"Alright, alright then." Ji Dingbei nodded.
Nan Xuzong smiled and invited him to sit on the stone bench. He changed the subject and asked, "Father, do you know if Bohai has allied with the Western Regions or Japan to press in from the north and invade our Central Plains?"
...
Ji Wushang chatted casually with Madam Qin, Mo Qiqi, and Ji Sisi. Ji Wushang also learned that Ji Tiankui had recently promoted a concubine because of Mo Qiqi's pregnancy. Ji Wushang thought to herself, if she were pregnant and Nan Xuzong needed one, wouldn't she also have to promote a concubine for him?
Seeing Ji Wushang lost in thought, Madam Qin smiled and asked, "Wushang, are you feeling unwell?"
"No." Ji Wushang snapped out of his reverie, his eyes blinking. "I was wondering how Grandmother is doing now. Is she doing well at Jingyuan?"
"Uh..." Madam Qin paused, her expression changing. Ji Wushang sensed something was wrong and immediately asked anxiously, "Mother, has something happened?"
"The old lady... she's been ill for a long time, bedridden, and I'm afraid she won't make it through the summer," Madam Qin said. "I saw you all busy with this and that, so I didn't tell you." A married daughter is like water spilled from a cup, and she's already the Fourth Imperial Consort. Naturally, there are some things she shouldn't bother with, especially since the old lady is seriously ill and carries a hint of bad luck. If she were to be said to have been tainted by bad luck when she entered the Prince's Mansion, wouldn't she be disliked?
Ji Wushang was astonished. "How is that possible? When I returned to the manor last time, my grandmother seemed to be in good spirits. She only had a slight cold. How could it have become so serious?"
“Sister, Father and Mother said this is normal, so there’s no need to be sad!” Ji Sisi said at this moment.
“Yes! Grandmother is getting old, and this illness is difficult to cure.” Mo Qiqi sighed softly at this moment.
Ji Wushang stood up. "I'm going to Jingyuan to see my grandmother. I refuse to believe this illness can't be cured!"
"Won't this cause you trouble? The Fourth Prince..." Madam Qin asked worriedly, as she was now a member of the royal family and had to be mindful of certain taboos.
“He won’t blame me,” Ji Wushang said, knowing that he understood his own feelings.
"That's good then." Madam Qin nodded and stood up.
“I’ll go too!” Ji Sisi immediately stood up and said.
"Yes, let's go see the old lady together." Madam Qin nodded.
The four of them went to Jingyuan together. As soon as they entered Jingyuan, Ji Wushang smelled a very strong medicinal smell, and the smell was mixed up, so he had no idea whether it was for treating the old lady's cold!
Ji Wushang frowned and looked back at Madam Qin. Madam Qin, on the other hand, did not seem to feel anything was wrong. She covered her nose with a silk handkerchief and walked slowly, looking at Mo Qiqi and Ji Sisi. Mo Qiqi frowned, perhaps because she had just begun to show signs of pregnancy, so she covered her nose and kept trying to drive away the smell coming towards her.
Ji Wushang stopped and said, "Mother, sister-in-law, you shouldn't go. You're both pregnant, and there's a strong medicinal smell everywhere in Jingyuan. So, you should go back! Fifth Sister and I will go see Grandmother. If anything happens, I'll send someone to handle it."
“Very well!” Madam Qin nodded. “To be honest, I haven’t come here much since I found out I was pregnant. First, my husband doesn’t really allow or approve of me coming here. Second, the smell of medicine makes me feel a little nauseous…”
“Then please ask Mother and Sister-in-law to go out!” Ji Wushang said. “I’ll go see what’s going on.”
"Mm." Madam Qin responded, and she and Mo Qiqi supported each other, while the maids behind them also stepped forward to gently help the two of them.
But Ji Wushang caught up and quickly asked, "Mother, since Grandmother is sick, who invited the doctor? And who is in charge of preparing the medicine for Grandmother?"
“They are the maids and nannies of Jingyuan. Oh, right, Granny Guo had an epileptic seizure, so I sent her back to the countryside and found another nanny surnamed Zhu to serve the old lady.” Madam Qin said at this moment.
"Epilepsy?" Ji Wushang frowned. "Granny Guo has always been in very good health, how could she have epilepsy?"
"Alas, life is unpredictable. Who knows when her illness will strike again?" Madam Qin sighed. "I gave her a good amount of money to settle down in the countryside. Whether she can enjoy her old age in peace depends on her own fate."
Ji Wushang nodded. It was quite good that he could do this, but he felt that something was not right. Wait, he was sure he could find out!
"Then Mother and Sister-in-law, you should go back and rest first!" Ji Wushang bowed and said.
"There's no need for formalities," Madam Qin said with a smile, and walked out with Mo Qiqi.
Ji Wushang's gaze fell on Ji Sisi's face. "Fifth Sister, would you like to come with me to see Grandmother?"
"Okay, let's go!" Ji Sisi still had a somewhat childish air about her, but Ji Wushang saw in her eyes a maturity and thoughtfulness beyond her years. Ji Wushang turned and went inside with Ji Sisi.
Ten years old, ten years old, and already knows so many things!
Ji Wushang turned her head slightly and happened to see Ji Sisi looking at her. Their eyes met, and Ji Wushang choked for a moment. "Fifth sister, what are you looking at? Is there something dirty on your face, elder sister?"
"No!" Ji Sisi said with a smile, "I think my sister's jade hairpin is so pretty!"
Ji Wushang smiled. "Really? Hehe, thank you for the compliment, Fifth Sister!"
Ji Sisi blinked.
"Let's go inside quickly!" Ji Wushang said.
"yes."
The two entered the inner courtyard. After the maidservant announced their arrival, a somewhat plump old woman, around thirty-five or thirty-six years old, came with several maidservants. Upon seeing Ji Wushang and Ji Sisi, she quickly knelt down and bowed, "This servant greets the Fourth Imperial Consort and Fifth Miss!"
"Get up, all of you!" Ji Wushang's cold eyes swept over the group, finally settling on the plump old woman leading them. "You're Granny Zhu?"
"Yes, ma'am." Granny Zhu was about to kneel down. Ji Wushang had already reached out and grabbed her slightly plump hand. Granny Zhu had no idea that Ji Wushang would take her hand to prevent her from kneeling!
A chill ran down my spine.
Ji Wushang withdrew his hand. "There's no need to kneel."
"Yes." Granny Zhu lowered her head, not daring to look at Ji Wushang. Ji Wushang's eyes were so cold that they seemed to see right through their souls! His aura was like a deathly aura, making it hard for these people to breathe!
"I'd like to ask who is in charge of brewing medicine for my grandmother in this courtyard." Ji Wushang looked completely innocent at this moment. She didn't go directly into the inner room to visit the old lady, but just stood here and asked first.
"Reporting to the Fourth Imperial Consort," said Granny Zhu, "this servant is responsible for serving the old lady in all aspects, while Xiaoyou and Xiaomin are in charge of decocting the medicine."
Upon hearing Granny Zhu's words, two younger maids immediately stepped forward. "This servant is Xiao You." "This servant is Xiao Min."
Ji Wushang looked them up and down, especially noticing their hands hanging down. Then he looked them up and down again. Xiao You and Xiao Min had been with Madam Yuan for a long time, so he could trust them.
However, it's not impossible for someone to change their mind!
Ji Wushang looked at them and suddenly said calmly, "It's alright, everyone go back to work! I'll go check on Grandmother." As he spoke, he looked at Ji Sisi, who was standing to the side. Ji Sisi's eyes were lowered, and her long eyelashes made her eyes look darting around as if she was thinking about something.
Ji Wushang narrowed his eyes, "Fifth Sister."
“Yes, let’s go in and see Grandma! I haven’t seen her in so long, I miss her so much!” Ji Sisi immediately reacted, looking at Ji Wushang expectantly. Ji Wushang was slightly taken aback, but quickly grinned, “Okay, let’s go in!”
She reacted way too quickly! It almost felt like she was trying to cover something up!
Ji Wushang's lips twitched slightly. "Fifth Sister, have you been thinking about doing any homework while you're at the manor?"
"Yes, I'm working very hard! My mother and father both praise me!" Ji Sisi said with a smile.
"Hmm, that's good!" A glint of light flashed in Ji Wushang's eyes.
As the two entered the room, the air became even more filled with the smell of medicine, and there was also a strong, foul odor.
Ji Wushang frowned, left Ji Sisi behind, and immediately went into the inner room.
At this moment, the matriarch was lying on the bed, her eyes sunken, her cheekbones prominent, and the rosy glow on her face had long since turned ashen! Her figure was extremely thin, and it looked as if her bones would fall apart with the slightest push! Her eyes were closed, and her hair was disheveled as she lay on the bed, completely unaware that someone had entered!
☆、270 Another disturbance arises in General Ji's mansion!
Ji Wushang felt a jolt in his heart, so he quickly went forward to observe her complexion. Seeing her pale appearance, he estimated that if this continued, she really wouldn't survive the summer!
I never imagined that things would turn out like this so quickly! Life is truly unpredictable!
As Ji Wushang moved a little closer, she smelled a foul stench. She frowned and turned to look at Zhu Mama and the other maids who were bowing their heads. "How are you serving my grandmother? Can't you help her wash herself and remove the filth?"
"Please forgive me, Fourth Princess!" Granny Zhu immediately knelt down and kowtowed several times to Ji Wushang. "It was the Old Madam who forbade us to clean her. She said, she said she was to leave like this..."
"How dare you!" Ji Wushang sneered. If they weren't so far away, she would have slapped them to death!
"How can it be left uncleaned! It's just some medicine, how can it possibly cure Grandmother!"
"Yes, yes." The maid and the old woman immediately kowtowed and said yes.
"Who found the doctor? Or was it the family physician who treated the typhoid fever?" Ji Wushang frowned, stood up, and walked up to the maids, looking down at them. If he didn't get the answer he wanted, he would definitely kill them! How dare they do such a thing? It seems they all have a death wish!
It's only been half a year, and they've all grown wings!
Granny Zhu was extremely flustered at this moment, and kept her head down, not daring to raise it. "Yes, it was a traveling doctor... The medicine prescribed by the prefectural physician was ineffective, so, so they called a traveling doctor to treat him!"
"You've got some nerve!" Ji Wushang said coldly, his eyes filled with icy intent. "A traveling doctor? Heh, who gave you permission to call a traveling doctor?"
"Yes, it was the servants who asked Madam for her opinion and asked her to decide. Madam heard that the family doctors couldn't cure him, so she also pinned her hopes on the traveling physicians and agreed." Granny Zhu stammered a bit but still finished speaking. However, at this moment, her eyes were not only secretly watching whether Ji Wushang was furious, but also looking at Ji Sisi standing to the side.
Ji Sisi was probably tired of standing after coming in, so she went up to the old lady and said, "Why don't you take good care of Grandmother? Why isn't Grandmother awake? So many days have passed, and you don't know how to take care of Grandmother at all, humph!"
Ji Wushang glanced at Ji Sisi, his cold eyes darkening. "Fifth Sister, don't go near Grandmother. Let Grandmother rest." It wasn't that he was afraid of catching Ji Sisi's illness, but rather that he was afraid Ji Sisi might do something to the Old Madam! At this time, he couldn't trust anyone!
The phoenix jade hairpin that the matriarch gave her was the same as the phoenix jade hairpin left by Nan Xuzong's birth mother. There must be some story behind this, so I must find out! This is my second purpose for coming here!
"Sister, what's wrong?" Ji Sisi's face was filled with worry, and she was genuinely concerned for her.
Ji Wushang said, "It's alright, Grandmother will definitely get better." What a joke! How could he say this and that before knowing the truth of the matter!
Ji Wushang turned to look at the maids, "So that means that now that the itinerant doctor is gone, there's no one to treat Grandmother?"
"This servant deserves to die!" The entire group immediately knelt down!
"You all deserve to die, but not now!" Ji Wushang sneered. "Kneel properly, all of you!" Ji Wushang glanced at Ji Sisi, then walked back to the old lady's bedside. She took the old lady's hand and checked her pulse. "If Grandmother is seriously injured, do you think you can live happily ever after? Dream on!"
Granny Zhu and the others knelt down, not daring to speak.
After checking her pulse, Ji Wushang examined the old lady's eyelids and complexion. Seeing that there was still hope for her, he immediately turned and ordered that they quickly wash her with hot water and perform acupuncture treatment.
Several maids and nannies immediately stepped forward to help. Ji Sisi stood to the side, looking at Ji Wushang with slightly cold eyes. Watching them busy carrying water, she also wanted to join in.
I absolutely cannot allow her to have such absolute power! Everyone in this manor who drove my concubine to her death, I will send you all to the underworld!
Ji Wushang focused on the task at hand, using hot water to clean the dirt off the old lady's face and body, and then busied himself writing a prescription. He wrote two prescriptions, put one away and gave the other to Xiaoyou, a second-class maid, "Go to the clinic quickly to get the medicine and boil it down to one bowl of water, then bring it to me!"
"Yes." Xiao You immediately went to make the arrangements.
Ji Wushang also ordered someone to summon the family physician. This time, an old man of about fifty or sixty years old came. Ji Wushang glanced at him and said, "Come and heal my grandmother, or don't blame me for being impolite!"
"Yes, yes, Your Majesty!" The news that Ji Wushang had returned caused everyone in the General's Mansion to tremble with fear.
Ji Wushang asked the family physician to treat her illness, and she had just started to get up when, for some reason, a maid stumbled and spilled the hot water she was holding onto Ji Wushang!
Fortunately, Ji Wushang knew a little martial arts and twisted his body to the side, otherwise his entire lower body would definitely be soaked!
"This servant deserves to die! Please, Fourth Princess, spare my life! Please, Fourth Princess, spare my life!" The maid immediately knelt down and cried out for mercy.
Ji Wushang's eyes darkened slightly, his gaze as cold as ice as he looked at the kneeling maid. The hot water had been poured onto the ground, wisps of steam rising from it. But Ji Wushang knew that the hot water would soon cool down, becoming damp and further hindering the matriarch's recovery.
"Go and receive thirty strokes of the cane!" Ji Wushang coldly commanded. As she slightly raised her eyes, she noticed Ji Sisi standing nearby. Seeing Ji Wushang being splashed with water by the maid, Ji Sisi rushed forward anxiously, "Sister, what happened to you? Oh dear, you maid! Guards, drag her away immediately!"
Ji Wushang snorted coldly, and was just about to turn around to look after the matriarch when Ji Sisi called out, "Sister, your clothes are wet. Let me take you to the other courtyard to change!"
“No need, you can still wear it,” Ji Wushang said.
"If the Fourth Prince sees that your clothes are wet, he will definitely ask what happened. Sister, you should come with Sisi! Hasn't everything been taken care of here?"
"Heh, all done? Yes!" Ji Wushang sneered, "Fine, I'll let you have your way. Let's see what tricks you're planning to play!"