Chapter 177 Meet Again

This war worsened the situation of the Qi Kingdom. Di Qing issued three imperial edicts. Lin Xiaosa had been using illness as an excuse to stay at home while the actual reason was his brother. At a time when talent was needed, Di Qing had to swallow his pride. He knew Lin Xiaosa was blaming him.

“The queen is pregnant?” Ning’s woman’s news shocked the Qingshou Palace. They thought the Eastern Palace was out of favor, but the queen gave them a big surprise, which caught them off guard. Ou Jingyu frowned, thinking, “Ou Jingyu seldom stays in the Eastern Palace. Why is the queen pregnant? There must be something wrong.” Ou Jingyu stared at Ning’s woman, trying to read the clues, but the old woman looked cool.

“Give her a reward.” Fan’er was reluctant to give Ning’s woman the reward. She thought, “How lucky the old woman is! She always reaps the benefits.” Thinking that she had been serving Ou Jingyu for such a long time and only got a bad attitude, Fan’er was even more jealous of Ning’s woman. Fan’er brought a silver plate with gold in it. Ning’s woman had seen much of life and was quite different from when she first entered the palace. In order to survive, she learned to scheme, and began to hide her greed. She went from being a peasant woman to an insider in the palace. Ning’s woman looked at gold ingot indifferently. Ou Jingyu frowned. The old woman was hard to deal with now.

“Pick a good jade hairpin.” Fan’er stamped her toe. She had been dissatisfied with the old woman. “If Master let her go wild like this, she will bully her one day.” The little servant felt unconvinced about this. She gave Ning’s woman knockout powder last time, and planned to treat her with more poison today. She took out a packet of aphrodisiac from the drawer. This was Ou Jingyu’s magic weapon. Even the emperor couldn’t bear its efficacy. She would see how long the old woman could bear. Fan’er took out a jade hairpin and looked at it over and over again, reluctant to put it down. She hated to give such a good thing to the old woman. Ning’s woman took the jade hairpin and walked to the palace gate. Ou Jingyu got furious at once. The old woman went away at once after she took such a valuable gift.

“Ning’s woman.” At the cry, Ning’s woman turned reluctantly and mentally complained that the Qingshou Palace was too much trouble.

“What is it, Lady?”

“I can’t sleep well because the queen is pregnant.” Ou Jingyu was jealous of You Qingcheng. She could not understand why the queen was pregnant when the emperor slept in her palace every day.

“Lady, it is a great sin to murder the emperor’s son.” Ning’s woman was certainly not a bean brain. She dared to betray her master in peacetime, but did not dare to kill. Ou Jingyu was not a simple person. Being Yan Shen’s finger man, if she didn’t have the ability, she wouldn’t be alive today.

“Give her the aphrodisiac.” Fan’er was surprised, wondering, “How did master know about aphrodisiac? Could she have planned it?” Ning’s woman had heard that the aphrodisiac was a kind of drug for fun in the palace and could make people lose control. Fan’er hated the old woman. The last time she gave her knockout powder but it was too weak. She pinched Ning’s woman’s neck, trying to get the powder into her mouth. Ning’s woman was old, but Fan’er was no match for her, a woman from the country. Being butchered was not Ning’s woman’s style. She pressed Fan’er under her and pulled her long hair untidy. Fan’er tried to break free, but she was caught by the old woman. Ou Jingyu suddenly slapped Ning’s woman. Ning’s woman saw spots. Fan’er took the opportunity to get up. Her white face was streaked with blood. She got so angry that she gave Ning’s woman a kick. Ning’s woman laughed instead of fuming. As a servant, maybe Fan’er’s future was worse than her. Later, Fan’er poured the aphrodisiac into Ning’s woman’s mouth. The medicine was sweet and melted as soon as it came to her mouth.

“Get a young manservant...”

“Lady, please have mercy...” As an old woman, Ning’s woman must be ashamed if she was humiliated by a manservant. Fan’er brought in a young manservant, about 17 or 18 years old. He walked over to Ning’s woman and tried to rip her clothes apart. Ning’s woman had never seen anything like it. She fell to the ground in fright. The women from the country were greedy for money, but they valued chastity above life. Ou Jingyu looked for a young manservant who could be her grandson, just to humiliate her. Ning’s woman’s face flushed and her heart raced under the influence of the drugs. A stream of blood ran through her body and her limbs didn’t work. Her thick coat was torn open by the manservant, and Ning’s woman took it head-on, the manservant’s big hands feeling cool and comfortable. She knew it was a trap but could only jump in. Ou Jingyu waited for the old woman to yield and gave her something more poisonous. The manservant was sick of this greasy old woman, but since he had taken other people’s money, he was going to do other people’s work. He tore off a corner of Ning’s woman’s coat. Feeling cold, Ning’s woman became a little sober. She broke free, climbed to Ou Jingyu and held her leg.

“I will do everything you tell me.” Under the influence of the aphrodisiac, Ning’s woman gave in. Ning’s woman had to endure the humiliation of a peer with her grandchildren. Ou Jingyu was not a fool. She had got a spare. The aphrodisiac Ning’s woman drank just now contained a drug that could make people die of blood loss. If she betrayed Ou Jingyu, Ning’s woman would die.

Fan’er found a dress for Ning’s woman to cover her body. Ning’s woman got up shakily, no longer domineering. Her dry hair hung loose. At the moment she knew repentance. She hated herself for coming to the capital. This was no place for people.

“It’s fine red flowers.” Ning’s woman took what Fan’er had and put it in her arms. Fan’er pouted. She thought she could replace the old woman in the future, but the old woman was beaten by Ou Jingyu. “It seems I cannot take advantage of the palace. I’d better find another way.” She wanted to. Ning’s woman was on her way home feeling listless. She was almost rapped just now. The palace was too cruel, and she was determined to leave. When she returned to the Eastern Palace, it was time for dinner. Shui’er looked everywhere for Ning’s woman. “The old woman is always out of sight. It’s time to cook. Where is she?”

“Where have you been? The lady is waiting for the water.” Ning’s woman realized that she hadn’t done the work. She went everywhere to please, but in the end she got nothing. Ning’s woman fired up the water for You Qingcheng’s bath. Thinking of Ou Jingyu’s cruel behavior, she threw 250 grams of red flowers into the hot water. When it was boiling, she added some tonic from the Imperial Physician to it. After everything was in order, Ning’s woman picked up the red flower. The hot, red water was put into the tub and Ning’s woman looked calm and at ease. She had to be ruthless to survive. When all was ready, she went out of the room.

The hot water floating with golden laurel attracted You Qingcheng. Shui’er waited on her to take a bath. Since the queen was pregnant, her skin had become more crystal clear. You Qingcheng liked to bathe in fragrant hot water. When her black hair floated in the petals, she had a different charm. Shui’er held up water drops, but You Qingcheng stopped her.

Not long after Ning’s woman left, Ou Jingyu changed into nocturnal clothes and followed Ning’s woman all the way. Fan’er obeyed her orders and went out of the palace. The master and servant had a big job to do tonight. Fan’er wanted to find an excuse to leave, but before she left, she had to do a good job, or Ou Jingyu would not spare her. The carriage was waiting for her at the west door, and she only hoped everything well.

Ou Jingyu was on the roof staring at the tub. You Qingcheng was a real beauty. Even if she was pregnant, she was still elegant. Ou Jingyu would never allow such a beautiful person to stay in the palace.

“I feel a pain in my stomach.” You Qingcheng held her stomach. Her lower abdomen ached badly. Then a stream of heat came out of her body. Panicked, Shui’er grabbed You Qingcheng in her arms. Blood gushed from You Qingcheng’s inner thighs, her face white. Shui’er was an unmarried woman who didn’t understand any of this. She was frightened into tears.

“Send for the Imperial Physician,” You Qingcheng ordered, gritting her teeth, thinking that it would be better if Xian’er (Ni Shang) were there. Shui’er hurried out of the door. Ning’s woman heard the noise and chopped at Shui’er with a knife. She couldn’t let her go to an Imperial Physician, or she would die badly. Shui’er opened her eyes wide and looked at Ning’s woman in amazement. She died without understanding why Ning’s woman killed her.

“You wicked woman.” Hearing screams, Ning Hai rushed over. The woman before him was more like a murderous maniac. The kitchen knife in her hand was dripping blood, and her face was abnormally red. Ning’s woman brandished the knife. At the time, she only had one thought in her mind—to kill this person, or she would die. Ning Hai slapped the old woman, hoping to wake her up. However, Ning’s woman continued to brandish her kitchen knife and stabbed Ning Hai. Ning Hai grabbed the kitchen knife and the old woman stabbed him again. Ning Hai fell flat on his back. When the old woman was clear, she looked at the dead body and cried.

“Stop crying, and clean up this place quickly.” As a trained killer, Ou Jingyu was good at dealing with emergencies. The old woman made her hair stand on end by killing two people in succession. Ou Jingyu lifted You Qingcheng out of the palace gate. Fan’er had been waiting outside the palace. When she saw the bodies of several people, she was so frightened that she could not move quickly. “Didn’t master ask her to make the queen have a miscarriage? Why did several people die?” Fan’er wondering. Ning’s woman became calm. The thought that she had been humiliated by Ning Hai all her life hardened her heart.

“Get in the carriage. Let’s find a place to dispose of the bodies.” Ou Jingyu held up the whip. The horse neighed. Ning’s woman came back the same way. A man who had killed people was like a man who had broken a religious precept. She took a bath before she went back to her room to rest.

The carriage drove down the street, on the rampage hurt several people. Lin Feiyang lifted the curtain of his room, finding that the woman driving the carriage looked more and more familiar. He flew out, wondering where the woman was going at night. Lin Feiyang followed the carriage closely. The mountain road was rough, and the horse had a temper. Ou Jingyu observed the terrain here and thought it was dozens of kilometers away from the capital, so it should be safe. She pulled on the rein and the horse stopped. Fan’er jumped out of the carriage and the curtain was lifted. Lin Feiyang was surprised to see what was in the carriage. The carriage was loaded with dead people. Ou Jingyu moved Ning Hai. As Ning’s woman had cut him down several times, his brain was bleeding and stained with his coat. Lin Feiyang mistook Ou Jingyu for You Qingcheng. “I can’t believe this woman is so vicious.” His heart sank. The little woman in front of him was terrible.

“Throw them into the valley.” Ning Hai was hit the bottom. Ou Jingyu continued to throw the second person, so that the birds in the valley bottom fled everywhere, and at the same time, there were wolf howls. Fan’er had already paralyzed with fear. Shui’er was shocked, too. At the thought of the pretty You Qingcheng being eaten into a pile of bones by a hungry wolf, Ou Jingyu’s mouth curved into a sad smile. The two left You Qingcheng and rode off in the carriage.

Lin Feiyang flew over. When he saw the woman in the pool of blood, his heart cooled a little. This was the real You Qingcheng, and that woman was trying to perpetrate a fraud. The women in the palace were so terrible that they even dared to kill the queen. You Qingcheng’s face was as white as paper and her mouth was dripping with blood. Lin Feiyang wiped the blood from her wrist with his large hand and found that her pulse was too weak to be found. Lin Feiyang ran to the hospital with the woman in his arms, but the doctor sighed helplessly. The woman in his arms was getting cold. Lin Feiyang remembered the doctor who opened the skull. Only the miracle doctor could save You Qingcheng.

When Lin Feiyang woke up the next day, You Qingcheng was still sleeping against the wall. She looked better than she did yesterday. Afraid that she would get hungry after waking up, Lin Feiyang got out of the bed. As he pushed the door open, he saw the doctor was leaning against the door. “Has this man been here all night?” The doctor’s brow furrowed in weariness. Lin Feiyang worried about waking him, so he made a detour. The yard was quiet, and the wind from across the hall was chilling.

The owner was also busy preparing food for the female tenant. Last night, Young Master Lin gave the owner more taels of silver. It seemed that the female tenant was from a wealthy family. The owner bought some fresh food materials from the town and asked the cook to prepare food. Then the cook worked all morning in the kitchen. When the delicious dishes were served on the table, Lin Feiyang woke up the distinguished guest. However, You Qingcheng had no appetite for the fatty dishes. What were these dishes? You Qingcheng was weak, and needed a medicinal diet to fuel her, so she had a bowl of chicken soup. Lin Feiyang kept eating, but You Qingcheng didn’t even touch her chopsticks. She didn’t seem to like the food. The owner of the restaurant prepared a table of dishes that were not agreeable. Then You Qingcheng also had some rice porridge. In the end, You Qingcheng have a lot of the owner’s elaborate soup, leaving behind greasy meat dishes.