from the mansion gate, and the cloud board clanged... everyone was shocked. Before Xiqiu could count how many times the cloud board struck, Nanny Qian rushed in, exclaiming, "The Emperor has passed away!"

On the eighth day of the third month in the twenty-fourth year of Zhengde, the Emperor died!

This night was destined to be uneasy; Xiqiu frowned as she asked Nanny Qian, "Have First Master and the First Young Master returned?" The Second Master, as a Cabinet Minister and the Third Prince’s right-hand man, had to go to the palace, but First Master and Tong Shen Zhi did not need to!

"Not yet." Nanny Qian also looked grim, not saddened by the Emperor’s death, but worried because her son’s wedding was scheduled for this month, and now it would have to be postponed!

Xiqiu felt uneasy, and only later did she understand why.

The air was stifling and oppressive that night. Xiqiu settled Madam Xia and Tong Minzhi, then summoned Manager Lai, instructing him to send a carriage to fetch First Master and his son, and to deploy the estate’s guards, ensuring no one slept that night, maintaining night patrol vigilance. The inner yard was similarly ordered, with maids divided into three shifts to patrol each courtyard, just like with the Second Prince’s previous rebellion. At each courtyard gate, three to four maids were stationed, each equipped with gongs to sound in case of any unexpected incidents, alerting everyone by drumming.

Xiqiu visited the Lady’s room, and Nanny Fang seemed unimpressed by her arrangements. Not only Nanny Fang, but also the mansion maids, though outwardly assigned tasks, were not as tense as during the Second Prince’s unrest earlier. But Xiqiu’s caution proved justified.