Chapter 241: It’s Not An Illness, It’s A Poisoning
Later, Fang Guizhi shared Bai Ruozhu’s words as a joke with everyone, and they all took it as such. Little did they know, a few years later Bai Ruozhu would be very serious when she said, "How can one joke about such a matter? Of course, it is up to my son."
Of course, all these are hindsight.
That morning, Bai Ruozhu did not go to the stand with her family members, but stayed behind in the kitchen of Xie Residence instructing them on the ingredients to prepare for lunch.
Seizing the chance while Lady Li was not around, Bai Ruozhu took the pulse readings for Yu Hongxiu and Lord Li again. She felt that Lord Li’s condition had improved; he had balanced meals and was eating on time. Combined with the therapeutic effects of the food, his health had improved significantly.
"Both of your healths are in good conditions now, which can continue to be fostered. By winter, your hands and feet would not be overly cold, and you would be less susceptible to catching a cold." What Bai Ruozhu was implying was the principle of boosting immunity, even though she could not explicitly use the term "immunity".
Yu Hongxiu and Mr. Xie were both pleased to hear this. Mr. Xie also said, "I do feel much healthier lately, I can sit for long periods without feeling back pain, and it seems like my strength have increased somewhat."
Bai Ruozhu grinned to herself. You used to be malnourished, how could you have possibly been comfortable?
Seeing that Yu Hongxiu was feeling relieved, she asked Mr. Xie to go to the study. Then she pulled Bai Ruozhu aside and whispered, "When do you think we will have a child?"
"I can’t determine that, it still depends on fate. But don’t worry or put too much pressure on yourself. A positive state of mind is the best condition to conceive. And also..." Bai Ruozhu lowered her voice, a playful smile on her face.
"What?" Yu Hongxiu asked anxiously.
Bai Ruozhu’s smile became even more mischievous, "Don’t be too frequent, otherwise it’s harder to get pregnant." From her earlier pulse reading, she found out that Yu Hongxiu’s body was in a good state, but she seemed to have overexerted herself in the bedroom recently.
Yu Hongxiu felt somewhat embarrassed under Bai Ruozhu’s gaze, her face instantly turning bright red. She nodded softly.
Bai Ruozhu was trying to suppress her laughter. It was normal for Mr. Xie, who was in his prime, and Yu Hongxiu, who desired children, to be intimate. However, Yu Hongxiu was still a woman from the ancient times, and couldn’t lift her head in embarrassment when such a topic was brought up.
Luckily, a maid came to announce the arrival of Lady Li, and Yu Hongxiu used this news as a shield, quickly stood up and said, "Let’s go and greet Lady Li."
Suppressing her laughter, Bai Ruozhu too stood up, "Sure."
They bumped into Lady Li halfway, Bai Ruozhu quickly assessed her. Lady Li had a long, slightly chubby face and she seemed content, resembling Lord Li slightly. This must be what they call "Couple Resemblance".
Yu Hongxiu greeted Lady Li and introduced Bai Ruozhu to her. Bai Ruozhu bowed to Lady Li, who immediately told her not to be so formal. Bai Ruozhu could tell, despite her polite manner, Lady Li was distant, and perhaps even a little contemptuous of her.
Bai Ruozhu was not offended; whether in ancient times or the present, people had their own circles. Yu Hongxiu was the legitimate daughter of a gentry family in Jiangnan, and although Mr. Xie had not achieved high ranking yet, he indeed was a favorite of the Anxi Residence’s governor. It was only natural that Lady Li was close to Yu Hongxiu. As for Bai Ruozhu, she was just a village woman at this point, and both her status and standing were much lower than theirs. There was no way Lady Li could possibly consider her a friend just yet.
After exchanging pleasantries, Yu Hongxiu seemed to have noticed Lady Li’s attitude, and fearing that Bai Ruozhu would feel uncomfortable, she complimented Bai Ruozhu, which somewhat improved Lady Li’s impression of her. Lady Li’s gaze towards Bai Ruozhu was one of surprise and curiosity.
"Lady Li, would you let Ruozhu take a look at you? Perhaps she can give you a dietary recipe that could help improve your health condition." Yu Hongxiu smiled at Lady Li and suggested.
Lady Li nodded and said to Bai Ruozhu, "Sure, much appreciated."
"It was nothing, Lady Li." Bai Ruozhu replied. After requesting Lady Li to hold out her hand, she began to take her pulse.
After a brief check, Bai Ruozhu’s brow furrowed, but she quickly resumed her usual demeanor, as if the wrinkle on her forehead had never existed.
"Lady Li, you’ve seen a doctor, haven’t you? He must have told you that you are in good health." Bai Ruozhu said with a faint smile.
Lady Li nodded, "Yes, all the doctors I’ve seen said that."
With a smile, Bai Ruozhu did not say much further. She just wrote down a recipe for a meal to help her relax, and told her to cook and eat it according to the recipe, which she said would improve her sleep.
Lady Li took the recipe rather doubtfully, intending to pay for the consultation. Bai Ruozhu, however, adamantly refused to accept it.
"There is no reason for me to accept your money, Lady Li. You aren’t sick, and I have only provided a generic recipe. How could I possibly accept payment?" Bai Ruozhu said with a laugh as she returned the silver coin.
Yu Hongxiu was rather puzzled watching Bai Ruozhu. She’d already told her that this was an opportunity for her to get some business. Why was she being so polite and even refusing consultation fees?
"Just take what Lady Li gives you." Yu Hongxiu murmured at Bai Ruozhu.
Still, Bai Ruozhu refused, insisting: "Lord Li has helped my family several times already. It would make no sense to take Lady Li’s money for such a small favor."
Feeling that it was no use pressuring her any further, Yu Hongxiu and Lady Li didn’t insist. Subsequently, Bai Ruozhu used the excuse of having to go back to the kitchen and left.
As she exited the room, her brows furrowed in thought. Yu Hongxiu introduced her to a business opportunity with good intentions, but they stumbled upon this vexing problem.
Lady Li was not ill, she wasn’t lying, and the doctor was not wrong either. However, Lady Li was poisoned. She had been exposed to slow-acting poison received over a prolonged period, which typically would not be detected by a normal doctor. Over time, her health would gradually deteriorate - she would catch diseases easily such as catching a cold or getting diarrhea from eating cold food - eventually leading to death.
Bai Ruozhu estimated that this process would take a couple of years. She couldn’t tell just how long Lady Li had been poisoned. The poison didn’t usually cause any discomfort. But it seemed like something Lady Li ate recently had reacted with the poison, which resulted in her discomfort.
Whoever had administered this slow-acting poison to Lady Li definitely was someone close to her and powerful enough to manipulate events to their favor. Even if the person was just one of Lord Li’s concubines, they had the power to easily crush a commoner like Bai Ruozhu. Bai Ruozhu did not dare to offend them. Now, she had her child and family to consider. She could not put them in danger.
Furthermore, she wondered if Lord Li was aware of the situation. In ancient times, there were husbands who were unsatisfied with their wives and would conspire to get rid of them in order to remarry. If Lord Li was the person behind this, she definitely could not afford to offend him, which was why she did not divulge any information earlier.
She was distracted when preparing the meal and overcooked the mutton. Bai Ruozhu was helpless and just left it to one side, refocusing her attention and proceeded to cook another dish.
At lunchtime, Bai Ruozhu used the excuse of having to take care of her child to avoid the dining room. But before she reached the West Courtyard, she saw a worried Guizhi carrying Dengdeng towards her, it was clear that they were here to find her.
"Ruozhu, hurry check, Dengdeng is sick!"