“Miss Li, please say less. Miss Gao was quite arrogant today. She accidentally splashed water all over Miss Ji. If she were to accidentally scratch your face, Miss Li, then things would be terrible!” said Yuan Qianqian, the youngest daughter of the Grand Scholar who was watching the show.
Upon hearing this, Li Yuanyang immediately fell silent, and almost all her gazes were fixed on Ji Wushang. Yes, wasn't Miss Ji supposed to be quite formidable? Why was she completely silent and showed no sign of retaliation this time? Could it be that she was frightened by Gao Fengfen? Or had the recent troubles at her residence changed her personality?
Ji Wushang smiled, picked up a piece of tofu, and ate it slowly, quite leisurely. The young ladies around her watched, swallowing hard. How could Miss Ji eat so deliciously?
Ji Wushang glanced at them and continued eating.
Gao Fengfen was furious and stepped forward, saying, "We haven't even started eating yet, why are you in such a hurry to pick up your chopsticks!"
Ji Wushang smiled without saying a word and picked up another piece of shrimp.
Gao Fengfen was furious. Was she being treated like she was invisible? The other young ladies around her were watching and laughing at her!
"Are you deaf or stupid!" Gao Fengfen roared. "I'm asking you a question!"
"I'm eating my food, you're saying yours, is that wrong?" Ji Wushang raised her head, her gaze turning cold, like a knife aimed at Gao Fengfen. Gao Fengfen, intimidated by her imposing aura, took a step back. "You, you..."
"Miss Ji is indeed Miss Ji, she's really something else!" Li Yuanyang sneered.
Ji Wushang listened, looked up, and rolled his eyes at her. "Some things should be said, and some things shouldn't be said, or you might bite your tongue!"
Upon hearing this, Li Yuanyang immediately covered her cherry lips, afraid that she might actually bite her tongue.
Gao Fengfen was furious. She had splashed water on her during the day! And now she wasn't even trying to be tactful?
"Look at Miss Gao, she's so angry, tsk tsk tsk." Someone whispered among the young ladies, but everyone could hear it.
"Exactly, and she's the legitimate daughter of the Left Prime Minister's family!"
...
Ji Wushang ignored it.
Gao Fengfen was furious. She reached for the teacup in front of her and was about to splash it on Ji Wushang's face.
But at that moment, Ji Wushang suddenly spat out all the food in his mouth onto Gao Fengfen's face and body!
☆、138 Applying medicine is a grueling task! (A heartwarming scene unfolds)
Gao Fengfen's face was contorted in pain. She put down the teacup and used water to wipe the food off her face. The ladies around her covered their mouths and laughed.
Ji Wushang stared blankly for a moment, then stood up. "I'm sorry, I just coughed. It's not my fault. There are clothes in the room, go in and change quickly!"
"You, you bitch, you!" Gao Fengfen shouted angrily, "You did this on purpose!"
"You'd better watch your tongue," Ji Wushang replied coldly. "Don't keep calling me a 'bitch'!"
"I'm talking about you, you bitch, you bitch!" Gao Fengfen shouted at Ji Wushang as if she had gone mad.
"Slap!" Ji Wushang slapped Gao Fengfen across the face. "You've gone mad for insulting the eldest daughter of the General's Mansion!"
"You, you actually dared to hit me?" Gao Fengfen covered her face. "I, I'll fight you to the death!"
Ji Wushang looked at his hands. He had been too impulsive and had actually hit her, getting his hands dirty!
As Ji Wushang watched her lunge forward, he stepped back. Just then, he heard an angry shout, "What are you doing!" Upon hearing this, Ji Wushang immediately rushed forward, "Ah!" and fell to the ground.
Before Gao Fengfen could react, she heard a scream. Ji Wushang pulled her, and she felt something touch her hand. She felt a sharp pain in her lower abdomen, but when she got up and looked at Ji Wushang, she saw her lying on the ground, looking disheveled, with tears on her face and blood flowing from the corner of her mouth!
Before Gao Fengfen could say anything, she heard Ji Wushang cry out, "Sister Gao, I was just eating a meal in peace, why are you so cruel, hitting me, scolding me, and disfiguring my face! Waaah!"
Standing at the door, Granny Wang was shocked to hear this and rushed inside. Several maids quickly pulled everyone away. When everyone saw Ji Wushang's miserable state, they were all stunned. Ji Wushang's face was covered in red welts, and blood was still trickling from the corner of his mouth!
Gao Fengfen only had some food scraps on her face and body, and was not injured. The pain in her lower abdomen... was gone!
The people around looked on in surprise, but dared not speak.
Granny Wang immediately ordered someone to keep an eye on Ji Wushang. After several maids looked at her, they said, "Miss Ji has been beaten."
Isn't that obvious?
Ji Wushang stepped forward and took Wang Mama's hand. "Mama, it's Miss Gao. Waaah, she didn't want me to eat, so she came up and hit me without saying a word. Please, Mama, uphold justice!"
"What did you say? You dare say you didn't spray all this food on me?" Gao Fengfen shouted angrily, looking at the ladies around her. "You all, be my witnesses right now!"
Who cares about what's going on around them? The fact that Ji Wushang is now turning around and biting her shows he's not one to fight. They shouldn't get themselves into trouble! They can just watch the show! Besides, Gao Fengfen is just a stupid idiot who acts all high and mighty; she deserves to be trampled on!
Seeing that the young ladies around her remained silent, Granny Wang turned to Gao Fengfen and said, "Miss Gao, you must understand that this is the Imperial Palace, not the residence of the Left Prime Minister! If Miss Gao does not wish to live here with the other young ladies, Granny Wang can have someone send you back to your residence!"
This Granny Wang is in charge of the Wenge embroidery project, so she naturally has the right to send someone back to the mansion. All she needs is a word or an excuse; it's such a simple thing!
"No, no, Granny, listen to me! It was her! I saw she was eating before us, so I went over to tell her not to eat yet. I never expected her to spit a mouthful of food all over me! And she slapped me! Please, Granny, investigate!" Gao Fengfen said, then looked at Ji Wushang and glared at her.
Ji Wushang looked defeated, tears streaming down her face, mixed with blood from the corner of her mouth, a pitiful sight. "Granny, you know me. At noon today, Sister Gao accidentally splashed water all over me, and I didn't even mind. So why would I hit her? Yes, I accidentally sprayed her with something, but I had a cold. I... cough cough, cough cough..." Ji Wushang's chest heaved violently as she clutched her chest and coughed violently.
Those around them were at a loss for words. At this moment, Shangguan Feiyan stepped forward. "Granny, I can testify that it was Miss Gao who disliked Miss Ji and deliberately picked a fight! That's why Miss Ji accidentally did that offensive thing. But, both morally and logically, it was Miss Gao's fault, not Miss Ji's. Moreover, we did see and hear Miss Gao threatening to kill Miss Ji! She even lunged at Miss Ji to hit her. When you were at the door, you heard a scream. I guess Miss Ji was slapped in the face by Miss Gao. Look, Miss Ji's mouth is still bleeding!"
"You two are in cahoots!" Gao Fengfen pointed at Ji Wushang, then at Shangguan Feiyan, and then at the young ladies around her. "You, you all better speak up for me!"
The others stepped back.
Gao Fengfen was furious. "You, you're all in cahoots!"
“Miss Gao, what are you saying? Miss Shangguan was just stating the facts. I didn’t expect you to insult her as well. Miss Shangguan, I’m so sorry, I really dragged you into this.” Ji Wushang felt deeply guilty as she approached Shangguan Feiyan. Shangguan Feiyan looked at Ji Wushang and said, “Sister, don’t worry. So what if she’s been insulted? If a dog bites us, are we supposed to bite it back?”
Listening to their conversation, Granny Wang got the gist of it. She believed that Ji Wushang had been bullied by Gao Fengfen. She'd been harassed by Gao Fengfen as soon as she entered the palace, and Gao Fengfen probably hadn't had enough, so she deliberately caused this mess. She couldn't be allowed to stay! She should send her back to the manor! Even if her father was incredibly powerful, he couldn't interfere in the affairs of the inner palace!
"Guards, take Miss Gao inside to change her clothes, then send her back to the Left Prime Minister's residence tonight! No one can run wild in the palace!"
"Yes!" Several palace maids immediately stepped forward. Upon hearing this, Gao Fengfen shouted loudly, "Wang Mama, you are truly blind! They framed me! It was them! You should punish them and expel them from the palace!"
"Quickly, take her away!" How dare she say I'm blind? Gao Fengfen is the one who's blind! Granny Wang glared at her angrily, impatiently ordering the maid to take her away, and then turned to look at Ji Wushang, "Someone, quickly go and call the imperial physician to see if Miss Ji is injured."
Ji Wushang lowered her head and bowed slightly. "Thank you, Granny. Cough, cough." She coughed twice more, her face growing even paler. Granny Wang looked on with worry. If Miss Ji were to leave the palace in such a sick state, and General Ji Dingbei found out, wouldn't he report her to the Emperor and Empress? Moreover, Miss Ji was to marry the Prince of Nan. She could marry anyone, but marrying the Prince of Nan meant marrying someone very close to the Empress Dowager… She needed to be taken good care of!
"Quickly, help them into the room," Granny Wang said hastily.
People around watched as everyone went inside, and the imperial physician was summoned. Some were envious, while others expressed disdain. But it was a relief that the matter had been settled, and they gathered together to slowly enjoy their meal.
After Wang Mama went out, seeing that the young ladies were getting along well, she left with the palace maids.
Ji Wushang watched them leave. When the doctor and the maid left, he closed the door and then coldly snorted as he got out of bed. Next time, he wouldn't be so lucky. Gao Fengfen could just wait and see!
Ji Wushang touched the corner of his mouth, thankfully he had prepared some chicken blood, otherwise he would have really slapped himself in the face!
Tired, really tired, and feeling a bit dizzy, Ji Wushang remained lying in bed, coughing twice. The imperial physician had just said that he had prepared some medicine and would bring it over after it was decocted.
While Ji Wushang was in a daze, he heard someone knocking on the door. Ji Wushang struggled to open his eyes, "Who is it?"
"Sister Wushang, it's me, Feiyan," Shangguan Feiyan called out. "I've brought the medicine!"
"Please wait a moment." Ji Wushang got out of bed, feeling dizzy and groggy. He stumbled to the door and struggled to open it. "Please come in." Then, everything went black, and he collapsed to the ground.
Shangguan Feiyan was surprised. "What's going on?" she asked, quickly placing the medicine bowl on the table and closing the door. As she closed the door, she saw several young ladies sneering. Shangguan Feiyan ignored them and helped Ji Wushang up and onto the bed.
She covered him with the blanket, then touched Ji Wushang's forehead and found it was burning hot. "He has a fever, what should we do? Do we still need these medicines? We should probably get some ginger soup."
Ji Wushang completely fainted and had no idea what was happening.
At this moment, Ji Yinxue was in the opposite room. Hearing the young ladies discussing, she smiled, went out of her room, and approached Ji Wushang's door, knocking, "Big sister, big sister, open the door! Feiyan, Feiyan, are you there? Open the door, let me see how my big sister is!"
Several young ladies stood outside, pointing and whispering about Ji Yinxue.
Ji Yinxue turned around coldly and looked at those people. "What are you looking at? Go to sleep now. If you stay up late, you'll turn into a shameless old hag!"
The young ladies listened, snorted, and went back to their respective places.
Shangguan Feiyan was taking care of Ji Wushang when she heard that Ji Yinxue had arrived. Overjoyed, she put down the medicine bowl and went to open the door, saying, "Yinxue, come in quickly."
Ji Yinxue nodded. As soon as she entered, she saw Ji Wushang lying on the bed with his eyes closed and his face looking rather pale. She knew he must have caught a cold. Ji Yinxue said, "This won't do. We need to get a doctor to take a look at him right away. Otherwise, if he catches a cold, he might be infected by others in the palace, and they will definitely carry my elder sister out."
Upon hearing this, Shangguan Feiyan was immediately surprised. "What should we do? It's so late, all the doctors in the palace have gone to bed. How could there still be someone here?"
“It’s alright, I have some medicine here. I just happened to grab it thinking of taking it back to the Marquis’s residence. I didn’t expect it would come in handy. You can take it and brew it!” Ji Yinxue said, immediately taking out a small packet of medicinal herbs from her bosom. She opened it, and Shangguan Feiyan, who did not recognize these herbs and did not know that Ji Wushang and Ji Yinxue had some grudge, naturally took it without hesitation. “Okay, then you can help take care of the young lady for now.”
"Go ahead! Thank you so much." Ji Yinxue smiled and watched Shangguan Feiyan leave.
Once she was gone, Ji Yinxue's smile immediately turned into a sneer. "Hmph, eldest sister, I never thought you'd end up like this! You don't know, do you? He's already told me everything. You deliberately sent me to kill Aunt Bai and Ji Meiyuan, didn't you?"
Ji Wushang was fast asleep and certainly wouldn't hear what she was saying or doing.
"You're the vicious one! You actually used me to get rid of them all. You should just be a proper young lady. You've got a very clever plan!" Ji Yinxue said coldly. "Gao Fengfen gave me such a good opportunity today, how could I not seize it? Just let your cold get the better of you, and then wait for Granny Wang to have you carried out of the palace! That way, you won't be disgracing the General's Mansion. Aren't I very merciful?"
"Haha!" Ji Yinxue sneered twice, then took out a small bottle from her bosom. "Goodness, I'll let you taste what it's like to wish you were dead! You've hurt me so badly, I'll let you taste it too!" With that, she opened the bottle and brought it to Ji Wushang's nostrils, letting him smell it, while she covered her own nose... After quite some time, Ji Yinxue finally closed the bottle and put it back in her bosom.
"I'm waiting for you to get smallpox, waiting for you to itch to death, hahaha!" Ji Yinxue sneered, looking at the medicine bowl on the table, she immediately picked it up, smelled it, this medicine is good medicine, humph, it won't be good medicine in a while! As Ji Yinxue spoke, she immediately put a pill into the medicine bowl, stirred it for a while, and then put it back in its original place.
"Enjoy yourself!" Ji Yinxue gave Ji Wushang one last look before leaving.
When Shangguan Feiyan entered, she held the medicine bowl, looked around the empty room, sighed, and shook her head. She guessed that Ji Yinxue must have been too tired to go back home. She had heard that Ji Yinxue had been seriously ill a few days ago.
"Alright," Shangguan Feiyan immediately brought over the medicine bowl and slowly fed Ji Wushang the medicine.
After a busy night, Shangguan Feiyan returned to her room and immediately went to sleep.
It was now the hour of Hai (9-11 PM), and someone was waiting in the Imperial Garden. However, no one came. Huangfu Yu was annoyed. Could it be that she hadn't seen what he had written? No, she should have seen it! Or was she deliberately not coming? Huangfu Yu paced back and forth, holding a small red bottle in his hand.
"Sixth Imperial Brother?" Unexpectedly, a voice rang out, and Huangfu Yu immediately turned to look at him. "Second Imperial Brother." He looked somewhat embarrassed and then hid the bottle in his hand behind his back.
"What are you doing out here so late? And so suspiciously. If the guards see you, they'll think you're an assassin!" Huangfu Ting glanced at him, scrutinized him for a while, and then said, "Perhaps, you're waiting for someone?"
"I...no, I wasn't waiting for anyone." Huangfu Yu looked at him. At this moment, Huangfu Ting stepped forward. "What are you holding behind your back?"
"No." Huangfu Yu continued to back away, but Huangfu Ting was far more skilled than him! In an instant, he circled behind him, his hand moving like lightning, snatching the bottle away. Huangfu Ting looked at the words on it, "Warmth-Preserving Ointment? What are you going to do with this medicine? Could it be... you're thinking of giving it to that Miss Ji?" Huangfu Ting narrowed his eyes, scrutinizing him.
"No, Second Brother, I really didn't. It's late, let's go!" He figured she probably wasn't coming. A hint of disappointment flashed across Huangfu Yu's face.
Huangfu Ting said, "Actually, you definitely won't see her come. This is the palace after all. She's the daughter of an official, and although she's engaged, she's not married yet, so she has to be careful about her reputation. It's not safe for her to come out so late at night. If they're discovered, they'll definitely think you're adulterers, which is a capital offense!" Seeing the worry on his face, Huangfu Ting breathed a sigh of relief. "Alright, now that you know why she hasn't arrived, you don't need to be so disappointed!"
"Thank you, Second Brother. I was too rash. I just wanted to give her this ointment because she must be cold from the cold," Huangfu Yu said.
"Yes, let's go back! I just heard that Granny Wang has already sent the imperial physician to see her, so she should be fine."
"Yes." The two then slowly walked out.
A gust of wind blew, scattering some leaves. Nan Xuzong, sitting in his wheelchair, caught a yellow leaf in his hand, a pang of pain flashing through his heart, as if he had been stabbed hard… Damn it, he had overheard their conversation. He hadn't expected Wu Shang to be tricked! Not only was she splashed with water, but she was almost banished from the palace? No, he had to see her. To see how she was… His heart was filled with unease, truly, deep worry.
But how can I go see him? I was only able to stay tonight thanks to the Empress Dowager, and I have to leave the palace early tomorrow morning. How can I get to Jinyuan Garden to see Ji Wushang?
Ji Wushang felt pain all over his body. How could this be? In the middle of the night, Ji Wushang woke up in pain. When he opened his eyes, he smelled medicine in the room. Someone must have given him medicine, but why did he feel that the medicine was wrong? His whole body ached, and he showed no signs of getting better.
Ji Wushang looked down, her arm itchy, and thought of scratching it, but to her surprise, she found many small red dots on her arm! What were those?! Ji Wushang was shocked, struggled to get out of bed, and stumbled to the dressing table. Looking at herself in the bronze mirror, she saw that her face and neck were covered with those small red dots! Ji Wushang panicked and immediately turned her arm over; inside and out, it was covered with those small red dots!