The humiliation of being insulted by her words, deep within her heart, sprouted like a seed buried in the earth during spring, rapidly germinating.
But then she thought of her daughter, lying unconscious on the bed, burning with a high fever. Her knees slowly bent.
"No, Madam, no... let this old servant do it. This old servant will kneel, this old servant will kneel."
The old wet nurse, held tightly by the maids beside Concubine Bai, struggled to resist but was powerless. She cried out hysterically.
Her Madam was a legitimate daughter of a noble family! How could she kneel to a concubine of lowly birth? This was a great insult!
"Madam Han, please have some tea."
Enduring immense humiliation, the First Madam knelt firmly on the ground, holding the tea with both hands.
Madam Han slowly took the teacup from the First Madam's hands. She smiled triumphantly, "Sister Wan Ting is so thoughtful. Then this Madam will not be polite. Haha."
Concubine Bai, who was watching the spectacle from the side, stood up and took a few small steps forward, wanting a clearer view of the First Madam, who was now kneeling at Madam Han's feet, enduring humiliation and ridicule.
Suddenly, a hairpin whizzed past her ear from behind.
With a "clang!"
Madam Han's teacup fell to the ground, shattering into two halves. The tea splashed all over Madam Han.
The scalding water not only doused Madam Han but also splashed onto the back of her hand.
"Ah!"
Madam Han screamed in pain.
Everyone nearby was stunned.
Then, everyone looked towards the spot behind Concubine Bai.
A figure blocked their view.
At this moment, the First Madam was also helped up by the approaching person.
The First Madam looked up at her, her eyes reddened. "Daughter!"
"Gu Qianying, what are you doing!" Concubine Bai yelled angrily.
"Bang!"
As soon as Concubine Bai finished speaking, she was sent flying several meters away by a powerful internal force, like a flung bundle.
She collapsed on the ground, coughed up a mouthful of blood, and fainted.
"Ah, murder!"
The maids serving in the room, terrified, all ran out.
Madam Han looked at the person who was slowly walking towards her, her face flushed red, even her eyes, radiating killing intent, were turning a bit red.
She was terrified. "Gu Qianying, you... you... don't come closer, what do you want?"
Madam Han rolled off her seat and retreated backward, trembling.
"Kill the deserving!"
Gu Qianying looked coldly at Madam Han, as if looking at a dead person.
With a raise of her palm, she gathered internal energy into her hand.
Just as she was about to strike, a sharp long sword fiercely pierced into her from behind.
Gu Qianying's body suddenly trembled. She clutched her chest, which was bleeding profusely, and slowly turned her head to look at the person standing behind her who had stabbed her with the sword.
She sneered to the extreme. "You have ultimately chosen to be my enemy. Heh! Fine! Very good!"
Her body slowly fell.
"No! Daughter!"
The First Madam cried and ran to embrace Gu Qianying.
"Miss!"
Old wet nurse Wang struggled desperately to break free from the two maids restraining her, crawling on the ground and crying as she lunged forward.
At this moment, Gu Qianying's blood-soaked appearance pierced Gu Ziran's heart.
The long sword in her hand, at some unknown time, was withdrawn from Gu Qianying's body.
Blood-red drops dripped from the tip of the sword.
Her hands gripping the sword trembled slightly, her face was ashen, and her lips quivered. "No, I... I didn't mean to, I..."
Clang!
The long sword fell to the ground.
Gu Ziran, terrified, burst into tears. Feeling immense guilt for having killed Gu Qianying when she hadn't intended to harm her, she collapsed onto the ground, at a loss for what to do.
Just then, while everyone was not paying attention, Gu Qianying, with difficulty, took out a smoke bomb from the pouch at her waist.
Poof!
A cloud of white smoke billowed out.
Cough, cough, cough.
Everyone waved their sleeves to disperse the white smoke.
When the white smoke completely dissipated and everyone could see each other clearly, the First Madam, Old wet nurse Wang, and Gu Qianying were no longer anywhere to be seen.
"Damn it! Guards, take people and pursue them! Kill them for me!"
Madam Han yelled ferociously at the people behind her.
That little slut Gu Qianying actually wanted to kill her! How could she let Gu Qianying and her mother leave alive!
As for the Master, she had her own explanation.
Meanwhile, Gu Ziran, who was sitting on the ground at a loss, heard her mother ordering the killing of Gu Qianying and her mother. She reacted and crawled towards Madam Han, hugging Madam Han's trouser leg and crying, "Mother, please be merciful and spare them, your daughter begs you."
"Slap!"
Madam Han looked down at Gu Ziran and raised her hand, delivering a slap. She cursed with frustration, "Idiot! They've already killed their way to your mother, and you, this unfilial daughter, are foolishly begging for them? Did you hit your head against the door?"
"Now that you've become Madam, you control the entire backyard of the mansion. Mother, what more do you want! Will you only stop when everyone in this mansion is dead!"
Gu Ziran covered half of her face and roared hysterically at Madam Han with great pain.
This was the first time her mother had hit her since she grew up.
"What are you saying! Shut up!" Madam Han glared at Gu Ziran. To prevent her from spouting more nonsense, she called two maids and ordered them, "Guards, take the Third Miss back. She is not to leave without my permission!"
After Gu Ziran was escorted away by the two maids.
Madam Han stood in the main hall of the Garden Pavilion. She leisurely messed up her hair and clothes, then slapped herself. A red palm print was clearly visible on her right cheek. She then sent her personal maid to spread the news that Gu Qianying had bullied her and tried to kill her in the Garden Pavilion.
In addition, she sent people to quietly deal with the maids who had been in the hall and witnessed her daughter, the Third Miss, stabbing Gu Qianying with a sword.
That night.
Madam Han cried herself into a stupor in Gu Kun's arms.
On a stormy night, the heavy rain washed away the dust from the streets.
The places where vendors had discarded dirty items were now clean under the rain.
And the blood, indistinguishable from water as it flowed with the rain, carrying a bloody scent, gradually spread into every corner.
On the deserted, dark streets.
A woman, soaked by the rain, carried a woman dressed in white on her back, followed by a disheveled old wet nurse with a broken arm.
At this moment, they were like headless flies, knocking on doors on the street, looking for doctors.
"Please, save my daughter."
"Go away, go away. Where did this madwoman come from? Hurry up and get out."
Several houses ignored them.
"Please save my daughter, I'll kneel to you, please, doctor."
"Go away! Without money, what are you treating? You might as well die, get out!"
Some physicians who wanted to casually treat them and extort some money from them, upon seeing that Madam and Old wet nurse Wang had nothing on them, cruelly drove the three of them away.
Madam knelt on the street, holding Gu Qianying, who was trembling in the cold rain, and cried heartbrokenly, "Heavens, please save my daughter!"
Beside her, Old wet nurse Wang had cried herself blind.
Even so, she still kept rubbing Gu Qianying's palm with her remaining left hand.
As long as her palm was warm, her young lady still had a breath left.
Just then, a man holding an umbrella, who had just come out of the Wan Hua Lou, stopped in front of them.
"Madam, are you looking for a physician?"
The man was portly, with a big belly and ears. As he spoke, his gaze kept lingering on Madam.
Madam's body, drenched by the rain, revealed her graceful figure faintly beneath her clothes.
The man's eyes showed lust.
"Yes, yes, kind sir, please help me."
Madam and Old wet nurse Wang were solely focused on finding a physician to treat Gu Qianying and did not notice the man's unusual gaze.
"Madam, please follow me. My family runs a pharmacy, and we have plenty of physicians."
The man wanted to take Gu Qianying from Madam's arms. In terms of appearance and figure, this middle-aged woman was naturally no match for the person in her arms.
But the man thought that the person in the woman's arms was likely already dead, so he gave up the idea of picking up Gu Qianying.
Bringing a dead person back would be too inauspicious!
Half an incense stick later.
The man brought Madam and the other two to his home.
Along the way, the man introduced himself as Fang Zhuzi, and his family was in the business of running a pharmacy.
Madam and Old wet nurse Wang, with Gu Qianying, followed Fang Zhuzi back to his home.
His home was indeed a pharmacy, and there were physicians who treated patients.
"Madam, my physician charges a consultation fee." He stared at Madam with a smile.
"I understand, I understand." Madam took off all the jewelry she had left on her and placed it in front of Fang Zhuzi. "Is this enough?"
Fang Zhuzi didn't even look at the jewelry and continued to say with a smile, "Madam, you might have misunderstood. The consultation fee my physician charges is not these gold and silver ornaments."
"But it's silver?"
"It's not silver either."
"Then what is it..."
Madam looked up at Fang Zhuzi, her face full of confusion.
Fang Zhuzi casually reached out his hand.
His large, greasy palm landed on Madam's arm. He sized her up and down, speaking disgusting words...