Zhong Li rushed into the master bedroom and saw a small figure lying on the large bed. Her suspended heart finally began to relax.
“Wuyou, why are you here?” She hurriedly put down the things on her back, not even bothering with the bundle that had slipped from the table to the floor, and quickly walked towards Zhong Wuyou on the bed.
“Where is the wet nurse?” She looked around. When she found Zhong Wuyou alone in the room, she couldn’t help but ask.
Zhong Wuyou seemed to understand. He looked at Zhong Li pleadingly, whimpering.
Zhong Li took off her outer garment, intending to pick up Zhong Wuyou. Only then did she notice that Zhong Wuyou’s face was pale, his brows tightly furrowed, and his eye bags were dark purple, looking utterly sickly.
“What’s wrong with you?” She gently touched Zhong Wuyou’s little face, only to find her fingertips burning hot.
“You have a fever? Why are you still sick?” Zhong Li’s heart filled with worry. She hugged Zhong Wuyou into her arms.
However, as soon as her hand touched Zhong Wuyou’s soft little body, Zhong Wuyou suddenly widened his eyes and let out a heart-rending cry. The next moment, bursts of intermittent sobs filled the room.
Zhong Li did not expect this. She thought she had hurt Zhong Wuyou and wanted to put him down. Zhong Wuyou seemed to sense this, and his crying grew louder.
Zhong Li was a physician, but she didn’t understand pediatrics, especially a child crying so miserably. Zhong Wuyou had never been like this before, and she had never seen it.
“This…” She was flustered and wanted to unbutton the clothes Zhong Wuyou was wearing to examine him.
But as soon as her hand landed on Zhong Wuyou, urgent knocking sounds came from outside the door.
Zhong Li’s eyebrows furrowed. Confused, she got up to check.
However, the person outside seemed more anxious than her. Before she could respond, someone had already burst into the courtyard and headed straight for the room where she was.
“Ah Wu, why is it you?” Zhong Li’s tone was somewhat stern, her gaze towards the man opposite carrying displeasure. No matter what, this was her private villa. What was Ah Wu doing leading people in?
After Ah Wu took in the entire room, his gaze fell on Zhong Wuyou, who was still crying inconsolably on Zhong Li’s bed. He said, “Master Zhong, you have just returned. According to the rules, today is your day off. Ah Wu should not have disturbed you, but…
Someone reported that there was something in your place that should not be here. Ah Wu has come to disturb you presumptuously.”
“Something that should not be here?” Zhong Li’s eyebrows lifted slightly as she asked, “What is this ‘something that should not be here’ you speak of?”
Ah Wu’s eyes flickered. He did not answer directly, but instead cupped his hands and said, “Apologies.” Then, with a wave of his large hand, the four Dali Temple constables behind him began to move around the room, rummaging through boxes and cabinets.
Zhong Li stood still, not stopping them, nor saying much. She wanted to see what ‘unfitting’ things Ah Wu could find.
After a while, the four Dali Temple constables returned to Ah Wu one by one and cupped their hands, saying, “Sir, we found nothing.”
Zhong Li pursed her lips and walked to the bedside, preparing to continue examining Zhong Wuyou. Her intention to see them out was evident.
“Master Zhong.” Just as Zhong Li was about to unbutton Zhong Wuyou’s clothes, Ah Wu stopped her again.
Zhong Li turned her head and looked at Ah Wu, saying, “Ah Wu, I won’t hold it against you for entering my home without permission, nor will I hold it against you for searching my room with or without Master Lan’s permission. Now that you’ve seen what you needed to see and inspected what you needed to inspect, I need to rest. Please leave.”
After speaking, she wanted to get back to her task.
“Master Zhong, are you sure we have checked everything?” Ah Wu walked to Zhong Li’s side, his voice low.
Zhong Li turned her head, her face filled with anger, “What do you mean?”
Ah Wu glanced at Zhong Wuyou, who was already crying with a red face on the bed, and reached out to pick him up.
“What are you doing!” Zhong Li’s hand moved quickly to block Ah Wu’s action.
Seeing her like this, Ah Wu’s gentle smile slowly cooled.
“Master Zhong, now only Zhong Wuyou has not been inspected. Are you guilty and trying to hide something?”
“Ah Wu, what are you saying? I don’t understand. Wuyou is a child. What should he be inspected for?” Zhong Li retorted.
Ah Wu did not answer Zhong Li this time but gave a signal to the people behind him.
Taking advantage of Zhong Li’s inattention, the four of them surrounded her from left and right, while Ah Wu’s hand reached out towards Zhong Wuyou again.
Zhong Li felt a sense of foreboding. Regardless of the situation, she began to fight with the four people surrounding her bare-handed.
“Wuu… wah…!” As Ah Wu lifted Zhong Wuyou, his already heart-rending cry grew louder, even interspersed with gasps.
Zhong Li had never seen Zhong Wuyou like this before, and a sense of unprecedented worry began to rise in her heart.
“Let him go!” She pushed away a constable holding her and rushed towards Zhong Wuyou like a madwoman.
These people seemed prepared. One of them took out a handkerchief from somewhere and forcefully pressed it against her mouth and nose.
Before Zhong Li could react, her legs felt weak, and she fell heavily to the ground.
Her heart panicked. She knew this reaction meant she had been poisoned with a muscle-weakening agent. She tried to force herself up, but it was counterproductive.
The tables and chairs around Zhong Li toppled as she stumbled. The purple clay teapot, which had been cold all night, teetered and crashed to the ground. Tea leaves spilled across the broken teacup.
“Let him go!” She had completely lost her strength. Lying on the ground, she struggled with all her might but could only watch as Ah Wu slowly stripped Zhong Wuyou’s clothes.
“He’s a child, let him go…”
When the bellyband wrapped around Zhong Wuyou was pulled off, all of Zhong Li’s words caught in her throat.
She saw a stitched opening on Zhong Wuyou’s abdomen, about half the size of her thumb, with scabs. It seemed to have solidified, but upon closer inspection, it was not hard to notice that with Zhong Wuyou’s cries and gasps, fine threads of red were subtly moving along the edges of the scabs.
The wound was fresh, definitely no more than a day old.
Based on her past experience, Zhong Li made this deduction.
But…
Why was the wound on Zhong Wuyou? Was his crying or sickness related to the wound? And where had Madam Tao gone? What had happened before she returned?
These doubts had barely crossed Zhong Li’s mind when Ah Wu placed Zhong Wuyou on the bed and drew a dagger from his waist, approaching the scabbed area.
“What are you doing, Ah Wu! What are you doing!”
Zhong Li reacted and yelled with all her might.
Ah Wu’s brows furrowed slightly, and he turned his head to look at Zhong Li.
“Take her out!” After thinking for a moment, he instructed the four people.
“I’m not leaving! Ah Wu, stop! Do you know what you are doing?” Zhong Li was pulled up from the ground and dragged out of the room. She shook her head and resisted desperately, but ultimately could not overcome the four men.
The sunlight shone on her face the moment she was thrown out of the room.
Before Zhong Li could react, Zhong Wuyou’s ear-piercing cries came from the room.
She stared with disbelieving eyes and yelled at Ah Wu in the room, “Ah Wu, what are you doing this for? If you have a grievance with me, come at me. If you do this, you will be condemned by heaven!”
A moment later, as Zhong Li’s voice fell, the bedroom door in front of her was opened, and an object was thrown out, landing directly in front of her by sheer coincidence.
Although it was wrapped in sheep intestines, she could still clearly see what it was. It was—Khat.