CHAPTER 202: CHAPTER 201: ALL THAT LIES AHEAD IS UNKNOWN

Madam Lu smiled with satisfaction when she saw Fu Ling recognize her.

She thought to herself, even the most inexperienced maid should recognize her deer-head cane.

Madam Lu snorted coldly, "I always thought Yu Zhenwu was cautious in the Capital, but to indulge his servants so recklessly outside."

Fu Ling kowtowed while saying, "Madam, please understand, my young mistress has been harmed by a villain and is in critical condition.

I had no other choice but to come to Longhua Temple to set up a blessing plaque, begging Madam not to hold it against me, and to forgive Fu Ling?"

Madam Lu didn’t really care about the maid being kicked, she cared about her own face. Now that Fu Ling had kowtowed until her head bled, half of Madam Lu’s anger had dissipated.

After instructing someone to take the unconscious maid away for care, Madam Lu asked Fu Ling, "You said your young mistress is seriously ill?"

Hearing that Yu Yanran was seriously ill did not surprise Madam Lu at all.

That Yu Yanran was sickly since childhood, as fragile as a weak willow, and did not appear to have a long life.

Fu Ling cried, "My young mistress has been in a coma for two days and nights, all the doctors in Luocheng are helpless, if this goes on... I fear my young mistress..."

Madam Lu sighed, "What kind of granddaughter-in-law did my grandson choose, really..."

From the beginning, she did not support the marriage with the Yu Family, partly because Yu Zhenwu was an illiterate brute, and also because Yu Yanran was notoriously sickly.

Her daughter was against this marriage too, but her son-in-law, the Prince, said it was a temporary measure, aimed at the soldiers under Yu Zhenwu’s command.

Thus, the two families became in-laws.

But her grandson, for some unknown reason, after a few encounters with that sickly person from the Yu family, inexplicably developed a liking for her, started searching everywhere for famous doctors for Yu Yanran, determined to cure her cold sickness.

"Sigh..." Madam Lu sighed, "Your young mistress’s death will undeservedly give my grandson a reputation for bringing bad luck to his wife..."

Fu Ling gritted her teeth, seething but not daring to speak up, because her young mistress was not dead yet.

Madam Lu waved her hand, "You may stand up, don’t block the way.

Go back and take care of your young mistress. This blessing plaque is all nonsense, instead of wasting time here, hurry back to the Capital for your young mistress to see her family one last time!"

Facing Madam Lu, Fu Ling didn’t dare to object, only bowed repeatedly before taking her leave and hurried downhill with two martial masters.

Once Fu Ling left, Madam Lu immediately summoned someone and whispered, "Ride back to the Capital quickly, tell Princess Consort Huainan to call off the engagement between the Princely Heir and the Yu family, and be quick!"

After that person left with their orders, Madam Lu was ushered to the front by others. She smiled at everyone, "I’m sorry for the disturbance, I didn’t mean to make a fuss, but that Young Maid’s arrogance forced my hand to reprimand her a bit."

"Madam, you were right to reprimand her, such arrogant behavior needs someone of your standing to address it."

"Indeed, well-done. If it weren’t for you, Madam, who knows how arrogant that maid might have become!"

Everyone began to flatter Madam Lu, offering all sorts of compliments lavishly.

Madam Lu was pleased with all the flattery and began setting up a blessing plaque for herself and a memorial plaque for her late husband at the recording monk’s station.

The blessing plaques are red, the memorial plaques yellow. The monk records the birthdates of those requesting blessings and the deceased, engraving them on the plaques, and the plaques are placed in a side hall near the Ksitigarbha Hall.

Madam Lu sets up a plaque in the largest temple of each city she visits.

She is a firm believer in this practice.

Fu Ling had heard of this, so once she left the temple, she cursed aloud, "She believes so firmly, yet tells me it’s all nonsense, she just doesn’t want our young mistress to get better..."

After witnessing this farce, Yu Xiaolian remained unfazed. Once she set up memorial plaques for her grandfather and Yu Zikuang, the three of them descended the mountain.

Once they were in the carriage, with no outsiders around, Mrs. Sun asked, "Who is that old lady? Why did she scare that maid like that?"

Yu Xiaolian replied, "That maid is the personal attendant of General Yu’s legitimate daughter, Yu Yanran. Yu Yanran is engaged to the Princely Heir of the Huainan Prince Mansion, and not long ago, they searched our house for...

That old lady was probably the old mother-in-law of Prince Huainan, the Princely Heir’s maternal grandmother, not sure why she came to Luocheng."

Mrs. Sun replied, "So her granddaughter-in-law is about to die, and that old lady didn’t have any reaction, didn’t she even say to go and see her?"

Old Madam Sun said, "Didn’t you see the look of that old lady, she didn’t even let the maid set up a blessing plaque, clearly uncaring about whether her granddaughter-in-law lives or dies."

Mrs. Sun sighed, "Cutting in line was wrong, but life and death are serious matters, surely letting her set up a blessing plaque for Miss Yu is the least..."

Yu Xiaolian said, "Yu Yanran shouldn’t die!"

Mrs. Sun was puzzled, "Why do you say that?"

Yu Xiaolian said, "Gut feeling!"

Yu Yanran is the protagonist in this story world, she shouldn’t just die out of nowhere!

But in reality, Yu Xiaolian’s intuition was wrong.

Yu Yanran died, right here in Luocheng.

It was at this moment that Yu Xiaolian truly realized this was no longer a story world following a set script.

Everything from now on is unknown.

Although Xi Sijin hadn’t mentioned who had been cursed with the Child Gu, she died, and Yu Yanran followed suit.

Clearly, Xi Sijin had cursed Yu Yanran with a Gu.

This old lady was pretending to cure Yu Yanran while actually placing a new curse, making Yu Xiaolian’s skin crawl in fear.

That dreadful old lady, truly wicked!

Yu Changhe and Sun Fengshou went to the livestock market to buy a carriage, then with gifts for the Village Chief, exited through the East Gate and headed to Taohua Village.

The two drove the carriage for about half an hour before finally reaching Taohua Village.

Upon entering Taohua Village, Yu Changhe and Sun Fengshou smelled a rich aroma of fruits and melons.

Sun Fengshou surveyed the surrounding environment, murmuring, "The land here is in small plots, lots of stones, not as flat as around River Bay."

Yu Changhe said, "This is a real mountainous region, lots of stones, the wasteland is tough to develop."

Sun Fengshou took another look at the scope of Taohua Village, not able to see the end of it, and said, "This Taohua Village is quite big."

At least bigger than River Bay and Upper River Bay combined.

Yu Changhe said, "The old man who helped us register our household said that Taohua Village is the best village around here.

Nearly every household here can brew fruit wine, heard that the fruit wine from Taohua Village is quite famous around Luocheng too!"

Sun Fengshou said, "No wine is better to me than ours, that fruit wine just tastes like sugar water, what man would enjoy that?"

Yu Changhe laughed, "You’re a simple man with no appreciation for wine, just like to drink like an ox. Heard that this fruit wine is much loved by scholars and literary types!"